Mary Elizabeth Hollabaugh Hennigh - Third Child of George and Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh

The Children of George and Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh

Sarah (1836-1918)

Eliza Jane (1838 - before 1918)

Mary Elizabeth (1840 - 1941)

William Levi (1842 - 1939)

George W. (1844 - 1924)

David William (1847 - 1936)

Alice Catharine (1849 - 1916)

Jacob B. (1852 - 1943)

Georgianna Hannah (1856 - 1944)



Mary Elizabeth, the third daughter of George and Elizabeth Hollabaugh was born on June 7, 1840 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. 

She married William Andrew Hennigh in Philadelphia on August 9, 1862. In The Gettysburg Times, September 13, 1937, a column entitled "Seventy-Five Years Back" had this news:

"On the 9th ult., in Philadelphia, by the Rev. Mr. Sheeleigh, Mr. William A. Hennigh, of Capt. J. F. McCreary's company, P.V. (Pennsylvania Volunteers), to Miss Mary E. Hollabauch, of Carlisle."

 According to Civil War records, William enrolled in the Union Army at Gettysburg on August 7, 1862 and mustered in on August 16, 1862 at Harrisburg.  So just two days after he signed up, he and Mary were married. So, did the couple elope to Philadelphia?  

When William enlisted, an intense recruitment campaign was going on in Pennsylvania.  His term was to be for three years in the 138th Regiment, Company B.  Leaving his new bride behind, William and  the regiment moved to Baltimore where he was assigned to guard the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and given the job as clerk.  However, in June 1863, his regiment was ordered to active duty and began having encounters with the enemy.  

On November 23rd, the regiment set forth on the Mine Run campaign, meeting the enemy on the 27th at Locust Grove, Virginia.  From History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-65:
"The fighting soon opened on its front, at close range, and buck and ball were hurled with telling effect against the advancing enemy...  The loss in the engagement was seven killed, forty-five wounded, and three missing.  During the night, the enemy withdrew  to his fortified position behind Mine Run.  After advancing to, and reconnoitering his ground, it was decided to abandon the campaign, and the army returned to camp near Brandy Station, where the regiment was soon settled in comfortable winter quarters."

William A. Hennigh was one of the wounded that day.  He died three days later on November 30, 1863 of wounds received in the Battle of Locust Grove.  In the U. S. Register of Deaths of Volunteers, 1863, the entry reads:
"Hennigh, William - Pvt. Co B, 138th Pennsylvania Infantry, Date of Death, November 27, 1863 at Rappahannock Sta., Va. - Cause of Death, Vulmus Sclopet."
The date of death differs from his actual government card and other sources.  Vulmus Sclopet refers to a gunshot wound.

So, Mary E. Hollabaugh Hennigh was left a very young widow, and one who had only spent a few precious days with her young husband.  However, Mary was pregnant with her only child, Minnie Margaret Elizabeth Hennigh, born December 9, 1863, according to the Pennsylvania Town and Church Records, only a week or so after her father's death.  (We can calculate that probably William had a furlough in March 1863, before his regiment was sent out into the field of battle.)
Minnie was baptized on April 1, 1864.  In February 1864, Mary filed for her widow's pension.

In the 1870 census, she and Minnie were enumerated with her parents, George and Elizabeth Hollabaugh, in Butler Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania.  Mary was 29 and Minnie was 6.

By 1880, Mary and her daughter had moved to Carlisle in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania where Mary, at 38, was keeping house and Minnie, 16, was at school.  Perhaps Mary was supporting herself on just her meager pension at this time.

In 1882, Mary and her daughter embarked upon careers with the Bell Telephone Company that lasted a very long time.  At first, she and her daughter alternated shifts as operators for the company, Mary being the Night Operator.  Eventually, Minnie advanced herself in the company to manager of the Carlisle Telephone Company in April 1891.  I'm sure their lives improved when both had secure jobs and an income along with the pension (which was very little).

In the 1910 census, both Mary E, 68, a widow, and Minnie, 46, single, were both agents for the telephone company.  They lived on East Louther Street in Carlisle.
The 1920 census found them in the same place, only now Mary had retired and was 79.  Minnie, 56, was a cashier at the telephone company.  

In the McKean County Miner (Smethport, Pennsylvania) paper of February 2, 1928, the article below appeared discussing Minnie Hennigh's long career.

 The rest of the article reads:
"A life of service dedicated to the telephone-using public is the epic story of Miss Minnie M. E. Hennigh, who on December 27th completed forty-five years of service with The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania.
Operator, Chief Operator, Manager and now Cashier in Carlisle, Pennsylvania are the highlights that are reflected in a career that aimed at the highest in the rendering of a public service to an intimately known public.
A slender slip of a girl on December 27th, 1882, when Miss Hennigh committed her fortunes and her happiness to a life of useful service, she still retains the youthful spirit of forty-five years ago.  Life has touched her, of course, but its drama and comedies coming to her over the telephone switchboard has only softened her innate kindness.
There were but eleven telephones connected with the first switchboard in the Drug Store at Louther and Fitz Streets, Carlisle, when Miss Hennigh became the operator.  Today there are more than 2000.  Many telephone employees have passed through the office since she began her career there.  Some have passed on and others have achieved great success in life.  Miss Hennigh has watched and observed with calm eye and nimble mind.  She has retained all through these years an integrity of thought and spirit and a paramount desire to offer an excellent brand of telephone service to the people served at her switchboard.  She has been the pillar on which have beat the storms of change and sometimes the waves of unfortunate conditions, but the shining tide has always shown her strong and steadfast in what she considered her duty to her telephone public.
"The first switchboard was very different from the delicately adjusted apparatus that it is today," Miss Hennigh said.  "We simply inserted small plugs in narrow brass strips to make connections, and when general groups of subscribers were talking, the switchboard reminded me of a chessboard.  When a subscriber wished to make a call," she continued, "he lifted the receiver and turned a hand generator, a small handle attached to his telephone, causing a shutter on the switchboard to drop with a heavy click.  No numbers were used in those days, and we rang the called party's bell with electrical power supplied by a hand generator."
On April 1, 1891, Miss Hennigh succeeded Mr. Leonard Kinnard as Manager of the Carlisle Telephone Exchange.  Mr. Kinnard is now President of the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania.  As Manager, Miss Hennigh struck out to do her first real soliciting and secured about seventy-five subscribers.  A new switchboard was then installed to accommodate the added telephones.
In a lifetime of service such as has been enjoyed by Miss Hennigh, there are many contrasting episodes of the early telephone days.  Once, when a line was being built, the Foreman sent word that more dynamite was needed to blast holes for telephone poles.  As Manager, it was part of Miss Hennigh's job to take care of these details, and instead of entrusting the high explosive to a boy who acted as her assistant, she helped to load a wagon with the dynamite and then drove the team.
Miss Hennigh now resides with her mother in Carlisle.  In the early days, the mother was of great assistance in alternating at the switchboard and in acting as Night Operator.
But this story of Miss Hennigh is not complete without some reference to her life outside of the Company.  She is a well-known member of the community in which she lived, both through business contacts and through her active interest in various civil and church organizations.  She is interested in people as individuals and exemplifies that which is best in the telephone slogan, 'the spirit of the service.'"
 

Miss Minnie Margaret Elizabeth Hennigh

The 1930 census found the location and mother and daughter and their situation unchanged.  Mary E., now 89, rented their home for $20 a month, and Minnie, 66, still worked for the Bell Telephone Company as cashier.

 The 1940 census gives us the information that Mary E. completed 4th grade, while her daughter was a high school graduate.  By then, both were retired; Mary was 98 and Minnie was 76.

On June 7, 1940, Mary E. turned 99 and photos were taken which I have been given permission to print.

Mary Hennigh and her birthday cake #99

 

From left: unknown neighbor, Minnie (standing) and Mary Elizabeth

Mary died on June 3, 1941, just before her 100th birthday on the 7th of June.  She made quite a splash in the newspapers of the time due to her telephone career.  She even made The New York Times!

The Indiana Evening Gazette ran this AP story on June 4, 1941:
"HELLO GIRL
Carlisle, June 4 (AP) - Mrs. Mary Hennigh, a 'hello girl' in the infancy of the telephone, died at her home here last night.  She would have been 100 next Saturday.  The Bell Telephone Company announced at Philadelphia that its record indicated she was the oldest retired telephone operator in the United States.  She served at Carlisle for 16 years."

The Daily News of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania reported on June 4:
"EARLY TELEPHONE OPERATOR DIES
Carlisle, Pa., June 4 - Arrangements were completed today for burial Friday of this community's first telephone operator, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Hennigh, who died of a lingering illness last Monday - just five days short of her 100th birthday.  Mrs. Hennigh, a widow since her husband died in 1863 of wounds inflicted during the Civil War battle of Locust Grove, Va., was the oldest retired employee of the Bell Telephone Company of Penn. She left the switchboard in 1914 when she was 73."

Mary's obituary appeared in The Gettysburg Times on June 4, 1941:
 "MRS. MARY ELIZABETH HENNIGH
Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Hennigh, 99, oldest retired employee of the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, will be held Friday morning at 10 o'clock in the First Lutheran Church, Carlisle, conducted by the Rev. Dr. Harry L. Saul.  Interment in the mausoleum of Westminster Cemetery, Carlisle.  Friends may call at the Lutz funeral house in Carlisle from 6 until 8 o'clock.
The deceased, who would have observed her one hundredth birthday June 7th, was born in Gettysburg 22 years before the battle of Gettysburg.
Most of her adult life was spent in Carlisle where she became the first Bell Company telephone operator.  She was the widow of William Andrew Hennigh, Union soldier, who was wounded November 27, 1863, at Locust Grove, Virginia, and who died three days later.  The deceased was a member of the First Lutheran Church, Carlisle.
Surviving are a daughter, Miss Minnie M. E. Hennigh, Carlisle, one sister, Mrs. George Pensyl (Georgeanna), Iowa, and one brother, Jacob B. Hollabaugh, Biglerville."

Her daughter, Minnie, died in December 1956 and was buried near her mother.  In her will she left her estate largely to the First Lutheran Church in Carlisle, with a portion going to the National Body of the Lutheran Church of America for missionary ventures in India and Africa and another small portion going to the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg and the Carlisle Young Men's Christian Association.

Eliza Jane Hollabaugh Fries - Second Child of George and Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh

The Children of George and Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh

Sarah (1836-1918)

Eliza Jane (1838 - before 1918)

Mary Elizabeth (1840 - 1941)

William Levi (1842 - 1939)

George W. (1844 - 1924)

David William (1847 - 1936)

Alice Catharine (1849 - 1916)

Jacob B. (1852 - 1943)

Georgeanna Hannah (1856 - 1944) 

The second daughter of George and Elizabeth was named Eliza Jane, born on May 18, 1838, according to Pennsylvania church records.  (Her tombstone gave the birthdate as May 18, 1840.)  The records of St. James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg noted her baptism on July 7, 1838, confirming the 1838 birthday.  

Finding the marriage record for Eliza was very challenging, but finally the record was discovered under a nickname, Lylie J. and her husband's initials, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin) Fries. The couple were married on October 15, 1866 at the Methodist Episcopal (United Methodist) Church in Gettysburg.  Benjamin, born May 1837, was 29, and Eliza, 28.

Before her marriage, in the 1860 census, Eliza was working as a seamstress, living in the home of Aug. Schwartz, Editor, near Hanover, PA in York County.  It was interesting that Eliza's husband, Ben Fries, was eventually also in the printing business, making one wonder if they met due to Mr. Schwartz.  I have not found definitely Benjamin Fries in the 1860 census.

However, in June 1863, he dutifully registered for the Civil War draft in Middletown (later called Biglerville), Cumberland County, PA (just north of Gettysburg).

He reported he was working as a shoemaker, was unmarried, and that he had lost his voice!  A permanent disability?  I could not find any evidence that he ever served as a Civil War soldier.

A letter exists in the Lincoln Papers held by the Library of Congress written by Ben Frank Fries to President Abraham Lincoln, dated February 14, 1865.  Ben had an idea for a new system of weights and measures that he presented in this letter.  

He concluded his plea for consideration by saying,
"But whatever conclusion you do arrive at, please be so kind, as to inform me of the reception of my papers and what action you intend taking on them.
I will now close, but if you wish a more detailed explanation of the above, I will be happy to forward the same.
As to my character, and capacity, I can produce the best of references.
And now may God bless us all; with our Union speedily Restored & Reformed.
Yours very respectfully, Ben Frank Fries, Carlisle, Pa."

His signature appeared on this page, and then the next five pages were devoted to the mathematical configurations of his plan.

 

New information - B. F. was an attorney in 1866.

An intensive search of the 1870 census failed to find the Ben and Eliza Fries family.

In 1880, Benjamin, 42, worked as an assistant editor in Phoenixville, Chester County, PA.  With him, were Eliza J., 42, and their children, Eamie E. (Emmie?), a daughter who was 12; Martha E. 10; Edwin S, 8; and Lydia A., 3 (Lydia Alice).
Ben reported that he was not well.

An 1892 and an 1893 Norristown, Pennsylvania city directory both listed Benj. F. Fries at 551 Chestnut Street under Printers, Books, and Jobs.

By 1900, the family had moved once again to 551 Warren Street in Pottstown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  Benjamin and Eliza were both enumerated at age 62; the couple reported a marriage of 35 years with four children, all of whom were living at this time.  Benjamin worked as a printer and they rented their home. Their daughter, Alice L. (Lydia) and her husband, William Erb, a machinist, and their one year old child, Claude W., born March 1899, lived with them. See their marriage record here.

  

What kind of skin is the baby on?  Bear?

Also living there was Benjamin and Eliza's only son, Edwin S., 27 and single and working as a day laborer.

Eliza Jane Fries died on May 22, 1904 and Benjamin died about nine months later on February 1, 1905 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.  The couple were buried in the Edgewood Cemetery there.  Their son, Edwin S. (1872 - 1966), who never married, was buried with them.  

In the following letter to the descendents of Benjamin Fries, we learn of his ability to stand up for causes he believed in, even though perhaps they were ahead of their time.
"Catskill, N. Y. 
Feb. 5th, 1905

Relatives of B. Frank Fries, Pottstown, Pa.
Friends: -
It as with surprise and sincere regret that I learned of the death of my old friend and Comrade, B. Frank Fries, yesterday at noon.  Tho I had never met him, I regarded him as a friend and felt that I knew him quite well.

Like all the rest of humanity, he no doubt had his faults, but the fact that he labored and made sacrifices for a noble cause - the cause capitalist cursed and priest ridden humanity -rendered the few faults of no consequence in comparison.

It is too bad that our departed friend could not have lived fifty years hence when I firmly believe that the people of that period will be living under a much more rational, just, and humane system than that of to-day, and when men like our departed comrade Fries will be loved and appreciated instead of being regarded as visionaries or dangerous characters as nearly all really progressive and humane people are at present.

You all have my sincere sympathy in this the hour of your bereavement.  I trust you will bear your sorrow with fortitude, and that all of us will cherish and emulate the many virtues and noble characteristics of B. Frank Fries.

Kindly and sorrowful,
Geo H. Werner" 

Book Review - The Guardian by Beverly Lewis

Once again, Beverly Lewis has written a novel that both inspires us in our faith and reveals life in the Amish culture. 

The Guardian, third book in the Hickory Hollows series, takes us on a journey with Jodi, an Englicher whose only sister has recently died, leaving Jodi with a crisis in her relationship with God.  She has lost the desire to pray and to depend on or thank God for anything. 

 The reader also follows the story of Maryanna Esh, a young widow of three years and her four children.  Among these children is the youngest, Sarah, beautifully depicted on the book's cover.  When Sarah falls from her mother's buggy one evening on the ride home, a search party of Amish men race to find the helpless child.  But it is Jodi who discovers the young girl and takes her home, becoming to Sarah, her special angel.

Hence, the friendship between the English woman, Jodi, and the Amish woman, Maryanna begins.  Jodi is struggling with her fiance over having children after their marriage, and Maryanna is confused about "dating" again and finding another father for her children.  Each woman, although from very different backgrounds, helps the other.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I do most of Lewis's.  It is not necessary to read the previous two books in the series; the reader falls right into this story and the characters' lives very easily. Kudos also to the artist who rendered the poignant and engaging cover for this novel. 

This book was given to me by Bethany House Publishers for my honest review.

Sarah Hollabaugh Haverstick - First Child of George and Elizabeth Hollabaugh

The Children of George and Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh

(Great-Great Grandparents)

Sarah (1836-1918)

Eliza Jane (1838 - before 1918)

Mary Elizabeth (1840 - 1941)

William Levi (1842 - 1939)

George W. (1844 - 1924)

David William (1847 - 1936)

Alice Catharine (1849 - 1916)

Jacob B. (1852 - 1943)

Georgianna Hannah (1856 - 1944)

Sarah, the eldest child of George and Elizabeth Hollabaugh, was born on November 30, 1836 in Adams County, PA.  According to Pennsylvania Town and Church Records 1708-1985, she married Robert Scott Haverstick on October 13,1865; she would have been 28 years old.  Robert, however, was born in 1843 or 1844 (depending on the source) and was about 22 or 23.  The couple resided throughout their married life in Carlisle, Cumberland County, PA, where Robert's parents lived...just north of Adams County.

Robert registered for the Civil War draft in June 1863, when he was about 20 years old.  He described himself as single and a carpenter, and listed that he was the only support for his mother and two other dependents, probably two younger siblings.  I have not found that he ever joined the Union forces.  In July 1863, Carlisle was shelled by Jeb Stuart's troops. Little damage was done, but it served the purpose of creating chaos and panic in the town. The Confederate officers did not get the provisions that they wanted from the town.  Stuart left rather quickly then and headed to Gettysburg where he was late in reporting, arriving on the second day of the battle there.

 In the 1870 census, Robert and Sarah Haverstick were found in the west ward of Carlisle, with children: William, 4; Blanche, 3; Charles, 2; and Millie, 4 months.  Sarah had delivered one child per year in her five years of marriage, if these ages are correct.  Robert worked as a carpenter and the family was by no means rich monetarily, with their personal property worth $200 and no real estate, hence they were probably renting a house.

By 1880, Robert, 37, and Sarah, 42, had lost little Millie.  The family consisted of William F., 14; Blanche K., 12; Charles, 9; Bertie E., 7 (Bertha), and Viola J., 5.
This spread of ages varies from the 1870 report which would seem more accurate, considering the marriage date.

Robert Haverstick died at about age 43 in 1886, leaving Sarah to provide for at least three children who were probably still at home.  It is likely that William, at about age 20, and Blanche at 18 could be working outside the home to help support the family.  Without the 1890 census, knowledge of how they made their livelihood is lost.  Robert was buried in the Old Graveyard in Carlisle, PA.

In the 1900 census, the widow, Sarah Haverstick, lived on West North Street in Carlisle with her two single daughters, Blanche, 33, and Bertha, 26.  Blanche was employed as a forewoman at the local wrapper factory, and Bertha was making shirtwaists at the same place. A wrapper was like a dressing gown and a shirtwaist was a dress.  Both are pictured below, with the wrapper on the left.

At the turn of the century, a large three story building on Bedford Street in Carlisle, originally a church, was bought and renovated into a factory which made women's and children's garments.  In 1913, it was officially called the Carlisle Garment Company. I would guess that this might be where Blanche and Bertha worked.

Viola Frances Haverstick was found in the 1900 census, also, living in Philadelphia with the widow, Isabella K. Wetz, and her partner, Mary L. Douglas, in their boarding house.  The boarding house, on June 4, 1900, had 37 women living there, other than the owners, and one cook.  Viola, 23 and single, was working as a trained nurse.

A Charles Haverstick is listed in the censuses of 1900, 1910, and 1920 in Lancaster, PA, working as a telephone lineman, but the ages given in those years do not quite match.

In 1910, Sarah and her daughters moved to West High Street in Carlisle.  She was 73 years old, and reported that she had been married 45 years!  (I guess she was saying that she was still married.)  She had five children, and all five survived.  (She did not account for the death of young Millie.) Sarah and daughters, Blanche, 41, and Bertha, 37, were renting their home.  Blanche was still single and still served as forewoman at the wrapper factory.  Bertha, however, must have tired of factory work, and she was self-employed as a manicurist.

Sarah's son, William Franklin Haverstick, preceded her in death in 1916.  He was buried in the Old Graveyard at Carlisle also.  In 1900 and 1910, William was a lodger in West Chester, PA where he plied his trade as a photographer in his own studio.  He was single in both censuses.  He died at 50, but his photographs live on.  This one I found on a Library of Congress site.

William F. Haverstick photo of the West Chester Courthouse, West Chester, PA

 He took many photos of university students and entered his photos into contests.

Check out the Chester County Historical Society!

Sarah Haverstick died on July 31, 1918.  Her obituary appeared in the Gettysburg Compiler on August 17, 1918.  (I guess it took awhile for news to get from Carlisle to Gettysburg.)
"Mrs. Sarah Haverstick, widow of Robert Haverstick, died at her home in Carlisle last Wednesday.  She became seriously ill the previous Saturday night.  Mrs. Haverstick was long a highly respected citizen of Carlisle,and for half a century or more has been a member of the First Lutheran Church.  She was 81 years of age. Surviving are four children: Misses Blanche and Viola, Mrs. T. Stuart of Carlisle (Bertha),and Charles of Lancaster. Two sisters also survive, Mrs. Mary Hennigh of Carlisle, and Mrs. Annie Pensyl of Iowa.  Jacob Hollabaugh of Adams County is a brother.

 According to church funeral records, Sarah was buried in the Old Graveyard in Carlisle with her husband, Robert.

In 1920, Blanche, then 45, was a designer for the garment company and was still living on West High Street in Carlisle.  With her lived Viola Haverstick, 40, and single, her youngest sister, who was working as a nurse for a private family. 

Update (Feb. 1, 2024 )- Blanche also became a nurse and eventually worked as a nurse for the Bedford family in Philadelphia.  There she met and married Theodore  Bedford on January 12, 1928.  They left immediately for California after the wedding by way of the Panama Canal. Thomas had mining interests there.   She died in 1946 in the Carlisle, Pennsylvania Hospital, while her husband was in Los Angeles. Whether they were separated or not, or he just happened to be on a trip, is not known. 

Also with them were sister, Bertha E. Stewart and her husband, Thomas.  Bertha was 46 and was self-employed as a hairdresser in her home, while her husband, Thomas, 60, had no occupation.

More research could be done on these children of Robert and Sarah Haverstick.  As far as I have been able to determine, the children had no offspring; three of the five remained single.  

George and Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh - Great-Great Grandparents, Part 2

Part 2













By 1870, the Hollabaugh family had moved to Butler Township in Adams County, Pennsylvania.  The post office listed on their enumeration was Middletown which was renamed Biglerville in 1903.  George, at age 62, and Elizabeth at 55, owned real estate worth $4000 and personal property worth $1100.

By this time, the two younger children were still at home -  Jacob, 18, and Georgianna, 14 - and with them were their older sister, Mary Elizabeth, now a widow at 29, and her daughter, Minnie, 6.  

On August 20, 1877, George died at the age of 69. He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA. In the 1880 census, Elizabeth lived with only Jacob, age 28.  Jacob was farming, probably the family farm.

Tombstone date conflicts with death date given in another source.

 With no 1890 census, we have a large gap in the story of Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh until August 6, 1896, when her death was recorded.  She was 81 years old.

George and Elizabeth Hollabaugh and their family probably witnessed closely one of the bloodiest incidents of the Civil War.  We also know that at least one of the family claimed to have witnessed  Lincoln's delivery of the Gettysburg Address.
Elizabeth and George instilled in their children a sense of confidence and independence that allowed at least four of their children to venture west.  Several of the women in the family became entrepreneurs in a time when that was not the norm.  

George and Elizabeth Hollabaugh tombstones, Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, PA.  The flat stone is that of their son, Jacob B. Hollabaugh.

George and Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh - Great-Great Grandparents - Part 1

George Hollabaugh was born on July 11, 1808 in Pennsylvania, probably in Toboyne Township, Perry County.  He eventually moved to Adams County where he married Elizabeth (Betsey) Bittinger on March 15, 1834.  Elizabeth, born March 17, 1815 near Gettysburg, was the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Bittinger.

This story appeared in the Republican Compiler of Gettysburg, PA on February 18, 1829.
It might refer to our George, who would have been 20 at the time, but there is no way to really know ...
"A Bear Story -
On Wednesday the 21st ult., Mr. George Hollabaugh, of Toboyne township, started hunting and had not been out long when he came upon bear tracks, which he followed until he reached a cavern, in which, he judged, at least one Bruin had entered.
After a moment's hesitation, he entered the cave, but had proceeded but a short distance when he was obliged to retreat by the advance of something 'black as night'.  With gun prepared to meet the foe, he stood at the mouth of the cave, when the head of the family, a fine large Bear, made his appearance, and was laid low in the twinkling of an eye.  
Mr. H. reloaded as quick as possible, and had just time to think of the prize he had gained, when another of the sable tribe made his appearance from the mouth of the cave - he was dispatched in a moment.
Mr. H. started home for assistance, and on his return, was proceeding to carry off the animals, when the third bear made his appearance at the mouth of the cave, and having his trusty gun still at hand, this also, was added to the number of the slain.  So singular and extraordinary an instance in the history of successful Bear hunting we will venture to say, has seldom, if ever, occurred in this section of the country.  Perry Forester."
It's safe to say that that Hollabaugh family ate well in the winter of 1829.


In the first census after their marriage, George and Elizabeth were found in Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania in 1840 when the census only named heads of households.  George was enumerated as a male between the ages of 30-40; George was 31.  In the household was also one woman, aged 20 - 30 (Elizabeth was about 25), and three girls under the age of 5 (Sarah, born 1836; Eliza Jane, born 1838, and Mary Elizabeth, born in 1840).  No other information was given on this early census.

Thought to be a photo of Elizabeth Bittinger Hollabaugh

By 1850, the family was in Franklin Township, Adams County.  The enumerator stopped by on September 27th and found George, 41, a farmer, and Elizabeth, 35, and their seven children: Sarah, 14; Eliza J. 12; Mary E., 10; Levi, 8 (husband's great-grandfather), George W., 6; David, 4; and Alice C. 10 months.

The family continued to grow and by 1860, little Georgeanna, 4, and Jacob, 8, completed the family.  In 1860, the last name was spelled "Hollebaugh" in the census.  George was 50 and Elizabeth was 45.  Great-Grandfather William was called Levi and he was 17.  George W. was 15, David 12, and Alice, 10. Also living with the Hollabaughs was Sarah Bittinger, age 38, who was probably Elizabeth's sister.  Sarah Bittinger was classified as an Idiot, which in the 1860 census, meant that a person had never had his or her complete mental faculties.  A person would be classified as such if they were mentally disabled from birth.

Sarah Hollabaugh, the oldest daughter at 23, was enumerated with the Harry and Marie Wattles family in Gettysburg.  The Wattles seemed to be a rather wealthy family with real estate and personal items valued at $5000 each.  No occupations are listed, but one might assume that Sarah was working as a domestic in the home. The Wattles had four children, ages 10 - 19.  
After going through the Gettysburg town census page by page for 1860, I was not able to find Eliza or Mary, but I did find a couple other possibilities.  I know that at least one was not married by 1860, so they could possibly have been in an outlying region as domestics.  I did find an Eliza Hollabaugh in Hanover, York County which is very close to Gettysburg.  She was living with August Schwartz and family and working as a seamstress.  The age is a little off, but it could have been that the reporter just made a guess at her age if she were not there at the time.  Just a possibility.  Mary Elizabeth was more difficult, and really I never did find her, even using the possible nickname, Polly.

Just three years later, in late June 1863, the Confederate forces made their way north into Adams County, Pennsylvania.  General Robert E. Lee amassed his forces, ready to move northbound, and Jeb Stuart's cavalry led the way into Pennsylvania to pave the way.  The History of Cumberland and Adams County, Pennsylvania, published in 1883, noted that by June 15th, Adams County residents were already alerted that the rebels were coming.  In preparation, citizens hid food and any valuable possessions or supplies that could be used by the enemy, and local banks shipped their money out of the area.

On June 26, a Confederate cavalry unit rode into Carlisle just north of Gettysburg, and took control of the town, closing saloons, posting guards around the public buildings, and demanding flour, sugar, salt, coffee and other staples or the sum of $5000.  The soldiers were under orders not to bother the townspeople, so their intent was not to harm the citizenry.  When the officers of the town said they had nothing to give, they weren't kidding...nothing visible, that is.  So the southern soldiers were put off and in the meantime, the local people tried to raise a militia to defend the town, but it was a pretty hopeless gesture.
A few days later, two thousand Union cavalry arrived and the Confederacy backed away a bit.  The people dug into their foodstuffs and supplies to aid the Union arrivals.

Gettysburg area home used as Gen. Meade's headquarters for the Army of the Potomac

The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1st and ended July 3rd with the Rebel forces in retreat.  It was for the most part a hand to hand battle, especially on the last day, leaving the area covered with unburied soldiers and horses.  Crops were destroyed, fences torn down, smokehouses and barns emptied.  The people of the area were left with the task of burying the decaying bodies of the dead and somehow providing food and care for the masses of wounded soldiers, both Union and Confederate, left behind.

I believe the Hollabaugh family witnessed this; in fact, an eye-witness account of those days by one of the Hollabaugh children will eventually be referenced on this blog. If this son saw it, it would be hard to imagine that the rest of the family was sheltered from the sights and sounds of the battle.  It had to be so difficult for these families to move past the tragedy and horror they witnessed, as well as the decimation of their farms and businesses.

The history book mentioned above stated:
"The entire community became (hospital workers), cooks, waiters or grave-diggers.  In this wide expanse of Christian charity, rebel and Union sufferers were cared for without material distinction... Soon every wheeled vehicle was at work bearing its loads of bleeding agony...  Literally half the surface of the entire county was a hospital and every farmhouse, barn, stable, outbuilding, for twenty miles square, was full to overflowing.  The beds, the floors, the yards, everywhere, were they cared for...  What a ghastly harvest to  gather from the fair and peaceful fields of Adams County."

The last of the wounded, suffering patients were moved away in November 1863, over four months from the beginning of the battle.

To be continued...


 

Stanley Hollabaugh - Eighth Child of William Levi and Mary Lucetta

- Harriet (1872-1950)

-Bertha ( 1874-1964)

-Ernest ( 1875-1955)

-Geneva (1878-1968) *grandmother

-Clarence (1881-1887)

-Esther (1887-1958)

-Sylvia (1888-1968)

                                                   -Stanley (1890-1967)

Stanley was the youngest child of William Levi and Mary, born July 22, 1890 when William was 47 and Mary, 41.

Stanley married Iva H. Zehner and settled in Dekalb County, Indiana.  Two children were born to the couple: Ellen Marie, born November 21, 1917, and Marcella, born July 16, 1919.  

Sadly, the Fort Wayne, Indiana, News-Sentinel carried this story on April 17, 1918 -
"Ellen Marie, the 5 month old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Hollabaugh, died at the home of her grandfather, Samuel Zanther (Zehner?) of Auburn Street on Saturday morning after an illness of 36 hours.  The funeral was held on Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the house, Rev. A.K. Mumma officiating.  Interment at the White City Cemetery."

On June 5, 1919, Stanley completed his registration for the World War I draft, listing his residence as St. Joe, Indiana, and his occupation as farmer.  He described himself of medium height and build with dark brown eyes and black hair.

In the 1920 census, taken in January of that year, he and Iva were living in Spencer Township, Dekalb County, Indiana, with their six month old daughter, Marcella.  Tragedy struck the little family that year when Iva died on June 20th. According to Stanley's niece, little Marcella soon went to live with her grandparents and after that, other relatives.

At 43, Stanley married Emily Tustison Daubrow, a second marriage for her, as well.  They married in Auburn on February 24, 1933.  Marcella would have been about fourteen.  The marriage did not work out and apparently, Emily left for parts unknown and the couple divorced.

 In the 1940 census, Stanley, divorced and 49 years old, was living alone on his farm, the old Case farm that had come through his mother's family.  He listed farming again as his occupation.  It is known that he worked as a telegraph operator for the railroad, but this was not listed on any census as his occupation.   Marcella had married Wilmer Sechler in 1937.
As far as I know, Stanley continued to live on the farm until he suffered a stroke and was admitted to the Dekalb Memorial Hospital in Auburn, Indiana.  He died there in October 1967 at the age of 77.

The St. Joe News of October 12, 1967, carried his obituary:
" Funeral services were conducted Tuesday at Baidinger-Walter Funeral Home in Spencerville for Stanley Hollabaugh, 77, retired telegrapher, who died of a paralytic stroke Sunday in Memorial Hospital. He had been a patient there 12 days.
Mr. Hollabaugh was a native of Saint Joe and had resided just south of town for 28 years.  He was born July 22, 1890, the son of the late William and Mary Case Hollabaugh.  His wife, Iva Zehner, died in 1920.
Rev. Ivan O. Miller officiated at the service and burial was in the White City Cemetery at Spencerville.
Survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Marcella Sechler of Spencerville, two sisters, Mrs. Eva Pflaumer and Mrs. Sylvia Ginther of Spencerville, one grandchild and one great grandchild."