Direct ancestors aren’t the only people I want to research. I believe that studying an entire family group is important. When I’m working on my direct ancestors, I want to know when and where they were born, where in the sequence of family births they were, and the relationships they had with their siblings and other people. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve reached the dreaded brick wall with one direct ancestor, only to sidestep to one or more siblings’ records and achieve a successful breakthrough! Even if I don’t have a brick wall to penetrate, I like to learn as much as I can about the family group, including all the siblings.
Just this past week, I decided to investigate a story my mother had told me about one of her mother’s brothers. His name was Charles Warner Holder but all the nieces and nephews referred to him as “Uncle Dutch,” although I’ve been unable as yet to determine why that moniker was used.
In "Along Those Lines . . ." this week, I want to share my quest with you and what I learned along the way.
What I Already Knew
My great-grandparents, Greenberry and Penelope Holder, produced twelve children -- six boys and six girls -- between 1868 and 1885. The youngest son (and 10th child) was Charles Warner Holder, born in May of 1881. I had located him still living in his parents’ home in Rome, Floyd County, Georgia, at the age of 19 in the 1900 census. I had also found him on the voter list for the municipal election of 6 March 1906 at 540 Branham Avenue and at that same address for the years 1905 through 1914.
My great-grandfather was involved with a number of businesses, most prominent of which was the Rome Mercantile Company. He started and built the business into the largest retail store in Rome and in Floyd County. Extant company records indicate that he was CEO and that he employed four of his children in that business: William Ira Holder was president; Scott Thomas Holder was secretary-treasurer; Emma Dale Holder as accountant; and Charles Warner Holder as a salesman.
Marriage records for Floyd County, Georgia, show that Charles married Miss Essie Eunice Buffington on 12 November 1913. His mother, Penelope, died on 13 January 1914 and his father, Greenberry, died on 18 June 1914. Greenberry Holder’s probate packet includes documents that indicate that he owned a great deal of real estate, including the house at 540 Branham Avenue which he rented to his son, Charles, and which was sold in early 1914 in order to settle the estate. The mercantile company was also sold in 1914. William, Scott, and Emma Dale Holder remained in Rome and found other endeavors. However, in the 1920 U.S. census, Charles and Essie Holder are gone, and here began my quest.
The Traveling Salesman
My mother always told me that “Uncle Dutch” Moved to California when his children were young. She’d told me that there were two children: Charles, Jr., and Eva. I decided that I wanted to see what I could find.
Like all good genealogists, I started searching backwards. If Charles and Essie left Rome, Georgia, before 1920, where would I find them? I began with the Ancestry.com census images. With the recent completion of the every-name indexing for the 1920 census, my timing could not have been better to start checking.
My first search was for an Exact Match for Charles Holder in the 1920 census, but there were far too many matches to search. I therefore refined the search to include the Birthplace of Georgia. There were five search results and, sure enough, there is a Charles W. Holder located in Chattanooga Ward 9, Hamilton County, Tennessee and not in California! The census record was undoubtedly my Charles because it listed him as Charles W. Holder (aged 38), with a wife named Essie (aged 33), a son named Charles M. (aged 3 years and 10 months), and father-in-law John A. Buffington (aged 57). Charles’ occupation is listed as “Traveling Salesman, Grocers.” This is certainly a continuation of the career he began while working for his father.
But wait! My mother’s information doesn’t seem quite dead on! First, Charles wasn’t in California, and second, he only had one child. That child, a son, had a different middle initial listed on the census and so I had to question whether the son really was a “Junior.”
California, Here We Come!
The next logical step was to check the 1930 U.S. census. Once again, I used the Exact Match search template and entered Charles Holder and the Birthplace of Georgia. Sure enough, there were four matches and Charles W. Holder was the first, listed as being in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Under the Family Members column, though, was the name “Ersie C. Holder.” As I looked at the actual image, though, I could see that it was possible for the indexer to misread “Essie” as “Ersie” and the fancy “E” as a fancy “C.” Charles’ occupation is listed as “Salesman, L.A. Soap Co.”
Also listed on the census are two children. Charles M., Jr. is shown as 14 years of age and his middle initial is still listed as M. However, the “Jr.” designation appears here and so perhaps the family did refer to him as Charles Junior. The second child is a 7 year-old daughter, Eva Anita. (The daughter’s middle name actually was Nita in honor of one of Charles’ sisters.) Both children are shown as having been born in Tennessee, which agrees with Mother’s story that Charles and his family moved to California when the children were young.
Learning More About the Family
My next stop was the Social Security Death Index, always a great locator tool. I’ve learned that it is important to search using both the Exact Search and Ranked Search templates as the Exact Search may be too limiting. That was true in this case too.
Essie Holder was listed in the SSDI and could be verified by her birth date, 22 Apr 1886. She apparently died in February of 1979 and her last benefit is shown as having been made at White Water, Riverside, California. She had lived to the age of 92.
Charles M. Holder also was listed in the SSDI and verified by his birth date. He died on 4 Sep 1994 in Los Angeles County, California, at the age of 78. His middle name was listed on the SSDI as Marvin!
More Leads to Pursue
Armed with the details I’ve found so far, I have other leads to pursue. These include:
- Contact the Social Security Administration for a copy of Charles Warner Holder’s SS-5 application and request information about his date of death.
- Contact the State of California’s Department of Health Services for copies of death records for Charles Warner Holder, Essie Holder, and Charles Marvin Holder.
- Locate obituaries for these three persons based on death dates and locations, and to determine the places of internment.
- Search for wills and probate packets to determine the married name if Eva and where she lived. Then check the SSDI, obituaries, and any other records for her.
- Search probate records for the names of the wife and any children of Charles Marvin Holder, and for those of Eva when her married name is located.
These are just the most obvious clues to begin to pursue. I have some work ahead of me but intend to follow every one of these leads and more to learn what I can about ‘Uncle Dutch” and his family over the next year.
Happy Hunting!
George
A Note on Last Week’s Column: In last week’s column titled “Musical Genealogy,” I most sincerely apologize for failing to include the United States Coast Guard and its anthem, “Semper Paratus," in the list of military branches.
George is president of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE), a director of the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), a director of the Florida Genealogical Society, Inc. (Tampa), the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Society of Genealogists (U.K.), and more than 20 other societies. What about you?
Copyright 2005, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.
"Along Those Lines"
