Terrell County GaArchives Biographies.....Holland, John Mathis 1836 - 1919
************************************************
Copyright. All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm
************************************************
File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
John Holland jmhollandjr@earthlink.net May 23, 2004, 8:46 pm
Author: John Holland
A photo of John Mathis & Missouri can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/terrell/photos/gph399hollandj.jpg
John Mathis Holland Family of Terrell County
John Mathis Holland (March 25, 1836- December 16, 1919) lived and raised his family in
Terrell County over a period of almost 60 years. An immigrant from Southern Germany,
John entered the United States through the port of New York with his brother Christian
sometime in the early 1850’s. Traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio to stay with family and
friends, John remained there only a short time before joining the South Western Railroad
Company (S.W.R.R.) as a woodcutter where he worked clearing the right-of-way for the
Macon to Smithville section of the railroad. Influenced by the Central of Georgia
Railroad, the S.W.R.R. was chartered in 1845, and eventually taken over by the Central.
Reaching Terrell County in the later half of the 1850’s John continued with the S.W.R.R
on the Smithville to Dawson section that was completed in July 1858. In the summer of
1859 John met Missouri Melinda Stanford, daughter of Charles and Susan Jordan
Stanford. The Stanford’s owned a large farm three miles east of Brown’s Station (later
Bronwood) on Sugar Creek. The Stanford’s were one of several Stanford families with
farms in the area. John and Missouri were married December 5, 1859, by Thomas
Jackson (Justice of the Peace) at her father's home. After the wedding, John left the
railroad and began farming with his father-in-law.
At some point, probably in early 1860, John and Melinda moved to Sumter County to
farm with Missouri's uncle, Jesse Stanford. Jesse’s farm was several miles north of
Americus. Family records indicate John and Missouri stayed in Sumter for approximately
a year before returning to Terrell County. In September 1860 their first son, Charles
Lewis Holland was born. Charles was named for his grandfathers, Charles Stanford and
Lewis Holland.
After his father-in-law, Charles Stanford, died on January 27, 1861, John assumed the
management of the family farm on Sugar Creek. It was on that farm in September 1961
that John and Missouri’s second son, John Christian Holland was born. John was given
the names of his father and his father’s brother, Christian.
In 1861 John joined a volunteer company with his neighbors to drill and practice firing
weapons. On May 12, 1962 he enlisted as a private in Co. "K", 31st Georgia Volunteer
Infantry Regiment (Evan's Brigade. Gordon's Division C.S.A., Army of Northern Virginia,
Terrell County, Georgia "Bartow Avengers") and left that same month for Savanna and
the war of Northern Virginia. Fighting with the 31st in some of the bloodiest battles of the
Civil War, John returned to his home only once near the end of the conflict before
surrendering at Citronelle, Alabama May 4, 1865. He was paroled in Meridian,
Mississippi on May 16, 1865 and walked back to Terrell County from Mississippi. When
his two young sons finally saw their father again, the stranger who showed up at the door
of the family farmhouse terrified them.
Like many other CSA soldiers returning from the war John had to start rebuilding his life
almost from scratch. Missouri and his mother-in-law, along with the two young boys, had
maintained the farm as best they could but were plagued by the same problems suffered by
others during the war. A “carpet bagger” headed for Alabama had stolen the one mule
that had survived. And there was a problem of simple things like clothing. One of the
first things that John had to do was ask a merchant in Dawson to "stand for him" to
replace the shoes he had worn out walking home from Mississippi. From that humble
beginning, John and his family would build a successful farm and associated businesses in
the Bronwood area over the next 50 years. John was known as an excellent businessman
and worked hard to pass on his experience and expertise to his sons as they grew into
adults.
John believed in giving back to the community that had supported him and his family after
the war. Often perceived to be gruff and stern because of his heavy German accent, he
was a generous and religious man quietly assisting many who were less fortunate.
Although Missouri was a Methodist, John had strong ties to the Lutheran Church
established before he arrived in Terrell County. He became a member of the Lutheran
Church in Plains and later helped fund and build the Bronwood Lutheran Church that
stood in the oak grove on the site that is now 200 Thornton Street. Along with the Martin
family, he also donated land and materials for a country school built in the Bronwood area.
John and Missouri’s third child, William Mathis Holland, was born in 1865 and a daughter,
Annie Susan was born in 1871. Their youngest son, Andrew Benjamin Holland was born
in 1872.
John’s youngest brother, Paul, was sent by his mother from Germany to the United States
to search for John after not hearing from him for more than 30 years. Seeking information
about John, Paul first went to Cincinnati to visit his oldest brother, Christian and his
family. On February 6, 1886, Paul arrived in Dawson on the early morning (6:30) Central
of Georgia train. He went to the courthouse and told the Ordinary in broken English "I
think I have a brother living within this county." The Ordinary sent him in a horse and
buggy to John’s farmhouse out from Bronwood. Each of John's sons recalled the
emotional meeting of their father and youngest brother, Paul, whom he had not seen in
more than 30 years.
Paul stayed for several months before planning to return to Germany by way of Cincinnati
to tell his mother about John and his family. Several days before taking the train,
however, Paul received word that his mother had died. He never returned to Germany but
stayed with John and sons before buying a house a few miles west of Sugar Creek. After
a brief marriage to "Widow" Winkler of Cincinnati, he moved into a room at John's house
where he lived until his death on June 14, 1917. Paul is buried next to his brother in the
Bronwood Cemetery.
All of John and Missouri’s sons married, raised their families, and lived out their lives in
Terrell County in and around Bronwood. Continuing the legacy of their father they
operated family farms and businesses and contributed to the community through their
churches.
About 1887, John and Missouri’s oldest son, Charles Lewis Holland, married Carrie M
Derrick, daughter of David Samuel Derrick and Martha Pauline Wise of Plains, Georgia.
Charles Lewis and Carrie had five children: John David, Carrie Lois, Susie, Charles Paul
(Charlie Paul), and Edwin.
In 1886 John and Missouri’s second son, John Christian Holland, married Mary Corrine
Cowart, daughter of Soloman and Sarah Cowart (maiden name unknown) of Terrell
County and had four children: George Chappell, Willie Mae, Annie, and Nellie Odessa.
Mary Corrine died on May 2, 1898. In December 1899 John remarried Mary Ann
(Mamie) Martin, daughter of David Martin and Zilpha Susan Denton, and had four
children: Clarence David, Martin Snyder (Jack), Lynwood Mathis, and John M.
John and Missouri’s third son, William (Bill) Mathis Holland, married Ada Godwin,
daughter of Rufus Godwin and Sarah Godwin (maiden name unknown) of Sumter County
about 1885 and had three children: J. Rufus, Josephine, and W. Osto.
About 1905 John and Missouri’s youngest son, Andrew Benjamin Holland, married Susan
(Susie) Smith, daughter of P.T. Smith and Mary Hortman of Terrell County and had two
children: Benjamin H. (Benjie) and Gladys.
John and Missouri’s only daughter, Annie Susan, married Joseph Robert Cotton of Lee
County about 1908 and had one daughter, Missouri Melinda, nicknamed “Jewie”. When
Annie Susan died in North Carolina in 1916, Jewie returned to Bronwood to live with her
grandparents, John and Missouri, and her uncle, Bill Holland.
After his wife, Missouri, died in 1917, John, lonely and grieving, tried to stay at his home
under the care of his son, Bill’s family. In the fall of 1919, John left the farmhouse that he
had built so many years before and moved in with his second son, John and his wife,
Mamie (Martin), who cared for him until his death on December 19, 1919.
John is buried in the Holland family plot in the Bronwood Cemetery where his wife,
daughter, and brother, Paul, were buried. Over the years the rest of his sons, and many of
his grandsons and granddaughters, as well as their families have been buried nearby.
The last descendent of John Mathis Holland to live in Bronwood, his youngest grandson,
John M Holland, youngest son of John Christian Holland, died on January 4, 2000 and
was buried in the Bronwood Cemetery. John’s death ended the long line of Holland’s
who lived in and contributed to the small community of Bronwood and Terrell County for
over 140 years.
A photo of John Mathis & Missouri can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/terrell/photos/gph399hollandj.jpg
The portrait is John Mathis Holland from a charcoal drawing done about 1880.
The other is of John and Missouri taken October 15, 1916 as part of a group
photo at the celebration of David Samuel Derrick and Pauline Wise Derrick’s
50th wedding anniversary. The Derrick family was from Sumter County, near
Plains.
This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/
File size: 9.3 Kb