David Hollister & the Hollister Family (3)

Part Three - The Next Generations
If you missed Part 2 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 1 of the story, go here . . .

By the 1880's David Hollister, along with a number of his grown children where living in western Iowa, near the Nebraska border. There were also a few children who stayed back in Wisconsin. Some farmed and some had other occupations and a few moved on to other places. The Hollister clan would grow and multiply in Iowa and David would live out his life with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren nearby.

The Children of David Hollister

The fate of most of David's children, from both marriages, has recently become available and seems well documented. By the turn of the century, there were children and grandchildren in Wisconsin, Iowa, Washington, California and other places.

The Children of David and Celinda:

• Rachel, married Harmon Renshaw in 1851 and raised at least 11 children. He was the son of David's one-time mill partner. They farmed in Iowa and Lafayette Counties in Wisconsin and are buried in Darlington, Wisconsin.
• Emily, married Miles Wilcox in 1851 and raised at least six children. They farmed in Iowa county but later relocated to Washington State. At some point, they may have divorced.
• John, married Mary Jane Robb in 1864 and raised at least five children. They farmed in Green County, then lived in Blanchardville, Wisconsin. After Mary died, John lived with a daughter in Minneapolis.
• Hiram, married Sarah Batman in 1859 and raised at least 11 children. They first farmed in Iowa County, Wisconsin. In the 1870's the family headed west and farmed in the town of Maple in Monona County, Iowa.
• Niles, married Eliza Schrechengaust in 1863 and raised at least 10 children. They may have been the first to head to Iowa, soon after their marriage, and where farming there before 1870.

  

  Wedding photo of Hiram, the son of Niles Hollister

The Children of David and Caroline:

• Wilbur, married Lousia Clark in 1867 and raised at least five children. They first farmed in Wisconsin, then headed to Iowa and farmed in the Town of Maple. You can read about Wilbur's civil war record in Part Two of this series.
• Laurissa, married George Wade in 1879 and raised at least seven children. This was one of two Hollister / Wade marriages. They lived at Adamsville and operated the mill with George's father. Later, they went to Chicago where George worked for the Railroad.

Laurissa Hollister's gravesite at East Side Cemetery in Dodgeville, Wisconsin

• Orestis (or Erastus), married Martha Harris in 1888 and raised at least one child. They first lived in Iowa and ended up Washington State. The family is noted to be in Montana in the 1920's
• Thomas, married Hannah O'Neil (read about them below).

Thomas Jefferson Hollister, the son of David is buried
at Mount Hope Cemetery in Monona County, Iowa

• Deraine, married Mary Adams in 1884, raised at least six children and lived in Mapleton, Iowa.
• David, married Rachael Wade in 1880 and raised at least nine children. This was the second Hollister / Wade marriage. He was a blacksmith in Mapleton, Iowa.

Thomas Jefferson Hollister

David and Caroline's fourth child, Thomas Jefferson Hollister, who seemed to have gone by the name Jeff, was born in 1855 in Ridgeway, Wisconsin. David was born during the Jefferson administration and he must have had some admiration for that founding father as that was the only president he named a son after. Jeff was still single and in his 20's when he went to western Iowa with the rest of the family. In 1880, he was working as a blacksmith and boarding with a family in Wisconsin. By 1885, he was married, had a new born and was living on Main Street in Mapleton. He married Hannah O'Neil (b.1858, d.1935). She was born in Wisconsin and her family had also headed west to Mapleton. Her parents were Francis O'Neil (b.1812, d.1890) and his second wife, Elizabeth Nevin (b.1826, d.1905). They came to Iowa from central Wisconsin before 1870 and operated a hotel called the Mapleton House. It is interesting to note that the O'Neil family, the Jeff Hollister family and the Laurissa Wade family are all listed next to each other in the 1885 Iowa census; on Main Street in Mapleton.

Hannah O'Neil and Thomas Jefferson Hollister

The children of Thomas Jefferson Hollister and Hannah O'Neal
Stella, Grace, Rush, Mable, Loren, Nona and Thomas.

By 1900, Jeff and family had moved to small burg of Ute in the Town of Saint Clair, about three miles from Mapleton. He was still listed as a blacksmith. By the 1910 census, the family was back in Mapleton and Jeff's occupation was listed as "odd  jobs." By that time, the blacksmith profession, which had also served his father and brother was certainly on the decline. The children of Thomas Jefferson Hollister and Hannah O'Neil were:

• Stella (or Estella) (b.1884, d.1961) - daughter Stella would marry Reuben Holcomb in 1905. He came from Wisconsin and lived for a brief time in Mapleton. She would go back to his home in Monroe, Wisconsin where she lived for the rest of her life. They had three children to go along with the two from Reuben's first marriage.

Stella Hollister and Baby Grace Holcomb

• Grace (b.1886, d.1981) - daughter Grace would marry Clifford Cockerill in about 1907. He worked as a lineman in Iowa but then later they settled in Woodward County, Oklahoma where he operated a drug store. They raised at least five children and Grace died in her 90's in Los Angeles. She is buried in Santa Monica.

Grace Hollister with Sister Stella

• Rush (b.1889, d.1942) - son Rush would marry Maud Foster. The initially lived in Plymouth County, Iowa where Rush worked as a lineman for the telephone company. Later, they went to Perry County, Kentucky where Rush continued to work for the phone company. It seems they did not have any children. Rush and his wife are buried in Forest City, Iowa

Rush Hollister

• Mable (b.1893) - daughter Mable would marry Walter Larson and raised at least two children. Walter is noted to have died on 1947 in Los Angeles.

Mabel Hollister

• Loren (b.1894, d.1918) - son Loren was a casualty of  World War I. He was killed by artillery fire at the battle of Chateau Thierry while running telephone equipment from headquarters to a forward battalion. The American Legion Post in Mapleton is named for Loren.

Loren Hollister, WWI casualty.

• Nona (b.1896) - daughter Nona would marry Otto Horton and raised at least two children. Nona died in Los Angeles in 1971.

Nona Hollister

• Thomas (b.1899, d1941) - son Thomas Jr. was living with his widowed mother in Mapleton in 1930. He died in Los Angeles in 1941. It is unclear if he ever married and he is buried in Santa Monica.

Thomas Hollister Jr.

It is interesting to note that four of the Hollister children ended up in Los Angeles, California. It is not known why they headed there but it was likely as a result of the depression or perhaps the war. The opportunities that had brought many of David Hollister's children to Iowa in the 1880's would have changed radically by the 1930's.

Obituary of Thomas J. Hollister from The Mapleton Press: "Thomas J. Hollister dies in Sioux City of Bright`s Disease - Old Settler followed blacksmithing for many years" . . . Thomas J. Hollister, who ranked as one of the early settlers of Mapleton, died a week ago Wednesday in a Sioux City hospital of Bright`s disease. Mr. Hollister made a valiant fight but he could not conquer the disease. He had not been in good health for some time, and when his condition became alarming he was hurried to Sioux City for the best of treatment. Thomas Jefferson Hollister was born at Adamsville, Wis., January 1, 1855. There he lived until he came to Mapleton with his parents in 1882. It was here that Mr. Hollister met Miss Hannah O`Neil and in 1883 they were married. Eight children were born to the couple.One child died in infancy and a son Loren, made the supreme sacrifice in the world war; being the first Mapleton man to lay down his life in the cause, the local American Legion post was named after him.  The surviving children are: Mrs. R. T. Holcomb of Monroe, Wis.; Mrs. C. B.Cockerill, of Quinlin, Oklahoma; Mrs. W. E. Larson of Mapleton; Mrs. Otto Horton of Mapleton; Rush, of Kingsley and Tom of Mapleton. Mr. Hollister is also survived by four brothers - Niles and Deraine, of Mapleton; David of Rodney and Erastus of Montana, and one sister Mrs. George Wade of Chicago. Mr. Hollister was a blacksmith by trade. He followed the business until 1917, after which he took charge of the city scales which he operated until his last illness. Funeral services were held Friday after noon at the Methodist church. Burial was in the family lot in Mt. Hope Cemetery. Mr. Hollister, because of his long residence here, enjoyed a wide acquaintance. His family is one of the best known in this locality.

Conclusion

This is the story of another pioneering family that came out of colonial America. David Hollister was born in western New York just after the turn of the 18th to 19th Century. At that time, the United States was a new nation with Thomas Jefferson as its third president. David's parents grew up during the America Revolution and his children would live well into the 20th century. The information on his parents and ancestry is still speculation but as more information becomes available, it seems certain that this will be settled. David would marry twice and lead his large family west with the opening of new frontiers in the Northwest Territories. He would settle in Wisconsin in the year before it became a state. Later, he and a number of children would head further west. David would live to about 100 and die on the great plains of western Iowa at the start of the 20th Century. His children would carry on in Wisconsin, Iowa and other places as the country became settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Research Notes: Information for this report comes from a number of sources: United States Census, Iowa and Wisconsin State Census, public family trees found at AncestryDotCom, a number of historical publications (Iowa County History, Monona County History, etc.), family history books (noted in the text), other vital records, other on-line sources, and a helpful distant cousin. Updated on 8/2021.