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John Shadrack Holdaway, son of John Madison and Jane Gillespie Holdaway
Mary Elizabeth Holdaway Conrad, daughter of Shedrick and Lucinda Haws Holdaway
Amos David Holdaway, son of Shedrick and Lucinda Haws Holdaway
George Timothy Holdaway, son of Elizabeth Haws Holdaway
Timothy Holdaway, son of Timothy Holdaway, born 25 Dec. 1744
Thomas Teancum Holdaway, son of David Oscar and Elizabeth Amanda Prater Holdaway
Daniel Webster Holdaway, last child of Timothy and Mary Trent Holdaway
David Oscar Holdaway, son of Timothy and Mary Trent Holdaway
Charity Holdaway Outhouse, daughter of Timothy and Mary Trent Holdaway
Marion Haws Holdaway History, son of Shedrick and Eliza Haws (Pickup) Holdaway
RESEARCH on the Holdaway and Trent Lines - where it was done
A history written by his daughter, Mrs. Edna Holdaway Newman, now deceased. John Shadrack Holdaway was born March 23, 1874 at Mammoth, Utah, where his father worked in the mines. He was the
son of John Madison and Jane Gillespie Holdaway. His grandfather Shedrick was one of the early pioneers and builders
of Utah valley. He built the road up the South Fork of Provo Canyon where he had a sammill; he brought the first carding
machinery into Provo; he, with the help of his brother David, built the first threshing machine in Utah and he laid out a
canal across Provo Bench without the aid of any instruments and he also took up a large tract of land on the east shore of
Utah Lake and farmed it. He married Lucinda Haws in Salt Lake City 24 Dec. 1848 and she, too. did her part to pioneer
this valley. She studied herb doctoring in Illinois before coming to Utah, so was called upon to doctor the sick, act as
mid-wife and wrote many poems as a tribute to friends and loved ones, and especially to those bereaved. John's grandmother, Jane Gillespie, came from Sootland with her father and six brothers, her mother having passed away.
She was a very lonely and sad little girl as her father and brothers went to work in the mines each day. She said she cried
much of the time because she missed her mother so very much. One day she climbed up the side of the mountain, sat on a
rock, and looking over the bleak land, prayed that she might go back to Soctland. She testified that she saw her mother
and her mother told her to stop grieving, and she said a great peace came over her. John Madison Holdaway and Jane
Gillespie were married Dec. 5, 1870. John Madison was a staunch and diligent member of the Church and filled a mission
for the Church after his family was raised. He was particularly interested in genealogy of the family. He was watermaster
in Provo for a number of years. John Madison and Jane Gillespie Holdaway moved to Provo, Utah, and here their son, John Shadrack attended the old
Brigham Young Academy. It was here that the romance between John S. and his future wife began. Margaret Adamson
lived in Pleasant Grove and transportation was a problem in those days, so often John walked the approximately ten miles
to see 'Maggie', and sometimes he rode a bicycle. John Shadrack Holdaway and Margaret Janette Adamson were married Dec. 4, 1895 in the Salt Lake Temple. They
settled in Pleasant Grove and John worked in the flour mill for his father-in-law, After the mill was sold John did
construction work. He also worked on the flume that takes water out of Provo Canyon; also on The Pleasant Grove City
water works where he would walk from home up over Little Mountain to the foot of Mt. Timpanogos, where water was
piped down the mountain, After the days mork was done, he, with others, would walk hcme until later a small track
railroad took them up and down the Little Mountain. The following is quoted frcm the history written of him by his daughter, Edna Holdaway Newman, now deceased: "He
also worked on the railroad and the mines in Mammoth. He actually was a oarpenter by trade and liked that work better
than milling. But because mining and construction work took him away from his family so much of the time, he took a
milling job at McCammon, Idaho. The family lived there for one summer; then he came back and worked at the flour mill
In Pleasant Grove and later at the Lehi Roller Mill, where, for many years, he travelled back and forth to work. He took
training in chemistry of grains and developed the Turkey Red flour from the hard wheat. He also developed the Whole
Wheat which has such popularity, but because he cared little for honor or public applause, he let the mills take the credit.
He was also a carpenter and did most of the work on his own home. Everything he undertook to do, he did well and his
services were always in demands so that as a family we were always taken care of. His love for his family, as all of them
can testify, was our greatest joy. We would never care to go with anyone else if we could go an a trip or do something
interesting with father and mother. Our trips were precious memories. The following is taken from a brief sketch of Johns life by his son-in-law Frank B. Nomans "Mr. Holdaway has cared little for honor or public applause, but his quiet, unassuming nature, his sound judgment and
integrity of character has won for him the sincere respect and admiration of all who knew him. He was one of the early
school board members of Pleasant Grove. He served as City Counsilman several times. "He enjoyed his Church positions, serving as Superintendent of the Sunday School, second counsellor to Bishop M. S.
Christiansen of the Third Ward, Chairman of the Building Committee for the Third Ward Church, Assistant to the Stake
High Priest Presidency and a member of the Ward Quorum at death. "While he has always enjoyed his church and comunity activities, his hobby was his family. He loved to plan trips and
outings for his children and grandchildren and he got a full share of enjoyment out of such recreation. "John Holdaway was very active in community affairs; like in his home and vocation, he also wanted to see things done
right. "He enjoyed living and seeing other people live, He was always reluctant to condemn; he was patient and generous
always. I have been married (to his daughter) nearly 23 years and in that time we have had no cross words between us. I
am sure the major reason was on his part. A friend, Niels Fugal, said that John Holdaway, to his best knowledge, did not
have an enemy in the world. He wasn't that type of individual. In his public position as City Councilman for four years, he
was interested in the affairs of the people and his judgment was wise, judicious and did the things that were for the
betterment of all....President Wilford Warnick (Stake President) paid this tribute to him, 'Brother Holdaway has the
confidence of the people. They have called him to serve in various capacities and he has always served with honor. He
has been a pillar of strength to the Church. He was, indeed, a man among many; a man of energy; a man of ability; and a
man of great faith, a man willing to serve. Bishop Christiansen said, 'I never saw Brother Holdaway do a discreditable
thing and I know him well'." John Shadrack Holdaway died May 14. 1944 in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and his beloved wife passed away Way 3, 1951. by Grandson, Grant Tell Muhlestein Mary Elizabeth Holdaway, born 12 Sept. 1856 to SHEDRICK HOLDAWAY and LUCINDA HAWS, was reared in a
large pioneer family where work and austerity gave demands to all family members. Mary Elizabeth carried the attributes
of a true pioneer throughout her life. She was frugal, but generous, and no visitor ever left her garden (after her family
was raised) without taking along a bouquet of flowers, or something from the fruit and vegetable garden. She was a great
lover of all kinds of plants, and learned the art of grafting so that the seedling fruits could be grafted with better varieties
if they did not produce a better kind than anything in the fruit orchard. Grandfather Charles Conrad, born 12 Nov. 1831 to Charles Ferdinand Conrad and Sarah Adams Bitely, saw this Mary
Elizabeth Holdaway as a child --- attractive, brown eyes, curley dark hair, and winsome smile --- and vowed that be
would wait until she grew to womanhood at which time he would marry her. When this young lady reached seventeen
years and ten months, they were married the 10 Nov. 1873 in the Salt Lake Endowment House. My mother, their first child, was born 21 March 1875 and, like her mother.. learning, as well, to care for their food and
clothing needs. Grandfather was a self-made veterinarian and often cared for sick animals through a full night. His clients
promised grains or fruits at harvest time and often this fell through, so grandmother was compelled to grow and produce
most of their food needs. Grandfather had acquired considerable land in the NorthEast part of Provo. They built their home on the corner of 7th
East and 8th North --- a large one-story, double-brick home with a small fruit-and vegetable cellar. This was a
double-brick construction and the lumber came from the Shedrick Holdaway Lumber Mill in South Fork of Provo
Canyon- --a very hard and sturdy native pine almost impossible to drive nails into or to cut with a saw once cured, as we
found later when the ceilings were lowered and rooms built in the attic area. This high-ceiling home was cool both in
summer and winter. Good home-produced foods seemed to keep the family in health. There was plenty of milk and cream
and home-churned butter. The grains were taken to the Mill and used in their natural state. Grandmother was an excellent
cook and seamstress--providing wholesome food for the family and clothing for all. The landmark for the Ccnrad hcme was a huge cottonwood tree which was planted by nature long before the white man
made inroads to the West. This tree provided the Conrad home with shade and comfort in the summertime. When the
home was finished, one of the first things planted near the large cottonwood tree were some black walnut seeds. One
grew vigorous and tall and provided the family with much enjoyment each year. As the grandchildren came to visit
grandmother, they would ask to crack nuts under the Cottonwood --- sitting on a large stone bench that surrounded it. The soil near the home was quite rocky--being the residue of streams that once came over the area. In fact, my
father-in-law, Gordon Phillips, sold land and gravel from an area which he purchased from the Conrad estate just north of
the Conrad home. They had seeds of select cantaloupe and watermelon brought from Kentucky. Grandmother would save
seeds from the cantaloupe with the smallest centers and the most meat, and the thin-rinded melons with the best:flavor.
As a child I remember the strong and pleasant odor of the melons as grandmother cut them open to serve to her guests or
relatives. The sweetness and perfume of those days seems to be missing in the melons we purchase at the markets today. They kept both beef and dairy cattle and, of necessity, a herd bull--one of which was notoriously mean. On one occasion
grandmother had to cross the pasture where the bull was kept and he was aroused and came at her loudly bellowing.
When he got too close, she fell to the ground, lying on her back, and, as the bull charged her, she would kick him in the
mouth and continue. to push herself toward the barn area where the hog pen offered some kind of retreat. She reached the
pig stye at a moment when the bull had stopped to appraise this strange woman's actions, and she was able to get over the
wall and fall to the ground and gratefully rningle with the hogs. When their sixth child, Angus, died at the age of eight months, grandfather brought home a buck fawn deer which
grandmother breast fed until it was weaned. This fawn grew to maturity and loved grandmother, of course, but he was
hard to control since few fences would hold him and he was mean with strangers --- and especially with the boys who
came by and threw rocks and sticks at him. One day some boys up on the "university" property threw stones and one
struck him in the head and he fell to the ground dead, thus he provided meat for the Conrad family for some time. Grandmother loved to share plants with anyone who showed an interest in them. She grew many kinds of perennials and
always had colorful annuals. She was able to plant sweet peas in the late fall and give them winter protection and have
them grow and blossom for Memorial Day. Often the hundreds of peony plants she grew would not quite make their
blooming coincide with Memorial Day and, if they were early, she would cut the buds and put them in cold storage at the
"Ice Plant. But she could usually provide her "customers" with some flowers for this occasion. Any money she received
for flowers, roots, vegetables or fruit was put into a jar in the kitchen to pay her taxes in the fall. Grandmother gave her five sons, Charles, Warren, Arthur, Milton, and Lewis their "inheritance" as young men who
wished to establish themselves in a new land in Canada (Taber, Alberta). She gave her daughter, Eva a like stipened so
she and Uncle John Walker could purchase a home in Provo. Aunt Alice Bertin was given a piece of ground west of the
home which land was now too much for grandmother to care for --- this land was mostly pasture-land, yet, as the city
drained it to put in streets,, Alice was able to sell lots to private individuals as well as Brigham Young University. Grandmother had a flare for words and was a natural born poetess. She would get an inspiration in the night (in her later
life) get up and write these thoughts. She wrote a poem based on her experiences through the early years of her life and
entitled it "The Pioneers" which describes their simple pleasures, entertainment, dress, customs, and dancing (beneath
the.drip of candles). When my mother and I came out to Utah in the fall of 1.935 so I might attend the university, she was
still working on and revising this bit of prose. Grandmother was invited to recite this poem, to the Daughters of the Utah
Pioneers and went to Salt Lake City to give it but was disappointed by another taking too much time and they had to
delete her from the program. She was beginning to ail and when mother and I arrived in the fall of 1935 she was unable to care for her garden and
home, yet she taught me how to irrigate, and we were able to harvest the fall crops and enjoy the "fruits" of her labor.
Mother was her constant nurse during her terminal illness and, although she was suffering, she never complained. Mother
and I had prayer at her bedside every night. We, her descendents, appreciate the faith and love of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ which she instilled in all her family, whom she dearly loved, and her every effort was expended in their behalf and
for their happiness. A great and monumental heritage. Written by his daughter Mrs. Edna Holdaway Bentwet My father, Amos David Holdaway, was born January 23, 1853 on what as known as the Newell Farm about a mile west
of the Provo River bridge in north Provo. He was the son of Shedrick and Lucinda Haws Holdaway who came to Utah
and were married in Salt Lake City on December 24, 1848. His father Shedrick was a member of the Mcrmon Battalion
and was the first man to pay his tithing in California gold dust. He brought about $3,000 worth of gold from California
and in the spring of 1849 he, with his young wife went back to St. Louis where he purchased a load of carding machinery
and returned with the first machinery to come to the State of Utah. Shedrick was a pioneer and builder. He built a road up
the south fork of Provo Canyon and had a sawmill there. He took up land in Vineyard and laid out the line of the Lake
Bottom canal across Provo Bench without an instrument of any kind, but by the brin of his brother David's hat. One day
when grandmother was talking with him about being away from home so much and working so hard, he said: 'Well
Cindy, I don't expect more out of this old world than I put into it". A good motto for all to follow. Father Amos was always industrious as a boy and worked by the side of his father in the sawmills, building roads or
canals, or whatever the job was. He went to the common schools and then to the Dusenberry-Lewis school where he met
mother, Lydia Thrower. She was living with grandmother's sister-in-law, who was also her cousin, where she was
working for her board and room and going to school. Father was particularly good in mathematics and later taught it in
the school. Mother says the first place father asked her to go was to a lecture saying he had an extra ticket. She thought he just
wanted to give it to her as he had been over to "Aunt Nancy's" several times before. She was very much surprised when
he made it clear that he wanted to take her to the lecture and I am sure she was very happy too. In the spring of 1872 mother went home to Minersville to help her mother on the ranch. Grandfather died on the plains
and grandmother had married Jehu Blackburn who was a stockman. He had told grandmother that she could have what
money she could make that summer to help emigrate her eldest daughter, Leah who was married and stayed in England
when they emigrated. That fall, in early October father took a team and wagon and went for Mother and they were
married in Beaver, Utah, on October 10,1872. They came right on to Provo and on to Salt Lake where they were sealed on
October 21, 1872 in the Endowment House. For their first home they rented a room in Sarah Young's home which was located near where the First Security Bank now
is on the corner of first north and University Avenue, and father taught school that winter. On August 2, 1873 their first
child, Claude Amos was born. He died May 1, 1875. They next moved to a home on the corner of sixth west and Center
street and here their second baby boy, Don Alvin. vas born on January 23, 1877. He died in March, 1879, of scarlet fever.
This home was next to grandmother Holdaway's home and mother helped take care of Grandmother's family while she
was away taking care of the sick as she was about the only doctor here at that time. She had studied with an herb doctor in
Illinois. Father next bought a farm in Pleasant View known as the Readhead Place. Here their third boy, Elmer Thomas, was born
on October 13, 1879. He died August 20, 1936. In 1880 father received an appointment as Selectman for Utah County
and was re-elected to that office for twelve successive years. On September 27, 1881 their fourth child, a baby girl whom
they named Elsie Alberta, was born. She died January 2, 1883 of membraneous croup which was a severe blow to them,
particularly father, as he loved little girls and this was their only one. From this time on, father's work was in other channels so he sold the farm and loved to Provo. For several years he was a
City Alderman and Justice of the Peace. He was a member of the State Insane Asylum Commissiion for a number of
years and in 1884 was appointed by Governor West a Director in the Deseret Agricultural Manufacturing Society or what
is now our State Fair Commission. He was also appointed a member of the committee to settle the Jordan River
difficulty. He was an active member of the Democratic party. He was deeply interested in the question of irrigation and was
president of the Upper East Union Ditch Canpany and also interested in the Timpanogos Canal Company. The following
is a quotation from his Biography as given in "Portrait, Genealogical and Biographical Record": "In fact, Mr. Holdaway
became part and parcel of the work of developing and bringing to a high state of perfection the natural resources of Utah
County and in his death the city and the county alike sustained a severe loss". He was ordained a High Priest by President George Q. Cannon Nov. 11, 1884 and became a member of the High Priests'
Quorum of Utah Stake. For two years he was president of the Y.M.M.I.A. of the Provo Fourth Ward. After selling the Readhead Place he rented rooms in what was known as 'Old Lady Shaw's place' on the corner of second
east and center street. Here their fifth boy, Milton LeRoy, was born on Anril 20, 1884. He is a successful dairy famer of
Vineyard, Utah. He next bought a quarter of a block on seventh north and second east and here in what we always called "the old house",
their next two sons were born, Leland Eugene on January 20, 1887, and Walter Roland on November 25, 1889. Leland
filled a mission for the Church in Holland and Walter was The first Stake President of the Orem Stake and served for
eleven years. He died April 20, 1970. Father built a new home on this place and here their last child, a girl named Edna
Lydia, was born on August 5, 1892. She fulfilled a mission to the Eastern States. For about twenty years father was in partnership with James R.(?) Daniels. Their first acquaintance was when father was
Selectman and Mr. Daniels was County Road Supervisor. Their first work together was on the Provo River when high
water threatened to wash the bridge out. From then on they worked together on quite a lot of county roads and later
formed a partnership which lasted until my father died in 1900. They first took a contract on the main line of the Denver
& Rio Grande Railroad. When the railroad company decided to broaden their guage father and Mr. Daniels joined with
Straw & Pond and took a contract to build the road from Soldier Summit to Colton making a change in the road for seven
miles. After finishing this father and Mr. Daniels took another contract for the railroad known as the Grassy Trail change
in Castle Valley covering a distance of twelve miles. Here they employed several hundred men teams and worked day and night shifts. This was a time contract with a bonus
of $50.00 and a penalty of $100.00. They finished a month early. On this job they had a 68 foot cut and a 68 foot fill 20
feet wide on top. The contract was for $250,00O. Father was timekeeper and looked after the business while Mr. Daniels
looked after the men and teams. After that job was finished they did force account work for two years,for the railroad
company and took other small contracts. They then bought a sawmill and look a cortract to get out 100,000 ties for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company.
They located their mill in Willow Creek and built a road from Kyune Station to Willow Creek Canyon. After completing
this contract they took two others and got out 250,000 ties; also bridge timbers and sawed planks for platform and
warehouse floors. Father tended the saw and did the book work while Mr. Daniels looked after the men and teams getting
the logs out. Father took our family to the sawmill part of one summer and it always fascinated me to see the big power
saw sawing the logs. Father was always cautioning me not to get too close - that was a happy time. While in this country father and Mr. Daniels took up a ranch in what was known as "Emma's Park" and started a rock
quarry. The light gray stone in the Knight Building on the corner of Center Street and University Avenue came from their
quarry. Father sharpened the tools and did the blacksmith work. I can still remember how I used to love to watch the
bellows blow the fire in the blacksmith shop. It was here we spent some summers with him, carefree days I'll always
remember. Here it was we younger children had to bring the water from the spring and on wash days it was quite a task,
we thought. I could only carry a little ten pound pail full. Here it was we heard the coyotes howl and here we enjoyed the
great outdoors, swinging in a hammock made of barrel staves and placed in a quaking aspen grove not far away; gathering
wild roses; trapping chipmunks; and enjoying the hearty meals always ready for the men when they came for meals. It was at this rock quarry that father was injured by a falling rock in April, 1900. He had to ride fourteen miles to the
railroad station in Colton in a wagon. His leg was amputated and although he had lost a lot of blood, he came through the
operation and said he was going to.be all right and everyone thought he would. However, in the night the pain became so
intense he could not stand it so the doctor was sent for but he refused to come saying he was too tired. He sent some
morphine with instructions to have a nephew, who was a clerk in a drug store at that time, give it to father, which he did
and they could not bring him out of it. He died April 28, 1900, and was buried from the Utah Stake Tabernacle, funeral
services being conducted April 30, 1900. He was buried in the Provo City cemetery. Mr. Daniels in relating their experiences together said to me, "There never was a man more conscientious nor one who
kept his books more straight. He would work for hours to find a 10-cent error and when I would tell him not to bother
about it, he would say, 'There is a mistake somewhere and I must find it,' and he would work until he did. He was the
most straightforward man I ever knew and he never cheated a man out of a cent in his life'. He said he stayed with father
continuously from the time he was hurt until the night after the operation when father begged him to go home and get
some rest, which, he said, was father's nature, to always think of others rather than himself. He did and when he returned
at five the next morning and looked at father, he said, he knew father had morphine poisoning and said he: "I shall never
forgive myself for leaving him and I shall never get over his death for I loved him more than a brother." Father believed in work and having his children learn to work although he was not stern. He held my mother up as a
queen and demanded obedience of the children. He loved to dance and enjoyed life. He lived a full life in the few short
years he was permitted to stay here. He was only forty-seven when he passed away yet he owned what was later the Provo
Foundry & Machine Company which he had taken over from his father, his home, a farm, and part interest in the rock
quarry. He used to say, "I can stand to be a poor young man but I will never be a poor old man," and he worked to realize
that. By precept and example he taught his children the real values in life - to be honest, to be morally clean, to work, and
to believe in God. As a family we honor him and are thankful for his life and the heritage he gave us. (by his Granddaughter Ila Shepherd) George Timothy Holdaway was born Dec. 4, 1854 in Provo, Utah, of pioneer parents. His mother, Elizabeth Haws
Holdaway, died at this birth. He spent his early childhood in Provo and when eleven years of age, he started to work and
care for himself. He herded cows and did whatever he could to earn a meager living. He always loved horses When he was just a young man, he and his brother Joseph Alma and Elliott Newell got on their
horses and started out to see the country. They went about 100 miles south into Sevier County where they saw what they
thought would be a good place to farm. Returning to Provo they stopped in Springville at the home of Jabez Durfee and
told him of the fertile farm land they had found. In Provo they gathered what teams and cattle they could and started out for Willow Bend on the Sevier River. They had
three covered wagons drawn by ox teams and it took nine days to make the trip. They took with them some young stock,
plows and scrappers and made their harrows out of wood. The first thing they did was to build a canal, clear the land and plant a crop, so anxious were they that they stayed up all
night to watch the water. However, the crop was a failure that first year, so they returned to Provo. On the way back, they
stopped at Jabez Durfee's home and here young George met Deseret Al mira, daughter of Jabez. The next Spring George Holdaway, Ezra Curtis and his three sons, Jabez Durfee and some others returned to Willow
Bend. It was while building the Rocky Ford Canal that so many travelers tried to discourage them. One traveler offered
them twenty dollars for the first bushel of wheat they could raise. George Holdaway spoke up and said to Ezra Curtis,
"Let us go to work; if we listen to what every fool has to say we will never get anything done." To make the first dam that stayed in the Sevier River, they pinned three logs together with wood pins, called a brent and
fastened them in the river. George Holdaway stood in the water up to his shoulders and pushed the brent into place, while
Jabez held him by his hair to keep him from going down stream. However, the land was so full of clods that they could
not water it, so Jabez Durfee made a wooden roller with two plows on it with which they crushed the clogs and made
furrows. In the Fall of 1877 Jabez Durfee's wife and children came to spend the winter in Willow Bend. They had a fruit orchard in
Springville so they brought with them apples and canned fruit for winter use. The friendship between George Timothy Holdaway and Deseret Almira Durfee had grown and so on Dec. 25, 1877 they
were married at Willow Bend by Bishop Ezra H. Curtis. They were very happy. Young George had homesteaded some
land and they dreamed of a home and happiness. When Spring came Almira went back to Springville to await the birth of their child. While there, they had so many apples
that she sold some to a travelling missionary for a Bible to keep her records in, which we are proud to have to this day.
Young George spent the summer tending his land and building a log house for his family. In September, 1878, he started for Springville, riding his horse three days, so he could be with his wife when their baby
was born. She died just twenty minutes before he arrived, leaving a beautiful black haired girl, whom they name Deseret.
She was born Sept. 29, 1878. He was broken hearted and after a few weeks he returned to Willow Bend to take care of his
land. He left his little baby with her grandparents Jabez Durfee and wife where she remained until she was thirteen years
old when her grandmother died. She was loved by everyone and spent part of her time with her father. On one of his trips to St. George, President Brigham Young and party were escorted by George Holdaway and William
Crane with some other town people, from Salina to Richfield, Utah. En route President Young stopped and looking over
the valley said, "Some of you here today will live to see this valley farmed from Mountain to Mountain." George
Holdaway and William Crane lived to see that day. The winter of 1879 Laura Whipple came to Willow Bend to stay with her sister, Mary Ann Curtis, and help with the
children. It was then that George Holdaway met her and they became friends. When she returned home her father was
planning on leaving for Mexico. Not wanting to go, she wrote to George Holdaway and told him if he would meet her in
Juab, she would marry him. They met but on their way back, she lost all her trousseau while crossing the Sevier River.
They were married October 22, 1880 in the St. George Temple. George and Laura were happy. They got rock from the nearby hills and built a two room home with an upstairs. They
built a barn for their cattle and horses. Being fond of horses as he was, he had an outstanding team and liked fast trotters.
Their first child was a boy born Oct. 25, 1881. The first school house was built of split logs in 1879. It was located just east of the Rocky Ford canal. It had only one
room and was used for church and all amusements. The pupils sat on rough plank benches and the desks were made
against the side of the walls. Maggie Keeler was the first teacher and she stayed at the Holdaway home. When they
applied for a Post Office, the Government wouldn't grant it under the name of Willow Bend, so Newman Vanlerwan's
name of Aurora was chosen, meaning "Northern Lights." George and Laura Whipple Holdaway were the parents of nine children, four boys and five girls. George was always
working to make things better for his family. Drinking water was first secured from the canal or the river, but the water
was so impure that many had typhoid fever. This made it necessary for them to boil the water until they could dig wells.
George Holdaway tried five times to dig a well before he succeeded and this was the only well in town for several years.
Everyone used it and it is in use today. Early amusements consisted of rag bees, quilting, corn husking, dancing and house parties. The women would get
together and work all day; then the men would join them and have supper and visit until the wee hours of the morning. George and Laura liked to have company. When the Church Authorities came down for Conference they enjoyed taking
them home to dinner. When Conference was in Richfield they would get up early, drive fourteen miles to attend the
meetings, then return home and do the evening farm chores. In 1887 diphtheria broke out causing all public gatherings to be closed for a period of time. George was a happy man when in 1914 he bought his first car, a Maxwell. It was the first car in Aurora. About this time
they also bought a phonograph with records and many were the times when they would take out the carpets and have a
dance. About 1927 he bought a radio and the town people would go to the old rock house to hear it. It was a wonderful thing to
hear the news and the singing and he especially enjoyed the "World Series" baseball. George and Laura were always active in Church and civic affairs. When he was seventy-four years of age, he still lived on the land that he homesteaded; had a good team of black work
horses, cultivated his land and milked his cows, but his health failed. May 24, 1929 George Timothy Holdaway died at his home in Aurora, Utah.John Shadrack Holdaway
Mary Elizabeth Holdaway
Amos David Holdaway
History of George Timothy Holdaway
Son of Timothy Holdaway (who died in 1790)
What little is known about the life of Timothy Holdaway has been extracted from his Revolutionary War Pension Record, his Last Will and Testament. Tax Lists. and land deed transactions.
Timothy Holdaway was born in Culpeper Co.. VA. on 25 Dec. 1744. Although unable to obtain proof of his parents. it is possible that his father was also Timothy Holdaway, who died about 1790 in Culpeper Co.. VA. and mother Bridaett. It is probable that John Hoidaway. who settled in Jefferson Co., TN. and Henry Holdaway, (1756-1835). who settled in Wilkes Co.. NC. were brothers of Timothy. It is also probable that Henry Holdaway (1776-1840's) who settled in Fayette Township, Virgo Co., IN. is directly related'to the familv.
He moved to Wilkes Co., NC. on the Yadkin River about the time the Revolutionary War commenced (1775) where he lived that part of the next two years. In all probability, Timothy was married by this time (age 30), but no marriage record has been found. He then moved to the Watauga (1777) where he lived that part of the two following years.
From Watauga. he moved to Bent Creek (1779), in what was to become Jefferson Co., TN. in 1792, and later Hamblen Co., TN, in 1870, where he remained for the rest of his life. Geographically. he resided along Bent Creek in what is now Whitesburg, TN.
In 1778, Timothy is listed on the Washington Co., TN, Tax List paying a poll tax and one pound six pence.
He enlisted in the North Carolina Militia Line in Wilkes Co.. NC. in what he believes to be 1778. as a private in the Company of volunteers commanded by Captain John Cleveland with other companies under the command of Col. Jack Sevier. His service over the next four years totaled eleven months and twenty-one days. Five months were under Capt. Cleveland, two months were as a spy, three months were in guarding Wear's Station on the Pigeon River, three weeks were against the Tories under Major Morgan. and one month was against the Indians under Maj. Walton.
Timothv Holdaway was one of the first settlers in Jefferson County. being one of four men who came to the head of Bent Creek where thev made a crop and built a fort.
From 1782 to 1800, we find few records oertaining to Timothy. On 21, Oct 1791, he assigned his Revolutionary War Land Warrant for 300 acres to Alexander Outlaw for 250 acres of land in Greene Co.. TN. on both sides of Bent Creek, including the plantation where he lived and adjoining Alexander Outlaw.
During the period of time that Timothv resided on Bent Creek, he accumulated approximatelv 1,000 acres of land through various deeds and grants.
Around 1795, Timothy started a family. It was about this time that he married, possibly a second time. since he was in his early fifties. Based upon his Last Will and Testament, he had at least two sons, Henry and David. Available census data places both their births around 1796.
It is claimed that Francis "Fanny" Holdaway was a daughter of Timothy and was born 28 Nov 1797 near New River, VA. and taken to Tennessee when quite small.
On 03 Dec 1801. Timothy Holdaway was born in Jefferson Co., TN. It is believed that Timothv was his father, but no documentary proof has been found.
Based upon a land deed given to James J. Holdaway at probate. we know that James J. Holdaway. who was born in 1802, was also a son of Timothy. James died in August 1849. in Madison Co. IL. from smalioox at the age of tortv-seven after a nine month illness.
Timothv Holdway sold Zarhariah Riddle forty-four acres of land on Bent Creek. including the tract of land said Holdawav lived on 16 Jan 1813. It was probably during this time that Timothv moved in with his son Henry and it is believed that his wife died just previous to this time.
Francis "Fanny" Holdaway married John Day in Jefferson County on 01 Jun 1815. In 1821 or 1822. Timothv Holdaway (the younger) married Mary Elizabeth Trent.
David Holdaway married Mary Hash on 15 Feb. 1821 in Garyson Co., VA. where thev remained and raised their family. Some of the family moved to Ashe, NC. in the later years.
By 1830. Timothy, age eightv-six and probabiv in poor health. begins to divest himself of his s'property.
On 06 Jul 1833. Timothy Holdway, being sensible of his approaching end in this life. made his Last Will and Testament leaving his goods and chattels to his two sons, Henry Holdway and David Holdway. It was in open court during the December 1833 Sessions of the Jefferson County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions and reflects that he is deceased. The Will was admitted to Record at the June, 1834 Sessions Court.
He was issued a Certificate of Pension Number S2630 on 15 Aug 1833 for his Revolutionary War service.
He probabiv passed from this earth sometime in September, 1833. in Jefferson Co.. TN. An Inventory of his Estate was made 19 Jul 1834 and sworn in open court 08 Sep 1834 as follows: John M. Lane, 1 Cow. 7.92-Samuel Day. 1 yearling Colt. 4.00-1 Large Kettle to Solloman Lacky,-l Do Do, to Henry Holdway. 1.52-1 Small Pot, to Jeremiah Mangrum. 1.25-1 Broken Pot. to Henry Holdway, 1.00 A peace of Log Chain to Jas. C. Senter, .77-1 Iron wedge & 1 pair Pot Hooks to Felix Tylor. .31-1 Old Pair Dranin chains to James C. Senter. .56 1/4-2 Old Hoes & 1 old ace to David Shaw. .58-1 Pewter Dish 2 plates & I bason do. to Alex Haun, 1. 12 1/2 -1 Pot Tramel to James Courtney, 1.75-1 Large Family Bible to Alexander Haun. 3.50-3 Setting Chears to Henry Holaway, .51-2 old Boxes to Henry Holawav. .06 1/2 1 Cupboard to Henrv Holaway. 6.30-1 par of spectacles to James C. Senter. .12-1 Bedstead & Cord to David Shaw, 1.56 1/4-1 Cover lid to Hyram Todd. 1.40-1 Vinegar Cask to Henry Holaway, .12 1/2 Amount of sale 36.36 1/4
Jacob Gear, William Barton. and Robert McFarland, Commissioners were appointed by the Court to settle with John Riddle, administrator. and reported to the present term of Court on 8 Sep 1834: amount of sales in the hands of Said Administrator $36.36 1/4-no. 1 Henrv Holdaways proven account for funeral expenses $6.00-no. 2 administrators account for services rendered and cash $8.12 1/2 Expended on business of said Estate$S13.25no. 3 Timothv Holdaway's to Timothy Holdaway's inv.-no. 4 Henrv Holdaways Receipt $4.49-Samuel Day's note to said Estate $5.45 3/4 -(total) $37.32 1/4.
After the death of Timothy Holdaway, Sr., Timothy Holdaway. J... and family, along with other Holdaways. moved to Greencastle, Putnam Co., IN. and then to Madison Co.. IL. The youngertimothv's familyloined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Dav Saints in Nauvoo. IL. and traveled across the plains with the Mormans to Salt Lake City. UT. in the late 1840's. Henry and John remained in Jefferson Co.. TN. William Holdaway moved on to Arkansas. Submitted by Boyd J. Hodaway, 450 So. Peachtree Parkway, Apt. D303, Peachtree City, GA 30259-3932
by son, Mark Lionel Holdaway
My father, Thomas Teancum, Hcldaway, was born 19 Aug 1887 in Provo, Utah County, Utah, son of David Oscar and Elizabeth Amanda Prater Holdaway.
For sometime they lived in Provo where he helped his father drive ox teams while getting out logs in Provo Canyon. He also learned the blacksmith trade at the shop at the Provo Woolen Mills. Later the family Moved south to Harmony and on the Muddy where Grandfather helped to settle that part of the country. The family later moved back to Provo where father married Julia Ann Fausett and had three children by her. After her death, father married my mother, Mary Eliza White, on 16 Nov. 1882 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah. About 1886 the family moved to Vernal, Uintah County, Utah, to help settle that part of the country, and grandfather built a house one block south of the center of town on one of the main streets and father built just one block east of grandfathers and these houses were among the,first, if not the first frame houses built in the valley.
Father used to work at the sawmills on the mountains north of Vernal and in that way earned a living for his family and also the material for the home he built. He also built a blacksmith shop on the lot in Vernal and when he was home, did general blacksmithing. While we were living in Vernal Father spent sone time working in Colorado at the Dyer mine and smelter and in the summmer when school was out, the family spent one summer there. Other summers Father used to load us in the covered wagon and take us to Provo to visit some of our relatives. I don't remember too much of our life in Vernal although I do remember Father being away surveying on the Book Cliff Mountains, and then he, along with some other men of Vernal, decided to build a dam on the White River and take up some land. Father had forty acres. While they did not have the equipment we have today to build dams they progressed some by working in the winter when the river was frozen over. However, for some reason or other, the project fell through and was abandoned.
Before the Indian Reservation was opened my brother and myself, along with others, spent one summer on the Reservation surveying the land for settlement when it would be opened. Father had worked at Fort Duchesne.
After the Reservation was opened to settlers and fathers work there was finished, he decided to leave Vernal as the coal there was not the best for blacksmithing and also there was no railroad into the valley. Everything not raised there had to be shipped in by teams and wagons. Accordingly, sometime in 1906 or 1907 he left and obtained work in Tintic as a blacksmith at the Utah mine. On the 29th of July 1907 mother and the rest of the family moved to Provo, where we children went to school in the winter and to Tintic in the summer where Father was working. Mother died 25 Sep 1911. We children lived in Provo in the winter and went to Tintic in the summer to be near father. Father became Manager of the Tintic Central mine, or rather prospect, and then about 1916 the family moved to Eureka in the Tintic district. Father was manager, engineer, and blacksmith at the Tintic Central and when the prospect closed down, he did some leasing in one of the mines there with his nephew-in-law. However, he soon left off leasing to follow his trade of blacksmithing and went to work at the Tintic Standard Mine.
After leaving the Tintic Standard mine he worked for the Bullion Beck mine as engineer. He worked in Tintic. He reached such an age that people would not hire him although he said there was a lot of work.left in him yet.
By that time I was married and living in Salt Lake City. Father then spent his time fishing, hunting with some of his old friends, and prospecting for gold with one of his grandsons-in-law. At times he would get in his car and come to Salt Lake and visit with us, then go to Duchesne to visit as the notion struck him. Before this he lived with my sister Floss in Lehi where he raised chickens and sold eggs until she remarried and and her husband was a farmer and did not want to be bothered with chickens.
Father died 25 Sept. 1945 at age 88 and was buried in Provo, Utah Co., Utah.
written by Edna Holdaway Bentwet
Daniel Webster Holdaway was born July 14, 1834 in Green Castle, Putnam County Indiana, the seventh and last child of Timothy and Mary Trent Holdaway, who had come from Hawkins County, Tennessee, It seems that the parents were farm workers who moved from place to place in hope of bettering their conditions..
Timothy Holdaway died in 1835 some where in the midwest, possibly in Illinois, for In November 1837 his widow Mary Trent Holdaway married William Luncefoid in St. Clair County Illinois.
Daniel Webster Holdaway with his brother, David crossed the plains in Captain Edward Hunters company, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley 13 October 1850. Daniel was sixteen and David was eighteen years old. According to "History of San Bernardino county Daniels older sister Elizabeth and her husband Henry Rabel, also crossed the plains in 1850 arriving September 17. (I have not been able to find the company).
The only history we have of Daniel Holdaway was written by his son James Nathaniel 9 and in it he states that his father Daniel left Provo March 28, 1852 for California. Early in the spring of 1852 Elizabeth and her husband Henry Rabel also left the valley for California and it Is possible Daniel accompanied them. ... By this time David was married. Her mother with her second husband and family had not arrived in Utah and Shedrick the oldest brother had just returned from the east with a load of carding machinery and was living In a wagon box.
Henry and Elizabeth Rabol first settled in the Sacramento Valley but in 1857 moved to San Bernardino in Southern California, Here Mr. Rabel purchased several tracts of land so when the Saints were called back to Utah in 1857 Daniel Webster Holdaway returned but the Rabel family stayed in California. In January of 1856 a company was formed of Mormons and non-Mormons, known as the B.Y. Express and Carrying Company which later was abridged to the Y.X. Company. History states that "The purpose of the movement was to establish a daily express and passenger communication between the western states and California." Daniel carried the mail for this company for a period of time, just how long or to which points we do not know.
It was August 15, 1855 when Daniel Webster was baptized by S. Workman. He was ordained a Seventy 3 June 1857 by A. D. Young ( 52 quorum)
Daniel Webster Holdaway married Martha Belinda Gardner 16 April 1857. She was born 12 October 1839, daughter of Benjamin and Electa Lamport Gardner. They first pioneered the settlement of North Ogden where they operated a sawmill and helped to build up the community. Here their first five children were born.
In 1870 Daniel with his wife and children moved to Deweyville, Box Elder County, Utah, Here again they were among the first settlers and again went through the hardships of pioneer life, He obtained a considerable quantity of land but water was scarce and his farming venture was not very successful. He operated a threshing machine not only in his own community but also in cache valley where he worked until winter set in. A few summers later he went to the shores of the Great Salt Lake where he made dikes or levees to separate the water so it would evaporate and he would gather the salt, it being three or four inches deep at time, and take it to wherever a market for it could be found.
In 1885, Daniel Webster Holdaway, sold seventy-six acres of land to the Deweyville school Trustees for Thirty-five dollars. He also sold eight acres to the County for a road for ten dollars, and on February 9, 1889 he sold five acres to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for fifty dollars for the building of a Chapel, according to the Deweyville Centenial. At this time Utah was still a Territory.
On August 6 1875 the first Relief Society in Deweyville was organized and Martha Belinda Gardner Foldaway was chosen Treasurer.
Martha, beloved wife of Daniel, passed away May 18, 1907, Daniel suffered from Brights disease for many years. After the death of his wife he made his home with his children. The following is taken from his obituary in the Deseret News of July 21, 1914.
"Daniel Webster Holdaway, a pioneer settler of Deweyville, died 3 July 1914, of Brights disease, at the home of a daughter, Mrs.Charles Kroksh of Elwood..... The funeral services were held in the Deweyville meeting house July 6. The speakers were Bishop Fridel of Elwood, J.P. Christensen of Elwood and Charles J. Dewey and Bishop James B. Dewey of Deweyville. The ward choir furnished the singing. Christian Hansen offered the closing prayer. A profusion of flowers were presented, Interment was in the Deweyville Cemetery and a long cortege followed the casket to the cemetery."
Daniel Webster Holdaway may not have acquired a great deal of this world's material wealth, but he left a large posterity of honest, upright, law-abiding citizens. His son, James Nathaniel, said of him, "Father's teaching at home was to be loyal to our government and chastity should be our way of living."
The facts of this history are taken from histories written by Florence Holdaway Higginson Jensen, granddaughter of David and Elizabeth Prater Holdaway and daughter of Thomas Teancum and Mary Eliza White Holdaway.
David Oscar Holdaway, son of Timothy and Mary Trent Holdaway, was born 8 Mar 1832 in Hawkins County, Tennessee. He Joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 15 June 1845 and was with the saints during their troubles in Illinois. His father died in 1835 and in 1837 his mother married William H. Lunceford in Illinois. David and his younger brother Daniel came to Utah in the Edward Hunter Company, arriving in Salt Lake 13 October 1850. David married Mary Elizabeth Haws, daughter of John and Martha Masters Haws. To this union were born three children: David William born 4 Nov 1851, Martha Angeline born 2 Jan 1853 and George Timothy born 4 Dec 1854.
David's wife Mary Elizabeth died 23 Dec 1854 and in December 1855, he married Elizabeth Amanda Prater, widow of John Huntsman whom she married in Bonaparte,Iowa, on 7 June 1846. She had two little girls, Sarah and Julia. She was the daughter of Thomas Prater and Sarah Kinsworthy and was born in Brownsville, Jackson Co., Indiana. David and Elizabeth started their married life with five little children, David's three and Elizabeth's two. To them were born four children, Thomas Teancum 19 Aug 1857 in Provo, Mary Melvina 24 June 1860 and Joseph Alma 25 Sep 1862 in Mt. Pleasant, and Elizabeth Rachel 24 Aug 1865 in New Harmony, all in Utah.
David and Elizabeth's first home was in Provo where David and his brother Shedrick Holdaway built the first threshing machine in Provo and owned and operated the Provo Foundry. Shedrick was a member of the Mormon Battalion and brought $3,000 worth of gold dust from California. He married Lucinda Haws, cousin of Elizabeth, David's first wife, and they went back East and brought the first carding machine back to Utah. Shedrick and David laid out the Union Canal across Provo Bench. They had no instruments of any kind but Shedrick said David walked ahead and he laid it out by the brim of David's hat.
According to Florence Holdaway Higginson Jensen, granddaughter of David as she remembers him, David was six feet tall; well proportioned, had black snappy eyes, and a keen sense of humor. When he laughed he bubbled over with mirth; always had a good clean joke; spoke with a southern drawl; wore his hair rather long and had a Van Dyke beard, southern style. He was foricf of pure-bred horses and always had a fine team.
His wife, Elizabeth Prater, vas a little woman. She looked so tiny beside David who was a six-footer. In her younger days her hair was red, according to Mrs. Jensen. She was very ambitious, always on the run; always busy. She worked in the Relief Society for years; she loved poetry and always had a lovely flower garden.
David was a member of the 44th Quorum of Seventies. Being obedient to the Priesthood and those in authority over him, he was called to help settle several different places. Probably being a good mechanic and carpenter and having a keen sense of humor was the reason for these calls. He first was called to Mt. Pleasant where they lived in a dugout and here their last child, Elizabeth Rachel was born, and here, they, with others, suffered the hardships of pioneer life. Mrs. Jensen tells this incident which happened while they were in Mt. Pleasant. David had been away most of the summer working on a canal, leaving grandmother to take care of the children. They had plenty of vegetables from their garden and corn bread but had no white bread all summer. Their little son Thomas saw the freight train coming a long way off and ran to tell his mother.
She hurried and made a fire and when they got there, she made hot cakes for everyone in the neignborhood. Thomas, being a little boy, climbed all over the freight wagon and discovered a can of honey that was leaking. He went home and got a bucket and caught a bucket of honey. It was a treat to have honey but Tommie ate so much that he couldn't eat honey for years after.
After helping settle Mt. Pleasant, David moved his family back to Provo, but soon a call came from Brigham Young and they went to "They Muddy" and to St. George. After two years they returned to Provo, the land of their choice. The family was now grown up and most of them married.
In 1887 the call came again and David with his two sons, Thomas and Alma, with their families, went to the Ashley Valley to help settle it. It took nine days to make the trip with a team and wagon. The first thing they did was to go to the mountains to set up a sawmill to get out the timber for their new homes, Thomas was in the sawmill business for a number of years. David, being a carpenter and cabinet maker, made the caskets to bury the dead while his wife Elizabeth, being the President of the Relief Society, lined and covered the caskets. The pioneer spirit was to help each other in time of need and distress, and this family was always there to help.
In Vernal David helped build sawmills, canals, took an active interest in civic affairs, acting as Justice of the Peace and Probate Judge. His hobby was raising fruits and vegetables, along with the help of his wife. They used to send back to Iowa, their home state, for their garden seed. They were the first to raise celery in Vernal. They made sauerkraut by the barrel just to give their neighbors.
After spending many happy, eventful years in Vernal, David and wife, with his son Alma and family moved back to Provo. Having lived a good, useful life in helping others and fulfilling the prophecies wherein is said "He that would be great in the Kingdom of Heaven, must be a servant of all." David passed away 13 March 1907, aged seventy-five years. His wife Elizabeth passed away 30 Jan 1920 at 90 years of age.
Thomas and family stayed in Vernal. In their early days there he had been active in their home dramatics taking the leading role. To make a living he did most everything. He was the village blacksmith, and did work for everybody in the valley. He, with James Griffin owned and ran a sawmill in the mountains. The mills hands took lumber for wages; then they would trade the lumber to the co-op for produce.
For some time Thomas worked at Ouray among the Indians. He said that when there was a death among the tribe, the family of the deceased would get upon their huts and howl all night. This was the way they communicated with the Great Spirit. There was no dentist in those days in Vernal, so Thomas pulled the people's teeth, pierced little girl's ears, made the stage settings for their theater shows. When the Uintah Reservation vas opened for white people to take up land, Thomas, with his crew of surveyors, settled some of the people on their claims.
In 1907 Thomas and family moved back to Provo. In 1911 his wife passed away.
In later life Thomas lived with his children. He had a sunny disposition, had a keen sense of humor and always saw the funny side of life. He loved the Book of Mormon and read it on an average of once a year.
He passed away 25 September 1945 and vms buried in Provo City cemetery in the family plot.
Little in known of the life of Charity Holdaway Outhouse. She was the, daughter of Timothy and Mary Trent Holdaway, born 26 May 1824 in Hawkins County, Tenn. Timothy and Mary left Tennessee in about 1833 and went to Putnam County, Indiana, and from there they moved from place to place trying to better their conditions. Timothy, the father, died in 1835, probably in Illinois, for in November of 1837 Mary, his widow, married William Lunceford in St. Clair Co., Ill, The family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the 1840s, though we do not have the exact date for most of them, and went to Nauvoo, Ill. According to family records Charity married Joseph Outhouse 6 Feb, 1846 in Nauvoo Early in 1852 the 4th Company of emigrants went from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters, Neb.
The following is quoted from a journal of John Spiers on file in the Historian's Office, as given in the Journal History of the Church of Dec. 31, 1852: "Some of the members of a company of emigrants, 225 in number, which left Winter Quarters, Neb., about June 10th in charge of Captain Joseph Outhouse, crossed the Missouri River June 10th. There Apostle Ezra T. Benson there met us and we organized a Company of fifty wagons for crossing the Plains. Joseph Outhouse chosen Captain. Company subdivided into tens with a Captain over each ten. All went well for a few days when Outhouse become offended over something and threw up his commission and declared he would no longer lead. It was agreed that the captains should serve as a comittee to control the order of travel, the oldest man to preside. When they were about half way across the food for the animals became scarce so it was agreed they should travel in small companies, each ten forming a travelling compamu. All went well. The Indians we not were friendly and we arrived in the Salt Lake Valley Sept. 6. 1852.
According to the Deseret News of Sept. 18, 1852, the Company record listed for Joseph Outhouse the followings 2 adults, 1 wagon, 4 cows, I yoke oxen. Also listed in the Company was Charity's mother with
her second husband, William Lunceford, and family and he had 8 adults. 6 children, 4 wagons, 9 horses, 5 cows, 10 yoke oxen. 9 sheep.
Joseph and Charity did not settle in Utah, Just when or if they went to California with her mother and family is not known. The Luncefords settled in San Luis Obispo, Calif., but Joseph and Charity were in Sacramento for it was there that their only child and son, John William Outhouse was born 26 Nov 1856, and here he grow up.Just when Joseph Outhouse died is not known.
Of Charity'$ son, John William Outhouse, his grand daughter, Mrs. May Hiatt of Jerome, Idaho, writes: "Dear Grandfather was a kind and gentle man who loved his family so very much, He saw the girl he was to marry in a dream and when he met her on the street, he recognized her. He pursued, courted her and she became his bride. This was in Provo, Utah, where Grandma lived. (He married Annie Martha Mitchell, dau. of Thcmas Josiah and Ann Butler Mitchell, on 24 Jan. 1880) Grandfather was a carpenter by trade and built several homes in Provo. He moved to Murray and was one of the carpenters that built the high smoke stacks On the Murray smeltor. He also worked for the Miller-Cahon Lumber Yard but the dust from sawing the lumber, after a few years, was too much for his lungs and he went to work for the railroad as a switchman and later as Foreman for the railroad crew until he died,
"Grandfather spoke the Spanish language and also sang while he played the Spanish guitar.
"Later in life, after being inactive in the Church, Grandfather attended Church again and had a desire to have the Temple work done. The record of his Church ordinations had been destroyed in a fire. He went through the process of having all the ordinations bestowed again, even to that of baptism, and then went to the Salt Lake Temple for his endowments and had Grandma and the children sealed to him. He seemed so happy and satisfied to have been able to accomplish this work himself."
John and Annie were the parents of three children - William Silas who died at age 24, leaving a widow Mary Larson Outhouse; Matties May who died at age 36 who had married Nola Hans Berge, leaving seven orphan children as her husband had passed away; and Lenore Christie who died at age 38. who had married Henry Bateman and left a family. When Mattie Way died, John and Amie took their orphaned grandchildren into their home and this is what one of them, May Hiatt says: "Our grandparents filled with love the empty place in our lives after our parents both died while we were all young children. They were so very dear to us."
John William Outhouse died 8 Oct 1834 at Payson, Utah, and his Wife Annie Martha Mitchill Outhouse died 26 Feb 1929 at Murray, Utah.
Mrs. Hiatt has the transport certificate of the corpse of Charity Holdaway Outhouse from Marcur (near Murray) to Lehi, Utah, by train on June 1, 1896. Date of death May 31. 1896.
Appreciation is extended to Mrs. Helen Weeks and Mrs. Leora Harding for the information for this history. Mrs. Weeks and Mrs. Harding are granddaughters of Marion and Prudence Peay Holdaway.
On February 28, 1855 a son was born to Shedrick and Eliza Haws (Pickup) Holdaway whom they names Marion Haws Holdaway. His mother Eliza was a sister of Shedrick's first wife Lucinda Haws and had been married to George Pickup, a Mormon Battalion man. On September 13, 1852 Eliza divorced Mr. Pickup after nearly four years of marriage and one son George. For some unknown reason Mr. Pickup began acting as though he suspected Eliza of being unfaithful to him, which was entirely unfouned. Their home was in a grove of trees and it is said he would go out and hide behind trees to watch the house. This went on until Eliza became so frightened she could stand it no longer so she left him, after which Shedrick Holdaway married her. Eliza died when Marion was five days old so Lucinda took him and raised him with her family, consequently Marion knew no other mother.
He was taught early in life the value of work. When twelve years of age it was his responsibility to drive the cows three miles west of Provo and herd them while they grazed and bring them back at night. One time when bringing the cows home he saw two Indians coming towards him so he leaped into a deep pond, pulled dead rushes around him so the Indians couldn't see him. Another time he saw a large trout in a deep hole in the river so he stripped off his clothes, dived into the water and finally caught the fish which weighed ten or twelve pounds. At fifteen years of age he started to work at his father's sawmill in the South Fork of Provo Canyon, which he continued to do until two years after his marriage.
Marion loved to dance and the story is told that one summer while working at the sawmill he wanted to attend the 4th and 24th of July dances. He had his breakfast by day-break, walked two miles up to White Pine peak, cut logs all day, walked back, had supper, cleaned up, walked sixteen miles to Provo, danced until two or three o'clock in the morning, walked back to the mill, had breakfast, then off to cut timber all day.
It was at one of these dances that Marion met a young lady who also loved to dance. She was Prudence Eliza Peay, daughter of Francis and Eliza Jane Baker Peay, born 7 March 1854 in Provo, Utah. At this time she was working in Salt Lake City so their courting was mostly done by correspondence. Marion and Prudence were married on Saturday November 25, 1873, at six o'clock by Judge Dusenberry. Marion had been working on the threshing machine in Vineyard all day so was late for his wedding and Judge Dusenberry never forgot to tease him about being late for his wedding.
Their first home was a couple of lean-to rocms in the river bottoms and their first furniture was second-hand and consisted of a stove, chairs, table, bed and large four bin. Their next home was a two-room adobe shack near the Provo City cemetery. Later Marion built a log house on land he had purchased in the South Fork of Provo Canyon and sold it after four years, Their last home in Provo was near Pioneer Park. Here their last four children (Lida, Florence, Zelda and Jennie) were born.
Marion worked in various places at sawmills, on threshing machine crews, on the first telegraph line that went up Spanish Fork Canyon, out at Green River, Colorado, where he hauled ties for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad; and in Eureka where he worked in the mines.. He had several narrow escapes of his life. While drilling in a mine shaft in Eureka, he had four or five holes ready to fire but one of the fuses wouldn't fire. By the time he got it going he didn't have time to reach the second ladder when the first shot knocked him off. lt stunned him when he fell but he could see the other fuses sputtering and just as he grabbed the second ladder, the next two shots went off but he made it safe. While in Green River one of the cows got in the quicksand and he went out to get a rope on her and he went down up to his arms. He kept wiggling to keep the water around him and pulling at the sand on top until he finally got out.
Marion had always wanted a farm so in July l898 he bought one-sixth interest in his father's farm in Vineyard. Here Marion and Prudence spent the remaining years of their lives. Life on the farm meant hard work for land had to be loveled, drains and ditches dug, roads built and a house, snall at first but added to until it was a comfortable dwelling.
Prudence and Marion were both lovers of nature and the better ard finer things of life, She protected and fed the birds that sang in the trees. She loved and raised beautiful flowers and many a bouquet has found its way to the sick, to brides and for many years flowers were sent to adorn the stand in the church on Sunday. They were not particularly church-going people but they were honest, thrifty and hardworking and taught their children to be the same. They loved music and Prudence had a sweet voice. Her favorite hymn was "Come, Come Ye Saints". She also loved "Count Your Blessings", "Oh, My Father", and "O, Ye Mountains High". Their home was always filled with good books and magazines, for they wanted their children to be surrounded with only the best and nobler ideas and ideals that they could provide.
Marion died 27 June 1929. To lose her devoted, faithful companion was a great sorrow to Prudence and from then on she lived a quiet, peaceful life, surrounded by loved ones, many trees and flowers. Nothing in nature ever escaped her view. A beautiful sunrise or sunset, a spring morning with dew sparkling on the grass, a winter scene with the frost clinging to the trees, fence and shrubs, autumn with its splendid colors all filled her soul with joy. She often wished she could paint a picture or be a poet so she could express her love of nature.
She had a keen, intellectual mind and was a good conversationalist. Everyone enjoyed visiting with her and received a warm welcome. She had a keen sense of humor and you came away feeling better for having been with her.
Prudence passed away December 17, 1942, having been a true wife and mother and a kind and loving grandmother.
(written by Edna Bentwet, granddaughter of Shedrick Holdaway)
HOLDAWAY - I have been in East Tennessee three different times, the last time in 1961. On one trip I met a W. S. Holdaway who told me that "Preacher" Judd Holdaway could give me the history of the family. I was thrilled and as soon as I returned home, I wrote asking if he could help me. He never replied so I was determined to talk with him on my next trip. It was an interesting experience to try to find him. It was toward evening when I arrived in Morris town. I was told there was a ridge of hills leading to Newport and Holdaways lived along the ridge. I had to stop many times to ask about "Preacher" Judd and finally was told to turn off and go up a certain hill. We found the place and there was a farmhouse and barns, but no one at home. I was determined to find him so we stayed in Newport that night and when we got up it was raining hard, but we started back along the ridge. We found the turn-off place and saw a farm house straight back so we went there but no one was home but it looked like someone lived there, so we waited. After a long wait, I met a car coming in. We stopped and I got out and asked him if he was Judd Holdaway. He was, so I asked him if he would tell me something about the history of his family and to my disappointment he said his parents died and he lived with his grandfather. At that point his wife chipped in and said he didn't know any-thing about the family and they drove on.
There were two other Holdaway families living along the ridge and they were very pleasant. A Mr. Ulles (Ulysis) Holdaway said he believed he could remember hearing his father talking about a Timothy Holdaway and that he must have been a relative but he didn't know what. He was 75 years old. None of them had any family records.
In Wellington, Kansas, I visited - witn a Charles S.
Holdaway. He told me of Hollis Holdaway in Springfield, Mo. I finally found him on a farm outside of the city in Fair Grove. It was about five o'clock in the afternoon when we got there and when I told him that I was a Holdaway, he accepted me then and there as a relative. He said he thought he was the only Holdaway there was as all his brothers and sisters were dead. He called his sons in from milking the cows and stopped feeding the pigs and we visited until after dark. I got what he knew of the family but it does not seem to be our line. He urged us to stay all night but it was getting late and their chores were not all done and the next day was Sunday so I thanked him and we left. We had to travel fifty miles that night before we found a motel.
In 1952, I was in Indianapolis and met a Marie Buck who was going to Nashville, Tenn., to do research. I hired her to do some on the Holdaway family and she sent me a number of sheets which she said were hand written by a George Holdaway who was a son of John Holdaway of York Co., Va. This George was born in 1734. There was no Timothy among them. Later I found these same family groups in a book entitled "The Holloway Family in America" as I recall it, only the name was spelled Holloway. This family came from England and settled in what was then Charles City County which later became York County, Va.
In about 1954 I hired E. Kay Kirkham, a member of the research staff of the Utah Genealogical & Historical Society to do work on the Holdaway line. He sent me a copy of a Will of a Timothy Holdway in Culpepper Co., Va. Four girls only were named in the will, Annie, Abigail, Elizabeth and Phebe. The Will was dated Sept. 24, 1787. Three Holdaway men left Culpepper County, Va., and journeyed South: Timothy, born 1745, Henry born abt 1756, and John born 1759. Timothy and John entered the Rev. War in Wilkes County, N. C., and later went to Tennessee. Henry went to Wilkes County and settled there. It seems to me that these could very well be brothers, but this has not been proved. I would think they were sons of the Timothy in Culpepper County and left out of the Will because they had left home and never expected to be back again, except that it is unlikely that four girls, and past 30 years of age at the time the Will was made, would all still be unmarried.
There is a family of Holdaways in Terra Haute, Indiana. They have come to Salt Lake City and attended the Holdaway Reunion a couple of times before they were discontinued. They resembled our family very much. They Claim their first American ancestor came direct from Fngland. His name was Henry and he was born in 1796. I visited with a grandson Bruce Holdaway in Terra Haute and wanted to visit his grave site in the Carson Cemetery but Bruce refused to take me, saying the chiggers were too bad. I still wonder if he could have been our Timothy's brother. They said they thought he had lived in Tennessee and his birth date, 1796, would be about right for Timothy's son Henry.
A few months before Uncle William, eldest son of Shedrick Holdaway, passed away, I spent a couple of hours with him. He told me that our first American ancestor was a British Marine on a ship laying in port in Charleston, South Carolina; that he got into a fight with his superior officer and the officer beat him up; that he jumped over board, swam ashore, changed his name and joined the Revolution Forces.
The family in Terra Haute, Ind., has this same tradition except that the ship was in port in Plymouth, Fngland and that he caught another ship to the United States. I feel sure that if he changed the name it was from "Holloway" to Holdaway which spelling is the correct spelling according to the family in Tennessee. No name was given to the first American ancestor and I have found only the one Timothy Hol&vay (-as they spell the name now) in Jefferson. I went to Dandridge, Jefferson Co. , and was told there were no records,Lhat far back and advised that I visit an old cemetery. It sure was old; grass and brush and old tombstones which were mostly broken down and eroded so that names and dates were unreadable, except for two or three. Through correspondence, I learned that the first Holdaways lived on Bent Creek in Jefferson Countv so I went to the Bent Creek Church but the Minister was out of town and there was no way I could look at the records. No relationship is shown in the deeds listing Timothy Holdway either as grantee or grantor, in Jefferson County.
On my way home from a trip to Tennessee I went through
an old cemetery in Lebanon, Illinois, hoping I might find the burial of our Timothy Holdaway, I was unsuccessful. It was Sunday so I could not go to the court house to search the county records.
While I have done what research I could, I know that old records are constantly being found and more research should be done on our' Trent and Holdaway lines. I am happy that Mrs. Arthur D. Anderson of Huntsville, Alabama, a 2nd great granddaughter of Shedrick Holdaway, is doing what research she can, while raising her little family.
TRENT - I first became interested in the genealogy of grandfather Shedrick Holdaway in 1932. All I had was a record that he was a son of Timothy Holdaway and Mary Trent, giving their birth dates, and that he was a grandson of a Timothy Holdaway. Among Grandmother's papers which her daughter had, I found two letters from Judge S.D. Trent, one of which was as follows:
March 22, 1891 "Mr.. Shadrick Holiway - My dear old Cosen.
"I learned from your sister your address, well Shady I can just remember you when you left this country. All of your mother's brothers are dead and all her sisters but Aunt Haley Martin and Aunt Betty Cope. They'are both very stout for their. age. I lost my wife the 14th of last January. I am keeping house with two little girls.
"I am county Judge of Hancock Co. and have been for 25 years. I have been a Justice of the Peace for 44 years. I have been to the State Legislator two terms and could go again but would rather be County Judge and stay with my family. It pays me about $600.00. I issue about ten thousand claims each year.
"We were greatly pleased with your sisters visit. We get letters from her often since she went home, and when we get one a great many of her relatives come to read it. I am just getting over a spell of sickness and can't hardly write any at present.
Clinch P. 0.
Hancock Co., Tenn.
Your old cozen S.D. Trent
to Cozen Shadrick Holiway"
I then wrote a letter addressing it "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN": saying I would like to correspond with any relatives of Judge S. D. Trent, and enclosed it in a letter to the Postmaster of Clinch, asking him to deliver the letter to any descendant of the Judge. This brought a letter from Mrs. Nancy Winkles, a daughter of S.D. Trent. We corresponded for sometime. Let me quote from her letters:
Apr. 16, 1932, "I rec'd your letter but am afraid I can't give you much information, especially dates as we do not have any records of the births and deaths of our ancestors.
"Yes, my grandfather (Zack Trent) was a brother of Mary Trent, also David, Richard, Eleck and William, Hailie Martin, Betty Cope and Virginia Green.
"My great grandfather was William Trent. It is said that his father Eleck Trent came to America from England and settled somewhere in Virginia when grandfather and another boy were very small. Their mother was dead.
"My great grandfather William Trent married Charity Orsbourne. I do not know where she came from.
Nov. 10, 1932 - "My great grandfather married twice but I don't know his wife's name. They called her 'Peggy', I suppose it was short for Margaret, but she did not have any children.
"I remember going to visit him one time during the Civil War. That was sometime in the 60's. I was very small and can't remember much about him. He died just after the close of the War.
"Yes, I know where William Trent is buried. It is 1 1/2 miles from here in what is known as Trent Valley, but there is not stone at his grave. I don't know of any old Bible or records. We have no records as the Court House of Hancock Co. has been burned 3 times in my recollection and the records were burned except the last time. Great grandfather William Trent had a Mahala by his first wife Charity Orsbourn,--.
May 2, 1932 - "The father of William married a second time somewhere in Va. after he came to America but I don't remember hearing who he married. They had some more children, but I don't know how many. Our great grandfather William Trent was a very wealthy man. He owned thousands of acres of land in this country and owned lots of slaves, which seemed to be very valuable those days. "
It was from Carrie Trent Davis, a sister of Nancy Winkles, that we received the names of the children of Mary Trent Holdaway's brothers and sisters.
A number of years ago a Johnnie Winkles, a granddaughter of Nancy Winkles, 15 years of age, got up a family tree. She listed the two boys who came to America with their father Alexander, as William and Joseph who married Sarah Cobb. This Joseph Trent was a son of a Jesse Trent and was born abt 1813. We know this is wrong. She listed the wife of William as Charity Burton. This has raised some doubts in the minds about his wife being Charity Orsbourne. On one of my trips to Sneedville, I called on Quince Winkles, son of Nancy Winkles and father of Johnnie. I had taken Nancy's letter with me and when I showed him his mother's letter saying William Trent married Charity Orsbourne, he said his daughter must have been wrong. I believe Nancy knew better than anyone else.
I enjoyed my visit with Quince Winkles and his wife. They were very hospitable and invited us to stay all night, but it was raining and we were anxious to be on our way. Their home had no modern conveniences but they were happy. Quince said they were living on the original Trent homestead of William Trent. They had their cow, pigs, chickens, horses, garden and a small patch of tobacco which gave them their living and a little cash. He said, "I have lived in the Valley for 75 years and know everyone in it. I am sure that not ten percent of the people here owe anyone a dime. We have our living; are not in debt to anyone, and what more do you want out of life." Two of his sons were engineers and one daughter was a registered nurse in Michigan and she wanted, he said, to go on and become a doctor. When we crossed the Clinch River and entered Sneedville proper, I felt I had suddenly turned time back about fifty years. I was not there long, but I remembered when Provo's courthouse had wide bare board floors and high counters as did the courthouse there.
On one of my trips to Jacksonville, Fla.., I met a Thomas H. Trent. He told me that their first American ancestor came to America from England with some children. His wife was dead and he married an
Indian Princess in Virginia, He obtained a large tract of land in what was then in Lunnenburg County, now Henry County. He said that a Richard Trent was living on a farm of about 200 acres of the original homestead in Ridgeway, Henry County, Va. and suggested I write to him as he had some old deeds and would be happy to correspond with me. I wrote him two letters but received no reply. Later Stanley R. Trent, now of Kingsport, Tenn., visited with him but got no information. Thomas H. Trent was a grandson of Powhatan Green Trent.
The following is quoted from a letter from Stanley Trent, dated July 28, 1964: "Cole Winkles, who is related to the Trents, told me that Ellock Trent came to this section (now Hancock Co.) with a full-blooded Cherokee Indian for a wife. Ellock was dark complexioned. He came from North Carolina and had come to No. Carolina from England. He also told me that William Trent, who they called Grandsire, out of respect for his age, came from North Carolina earlier than Ellock. William had also come to North Carolina from England. According to tradition he had brought his wife and children with him from England. William was fair skinned and blue-eyed. He said that William and Ellock were not related but their descendants had intermarried which explains the reason for some darkskinned, blue-eyed descendants. To this day there are Black Trents, White Trents, Sop Trents, Snowbird Trents and Naomi Trents. We are supposed to be of the Snowbird Trents.
I have a chart of the descendants of Henry Trent, born
1642, came to America and married Elizabeth Sherman.
There are five Alexander Trents descended from Henry
in a direct line but we do not seem to fit into this family.
It is impossible to give all the information I have collected on our Trent line, but more should and could be done, especially in North Carolina.
Page Modified July 9, 2002