I opened this section in the Holland Family web site to record and preserve those things we remember about our family members.  While stories are wonderful and add the human touch to our family history, sometimes what we remember doesn't quite make a story but is important nevertheless and adds that human element to our family history .   I hope that you will honor those you remember in your family by sharing something about them with the rest of us.    

Alton Cagle Holland 1911 - 1985 and his mother Bessie Cagle Holland 1886 - 1953
My grandfather knew her very well. Bessie of course was married to Rufus Henry Holland who was the son of Simon J. Holland, but I think you know that one already. However Mrs. Bessie Holland was the informant on my great grandmother's death cert. - Lillie Mae Pike Collier. She was very close with her and the whole Collier family. Another good story for you was when Rufus and Bessie's son Alton Holland saved Peoria Waddell Pike from her burning-down house. My grandpa Emmette Collier told me when Peoria was at the point where she was bed bound and wasn't really able to get around anymore, at some point in time her home was on fire and Alton Holland noticed it. He ran in and pulled Peoria out of the burning home and saved her from sure death since she could hardly walk.   --from Justin Collier 9/25/2010

Earnest G. Holland 1901 - 1970:  Ernest was know as "Unk" to us for uncle.  He would walk almost everywhere he went, even to Waycross and Baxley on occasion.  He gave me my first trumpet, he called a bugle, and I later majored in music and was tour soloist for NAU for two years.  There is a Holland cemetery in Baxley, Ga. about 25 miles from Alma where AB is buried and Grandma's brother Ransom.  Do you know anything about Ransom being a fine Organist and playing with Billy Sunday's Crusades?  It is a story in the family.  - from Ken Lee, 12/13/2002

Eddie Rumsey 1945 - present   remembers and writes about his Scottish or Irish heritage:
Do you know anything about this song? It has always been associated in my past with Scotland, and somehow I recall it in association with the Hollands. I’m not sure. By the way, I heard this sung years ago in a most glorious way by Jean Redpath. Outstanding to say the least!

Joy of My Heart Isle of Mull

Sing ye o' the cuillins of Skye
Of Harris and Eigg and fair Iona
Joy of my heart Eallann Mulla

Peat and heather how they call me
Little wee bothan by the hillside
Joy of my heart Eallann Mulla

Friendly hearts are waiting to cheer me
Welcoming arms are there to hold me
Joy of my heart Eallann Mulla
Whether I wander East or West
Waking or dreaming thou art with me
Joy of my heart Eallann Mulla
 

Although not related geographically with the Isle of Mull, what do we know, or rather, what association - if any - do we, the Hollands, have with the Battle of Culloden? Phoeba talked about Culloden with some importance. Any particular reason that you are aware of? She pronounced it Ku láw den.

These memories come to me occasionally, and I want to share them with you!  Any memory that comes to us at any time might be of importance and I suppose should be shared with those who care.¹⁶⁷

Eli R. Holland 1834 - 1878  Based on the Bible, the name was listed as "Eli R. Holland.  I feel this is correct as a number of the Holland members were named Raymond.  Also, at the same time, Eli elected to be away from home for long periods of time.  Whether he was a member of a military branch, a merchant seaman, a peddler or maybe just a "total bum," I have no knowledge.  From what I have heard, he was a rather small man, weighing around 150 pounds, never seemed to have shaved and did very little talking.  His wife on the other hand, was a very "firey" lady, red headed, wearing high collar, long dresses and laced boots.  She spit out words like a "canon," with a very violent temper.  It has been said that Eli and his wife were heavy drinkers.  She smoked a corn cob pipe, was very small and trolled her red hair in a honey cone on top of her head.  - from Harold Holland, 9/26/2003

My great-grandfather Eli R. Holland was married to Amanda Jenkins.  Her father was married to a full-blooded Indian lady, and they were both heavy drinkers.  While still a little girl, Amanda ran away to a farm owned by Joe Woodard.  He raised her.  This is why her death certificate lists Joe Woodard a "father."  Amanda also had a drinking problem, apparently inherited from her Indian mother and her father, as well.    - from Harold Holland, 1/18/2007

Laura Alice Holland 1873 - 1960   According to family members, Laura was quiet, calm, easy-going, and sweet-tempered.  She was Cherokee Indian on her mother's side.  She had long hair which almost touched the ground and which she wore tied up into a bun.  She had pierced ears - unusual in the 1930's.  She walked with tiny steps.  Her faith was very important to her; her grandchildren called her a "faith warrior."  She made "tea cakes" -- cookies -- which she would tie inside a flour sack and hang from the ceiling so her grandchildren wouldn't eat them until after supper.  She earned her own spending money by selling eggs and butter that she made.  She would use the money to buy honey which she liked to put on her biscuits.  - from Cynthia Shaw Bunch's notes in her Family Group Sheet June 2007

Richard Turner Holland, Jr. 1942 - present    Have you wondered where I got the name “Jim” or “Jimmie” from Richard Turner Holland, Jr?  My Dad was on Guadalcanal when I was born on August 20th, 1942. One of the fiercest battles of Guadalcanal (The Battle of the Tenaru River) took place on that day. He didn’t know I existed for almost a year because of the censorship of all mail during that time. My Mom named me James Turner Holland for my maternal Grandfather James Bland and my dad Richard Turner Holland. When my Dad returned, he insisted that I be named for him as a junior, so my name was changed on the birth certificate. However, I had been called “Jimmie” for so long (the spelling was a reference to ancestors “Jimmie
and Ruthie”) that I could never shake the name.

William Albert Shaw 1907 - 1956  William Albert Shaw was called Albert.  Albert and his wife Ida were neighbors when they were growing up. They both lived on farms on Old Crockett Road in Grapeland, Texas. Ida and Albert's sister Daint were childhood chums. At his funeral they sang, "What A Friend We Have in Jesus" and "Shall We Gather at the River."

William Albert Holland was a farmer in several places including Grapeland, TX; Rockwall, TX; Twitty, TX; Shamrock, TX; and Endee, NM; and Springer, NM. By the late 1940's he had made a lot of money as a farmer, then he lost everything in the historic "dust bowl' drought. He then started drinking heavily and died in 1956 of cirrhosis of the liver.  - from Cynthia Shaw Bunch's notes in her Family Group Sheet June 2007

Willie Ethel Atkinson 1904 - unknown.   I remember Aunt Ethel so well. Every time she saw us kids she would pinch our cheeks and tell us how pretty we were. It hurt like hell. I last saw her in the nursing home here in Goldsboro.  - from Daphne Cheryl Moss Matzkvech, Absalom's branch, 3/09-2011.