Here are some photos of my immediate Hollis family (great grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, etc.) and I have added a little bit of their life history. Due to privacy concerns, I have not posted any photos of living persons or posted any information about living family members.
GREAT GRANDPARENTS
What little that I know about my great grandparents I have found through my research. One of my Hollis cousins still owns a chart that she made as a child in the 1950s which details our family tree back to John William Hollis, born in Louisiana.
John William Hollis born (in Louisiana) in 1853 to Rufus Hollis and (probably) Martha Powell. His mother Martha appears to have died in the late 1850s and his father remarried. When his father died in the late 1860s, it appears that John William left home shortly thereafter. His whereabouts are unknown until his marriage to Elizabeth Josephine Davis in October of 1877 in Paulding County, GA - He was 24 and she was 17. He and Josephine can be found on the 1880 census (Douglasville, GA), 1900 census (Douglasville,GA), 1909 Atlanta City Directory, 1910 census (Chickasha, OK) & 1920 census (Douglasville). Josephine died in Douglas County, Georgia in 1923. John William is shown for the last time on the 1930 (Chickasha) census as a widower, living with his daughter Odessa and her family. He died in Douglas County, Georgia in 1931 at age 78 when he was struck by a car in Douglasville, GA.
It appears that John William Hollis spent most of his life as a farmer. He was also in law enforcement. When he lived in Chickasha, OK, he worked as a road paving inspector. He was a court bailiff and deputy Sheriff in Douglasville. I found records for him as a bailiff in 1905, deputy Sheriff in 1921 and then again as a bailiff at the time of his death. He ran for Sheriff in 1886 but did not win.
When his wife Josephine died, her Will left most of her estate to her children but set up a trust of sorts for them to pay their father a monthly stipend from the proceeds. Josephine owned land that was likely passed down to her from her Dorris ancestors and cousins who owned quite a bit of land in Douglas County. She may have also owned land that she inherited from her grandfather James Davis. (Josephine was an orphan of the Civil War - her father and mother died when she was a small child. She was adopted by her grandfather James Davis.)
Douglas County Sentinel
The children of John William Hollis and Elizabeth Josephine Davis are:
1. Elizabeth Hollis (1878-1878) infant death. Buried in the Hollis family plot of the Douglasville City cemetery.
2. Willie Odessa Hollis (1880-1985) - married Young Wilson Darnell, moved to Oklahoma Territory
3. Thomas Pierce Hollis (1883-1927) - married Zettie Jackson, lived in Douglasville, GA
4. Rufus Paul Hollis (1885-1963) - married Eva May Adams, moved to Florida
5. Joseph Hershel Hollis (1890-1947) - married Louise Austin, moved to Alabama
On the 1909 city directory for Atlanta, I found the entire family (except Odessa who was married and living in the Oklahoma Territory) living at 64 South McDaniel Street. John William is listed as a farmer and his sons are all shown to be streetcar operators (motormen and conductor) in Atlanta. Streetcars were the main form of transportation at the time - if one didn't want to travel by horse. Cars were not affordable or commonplace in Atlanta until the 1920s. Street cars were electric and traveled on rails embedded in the roads. The last of the Atlanta street cars rolled in 1949. Atlanta later had what we called trolleys which were a cross between a bus and a streetcar. The trolleys were electric but had no rails. I remember the trolleys and the mass of electrical wires that covered the skies above the streets. Now, over 100 years later, Atlanta may be soon turning back to electrically driven buses.
Willie Odessa Hollis Darnell
(Photo obtained from her grandson Tim Harrow)
Odessa (affectionately called DD) and her husband Young Wilson Darnell operated an ice cream and candy store in downtown Chickasha, Oklahoma Territory. At one time, Young delivered ice cream from a horse-drawn carriage.
Odessa Hollis and Young Wilson Darnell had 2 children: Kathryn and Robert. Kathryn and Robert both had several children.
Odessa was 105 years old when she died; her daughter Kathryn lived to be 95 years old.
3. Thomas Pierce Hollis (my grandfather) - married Zettie Jackson in 1916 in Newton County, Georgia
I do not have any photos of my Hollis grandfather Thomas Pierce Hollis but I do have pictures of his wife Zettie Jackson Hollis (my grandmother). Little is known about my grandfather. He appears to have worked as a carpenter. He died in a tree cutting accident in Conyers where he and his Jackson in-laws were cutting trees for firewood.
Photo taken in Douglasville, GA at the present day intersection of James Street and Highway 78. This is probably the location of the home where my father spent most of his youth. The house was torn down many years ago due to widening of Highway 78 and several businesses have occupied this site over the years. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that the very busy present day Highway 78 was just a dirt/gravel road when the photo was taken.
Tom Hollis and Zettie Jackson had 5 children:
1. Joseph Pierce Hollis
2. Mary
Elizabeth Hollis
3. Thomas Bertram Hollis
4. William Jackson Hollis (my
father)
5. Zebulon Colley Hollis
(See the MY PARENTS section below for more on my immediate family.)
4. Rufus Paul Hollis - married Evie May Adams in 1908 in Fulton County Georgia. They divorced in 1953 in Alachua County, FL. Evie was the daughter of F.A. Adams.
Rufus and Evie May had four biological children and they were the foster parents for another child. Rufus remained in Douglasville for many years before moving to Florida (Gainesville). He worked as a painter and may have been employed at the University of Florida. On the 1950 census he is shown working as a ward/attendant at the Farm Colony for the "feeble minded and epileptic" near Gainesville, FL. This was the beginning organization for persons with disabilities in Florida (Now known as The Arc of Florida). Also on the 1950 census, his wife Evie, was living separately from Rufus and she was the landlord for several older female inmates.
Children of Rufus Paul Hollis and Eva May Adams:
- Raymond Paul Hollis (1910-1998), married Dora S. (lnu), Raymond was in the Marine Corps and he later owned a sign shop in Jacksonville, FL. His occupation was listed as a truck driver on the 1940 census and truck driver and mail clerk on the 1950 census. He and Dora do not appear to have had any children. Raymond's WWII selective service application lists his height at 6' 1" and weight at 191 with blue eyes and blonde hair. He served in the Navy during WWII and he was part of the crew of the USS LST-913 which was a tank landing ship. The LST-913 participated in the invasion of southern France in 1944 and later Leyte and Okinawa in the Pacific in 1945. The few records that I found showed that he held the ranks of Quartermaster 3rd Class and Motor Machinist Mate 2nd Class.
- John Willie Hollis (1913-1917), died of croup, buried in the Hollis family plot in the Douglasville City Cemetery, Douglasville, GA
- Max Wilber Hollis (1918-1970), married 1st Constance Lucette Baker in 1939 in Florida and they divorced in 1943; Married 2nd Gladys Lee Tankersley. Max and Gladys lived in Florida. Max was a commercial bus driver at one point. Interestingly, on the 1950 census, they were living in downtown St. Petersburg and their immediate neighbors were all from other states and countries. His WWII selective service registration lists him as 6' 2-1/2" and 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He appears to have served in WWII but no branch or unit is listed for him.
- Max Clinton Hollis (1945-1989), moved to Iowa, wife Linda (lnu). Max had son David A. Hollis who died of Muscular Dystrophy in 1996 at age 23. He may have also had another son who is living and shall remain private.
Max C. Hollis - Bessie Faye Hollis (1928-?) Adopted child, married William Barber.
Note the reference to the Palace Barber Shop - Rufus' nephew Zeb Hollis later owned this establishment
5. Joseph Hershel Hollis - married 1st Grace Bowman and 2nd Louise Austin
The other child of Joseph Hershel Hollis and Louise Austin was Dorothy "Dot" Hollis. She married David Bryce Brechin. Dot and David had several children.
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The Cleburne New Era Newspaper Issue of Thursday, August 10, 1922 MRS. J.H. HOLLIS DIED TUESDAY Mrs. Hershel Hollis, beloved daughter of Rev. and Mrs. G.B. Boman, died in an Anniston hospital late Tuesday afternoon where she was carried about a week ago following a long illness and serious operation. The remains were shipped to Heflin on Wednesday morning and the funeral and interment will be held here Thursday afternoon at two o'clock. Mrs. Hollis is survived by her husband, her parents, three sisters and three brothers. The death of this beautiful christian woman has cast a shadow over the entire community and The News with hundreds of friends of the family deeply and sincerely sympathize with those who are bowed down with grief. |
Hershel and Grace were married less than 10 months before she died
Grace was the daughter of Rev. General B. Boman/Bowman and Mary Elizabeth Morris. Per his obituary Rev. Boman/Bowman appears to have been a Baptist minister and he also was a teacher and the Cleburne County Alabama Superintendent of Schools.
MY PARENTS: William Jackson Hollis & Martha Ray Blair Hollis
Photo probably taken in 1946-1947 in Atlanta, GA
MY AUNT & UNCLES (and their spouses)
Joseph Pierce Hollis married Meryl McGahee
Joseph Pierce Hollis
Circa late 1970s
For most of time that I knew Joe, he worked as the manager of maintenance at North Georgia College in Dahlonega, GA. Meryl operated a kindergarten/day-care out of their home in downtown Dahlonega. Joe, Sr. had a stroke and died at age 71.
The son of Joe & Meryl was Col. Joseph Pierce Hollis, Jr. (1943-2013) who was a graduate of North Georgia College. He went directly from college into the US Army where he spent most of his career as an army officer. He served for at least 2 tours in Vietnam as a combat officer. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf cluster (2nd award; Achievement+Service), Army Commendation Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantry Badge and Parachutist Badge. He retired as a Colonel, and then he worked for the Department of the Army in Washington, DC. He died of a heart attack at age 69. Joey has a son and a daughter.
Mary Elizabeth Hollis (1919-1987)
Douglas County Sentinel
Mary married William Louie Long (1910-1968) and they had no children; Mary later married Freeman Howland. She died at age 67 of colon cancer.
Thomas Bertram Hollis married Thelma Couch
Tom was a World War II Army combat veteran of the European theater. He served in Patton's 3rd Army. Tom owned a few horses and I remember one visit that we made when I was probably about 10 years old where Tom let me and my 2 sisters ride his horses without him (or any adult) riding along. We went off down a trail into the woods at a nice slow walking pace and maintained that pace for most of the ride, just enjoying the scenery. We were gone for less than an hour I guess when Tom (and my parents) started to get a bit worried since we were out of their sight so Tom started whistling for the horses. When the horses heard his whistle they shot off at an all out full gallop back to his pasture. We were not prepared for this and nearly fell off our horses! I remember ducking under limbs and leaves and twigs slapping me in the face and body as the horses were literally racing through the woods. I was squeezing the reins as hard as I could and holding on for "dear life" and somehow managed to stay on. We all made it back in one piece but my oldest sister was not very happy. I am sure that Tom didn't realize that the horses would come back at a full gallop but we did not ride his horses again.
His daughter, Tommie Lou, loved horses and rode up until her death in 1992 at age 51. Tommie Lou has 2 children.
Tom had known heart disease and he died of a heat attack at age 48. My father and Tom were very close and Tom's death was a great loss to my father. My father died less than 4 years later. Tom was a member of the Douglasville Masonic Lodge 289.
For information and pictures of Tom's war-time activities, click here.
Zebulon Colley Hollis married Regis Thurmond
Zeb Colley Hollis
Zeb Hollis & Regis Thurmond Hollis
Zeb Hollis at the Palace Barbershop in Douglasville, GA
The Palace Barbershop - Zeb is on the far right.
Known as "Zebbie" as a child, Zeb was born in Douglasville in 1925 and he died in 1990. He may have been named after his cousin, Zebulon Decatur Colley (1831-1892), of Wilkes County, Ga. Zeb lived most of his life in Douglasville except for the years he spent in the military (Marine Corps and Air Force). He was a member of the Douglasville Masonic Lodge.
Zeb married Regis Thurmond and they have 3 children together. For most of the time that I knew Zeb, he was a barber. He worked at The Palace barber shop in downtown Douglasville and he later owned the shop. Zeb died at age 65 from complications following a surgical procedure. Zeb and Regis loved to "Square Dance" & "Clog". Zeb also has a son from his first marriage (he married very young and they divorced shortly thereafter - the name of his 1st wife is not known).
Zeb was a Marine Corp combat veteran during World War II where he received a Purple Heart. He spent time at Quadalcanal among other "hot" areas. He later served in the Air Force.
For information and pictures of Zeb's war-time activities, click here.
FAMILY PHOTOS
From what I can tell, as far as their appearance, Zeb favored his mother Zettie; Joe favored the Colley side of the family and Tom and Bill favored the Jackson & Hollis sides.
