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Mary Ann (Yonkin) Holden |
Mary Ann (Yonkin) Holden was born in about 1809 in Pottsgrove, Montgomery County, PA, the daughter of George and Elizabeth (Bollinger) Yonkin Sr.
She was joined in wedlock with Vermont native David Holden (1799-1858), perhaps also spelled "Halden" and possibly born on March 24, 1801.
Six known children of this marriage were Jeanette Stroh, Henry Holden, William Holden, David Holden, Aaron Holden and Mary Holden.
They put down roots in Chillisquaque Township near Pottsgrove, Northumberland County and were there in the 1850-1853 timeframe. The United States Census of 1850 shows David engaged as a boatman with his sons Henry and William.
Sadly, David died in 1858 after writing his last will and testament on Nov. 22, 1858. Then on July 21, 1860, a notice of his estate, with Mary Ann named as the executrix, was printed in the Sunbury Gazette.
The widowed Mary dwelled in Chillisquaque with her 12-year-old daughter Mary in 1860, with the town of Milton as their postal address. Perhaps in debt that she could not pay, Mary Ann surrendered their farm of eight acres to a sheriff's sale in December 1860. The Gazette noted that the tract was entirely cleared and contained a small two story frame house and a log stable.
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| Aerial view of densely packed Pittston, 1892 - courtesy Library of Congress |
She is believed to be the same "Mary A. Holden" of Pittston, PA who died in a most gruesome fashion. It happened in an accident involving her son-in-law, Civil War veteran William Stroh, on the Fourth of July 1868. The Harrisburg Telegraph said that:
About ten o'clock in the forenoon, Mr. Wm. Stroh, desiring to make some demonstration in honor of the 4th, adopted a method common with blacksmiths -- taking a large flat burr, and filing a notch on the under side, for the vent-hole, placed it on an anvil, filled the burr with powder and placed upon it another heavy anvil. At the explosion, the burr, which proved to be cast iron instead of wrought, severed into fragments and flew in different directions. Mr. Stroh and nearly all the members of his family were standing in the door of the shop, on William street. Addie, his daughter, received a wound in the forehead which proved fatal in two hours; Mrs. Holden, his mother-in-law, aged about 65, was severely cut about her right temple; from which it is now thought she may recover, but her case is yet extremely critical.
Mary lingered for 11 days before dying on July 15, 1868. A burial site is not known.
~ Son Henry Holden ~
Son Henry Holden (1830- ? ) was born in about 1830.
A bachelor at age 20, in 1850, he lived with his parents in Chillisquaque Township and worked with his father as a boatman. His paper trail has gone cold.
~ Son William Holden ~
Son William Holden (1833- ? ) was born in about 1833. Nothing more about him is known.
~ Son David Clayton Holden ~
Son David Clayton Holden (1843- ? ) was born in about 1843.
He was alive and was named in his father's last will and testament dated 1858. From there he disappears into oblivion.
~ Son Aaron Clayton Holden ~
Son Aaron Clayton Holden (1845-1925) was born on Oct. 17, 1845.
For years, he resided in Pittston, Luzerne County and was self-employed as a harness maker in the old Gazette Building on North Main Street.
On March 15, 1870, at the age of 24, Aaron entered into marriage with Mary Josephine Hapeman (Oct. 18, 1852-1923), daughter of Nicholas V. and Caroline Hapeman of Scotch Hill near Wilkes-Barre, PA. The presiding pastor was Rev. Y.T. Smith of the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
Two daughters born to the couple were Carrie M. Holden and Helen Damon.
He made news in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader in October 1878 when exhibiting "handsome specimens of hand-made harness,... which attract general attention." His name was in the gossip columns of the Wilkes-Barre Sunday News in October 1882 when "remodeling and building in the rear of his place of business." He appears to have owned a house on Church Street in 1883, which was rented to Frank Brenton, and which caught fire when the terra cotta flue became overheated and set fire to its wooden back.
Aaron was awarded a patent for the Holden Carriage Apron and then in 1886 tried to sell it to a party from Elmira [NY?]. Reported the Pittston Evening Gazette, "Mr. Holden has made many aprons within the past few years, but since the sale of the right, he has suspended their manufacture. The apron is a very convenient arrangement for any sort of a vehicle. It is readily applied, and protects completely against rain and snow storms." The Times Leader reported in April 1893 that he had gone to Virginia to "engage in business there" after having sold his harness business to Alex McDougal. Aaron and Michael Bolin are known in 1901 to have purchased an option to buy the 93-acre, shuttered Morgan coal slope in Upper Pittston with the hope of re-opening it for mining. An October 1903 business trip took him to Illinois.
Their world was shattered when their 28-year-old daughter Carrie died after a seven-week illness in January 1904. The grieving Aaron and friend Bolin sold the Morgan coal lease to the Reliance Coal Company. He continued to pursue new buiness opportunities and in April 1906 helped form the Lauralla State Company with fellow investors James H. Hughes, Bernard J. Conlan, M.G. Baum and R.L. Cannon. In May 1908, he was an incorporator of the Florida Realty Company of Pennsylvania in partnership with A.A. Bryden, Frank C. Mosier, Richard M. Hughes, William Drury, Amon Armstrong and friend Bolin. Socially, he was a member of the Wyoming Valley Commandery of the Knights Templar and as a "knight" was said to have "had the distinction of being the first one knighted in Wyoming Valley Commandery."
Their home for 27 years was on Pittston's west side, with an address in 1923 of 109 Spring Street. They held a membership in the West Pittston Presbyterian Church.
Having been ill for several years, and then her health becoming worse in the spring of 1923, Mary Josephine died on June 14, 1923. An obituary in the Pittston Gazette said she was "a highly regarded resident and a member of one of Pittston's pioneer families... Due to her sterling character Mrs. Holden enjoyed the friendship of a wide circle and her death comes as a severe shock to members of the family and her many friends."
Aaron's final dwelling-place was with the Frank Williams family in West Pittston at the address of 403 Montgomery Avenue. On the fateful morning of March 4, 1925, the 79-year-old Aaron was found dead in bed. The deputy coroner wrote that "He had not been in the best of health for some time. cause of death being heart trouble." Burial was in West Pittston Cemetery, with Robert L. Damon of Allentown providing key details for the official Pennsylvania certificate of death. An obituary in the Times Leader called him "one of West Pittston's oldest and most highly respected residents... Mr. Holden was one of the pioneer business men of Pittston city... About 15 years ago he retired from [the harness] business and devoted the greater part of his time to real estate. He was a man of sterling character and was respected by all who knew him."
Daughter Carrie M. Holden (1875-1904) was born on Feb. 18, 1875 in Pittston. She attended the "public schools of the two Pittstons and Wyoming Seminary," said the Pittston Gazette. "When a young girl she became a member of the Broad St. Presbyterian church." Carrie never married. She lived with her parents on Park Street on the west side of Pittston. She contracted a serious illness in November 1903, and over the next seven weeks was bedfast. A cure could not be found, and she died on Jan. 11, 1904. The Gazette said "Widespread sorrow has been occasioned in the community by the news... She suffered much throughout her illness, but bore it all with Christian patience." The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader said she "was always active in the work of the church. The deceased was a woman of charming disposition and her death is sincerely mourned by all classes." Burial was in West Pittston Cemetery.
Daughter Helen Holden (1878-1927) was born in 1878. On Sept. 28, 1904, in nuptials held in her parents' home, she tied the knot with Robert L. Damon ( ? - ? ). In announcing the impending happy event, the Wilkes-Barre Times said she "has many friends in this city and is a frequent visitor." Rev. Dr. Harshaw presided. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reported that the "ceremony was unostentatious in acordance [sic] with the wish of the bride." The Damons made their dwelling-place in 1913 in Allentown, PA. Sadly, Helen died in 1927. Her remains were laid to rest in West Pittston Cemetery.
~ Daughter Mary Malinda Holden ~
Daughter Mary Malinda Holden (1848- ? ) was born in about 1848.
When Mary was age 12, in 1860, she lived with her widowed mother in Chillisquaque.
There is evidence to suggest that she may have died on May 13, 1863, at the age of about 15. This needs to be confirmed.
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Copyright © 2023-2024, 2026 Mark A. Miner |
Research for this page conducted by Della Shafer and the late Donna (Younkin) Logan |