Holobaugh Family Portrait
circa 1902
Holobaugh Family Portrait
circa 1902
The Holobaughs of Pennsylvania
Alma Meryl Holobaugh 
was the wife of Paul Anthony Edelmann.
From a Bible in the possession of Alma, the birth and death
records for many of her 16 siblings were found. The names of her grandparents, Samuel
Holobaugh and Sarah Jane Bice were also listed there.
Little is known about Samuel and Sarah. We know that they moved from Armstrong Co., PA, to Pike Co., Ohio, sometime between 1850 and 1860, with their children, Francis, James, Mary, Eliza, Margaret, Sarah, Addison, Emily, and Jene. George was born in Ohio, sometime in 1861.
Samuel and his family were listed in the 1850 Census of Pennsylvania. Nearby, the family of Francis and Mary Bice was enumerated. A connection between the Bice family and the Holobaugh family was strongly suspected, but confirmed when images of a BICE Family Bible were obtained in October, 2000. The birth dates of Francis, Mary, and the births of Sarah and others, is clearly shown in the images of the pages I obtained.
In 1996, Pike Co. Probate Court records were obtained indicating Samuels parents were "C. Holobaugh" and "B. Stoup." This coincides with notes taken during earlier research from 1978. Efforts to investigate the Holobaugh connections in Pennsylvania have finally begun to yeild some possible leads. It is possible that C. Holobaugh is "Conrath Hollenbach", of Berks County, known also as Conrad. The Bible records show that Francis was born September 15, 1798. Mary Day was born July 11, 1802.
Francis and Mary Day - Births
Bice Children Birth Records
Bice Family Marriages
Bice Family Deaths
Nevertheless, the Holobaugh and Bice families moved to Ohio together. The 1860 Census of Pike County, Ohio, (their destination) shows entries for both families.
Francis and James in the Great War of the Rebellion
At the outbreak of the Civil War, two sons of eligible fighting age volunteered for service. They were Francis and James Claypole. Francis joined the 53rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, while James enlisted as a member of the 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry (on August 9, 1862). The 53rd joined General William T. Sherman’s Division, and took the field in February, 1862. During the battle near Shiloh Church in Tennessee, Francis was severely injured, and later died of his wounds at Paducah, Ky. This battle was a disaster for the 53rd, which went on to lose over 300 men killed or wounded during its term of service. Francis is said to have been buried in a national cemetary. As a result of this death, Francis' mother, Sarah Jane received a pension from the War Department. This certificate is reproduced below:
Front Reverse
As a member of the 91st, James was wounded at the battle of Lynchburg, VA, June 17-18, 1864, where a finger was shot off by cannon fire. He was sent to the US General Hospital in Gallipolis, Ohio, for recovery. Later, he was stunned by a shell during the battle of Winchester, Virginia, on July 19, 1864.
Below are copies of the Cival War Discharge for James Holobaugh. The list of engagements and other personal data was recorded the reverse side.
Certificate of Discharge Reverse with List of Engagements
The following is an excerpt from the Report of the Great Reunion of the Veteran Soldiers and Sailors of Ohio Held at Newark, July 22, 1878, by Major Charles D. Miller, Secretary of the Society of Soldiers and Sailors of Licking County, Ohio.
Organized in August, 1862, under Colonel John A. Turley, the 91st served
along the Ohio River until September, when it moved to West Virginia,
and operated in the Kanawha Valley and further east during the winter
and spring of 1862-63. In July, 1863, it joined the forces in pursuit of
Morgan in Ohio, but soon returned to West Virginia, where it passed its
second winter. In May, 1864, it made a successful raid up New River
under General Crook, marching over 200 miles over mountains and
through wild forests. In June the Regiment joined Hunter's march upon
Lynchburg, and near that place made a gallant charge, capturing two
pieces of artillery. It returned with the army in its disastrous retrograde
movement, the men completely worn out and after only nine days rest
moved by rail to Martinsburg, where it served against Early's army. It
fought up and down the Shenandoah Valley all the summer, fighting at
Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Opequan; at the latter place the 91st lost
heavily, having charged the Rebels, posted behind a stone wall, but lifted
them out of their position with the bayonet. The Regiment served in this
vicinity until the close of the war and was mustered out June 24, 1865.From "Ohio in the War", Pg. 510:
The battles and skirmishes in which the Ninety-First was engaged during their
term of service were as follows: Buffalo, West Virginia, September 26, 1862;
Fayetteville, West Virginia, May 19, 1863; Blake's Farm, West Virginia, May 21, 1863;
Cloyd Mountain, Virginia, May 9, 1864; New River Bridge, Virginia, May 10, 1864;
Cow Pasture River, Virginia, June 5, 1864; Lynchburg, Virginia, June 17, 1864;
Stephenson's Depot, Virginia, July 20, 1864; Winchester, Virginia, July 25, 1864;
Near Charlestown, Virginia, August 24 and 26, 1864; Opequan or Winchester
Virginia, September 19, 1864; Fisher's Hill, Virginia, September 22, 1864; Cedar Creek,
Virginia, October 19,1864. Its marches ammounted in the aggregate to one thousand
two hundred and twenty-nine miles.
James C. Holobaugh and 1st wife, Emily Throckmorton
After the war, James married Emily Throckmorton, on August 29, 1867. Seven children were born
to this union, namely, William H., Lewis Alvah, Samuel S., James H., Benjamin Frank, Sarah
C., and Anna M. Holobaugh.
Brothers Frank and Alvah (right) and sisters
Emily died in January, 1880. On November 2, 1880, James
married Harriet "Hattie" Josephine Brown, of Camp P.O., Pike Co., Ohio.
James Holobaugh and 2nd wife, Harriet J. Brown
The children of this marriage were Myrtle M., Dora A., Verna Belle, John Tylor, Stella Florence, Pearl Floyd, Bessie Elverda, Squire Prince, Jessie Wynn, and Alma Meryl Holobaugh. According to Alma, besides being a Civil War veteran, James was not only a preacher for the Methodist church in Pike County, but also a teacher and justice of the peace as well.
Hattie Brown was the daughter of Jesse Brown and Mary Double. A letter describing various Brown family notes and histories was sent to Alma by Beth Howes in the 1970’s. This letter describes in some detail the uncles of Hattie, as well as many of her siblings.
Jesse Brown and Mary Double
As mentioned previously, George Washington Holobaugh was a
brother of James and Francis who was not born until the outbreak of the war in 1861. One
of George’s descendants is Randall Holobaugh , of Anna, Ohio. Randall was unaware of the descendants of James until a
recent contact was made with him on May 31, 1996. At the time of James’ death
in 1921, George signed an affidavit on behalf of James’ then widow, Harriet, in
support of her claim for a military pension.
During the 1960’s, an annual Holobaugh reunion was held near Lake White, in Pike Co., Ohio. However, since many of the Holobaughs had moved to the Columbus area, the Reunion has since been held in Johnstown, Ohio. As a result of letters mailed in early June (one of which was to Randall, mentioned above), two other Holobaugh family members descended from James were located. These are Jack and his mother, both of whom live in the Johnstown area. These latter two are descended from Lewis Alvah Holobaugh, second son of James Claypole and Emily Throckmorton.
The obituary record for James’ death on the 25th of September, 1921 gives a detailed account of his descendants and surviving siblings. Here is a brief obituary record for this honored Pike County citizen:
Alma Holobaugh was the last child of James Holobaugh, and as a
result, she inherited her father’s home in Waverly, at 203 West Second Street.
Alma taught at the elementary school level in Pike County for 40 years.
Following the death of her husband, Paul, in March, 1978, Alma continued to live at her home in Waverly. In 1987, she suffered a series of strokes, after which she was placed in the care of a nursing home in Gallipolis, Ohio. On December 8, 1987, she died of complications resulting from a severe case of pneumonia.