These were some of the questions about which I began to wonder after following Thomas Holman on several surveys that I worked on in St. Francois County. Having an interest in genealogy and actively searching for information on my own family history, I decided to search and see what I could find concerning the history of Thomas Holman, the land surveyor. The search took me to several internet resources, as well as, county courthouses and cemeteries in St. Francois, Washington and Dent Counties.
Thomas Hill Holman was born November 17, 1864 at Caledonia in Washington County, Missouri. He was the fourth of four children born to his mother and the tenth of ten children born to his father.
His father, William Holman, was native to Tennessee, having been born there in 1813. William married Nancy R. Barksdale in 1836. John Barksdale Holman, Martha Pinchback Holman, and William Turner Holman were born to William and Nancy in Tennessee. Around 1845 the family moved to the Dent County area of Missouri where they developed a considerable landholding. Mary E. Holman, America Holman and Stephen Adair Holman were born to William and Nancy in Missouri.
Thomas’ mother, Zelia Ann Woods, was native to Caledonia in Washington County, Missouri, having been born there in 1822. Zelia was the daughter of William and Elizabeth Woods, both natives of Tennessee who married in Washington County, Missouri in 1809.
In 1853 William Holman’s first wife, Nancy, died. Subsequently, on November 16, 1854 he married Zelia Ann Woods. They apparently resided on the Dent County, Missouri farm where Harvey Woods Holman was born on October 6, 1855 and James Perry Holman was born on November 17, 1857. Following the death of William Woods in April 1856, William, Zelia and their children moved to Zelia’s portion of the Woods estate at Caledonia in Washington County, Missouri. At Caledonia Elizabeth Holman was born May 7, 1862 and then, lastly, Thomas was born.
The early settlement of Caledonia has been described as a settlement of educated and refined Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and Methodists. William Woods has been noted as having been influential in the development of the Methodist Church there. In 1870 the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, organized the Bellevue Collegiate Institute at Caledonia, offering an education from grammar school to a baccalaureate degree. This is where Thomas Holman received his formal education, very likely including instruction in the principles of surveying.
Having completed his schooling, Thomas must have developed expertise and a reputation as a land surveyor for in 1888, at the age of 24, he was elected to the office of County Surveyor in Washington County, Missouri and served two terms to 1896.
As good as his initial education must have been, Thomas, apparently, felt a need for more, because in September 1898 he registered in the surveying short course at the Missouri School of Mines in Rolla, Missouri. The surveying short course was a two-year program described as having the same mathematical, scientific and technical engineering content as the civil engineering degree program, while omitting the nontechnical courses, such as the humanities and electives that generally round out a four year degree. It does not appear that Thomas received a certificate or diploma or degree from MSM, but apparently he got the additional education that he needed.
On his 34th birthday, November 17, 1898, at Caledonia, Thomas married Rollie Goodykoontz of Caledonia, the daughter of prominent local physician William R. Goodykoontz. Their first child, Mary Holman, was born February 15, 1900 at Rolla.
Thomas, Rollie and Mary returned to the home area and settled at Bismarck in St. Francois County, where Thomas is reputed to have engaged in private land surveying. By late 1903 Thomas was serving as deputy to St. Francois County Surveyor, Samuel L. Asbury, a fellow Methodist. Samuel Asbury declined to seek reelection as St. Francois County Surveyor in 1904, allowing Charles W. Francisco to take office. For whatever reason, Mr. Francisco failed to complete his term and Thomas Holman was elected to the office in November 1906.
During this time a second child, Ruth Rollie Holman, was born to Thomas and Rollie on December 7, 1904. Their third child, George Goodykoontz Holman, was born July 8, 1908.
In March of 1907, Thomas and Rollie purchased Lot 14 of the William P. Doss First Addition to the City of Farmington (present address: 320 North A Street, Farmington, MO) and presumably moved their family there. Interestingly, this lot is located just a few blocks from the present Methodist Church.
Thomas was subsequently reelected as the St. Francois County Surveyor in 1912, at the age of 48, and in 1916, at the age of 52. In 1922, 27 year old, World War I veteran, Lovell L. Turley, was elected St. Francois County Surveyor. Plats on file in St. Francois County during Turley’s term show Thomas Holman as the Deputy Surveyor performing the work. Incidentally, Turley went on to become superintendent of St. Joseph Lead Company.
Thomas and Rollie’s second child, Ruth Rollie, died of typhoid August 24, 1924 at the age of 19. She had graduated from Flat River Junior College in the spring of 1924 and would have started in a teaching position the following week in the public school at Ironton. As a result of Ruth Rollie’s death, Thomas acquired Lot 103, Block D of Parkview Cemetery in Farmington for the family burial plot.
In December of 1925, Thomas and Rollie purchased Lot 9, Block 20 of the Doe Run Lead Company’s Subdivision of the western portion of the Town of Flat River (present address: 602 West Main Street, Park Hills, MO). In April of 1927 they sold the lot previously acquired in Farmington and, presumably, moved to Flat River.
In September of 1929, Thomas and Rollie’s daughter, Mary, was wed to Henry Zapf of Bismarck by the pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Bonne Terre. The Zapf family was established as a fruit and vegetable producer, providing fresh produce for the Lead Belt area.
Following the term of Lovell Turley as St. Francois County Surveyor, it does not appear that Thomas further held that office nor served as deputy. His work as a land surveyor was not done, however, because in late 1929, at the age of 65, we find him working for the Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation at Warsaw, Missouri. The old field books show him as Chief of Party for a crew performing land surveys for the development of Lake of the Ozarks, which was created by Union Electric’s construction of the Bagnell Dam Hydroelectric Project.
The 1930 U. S. Census taken on April 5, 1930 at the incorporated place of Warsaw, Lindsey Township, Benton County, includes Thomas, age 65, Rollie, age 60, and son, George, age 21. Details from the census record indicate that they were renting for $15 per month and they had a radio set. Thomas’ occupation is listed as Civil Engineer in the Dam Construction industry. It appears that Thomas continued working for Stone and Webster Engineering Corp. until at least May 1931.
In August of 1935, Thomas and Rollie acquired the East 75 feet of Lots 1 and 2, Block 2 of W. P. Doss’ Second Addition to the City of Farmington (present address: 313 College Street, Farmington, MO). In February of 1940, they sold the lot previously acquired in Flat River and, presumably, thereafter resided in Farmington.
After his return from Warsaw, Thomas is reputed to have become actively involved in the St. Francois County Abstract Company until retiring in 1953 at the age of 88 or 89. It has been said that his private surveying records came under the custody of the St. Francois County Abstract Company and its successor organization, Preferred Land Title Company.
In November of 1954, Thomas and Rollie sold their lot in Farmington and purchased Lot 3, Block 12 of the Town of Bismarck (present address: 913 Mulberry Street, Bismarck, MO) across the street from the Bismarck Methodist Church.
On September 30, 1965, just a month and a half short of 101 years of age, Thomas Hill Holman slipped into eternity, having lived a long and productive life, and was buried at Parkview Cemetery in Farmington, Missouri (Latitude N 37°48'14.8", Longitude W 90°26'38.4", NAD 1983).
As I started this search of the history of Thomas Holman I had no expectation of finding a family relationship with him. My interest was merely in finding out more about him. As it turns out we’re not directly related, but there is a family link by marriage. Thomas’ daughter’s husband’s brother married my grandfather’s sister’s husband’s sister. So, according to Family Tree Maker, that makes Thomas Hill Holman the father-in-law of the brother-in-law of the sister-in-law of my grand aunt. How about that! We’re like kin after all.
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To see photos of Thomas Holman and some of his family click here
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Original composition by Steven E. Weible
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To see photos of Thomas Holman and some of his family click here
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Original composition by Steven E. Weible
