KENNETH E. HOLLAND

The following bio was taken from page 239 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Cemeteries of Texas

Kenneth and I (Jane Stephen Holland) were married May 21, 1971 at the first Baptist Church of Crims Chapel, five miles north of Henderson. We both grew up in the Henderson area and attended the same schools but didn’t actually meet until 1968 at the Baptist Student Union while attending Kilgore College. We have three children: Jill Diane (March 24, 1972), James (Jim) Kenneth (July 27, 1976), and Jeffrey Amos (August 9, 1979).

Except for the first two years of our marriage spent in Shreveport, Louisiana, we have lived in the Henderson area. Kenneth is employed by The Western Company of North American in Kilgore, and I am a former math teacher turned housewife. We built our home in Crims Chapel in 1975 on part of my great-grandfather Bill Standard’s original tract. My family history is recorded under the Standard Family by June Stephens (my twin sister). This story will be concerned with Kenneth’s family.

Kenneth is the eldest child of Billie Gene and Fay Elizabeth (Ware) Holland of Henderson. He has a brother, Joe Holland, and a sister, Patricia Futch (twins).

His paternal great-grandparents, William Dock and Mary Jane (Crow) Holland and George Newton and Sarah Almira (Morrison) Dickinson, were all from Hall County, Georgia. Looking for "greener pastures," the two men, along with Jim Hickey (namesake of the Hickey Community) and Fels Shockley, struck upon the idea of selling tickets for an excursion to Texas. As a result, sixty-three Georgians boarded a train for Texas as passengers of Holland and Company. They arrived in Henderson in 1901. On December 7, 1902 the Dickinson’s daughter, India Ava, and the Holland’s son, Samuel Tillman, were married in Rusk County. Kenneth has their original marriage license. Their twelve children include: Garnet Newton Holland, Samuel Travis (Ike) Holland, Evelyn Bessie Stevens, Erma Catherine Wells, Robert Luther (Jim) Holland, Mary Almira Harris, Mattie Lou Crow, Roy T. Holland, Lois Jeanette Duncan, Delphia Marjorie Adkins, Doris Lee Boatman, and Billie Gene Holland. Billie Gene is Kenneth’s father.

Kenneth’s maternal great-grandparents were Joseph Richard and Lulu (Mebane) Ware of Tennessee and Herman J. and Williaminia (Klute) Raske of Germany.

The Wares married May 18, 1890 in McKinzie, Tennessee. Joseph Richard Ware was a telegraph operator, and Lulu taught piano. They had seven children, the eldest being Joseph Edgar Ware. They moved to Comanche County, Texas.

The Raskes married in 1872 in Berlin, Germany, where Herman was a coffin maker. They were Lutherans. In 1880, they moved to Guadalupe County, Texas. They raised five children: Anna, Herman, Franz, Theresia Marie, and Thekla (Ted).

Theresia Marie Raske married Joseph Edgar (Eddie) Ware, October 17, 1919 in Waco, Texas. He served in the Army and was sometimes called "Dare-Devil" Ware because of his motorcycle performances in carnivals. He did such tricks as riding around the inside of a huge drum, suspended by speed and gravity. He was also a good ice skater. They had two children, Joseph Edgar Ware, Jr. and Faye Elizabeth Ware. Faye is Kenneth’s mother.

Faye Ware and Billie Gene Holland attended the same high school at Gaston. He later served in the Navy. They married March 20, 1948.

Most of Kenneth’s family came from Baptist backgrounds, although some were Lutherans and Presbyterians. Kenneth grew up in the First Baptist Church of Henderson. We are now active members of our community church, First Baptist Church of Crims Chapel, my home church.

Submitted by Mrs. Kenneth Holland