THE JOHNSTOWN (Cambria City) CONNECTION
Before the Rolling Mill Mine Disaster (1889 - 1901)
John and Mary's home in the Cambria City borough of Johnstown, PA was a conglomeration of quite a few boroughs at the time and still is. Some records indicate that their property address was 609 - 615 Broad Street, in Cambria City (Johnstown) and 611 - 615 Broad Street in the Johnstown City Directory. They also owned a little dairy farm called Cambria Dairy. They had two houses, a barn, and a "common" pasture was used by their cows up the hill behind the houses. Today, the Johnstown Area Heritage Association / Discovery Center (JAHA) stands on this property. Their property started on the southwest corner of Broad Street and 6th Ave. John also worked at the Rolling Mill (coal) Mine as a foreman in the heart of Johnstown. He began his employment with the mine February 6, 1899. There were 575 to 600 men employed in the mine. Cambria Steel Company operated the mine. Mary ran the house, tended to the children and ran a dairy farm with the help of her children. John also worked at home up until he had to report to work. He worked an off-shift at the mine. The mine was almost a 24 hour operation, (except, perhaps on Saturday and Sundays.) Interesting to note, on the 1900 US Census records, John and Mary's last name was spelled HOYLLA. John's employment status was noted as "day laborer."
Their first son, 2nd child, John J. Holly, (Jr.) (b-March 7, 1891) was christened at St. Stephen's (Slovak) Catholic Church, (Cambria City) Johnstown, PA. Interesting to note, that John Holly (grandfather) insisted their babies be christened (baptized) at his church. On Sunday's, however, John and Mary would walk hand-in-hand down the street from their home on Broad Street and 6th, and John would attend St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Church and Mary would attend St. Mary Byzantine (Greek) Catholic Church across the street. (John would walk Mary to her church, then cross the street to his.) After their Sunday church masses (services), they would meet and walk home, once again, hand-in-hand. John and Mary Holly also made a donation to St. Stephen's Church in the form of stain-glass windows. The Holly family name was inscribed at the bottom of the windows. The stained-glass windows belonged to the first St. Stephen's of 1891. St. Stephen's (Slovak) Catholic Church was founded in 1891, and was originally a wooden frame church on the south corner of Fourth Avenue and Power Street, facing west, in 1893. A parochial school was established in the basement of the church in 1895. In 1897, a four-story brick building was built next to the church as a convent and living quarters for the Sisters of St. Francis. John and Mary also celebrated two Christmas's together each year; December 25th and January 7th; January being a Byzantine (Greek) Catholic tradition. They also celebrated two Easters. (St. Stephen's is now called Resurrection Catholic Church.)
(Uncle's) John (Jr.) and George had the job of delivering the milk in 1 and 1/2 quart tin pails to private homes and the boarding houses early in the morning so the miners had their milk for coffee, cereal and whatever for their breakfasts. This delivery was everyday in all kinds of weather. Then they would have their breakfasts and go to school. (The 2nd) Anna Holly completed 5th grade; that was enough for her to learn long and short division in math and multiplication.
CHILDREN: John and Mary Holly (surviving) children were: John J, George J, Ann L, Francis (Frank) J, Juliana (Julia) M.
John and Mary Holly had a total of 10 children; 5 of them dying at young ages. (There have been unconfirmed reports that there were 13 children, but a total of 10 could only be confirmed, most from St. Stephen's records.)
Of these 5 deceased children, the following names have been found, some in church records:
Anna (the first Anna) (b-1886), died 1893
Twin boys; Thomas and ?) (b-? ) Thomas was only name that Ann Holly Walters could remember.
Joseph, (b-April 24, 1898), baptized, April 25, 1898, died 1898
Mary, (b-September 14, 1899), baptized September 17, 1899, d-September 26th, 1899? other reports d-1900 (Mary was counted in the 1900 Census.)
Rolling Mill MIne Disaster (1902)
At the time of the Rolling Mill Mine (explosion) disaster, Thursday, 11:30AM, July 10th, 1902 (click here), John (grandfather) was 38 and working an off-shift (evening). According to family, he was not at the mine during the initial explosion, but was at home. After the explosion, the call went out for volunteer help and he went to the mine to assist with the rescue. According to personal accounts and records, he went into the mine and rescued several miners and became trapped (by the waves of after-damp) on his 2nd or 3rd time into the mine. He was overcome by "after-damp" a deadly, irrespirable mixture of gases, consisting chiefly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, left in the mine after the explosion (or fire.) In this instance, the "after-damp" was produced by the initial explosion in the Klondike portion the mine (and there were reports of a 2nd explosion right after.) Methane gas concentrations constantly created hazardous conditions for the miners. Most of 112 miners lost their lives suffocating in this mining disaster; this being the worst mining disaster ever seen up until this time. (7 were killed by the explosion, the remaining died from "after-damp.") Rev (Father) John Martvon of St. Stephen's Catholic Church identified John's body as was asked of the Churches at the time by the authorities in charge of the disaster.
John was buried at St. Stephen's Cemetery (Johnstown, Oakhurst borough) on the side of a hill in a (mass) grave with other St. Stephen Church miners of the disaster. John was buried July 12, 1902 according to the Record of Internments. All victim's were in caskets of various types; some wooden boxes, others, opulent. (Mary Holly and all the children that died young are buried at St. Stephen's Cemetery, Mary's church cemetery is also located down the hill from St. Stephen's Cemetery. NOTE: Mary should have a monument.) According to records from the mine owner, $200 ea. was paid out to the surviving dependents of the disaster. (It was only mentioned in a news article of the day.) There was also another article stating that the miner's dependents were paid $1000 from Cambria Steel, owner of the Rolling Mill Mine. (The newspaper of the day stated Cambria Steel's intention in an article, however confirmation is lacking. Six months later (after the disaster), John Holly's last child was born, Friday, January 9, 1903. Her name was Juliana Marie Holly. She would never see her Dad.
After the Rolling Mill Mine Disaster (1902-1912)
After the mining disaster, Mary kept the dairy farm running with the help of the 3 oldest children with some schooling fit in when possible. Church records show Anna, George and John Jr. were registered at St. Stephen's Catholic School for 1903-1904, Anna and George registered at the same school for 1904 - 1905, and Anna for 1905 -1906. Notice how John and George were kept out of school as they got older and were probably needed at home (to run the dairy business.) There were no more church school entries (discovered) for the Holly (Holej) children after 1906. In the 1903 - 1905 Johnstown City Directories, Mary Holly was listed as a dairy woman living at 615 Broad Street. Also, Mary Holly was a wise business woman outside of Cambria Dairy evidenced by her purchase of real estate after the death of her husband.. After approximately 3 1/2 years from the mine disaster, Mary Holly (age 39) met and married a John Bohacsik (age 36). The Application for Marriage License was dated January 20, 1906 and they were married a short time later. A lady friend of Mary Holly's talked her into marrying Mr. Bohacsik since Mary was alone and trying to raise her 5 children alone. The lady friend should have minded her own business, for after grandmother's death (Mary Holly), he became a typical step-father. During this short marriage, he turned out to be a heavy drinker and liked to play cards. Mary was against both and she made it clear there would be no drinking in front of the children. Mary would send Mr. Bohacsik and his friend(s) out to the barn. During one of Mr. Bohacsik's card games, either he or one of his friends, either by knocking a lantern over or by a still hot cigar, set the barn on fire. The barn was lost (with the cows and chickens being caught in the fire.) As a side note, Mary had two daughters by Mr. Bohacsik, named Mary and Elizabeth.
In late January 1908, Mary developed pneumonia and was eventually carried out of her home to a hospital. While being carried out, her 5 children had surrounded her. Mary said, "Good-bye children, I'll never see you or this house again." Mary Holly-Bohacsik completed a Last Will and Testament (click here), February 2, 1908, before her death from pneumonia on February 5, 1908. All five (5) Holly children were left orphans. Juliana Holly was not allowed to attend the funeral. It was reported that shortly after the death of Mary, a broom fell from behind the stove, next to a wood box, in the Holly kitchen and Mary Holly (Bohacsik) appeared in a beautiful dress and instructed her children to be good children. There was also something else indicated by Mary, but cannot be remembered or recalled. Just prior to Mary Holly-Bohacsik's death, she had given birth to Elizabeth Boha(s)cik approx January 29th, 1908. Elizabeth died two weeks later, an infant, the evening of February 12, 1908; funeral services were held February 14th at St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church.
Concerning the real estate value of the Broad Street property, the property was valued in the thousands as indicated by the Office of Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court in Cambria County. (This was a lot of money for back then.) After Mary's death, within a couple of years, eventually, bills got behind and a Cambria Court ordered a "public sale" or public auction of the Holly property; this was a distressed sale. During this time, Mr. Bohacsik wanted Ann Holly to be his housekeeper, and help raise little Mary (Bohacsik), but Ann told him no because of his treatment towards her brothers, and she was afraid of him. Mr. Bohacsik was not willing to take care of the Holly children. Ann Holly lived with Mary Holly's cousin for a while, worked and saved enough money to go to Lorain, OH where she worked for several years before returning to Johnstown in 1914. She went to Lorain, because her older brothers were there. Julianna (Julia) Holly (age 5) was sent to live with cousin's (last name Danko) in Rockwood, PA until almost 18 years old. The Danko's owned a boarding house, and basically, Julia became a slave during her stay there. The woman of the house was mean to Julia, but only while her husband was away at work. Julia was in charge of cleaning the "slop" buckets, working the land and cleaning the boarding house. Frank Holly (age 7) went to Lorain, OH and returned to Johnstown, PA, eventually becoming a ward of the court (his guardian was an attorney) and arrangements were made by the attorney to send him to the Baltimore Boys Home where he stayed until old enough to be on his own. The property was eventually sold in 1912 for $4,000 and the Holly children inherited nothing. Mr. Bohacsik got all the Holly property and money and took off for Pittsburgh with (little) Mary his daughter.
The "Great Depression" years after the Rolling Mill Mine Disaster (Cleveland, OH)
During the rains and eventual Johnstown flood of 1936, the (mass) graves started to slide down the hill at Oakhurst/St. Stephen's Cemetery) -John Holly's burial place. A letter requesting financial assistance (help) was received by Ann Holly Walters from the local authorities and/or church in Johnstown. This was during the Great Depression and Ann Holly Walters was living in Cleveland with limited funds. There was very little money available to assist.
According to a June 16, 1937 letter from the American Consulate General, Prague, Czechoslovakia, (received by Ann Holly Walters), Maria (Mary) Demcisak Holej (Holly) was part owner in real estate / land in Vola, her home town in Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia.) Her share of the property was 2/12. The land size was 1 hectar, 44 ar, and 27 square meters although the property size was larger in prior years to this letter. Mary's share of the land and all other parcels fell to various relatives / family members on Mary's mothers side (in the old country), last name being Popik. At the time of this consulate letter, it was recommended a law suit would have to be filed for the recognition of land ownership to Mary's descendants. No suit was never filed, at least none which could be found. The land inheritance to any of the Holly children was lost.
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