Marshall Andrew HOLLADA

                   [Brderbund WFT Vol. 12, Ed. 1, Tree #3318, Date of Import: Jul 28, 1998]

According to the application of marriage license filed in Somerset County, Marshall was 24 yrs old and Arminta was 20 years old. He lived in Elk Lick Twp. and worked as a laborer. My mother has said that he worked at the lumber camp at White's Creek, possibly on land owned by Arminta's father.

Arminta lived at home in Addison Twp. They were married at Unamis by Rev. H. M. Petrea on March 12, 1905. The parents of Marshall and Arminta appeared before the Justice of the Peace on the 7th of March to give consent and apply for the license.

My mother remembers the story that her father was very handsome when he was young. Apparently her mother was also beautiful when young and they made a very handsome couple. She says that her mother was also pursued by another suitor, a teacher, who was not as good looking as Marshall, and that she chose Marshall. My mother, Miriam,  recalls her grandmother, Emma Cramer Ringer, saying that Arminta would not have had such a hard life as a farmer's wife if she had chosen differently. Miriam has often recalled that her mother had a "hard life" on the farm. There was always much work to do. There was always plenty to eat but often not enough money for other things they needed. Though she always remembers her father owning a car of some sort.

I wonder if there may have been some difficulty in this marriage in the beginning. My mother remembers Arminta telling her daughters once that she cried many tears at night after marrying her father. This is an odd thing to tell your daughters and I do not know if it was said under some stress of the moment or a statement of regret.  My mother does remember as a child hearing her father being particularly demanding and critical of most everything Arminta would do for Marshall. There were arguments but nothing more that my mother recalls.

Perhaps this was said as a warning to her daughters to take care to make good decisions in marrying, because mistakes are not easy to correct. I have often heard my mother say that divorce was not an option in those days, for a farmer's wife to leave with no money and many children to care for. I like to think that perhaps my mother was careful to take Arminta's advise, because she didn't marry my father until her 30's unlike most of her ancestors and apparently waited until she was sure she was making the right decision for herself.

My mother also recalls fond memories of her mother being a particularly "good" mother, always worrying about her children, always making sure they got to the dentist;  making sure they had good shoes and nice clothes to wear on Sunday to church, etc. and of course they always went to church on Sunday.  She also remembers that her mother always wore nice blouses with a ruffle or lace and took great care to fix herself up whenever she went out in public. This a trait about my own mother that must definitely have been passed on by Arminta in that Miriam has always been careful about dressing up, wearing makeup, and looking nice anytime she is in public.

According to Miriam, the farm they lived on in Elk Lick Twp. was bought from Marshall's father Zenas.