Isaac Walter Holler

ZACHARIAH HELLER/HOLLER/HOLLAR > JOHANNES HOLLAR > GEORGE ELAM HOLLAR m Lucy Robertson (who then married Nathan Poyner) > WESLEY HOLLAR > ISAAC WALTER HOLLAR

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To have a good background on this story, read about Johannes Hollar, and the origins of the Midwest Hollars. You can read about the founding of  Poyner Township here. You can also read about David Owens and Sarah Holler and their families. You can read about Wesley Hollar's brother, John B. Hollar here.

Sarah Hollar was my 3rd great grandmother and married David Owens in Indiana, then came to Illinois and then Iowa with several family members, including her widowed mother, Lucy Robertson Hollar. Lucy's husband George Elam Hollar and she had at least five children, including Wesley, Sarah's brother.

Wesley's birth year is unknown, but he was most likely born in Washington County, Indiana along with the rest of the children. He married Martha "Patsy" Brown 09 Feb 1844 in Washington County.

The couple moved down to Muscatine County, Iowa, where they resided in Sweetland township. The 1852 Iowa census indicates that there were five residents of the household, with only one being a voter, so perhaps three children had been born to them. Two of them I know nothing about. The third, Isaac Walter Hollar, was born about 1850. His parents died when he was very young (and possibly to his siblings) in about 1852.

Isaac's grandmother, Lucy and her new second husband, Poyner township founder, Rev Nathan Poyner, adopted him.Nathan's first wife, Nancy Johnston, was the first person to die in Poyner Township in 1854. Nathan married Lucy a few months later. Isaac was raised in Poyner township in Black Hawk County, from that point.

Residing in the household in 1860 was Nathan, Lucy, Nathan's unmarried son, Thomas, and his adopted son, J. B. Edwards. Nathan died in 1867.

By 1870, grandson Isaac, JB Edwards, Thomas Poyner, Lucy Robertson Hollar Poyner, and two of David Owens' children, Enoch and Sarah were living in the household. In 1880, Lucy was living with her daughter Edna Wheeler and family and Thomas and JB Edwards were living in their own home. Lucy died 19 Aug 1889 of old age at 82.

Isaac was born on 27 Aug 1850. He married Elizabeth Lodica "Libbie" Preston on 30 Mar 1873 in Delaware County. He was farming in Poyner Township in 1880. 1900 found them in Delaware County where Isaac was a teamster.

Isaac & Libbie Hollar Family

In 1908, Isaac sued his adoptive nephew, J. B. Edwards for half the land J.B.'s father, Thomas Poyner left him. That would include land owned at one time by Isaac's adoptive father, Nathan Poyner. The outcome of that case is not known.

On 25 Jan 1910, his wife Libbie died of typhoid fever pneumonia There was a mini-outbreak in the city of Waterloo, Iowa, where they were living. Several people died in the outbreak, which was mostly restricted to a small area on the east side of Waterloo.

Isaac returned to Manchester eventually and died at the home of his daughter, Elsie Straub, on 02 Jul 1934.

The Hollar's had at least seven children including:

1. Elsie Elizabeth, born 16 Jan 1874 in Poyner Township. She married Edward Straub on 14 Feb 1900 in Delaware County. They had two children. Elsie died 07 Jun 1955 in Manchester.

2. Minnie Mabel born 16 Aug 1876, most likely in Poyner Township (some sources say Masonville). She married Emslie H. Frentress and they resided in Jo Davies County for many years. They had six children. Minnie died 06 Nov 1956 in Manchester.

3. William Hollar was born 06 Dec 1878, in Poyner Township. He married Sarah Zarr. They had seven children. They resided in Nashua for many years where Will was a mason and drainage tile contractor. William died 28 Jun 1969 in Charles City, Floyd County.

4. Eva was born 17 Feb 1881 in Poyner Township. She married Harry Duke, a very successful plumbing contractor in Waterloo. They had five children. Eva died 26 Jan 1970 in Cedar Falls.

5. Elzada was born 04 Aug 1885. She married Harry E Rogers and then Louis "Gus" Hill. She lived in Kansas and then in Oklahoma. Her date of death is unknown.

6. Elizabeth "Libbie" Marion was born 18 Sep 1888 in Manchester, Delaware County. She married Robert Earl Wallace and then Karl Eugene Henze Sr. They had three children and spent several years living in Texas. She died 30 Sep 1944 in Des Moines.

7. Bert was born 15 Dec 1890 in Manchester. He married Ethel Frost and they divorced. They had four children, one of whom died at age 3. Bert died 22 Sep 1970 in Waterloo.

The minister who adopted him was actually his grandmother
Lucy Robertson Hollar Poyner and her husband, founder
of Poyner Township, Rev Nathan Poyner.

The Founding Families of Poyner Township

Zachariah Holler > John Holler > George Holler married Lucy Robertson 

George Elam Holler was the son of Johannes "John" Holler and Margaret Low. He was born about 1803 in Rowan County, North Carolina and traveled west with his family; first to Ohio, then to the Washington County, Indiana area.

George married Lucy H. Robertson in Washington County, Indiana on 18 Feb 1823. Recently, a death record was located that says George died 02 Feb 1841. He had died prior to the death of his father and was referenced in his will. In about mid-1853, John and his mother, his sister Sarah and husband David Owens (David was also born in North Carolina), her brother John, and sister Edna and husband William Wheeler and their families left Indiana and moved to Black Hawk County, Iowa, stopping briefly in Illinois along the way.

Nancy, Lucy, and Nathan Poyner are
buried on a section of Nathan's property
now the Poyner Twshp Cemetery

Nathan Poyner, of North Carolina, was a Baptist traveling preacher who had preached to pioneer flocks all over the country under shade trees. In the early 1850s, he located, along with his oldest son Thomas, to Linn County, Iowa.

Thomas purchased 200 acres of land in southeast Black Hawk County in 1851 for $102. He purchased another 160 acres for $228 the following year. Horatio Sanford, a land speculator who had purchased the land from the government a short time before using land warrants, made both sales. The Poyner's settled in southeast Black Hawk County in 1853.

The pioneers to this area built log cabins and began clearing land. Poyner preached to its residents under old shade trees as he had before. Settlers trickled in and the township, named Poyner township in honor of Nathan, was organized by order of the county judge in 1854. Nathan's wife, Nancy Johnston, was the first death in the township. She died in 1853 and was buried on a portion of Poyner land. This location is now part of Poyner Township Cemetery.

Mrs Lucy Holler then married Nathan in the summer of 1854, joining together two of the founding families of the township. In 1856, Poyner son James also moved from Linn County and purchased land in the township.  Nathan Poyner died 16 May 1867. His wife Lucy died 19 Aug 1889.

Sarah Holler, daughter of George and Lucy Holler, married David Owens while in Indiana, an early pioneer who joined the original seven families in the area. David was born in North Carolina and had also resided in Indiana. They had nine children, the middle of whom was Lucy Jane "Lizzie" Owens. Sarah died 20 Feb 1864. David married Elizabeth Brown on 21 Aug 1864 and she died 09 Jun 1866 in Poyner Township. Lucy married Ira S Miller (my 2nd great grandparents) 04 Nov 1869 and they resided in Polk Township, Benton County, Iowa for the remainder of her life. David Owens remarried once more, moving to nearby Barclay Township to farm, and then moved on to Davison County, South Dakota where he died 18 Feb 1909.

Edna Holler, Sarah's younger sister, had married William M Wheeler in Washington County prior to 1850. William had two children by his first marriage who both died as young adults and were buried in Poyner Township. Edna gave birth to eight children: William H., Mary, Emma, Thomas Grant, Albert, Lucy Ann, Henrietta, and Sarah J. Edna cared for her mother Lucy in her declining years until her death. The Wheeler’s remained in Poyner Township for the remainder of their lives. William died 10 Jun 1896 and Edna on 09 Sep 1895.

John B Holler married Harriet in about 1857 in Indiana. They had four children: Eliza, Hattie, Granville, and Edward. They lived in Poyner Township for the remainder of their lives. John died

31 May 1918 and Hattie in 1917.

A little family drama:  Nathan and his first wife had help raise a ward in addition to their children. James B. Edwards, who was born in Rappahannock County, Virginia, 11 Mar 1839. When a child, he came with his parents to Illinois where he was left an orphan at the age of 3 years.  Nathan and Lucy raised an additional ward, Isaac Walter Hollar, who was the orphaned son of Wesley Hollar (another son of Lucy & George Holler) of Indiana. It was reportedly Nathan's wish that the boys share equally in Thomas' land. Thomas, who never married, had a major hand in raising James who ended up farming Thomas' land after his death. After reaching his majority, Isaac struck out on his own in the Muscatine, Iowa area. In 1908, he brought suit in Iowa court over the land. Since no articles were found referencing the case after the suit, one might presume some sort of settlement was reached or the suit was dropped.

What isn't clear is what the original connections was between the Poyner and Holler families, which very well could extend for decades from their North Carolina origins, despite the serpentine nature of how all of them arrived in Poyner Township.

Where There's a Will

Zachariah Holler > Johannes "John" Holler 

Rowan County NC 1780

I was kind of surprised to find a "Southerner" in my family line. The sprawling Holler/Hollar family still has a strong presence in what is now Catawba and Iredell Counties in North Carolina. And, of course, many of them married fellow southerners - some of whom were slave owners and fought for the Confederacy. This Holler, however, left the lands he purchased while a youth and went on a quest for more cheap land out west.

In 1742, Zachariah Holler arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Reportedly, the Hollers were originally from Asbach, Baden-Wurttemberg. According to a family member, they lived in Holland prior to coming to America and launched from Rotterdam. Eighteen years old, he established himself in the Bucks County and farmed with his wife, the former Anna Wannemacher. The Holler (and there are many variations including Hollar) family quickly grew to at least 10 children. Among these was Johannes "John" Holler.

John was born in 09 Nov 1763 in Bucks County.

The war record of John Hollar states that he served twice post-Revolutionary War from Lynn Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He saw service in the war for 2 months in the fall of 1780 in a company drafted and called out under Captain Statler, being stationed on the frontier of what was then Southampton County, PA, to guard against the Indians, serving from October until a few days before Christmas. He served again in 1781 under Captain Greylow but saw no action. In both stints he served in the place of a drafted person who didn't want to serve - Philip Kisler in the first, and for Jacob Saunder in the second. Family legend has it that two of his brothers crossed the Delaware River with George Washington, but which brothers, or if in fact this is true and not a tall tale, isn't known.

He reportedly married Sally Shue in about 1781 in Northampton, Pennsylvania and the removed to Rowan County, North Carolina (the then largest county, it is now Catawba and Iredell counties). They had four living children:  John, Jr., Sarah, Christeaner, and Andrew Jackson. Sally died before 1794 and was buried in North Carolina.

John Holler arrived in Rowan and Lincoln countries in approximately 1783. (Catawba and Iredell Counties were formed from these counties). He was about 20 years old when he came to North Carolina. Because John was under age when his father died in Lynn Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, his eldest brother, Adam, administered the property.

After Anna Haller (John's mother) died, Adam (John's older brother) distributed the money among her heirs. John probably traveled to North Carolina with his brother Zachariah, Jr., who also settled in Lincoln and Rowan Counties. Both brothers were involved in land transactions as early as 1795 in Iredell County. John's presence in this region was early as can be traced through records in St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Conover. The Church recorded the births of three or possibly four of John's children: John Jr., born in 1783, and Sarah born in 1785. A third record could be that of Andrew. John and his brother may have been attracted to North Carolina because of Federal or State land grants. John's interest in acquiring land may also have been the reason for his departure for the Midwest in about 1813. It is also true that Catawba County's terrain is very similar to Northampton County. 

"The Holler Family of Catawba and Iredell Counties, North Carolina", by Joanne Holler Atay 

The Rowan County Marriage Bonds records indicate that John Holler and Margaret Low had bonds taken on October 19, 1794. The bondsman was listed as Martin Basinger and the witness was May Troy. When John and Margaret married he would have been almost 29 and Margaret 17. They became the parents of at least nine children: Zachariah, George, Absalom, Israel, Zahariah, Catherine, Elizabeth, Anna, Isaac, Margaret, and Israel.

After living in North Carolina for about 30 years, the Hollers - with the exception of the John Holler, Jr., Andrew Holler, Sr, and Christeaner, children from the first marriage - packed up and moved to Franklin County, Ohio where they lived for about four years before moving on to Washington County, Indiana. John Holler died in Brown Township, Washington County (now Jefferson) February 8, 1849 at the age of 85.

His wife, Margaret, died April 27, 1852, in her 74th year. Both are buried in the Prowsville Cemetery about 5 miles northeast of Campbellsburg.

John left a detailed will and so much about him and he relationship to his children can be taken from its contents:

I, John Holler of Washington County and the State of Indiana do make and publish my last will and testament, hereby revoking and making void all former wills and testaments by me at any time heretofore made;
and first, I direct that my body be decently interred and that my funeral be conducted in a manner corresponding with my estate and situation in life; and as to such worldly estates as it has pleased God to entrust me with I dispose of the same in the following manner, to wit:
my funeral expenses first paid, I direct and bequeath that my sons John Holler and Andrew Holler and my daughter Christeaner have of my estates two hundred and twenty five dollars equally divided between them (ed note: A whopping $75 per child!).
and further; I will and bequeath to David Taylor, the legal heir of my daughter Sarah twenty five dollars if he can be found and if not, twenty five dollars of what I bequeath him shall be equally divided between the three above-named heirs; (ed note: this presume David took a scarper for good and Sarah, the remaining child of the first marriage, most likely was deceased by this time)
and I further direct that my sons Zachariah Holler, George Holler, Israel Holler, Absalom Holler and my daughters Catharine, Elizabeth and Ann have an equal portion of all my estate hereby bequeathed to them at my decease except as herein directed, to wit::
I have paid sixty dollars to John Kelly for my son George and that amount shall be deducted from his portion at the time of my death and of the division;
and further I direct that forty three dollars shall be deducted out of Catharine's part of my estates as I have paid her that amount some time in the year 1848,
and further I direct that my Executor take as much as seventy dollars and purchase land for my daughter Elizabeth and her children;
and I further direct that my daughter Ann have a certain lot of land lying and being situated in Washington County, it being the South East fourth of the South East quarter of Section No. six in township No. 3 north of Range three East;
and I further direct that my daughter Ann have thirteen dollars to purchase a cow;
and as for my son Israel Holler I have paid him in full in land and he has received in full of his portion of all my estates except one dollar before the date hereof; (Anna Holler Enochs was the mother of eight children)
and further I direct and bequeath to my beloved wife Margaret Holler two beds and bedding, one cow, one side saddle and one trunk; (mighty big of him!)
and further I direct that my Executor use lawful means to obtain some money due me in the State of Ohio and if it, or any portion of it can be had shall divide the same among any heirs according to the above will and testament;
and further, I have appointed Jacob Banta my Executor of this, my last will and testament. In testimony whereof, I John Holler, the testator herein have herewith set my hand and seal this twentieth day of January, AD. 1849 

Conspicuously absent was any mention of Isaac "Crock" Holler. Isaac resided in Wayne County, Illinois while the rest of the family resided in Indiana.

Next up is the life of the descendants of George Elam Holler, John Holler's son.