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Mary Ann (Yonkin) Holden was born in about 1809 in Pottsgrove, Montgomery County, PA, the daughter of George and Elizabeth (Bollinger) Yonkin Sr.  

She was joined in wedlock with Vermont native David Holden (1799-1858), perhaps also spelled "Halden" and possibly born on March 24, 1801. 

Six known children of this marriage were Jeanette Stroh, Henry Holden, William Holden, David Holden, Aaron Holden and Mary Holden. 

They put down roots in Chillisquaque Township near Pottsgrove, Northumberland County and were there in the 1850-1853 timeframe. The United States Census of 1850 shows David engaged as a boatman with his sons Henry and William. 

Sadly, David died in 1858 after writing his last will and testament on Nov. 22, 1858. Then on July 21, 1860, a notice of his estate, with Mary Ann named as the executrix, was printed in the Sunbury Gazette. 

The widowed Mary dwelled in Chillisquaque with her 12-year-old daughter Mary in 1860, with the town of Milton as their postal address. Perhaps in debt that she could not pay, Mary Ann surrendered their farm of eight acres to a sheriff's sale in December 1860. The Gazette noted that the tract was entirely cleared and contained a small two story frame house and a log stable. 

Aerial view of densely packed Pittston, 1892 - courtesy Library of Congress

She is believed to be the same "Mary A. Holden" of Pittston, PA who died in a most gruesome fashion after an accident on the Fourth of July 1868. The Harrisburg Telegraph said that: 

About ten o'clock in the forenoon, Mr. Wm. Stroh, desiring to make some demonstration in honor of the 4th, adopted a method common with blacksmiths -- taking a large flat burr, and filing a notch on the under side, for the vent-hole, placed it on an anvil, filled the burr with powder and placed upon it another heavy anvil. At the explosion, the burr, which proved to be cast iron instead of wrought, severed into fragments and flew in different directions. Mr. Stroh and nearly all the members of his family were standing in the door of the shop, on William street. Addie, his daughter, received a wound in the forehead which proved fatal in two hours; Mrs. Holden, his mother-in-law, aged about 65, was severely cut about her right temple; from which it is now thought she may recover, but her case is yet extremely critical. 

Mary lingered for 11 days before dying on July 15, 1868. A burial site is not known.

~ Daughter Jeanette (Holden) Stroh ~

Daughter Jeanette/Janette "Janet" Holden (1829-1895) was born on June 21, 1829. 

On Oct. 30, 1851, she wed blacksmith William Stroh (Dec. 17, 1828-1889), a native of Livingston County, NY. The ceremony was led by Rev. John J. Reimensnyder in Pottsgrove, Northumberland County. Earlier that very same day, in Danville, PA, William's relative David F. Stroh tied the knot with Christianna, who then traveled to attend the later affair. 

Their trio of children were Adelaide "Addie" Stroh, Mary Jeanette Stroh and William Holden Stroh. 

William stood 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighed 172 lbs. During the war, he went to Pittsburgh on Aug. 14, 1862 to join the Union Army. He was assigned to the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, Company M, known as "David Schooley's Battery." As a soldier, he was assigned the duties of mechanic/blacksmith ("artificer") and commissary. William often was forced to work in the rain and sleep under wagons for protection from the elements. While on duty at Petersburg, VA in July 1864, he contracted typhoid fever and was treated in a base hospital at 18th Avenue at Broadway Landing. During that period of confinement, fellow soldier John F. Trube of West Pittston also received treatment in the facility. From there, William entered Point of Rocks Hospital in Virginia. He "remained until the time of his discharge in June 1865," wrote a physician, improving enough that he worked at light duty as superintendent of an army blacksmith shop. William received his honorable discharge at Petersburg.

William's return-address envelope and letter to the pension commissioner, 1889 Courtesy National Archives

The Strohs migrated to Pittston after the close of the war, where he established his trade as a blacksmith. 

Tragically, the family endured the heartbreaking death of daughter Adelaide at age 15 on the Fourth of July 1868 in the same accident that claimed the life of Jeanette's mother. 

The Strohs somehow managed to overcome the horror of these senseless deaths. William joined the Nugent Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Union veterans' organization. He "has always been a highly respected and industrious citizen and had many friends throughout the entire valley," said the Pittston Evening Gazette. "He has been for many years a member of the Broad Street M.E. Church." 

As he aged, William suffered from his wartime ailments and vomited several times a day. In 1869, he and son-in-law Frank Bonstein worked together in the blacksmith shop, with Bonstein later writing, "during that time, often heart him complain of stomach trouble, he called it catarrh of the stomach, and at times after shoeing horses he would be very sick at his stomach and obliged to rest and grew worse until 1882 when he was obliged to give up work entirely." He was treated in 1881, 1883 and 1888 by Dr. J.M. Mulholland who at times got calls at night and regularly inserted a catheter into the stomach to draw out liquid and mucus. 

William unsuccessfully applied to receive a government pension as compensation for his military service. [Invalid App. No. 511.142] He underwent a physical examination by military surgeons in 1884 and again in 1888 claiming he suffered from "catarrh" in the stomach as a result of fever and cold. The 1884 medical response, after a year in which he had not worked at all, was that "we find [the lungs] health at all points & the heart normal. He has the appearance of being a strong and healthy individual. In 1888, the medical report said that, despite his occupation as a blacksmith, "the hands show no labor." 

Pittston as seen from Sand Hill- courtesy Library of Congress

The Strohs' final home together was at 30 Church Street. William passed away on May 1, 1889. An obituary in the Evening Gazette said that he "had suffered for many years from a complication of diseases, and was last Saturday taken with a severe spell of sickness. He had recovered a great deal, however, and his friends had hoped that he would soon regain his usual health. For a couple of days past he had grown worse and sank rapidly until death came to his relief." Another obituary in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reported that he "was for a number of years a prominent blacksmith of the town and formerly carried on the business in the shop now run by his son William, Jr. He is one of Pittston's oldest citizens [and] he is said to have amassed a fortune as the result of his labor at his trade. He was highly esteemed in the borough, a large circle of friends mourning his sudden demise." His remains were laid to rest in Pittston City Cemetery following services held in the Stroh home, led by Rev. W.J. Hill and Rev. Y.C. Smith. There was a large turnout of his fellow members of the Nugent GAR post. 

Jeanette immediately filed for her husband's pension, with family friends Joseph Langford, Wells Stevens and Lewis Vansickle providing affidavits of support in her case. Her pension claim also was turned down. [Widow App. No. 405.051] She outlived him by six-plus years and remained on Church Street. In September 1893, she received a visit from Mrs. Rev. P.S. (Lucetta Bartran) Everett of Waukesha, WI, an old friend from Pittston.

She suffered from liver problems and in July 1895 was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage. Sadly, she died in Pittston on Sept. 24, 1895. Her newspaper obituary said she "was an earnest Christian woman, with other excellent qualities that won for her a large circle of acquaintances. She was a member of the Broad Street M.E. Church, and took an active interest in the work."

Daughter Adelaide "Addie" Stroh (1858-1868) was born on Jan. 4, 1853. She grew up in Pittston and, said the Pittston Gazette, "enjoyed perfect health, and like her father, a robust constitution. In stature she was a woman, and womanly and dutiful in all her relations. At home she had assumed many of those responsibilities which not only endeared, but rendered her, as it was indispensible." She held memberships in the Methodist Church and attended its Sunday School. Tragically, she and her grandmother were killed in a freak Fourth of July celebration accident in 1868. She received a horrific wound in the head and within two hours was dead. Her funeral service was conducted by Rev. Y.C. Smith, the sermon drawn from the fourth verse of Psalm 23: "Yea I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death; I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." The Gazette added that the "sermon was a faithful warning to the living to be mindful of death." Assisting Rev. Smith in the rites were Rev. George M. Peck, Rev. N.G. Parke and Rev. J.R. Shanafelt. "To the grave, in the West Pittston Cemetery, a large procession followed," said the Gazette. "The choir sung from the Hymn: 'She sleeps in the Valley so sweet' after which the usual burial service was read by Mr. Peck. That a compassionate Heavenly Father may temper this deep affliction to those upon whom it falls, is the prayer of a sympathizing community."

Daughter Mary Jeanette "Jennie" Stroh (1857-1917) was born on Jan. 27, 1857. She tied the marital cord with Frank Bonstein (Jan. 27, 1852-1927), originally from West Pittston, and the son of John and Mary J. (Bovard) Bonstein. His birthdate also has been given as Aug. 15, 1852. The couple did not reproduce. When Frank was age 17, in 1869, he worked in the blacksmith shop of his future father-in-law. Frank earned a living as a painter and wallpaper hanger. He held memberships in the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church, the Valley Lodge of the Masons, the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Royal Arcanum, the Wyoming Valley Commandery of the Knights Templar and the Gahonto Lodge of the Odd Fellows. Jeanette was a volunteer with the First Methodist Episcopal Church and "was one of its most active and earnest workers," said the Pittston Gazette. "For many years she had been president of the Foreign Missionary Society of the church and as a teacher in the Sunday school she was most efficient. She was a thorough student of the Bible and her knowledge of the Scriptures was more than ordinary. She was a most capable teacher and frequently addressed the Sunday school on Bible topics." As of 1917, they shared a home at 30 Church Street, Pittston. Jeanette suffered for years from chronic gastro-intestinal disease and at the age of 60 developed a narrowing of the opening between her stomach and small intestine ("pyloric stenosis"). Unable to rally, Jeanette was carried away by the heavenly host on July 9, 1917. An examining physician wrote that her condition was "complicated with pancreatitis (probably malignant) and excessive mental and nervous depression." The Gazette said that she had "suffered a break down in health [a year ago] leaving her in an incapacitated condition for the past few months." Rev. A.D. Decker, her pastor, presided over the funeral rites. Frank lived for another decade as a widower. He retired in about 1921. Then in about 1927, he moved into the home of his married sister Mrs. John Urban at 30 Montgomery Avenue on the West Side. Burdened with heart disease, he succumbed to the spectre of death at the age of 75 on Sept. 11, 1927. Said the Gazette, he "had a rugged constitution and with the exception of the last year or two enjoyed good health all his life. He had been in failing health for the past year, but was able to be about and Saturday night was about town. The end came very suddenly early yesterday morning while Mr. Bonstein was in bed." The funeral service jointly was conducted by his pastor, Rev. J. Arthur Jones, and Rev. Richard A. Rinker of the First Presbyterian Church. Interment was in the sacred soil of Pittston Cemetery. The mourners included "a large company of acquaintances and old friends, many of whom had expressed their sympathy and esteem by sending flowers," said the Gazette. The pair sleep for all time in Pittston Cemetery.

Son William Holden "Will" Stroh (1860-1924) was born on Feb. 11, 1860 in Pittston, Luzerne County, PA. He was joined in wedlock with Elizabeth "May" Wise (Sept. 8, 1867-1940), also spelled "Weis" and a native of Carlisle or Shippensburg, PA. One known daughter was Marjorie Koch. The Strohs dwelled at 39 Wood Street in Pittston. William earned a living as a painter in young manhood. He also was an expert rifle shot and enjoyed recreation of the outdoors. He also is believed to have helped with his father's blacksmith shop in Pittston's William Street. Some years later the site was taken over by Krise's Garage. William also operated a milk dairy on William Street. "Due to his business connections and his associations with the leading sportsmen of this community, Mr. Stroh became widely known," said the Pittston Gazette. They held a membership in the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church. After suffering a stroke of paralysis in the first week of December 1923, he never fully recovered. Death finally carried him away at the age of 64 on March 5, 1924. The Gazette said that "His death was not unexpected." An obituary said that a "number of friends of the deceased gathered at the family home at the hour appointed for the funeral, while the number of floral offerings in evidence testified further as to the esteem in which the deceased was held." Another obituary said he was "the last survivor of one of the oldest families of the city." Rev. H.M. Kelley, of the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church, presided over the services, with help from the congregation's former pastor Rev. Alexander Decker, now of Wilkes-Barre. The remains were lowered into eternal sleep in the Pittston Cemetery. Daughter Marjorie served as the informant for the official Pennsylvania certificate of death and incorrectly claimed that both of her father's parents had been born in England. May outlived her spouse by 16 years and moved into her married daughter's residence in Milton, Northumberland County. There, after enduring chronic heart disease and bronchial asthma, she died on July 28, 1940. An obituary in the Gazette said that "Pittston friends were deeply grieved today when informed of the death... Only recently Mrs. Stroh had been to Pittston to visit old friends and had spent a week at the home of a West Pittston friend. She appeared to be enjoying her usual good health and local friends were altogether unprepared for tidings of her death. Mrs. Stroh was a member of one of Pittston's oldest and most respected families, the family home having been for a number of years at 29 Wood street." Leading her funeral rites were Rev. Austin L. Prynn, of the First Methodist Church, and Rev. Ivan L. Snyder.

• Granddaughter Marjorie Stroh ( ? -1995) wed George W. Koch Sr. (1890-1963), a native of West Pittston. Their union endured the highs and lows of 37 years. The pair produced one son, George W. Koch Jr. George was employed by the A&P Tea Company as an assistant superintendent for several years. The family lived in Berwick, Williamsport, Milton and then Daytona Beach, FL. After his retirement in 1954, they returned to Berwick. He then went to work for Rea and Derrick Store in Berwick, retiring again in 1961. He held memberships in the First Methodist Church of Berwick, the Berwick lodge of the Elks and the Defender Fire Company. Their final home together was at 118-A East Front Street, Berwick, PA. He became ill in mid-1963 and for the last four months of his life was confined to bed. He passed away at the age of 73 on Dec. 29, 1963. He was laid to rest beside Marjorie's ill-fated young aunt Adelaide in Pittston Cemetery. An obituary appeared in the Bloomsburg Morning Press. Marjorie stayed in their apartment for the balance of her 31 remaining years. Death snatched her away on New Year's Day 1995. A brief death notice appeared in the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise.

  Great-grandson George W. Koch Jr. (1928-1978) was born three days before Christmas 1928 in Berwick, PA. He married Marlene ( ? - ? ). They became the parents of Sharlene Mae Koch. By 1977, the couple divorced. For 20 years, from 1952 to 1972, George worked for the U.S. Army at its Letterkenny Army Depot. He retired in 1972 holding the rank of sergeant first class. George held a variety of memberships in the Charles Nitterhouse post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Burt J. Asper post of the American Legion, Amvets, Waynesboro aerie of the Eagles, and Knapp lodge of the Masons in Berwick. George's last address was 547 South Second Street, Chambersburg. He died in the emergency room of Chambersburg Hospital at the age of 49 on Jan. 10, 1978. The Chambersburg Public Opinion printed an obituary. Circa 1978, daughter Sharlene made her dwelling-place in Waynesboro, PA, and received an associate degree in business administration from Penn State University's Mont Alto Campus.

~ Son Henry Holden ~

Son Henry Holden (1830- ? ) was born in about 1830. 

A bachelor at age 20, in 1850, he lived with his parents in Chillisquaque Township and worked with his father as a boatman. His paper trail has gone cold.

~ Son William Holden ~

Son William Holden (1833- ? ) was born in about 1833. Nothing more about him is known.

~ Son David Clayton Holden ~

Son David Clayton Holden (1843- ? ) was born in about 1843. 

He was alive and was named in his father's last will and testament dated 1858. From there he disappears into oblivion.

~ Son Aaron Clayton Holden ~

Son Aaron Clayton Holden (1845-1925) was born on Oct. 17, 1845. 

For years, he resided in Pittston, Luzerne County and was self-employed as a harness maker in the old Gazette Building on North Main Street. 

On March 15, 1870, at the age of 24, Aaron entered into marriage with Mary Josephine Hapeman (Oct. 18, 1852-1923), daughter of Nicholas V. and Caroline Hapeman of Scotch Hill near Wilkes-Barre, PA. The presiding pastor was Rev. Y.T. Smith of the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Two daughters born to the couple were Carrie M. Holden and Helen Damon. 

He made news in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader in October 1878 when exhibiting "handsome specimens of hand-made harness,... which attract general attention." His name was in the gossip columns of the Wilkes-Barre Sunday News in October 1882 when "remodeling and building in the rear of his place of business." He appears to have owned a house on Church Street in 1883, which was rented to Frank Brenton, and which caught fire when the terra cotta flue became overheated and set fire to its wooden back. 

Aaron was awarded a patent for the Holden Carriage Apron and then in 1886 tried to sell it to a party from Elmira [NY?]. Reported the Pittston Evening Gazette, "Mr. Holden has made many aprons within the past few years, but since the sale of the right, he has suspended their manufacture. The apron is a very convenient arrangement for any sort of a vehicle. It is readily applied, and protects completely against rain and snow storms." The Times Leader reported in April 1893 that he had gone to Virginia to "engage in business there" after having sold his harness business to Alex McDougal. Aaron and Michael Bolin are known in 1901 to have purchased an option to buy the 93-acre, shuttered Morgan coal slope in Upper Pittston with the hope of re-opening it for mining. An October 1903 business trip took him to Illinois. 

Their world was shattered when their 28-year-old daughter Carrie died after a seven-week illness in January 1904. The grieving Aaron and friend Bolin sold the Morgan coal lease to the Reliance Coal Company. He continued to pursue new buiness opportunities and in April 1906 helped form the Lauralla State Company with fellow investors James H. Hughes, Bernard J. Conlan, M.G. Baum and R.L. Cannon. In May 1908, he was an incorporator of the Florida Realty Company of Pennsylvania in partnership with A.A. Bryden, Frank C. Mosier, Richard M. Hughes, William Drury, Amon Armstrong and friend Bolin. Socially, he was a member of the Wyoming Valley Commandery of the Knights Templar and as a "knight" was said to have "had the distinction of being the first one knighted in Wyoming Valley Commandery." 

Their home for 27 years was on Pittston's west side, with an address in 1923 of 109 Spring Street. They held a membership in the West Pittston Presbyterian Church. 

Having been ill for several years, and then her health becoming worse in the spring of 1923, Mary Josephine died on June 14, 1923. An obituary in the Pittston Gazette said she was "a highly regarded resident and a member of one of Pittston's pioneer families... Due to her sterling character Mrs. Holden enjoyed the friendship of a wide circle and her death comes as a severe shock to members of the family and her many friends." 

Aaron's final dwelling-place was with the Frank Williams family in West Pittston at the address of 403 Montgomery Avenue. On the fateful morning of March 4, 1925, the 79-year-old Aaron was found dead in bed. The deputy coroner wrote that "He had not been in the best of health for some time. cause of death being heart trouble." Burial was in West Pittston Cemetery, with Robert L. Damon of Allentown providing key details for the official Pennsylvania certificate of death. An obituary in the Times Leader called him "one of West Pittston's oldest and most highly respected residents... Mr. Holden was one of the pioneer business men of Pittston city... About 15 years ago he retired from [the harness] business and devoted the greater part of his time to real estate. He was a man of sterling character and was respected by all who knew him."

Daughter Carrie M. Holden (1875-1904) was born on Feb. 18, 1875 in Pittston. She attended the "public schools of the two Pittstons and Wyoming Seminary," said the Pittston Gazette. "When a young girl she became a member of the Broad St. Presbyterian church." Carrie never married. She lived with her parents on Park Street on the west side of Pittston. She contracted a serious illness in November 1903, and over the next seven weeks was bedfast. A cure could not be found, and she died on Jan. 11, 1904. The Gazette said "Widespread sorrow has been occasioned in the community by the news... She suffered much throughout her illness, but bore it all with Christian patience." The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader said she "was always active in the work of the church. The deceased was a woman of charming disposition and her death is sincerely mourned by all classes." Burial was in West Pittston Cemetery.

Daughter Helen Holden (1878-1927) was born in 1878. On Sept. 28, 1904, in nuptials held in her parents' home, she tied the knot with Robert L. Damon ( ? - ? ). In announcing the impending happy event, the Wilkes-Barre Times said she "has many friends in this city and is a frequent visitor." Rev. Dr. Harshaw presided. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reported that the "ceremony was unostentatious in acordance [sic] with the wish of the bride." The Damons made their dwelling-place in 1913 in Allentown, PA. Sadly, Helen died in 1927. Her remains were laid to rest in West Pittston Cemetery. 

~ Daughter Mary Malinda Holden ~

Daughter Mary Malinda Holden (1848- ? ) was born in about 1848. 

When Mary was age 12, in 1860, she lived with her widowed mother in Chillisquaque. 

There is evidence to suggest that she may have died on May 13, 1863, at the age of about 15. This needs to be confirmed.