GEN 3: CHARLES W. HOLZINGER 1856

Charles W. Holzinger 1856–1939 BIRTH 22 MAY 1856 • Bethlehem, Northampton, Pennsylvania DEATH 20 MAY 1939 • Allentown, Lehigh, Pennsylvania great-grandfather

Josephine Hendricks 1855–1939 BIRTH 12 SEP 1855 • Port Clinton, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania DEATH 4 DEC 1939 • Salisbury, Lehigh, Pennsylvania great-grandmother

EARLY LIFE

Charles W. Holzinger was born on 22 May 1856, in Bethlehem, Northampton, Pennsylvania, to Johann Wilhelm Holzinger and Rosina Schmidt. Charles was the second of seven children. He was baptized at the Evangelical Lutheran church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on 16 July 1857. There is a discrepancy with his birth record. It says his name is “Charly Henry Holzinger,” but everything else I find is Charles W. Holzinger. I know it is the correct baptism record, because his parents are named and the birth date is the same as on his death certificate. I have two possible explanations, the German “H” looks very much like a “W,” or he had two middle names which was very common among his Wurttemberg ancestors. Perhaps he was Charles Henry William (Wilhelm?) Holzinger.

These are Charles W. Holzinger’s siblings:

         Rosine Marie Holzinger 1853–1923

         Charles W. Holzinger  1856-1939 (our ancestor)

Mary J. Holzinger  1859–1923

Annie M. Holzinger 1860–1937

Elizabeth A Holzinger  1863–1939

George W Holzinger  1867–1934

William Joseph Holzinger  1877–1953

Charles W. and Josephine Hendricks Holzinger
with their grandson Charles, c. 1925

MILITARY

No records found, but Charles would have been too young for the Civil War and too old for the Spanish-American conflict. In the 1930 US Census, he is not listed as a veteran.

EDUCATION

No records found of schools attended, however according to the 1900 US Census, both Charles and his wife Josephine could read and write.

CAREER

On his death certificate, his occupation was “yeoman.” He identified himself as a laborer in the 1880 US Census, a farmer in the 1900 US Census, a laborer in 1910, a laborer working for a “private party” in 1920, and by the 1930 US Census, when he was 74 years old, he had no occupation.  According to an article about Charles and Josephine’s  59^th wedding anniversary in the Allentown Morning Call, as a young man Charles worked at Bethlehem Steel and also helped excavate for the Bethlehem post office.  Later he spent 34 years as a gardener—this must be the gardener Uncle Charles referred to. Charles W. and Josephine owned their home without a mortgage as early as 1900. When Charles W.—a second-generation American and yeoman in the Great Depression—died in 1939, he left an estate of $24,000 including a bequest to his grandsons Joseph, Charles and John. The estate was large enough for the time to warrant an article in the newspaper.

SPOUSE

According to an article about their 59^th wedding anniversary in the Allentown Morning Call (the picture here is from their 64th anniversary), Charles W. married Josephine Hendricks of Port Clinton on 11 March 1876. Their first child was born in 1877, and our ancestor Charles Henry Holzinger was born in 1888. They lived in Bethlehem for many years, but moved to Fullerton, Pennsylvania circa 1905. According to the same article, they were members of the Grace United Brethren church of Allentown for many years.

Josephine was born in Pennsylvania in 1855, and was the oldest of the seven children of George Hendricks and Sarah L. Sterner. Josephine and the Hendricks family are found in the 1870 US Census in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Her father George was a laborer who could read and write; her mother Sarah could read, but not write. Both of Josephine’s parents were born in Pennsylvania—George Hendricks in Juniata County, on 7 Mar 1825, and Sarah L. Sterner in Schulkill County, on 21 December 1833. In 1863, George registered for the Civil War draft in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. According to Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012, George served a private from 16 Jan 1864 to 12 July 1865 in Co. A, 48^th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. George Hendricks died in 1886, and is buried in Nisky Hill Cemetery in Bethlehem. Sarah died 24 Mar 1917, and is buried in Fairview Cemetery in the same city.