THE HOLLOW LOGhollow.one-name.net/news40.pdf · 2012. 6. 15. · Alex and Clara Hollo. Alex moved to Racine in 1933. On October 1, 1938, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, he was united

The Hollow Log, Issue 40 Page 1

INS I DE TH I S IS S U E

Hollow Spotting We have a marriage and a birth but outnumbered by deaths. Amongst the deaths is another Hollow family that may not originate from Cornwall.

Page 2

Announcing the Hollow DNA Project DNA tests to support family

history studies are now available

and can complement the

conventional paper record searches

that are the basis of our traditional

family history research. I think we

can further Hollow research by

using this technology.

Page 3

Marty’s Story A combination of family folklore and “Who do you think you are?” has resulted in the unraveling of

this story of two families caught up in the constraints of Victorian

sensibilities and mores.

Page 4

THE HOLLOW LOG Issue 40, June 2012 The Hollow Family Researchers’ Newsletter ISSN 1445-8772

Bendigo Mine Managers These are mine managers from Bendigo who were visiting Thompson’s Engineering in

Castlemaine in 1896. One of them is a Hollow and had just become a father for the ninth

time. Can you spot him?

Announcing the Hollow DNA Project A DNA study seems to be the next step in

investigating the Hollow surname. There is a wealth

of information available through parish registers,

censuses and birth, death and marriage records etc.

Discovering new information from these sources is

looking less likely yet there are still families that come

from the same areas but remain unconnected. A

DNA study may tell us whether connections actually

exist.

The Hollow DNA study will include the surnames Hallo, Hallow, Holla and Hollah as well

as Hollow. There are connections between these surnames in the records that we have. The

surnames Hallo and Hallow are included because families with these surnames seem to

have originated from Hollow or Holla origins. The names Holla and Hollah were often

found in the records of the 1600s and 1700s but eventually became Hollow. There are still

Hollahs, however one of the earliest contacts I made was Ansgar Hollah in Germany..

Photo from Bendigo Advertiser 5 June 1996

Late news - Early Arrival Further to Hollow spotting births,

Ellen & Tony Hollow are

grandparents again with Lilly May

Hollow arriving three weeks early on

May 21 2012 at Bairnsdale, Vic.

daughter of Sarah and Aaron Hollow.

See Marty’s Story Page 4.

Continued on Page 3.


Hollow Spotting Hollows with a special date

From Justin Hollow

Did you get the latest

addition to the Hollow clan,

my wife from Tennessee,

USA? Her name is Amy

Michelle Norrid, born June

1980. We were married at

Froggy Beach, Coolangatta,

Qld. Australia on 11/11/11.

Birth

From Ellen Hollow

Australia Day

came early!

Logan Hollow

arrived last night

2.8 kg , four

weeks early.

Logan is the son

of Ellen & Tony’s

son Nathan and

wife Nicole he was born 28/12/2011.

Deaths

From

Kimberley

Goodman

French

My

Grandmother,

Valda Floyd-

Hoskins,

passed away on

Tues 31 Jan

2012 in Akron, Ohio USA. Born 10 March 1925 in Akron,

Ohio, she was the daughter of James and Minnie Hollow

Floyd. Minnie was the daughter of Capt Richard William

Hollow and Mary Louisa Rillston.

Marjorie Joyce HOLLOW. - 1926 - 2012 Died 4.3.12, wife

of Cal (dec.). Mother of Jennifer (dec.), David (dec.), Cathy,

Barry, Janet and Geoffrey. Grandmother to Mitchell, Brooke,

Simone, Joshua, Anastasia and Nikita. Mother-in-law to Tony,

Craig (dec.), Sofie and Phai.

Published in Melbourne Herald Sun, Wed., 7 March 2012

John Charles HOLLOW - On Wednesday 7th September

2011, at his home, John Charles, aged 79 years of Penzance

formerly of St. Just. Partner of Gloria. Funeral service to be

held at St. Just Methodist Church on Friday 16th September at

2.30 p.m.

Published in the Cornwall and Devon Media on 15th September 2011

Wilfred John HOLLOW - Died on Saturday 3rd September

2011 at Edward Hain Hospital, St. Ives, Wilfred John aged 88

years of Towednack. Husband of the late Joyce and father of

Bryan, Rosie and Christine (deceased). Brother of Augustus

and Robert, Father-in-law to Dave and Gloria, Grandfather to

Nicky and Great Grandfather to Zac. Funeral Service held on

Monday 12th September at Towednack Parish Church at

3.00pm

Published in the Cornwall and Devon Media on 8th September 2011

Alex J. HOLLOW

Racine - Surrounded by his

family, Alex J. Hollow, 94, passed

away Thursday, November 10,

2011, at Wheaton Franciscan - All

Saints Medical Center. Alex was

born in Terre Haute, Indiana. on

December 1, 1916, son of the late

Alex and Clara Hollo. Alex moved to Racine in 1933. On

October 1, 1938, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, he was

united in marriage to Joyce A. Verbeten, who preceded him in

death on September 22, 1989. Alex was employed by Massey

Ferguson for 48 years and retired in 1982 as Chief Inspector.

He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church,

Transportation Club, and Knights of Columbus. He was an

avid golfer. He enjoyed playing cards, bowling, fishing, and his

trips to Florida or Arizona every year. He just loved getting

into the car and driving throughout the United States. Alex

lived peacefully in the comfort of his home. His companion

and best friend, Toni, was always by his side. Above all, he

enjoyed being with his family and he will be dearly missed.

Surviving are a son, John 'Jack' (Sue) Hollow; grandchildren,

Jeff (Sallie) Hollow, John Hollow, Jim (Lisa) Hollow, Mark

(Anna) Hollow, Michael (Teresa) Hollow, Michele (John)

Morin, Kristen Schatzman, Sarah (Geoff) Gorsuch, Katie

(Justin Nick) Hollow; 30 great- grandchildren; five great- great-

grandchildren; special friend and companion, Toni Rosienski;

brothers-in-law, William Vanderhoef and Ronald Gall; sisters-

in-law, Clarice Gall and Karen Verbeten; nieces, nephews,

other relatives, and friends. In addition to his parents and wife,

he was preceded in death by his son, Alex 'Butch' Hollow Jr.;

daughter-in-law, Judy Saavedra; sisters, Mary Pollock, Theresa

Hollo, Katie Hollo, Rose Miller, and Anne Giese

Published in Racine Journal Times on November 12, 2011

Alex is from another Hollow family whose connection, or not, to the

Hollows of Cornwall is not known. ♣


Announcing the Hollow DNA Project cont. What is involved in a DNA study?

Participants take a sample of their DNA by a simple painless swab of their inner cheek

cells and send it off to a DNA testing lab. The lab conducts tests that identify markers

on part of the Y chromosome. Only males have Y chromosomes so a this sort of study

is only possible with males. The Y chromosome is passed from fathers to sons. There

is a DNA test females can take but it tests only the female line so is little value in a

surname study.

The tests used in DNA studies of this sort are called Y-DNA tests, they are different to

the DNA tests used by doctors and lawyers to prove parentage or that the police use in

criminal investigations. The Y-DNA testing relies on the fact that the Y chromosome,

found only in males, is passed from father to son, usually unchanged. Amongst the

DNA of this chromosome are found several places (called markers) where the DNA

sequence repeats between about 8-22 times and this number is characteristic of your

all-male descent. By testing this section of 'Junk DNA' as it is called, you can determine

if two men are related. The result is a string of 37 numbers, and contains no personal

information. The number merely shows the number of DNA repeats at each of the 37

markers.

In this study the aim is to test for these 37 markers. There are tests available for more

or less markers but most DNA studies now focus on 37 markers. The string of 37

numbers of one individual can be compared with that of others. If the individuals are

related the sequence should be identical or almost so.

The number of repeats does mutate, or change, slowly over long periods of time, so

that over the entire period of human history, different families have different marker

patterns, but these patterns are mainly stable over the relative short period of time

when we have used surnames. So within a family the changes will be quite small in

number.

A Y-DNA test does not uniquely identify you, since your father, brothers and uncles

will in all probability have identical results (so it's not worth testing very close relations,

except in very specific situations), but it will show what other families share the same

ancestry.

For that reason, we need to establish the DNA 'marker patterns' of the main Hollow

lines and I am therefore seeking male Hollow/Hallo/Hallow/Holla/Hollah who are

willing to take the test. If you are female Hollow/Hallo/Hallow/Holla/Hollah, can you

find a male relative who holds the name who could volunteer?

What do we hope to find out in the Hollow DNA study?

I am hoping to sort out the following questions:

Are the two biggest family trees, the family commencing with the John Holla

and Chesen Thomas marriage in Zennor in 1695 and the family commencing with the

William Holla and Uslea Cock marriage also in Zennor in 1685, related?

Do the various other Hollow trees that at the moment have no connection to

these trees connect or are there more origins to be found?

Do the Hallo and Hallow families connect to these Holla or Hollow origins?

Do the U.S. Hollows all have a connection to the Holla/Hollows in

Cornwall?

Hello There

Two long articles this issue. The DNA project could be useful to tie the disparate Hollow families together or not. In the last few issues Hollow families that are not at this point connected to the Cornish Hollows have

featured. .

Odd Spot William Howard Hollow (1887 – 1946) is the first person I have come across that has two graves. His funeral notice announced that his burial would be on 24 Jul 1946 at the Kew cemetery now called the Boroondara Cemetery here in Melbourne. The position of his grave can be found on the Boroondara Cemetery website. However in the Melbourne General Cemetery, about nine kilometers away, there is an imposing grave for William Howard Hollow erected by his wife Charlotte. Hopefully I will have an explanation for this conundrum in the next issue of the Hollow Log.

The Hollow Family Website

The website is updated on a monthly basis now. In the Hollow Log, details of families are often quite brief. You can use the Hollow Database section on the website to get further details of individuals and families. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.an

cestry.com/~chollow/

Contact

Colin Hollow edits the Hollow Log,

comments and contributions are always

welcome.

Write to 2 Keeley Lane, Princes Hill,

3054, Victoria, Australia. e-mail:

[email protected]

Hollow and variants Holla, Hollah,

Hallo and Hallow are registered with

The Guild of One-Name Studies. The

Guild member is Colin Hollow

(Member No. 3056).

©No material in this newsletter should

be produced without permission.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~chollow/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~chollow/mailto:[email protected]


Do the Hollow families who seem to have origins in

countries other than Cornwall actually go back to

Cornwall.

What family Groups of Hollow are there?

Background

In putting together families and family trees a number of

groups of hollows have become apparent. The earliest Hollow

records in church registers are from Madron. Madron is a

parish very near the town of Penzance. Penzance was

originally within the Parish of Madron boundaries. The first

known and readable registers for Madron are Christenings

1592, Marriages 1577 and burials 1577. There may have been

Hollows or Hollas elsewhere at this time but there are no

registers surviving that show this.

The first Hollow record

found is the burial of

William Holla on 18th Nov

1577. The first Holla

marriage found was Jane

Holla and Peeter Polteere

in 1578, Jane was a widow

and was possibly the

widow of the afore

mentioned William. The

first Holla baptism found

was in 1592, William Holla,

son of John Holla.

Although there are quite a

few records it has proved

impossible to connect many of these records to make a

credible family tree across many generations. The original

Madron registers are now available for viewing on the

Familysearch website. The earliest records, which are on

velum, are quite damaged, often faint and hard to decipher.

When they are clear they are written in an old English script

which in itself is hard to read. Further to that mostly there is

little detail given. Usually just the name or names of the people

involved, in the baptisms the father’s name only is given in the

earliest records. It seems likely that the Hollas now Hollows

originated from Madron.

To start to build family trees the church registers of all the

churches have to be looked at. In the case of the Hollows we

are lucky because they very much confined themselves to the

pointy of Cornwall which is called Penwith. Some years ago

my friend, the late Keith Hollow, and I began constructing

Hollow family trees beginning with our own families. Keith

found he belonged to the earliest family tree that goes across

many generations to the present. It begins in with the marriage

in Zennor in 1685 of William Holla and Uslea Cock. I found I

belonged to another tree that begins with another marriage in

Zennor, this one between John Holla and Chesen Thomas ten

years later in 1695. Try as we might we could not find a link

between the two. We also built other trees that we could not

link. Hopefully the DNA project can tell us whether those

trees are connected.

The main trees that have been found that still have

descendants alive today.

William Hollow – Uslea Cock line

William Hollow and Uslea Cock married Zennor 16th April

1685. On the Hollow database there are 857 descendants that

have been found of this marriage. Although the marriage took

place at the Zennor church William Holla was recorded as

being from Madron and subsequently the couple appeared to

live there. In Hollow Logs this tree is sometimes referred to as

the Penzance Hollows.

John Holla – Chesen Thomas line

John Holla married Chesen Thomas Zennor 26th March1695,

the Hollow database has 2780 descendants for this marriage,

by far the largest of any of the trees. It includes a group often

referred to as the Redruth Hollows but other branches are to

be found in Zennor, Towednack, St Ives and surrounding

parishes.

John Holla – Jane Holla Line

John Holla married Jane Holla 23rd February1716, Madron,

This line has 569 descendants and is probably the next

generation to the first two Lines. The marriage took place at

the Madron church but Jane Holla is recorded as being from

Gulval, a neighbouring parish.

John Holla m Elizabeth Bennetts Line.

John Holla married Elizabeth Bennetts 14 Oct 1732 Madron –

This line has 218 Descendants. One branch migrated to Utah,

USA last known male of the line is John Frank Hollow died

Los Angeles, CA 1946. Another branch took on the name

Hallo, some came to South Australia then to Western

William Holla's burial record (bottom entry). Madron 1577


Australia. Others migrated to Victoria. There are still Hallo

families in these places but none are on the Hollow mailing

list.

Ishmael Holla - Sarah Stephens line

Ishmael Holla married Sarah Stephens Madron 7th October

1755.This line has 296 Descendants.

This is the next generation again. Ishmael Holla was baptized

in 1723, in his baptism record in the Zennor church records he

is the base child of Jane Holla. That is Jane Holla was

unmarried. If the father was not a Holla then any descendants

that are tested should not have the same DNA profile as the

other Holla families.

William Holla b c1770 line St Ives

William Holla married Ann Curnow in St Ives in 1793, this

line has 175 descendants in the Hollow database. There are

descendants of this line in Australia and descendants still in

England.

William Hollow b c1781 line St Ives

William Hollow b ~1790 possibly in St Ives, 250 descendants.

This William had a son John Hollow born 1806 in St Ives.

John had two marriages his first to Catherine Sandow in 1828,

Descendants of this marriage came to South Australia. His

second marriage was to

Ann Sanders in 1845,

descendants of this

marriage went to

Michigan USA and then

to California.

William Hollow

Christian Mitchell

Trewren Ludgvan line

William Hollow married

Christian Mitchel

Trewren in Ludgvan in

1807, the line has 219

descendants in the

Hollow database.

Thomas Hollah

Elizabeth Leacher

Ludgvan line

Thomas Hollah married

Elizabeth Leacher at

Nan Cladre in 1828,

the line has 162 descendants. The second line from Ludgvan

but no linkages between the two at this stage. Another

instance where the DNA study may help.

There are several smaller lines with children born in the 1900s

that I still have not been to link to older trees. Hopefully with

a combination of written records and the DNA project it will

be possible to solve these puzzles.

How can you be involved?

The main way to be involved is to be part of the testing

program. For a male this is taking a Y-DNA test, for a female

encouraging a male relative with the name to take the test. As

explained, there is usually no good reason for close relatives to

all take the test. As the test has a cost, at the moment $149

U.S., relatives could contribute to the one test by a person in

the close family, brother, father, uncle, grandfather. Studies

usually try to involve the oldest living relative.

The Hollow DNA Study has been registered with the DNA

testing company Family Tree DNA. This a DNA testing firm

based in Houston, Texas, U.S.A. This firm hosts the most

DNA projects of this type of any of the DNA testing

companies and provide plenty of support and advice for

participants. Being part of a registered project means the test

cost is discounted, usually from $169 to $149 for members of

a project. At times there are specials and the rate can be even

cheaper.

The Hollow DNA Study has a webpage and a profile as part

of the Family Tree DNA

web site. To initiate a test

you will need to do it via

their web site. On the

Hollow Project webpage as

well as being the place to

obtain the testing kit there

is a facility for making a

donation to the Hollow

DNA Study. Any donations

would be used helping to

pay for individuals having

difficulty funding their tests.

This is not something I am

actively promoting but it

available for those who

wish to support the study.

Getting Involved

The first thing would be to

contact me, Colin Hollow. I

will be able to tell you

whether a close relative

has already been tested. As this is the launch of the study there

will not be much competition so it will be a quick move to the

second step. This will involve organising a payment by credit

card. I hope many of you join the project. ♣

The Penwith region of Cornwall showing parish boundaries.


Marty’s Story We have all probably watched and enjoyed the TV

program Who do you think you are? This program, originated in

England but now has versions in many countries including

Australia, was the stimulus for Marty Slade and his wife

Megan to begin to research Marty’s family. The mystery was

Marty’s grandfather, Eric Hollow Russell. Eric was born in

Castlemaine, Victoria in 1896, his mother was Edith Ellen

Russell but little was known about his father. Eric married

Lillian Mary Bird in 1920 and they had four children, all girls,

the eldest being Edith, Marty’s mother. She didn’t know much

about her father’s father at all, she said his name was

Zachariah, she thought from a Jewish family, but had given no

other details. The family thought

she didn’t know much else. All

the possible sources of

information amongst the family

had passed away. Edith, Marty’s

Mum, had passed away in 2001,

her father, Eric, died in 1962 and

her mother, Lillian, died in 1974.

Marty and Megan had

started their quest like good

family historians, with family

information and then started

collecting certificates. They

obtained Eric’s birth certificate.

It confirmed mother Edith Ellen

Russell, the column for the

father has dotted diagonal lines

across it only. They followed up

with his marriage certificate.

Married Castlemaine 1920 etc.

etc. but when it came to the

names of his parents, mother

Edith Ellen Russell, the space for

father has just a dash in it. Marty

and Megan were quite

disheartened at this stage but

decided to finish the job anyway

and get his death certificate. This

time surprisingly when Eric was

dead there was some joy. There

on the certificate was a name for

his father, Zachariah Hallow Russell. The other surprise was

that the informant was Marty’s father, George Slade. The “a”

was a mistaken spelling of Hollow. Eric’s name is also written

as Eric Hallow Russell.

Imagine what was going through Marty’s head, his

mother seemed to know very little about her father’s father

but his father had been responsible for naming him on the

death certificate. And who was Zachariah Hollow Russell?

The search had taken a new turn. Did a Russell marry

a Russell and what had become of him? The first question was

quickly dismissed and Marty and Megan began looking for a

Zachariah Hollow.

Marty and Megan soon found that a Zacharias

Hollow had lived in Bendigo. Bendigo is about 24 miles north

of Castlemaine; both are old gold mining towns. Marty and

Megan decided to visit Bendigo and go to the Bendigo Family

and Local History Expo which was running on the 2nd March

2008. They struck genealogical gold at the Cornish Association

stall where one of the women on the stall who was researching

mine managers in Bendigo was able to tell them that Zacharias

Hollow was well known in

Bendigo as a Mine Manager.

They were also given the name

of a contact, Ellen Hollow, a

member of Zacharias’

descendant family. Unfortunately

the address proved to be out of

date but from the information

Ellen had supplied to the

Bendigo Cornish Association

they have been able to piece

together some of Zacharias’

story.

Zacharias Hollow

married Alice Ann Richards in

Ludgvan, a village in the Penwith

area of Cornwall, (the pointy

end) on 24th April 1869. He is

thought to have left his wife now

pregnant to come out to

Australia late in that year or in

early 1870. His shipping details

have not been found yet. The

date of arrival in Australia has

been estimated from his death

certificate where his stay in the

colony was recorded as thirty

years. His parents were Thomas

Hollow or Hollah and Elizabeth

Leacher. Zacharias was their

eleventh child. Thomas was born

around 1805 but it is unclear who his parents were. In the

Ludgvan area there are five baptism registrations for babies

called Thomas Hollow, one in St Just in Penwith (father

Thomas, mother Loveday), 1904, two in Zennor (both father

Thomas, mother not listed), 1805, one in Gulval, 1805 (father

Ishmael mother Elizabeth) and One in St Ives 1806 (father

William mother Ann). This is a case where the Hollow DNA

Edith Ellen Russell (1863 - 1945)

Photo: Marty Russell and Megan Buntine


project announced in this Log may help establish which line

Zacharias belongs to.

When Zacharias arrived in Sandhurst (later to be

renamed Bendigo) he obtained employment with one of

town’s most well known mine owners George Lansell. Lansell

was known to recruit Cornish miners for his mining ventures.

Zacharias probably worked as a miner or mine blacksmith at

first but eventually he was made a mine manager. He was also

granted permission to build a house on Lansell’s property that

contained his large home, Fortuna, and two of his mines. The

house block was in Booth Street and Zacharias built a

weatherboard house there

and was to remain living

there until his death in

1901. His will shows that

he did not own the house.

Whether he built the

house himself is not clear

but it is likely.

He certainly was

a skilled carpenter as well

as a blacksmith and

tinsmith according to

Isabel Spark Gill in her

book The Hub in the Wheel.

Isobel is married to one of

Zacharias’ grandsons.

There is evidence that

Zacharias was a devoted

father. Still within the

family is a doll’s chest of

drawers that he built for

his daughters. When the

family had it repaired in

the 1990s it was found to

be largely built from

munitions boxes no doubt

from the mine he

managed. He also used his

blacksmithing skills to

fashion the wrought iron

surrounds of the Hollow

grave in the Bendigo cemetery and he is also credited with

working on the elaborate wrought iron gates at Fortuna. His

other claim was that of inventor. In 1894 he took out a patent

on an appliance that prevented the running away of cables on

loose drums at the top of the mine pit. The invention won

wide praise and was recommended that all mine managers to

use it to improve safety at their pit heads.

Zacharias’ Family

Alice arrived in 1872 with daughter Alice, a two year

old. In January 1874 Alice had twins, Zachariah and Thomas

Henry. Thomas Henry died after six days, Zachariah lived until

1940. Their next child, James Henry was born in 1876 but he

was to drown in one of the mansion Fortuna’s many

ornamental lakes. Then follow three more daughters, Louisa

Jane (1878), Elizabeth Mary (1880) and Sarah (1882). In

December 1883 a son William was born but his mother, Alice,

was gravely ill. She died four days after his birth and the baby

William also died seven days later.

A note about the use of the names Zacharias and

Zachariah; Zacharias is the name consistently used in records

for the Eric’s father. Zacharias had a son, born 1874, he called

Zachariah. This is

the way they are

distinguished in

records, of course

there are times

when the two very

similar names are

confused.

Marty and

Megan knew there

was another son,

their ancestor, Eric

Hollow Russell.

Initially they

thought that Eric

was the result of an

affair while

Zacharias was

married. Then they

found his wife had

died in 1883. This

changed the

scenario. But then a

second marriage

turned up for

Zacharias in 1887.

Further research

showed that this

wife did not pass

away until 1920. So

once again the idea

of an affair was in mind. Eric was not born until 1896 so the

marriage had run for some time.

In that era when a mother or a father died leaving

young children it was common for a new marriage to occur,

sometimes quite quickly. There was no government support

for these families. If a parent remained single it often meant

the family really struggled to survive. Zacharias was left with

five children aged from one to twelve when his first wife died.

His next marriage was almost four years to the day from his

first wife’s death. His new wife, Margaret Ann Cattran, had

Plan diagram of George Lansell's Fortuna showing the position of the

Hollow house in Booth St. and the series of ornamental lakes.

Diagram from Lansell’s Fortuna


been widowed in the January of 1887 and she had two children

aged thirteen and seventeen. Zacharias’ children would then

have ranged from five to sixteen.

Marty and Megan’s research was tragically interrupted

by the 2009 bushfires in Victoria. In February large portions of

Victoria burned. These fires caused Australia's highest ever

loss of life from a bushfire; 173 people died and 414 were

injured as a result of the fires. Marty and Megan run a B&B on

their property in Buxton, Victoria which was badly damaged

by the fires. The business has been rebuilt and re-established.

In early 2011 Marty and Megan were ready to continue the

search for information.

In Australia the public libraries have combined in a

project to digitize old newspapers and publish them online.

The project, under the name of Trove, has digitized many

newspapers from the 1800s and early to mid 1900s and is

accessible online.

Marty and Megan found references to Zacharias

Hollow that warmed their view of him. In 1891 Zacharias and

wife Margaret each applied for a divorce each charging the

other with desertion. So now Marty and Megan realise the

marriage has broken down by 1891, five years before Eric’s

birth. In another part of the same paper the Judge’s verdict is

given.

In the divorce suit in which Zachariah Hollow, mining

manager, and his wife Elizabeth (sic , her name was Margaret) each

petitioned for divorce on the grounds of desertion, his Honour dismissed

the husband's petition with costs, and refused the wife's application on the

ground that the law was not intended to separate couples who had only

had slight matrimonial differences.

Zacharias and Margaret’s desire to divorce has been

thwarted by the courts and society’s, view of marriage at that

time. These reports do not make it clear if the couple was

living together or did Zacharias live with Edith Russell?

Eric Hollow Russell’s birth was registered in 1896 in

Castlemaine, Edith’s home town. Which begs the question,

how did this relationship start? Develop? Bendigo was quite a

way from Castlemaine, thirty nine kilometres (twenty four

miles) in fact. It is hard to imagine that Zacharias travelled to

Castlemaine for companionship. It is also hard to imagine that

Zacharias met Edith at the local Castlemaine Town Hall

dance. Did Edith work in Bendigo? Did she work for

Zacharias?

If the marriage had broken up he may have needed a

housekeeper. In 1891 his youngest child Sarah was 8 years old.

His oldest daughter Alice now aged twenty one was married in

that year but the rest of his family were unmarried and

presumably living at home. Zachariah, the eldest child at

home, was seventeen; there were two other girls between

Zachariah and Sarah. Zacharias died in 1901, when Eric was

only five.

In the meantime Marty and Megan had come across

The Hollow Log issue 15 where there is the story “Ludgvan to

Bendigo” the story of the Bendigo Hollows. Via the Hollow

log they have also been able to make contact with Ellen

Hollow who is married to a great grandson of Zacharias. He

and Marty are second cousins. As a result they now have much

more information about Zacharias Hollow.

Marty and Megan have also found, through the

Victorian Public Record Office, the will and probate papers of

Zacharias Hollow. There they found another surprise.

Zacharias made his last will the day before he died and in that

will he specified that there was to be £150 set aside for the

support and benefit of his son Eric Hollow Russell at the rate

of 10 shillings per week. Further it was stipulated that if Eric

was to die any remaining money was to go to his mother

Edith. In the part of the probate papers that has the inventory

of the estate it shows that that Zacharias’ entire estate totaled

just under £600.

This was a heartening development for Marty and

Megan. The will was written on Zacharias’ death bed and he

had put aside 25% of his wealth to his son Eric. I have found

The house that Zacharias built at 90 Booth St. in the 1890s showing him and some family at left and now at

right.

Photos: Ellen Hollow and Google


references that say women who worked as housemaids at the

turn of the century (1901) were paid around 14 shillings

($1.40) a week, with domestic cooks fairing slightly better at 25

shillings ($2.50) per week.

The next development was the discovery of fuller

reports of Zacharias’ divorce case in The Bendigo Advertiser.

The reports Marty and Megan found on Trove were just

summaries published in the Melbourne paper The Argus. The

Bendigo Advertiser report of the case on 20 Aug 1891 shows

that early as four days after his marriage his new wife and

oldest daughter quarreled. The eldest daughter, Alice, was then

sixteen. The arguments were frequent. Zacharias also argued

with his wife over their living arrangements. Margaret owned a

house in Long Gully and it had been agreed that they would

live there. Zacharias was to add two rooms to the house. The

problem arose when Margaret claimed that the house did not

belong to her but to her son, who was then sixteen years old.

Zachariah refused to do the additions under these conditions

and this lead to the arguments. The result was that after three

months Margaret moved out of the house and lived separately

from that day. After Zacharias had applied for the divorce

Margaret had brought a counter claim.

Ominously at the end of the presentation of evidence

the Judge’s comments were reported as “Persons should know

that once having entered the marriage state that they could not lightly

break off those ties”. His decision was to be given the next

morning.

In his decision the next day the judge really paid out

on Zacharias. He reminded him of his own admission that he

had entered the marriage wanting someone to look after the

younger children, leaving less for his oldest daughter to do. He

suggested, “he did not

marry for the reason a

man was supposed to,

because he loved the women

he had chosen to be his

partner for life. In fact the

petitioner wanted someone

to work for him who

would not require payment

for it, he wanted a slave.”

The judge placed the

blame for his wife

leaving on Zacharias.

His wife had sought

the help of her

minister and they had

offered two possible

solutions. One was

that as Zacharias’ oldest

daughter was soon to be

married that she leave the

house in order for Margaret to move back. Alternatively, after

the daughter was married Margaret would move back in.

These offers were made just before the court case. Zacharias

refused both propositions declaring under no condition was he

prepared to live with his wife again.

The Judge refused both petitions and each had to pay

their own costs. He concluded with more terse advice for

people entering marriage.

All involved would have been bruised by this

outcome. It happened at a time when Zacharias’ mine was

very successful and reaching peak production. We presume

Zacharias and family had been living together with the girls

taking responsibility for the upkeep of the house. He wanted a

wife to ease the burden on his oldest daughter, Alice, now

about twenty and about to be married. Isobel Gill tells in her

book that Sarah the youngest daughter, who married a Gill,

was well educated. She went to a private school in Bendigo.

We would expect that her sisters would have been well

educated too. Which suggests Zacharias may have needed a

housekeeper once his oldest daughter got married.

Edith Russell was born in Castlemaine in 1863. In

1896 when Eric Hollow Russell was born she was living at

Farnsworth Street in Castlemaine. The family says that she

stayed in Castlemaine and lived with her mother (her father

having died some years earlier) and an unmarried sister,

between them they brought up Eric.

In 1903 her address was given as Camp Hill

Castlemaine on the Electoral Roll living with her mother and

sister Alice. Edith’s occupation was stated as tailoress. Edith

remained here until 1924 at least. In 1919 Eric is on the

electoral roll at Camp Hill, his occupation is electrician. After

his marriage 1920 to

Lillian Mary Bird,

from Lauriston, a

village about thirty

two kilometres

south of

Castlemaine Eric

moved to the city

and lived at Glen

Iris. Edith

eventually lived with

her son and his

wife. She was living

there when she died

in 1945.

Eric was a

resourceful person

like his father. His

occupation in his early

20s was electrician,

later that was up graded

Eric Hollow Russell with wife Lillian in side car holding their first

daughter Edith, Marty's Mum.



to electrical engineer in electoral rolls. He was also known to

be a carpenter; eventually he became a trade teacher at

Swinburne Institute of Technology which is now one of

Melbourne’s Universities. From the Hollow side of the family

it is known that he was teaching alongside one of his cousins, a

son of one of Zachariah’s sisters. For the story to exist, at least

one of them knew they were related. We do not know whether

they ever spoke of their family link.

Marty was only nine when his grandfather Eric died

but he would go to his home with his parents and playing, he

remembers Eric as being a friendly grandfather. Marty’s

mother had a story that whenever Eric was driving through

Caulfield he used to say that he might have relatives there.

There were Hollow families living in

Caulfield then but not close relatives.

They were from the family that

owned Hollow and Sons, a building

company. Eric was a Freemason as

were some of the Hollows so he may

have known them through Masonry

or he may have known them through

his trade links with builders.

Although Marty’s mother did not

seem to know much about her

father’s father she knew his first name and perhaps knowing

this story she knew his surname as well. Certainly when her

father died her husband George was aware as he was the

informant that is the person responsible for providing Eric’s

details to the registrar of deaths. Marty feels that it was

probably Eric’s wife Lillian who provided the information.

Marty and Megan now have a lot of the story, but

there are still questions. The most puzzling, how and when did

Zacharias and Edith meet? The answers will be elusive.

Women were not included on electoral rolls until 1903 and

Australia has not kept its census records. Newspapers, other

family recollections, long lost letters; may hide the answers.

The answers, if they are to be found, will be one of those

family history moments that keep us all going.

I had my own family history moment when

researching this story. I have not met

Marty and Megan personally yet. We

have emailed and spoken over the phone

to put this story together. My moment

came when I received from them two

images, one included Zachariah, the

image of the Mine managers on the front

page, and the other included Marty. I

have cropped the images to produce

these two images of the great grandfather

and his great grandson. It is all in the

genes.

Descendant Chart of Thomas Hollow (Hollah) from Ludgvan The chart below is a cut down chart with only the marriages of Zacharias’ siblings. The chart does show the extent to which Thomas Hollow’s children left Ludgvan. Most went to the USA and to mining areas. Thomas Hollah (Hollow), b. circa 1805 at Ludgvan, CON, d. 3 Jan 1881 at Ludgvan, CON +Elizabeth Leacher, b. 1810 at Nan Cladrae, CON, m. 5 Jul 1828 at Nan Cladrae, CON, d. 1847 at Penzance, CON

├── Thomas Hollow, b. Nov 1828, d. 1913 at Conestoga, PA, U.S.A.

│ +Mary Ann Elliot, m. 1851 at Penzance, CON

│ +Matilda ??Hollow, b. 1851 at Sweden, m. before 1910, d. 1916 at Conestoga, PA, U.S.A.

├── John Leacher Hollow, b. 1830, d. 1906 at MI, U.S.A.

│ +Elizabeth Jane Uren, b. 1833, m. 24 Jul 1854 at Ludgvan, CON, d. 1900 at MI, U.S.A.

├── William Hollow, b. 1831

├── Samuel Hollow, b. 1832 at Ludgvan, CON

│ +Christiann ??Hollow, b. 1842 at PA, U.S.A

├── James Leacher Hollow, b. 1834 at Gulval, CON, d. before 1861

│ +Grace Holman, b. 1835, m. 25 Jul 1854 at Ludgvan, CON

├── Grace Leacher Hollow, b. 2 May 1835 at Ludgvan, CON

│ +John Allen, b. 11 Oct 1833 at St Hilary, CON, m. 22 Jun 1856 at Ludgvan, CON, d. 23 Jun 1894

├── William Henry Hollow, b. 1836 at Ludgvan, CON, d. 1870 at Ludgvan, CON

│ +Dorcas Curnow, b. 1837 at Ludgvan, CON, m. 25 Nov 1858 at Ludgvan, CON

├── Richard Hollow, b. 15 May 1837 at Ludgvan, CON, d. at U.S.A.

│ +Mary Wills Chellew, b. 22 Mar 1840 at Ludgvan, CON, m. 22 Oct 1861 at Ludgvan, CON

├── Elizabeth Hollah (Hollow), b. 1840 at Ludgvan, CON

│ +William James, b. 1837 at Uny Lelant, CON, m. 8 Sep 1859 at Ludgvan, CON

├── Mary Hollow, b. 1842 at Ludgvan, CON

│ +William Trembath White, b. 1844, m. 25 Apr 1868 at Ludgvan, CON

├── Zacharias Hollow, b. 1843 at Ludgvan, CON, d. 7 Mar 1901 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ +Alice Ann Richards, b. 1845 at Nan Cladrae, CON, m. 24 Apr 1869 at Nan Cledrea, CON, d. 30 Dec 1883 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS

│ ├── Alice Richards Hollow, b. 4 Apr 1870 at Towednack, CON, d. 1944 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ +William Nicholas Wills, b. 1871 at Clunes, VIC, AUS, m. 1891 at VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Muriel Alice Wills, b. circa 1892, d. 1962 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Henry Zachariah Wills, b. circa 1894, d. 1966 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── William Leslie Wills, b. circa 1895, d. 1965 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Doris Louisa Mabel Wills, b. 1897 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1976 at Frankston, VIC, AUS


│ │ ├── Gladys Sophia Wills, b. 1901 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1977 at Fitzroy, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── (--?--) Wills, b. 1902 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1902 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ └── Bertha Jean Wills, b. 1909 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ ├── Thomas Henry Hollow, b. 2 Jan 1874 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, d. 8 Jan 1874 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS

│ ├── Zachariah Hollow, b. 2 Jan 1874 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, d. 26 Jun 1940 at Prahran, VIC, AUS

│ │ +Amelia Morgan, b. 4 May 1873 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, m. 13 Sep 1899 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 13 Apr 1941 at Prahran, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Zacharias Hollow, b. 1900 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1901 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── George Ernest Hollow, b. 1902 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1902 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── James Henry Hollow, b. 1902 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1902 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Amy Margaret Hollow, b. 1903 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1903 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Leonard Zacharias Hollow, b. 1903 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1903 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Horace Hollow, b. 1905 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1906 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Violet Hollow, b. 1905 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1946 at Armadale, VIC, AUS

│ │ └── Norman Harold Hollow, b. 9 Mar 1907 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 7 Nov 1974 at Camberwell, VIC, AUS

│ ├── James Henry Hollow, b. 28 Sep 1876 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, d. 6 Dec 1879 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS

│ ├── Louisa Jane Hollow, b. 18 May 1878 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, d. 29 Nov 1928

│ │ +Charles Roeder, b. 24 Apr 1872 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, m. 2 Jul 1900 at Arncliffe, N.S.W., AUS

│ │ ├── Louisa May Roeder, b. 1901

│ │ ├── Eva Elizabeth Roeder, b. 1902

│ │ ├── Charles Roeder, b. 1904

│ │ ├── Alice Minnie Roeder, b. 1906

│ │ ├── Elsie Gladwyn Roeder, b. 1908, d. 1911

│ │ ├── Lillian Mary Roeder, b. 1910

│ │ ├── Grace Roeder, b. 1912

│ │ ├── Florence Ethel Roeder, b. 1914

│ │ ├── Clarice Roeder, b. 1917

│ │ └── Nancy Margery Roeder, b. 1920

│ ├── Elizabeth Mary Hollow, b. 8 Mar 1880 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, d. 18 Jan 1959 at Ballarat, VIC, AUS

│ │ +David James Cardwell McQuillan, m. 1901 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── David Joseph Zacharias McQuillan, b. 1902 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ └── Mary Mavis McQuillan, b. 1904 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ ├── Sarah Jane Hollow, b. 10 Mar 1882 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, d. 1962 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ +James Mitchell Gill, b. 1882 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, m. 24 Apr 1905 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1964

│ │ ├── Lawson Gill

│ │ ├── Clifford James Gill, b. 1906 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── John Gill, b. 1908 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS, d. 1908 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Edward Zacharias Gill, b. 1909 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Jean Mary Gill, b. 1911 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ ├── Raymond Oswald Gill, b. 9 Dec 1913 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ └── Keith Balfour Gill, b. 1917 at Bendigo, VIC, AUS

│ │ +Isabel "Spark" ??Gill, m. 1942

│ └── William Hollow, b. 27 Dec 1883 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, d. 7 Jan 1884 at Sandhurst, VIC,

AUS

│ +Margaret Ann Cattran, b. 1838 at St. Just, CON, m. 29 Dec 1887 at Sandhurst, VIC, AUS, d. 1920

at Long Gully, VIC, AUS

│ +Edith Ellen Russell, b. 24 Apr 1863 at Castlemaine, VIC, AUS, d. 22 Nov 1945 at Glen Iris, VIC, AUS

│ └── Eric Hollow Russell, b. 26 Apr 1896 at Castlemaine, VIC, AUS, d. 17 Feb 1962 at East

Melbourne, VIC, AUS

│ +Lillian Mary Bird, b. circa 1899 at Lauriston, VIC, AUS, m. 28 Jan 1920 at Castlemaine, VIC,

AUS, d. Jul 1974

│ ├── Edith Margaret Russell, b. 2 Dec 1920 at VIC, AUS, d. 15 Nov 2001 at Merimbula,

N.S.W., AUS

│ │ +George William Slade, b. 20 Sep 1917 at Melbourne, VIC, AUS, m. 18 Aug 1942 at

Camberwell, VIC, AUS, d. 17 Jun 1989 at Melbourne, VIC, AUS

│ ├── Norma Mary Russell, b. 1923

│ ├── Betty Russell, b. 1924

│ └── Dorothy Russell, b. 1924

└── Jane Hollow, b. 1845 at Ludgvan, CON

+William Richards, b. 1843 at Towednack, CON, m. 27 Mar 1869 at Ludgvan, CON

└── Sarah J Richards, b. 1870 at Ludgvan, CON

+Eliza Martin, m. 29 Apr 1848 at Ludgvan, CON

Sources

Marty Slade and Megan Buntine

Ellen Hollow

The Hub in the Wheel: The Gills of West Bendigo, Isobel Spark Gill, c2007

Lansell’s Fortuna, compiled and produced for the committee of management,

Fortuna Historical Tours, 1988

Bendigo Advertiser 20th August 1891, 21 August 1891 and 5 June 1996. ♣ Colin Hollow

Eric Hollow and Lillian Mary Russell


Documents

THE HOLLOW LOGhollow.one-name.net/news40.pdf · 2012. 6. 15. · Alex and Clara Hollo. Alex moved to Racine in 1933. On October 1, 1938, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, he was united