(SMITH) William Holt of Colonial Williamsburg

***NOTE: I have NOT verified this line. Descent from William Holt is based on information others have posted on familysearch.org/tree***



One of my husband's 6th great grandfathers is William Holt, from Virginia, who lived from 1737-1791. (I wrote about one of William's runaway slaves previously, here.)

The most interesting thing about William Holt is that he is one of the characters portrayed at Colonial Williamsburg. So if you're ever in Virginia, stop in and say hi!

William was a local merchant. He owned a store and a mill. He also imported slaves to sell, and posted newspaper ads in the Virginia Gazette to assist others searching for their runaway slaves.

Another notable thing about William is that he fathered triplets! All three babies were born healthy, which seems impressive for the 1700s.

The Colonial Williamsburg website has a page dedicated to William, which you can view here.


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Line of descent:

William Holt 1730-1791
William Holt 1765-1820
John Holt 1792-1872
Jesse Payton Holt 1833-1922
Maria Druzilla Holt 1861-1946
Lucia Naomi Scoville 1889-1958

Alice Zemp 1925-2000

(ROBERTS) Diana, "a beautiful baby"

Diana, Dolores, and John Roberts, about 1945

Dolores Mae Peters married John Curtis Roberts when she was 16. At 17, she had her first baby, Diana Gale Roberts. John was in the army, so Diana was born in Savannah, Georgia, where he was stationed, rather than in Missouri or Kansas, where John's and Dolores's families lived. 

While recovering in the hospital, Dolores wrote a letter to her mother, Eva Irene Laws Peters. In her letter, Dolores mentions that she was awake for the entire process. At the time, women were routinely put under for childbirth, awaking with a new baby and no memory of the delivery. Dolores's experience was somewhat unique.

Below is a full transcription of Dolores's letter, followed by scans of the letter itself.

140 Dunrobin Drive

Cherokee Homes

Pt. Wentworth, Ga.

September 11, 1944

My dearest Mother,
Well, here I am in the hospital, Diana was born on September 10 at 6:00 a.m. I am at Hunter Field. It is the other air base in Savannah. My labor pains started at 2:30 a.m. Sunday and at 6:00 a.m. Sunday she was born. They didn’t have time to get me to sleep. I was awake during the whole time. The doctor and nurses told me I was an excellent patient as I didn’t make a bit of noise. It certainly hurt though when she was coming out and when they were sewing me inside. They think she is a beautiful baby. She has dark brown hair, blue eyes, fair complexion, round face, and a dimple in her chin. She weighed 6 lbs and 11 oz. John is certainly proud. Right after they brought me to my room he came in to see me and he was smiling from ear to ear. I have a very nice room-mate. Her name is Mrs. Braasch. She has a baby boy born on Sept. 7. He weighed
the same as Diana. He is longer than she, but not as fat. John was so excited that he put she was born at 5:15 a.m. instead of 6:00. I feel fine. I hope it does not turn hot while I am here. It was cool yesterday and is so far today. After I get out I will tell you what our meals consisted of. All we have to pay for is diaper service. The rest is all free.
I’ll close for now. I wish you could see Diana. Tell Betty & Pat hello. I’ll
probably not write them until after I get out of the hospital.
With lots & lots of love & kisses,
Dolores, John, and Diana

(LUKE) Thoughts on a new baby

In October 1923, Jennie Constance Adamson married Rudolph Edwin Lang. A few months later, her brother, George, departed for a two-year LDS mission to England. George and Jennie exchanged letters while he was gone. Perhaps the most interesting letter George wrote, penned in September 1924, was in response to a letter informing him that he was now an uncle.

"So I am an uncle eh! Well I could be worse things. Congratulations and my love to both of you and the baby. From what I can gather from your letter and mother's, it certainly must be a very fine, wonderful and pretty baby. If it looks anything at all like its uncle George it certainly is a good looking child. ... I'll bet you that it isn't one-half as fine as I will have when I get married? Of course it must be a fine baby, but then a man with a wonderful Physical body such as mine is bound to have better children than a man with a constitution such as Rudolph's. Now my wife will be better looking than Jen. ...
"All foolishness aside I think that it must be a very fine baby and I only wish that I could be there to see it. If you are ever in doubt as to how to fetch it up why just ask me and I will tell you. The care of babies is just my line."

Although it is doubtful that Jennie asked her 20-year-old bachelor brother for parenting advice, she must have enjoyed his letter, which was written in his usual humorous tone. And she certainly enjoyed her new baby: Zenda Constance Lang.

Zenda Lang, 1924