• General Notes

  [pitts.FTW]
  
  [Br²derbund WFT Vol. 5, Ed. 1, Tree #0725, Date of Import: Apr 16, 2002]
  
  Information from interview with William Richard Cornelius (W.R.C or Neal)
  Hollis on June 25, 1993 at his home in Decatur.
  Written by Richard Hollis in first person.
  
  My GGF S.C. Hollis came to the States at the age of 1 with his
  family from Ireland. (I am estimating this at around 1860 to 1865)
  My GF James Cornelius Hollis was born in Arkansas on December 2,
  1882. His mother, a full blood Cherokee, died in childá¸birth. He was
  their only child.
  S.C. Hollis later remarried.
  James Cornelius Hollis left home at the age of 10 to live with an
  aunt and uncle by the name of Lovell in Commerce, Texas. This was after
  being severely punished by the stepmother after being blamed for the
  spilling of molasses in the cellar. (Her children by a previous marriage
  denied responsibility.) She then cleaned up the mess with a rag, put the
  rag in James's mouth and pushed it in with a broomstick.
  James never went back to see his father, and Amos later told me that
  his father never spoke of S.C. Hollis which was why none of the kids had
  any information on him.
  Henry Hammock, past sheriff of Hunt County, (later a car salesman in
  Greenville) lived in Greenville and was James Cornelius' Uncle. Another
  aunt lived in Memphis, TN.
  James married Nancy Jane Maxwell probably around 1908.
  They had six kids, which were all born in the Westminister, Anna,
  Melissa and Blue Ridge area.  Neal is the oldest. Susan Rilla (Nicknamed
  "Matilda" by John McFerrin.) was born March of 1911. Randall died at
  birth around 1911 or 1912. Bertha Mae was born April 1914. Later in life
  was a 306 lb. professional dancer in a Fort Worth club on Hwy 199. Her
  first husband, last name Sanders, went to prison after stealing 3
  chickens. Her second husband's name was Jim Gosset. She is buried in
  Wichita Falls, Texas. Her gravestone was lost in the tornado which
  destroyed much of the area in Wichita Falls in the 1970's.
  According to Neal, my father, Amos was born in Desert which is north of
  Blue Ridge and east of Westminister June 6, 1923. The doctor in
  attendance was a Dr. Simpson, who had a wooden leg.  (According to Amos
  and Oleta his birthplace is Melissa, although it is possible the doctor
  was from Melissa.) Dee Raymond was born April 16, 1926 in Blue Ridge
  (Raymond did not celebrate his birthday later because his father died on
  his birthday in 1934).
  I have a picture of the family taken when my father was a baby
  (probably Thanksgiving or Christmas of 1923, judging by his apparent age
  in the picture), given to me by Kathryn Maxwell Reatherford. This picture
  was taken at Jim and Angie Stroud's house which is Kathyrn's GF and GM
  (her mother's parents).
  When Amos was little, there was a typhoid outbreak when the family
  was living in Collin County and Amos almost died. At this time they lived
  across the road from the turn to Stoney (between Decatur and Denton. A
  Dr. Robinson in Stoney was in attendance.
  The family moved to Denton County at the urging of Hez Barnett
  because of a bumper crop of cotton.
  James Cornelius Hollis worked for the Cottonbelt RR (This railroad
  was later part of the Southern Pacific railroad company, I contacted
  their retirement department, they have no remaining records going back
  that far.) as a foreman and was disabled in an accident around 1919 or
  1920. The accident happened when James was riding on the side of a
  locomotive going to the roundhouse, his lantern bottom fell off and James
  leaned down to pick it up and was caught between the locomotive and the
  doorway of the roundhouse and was crushed between them.
  Neal was around 12 at this time, attending school (Asey Walker
  School, not sure of the spelling). He quit school at this time to work
  for the support of the family. All the kids picked and chopped cotton.
  Neal when older mostly plowed. Transportation at this time was a Model T
  truck which Neal drove because his father could not drive (Neal's words,
  not sure if he meant because of his Dad's disability or he did not know
  how to drive).Johnny and Willy Stroud (kinfolk of William T. Maxwell)
  were friends of Neal's and they all hunted coons and ringtails together
  with their hounds. Neal's favorite hound "Old Red" followed his father
  home one day and just stayed. The dog followed because his father was
  driving a wagon which contained leftover beef from his from his selling.
  (He butchered a cow, put the meat on a wagon and went around the
  neighbors selling it).
  Kathryn Maxwell Reatherford, in my interview with her said rumor was
  that James Cornelius had an eye for the ladies and that they moved to
  Wise County because of a pregnant girl.
  Neal recounted a story of Mae being the only one of the kids to meet
  S.C. Hollis. Around 1926 or 1927 when Mae was 12 or 13, she took her
  cotton picking earnings to buy a bus ticket to Wilokee, OK to see him
  remarking "I won't have a grandfather I can't see!"
  The family lived in the area of Preskitt Cemetery in 1934. On April
  16, Neal and his father walked over to visit a neighbor while there his
  father complained of some pain and asked for soda to ease it. He drank
  the soda and they later walked home and he later died at home. His last
  wish was to be taken to the cemetery in a wagon pulled by two white
  horses. He was buried in Preskitt cemetery. Neal saw that this was done.
  (Kathryn told me in my interview with her that James Cornelius was a
  whiskey drinker and was in bad health because of that also).
  For a time the family lived in a dugout on a friend's property.
  Nancy Jane married Paul Turnbow. They met as a result of a personal
  column in the newspaper (this information came from Mother in a November
  1995 interview of her). They married before Mother and Daddy married.
  (Neal was not happy about this and never accepted Paul as a "father",
  Amos had no such problem although always called him by his first name,
  Paul)
  The family made Raymond join the Navy after Paul Turnbow's daughter
  by a previous marriage turned up pregnant. This was hushed up and not
  generally known until the family reunion of 1992 when Raymond
  acknowledged to Carol that he was her father.
  Neal told me that Grannie's family bible probably ended up with Paul
  Turnbow's brother when Paul died. The brother has since died and I am not
  sure who has it at this time.

Details of Walter Richard Cornelius' family with Mary T. Simpson