Marion Lee Holloway was born Sunday, November 27, 1870, in the house his father built about 2 miles Southeast of Edison, Georgia. He was the oldest of four children born to Christopher and Sarah (Cobb) Holloway.

I have no information on his activities during his early years. But we can assume that he grew up as most farm boys of the time. He attended school during his younger years and was well educated.

Growing up he had chores consistent with his age and as he grew older he worked in the fields. He learned the farming trade, working on his father's farm by plowing a mule, chopping weeds, picking cotton, shaking peanuts, tending the stock, etc.

On Sunday, November 27, 1892, at the age of 22, he married Alice Lewis, the daughter of his neighbor, David Lewis. Alice was born on Monday, November 8, 1869. As common at the time, children of close neighbors married each other. Marion's siblings were:

LULU - Married SAM Lewis
John ARTHUR - Married ELLEN McCorquadel
Amanda BELLE - Married GENE Lewis

Marion and Alice made their home in the immediate neighborhood near their families. Their home was located on the Eastern edge of Land Lot 178 on the Truman Road. Here they farmed and raised their family.

Marion and Alice had seven children. They were:

Twins - Still born
LONIE Mae - Married - Married JIM Brooks
WILLIE Lee - Married PEARL McKinnon
Daisy BELLE - Married GEORGE Stevens
LULU Irene - Married ROY Fellows
James AUBRAY - Married CLAUDIA (?)

On Wednesday evening, March 20, 1918, Alice passed away from pneumonia contacted two weeks previously. A common cause of death in those days. Although she had been sick for a few days her death was unexpected and difficult for the family to accept. Alice was buried the next day at Salem Church Cemetery.

Lonie, Willie and Daisy was married by then and had families of their own. Lonie and Daisy had homes in the neighborhood, while Willie had moved to Miller County. Irene and Aubray were still at home.

Although they owned other land in the neighbor, Grandpa and wife, Grandma Alice, lived on a farm that belonged to his wife, left to her be her father, David Lewis.

When Alice died without a will, the property she had inherited, was divided up, with Grandpa and each of the children getting a childs share or 1/6 each.

Grandpa Marion was able to buy or barter all of the children's share except Aubray. He was a minor at the time (11 years old, I think) and his share was to be held for him by his father until he reached 21.

In 1923/1924, other parts of the inheritance was still being consolidated. As a result, Marion obtained from the court, authority to sell Aubray's 1/6 share in Lot #178. Marion auctioned this 1/6 share off at the courthouse door in Morgan, Ga. in December 1924. Marion's daughter, Irene Fellows and her husband, Roy. were high bidder at $750.00.

When he reached his early teens, Aubray began to drink heavily. He insisted that his father give him the money from the sale of his 1/6 land share, (the $750.00) from time to time although he was not yet 21 years old, and his father did.

It is unfortunate that Grandpa had to put up with trouble from Aubray as much as he did. Aubary drank excessively and was uncontrollable.

For instance, (as told to JR and me by CL) one night he was at the Lewis house, (kin folks) and was drinking heavily. Later that night he left to go home about a mile away. When the Lewis family got up the next morning they found him passed out in their front yard. It had been raining that night and he was lying there in the mud all wet. He had been there all night. Fortunately for him it was the summer time and he suffered no lasting ill effects. All through his teen age years, Aubray was a continuing problem for his father.

By the time Aubray had reached 21, he had married a woman named Claudia. They then wanted Grandpa to give Aubray his inheritance. Grandpa told him that he had already got all of it and that there was none left.

Aubray insisted he still was due the inheritance and apparently got pretty nasty about. So much so that Grandpa had to get a peace warrant against him to keep him from coming to the farm and harassing him about it.

Aubray then filed a court case against Grandpa to get the money. The case was tried and the court ruled in Aubray's favor, so Grandpa had to come up with the money.

We were living on the Aunt Lizzie Strickland's place (For an article describing Aunt Lizzie's 78 birthday parry, go to next page) at the time and J. R. tells me he remembers Daddy coming home from the trial and telling Mama how the court had ruled. Times were hard and money was tight. Mama commented that she didn't know how Grandpa was going to get that much money.

This all happened near the beginning of the great depression, between 1927/1928. Having $750.00 cash at that time was unheard of, especially for a farmer. Grandpa Marion had to sell his farm to pay Aubray. Grandpa never owned another farm after that. He moved several times and continued farming but always worked someone's else land.

After Grandma Alice died, and by the time of the 1920 federal census, Grandpa had remarried and had a child, Virginia. He married EULA POUNDS from Adapulgus, Georgia. Although she was, in fact, a stepmother to Grandpa's children, all of the family called her AUNT EULA..

He farmed and made a crop each year until his death at age 69 on Dec. 20, 1939. He died at his home on the Edison/Bluffton road about three miles west of Edison, Georgia on that cold December day. He had gone out to the lean-to shed where he kept his Model T and was going to town.

The Model T had a manual start, which meant he had to put the crank handle through the hole in the grill where it mated with a fitting on the crank shaft. He then had to spin the crank handle by hand to turn the engine over to start it running.

The weather being bitterly cold that day and the car hard to start, he apparently over exerted himself. He went around to the passenger side of the car and sat down on the running board. There he had a heart attack and died. He fell over forward and hit his head on the side of the shed.

After not hearing the car running after a while his wife, (Aunt Eula we all called her), went to see why and found him on the ground beside the car dead. She ran and rang the farm bell, which was a call for help if rang at unscheduled times. The people at Uncle Sid McCorkle's house, about a half mile away, heard the bell and ran across the field between their houses to Grandpa's house to help but it was to late.

This was a Wednesday morning and this was the day school was letting out for Christmas holidays. Aunt Irene saw me as I was leaving the school and told to go find Curtis Fellows and tell him that grandpa had just died.

Mama really took his death hard. She loved her father dearly.. I remember being with her by his coffin before the funeral and seeing her lean over and kiss him on the forehead while crying bitterly.. She was a soft hearted emotional person and loved her family.

I remember his death well. After I heard the news about 12 O'clock noon, I went home. That afternoon we ( the family) went out to Grandpa's house. There were many friends and family there. His coffin was in the room on the left as you came in the front door. It was placed in front of the fire place with the head to the south.

At that time the deceased was keep at home overnight and someone (or more) would "sit up" in the room all night.

His son, Uncle Willie Holloway, at that time worked at Will Clenny's hardware store. The store sold coffins and provided a hearse for funerals. I don't remember much about the ride to the church, except we were told not to count the cars in the procession because it was bad luck. There were a lot of cars thought, and a very large attendance at the funeral.

I don't remember much about the service but I do remember them carrying the casket from the church to the cemetery and lowing it into the ground. This was before Salem Baptist Church was remodeled and the doors were still at the East and West ends of the church.

Grandpa Marion joined Salem Church August 5, 1908. He was a long time member and stanch supporter of the church, having served as Deacon for many years. He, his wife and eventually all of his children joined Salem Church. Several of his descendants are still (2005) active in Salem.

Click here for an early history of Salem Baptist Church

Click here for Grandpa Marion's Obituary

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