Deconstructing Hannah (and her will) (Part 1)

Evetta (Eva) (Councilman) (Staugh) Holm

  "San Francisco." Engraving  by Charles A. Dana

Last week, June and I spent many hours at the Suffolk County Courthouse looking at probate records. It took awhile, but we finally found the will of Hannah O'Sullivan, our great-great-aunt. 

The best thing about Hannah's will was that since she never married, the will listed all her siblings and their children. We found three people we were not familiar with, George Councilman, Evetta Holm and Marjorie C. Holm. George and Evetta were the children of Hannah's deceased sister, Helena, and Marjorie was Evetta's daughter.

I decided to look for Evetta first. At the time the will was written, in 1933, Hannah had not heard from Evetta in 10 years. At that time, Evetta was living in Edgewater, Bergen County, New Jersey. I found her there in the 1920 census, age 42, with her husband George, born in Massachusetts, and daughter Marjorie C., age 10, born in New York.  Might the "C" stand for Councilman?  George Holm was employed as a physical instructor.

I also learned that Evetta was born in California, her father was born in Germany and her mother was born in England(?).

Since Marjorie was 10 years old and was born in New York, I looked for the family there in the 1910 census. I found them living on Claremont Avenue in Manhattan. All information was the same, except Evetta's mother was shown as born in Ireland. George Holm was listed as an university instructor.

Now I knew from these censuses (censi?) that Evetta was born around 1878 in California.  I also knew from previous research, that her mother Helena (O'Sullivan) (Councilman) Mueller died in Sacramento in 1895.  Helena had also given birth to 2 children, Caroline and Nella Mueller, in San Francisco, and her widower, Louis Mueller, died there in 1911. 

I looked for George Councilman in the 1880 census, thinking he may be Evetta's brother.  I found him, in San Francisco, California, living with his father, George, a glassblower born in Germany, and mother Helena (indexed as Helma), born in Ireland, and sister Eva, age 3, born in California. 

I believe that Eva Councilman of San Francisco,1880, is Evetta Holm of Bergen, New Jersey, 1920.   But where was she for the intervening 40 years?

To be continued......

Photo credit: Pictures of the American City, National Archives (Archives.gov)

Copyright 2011 Kathleen Sullivan. All Rights Reserved