Rebecca Jane Holbrook

1868 - Aft 1888  (~ 20 years)

• Name	Rebecca Jane Holbrook
  Born	ca 1868	McDowell Co. WV
  Gender	Female
  _UID	F825AC3718EB448FAEC54AF83C7CCFFE102D
  Died	Aft Aug 7, 1888	Webster Co. WV
  	Based on her will.
  Notes	CENSUS RECORDS 1870 Census Name: Rebecca L Holbrook Age in 1870: 2 Birth Year: abt 1868 Birthplace: West Virginia Home in 1870: Big Creek, McDowell, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Female Post Office: Tugriver Value of real estate: View image Household Members: Name Age J W Holbrook 28 Cosby Holbrook 29 William Holbrook 3 Rebecca L Holbrook 2 Isaac W Holbrook 3 months Bird Beavers 10 1880 Census Name: Rebecca Holbrook Age: 12 Birth Year: abt 1868 Birthplace: Virginia Home in 1880: Big Creek, McDowell, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Daughter Marital Status: Single Father's name: Isaac W. Holbrook Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's name: Causby J. Holbrook Mother's Birthplace: Virginia Occupation: Without Occupation Household Members: Isaac W. Holbrook 39 Causby J. Holbrook 41 William T. Holbrook 14 Rebecca Holbrook 12 Wesley Holbrook 11 Joseph Holbrook 9 Frank J. Holbrook 7 Elizabeth Holbrook 5 Henry Holbrook 7 months WILL Last Will and Testament of Rebecca Jane Pack, recorded in McDowell Co. WV. August 7, 1888 I, Rebeckey Jane Pack, of McDowell County, and State of West Virginia, (but now of Webster County, W. Va.,)do make and declare this to be my last will and testament as follow s: I will and bequeath unto Cosby Holbrook, my mother, and William T. Holbrook, my brother, all of my land situated on the Dry Fork of Tug River, in McDowell county and state of West Virginia, known as my home place, to hold in trust for my two children until they become of age, and in the event of the death of one or both of the children , Flem or Jennie, the land goes to Cosby Holbrook her lifetime, and In the even t of the death of Cosby Holbrook and one or both of my children, any time before the children should become of age, the land goes to William T. Holbrook, his heirs and assigns forever. Given under my hand , the seventh day of August, one thousand eight hundred and eighty eight. REBECKEY JONES [Jane] PACK.(Seal) Signed and sealed in the presence of these witnesses: John W. Wease, Casander Gadd, J. B. Bentley , Marshal Mullins, Note in margin: "This will was set aside by the United States Circuit Court at Charleston, West Virginia. See Deed Book No. 52, page 41. Her husband was left out of her will. This has an impact on the court case brought by her brother against coal magnate Edwin J. Berwind. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE Bluefield Daily Telegraph, November 22, 1906, page 5 TITLE OF BERWIND SYNDICATE QUESTIONED McDowell Coal Lands Bone of Contention in Important Suit in Federal Court. REMARKABLE WILL OF REBECCA JANE PACK August 7, 1888 I, Rebeckey Jane Pack, of McDowell County, and State of West Virginia, (but now of Webster County, W. Va.,)do make and declare this to be my last will and testament as follow s: I will and bequeath unto Cosby Holbrook, my mother, and William T. Holbrook, my brother, all of my land situated on the Dry Fork of Tug River, in McDowell county and state of West Virginia, known as my home place, to hold in trust for my two children until they become of age, and in the event of the death of one or both of the children, Flem or Jennie, the land goes to Cosby Holbrook her lifetime, and In the even t of the death of Cosby Holbrook and one or both of my children, any time before the children should become of age, the land goes to William T. Holbrook, his heirs and assigns forever. Given under my hand , the seventh day of August, one thousand eight hundred and eighty eight. REBECKEY JONES [Jane] PACK.(Seal) Signed and sealed in the presence of these witnesses: John W. Wease, Casander Gadd, J. B. Bentley , Marshal Mullins, The lands devised In the foregoing testament are the bone of contention in one of the most important suits ever known in West Virginia. the case of Edwin J. Berwind et als. vs. W. T. Holbrook, which is now claiming the attention of the federal court at Charleston . There are witnesses from Tazewell county, Va., Cincinnati and McDowell, Webster and Kanawha counties, and the legal battle is being bitterly contested. The attorneys for Holbrook and his associates are William R. Thompson, of Huntington, and the law firm of Avis,Jordan & Hardy, of Charlteston, Edwln J. Berwind and Thomas Fisher, the plaintiffs in the case are represented by Brown Jackson & Knight, of Charleston and Attorneys Chapman and Gillespie, of Tazewell, Va. The case is a most important one, as it is claimed by Berwind and Fisher that the will of Mrs. Pack, which the defense has brought into court, is a rank forgery and one of the rankest ever put on probate. In opening the case Ivory C. Jordan stated in behalf of the defense that they would prove to the jury that the will which was probated is genuine. They claim that in August, 1888, Rebecca Jane Pack was ill at the home of her father, Isaac W. Holbrook, in Webster county, and on the 7th day of August of that year she made a will. Prior to making the will she had stated how she wanted her property, consisting of about 120 acres on Tug river, divided. This will, it is claimed, was made out by John W. Weese in the presence of three witnesses and several relatives of the family. The defense claims that the reason the will was not sent to McDowell county for probate until July, 1904, was that when Mrs. Pack died, she gave the w ill to her mother, Mrs. Cosby Holbrook. This was in a sealed envelope, and just as it was handed to Mrs. Pack on her death bed by Mr. Weese. The mother did not open the will but put it in an old trunk until 1901, when she became sick and gave it to her son, W. J . Holbrook, the defendant in the case, who was poor, and did not take it to the county court in McDowell county until 1904, where he at that time hired attorneys and had the will put on record. Mr. Jordan claims that Mr. Holbrook in the year 1901 started to walk to McDowell from Webster for the purpose of filing the will, but while en route he stopped on Cabin Creek to work and after two years went to McDowell where he placed the will in the hands of the county clerk. Mr. Jackson, in behalf of the state, offered an enlarged photographic copy of the will which was recorded in McDowell, supposed to be the last will and testament of Mrs. Pack. He told of Mr. Pack returning to McDowell county after his wife's death in Webster with their two infant children; how in the course of time the land owned by Mrs. Pack began to grow in value, and in 1901 Mr. Pack sold his life interest to Mr. Berwind and Mr. Fisher. In 1902 he sold the estate which belonged to the one surviving child, the other having died when quite young. [Note: Fleming Pack had recently died when this court case happened.] This land now is being developed as one of the richest coal fields in the state and on these grounds Mr. Jackson claims that the defendant thought they could secure land which did not belong to them, by producing a will which he says is forgery, but if proven to be genuine, it would destroy every title that Mr. Berwind and his associates had on the land. Attorney Jackson pointed out to the jury the peculiar wording of the will and said no sane woman would make a will which would give to her older brother property which rightly belonged to her own son. In the will which is in evidence, Mrs. Pack states that she bequeaths on the death of one or both of her sons all of her property to her mother, Mrs. Cosby Holbrook, and in case of her death or the death of one or both of her sons; before they become of age, the property goes to her brother, W. T. Holbrook. The attorneys for the plaintiff claim that they will be able to show that John W. Weese never made out the will and that it is not in his handwriting. There is only one surviving witness to the will introduced by the defense and he is J. W. Bentley, who was the first witness called after Mr.Black, of Tazewell, and Mr. Rumbach, of Cincinnati, testified as to the photographs exhibited. Mr. Bentley is an old gentleman from McDowell county and claims that he is 75 years of age. He was called in at the Holbrook home in 1888 by John Weese to sign his name to what, he supposes was the will of Mrs. Pack. The attorneys for the plaintiff strongly objected to the witness' testimony and the jury was ordered from the room while the case was argued before Judge Dayton. Mr. Bentley was put upon the stand. He testified that he could neither read nor write and that when he was ca11ed in at the time the alleged will was made as a witness he so informed the parties. The will was read to him and he authorized the signature of his name to it, as he could not write himself. The will in question was handed to him to identify, but he could not identify it as the one that was read to him on that occasion. STORY Story by Georgia Mansfield says the second wife, also named Rebecca, died of Consumption (Tuberulosis) Note: Georgia Maude Quesenberry Maxfield, an 80 year old Tazewell resident (deceased), has written these recollections of early Tazewell County life as told to her by her great-grandmother and her grandmother. Her Recollections appeared in the Tazewell Newspaper sometime in the early 1980's. Georgia was the daughter of George & Mary Frances Burress Quesenberry. Collected by Michelle Burruss Little Liza Pack Eases Her Ailing Stepmother's Worries Now along about this time, Sarah's brother Flemming Pack had grown up, fallen in love, and married a beautiful frontier woman name Becky Hoback. [Actually it was Recebba Burruss] Flem was a good sized man, and he dearly loved his Becky, but love alone was not enough to stop the deadly typhoid fever that took her young life. No one could put a name to the immense sorrow Flem endured while mourning the loss of Becky, but his was doing nothing to find a mother for three kids. Flem then turned his interest to finding a new wife, which didn't take long. This wife, too, was young and pretty, and her name was Becky Jones [Jane]. She and Flem endured many hardships, and presently they had two children of their own, bringing their family total to five. Now, believe me, life in those days was a trail in itself - long, cold, dark winters without much to eat at any one given time. Their cabin was not only small and drafty, but it was damp. It sat on the banks of what was a great river. The way grandmother told it, it was much larger then, it was the almighty Clinch River. The fog off that river could bring a chill clean to the bones. Such was the case with Flem and Becky the second. While Flem worked at the sawmill somewhere between Cliffield and Pounding Mill, work of any kind was hard to come by. There were no roads except dirt roads, and no railroad until many years later in 1905. Even though Flem worked very hard at the mill and Becky worked hard at home, there came a time when things began to change at home. At first, cousin Flem thought it might be possible that Becky was beginning to resent his children by his first marriage. Now Flemming Pack was a man of few words. He was quiet even to the point of shyness. When the men teased him about it, he'd just laugh and say that was how he got his women. But he began to study in his own mind if he was really right. One warm, clear evening, he took a walk in the woods looking for wild game, and he thought, "Self, let us study this thing about a while and see what turns about." So that night, instead of falling asleep straight away as usual, he just pretended to sleep. When young Becky's didn't come in to bed right away, Flem called out, "Becky, what are you doing? Are you coming to bed?" Becky replied, "I'll be there shortly, I'm sewing." After a long while, Flem heard no sound. He slipped out of bed and looked around the door, only to find Becky asleep, with her head lying on the hard, homemade table. Flem just let her sleep for a long while. Becky slept this way until along toward morning, when Flem decided it was time to get her to bed without her finding out he had known she was asleep. He pretended to put wood on the fire, dropped a log with a loud bang, and Becky stated awake and came running. "I'm sorry about the noise," he said, hugged her close, and carried her off to bed, pretending not to notice the time. No sooner had he started to go to sleep than Becky started to cough, softly at first, then profusely. The next morning, Flem asked her how long she had been doing this. "Oh," Becky sighed, "for a long time now..." Her neglect of the children was not of any one child. Instead of washing them herself and dressing them, she began to tell them to go wash up and dress themselves. This was beginning to get to Flemming. The next day being Friday, after work was over, instead of riding straight home, he said down on the porch of the mill. A big man called Irish stopped and asked, "What's eatin' ye?" Flem told his best friend how Becky had been acting. Irish sucked on his corn cob pipe and allowed that something wasn't clicking just right, so if it was okay with Flem, he and his Mandy would pay them a visit on Sunday. They had to come from Pounding Mill Branch, a long way by horse and wagon. Come Sunday, Becky was excited at the thought of company, and hurried to do her chores. Flem noticed a slight stoop in her shoulder as he tried to hurry with all her might, every few mintues stopping to cough. Around noon, the red-headed Irishman and his blond, blue-eyed Mandy came calling on Flem and Becky. As the lunch drew to a close, the talk grew less and less, and Flem allowed as how he would like to show Irish some animals outside. While the women washed the dishes, Becky stopped and went to the window. Looking out at the men, she began to cry softly. Now this was a little more than Mandy Irish could take, so big Mandy took Becky in her arms and held her close. Mandy could feel the rattle in Becky's body, just above the waist. "Becky, Flem told Irish how you've been coughing all night." Mandy said. Becky tried in vain to deny it. Mandy walked over to the double bed, pulled down the double wedding ring quilt top, and said, "Now Becky, look at these bleached pillow cases. I guess you've been carrying strawberries in these cases in October. Is these red and brown spots anything but from your mouth at night?" finished Mandy, pointing to the bright red stains on Becky's pillow only. Becky's face was a grayish white. She just stook and looked at Mandy speechlessly. Mandy asked, "How long have you been staining your pillow?" "Oh, a couple of weeks or so, I guess. After a while, I just didn't pay any attention," answered Becky. Mandy hugged her. "If you stay wrapped up and don't do hardly any work - you'll have to stay in the house when it gets colder - you just may get to see the spring come." Mandy smiled trying to make Becky feel better. Becky began to cry, "Oh Mandy, whatever will become of Flem? He's lost one Becky, that nearly killed him, and now it's my turn. I feel so guilty. I told him I would raise his children when we were married." Mandy held her tight, "it's this darn river" she said. Both were unaware of the three pointed little faces peering around the door. There were Flem's children. His and Becky's were asleep. The late fall sunshine made halo's around the blonde heads of the children. The oldest was 12 year old Liza, who promptly spoke up. "Mommy Becky, please don't cry. I will take care of Poppy till as long as he lives." Mandy and Becky turned around to face them. Becky grabbed Liza by the arm. "Will you swear on the Bible to always put your father first? Oh, Liza, if only I knew you would I could die in peace." "Becky," scolded Mandy, "The Bible!" By this time Becky had gotten the Bible off the mantelpiece. "Yes, the Bible," whispered Becky. "Becky, that's not fair to Liza," objected Mandy. "It's all right," said Liza, placing her hand on the Bible, "I swear by this Bible and all that's holy to look after my Poppy as long as he lives," said Liza. Then, turning to Mandy, she asked, "What's wrong with Mommy Becky?" Mandy sat down in the bark bottom chair. "Oh my child," she said, taking Liza on her lap. "Your momma is dying of comsumption. The wealthy folk call it tuberculosis, but no matter anyway, there's still no cure, for it's deadly. It always kills those afflicted with it. We couldn't cure it, even if we could find a doctor," said Mandy. Now Mandy and Becky were both God fearing Christians. Irish and Flem came in about that time, they had heard the whole thing. Flemming hugged Becky to his chest. Little Liza patted both their hands, "It'll be all right, Poppy." "Now, now," said Irish. "It mightn't be all that bad as we think. Any howsomever, we can pray. God always has a way with sickness," he finished, hanging his head to hide the tears. Flemming Pack Loses Another Wife For the second time in young Flemming Pack's life, God didn't take a hand. As fall wore on into winter, the mill shut down, and poor Becky grew worse and worse. By Christmas it was all Becky could do to put a meal on the table, even with Liza's help. Shortly after New Year's she could no longer leave her bed, except when Flem would pick up her bony little frame and sit it in the big chair he had made for her by the fireplace. One day Becky said to Flem, "Flemming, I'm truly sorry to take so much of your time." Flem bowed down on his knees in front of Becky, laid his head in her lap for just a moment, and cried softly. When he raised his head he smiled at Becky and said, "Becky, you know what I was thinking?" I know you are sick but I will have you. What I mean is, I was down at the store this morning, and Thacker and the others said them devilish Indians got two more white women yesterday, that's what they said," finished Flem. "They left by way of Roark's Gap again, too." Becky said, "I guess my sickness is a blessing in disguise. I'd rather be dead than to have to endure what those women are going to go through." Time went very fast from then on. One day in early spring, the sun came in so warm that Becky asked Flem to take her outside, as she believed spring had broke. He carried her out to the big oak tree and propped her up on her quilt with pillows. She saw robins, read birds, and blue jays busy building nests, a couple of squirrels, and their faithful old crows that always built a nest across the river in the tall sycamore. Liza and the other four little children picked dandelions and violets by the bunch and brought them to Becky. "Flem," said Becky, "Do you see that little sycamore where the land is level? Please bury me there, put these flowers on my grave, and bring me that square green stone down by the river for my head stone. I love you all." Becky started to cough badly. Now, by the time Flem could put her to bed there was no breath left in her. Becky the second was gone to meet her Maker. Liza ran as fast as her young legs would carry her to the Irishes' place. All out of breath, she managed to say, "Aunt Mandy, Momma Becky's gone. Would you all please come over?" Mandy said she would, Irish went to tell the neighbors. By sundown, the older ladies of the community had Becky "all laid out" as it was called, which was to bathe and dress her in her best clothes and high top button shoes, and comb her hair. The men helped Flem to make her coffin of dressed poplar boards he had been saving up. He insisted on doing it mostly himself. They all stayed for the setting up all night, and buried her the next morning at sunrise in the flat under the sycamore. They placed the green stone at her head. All summer Flem worked hard gathering roots and herbs in the mountain to sell to a man who traveled in a covered wagon from community to community. He bought them as well as all the furs he could buy in the fall. Now back in those days where West Virginia was all the way to Cedar Bluff, it was all Virginia wilderness. Flem made it through that winter after Becky had died, but when it came spring again and his children put flowers on her grave, it was a little more than he could take. He gave away everything that he could travel without, packed up his five young children, and set out for the high mountains of West Virginia. He went back far into the wilderness where the soil was good and black and built them a cabin. Flem and the children gathered herbs and roots all summer. That fall, he explained to the children he'd have to make a trip to Pounding Mill to sell their herbs and furs. Liza was now 13, and quite grown up. Cousin Flem said for her to take good care of the children and not let them go away from the cabin, for the moon would be big and full so they wouldn't be afraid, and he would be back some time the next day. So that evening Liza made them a pot of corn meal mush for supper. They took their wooden spoons and sat down in the floor. Liza took their three legged iron pot off the fireplace and set it on the floor, so they ate this for supper. The iron pot was all the had to cook in, so when they were through eating they just left the iron pot on the floor. Now, cousin Flem hadn't gotten around to making a door to the cabin - he said he would when he got back - so they hung a homemade quilt over the door and they went to bed. Their beds were bunks framed to the wall and woven with rope or hickory bark. Now it was getting dark. They pulled the covers up over their heads to sleep. All the children had gone to sleep a short time later, except for Liza. Out on the ease point of the ridge, just behind the house, Liza heard the gathering call of the well-known timber wolf. She listened intently. soon another and then another - they were close now, and she began to be afraid. She silently woke the children and put them on the top bunk and warned them to be quiet. They stuffed the cover into their mouths to make sure one wouldn't cry out. They next thing they knew, the leader of the pack came sliding under the quilt. It was a large gray wolf with a ruff around its neck. The another and another, until all five have come in. Luck and God himself were with the children. The wolves didn't notice the children, they were intent on fighting over the pot, which luckily for all them turned over and rolled out the door, down the hill, and into the creek. Liza and the children jumped out of bed, turned the heavy homemade table over, and put it and everything else across the door. Now as all this was taking place with the children, Cousin Flem was having a bad experience of his own. By the time he'd left Pounding Mill and gotten to Amonate, he could tell by the way his horse was acting, it kept shying and stopping and shivering, that they were being tracked by a predatory animal. So when he go to the top of the first mountain he saw his quarry, a large yellow panther. It seemed to be jumping from tree to tree and bank to bank. This kept up for miles and miles, until the back horse was almost given out. They had arrived almost home, at the edge of the clearning, when the great panther jumped out of the tree to jump on Flem, but it missed him and clawed the hors's hinquarters badly. Flem jumped down, ran into the house, got his muzzle load gun, and killed the panther. When Liza got up that morning, she had to go down the hill and get her pot, which had been licked clean by the wolves. So after Flem was told of their horrifying experience, he made them a heavy door to do until cold weather. Grandma had been praying diligently, as had Cousin Ellie, that he would bring the children back out of the wilderness for the winter. Their prayers were answered. Flem brought them back to Pounding Mill and never took then back. He would go, but never again with the children. He went every summer and gathered as long as he was able. When he brought them back the first time, he bought a three acre farm with a three room house on it in what is now known as Baptist Valley. Liza never stayed married. She had gotten married after Flem died, but her husband wanted here to will her land over to him. She wouldn't, and ran him off. Before this, you see, Liza had stayed single and true to her promise to Becky, she kept house for her poppy and younger brother Jim, until Jim grew up. When Flem died in his late fifties or early sixites, it was learned he had willed the land to Liza. Flem had willed Liza his Civil War pension as well as the land. He left his whole little life's savings to young Jim - it was $900. At that time, it was a lot of money. Now, along about this time everywhere you would look there were posters and advertisements, every one just alike, "Go west, young man, go west." After Jim having talked it over with some of the older men in Pounding Mill, he decided this was the thing for him to do.
  Person ID	I2838	Master File
  Last Modified	5 Apr 2016

  
  

  Father	Isaac W. Holbrook,   b. ca 1841, Tazewell Co. VA ,   d. 10 Feb 1922, Richmond, VA  (Age ~ 81 years)
  Mother	Cosby Brewster,   b. ca 1839, Tazewell Co., VA ,   d. Aft 1900, Webster Co. WV  (Age ~ 62 years)
  Family ID	F12547	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Fleming (Flem) PACK,   b. Aug 1835, Patrick Co. VA ,   d. 1 Dec 1905, Baptist Valley, Tazewell Co. VA  (Age ~ 70 years)
  Married	15 Jul 1884	McDowell Co. WV
  	"Marriage Records of McDowell Co, WV", page 22. Marriage Record, Book 1, 1865-1896, page 113. Flemmar Pack, age 41, widowed, born in Floyd Co, KY, married on 15 Jul 1884 Rebecca R. Holebrook, age 17, born in McDowell Co, WV, daughter of I.W. and Causba [Cosby] Holbrook. His parents are unnamed. The information on the second page, is bumped up one line from the way the book is opened. Fleming was born in Patrick Co. VA, but Rebecca's will indicates this is the correct Fleming Pack. http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11390335&Type=Marriage
  Notes	Flem and Rebecca's father, Isaac Holbrook, possibly knew each other from the Civil War. They both served in Virginia cavalry units that served in the same places.
  Children	1. James PACK,   b. Sep 1890, McDowell Co. WV ,   d. Bef 1910, Tazewell Co. VA  (Age ~ 19 years)   2. Flem PACK,   d. Bef 1900
  Last Modified	18 May 2015
  Family ID	F1973	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart