William Judgson Holsing was born in Greenock, PA in 1869 and his wife Mary Agnes Jones, daughter of James Jones was born there in 1877. As a boy he was nicknamed Willie and lived in North Union, Fayette, Pennsylvania. He was the son of William Fredrick and Jeanette Holsing. In 1904 he was the Superintendent at the Hazel mine in Canonsburg, PA. At it's peak over 900 men worked at the Hazel mine.

In 1908 he was the Assistant General Manager at the Agnes and Rachel mines in Marianna, PA. At the time Marianna was the largest soft coal tipple in the world. In 1908 President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt toured the modern workings there just before the disaster. It is highly likely he met the President on his visit! His boss was his brother-in-law David G. Jones who owned the mine. His relationship with David G. Jones was very close. The two families lived and worked together for many years in Canonsburg. It seems that where ever David was working William was by his side. When the families moved to Canonsburg to open the Hazel mine they probably knew very few people in the new town besides each other. The two families probably played cards together. They were all about the same age.

The Washington Observer recognized Mary Agnes as one of the women who provided aid at the Marianna Mine Disaster of 1908. The World Almanac lists this as the tenth worst mine disaster in US history. 154 miners lost their lives. A cousin of the family, John Ivill {1885-1908}, was also killed in the explosion by suffocation.



William and Mary Agnes later in life. William passed away March 31, 1929, the day before Easter. Mary Agnes died just a year after I was born in 1962. It is said she lived off the coal money her whole life. Their three children appeared on the Pittsburg Buffalo plaque in 1905. James Jones Holsing, my grandfather, Margaret Stella Holsing, and William Fredrick Holsing.


This is their original wedding certificate from 1895 that hangs in my father's house.