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The Holland Family

      Between about 1880 and 1927, a Chinese family named Holland resided in what would eventually become known as Phoenix's first Chinatown, near First Street and Adams.

     The preponderance of evidence suggests that Joseph Henry Holland was born around 1861 in New York [1] [2], to a Chinese father and an Irish, probably Catholic, mother. The 1880 Federal Census for La Mesilla, New Mexico, lists a Joseph Holland, age 20, father born China, mother born Ireland, working as a waiter in a hotel owned by John G. Woods [3]. Among the other hotel residents were ten stagecoach drivers [3].

     But the 1880 federal census for Phoenix, Arizona, also lists a Joseph Holland, age 19, born in California and employed as a laundryman [4].  In addition to Joseph, the census lists a William Holland, age 53, born in China, living in a bachelor household with several other Chinese laundrymen [5]. This may have been Joseph's father, as Joseph later named one of his sons Joseph William.

     Given the fact that ‘Joseph Holland’ is an unusual name for a Chinese male, it seems possible that the two Josephs were, in fact, the same person. Perhaps young Joseph, with his command of the English language, had gone to New Mexico in search of more lucrative employment than Phoenix offered during the long hot summers when many middle-class families forsook the Salt River Valley for cooler temperatures elsewhere.

     In 1888, Joseph Holland married Elizabeth "Isabella" Yitsen/Yitsin, who had been born in Heung San, China, in 1864 [1] or 1867 [6]. Apparently Joseph traveled to China to meet and marry Elizabeth since, according to the federal census of 1900, Elizabeth didn't arrive in the United States until 1890, two years after the wedding [6]. Since the Chinese Exclusion Act was in force by this time, the fact that Joseph Holland was able to travel abroad and even bring back a wife lends support to the theory that he enjoyed all the rights of an American-born citizen.

     By 1891, the Hollands had twin daughters, Esebell (Isabel?) and Lena, born in Arizona [6].

     In 1892, the family resided on Adams Street between Montezuma and Maricopa [7], and Joseph was working as a waiter. Another daughter, Cecelia, was born in May, 1893 [6].

     By 1895, Joseph was a porter at the Reception (a hotel?) and the Hollands lived at 125 E. Adams [8]. Joseph and Elizabeth next became the parents of Joseph William, born 4 August 1895 [9] and a daughter, later known as Elizabeth Dora, born 30 August 1897 [1]. At that time, Joseph Holland was employed in a restaurant and the family had moved one door down to 127 E. Adams [1]. A newspaper article dated 1897 suggests that Joseph Sr. occasionally supplemented his income by acting as a court interpreter in cases involving Chinese litigants [10].

     The federal census of 1900 doesn't list any Joseph Holland, father born China, so it is possible that he was out of the country at the time. However, Elizabeth and the five Holland children are recorded as living on Adams Street. Although no Elizabeth Dora appears on the census, there is a daughter Catherine of approximately the same age. The Hollands owned their own dwelling and reported a net worth of $1830 [6].

     By early 1901 Joseph must have been back in the household, for his wife conceived another set of twins born 26 or 27 November 1901. Infant Theodore died 18 December 1901 of marasmus. His death certificate lists him as Theodore Hallonger, a Japanese infant from Mesa [11]. It is possible that Elizabeth, expecting twins for the second time, had given birth at a laying-in hospital in Mesa. Infant Harold died 10 May 1902 of gastroenteritis [12]. The twins share a headstone in Rosedale Cemetery.

     Note that all the Holland children had names consistent with their being of the Roman Catholic faith and several even had the letter 'r' in them, suggesting that both Joseph and Elizabeth spoke English quite well.

     In 1905, Joseph Holland was a clerk in the Capitol Saloon and the family was still living at 127 E. Adams [13].

     Something significant must have occurred in the Holland family between 1905 and 1910. The 1910 census shows Joe Holand, a married Chinese male of 50, born in New York, living in the household of Tom Ping, a restauranteur, in Tempe [14]. The whereabouts of the rest of Joseph's family at this time is still a mystery, as they do not seem to have been with him.

     In 1912 and 1913, Holland was a waiter living in Tempe [15]. In 1914, he and a partner, John Lee, bought a café at 419 S. Mill Avenue. They lived at 401 1/2 S. Mill [16]. In 1918, the Richmond Café moved to 413 S. Mill [17].

     Joseph Henry's only surviving son, Joseph William, was a promising young man who graduated from Tempe High School in 1914 with "the highest standing obtainable" [18]. He then enrolled in the University of Arizona, but left in 1916 to enlist in the army. After spending 14 months overseas, the young World War I veteran returned to Arizona where he secured a position as an electrical engineer in the Salt River Project power plant [18]. Sadly, he was electrocuted in a power plant accident on 20 November 1919. Joseph William Holland died of his burns on 3 December 1919 and was buried with military honors in St. Francis Catholic Cemetery [9].

     In 1921, Joseph Holland Sr. was the proprietor of the Richmond Café and resided a few doors away at the Casa Loma Hotel, 320-398 S. Mill Avenue [19].  He was a well-known figure to the students of Tempe Normal School (later Arizona State University) who frequented his establishment.

     Holland, a retired café proprietor, died 1 February 1927 in Tempe, Arizona, of cardiac incompetence [2]. The information on the death certificate was provided by his daughter Cecelia. He was buried near his son Joseph William Holland in St. Francis Catholic Cemetery [2].  No published obituary has been found.

     It is not known what became of Joseph's other daughters; presumably they grew up and married. At the time of her father’s death, however, Cecelia Holland was still a single woman. Late in 1929, she filed a delayed birth registration on behalf of her younger sister Elizabeth Dora, who may have needed such a document for legal purposes [1]. A Phoenix city directory from 1930 lists Cecelia as a 'waiter' living at 137 North First Street [20]. In 1934, she was living at 719 West Madison [21]. By then in her forties, she does not appear again in the public record.

Children of Joseph Henry Holland and Elizabeth Yitsen

i. Esebell (Isabel?), twin, born 1891 in Arizona [6]
ii. Lena, twin, born 1891 in Arizona [6]
iii. Cecelia, born May 1893 in Arizona [6]
iv. Joseph William, born 4 August 1895, died 3 December 1919 in Arizona [9]
v. Catherine, born February 1897 in Arizona [6] or Elizabeth Dora, born 30 August 1897 in Phoenix, Arizona [1]
vi. Theodore, twin, born 26/27 November 1901, died 18 December 1901 in Mesa, Arizona [11]
vii. Harold, twin, born 26/27 November 1901, died 10 May 1902 in Phoenix, Arizona [12]

Sources Cited

[1] Birth certificate for Elizabeth Dora Holland, file number 1386, delayed filing in Maricopa County, Arizona, on 30 Sep 1929 by Cecelia Holland, her older sister, who may have witnessed the birth.

[2] Death certificate for Joseph Henry Holland, filed 2 Feb 1927 in Maricopa County, Arizona, by Harry Schornick, MD.

[3] Federal Census of 1880, New Mexico, Dona Ana County, La Mesilla, Precinct 5. National Archives Film Number T9-0802, Page Number 297A.

[4] Federal Census of 1880, Arizona, Maricopa County, Phoenix. National Archives Film Number T9-0036, Page Number 107B.

[5] Federal Census of 1880, Arizona, Maricopa County, Phoenix. National Archives Film Number T9-0036, Page Number 97B.

[6] Federal Census of 1900, Arizona, Maricopa County, Phoenix, First Ward, ED District 27, Sheet 1A, Line 50 and Sheet 1B, Lines 51-55.

[7] Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1892.

[8] Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1895.

[9] Death certificate for Joseph William Holland, filed 5 Dec 1919 in Maricopa County, Arizona, by Garland B. Couch, homeopathic physician.

[10] Arizona Republican newspaper, 1897. Copy in files of the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association.

[11] Death certificate for Theodore Hallonger, filed 18 Dec 1901 in Maricopa County, Arizona, by H. E. Stroud.

[12] Death certificate for Harold Holland, filed 10 May 1902 in Maricopa County, Arizona, by R. W. Craig.

[13] Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1905.

[14] Federal Census of 1910, Arizona, ED 76, Sheet 10A, Line 19.

[15] Tempe, Arizona, City Directories, 1912-1913.

[16] Tempe, Arizona, City Directory, 1914.

[17] Tempe, Arizona, City Directory, 1918.

[18] Obituary of William Holland, Arizona Republican newspaper, 4 Dec 1919, page 3.

[19] Tempe, Arizona, City Directories, 1921-1925.

[20] Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1930.

[21] Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1934.

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