Georgia Pioneers
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James Tom Holland, Merchant of McPherson





hollandhouseLaurel Benjamin Holland, son of James Tom Holland, standing beside the new Tom Holland Home at McPherson, Georgia ca 1924. The Holland family resided in McPherson, near the railroad tracks in what was known as a "section hand house."
Tom Holland's wife, Willie Florence Collins Holland, went shopping in Atlanta. The railroad track was adjacent to her house, and she would catch the train and exit at Terminal Station where she purchased fine clothing for her sons. They wore white shirts and ties to school. Just after this house was built, and they moved into it, she was bitten by a wharf rat and died of fever at the age of 30 years. Her three small sons were raised by her sister, Ida Genette Collins Johns.

Also residing in this railroad community were the families of Holland, Craton, and Smith. The was a general store owned and operated by Tom Holland.