The contributor of these reports wishes to remain anonymous but granted permission to include them on this website. The contributor is a descendant of William B [ird] Holeman (1797-1880); I (GKBopp) descend from William's older brother, Jacob Harrod Holeman (1793-1857). Their mother, Elizabeth Rader/Reader, died young (possibly in the year of William's birth); Jacob and William were named by their grandfather Michael Rader in a gift deed and in his will. The boys' father, Andrew Holeman, probably removed from Shenandoah after 1796; nothing further is known of him at this time. Jacob (sometimes known as Harrod or "Harry") and William settled in Kentucky at an early age; it is not known when, or with whom, they removed from Virginia. According to one family tradition, the boys ran away from a "mean" stepmother; another source states they came to Kentucky with their father [or possibly a cousin]. The brothers are listed as Kentucky Veterans of the War of 1812 and were newspaper publishers in Kentucky. For more information about the families and/or descendants of Jacob and William, post a query at the Holman/Holeman RootsWeb surname list (or send me an e-mail - address is at Homepage).

Additional sources of information for the associated Holeman and Rader lines are included below.

The contents of the original material remain the same in the re-typed versions presented here (including spelling variations, etc.); however, there are format variations, such as:

1) The Descendants of ADAM AND ANNA MARIA RODER, JOHANN ADAM AND KATHARINA (TAUBER) RODER From the Palatinate to Pennsylvania, The Shenandoah Valley and The United States of America. By Dr. William A. Rader and June L. (Hudnut) Rader. Self published, Bridgewater and New Market, VA, 1987. In private correspondence, Dr. Rader said he donated copies of his book to more than 40 U.S. libraries including LDS; Library of Congress; L.A., CA; VA State Library; and all libraries in the Shenandoah Valley. Current ordering information is available at Jim Rader's Web site.