MORE BASIC INFORMATION......
Besides the HOLLIDAY family, my brothers and I and our cousins also represent three other families - all three of which came together on the Eastern end of Long Island, New York - in the mid 1600’s. Some of this information is repeated from yesterday’s post - just for the sake of clarity!
Our grandfather, ROLLIE CRUMPTON HOLLIDAY joined the Marines in 1924 and was assigned to a ship which was based at Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey. Our grandmother, LOIS CAROLYN BEEBEE HOLLIDAY, was the daughter of WILLIAM THOMAS BEEBEE and CARRIE JANE FIELD BEEBEE. By 1927, she was a teacher and had relocated from her home in Sag Harbor, New York to live at the YWCA in New York City. She and Rollie met on a train when he was on leave. We are not quite sure why she was on the train on that particular day or evening, but nevertheless, they met and eventually decided to marry, which they did in June of 1928, just before Rollie was discharged from the Marines in July of 1928. Lois rode the train South to Alabama and they set up “housekeeping'“ in a small cabin built for them on HOLLIDAY family land by Rollie’s father and brothers. It was a rocky start - with one of his brothers stating to him, “Well, you’ve gone and married a damn Yankee!”.
Our BEEBEE family has a most interesting history, with ties to both the HALSEY and FIELD families on Eastern Long Island, New York. JOSEPH BEEBEE was the first documented BEEBEE settler, who emigrated from Plymouth, Massachusetts to purchase Plum Island off the coast of Long Island (where he is buried). His family moved on to settle Southold on the Northern end of Long Island, where they became prosperous farmers and members of the community. Our Great Great Grandfather was JASON WILLIAM BEEBEE and our Great Grandfather was WILLIAM THOMAS BEEBEE. Our grandmother Lois had two siblings, a younger sister named HELEN and the youngest, a brother named MELLVANE, neither of whom had children.
Our Great Great Grandfather BEEBEE married ERMINIA BUELL HALSEY or “MINNIE”, daughter of LEDYARD H. HALSEY and MARIA JANE STANBOROUGH HALSEY. The HALSEY side of the family is descended from THOMAS HALSEY, one of the original seven settlers of SOUTHAMPTON, NEW YORK. The house he built on Main Street in 1648 - known as The Hollyhocks - is still there and is now a house museum.
Our Great Grandmother, CARRIE JANE FIELD BEEBEE was the daughter of JOHN HEDGES FIELD and CAROLINE SHAW FIELD. John Hedges Field had a very exciting early life, sailing to San Francisco in 1849 to join “The Gold Rush” in California. We don’t have alot of information about his adventures, but know that he eventually returned to Sag Harbor where he married and had three children. CARRIE was the oldest, with a younger brother and a younger sister - neither of whom married or had children. Therefore, our mother and her three sisters - Lorese Helen or “Peggy”, Carolyn Loretta or “Cricket” and Sarah Jean or “Sis” - are the only descendants from that part of the Beebee/Field family.
The other interesting family genealogy fact is that our Great Grandfather THOMAS WILLIAM BEEBEE had six siblings - one brother who died at age 10 and five sisters. His sister Erminia or “Minnie”, had a daughter named Molly, who died as a young child. Another of his sisters, Lucille, had four children, but she died very young and we don’t have alot of information about the lives and descendants of her children. We would LOVE to make contact with these distant cousins and are hoping that they too are interested in making contact with their BEEBEE connections!
Well, that’s the overview of how and why all of this began. We all feel it is very important to preserve the treasures and the memories and the stories and the history that are so plentiful and important in our family. We invite you to join us and become a part of this journey!