Honaker - Holsonbake
HONAKER - Holsonbake HOME
Historical marker application.
This stately old home is located on Lot 14, Block 6 of the Howell Addition in Farmersville, Texas....
The Howell Addition was opened for building lots on September 15, 1883, and the next year this lot was sold to S. E. Davis for the sum of $200.... This lot was sold to J. H. Gotcher in 1885 for $500, to P. A. Dowling in 1887 for $700, and finally sold to J. M. Honaker on November 25, 1891 for $875.
John Milburn Honaker was born on August 17, 1851, in Castlewood, Virginia. The family moved to Texas two years later, and settled on a small farm in Farmersville. When John and his brother Henry left home, they went into business together, buying a farm and working other farms. As they became successful, they purchased several other farms in Texas and Oklahoma.
John married Malinda Ann Bickley on October 18, 1891. Joseph P. Bickley, Malinda’s father and John’s mother’s cousin, had stayed with the Honakers at their farm in 1857. The Bickleys were well educated, and owned a great deal of land around Farmersville. They family had originally come from England around 1661. The Baron and Baroness Bickley owned Attleborough Hall, and were featured in the books Annie and Delilah’s Mountain. The Bickleys settled in Wise, Virginia, and later moved to Texas at about the same time as the Honakers.
John and Melinda had three daughters: Ruth, Kate, and Mary. When John married Melinda, he and Henry sat down and divided their investments equally....
The house was built in 1893 by the Honaker family who designed it themselves instead of using an architect. They designed it to fit the needs of the family, and when it was completed it was a beautifully ornate “gingerbread” house....
John owned at least five farms, one being in Bryan County, Oklahoma, plus many buildings in downtown Farmersville, as well as stock in the Farmersville First National bank. He had an interest in the feed mill and the local light plant. The Honakers spent most of their time while the girls were in school at Sherman, where the girls attended North Texas Female College and Kidd Key Conservatory. In the summertime they would spend two or three weeks at Grandmother Bickley back in Farmersville, and the rest of the time in Eureka Springs or Mineral Wells....
In 1910 John and Malinda Honaker decided they needed a larger house in Farmersville and decided to remodel their Victorian home. ...they did engage an architect this time. The top of the house was removed, and the structure cut in half, then spread apart the distance required to have the size home they wanted. A large entry hall was built between the two sections of the house so they were joined, making a very large area that increased the size of the house greatly. A full second floor was added and divided into several bedrooms. The exterior of the front of the house was changed from the fancy Victorian style to its present appearance. A large front porch ran the length of the front of the house and large columns were installed....
This spacious old home was the setting for many elaborate social gatherings. Perhaps the most beautiful were the weddings for the three daughters. Ruth married W. O. Edgington, later Kate married Earl Alexander, and Mary married Blake M. Smith.
Malinda died in 1913 of pneumonia only three years after the house was remodeled....
John married Carrie Bickley Honaker, Malinda’s older sister, on January 10, 1917, and then died on April 16 of that same year. Carried remained very active in the Farmersville Methodist Church.... Carrie died October 5, 1928.
On December 18, 1917, the Honaker daughters sold the house and property to Bob Holsenbake, for $6000. Bob’s wife, Willie Honaker, was John Honaker’s niece. For many years Bob Holsenbake was a prominent businessman in FArmersville. Besides operating the Ford Dealership, he was engaged in other businesses such as the onion growing that for several years was the largest operation in east Collin County....
Both of the Holsenbake daughters, Jane and Marrianne, were married in the home....
During World War II when housing was at a premium, two of the upstairs bedrooms were made into little apartments for teachers who taught in the school across the street. Some of the teachers who enjoyed living in the fine old home were Mrs. J. E. Windel, Lena Crozier, Margaret Peake, Allegra Byers, Sadie Connor, Miriam Sowell, and Welta Angle Knight. Kate Gibson, a relative of the Bickleys, Honakers, and Holsenbakes, lived in two downstairs rooms for over 40 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Holsenbake celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in the home on November 5, 1955. Two weeks later, Bob died, and his wife Willie and Kate Gibson continued to live in the home for over twenty more years. The property was sold to the Foys on January 12, 1977. Willie died on May 16, 1978.
James Harold and Regena Eltzroth Foy, with their two daughters Nicole Francine and Andrea Rene, bought and began to restore the house in 1977. Jim, a fourth generation Texas, is the son of Ava Griffin Foy and the late Harold Clarkson Foy of Brownwood. Regena is the eldest daughter of the late Eugene W. and Francis Irene Eltzroth of Wabash, Indiana. Jim and Regena were married in Lafayette, Indiana in 1968. They moved to Dallas in 1970, then to Richardson in 1971, before moving to Farmersville....
Historical marker application.
This stately old home is located on Lot 14, Block 6 of the Howell Addition in Farmersville, Texas....
The Howell Addition was opened for building lots on September 15, 1883, and the next year this lot was sold to S. E. Davis for the sum of $200.... This lot was sold to J. H. Gotcher in 1885 for $500, to P. A. Dowling in 1887 for $700, and finally sold to J. M. Honaker on November 25, 1891 for $875.
John Milburn Honaker was born on August 17, 1851, in Castlewood, Virginia. The family moved to Texas two years later, and settled on a small farm in Farmersville. When John and his brother Henry left home, they went into business together, buying a farm and working other farms. As they became successful, they purchased several other farms in Texas and Oklahoma.
John married Malinda Ann Bickley on October 18, 1891. Joseph P. Bickley, Malinda’s father and John’s mother’s cousin, had stayed with the Honakers at their farm in 1857. The Bickleys were well educated, and owned a great deal of land around Farmersville. They family had originally come from England around 1661. The Baron and Baroness Bickley owned Attleborough Hall, and were featured in the books Annie and Delilah’s Mountain. The Bickleys settled in Wise, Virginia, and later moved to Texas at about the same time as the Honakers.
John and Melinda had three daughters: Ruth, Kate, and Mary. When John married Melinda, he and Henry sat down and divided their investments equally....
The house was built in 1893 by the Honaker family who designed it themselves instead of using an architect. They designed it to fit the needs of the family, and when it was completed it was a beautifully ornate “gingerbread” house....
John owned at least five farms, one being in Bryan County, Oklahoma, plus many buildings in downtown Farmersville, as well as stock in the Farmersville First National bank. He had an interest in the feed mill and the local light plant. The Honakers spent most of their time while the girls were in school at Sherman, where the girls attended North Texas Female College and Kidd Key Conservatory. In the summertime they would spend two or three weeks at Grandmother Bickley back in Farmersville, and the rest of the time in Eureka Springs or Mineral Wells....
In 1910 John and Malinda Honaker decided they needed a larger house in Farmersville and decided to remodel their Victorian home. ...they did engage an architect this time. The top of the house was removed, and the structure cut in half, then spread apart the distance required to have the size home they wanted. A large entry hall was built between the two sections of the house so they were joined, making a very large area that increased the size of the house greatly. A full second floor was added and divided into several bedrooms. The exterior of the front of the house was changed from the fancy Victorian style to its present appearance. A large front porch ran the length of the front of the house and large columns were installed....
This spacious old home was the setting for many elaborate social gatherings. Perhaps the most beautiful were the weddings for the three daughters. Ruth married W. O. Edgington, later Kate married Earl Alexander, and Mary married Blake M. Smith.
Malinda died in 1913 of pneumonia only three years after the house was remodeled....
John married Carrie Bickley Honaker, Malinda’s older sister, on January 10, 1917, and then died on April 16 of that same year. Carried remained very active in the Farmersville Methodist Church.... Carrie died October 5, 1928.
On December 18, 1917, the Honaker daughters sold the house and property to Bob Holsenbake, for $6000. Bob’s wife, Willie Honaker, was John Honaker’s niece. For many years Bob Holsenbake was a prominent businessman in FArmersville. Besides operating the Ford Dealership, he was engaged in other businesses such as the onion growing that for several years was the largest operation in east Collin County....
Both of the Holsenbake daughters, Jane and Marrianne, were married in the home....
During World War II when housing was at a premium, two of the upstairs bedrooms were made into little apartments for teachers who taught in the school across the street. Some of the teachers who enjoyed living in the fine old home were Mrs. J. E. Windel, Lena Crozier, Margaret Peake, Allegra Byers, Sadie Connor, Miriam Sowell, and Welta Angle Knight. Kate Gibson, a relative of the Bickleys, Honakers, and Holsenbakes, lived in two downstairs rooms for over 40 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Holsenbake celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in the home on November 5, 1955. Two weeks later, Bob died, and his wife Willie and Kate Gibson continued to live in the home for over twenty more years. The property was sold to the Foys on January 12, 1977. Willie died on May 16, 1978.
James Harold and Regena Eltzroth Foy, with their two daughters Nicole Francine and Andrea Rene, bought and began to restore the house in 1977. Jim, a fourth generation Texas, is the son of Ava Griffin Foy and the late Harold Clarkson Foy of Brownwood. Regena is the eldest daughter of the late Eugene W. and Francis Irene Eltzroth of Wabash, Indiana. Jim and Regena were married in Lafayette, Indiana in 1968. They moved to Dallas in 1970, then to Richardson in 1971, before moving to Farmersville....
