Caroline Veronica Holanetz

1886 - 1973  (86 years)

• Name	Caroline Veronica Holanetz
  Born	09 Apr 1886	North Attleborough, Bristol Co., MA
  Gender	Female
  Died	19 Jan 1973	Newport, Newport Co., RI
  Buried	Island Cemetery, Newport, Newport Co., RI
  Notes	Caroline was orphaned early, as both of her parents died early within a short time of each other. According to her daughter, Harriet, Caroline initially spoke only German, as that was the language spoken at home. It was very difficult for her to learn English once she reached school. Cousin Lynnie remembers hearing that Caroline went to a general store as a child to buy spools of thread as a child. She did not know the word "thread" in English. She was embarassed that she did not know adequate English. However, once she did learn, she never wanted to speak German again. She was raised by her sister, Gussie, along with her other siblings. Gussie was successful in keeping the family together, despite the State's wanting to split the family up. The Church helped Gussie keep the family together. According to the 1900 Federal Census, Caroline was 14 years old then, was not going to school (perhaps was taking care of the younger children at home while the other older siblings worked) and according to the census she had not been at school at all during the school year immediately preceding the June, 1900 census. Augusta Holanetz is listed as Head of Household in the 1900 Federal Census, at 80 Smith Street, North Attleboro, MA. She is noted as being 19 years old and her profession is "Chain Maker", along with Charles Holanetz (17?), "Bench maker", Madeline (15) also "Chain Maker", and the remainder of the Holanetz siblings: Caroline (14), William (12), Charlotte (11), Rosa (9), Frankie (6), and Ellen (note: should read Helen) age 2. All children from William on down were listed as being "at school", while Caroline did not have a profession at 14, but was she listed as not being at school. The house at 80 Smith Street was noted as being rented. Their parents were noted as having come from Germany, not Austria. According to her daughter, Harriet, Caroline did not ever attend high school. She somehow attended nursing school and became an RN. She was a private duty nurse. Her daughter, Carolyn, remembers hearing that studying to become a nurse was hard with the long 24 hour shifts at times for her mother when she was a student nurse. Caroline used to cry and her sister, Gussie supported her emotionally and helped her get through the rigorous education. Augusta appeared in the 1903,1905, 1907, 1909 & 1911 City Directories for North Attleboro. In 1903 & 1905, she was listed as living at 80 Smith Street. In 1907 & 1909 City Directories, she was listed as living with Charles Holanetz (her brother-a jeweler) at 7 Prospect. In 1911, she was listed as living at 14 Circular Rear with her brothers Charles J. and William J. Holanetz. In 1911, their sister, Caroline Holanetz, was listed as living elsewhere. She was a nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital. Caroline was not proud of the family situation that she came from. According to Aunt Harriet, Aunt Gussie's priority was having her siblings contribute money to the family to help support the children. In the 1910 Federal Census, Caroline Holanetz is listed as living in Providence, Newport Co., RI in a boarding house, at age 24. Her profession was listed as student nurse. According to Eva Holancova, she found that the hospital that Caroline worked in was St. Joseph's in Providence, RI. According to the 1915 Fall River, Bristol Co., MA City Directory, Caroline Holanetz was listed as working as a nurse in City Hospital. In the 1920 Census William A. Perkins (Age 34) is listed as Head of Household, living with his wife, Caroline (Age 30) and their daughter, Harriet E. Perkins (Age 1 Month Old). Nicknamed "Carrie" by her family, "Holly" according to Emma Pearl Perkins Mallia, she met William at a boarding house in Newport after William had divorced Mary Peek.She was doing private duty at the boarding house for a patient, Mr. Moskowitz. She caught Erysipelas from him, lost all of her hair, and was bedridden for some time. William missed seeing her around the boarding house and inquired about her. She had to have "switches" to form a bun. Thin, fine hair grew back eventually. Her hair turned steel gray but never white. They were married in Newport at Parsonage of St. Paul's Methodist Church by a Reverend Claypool. According to Harriet, a dentist came to the house to remove all of her teeth to prevent any future miscarriages as she had already had several. When her husband, William, died, Harriet remembers that Gussie came to stay with the family for a few days during the funeral and the aftermath, although it seems that none of Carolyn's other siblings came for the funeral. Harriet remembers that Charlotte Holanetz Drake and her husband, Arthur, came after the funeral to see if there had been an inheritance. Apparently, Carolyn was quite upset that they had come then, but not for the funeral. Harriet remembers that her Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Arthur came for Thanksgiving dinner for a couple of years when she was very young (at age 5 possibly). Carolyn may not have been a Protestant convert. Harriet remembers going to (Catholic) church services when her sister, Gussie, came to stay with her. However, even after her husband's death, she continued to raise them as Protestants, as they were already quite grown up. Harriet, being the oldest, was already 16 at the time of her father's death. For the most part though, since she was running the nursing home in her house, she had no time to leave the house to go to church services, although she did take some time to leave once her children were old enough to help out and take care of things when she ran errands. Carolyn, though, remembers her mother attending the Methodist Church every Sunday with her children because it was the wish of their father, William, that his children be educated and attend church in a Protestant church, not Caroline's Catholic church. The family attended St. Paul's Methodist/Episcopal Church when the children were growing up in Newport. According to Carolyn, their mother refused to have babysitters for her children. She was adamant that she would raise her own children totally on her own, without additional help. According to Carolyn, her mother dug up clams on the beach to feed her children while the children played on the beach. When money was tight, her husband, William would ask her for additional pocket money. She gave him whatever she had, but that left little money for food. She never refused him because a wife did not refuse to obey her husband in those days. Carolyn stated that her mother's life was simplified once her husband died. She was her own boss in her household then, and could provide for them however she saw fit (without interference). When Carolyn was asked if her mother was ever happy during her life, she answered that it was when her husband died and she was liberated to raise her children and live her life in her own way. Per Emma Pearl, who heard it from Harriet, Carolyn raised canaries with her husband, William. They had a Victorian- style bird house that they raised them in. She and her two sisters, Helen & Rose, studied to become Registered Nurses. Helen dropped out, while Rose & Caroline continued on to obtain their degrees. Her calling card, sent to me by Tillie Perroni, read as follows: "Carolyn V. Holanetz, R.N., 242 Broad Street, Providence, R.I. " Tillie believes that she may have had these calling cards made soon after her graduation. She became a Registered Nurse and later after her husband died, she ran a nursing home while raising her children. According to her daughters, Harriet & Carolyn, upon her husband's death, she received a Perkins family bible, which she later burned because she felt ashamed that she had married a divorced man and did not want it known to the general public. Carolyn noted that one of Caroline's children died from pneumonia on Christmas day, allegedly crawling on a wet floor. The cemetery plot was moved from the poorer to the better part of the cemetery in Newport, which is where Caroline and William are buried. St. Joseph's Hospital of Nursing North Attleborough located in Bristol Co., MA In the 1930 Federal Census, William A. Perkins, Head of Household, is living in a rented house at 68 Evart Street in Newport, Newport Co., RI. He is age 45, noted as having been first married at the age of 20 (to Mary Peek). He lived with his wife, Caroline (also age 45??) and their three children: Harriet (10), Carolyn 7 1/2), and William (3 1/2). Caroline was noted as having been age 33 when she was married. He is listed as being a machinist. Carolyn had no profession listed at that time. Caroline's parents were incorrectly listed as both having been born in Germany. Charles (Carl) Holanetz was born in Austria. Carolyn Perkins in household of Carolyn Perkins, "Rhode Island, State Census 1935" name: Carolyn Perkins (Note: Error in Spelling of Caroline) event: Census event date: 1935 event place: Newport, Newport Co., RI, United States residence: 68 Evarts St, Newport, Newport, Newport Co., RI street address: 68 Evarts St gender: Female marital status: Widowed race: White head of household - number in family: 6 birth date: 05 Apr 1887 birthplace: MA film number: 1712309 After her husband died, Caroline moved the family from the house on Evart Street to 36 Mt. Vernon Street, Newport. The house was originally rented, then purchased. That was she ran the nursing home and supported the family. The family never owned a car. She made her daughters take driving classes to learn to drive. Walking was the only means of transportation for the entire family. She walked or took buses occasionally around town. According to her daughter, Carolyn, she raised and killed & prepared chickens for the family at her husband's request because that was something that had been done by the Perkins family during William Perkins' childhood in Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., NY. She also kept rabbit hutches because he wanted them, until someone opened and let out the rabbits. Although their mother could not swim herself, she taught her her kids, including Carolyn, how to swim. Piano lessons began for Carolyn & her siblings at age 5. She & her siblings were expected to practice before going to school every day. She recalls that her mother, Caroline, surprised them one day by playing the piano, a tune called the "Fire Engine". Her children were surpised that she could play that well. Caroline stated that it was the only song that she remembered how to play on the piano. She never wanted to re-marry after her husband, William, died. Her Job # 1 was to raise her children. She never saw a movie until one day she took her son, William, to see Tarzan. She never saw another movie. She made her daughters' clothes all during their childhood, but not her son's. She was the "Nurse of the Neighborhood" by treating the neighbors for everything, unless they were so seriously hurt or ill that they needed to go to the hospital. She received no pay for her services. She was compassionate towards these neighbors. She lacked compassion, however, for her sisters. She believed that her sisters (excluding Aunt Gussie) sponged off her. She didn't want/need to have them around. During the late 1920's and early 1930's, Caroline had one "whiney sister" and one sister who came around with a baby, looking to be fed. This happened when there was barely enough money for Caroline to feed her own children. According to Carolyn, her brother, William, was naturally left-handed. His mother pushed him to be right-handed. Apparently she pushed him so hard that he began to stutter. A doctor told Caroline to stop pushing him so hard and the stuttering stopped. She discouraged William from being a vet. In her view, if he were to go into medicine, he should be a medical MD. He did not want to become a medical doctor. In the 1940 Federal Census, Caroline lived in a house on Third Street, where she ran a nursing home. According to her daughter, Carolyn, her mother lived in that rented house with her brother, William, until the landlord raised the rent. Caroline then found a house that she was able to buy and where she continued to run a nursing home. She took the bus to attend her son's graduation from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1948. According to her daughter, Carolyn, she attended the graduation alone, having to switch buses along the way to get there. According to Cousin Lynnie, Carolyn loved to knit, pearl and read (National Geographic especially). She believed strongly in education for all of her children. She did not indicate that she had ever spoken German. Yet, Lynnie remembers her often exclaiming, "Mein Gott im Himmel!", the only phrase Lynnie ever heard her use in German. Lynnie believes that Caroline remembered the German she learned as a child, but never used it. She gave Lynnie a stuffed animal when Lynnie was in the hospital when her tonsils were removed. Caroline was a "go-getter". She was not as stern with her grandchildren as she had been with her children. However, Lynnie knew that when Caroline said no, "no meant no". Lynnie remembers hearing that when Caroline was raising her children, she was anxious about them Trick or Treating in the neighborhood. So, Caroline dressed up as an old man to follow them at a distance around the neighborhood. When Lynnie was a child, she remembers showing up unexpectedly with her father & brothers at the nursing home on Mt. Vernon Street. Since it was late, Caroline slept in the front room on a couch in order to hear everyone upstairs. When they arrived, Caroline scrambled around to put in her false teeth that she had removed. Everyone had a good laugh, including her. She loved hats & being fashionably dressed. During their childhood, Caroline sent the kids funny cards after she retired showing a sense of humor. She loved nature, liked to garden & flowers (oriental poppy) and birds too. She liked to give children lilacs to bring home. Lynnie remembers that on Christmas Day, after opening their presents at home, they would go to visit Aunt Carolyn & Caroline to open "one more present". The presents were never extravagant, but always thoughtful gifts. She loved her grandchildren. Lynnie was 11 - 12 in 6th grade when Caroline retired in her 70's - 80. She then lived in the house on ________ Street in Newport. After Lynnie's father died, she went to have "milk & cookies" with her grandmother until her mother returned from work & brought her home. At the end of her life, Caroline suffered from a hearing loss due to old age. Lynnie remembers spending time with her grandmother on Sundays going for drives & any necessary shopping. Buried at: Island Cemetery, Farwell Street, Newport, Newport Co., RI
  Person ID	I28566	irish | Reuben_Irish
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2019

  
  

  Family	William Albert Perkins,   b. 24 Mar 1884, Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., NY ,   d. 30 Mar 1935, Newport, Newport Co., RI  (Age 51 years)
  Married	19 Sep 1917	Newport, Newport Co., RI
  Children	1. Thomas Perkins,   b. 17 Oct 1918, Newport, Newport Co., RI ,   d. 25 Dec 1919, Newport, Newport Co., RI  (Age 1 years) + 2. Harriet Elizabeth Perkins,   b. 05 Dec 1919, Newport, Newport Co., RI ,   d. 09 Apr 2014, Grand Islander Center, Middletown, Newport Co., RI  (Age 94 years)   3. Carolyn Barbara Perkins,   b. 28 Sep 1921, Newport, Newport Co., RI ,   d. 08 Oct 1922, Newport, Newport Co., RI  (Age 1 years)   4. C. B. Perkins + 5. William Albert Perkins,   b. 13 Oct 1926, Newport, Newport Co., RI ,   d. 03 Mar 1992, St. Louis, MO  (Age 65 years)
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2019
  Family ID	F9499	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart