Holst Family

The history of the Holst name is vague but definitely appears in several areas of Western Europe. Holst appears as a lower German, Dutch, and Danish name. From medieval lower German the Holst name refers topographically to someone who occupies a patch of woodland and is reduced from the the word hols’ate. One source on the Internet describes the name as having origins in the Netherlands.

The GGGrandfather we know as Charles Ferdinand Holst was the naturalized name taken by Carl Ferdinant Holst, born on 11 February 1813, in Copenhagen, Denmark. His family lived in the Garrison Area of Copenhagen which may suggest he was not Danish but rather German. The Garrison had many nationalities. Charles came to the United States at age 14 in 1827 arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. What caused his departure from Denmark is not known although historic sources related that Charles and his father were not on good terms. His mother and sister apparently helped him with the funds to travel to America.

When Charles arrived here he worked somewhere around Philadelphia as a farm hand. Later he opened an Art Gallery in Philadelphia that was not successful. During this time he met and married a Danish girl, Ida Elisa Jeannette de Chabert, born in Copenhagen on 20 August 1810. The marriage took place in Philadelphia at the German Lutheran Church “Old Zion”. Jeannette was the daughter of Major Charles Texier de Chabert, her mother was Helena Maria Scheer. The de Chabert family are considered nobility in Denmark and served as governors and burgers in the Dutch Antilles of the Caribbean. On a trip from Denmark back to St. Croix in about 1826, Charles de Chabert fathered a male child with his daughter Jeannette and was sent to prison in Stege, Mon, Denmark where he died on 17 February 1841. The child was named Emil de Chabert and has been untraceable. Jeannette was sent to live with relatives in Philadelphia where she met Charles F. Holst.

The couple first moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Charles Holst suffered greatly from Rheumatism and doctors advised him to move south. Heeding the advise Jeannette and Charles moved first to Charleston, South Carolina, where they lived for seven years. They then lived in Winnesboro and finally settled in Chester where they both lived out their lives.

Christian Frederik Holst, the father of Charles Ferdinand, was a Mechanic. This influence may have caused Charles to establish a successful  carriage factory in Chester. From 1848 until his death on 8 June 1871 he was seen to drive around the city in a  “Vognmandsforrenting” (gentleman’s carriage). During the Civil War, Charles provided transport to the Confederate Army and at times converted his factory into a hospital for battle injured soldiers.

Charles liked to give parties and portrayed himself as a delicate and aristocratic husband. The family liked to be considered as part of the Southern Aristocracy. Jeannette “de Chabert” Holst was definite descended from Danish nobility however there is no evidence so far that Charles F. Holst was.

Jeannette Holst died on 31 December 1863. The marriage with Charles produced ten children of whom only one son and two daughters reached adulthood. Charles was in his sixties when he took his second wife, a widow named Isabella Ann “Roberts” Woodruff. This marriage produced two daughters. Isabella died on 15 August 1919 in Chester.

The fact source citations have not been noted as yet since I am still gathering information on my ancestors. A lot of it is written in Danish and it takes time to translate.

DH