Individual Details

Graduated from UNC and Harvard Law School. Married to (1) Martha Jane Broadhurst and (2) Brent Blackmer Woodson. Four children - two by each marriage.

1923 The Yackety Yack, Yearbook of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, p. 267
Delta Kappa Epsilon. Class of 1924 includes William Henry Holderness.

7 Sep 1925. The SS Laconia arrived in New York City, having sailed from Liverpool, England on the 29th of August. Howard and William H. Holderness were passengers. Howard, age 23, born 2 Nov 1902, Tarboro, NC. William, age 21, born 1 July 1904, Tarboro. Gave their US address as "Tarboro, NC".

1930 Census. Greensboro, Guilford, NC, Hh 232
Charles W. Angle, 33, married at age 22, Contractor, Construction
Josephine, wife, 33, married at 22
T. G. Swentson, Servant, 28, Butler, Private home
Howard Holderness, Lodger, 28, Clerk, Life insurance
T. T. Holderness, Lodger, 23, Clerk, Life insurance
W. H. Holderness, Lodger, 25, Attorney, Law

1933 Greensboro City Directory
Holderness, Howard H. Treas Jefferson Standard Life Inc Co. residence, 700 Country Club dr
Holderness, T. Thurston. clk, Jefferson Standard Life Ins Co. r-700 Country Club dr
Holderness, Wm H. (Brooks, Parker & Holderness) r-700 Country Club dr

1940 Census. Greensboro, Guilford, NC, Hh 46
Living at 500 Country Club Drive - lived in same place but not the same house in 1935
William Holderness, 35. Lawyer
Martha, wife, 31
Jane H., dau, 5
William Jr., son, age 2

16 Feb 1942 World War II Draft Registration
William Henry Holderness lived at 500 Country Club Drive, Greensboro, Guilford, NC. He was age 37, born in Tarboro, NC on 1 Jul 1904. Mrs. W. H. Holderness of the same address would always know his address. He was an Attorney, practicing at 902 Southeastern Bldg., Greensboro. Signed as "W.H.Holderness". He was 5' 10 1/2" tall, weight, 210 lbs. The first joint of his middle finger of the left hand was gone.

1946 Greensboro NC City Directory
Holderenss, Howard (Adelaide F) Pres-treas Holderness & Co. home: 2000 Granville Rd
Holderness, T. T. v-pres-sec Holderness & Co residence: 900 N. Elm
Holderness, Wm H. (Martha: Brooks, McLendon, Brim & Holderness) home: 500 County Club Dr.

1950 Census. Greensboro, Guilford Co, NC, Hh 71
500 (no street name)
William H. Holderness, 45, Attorney, Law office
Jane H., dau, 15
William H. Jr., son, 12
Corinna C. Curnett, Negro, 40, NC, maid

The divorce from Martha was obtained in Florida in 1951 in Palm Beach Co.

1958 Greensboro City Directory.
Holderness, A. Lucinda, studt, r - 2000 Granville Rd
Holderness & Co Thos T. Holderness, pres-treas. Wm H. Holderness v-pres-sect. invs. 101 N. Elm
Holderness Howard (Adelaide F) Pres Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Co. 101 N. Elm
Holderness, Howard Jr studt r- 2000 Granville rd
Holderness, Jane H. studt r - 500 County Club dr
Holderness, Sandara A. studt r - 2000 Granville rd [Alexandria, I think]
Holderness, Thos T (Dorothy H) pres-treas Holderness & Co; v-pres-sect Howell Auto Finance Inc. home - 2013 St. Andrews rd
Holderness, Wm H (Brent W) lwyr 440 W. Market; v-pres-sect Holderness & Co. sec Starmount Co Inc and Friendly Center Inc home - 500 Country Club dr
Holderness, Wm H. Jr. USAF r - 500 Country Club Dr

1959 Greensboro, NC City Directroy
Holderness, A. Lucinda, student, residence - 2000 Granville Rd
Holderness & Company, Thos. T. Holderness, pres-tres, Wm. H. Holderness, v-pres- sect, investments 101 N. Elm
Holderness, Howard (Adelaide F), Pres. Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Co, 101 N. Elm residence - 2000 Granville Rd
Holderness, Howard Jr. studt, residence - 2000 Granville Rd
Holderness, Jane H., studt, residence 500 Country Club Dr
Holderness, Sandara A., studt, residence - 2000 Granville Rd
Holderness, Thos T. (Dorothy H) Pres-treas Holderness & Co; v-pres-sec Howell Auto Finance Inc home - 2013 St. Andrews Rd
Holderness Wm H. (Brent W; McLendon Brim Holderness & Brooks) v-pres sec Holderness & Co; v-pres, Greensboro Community Baseball Club Inc.; sec. Starmount Co; Friendly Center Inc. residence - 500 Country Club Dr
Holderness, Wm H. Jr. USAF, residence - 500 Country Club Dr

Brazilian Tourist Card for William Henry Holderness gave his birth as 1 June 1904 in Tarboro, NC, son of George Allan & Harriet Howard. His address was 500 Country Club Drive, Greensboro, NC. His passport dated 5 Apr 1960. Stamp has the date 25 Aug 1961. FamilySearch.org.

NC Death Certificates; Ancestry.com
Death Certificate #23260
Died: Cape Fear Hospital, Wilmington, New Hanover Co, NC
Residence: 500 Country Club Drive, Greensboro, Guilford Co, NC
Died 20 July 1965, age 61
Born: 11 Jul 1904, Tarboro, NC
Attorney
Father: George Holderness Mother: Harriet Howard
Wife: Mrs. W. H. Holderness
Information from Hospital Records
Cause of death was crushed chest due to boating accident and resulting pneumonia; obesity was another significant condition.
Buried 20 Jul 1965, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Greensboro, Guilford, NC

Rocky Mount Telegram, Rocky Mount, NC, 20 Jul 1965, Tuesday, p. 9
Injuries Fatal to Holderness
Greensboro - William Henry Holderness, 61, Greensboro attorney and native of Tarboro, died this morning in Cape Fear Hospital at Wilmington where he had been a patient since he suffered injuries in a boating accident, July 2, near Wrightsville Beach.
Pneumonia was given as cause of death. Holderness suffered chest and nose injuries when the boat he was piloting struck pilings of a bridge.
He was a partner in the law firm of McLendon, Brim, Holderness & Brooks and had practiced law in Greensboro since 1927. He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School.
Holderness was chairman of the Greensboro's ABC Board and prominent in work of the North Carolina Association of ABE Boards. He had been a member of the Board of Directors of Carolina Telephone & Telegraph Co since 1927.
The son of the late George A. & Hattie Howard Holderness, he attended August Military Academy and did his undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina.
Surviving are his wife, the former Brent Blackmer Woodson; four sons, William H., Jr., Hayes Ragland, Charles Woodson and Thomas Pearson Holderness; two daughters, Mrs. Robert B. Carrington and Miss Brent Blackmer Holderness; four brothers, D. Dail Holderness of Tarboro, Admiral George A. Holderness of Washington, DC, Howard & Thomas Holderness, both of Greensboro; two sisters, Mrs. Anna Stamps Transou of Greensboro and Mrs. Harriet Davis of Richmond, VA.
Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday at 4 pm from the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro.
The family has requested that flowers be omitted.

Biographical Sketch of Willie Holderness from his daughter-in-law Cherie Lynn (Murphy) Holderness, 2009. Posted to Ancestry FamilyTree.
Some is untrue and contains a "Three-brothers family myth"
A biographical sketch of William Henry “Willie” Holderness, 1904-1965.
Willie was born into a family whose accomplishments form a vital part of the modern history of North Carolina. As a Greensboro attorney, he continued the tradition of public service and responsible citizenship demonstrated by his father and mother, George Allan Holderness and Hattie Howard Holderness. Hattie was a daughter of Judge George Howard, all of Tarboro, North Carolina.
The Holderness family came to America from Yorkshire, England. The family trade was ship building, and three Holderness brothers decided to try their fortune in the New World. [No, they came from Virginia and had been in America for at least three generations - they had no known connection whatever to shipbuilding. This is a classic example of the family three-brothers myth.] One of these men was the family patriarch William Henry Holderness, namesake grandfather of our subject. [No he wasn't - this early William Henry Holderness was born in Caswell, NC to Robert Holderness & Elizabeth Brooks. Robert himself had been born in Caswell. His father having come to North Carolina in the 1760's.] He and his wife Sarah Foreman settled in Caswell County in the town of Milton, North Carolina and became tobacco farmers. [Actually all of William's siblings and his mother sold the home place, inherited from his deceased father, to William Henry, and all the rest of the family moved to Arkansas about 1850.]They had three children: William T. Holderness, Julia Holderness, and George Allan Holderness, father of our subject. George made his mark by introducing the hog industry as well as farm silos to North Carolina, and his service in the North Carolina State Senate of 1916 where he was appointed Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He founded Carolina Telephone and Telegraph, was on the founding board of Jefferson Standard Life Insurance, and was the President of Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company before retiring.
All five of the sons of George Allan Holderness went on to distinguished careers: George Allan Holderness Jr., Rear Admiral of the U. S. Navy; Haywood Dail Holderness, President and Treasurer of Carolina Telephone and Telegraph; Howard (?) Holderness, President of Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, now known as Lincoln Financial; Thomas Thurston Holderness, President and Treasurer of the financial investment firm of Holderness and Company; and our subject *William Henry “Willie” Holderness, Attorney at Law. They also had two daughters, Harriet Howard Holderness and Anna Stamps Holderness.
*This William Henry Holderness, hereafter referred to as Willie, was the son of George Allan Holderness and the grandson of his namesake William. Willie was born in Tarboro, North Carolina on July 1, 1904 and attended Tarboro High School and Augusta Military Academy in Fort Defiance, VA. He was an honor student at UNC and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. Three years later he graduated with honors from Harvard Law School where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternities.
In 1927 he went into law practice with A. L. Brooks in Greensboro and the firm was named Brooks, McLendon, Brim, and Holderness. He was a director of Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Co., Secretary of Starmount Co., member of Merchants and Manufacturers Club, Chairman of the Greensboro Alcohol Board of Control (ABC) and prominent in the work of North Carolina Association of ABC boards. He was also an active member of American, North Carolina, and Greensboro Bar Associations.
Willie first wed Martha Jane Broadhurst in (?) and had two children: Jane-Howard Holderness and William Henry Holderness Jr. Jane-Howard wed Will Hammerstein and became a screen writer, winning several awards for her screenplay work including Wait Until Dark, Summer of My German Soldier, and others. Her husband Will Hammerstein ran the production company for his father Oscar Hammerstein’s famous musicals. Jane-Howard and Will had no children. William Jr. wed Bonnie McQueen and they had one child, William Henry Holderness III.
Willie second wed Brent Blackmer Woodson in 1951 and they had four children: Charles Woodson Holderness, Brent Blackmer Holderness, Hayes Ragland Holderness, and Thomas Pearson Holderness. Charles wed Deborah Souder and had three children; Elizabeth Brooks Holderness, Charles Woodson Holderness Jr., and William Lee Holderness. Brent wed Wayland Alexander Crutchfield and had four children; Jane Howard Holderness Crutchfield, Brent Blackmer Crutchfield, Carolyn Hayes Crutchfield, and Wayland Alexander Crutchfield III. Hayes wed Cherie Lynn Murphy and had three children; Hayes Ragland Holderness Jr., Henry Richmond Holderness, and Murphy Holland Holderness. Thomas wed Sara Sue Smith and had three children; Perrine Zoe Holderness, Emily Holderness, and Sue Woodson Holderness.
Willie was a Deacon of the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, Director of the local Salvation Army, President and Board member of the Cerebral Palsy School of Greensboro, President of the Community Chest, War Chest, and Greensboro United Fund, and was active with the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. Willie and wife Brent were active in the American Contract Bridge League. He was an expert bridge player and competed locally and nationally as a life master point player.Willie died in Wilmington, North Carolina on July 20, 1965 as the result of a boating accident and associated pneumonia at the age of 61. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greensboro, North Carolina. Many community tributes were paid to him when he died, not the least of which was due to his tenure as first Board President and his fundraising efforts to establish the Cerebral Palsy School which the Greensboro people so generously support. Hundreds of handicapped children owe the priceless services of therapy and classroom instruction which they have received at the Greensboro Cerebral Palsy School to the vision and the faith of William Henry “Willie” Holderness and to those who have followed in his path.

Birth	1 Jul 1904	Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina
Marriage	7 Apr 1934	Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina - Martha Jane Broadhurst
Divorce	1951	Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida - Martha Jane Broadhurst
Marriage	16 Dec 1951	Pinehurst, Moore County, North Carolina - Brent Blackmer Woodson
Death	20 Jul 1965	Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina

Spouse	Martha Jane Broadhurst (1907 - 1967)
Child	Living
Child	William Henry Holderness Jr. (1938 - 1981)

Spouse	Brent Blackmer Woodson (1926 - )
Child	Living
Child	Living
Child	Living
Child	Living

Father	George Allan Holderness (1867 - 1947)
Mother	Harriet Howard (1871 - 1954)
Sibling	Adm. George Allan Holderness Jr. (1900 - 1987)
Sibling	Howard "Chick" Holderness (1902 - 1992)
Sibling	Thomas Thurston "Turk" Holderness (1906 - 1988)
Sibling	Haywood Dail Holderness (1909 - 1989)
Sibling	Anna Stamps Holderness (1909 - 1987)
Sibling	Harriett Howard "Pat" Holderness (1911 - 2006)