Comments on: Need the Luck of the Irish in Your Research?

By: Robanne Palmer

Robanne Palmer — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:33:54 +0000

My Mother Patricia Holdcraft (Palmer) Abrecht passed two years ago, her Uncle Merhl is the man the gentleman from Ireland is referring to. I am 41 and my uncle Richard Holdcraft lives in Frederick. My mother, her brother and sister had another brother named after James Patrick Holdcraft – he died as a child. Their parents were Joseph Henry Holdcraft and Mary Isabel (Six) Uncle Merhl wrote a terrific book called Stems and Twigs of the Holdcraft Family – I am sure I have it somewhere and it is out of date. His son John Holdcraft (lives in Catonsville Maryland which is in Baltimore county) is continuing Uncle Merhl’s work. I grew up in Frederick County and now live in Cecil County, Maryland with my husband Mike and two boys, JP (yes, James Patrick) and Jack. I have a picture of JPH in his uniform and am willing to share.

By: Carolyn L. Barkley

Carolyn L. Barkley — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:43:27 +0000

Thanks for your reply. J. Mehrling Holdcraft has written some of the more well-known books about Frederick Co., Maryland (Names in Stone: 75,000 Cemetery Inscriptions from Frederick Co., Maryland). At this point, I don’t know what the connection to the individual listed in the article may be, but I hope to do more research in the future. I will keep your email on hand in the file in case I uncover anything specific. If you should find any link to
the Holdcrafts identified in the blog posting, please feel free to contact me.

By: Ireland County Map

Ireland County Map — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:51:09 +0000

Very interesting point I had not considered before this…

By: John Clarke

John Clarke — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:07:01 +0000

My grandmother was Margaret Holdcraft. I am from County Louth in Ireland. I found an old photo that was sent to her from Baltimore, Maryland. It is a photo of a young man named J. Mehrling Holdcraft. It was taken in Germany after WW1 and it clearly shows him wearing an american army uniform. She said that he was related to her. Perhaps there is a connection!