March 18, 1926:
Jesse Holland fires two shots at daughter & blows own head off with shotgun! A Tragic happening occurred Friday morning at 8 miles west of Milton, when Jesse Holland, a farmer of that section, killed his 19 yr daughter, Ola, firing two shots at her from a single-barrel shotgun. The Milton Gazette of last Friday says: ”Mr Jesse Holland was a son of Jim Holland, who moved from here to south Florida abt 2 yrs ago. He was 46 yrs old, and had been married for abt 25 yrs to Ora, daughter of Mr & Mrs Will Giddens. The family consisted of the father and mother and 10 children. The oldest being a boy of 21 who works on the Escambia bridge. The young man and his mother got up at 3:30 to eat breakfast before going to work. About 5:00 the daughter got up and went out into the yard. Father arose and said he was going to feed the horses. In a moment or two shots were heard, wife and mother ran outside just in time to see father shoot daughter shattering her left arm, she screamed ”Oh! Mamma”, father reloaded and shot her the second time in right shoulder an heart region. Coroner’s Jury rendered verdict that Ola Holland came to her death by gunshot wounds inflcted by her father & Jesse Holland came to his death by self-inflicted gunshot wound.
[Contributed by Lois Danley and Sharon Watson]