I believe you refer to Elizabeth (named for her mother) Canzada Holden, b. 1831, who married John Leonard Page in 1853. Her sister, Mary Helen Holden, (Elizabeth was one of 12 children) married John Gordon, who our records indicate was from Kentucky. I suspect that Elizabeth was living with her sister because her mother, Elizabeth Flannagan died about 1850. Her father, Thomas Holden, Jr. had died in 1849, we think in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Elizabeth Canzada Holden and Mary Helen Holden are my great great grandmother’s sisters. My great great grandmother is Margaret Holden NESOM.

I have pieced together information on my Holden line from one reference in the unpublished “Nesom Family Record and History.” My Margaret Holden and her other sister, Emily, married brothers, Nelson and James NESOM. They raised their large families on adjacent plantations in what is now East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, between Clinton and Bluff Creek. They did well until the War and “Reconstruction.” Happily most survived and their descendents have done well.

I am happy to share what I have, if only to confirm the accuracy of what I have gleaned. Note that the Holden line is quite interesting and colorful. Incidentally, Thomas Holden, Sr., Elizabeth Canzada Holden’s grandfather, served on the American side during the Revolutionary War. Many women descendants are members of the DAR as a result. In addition, they settled the Florida Parishes and may have participated in the successful Spanish West Florida Rebellion.

Robert E. Ramsey-Lewis
Carmichael, CA
June 3, 2003