Bernard and Marguerite Holes seated at piano in Holes home, circa 1900. Courtesy NDSU Archives, Photo 2093.4.3.
The first parcel of land that James Holes purchased in North Dakota was originally owned by Ole Hanson. This transaction between Hanson and Holes, dated July 26, 1871, at a cost of $76.60, was the first purchase of land of any kind in Cass County. [1] It was upon this wheat field that Holes built a farmhouse for his family, which at the time consisted of Holes and his mother. Holes would eventually own 180 acres of land adjoining the limits of Fargo, as well as 1740 acres near Hunter, North Dakota.In 1887, he wed Rhonda Harrison and they had three children: James, Bernard, and Marguerite. According to Lounsberry in North Dakota: History and People (1917), Mrs. Holes was a “beautiful and intellectual lady who possessed exceptional talent as an artist, which fact demonstrated by the many attractive canvases painted by her which adorn the walls of the home.” [2] After Mrs. Holes’ death in 1908, the North Dakota: History and People reports that Marguerite took over the household duties for the home. “She had the careful rearing of her mother. (She) has the mother’s artistic temperament as is shown by the exterior embellishments and the interior decorations of the home.” [3]
– Zach Jendro, Digital History, 2012
[1]Finkle. Marguerite. “James Holes.” WPA Historical Data Project, by Stella Halsten Hohncke.
[2]Lounsberry, Clement A. North Dakota; History and People; Outlines of American History. Vol. II. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Company, 1917.
[3]Ibid.
