Publisher's Synopsis
"Tom Holt's Appomattox River" contains images and stories of the Appomattox River between Petersburg, Virginia and Lake Chesdin. My Great Great Grandfather Clemans Holt and his family came down the river from Amelia County to work in the Matoaca Cotton Mill in the late 1840's. My Grandfather Thomas (Tom) Holt was a bateauman. A bateau is the French word for the type of shallow-bottom boat that was used on the rivers to transport products. He was born in 1878 in the village of Matoaca. The Holt family's history and stories are closely tied to the Appomattox River. With images and stories, this book shows some of the things my Grandfather would have seen along the river and its canal in Petersburg and Dinwiddie County. I am Tom's grandson and the book shows some of the things I have seen on the river more recently.