Alice Holtin is the  great-great-granddaughter of Eli Arnold of the 4th Alabama Cavalry, Company M. of the Confederate States Army.

Alice Holton was born on August 31, 1953 and today lives in Biloxi, Mississippi at the Keesler Air Force Base in the United States. Alice grew up in Northwest Alabama, outside Florence, Alabama and graduated from high school in 1971.  She received her degree in Law Office Management in 1998.

Alice Holtin was married to Rodger J. Holtin on August 17, 1973 and they have five children; Jim, Andy, Monica, Brian, Peter and two grandsons. She is now employed full time as an Administrative Assistant at the Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee and started doing family genealogical research in 1974.  Alice researched and published “The Statler Brothers Discography”, in 1997 through the  Greenwood Press and is currently researching a discography of the immortal Australian Country & Western singer Slim Dusty.

In addition to all her business and family obligations, Alice continues to stay involved in family genealogy and assists numerous other researchers in their quest for information on family genealogy and historical events. It was in that manner that she became involved with the “American Civil War Veterans, Australia and New Zealand” website and was immensely critical in acquiring information on John Fearn Francis; supplying family information, historical antidotes, documentation and copies of original pictures of John Fearn Francis, his wife, his original Confederate cook-pot and a picture of John’s descendant Mr. William Fearn-Wannan of Australia.

Alice Holtin had the good fortune to become acquainted with Mr. William Fearn-Wannan, then in his 85th year and a resident of Victoria, Australia, and learned much information relating to John Fearn Francis directly from him. He was the grandson and namesake of John & Ellen's son, William. Unfortunately, Mr. Fearn-Wannan passed away on April 15, 2003.

Alice Holtin continues research on various individuals for others, many directly related to the American Civil War, and is a credit and an asset to those who strive to preserve history for future generations.