Since we have presented so many of the Quaker records, and lest
we offend those of the families of Hollingsworth in America who are not
immediately descended from them, we will make a quick summary of those
who are not of the Quaker faith. Most of these are from Valentine.
Many were left out of the books about his descendants, simply because
the records of the Quakers are silent about them. And too, because the
records of their new faiths weren't kept well, or kept at all. This is
the sad legacy of pioneering peoples: They didn't leave any records;
too busy pioneering. But we do have some trace of them, and here is what
we have.
The first Baptist Hollingsworth in America as far as we know,
was JOHN, the youngest surviving son of Valentine & Ann (Calvert)
Hollingsworth.
John married Catherine (or, Katrin) Tyler, supposedly about 1706.
The request to marry was made before Newark Monthly Meeting of Quakers,
but no further record appears. Then, in the records of the Welsh Tract
Baptist Meeting in New Castle County, Delaware, we find that the two of
them, "John & Cathering Hollingsworth," had signed the Baptist confession
of faith in 1714. John's death in 1722 is reported in this same book.
Thereafter, Catherine removed to the Philadelphia Baptist Church. We
hear no more about her until her death. She apparently re-married one
Robert Edwards, who also preceded her in death. At the time of her
death she resided in Bladen County, North Carolina, and apparently was
a member of the "Welsh Neck" Baptist Church. The latter church is said
to have been organized by one "Rev. Stephen Hollingsworth." He was a
zealous primitive Baptist all over that area. We have no proof, but
suspect that he was a son (a bachelor) of John & Catherine. His name
also appears in the list of those who removed to Philadelphia from New
Castle Co. Delaware in 1726.
Catherine Edwards (nee Tyler and formerly Hollingsworth) left a
will, probated in 1755 in Bladen County, N.C. In it she named her son
Robert Edwards (Junior), and the grandchildren, Isaac, John & Samuel
Hollingsworth. We do not have any proof, but suspect that these
grandchildren belonged to perhaps two of Catherine's sons. One of the
two was Samuel, who died about 1753/4, in old Craven County, South
Carolina. (This county or district has long since been discontinued.) He
names a son Samuel, and "another child" which was not yet born at the
time he wrote his will. Hence, he died quite young. But he indicates
only two possible sons in his will which was probated at Charleston, SC.
So we are left to speculate which of the "three grandchildren- John, or
Isaac," of Catherine Edwards, was the 2nd son to Samuel, born after his
death, and which one was the 3rd, a child of another son. Catherine
evidently had another son, Valentine Hollingsworth, for he was an
executor of her will, and Samuel, her son, in his own will, names "(his)
beloved brother Valentine Hollingsworth." A daughter, Ann Hollingsworth,
married a Mr. Sutton. After this, the picture grows hazy. But if one
examines the 1790 and 1800 U.S. Census reports, (see pp. 15-18; 63-65,)
he will be struck by the large number of families in the Carolinas- many
of whom we cannot identify with Valentine's descendents at the present
time. So some of these, perhaps most of them, may be the "Baptist
Hollingsworths," descendents of John & Catherine (Tyler) Hollingsworth.
We invite information on this subject.
Another non-Quaker group, also believed to be descended from
Valentine, are the "Old Pickens District" Hollingsworths. They are a
prominent family. Some of them are wealthy manufacturers around
Greenville, South Carolina today, and their names have been in the news
recently. But they are non-Quaker. A check of their immediate ancestry,
as it can be traced, reveals that they have fought in the wars of the
Union and Confederate States, for over 180 years. We believe they all
are the descendants of Elias Hollingsworth, who fought in the American
Revolution of 1775-1783, from South Carolina. His name, along with
Joseph, Aquilla, Jeptha, Benjamin & Zebulon, pg (83) appears upon entry
books for Revolutionary claims in South Carolina records.
Examination of the Bowa River Nesting records of the Quakers will
reveal that in 1776, about the time the war really got started, Elias and
Aquilla of Cone Creek, S.C. were disowned. This was probably for having
taken up arms in the revolution- for which disownment was prescribed. In
1780, Benjamin, son of Elias, was disowned, as well as Elias, son of
Elias. The latter in 1783 at the close of the war. Every time we see an
Elias he gets disowned. We wonder if this name was "jinxed," at least,
from the standpoint of Friends.
In examining the Pension Records of the National Archives, we
noted two files for men named Elias Hollingsworth. One of them was a
Revolutionary file, which pension was denied. Another was for an Elias
who served in the War of 1812 from South Carolina. So this is
sufficient to show or imply that the family of Elias of Cane Creek were
early disowned from the Quakers.
They evidently made their home in the old District known as
Washington, which, in 1798 ws divided into Pendleton and Greenville
Districts. Note Elias was living in Pendleton in 1800. In 1826,
Pendleton was broken up into what are now known as "Pickens & Anderson"
Counties or Districts, as you prefer. Among South Carolinians, "District"
is the preferred term, so we will use it. Pickens District was the home
of Elias Hollingsworth until his death in 1876. He was born about 1797,
and hence may be the man who served in the War of 1812. His sons named
in his will are Daniel, Thomas, Benjamin, and a daughter named is Lucinda
Harper. Of Daniel, who was born about 1817 in "Pickens" District,
according to the 1860 census, we know his great-grand-children are living
today in Piedmont, Greenville County, S.C., which is just over the line
out of Pickens District, but was originally part of it. We have letters
stating that there is a Hollingsworth Burial Ground near Pickens
Courthouse, S.C. We know that Daniel's brothers and some of his family
must have fought for the South in the War Between the States, 1861-1865.
We would like to get their names. Not enough information is in our
possession to warrant any further remarks now.
Isaac Hollingsworth, a gunsmith by trade, was the very first
man of his surname to inhabit what is now the state of Mississippi.
He was a non-Quaker. In fact, his descendents all are staunch Baptists,
and we suspect his relationship to John & Catherine (Tyler) Hollingsowrth.
Will welcome confirmation or denial. He was in Mississippi Territory
before 1816, when his name appears on a petition to the Congress of the
United States for aid. He apparently went through the War of 1812 and the
Creek Indian War in that area, suffering considerable deprivation. He was
born about 1760 in North Carolina, but a son William was born in South
Carolina about 1804, and a daughter Elizabeth in Georgia about 1810. The
rest, born from 1812 onward, all were natives of Mississippi ccording to
the census records. Isaac is reported to have had two brothers- Abraham &
Jacob. Although we do not know anything about their children, we know that
Isaac himself had a large family. (See page 47, Query #6511). Most of
them lived in Decatur, Newton Co., Miss.
We should add here, some omissions committed in our opening
article of the April issue, pages 1&2, regarding early Hollingsworths &
Hollingworths. We left out the fact that a William Hollingsworth was in
Delaware in 1661, at "Sand Poynte in Delaware Bay," from which place he
wrote a letter warning of Indian attack. He is described as "Mr. William
Hollingsworth of New England," of course, this probably referred to the
whole area south to Delaware, in those early days. This makes a total of
5 settlements in America before Valentine Hollingsworth (1682), if you
chose to count the "Charles" Hollingsworth reported in Maryland about
1662. He may have been same man as John who came to Maryland in 1650.
None of these persons were Quakers. Finally, (See Query 6523) we cite
Abraham Hollingsworth, early migrant from North Carolina to Tennessee, and
settler of Illinois in 1824, with sons Alexander, Avanant, Abraham, John &
Samuel, all of whom fought in the Black Hawk War. Of the early settlers,
(before 1825), those are the "Non-Quaker Hollingsworths!" (References on
next page.)
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