The Hollis Family
John Hollis
, born before 1700 possibly County Surry, England, died before May 1768 in Fairfax Co, Virginia, his wife Esther [Canterbury?]. John may have been the son of William Hollis, transported to Virginia by George Hamilton who was granted land in Prince William County 23 Mar 1715/6John Hollis (1722)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(birth years are approximate)Edward Hollis (1725-c.1794) m(2) Eleanor; Richland, SC; (land grant 1757 Craven Co, SC)
Burrell Hollis (1727), Fairfax Co, VA
Moses Hollis (1728-1794) Fairfield, Co, SC
James Hollis (1728-1801) married Sarah, Fairfield, Co, SC
William Hollis (1729), Fairfax Co, VA
Cybilla "Sibbie' Hollis (1730-1793) married John Hall or Thomas Hall; Fairfield, Co, SC
Notley Hollis (1732-1782) married Anastasia Taylor, Fairfield, Co, SC
Moses Hollis
(1728-1794) m.1749 Rosannah Hagan (or Berry) (1735-20 Oct 1817) He was born in Fairfax Co, VA, and witness to deed there in 1750. He and his brother Notley seem to have been in Orange County, NC between 1753 and 1765. Moses was appointed constable "about the Dan River and the county line" in December 1753, appeared in the tax list of 1755, received a warrant for 640 acres of land on the Dan River 12 May 1757, and he was sued for debts in May 1765. He received a grant April 1768 on the Wateree Creek, Craven Co, SC; was a lieutenant under Gen. Francis Marion in the Revolutionary War; died in Fairfield Co, SC. His will dated 9 Apr 1793, proved 17 Jul 1794, did not list all of his children.John Hollis
(5 Dec 1751-4 Nov 1836) married Nancy Knighton, Fairfield, Co, SC, 8 childrenJemimah Hollis (c1754) married a Smith, but NOT Jeremiah. See below.
Nancy Hollis (1756-before 1827) m(1) Jesse Gladden, m(2) Mr Steward, Fairfield Co, SC, 12 children
Margaret Hollis (1757-before 1793) married Peter Patterson
Rosanna "Anna" Hollis (1759-11Nov1839) married Edmond Tidwell (1758-1846), Dickson Co, TN , 13 children
Joan Hollis (1759) married a Tidwell
Elijah Vinson Hollis (30 May 1763-1832) married Alsey Knighton, Fairfield, Co, SC, 7 children
Berryman Hollis (1764-13 Oct 1805) married Priscilla Knighton, Fairfield, Co, SC, 2 children
Elizabeth Hollis (1765-1827), married Samuel Hollis (c.1775-23 Jan 1794), Fairfield, Co, SC
Leander Hollis (1767) married Charles Johnston
Moses Hollis (1769-13 Feb 1815) m(1) Mary Brown m(2) Elizabeth Akin, m(2) Martha Knighton, Fairfield, Co, SC, 6 children. (note: his wives' names are disputed; and one reference says he was born in 1758; but the 1810 Census gives his age as 26-45)
NOTE:
(1) Barbara Langston's book Fairfield County Marriages 1775-1879 Implied in Fairfield County SC Probate Records - page 182, "Jemimah Hollis, daughter of Moses, married ___ Smith."
(2) The statement passed around that one of the heirs to Rosannah Hollis' estate was Jeremiah Smith.
The problem is that both of these sources are based on the same original document, the only paper existing in the file of the estate of Rosannah Hollis, showing the distribution of the inheritance in 1827. The auction sale of Rosannah's estate in January, 1818, produced a promissory note due in January, 1819. It was finally collected in January, 1827, with eight years' interest, and distributed to the eight children and three grandchildren who still lived in the area. In July, 2005, I copied that document from the microfilm record at the Fairfield County Historical Museum in Winnsboro:
On Candelmass Day, 1949 (as he dated the paper), noted South Carolina genealogist Leonardo Andreas reported his research on the Hollis family to his client, Mrs O R Johnston, of Clinton, Mississippi. I saw it on microfilm at the Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, in July, 2005. I recognized it as the same list of heirs that had been sent to me as "proof" that Moses Hollis' daughter Jemimah married Jeremiah Smith. Andreas cited as list of children, the heirs of Rosannah's estate. He explained that until 1868, married women in South Carolina were not allowed to sign legal documents, so their husbands had to receive their inheritance. He therefore "transcribed" the above document thus:
Jeremiah Smith for his wife
Elizabeth Hollis
Leander Johnston, for his wife
Margaret Patterson
Elijah Hollis
Moses Hollis
Berryman Hollis
John Hollis
Jean Tidwell, deceased, her heirs
. . Garland Tidwell
Nancy Steward, deceased and formerly the widow Gladden, her heir
. . Sally W Steward
Andreas' editorial comments, inserted into the text, have been passed on as if they were part of the original document. He also explained that since married women could not inherit, Sally Steward was unmarried, Elizabeth Hollis was either unmarried or widowed, and Margaret Patterson was a widow. But Elizabeth was married to her cousin Samuel; Margaret, Berryman, and Moses Jr, were deceased; and Leander Hollis, daughter of Moses, was married to Charles Johnston. If you look quickly at the first child named on the list, it could be either "Jeremiah" or "Jemimah." But look closely. It is clearly "Jemimah." Also look closely at the grandchildren added after the original calculation divided the amount in eighths. It is Joan Tidwell, not Jean; and Sterling, not Starling.
Then consider that Rosanna Hollis Tidwell is not listed. She had moved to Tennessee. Only the local heirs are listed. So the Jemimah Smith listed as an heir was not likely to be the one who had moved to Louisiana. There was a Jemimah Smith in Spartanburg County in 1806, the wife of James Smith, who renounced her dower to land he sold there (Deed Book K, page 257). A James Smith was a Justice of the Peace in Union County 1820-28. I remember seeing James and Jemima witnessing a deed in the 1820's in a county neighboring Fairfield. I did not write it down at the time because I did not think it was the right Jemima, since the one I was looking for was in Louisiana by that time. I have tried to find that reference again, to no avail. But that Jemima Smith is more likely the daughter of Moses Hollis.
As to the Mrs. Jeremiah Smith who moved to Louisiana in 1810, she appears to be the sister of Elias Holley of Barnwell District, SC, then St Helena Pr, Louisiana. They are both connected to the Dykes, Singleton, and Wainwright families of the same two places. See the Jeremiah Smith page.
HEREBut for the time being, Jemimah Hollis married Unknown Smith, possibly James Smith. No one has researched this possibility, since she was "known" to have married Jeremiah. What can you find?
