Testator Anthony Holland named ten children in his 1702 will, which was probated in Anne Arundel County, Maryland in 1703. He apparently had at least two wives, based on a set of adult children and then a much younger second group of children with wife Isabelle Parsons.
They were:
Elizabeth, born about 1672; married Richard Gott, in 1690
John, born about 1674; married Ann Spicer, 11 December 1701, Anne Arundel County
Benjamin, born about 1676; married Mary Wilson, 6 January 1703, Anne Arundel County
Anthony, born about 1680; died after father’s 1702 will
The birth order of these children is not known. The sons are listed in the order they are first named in Anthony’s will. However, Eliza/Elizabeth was probably older than John and Benjamin as she was married in 1690. Little is known about Anthony. He might also be older than John and Benjamin if the eldest son was named for his father.
The second set of children are:
Thomas, born 20 January 1686; married Margaret Waters, 3 April 1712, Anne Arundel County; Quaker marriage record
Richard, born 1 March 1687; died after father’s 1702 will
Jacob, born 2 May 1690; married Margaret Medcalf, 11 November 1714, Anne Arundel County
Capell, born 10 June 1692; married Katherine Eldridge, 27 May 1718
Susanna, born 24 April 1694; died after Benjamin Capell’s 1711 will, where she was mentioned; possibly the one who married John Sunderland, 9 September 1731, Anne Arundel County
Abraham, born 13 June 1698; died after father’s 1702 will
Now, how do I go about cutting down the possibilities? First step was to go through the Maryland Calendar of Wills images on FamilySearch, vols. 2-8. The others I will check when I get to Salt Lake City. I also checked the birth/baptismal records for Maryland in the 1670-1750 time frame.
Several valuable pieces of information were gleaned, the first couple of which I mentioned in the post Anthony Holland and Anthony Holland. Neither Richard nor Abraham were mentioned in the will of Benjamin Capell, which was probated in 1711, but their siblings, Thomas, Jacob, Capell and Susanna all were.
Will of Benjamin Capell, 1711
Additionally, no marriage records have been found for Richard or Abraham. Another indication that Abraham had died by then is that Richard Gott, Abraham’s brother-in-law, left a piece of land willed to Abraham by his father, Anthony Holland, to his own son, Anthony Gott, per his own will, probated on 16 April 1715.
Taking those clues into account, there are fewer children who could be the progenitor of Anthony Holland who died in Scott County, Kentucky in 1799. The possibilities are John, Benjamin, Anthony, Thomas, Jacob and Capell, so the next search was for children’s birth records. The following were found:
John, born about 1674; married Ann Spicer on 11 December 1701
William, baptized 5 May 1702
Sarah, baptized 17 October 1708
Mary, baptized 29 April 1711
Sarah, baptized 29 April 1711 (same day as Mary)
Rachel, baptized 10 September 1711
There are records for another John and Anne for children born before 1700. This may be John Holland, son of Richard Holland and grandson of Francis Holland, also of Anne Arundel County. There are no records yet found to indicate whether or not Francis, a justice in Anne Arundel County in 1660, is related to Anthony Holland.
Benjamin, born about 1676; married Mary Wilson on 6 January 1703. No birth records have been found for children whose father was Benjamin.
Anthony, born about 1678 and mentioned in his father’s will. There are a few mentions of any Anthony Holland after 1702.
Thomas, born 20 January 1686; married Margaret Waters on 3 April 1712 – found in Quaker records. Only one child is found for them and it is a birth notice, not a christening so they may have adhered to the Quaker faith:
Mary, born August 1713
Jacob, born 2 May 1690; married Margaret Medcalf on 11 November 1714. Two daughters are found for them:
Lydia, born 8 September 1715
Ruth, born 11 September 1718; probably died young as she is not mentioned in the will of her grandfather, John Medcalf, probated 13 March 1727.
Capell, born 10 June 1692; married Katherine Eldridge on 27 May 1718. No birth/baptismal records are found for children born to Capell. However, land records show a son Abraham and a son William.
Abraham, born about 1720; said to have died in Laurens County, South Carolina in 1800
William, born about 1722
I would almost think that I am looking in the wrong place for my husband’s Anthony Holland. He would have had to have been a grandson of John through his son, William, or of Capell through his sons Abraham or William, if these births are an accurate representation of the Holland descendants of Anne Arundel County.
However, the 1790 census includes Anthony Holland with three males over 16, one male under 16 and three females.
This profile fits an older head of household and, thus, could fit Anthony of Scott County, Kentucky. Ephraim would be one of the males over 16, as he married in 1794. Besides that, Margaret Holland married Shadrach Penn and he was from Anne Arundel County, too. I still think I am on the right trail. If the land records of Anne Arundel County don’t help solve this brick wall, I may just throw up my hands and work on another line.
Are you ready for yet another quagmire? Here it is:
Quagmire Alert #3 – Besides the marriage of Ephraim Holland in Bourbon County, Kentucky in 1794, there is also a marriage for one Francis Holland to Rhoda Rhodes recorded there on 20 July 1797. Why is this another quagmire? Because the first Anthony Holland appears in Anne Arundel records in 1670, when his property was patented. However, there were three Hollands on the 1678 tax list there – Anthony, who paid 80 lbs. of tobacco in tax, William who paid 40 lbs. and FRANCIS, who also paid 40 lbs. If that wasn’t enough, a Francis Holland first appears in Anne Arundel County as a justice in 1660! Now, here we have a Francis Holland, perhaps close to the same age as Ephraim Holland, marrying in Bourbon County three years after Ephraim married there.
There is one more “coincidence” here, too – Francis married Rhoda RHODES and “RODES THOMSON” was the administrator of Ephraim Holland’s estate in 1815 AND Ephraim’s son, James Madison, eventually went on to marry Annie Thompson in 1818 in Howard County, Missouri.
Are you confused yet? I know I am. Come back tomorrow for more on the Kentucky and Missouri side of the story.