Tag Archives: Ephraim Holland

Hollon

Update on Family of Ephraim Holland & Nancy Kennedy: More Children Identified, but Questions Remain

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I love making contact with new cousins and, thanks to cousin Jerry, all of the children of Ephraim Holland and Nancy Kennedy of Scott County, Kentucky have now been identified.

I had identified most of their children and written about the family in the past, but two – a presumed son and daughter – were unsure/unknown to me.

As a quick review, the Holland family hailed from Anne Arundel County, Maryland and migrated south into Kentucky in the early 1790s.

Ephraim Holland, the son of Anthony Holland and Mary (probably Howard), was born c1756, likely in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

Ephraim married Nancy Kennedy, daughter of Thomas Kennedy and Ann Locker, about 21 May 1794 in Bourbon County, Kentucky, where their marriage bond was filed.

Ephraim was a tavern keeper and settled in Scott County, Kentucky. He left no will, but died by 1814, when the inventory of his estate was filed. Nancy survived him at least until 1820, when she was enumerated as head of household in the census.

On  6 July 1836, Ephraim’s heirs sold his land in Scott County. Scott County courthouse had a fire and a number of records that survived were partially burned. I mention that because it seems that James Madison Holland is listed with “Eli” and then the page is partially missing. That would be his wife, Elizabeth, not They were named in the opening section:

Henry E. Brown, Abigail his wife,
Thomas K. Holland,
George W. Holland,
Polly Holland,
Ann Holland,
Montgomery Holland,
Mattison (James Madison) Holland
Eli. . . Holland

However, signing the deed were:

Thomas Holland
Henry E. Brown
Abigail C. Brown
George W. Holland
Polly Holland
Ann Holland

James Madison Holland was living in Howard County, Missouri and Montgomery was in Cincinnati, Ohio.

That leaves unexplained the identity of  “Eli. . .  Holland.”

The 1820 census, in which Nancy Holland is head of household, doesn’t help matters much, especially since marriage records are lacking. Scott County lost records in 1837.

Ephraim’s and Nancy’s known children:

1. James Madison, born 1790s (birth year varies a lot); married (1) Annie Thompson, 1818 (2) Sarah Hutchinson, 1832. Lived in Howard County, Missouri and counties split off from it until he died after 1860. James had three sons – John, Ephraim and James – and two daughters – Sarah and Mary.

2. Abigail C., born c1795; married Henry E. Brown, probably after 1820. There is one Henry Brown in Scott County in 1820, over 45 years of age, but with three males at home aged 16-25. Henry and Abigail were living on 2 July 1836, when they sold Ephraim Holland’s land with the other heirs, but they have not been identified in any census before or after that date.

3. Thomas Kennedy, born 2 January 1798; died 29 March 1856, Scott County, Kentucky; married Sarah Stone (1811-1881), c1829. They were the parents of Eliza A., Nancy J., Elizabeth, John Ephraim and William Madison.

4. Mary, born c1802, died 1857, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio. She apparently never married.

5. George W., born c1804; died after 2 July 1836. No further information.

6. Anne, born 22 October 1806; died 13 July 1890, Franklin, Warren, Ohio; married (1) John V. Simpson, 26 October 1830, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio (2) Christopher Kellett, 27 January 1846, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio (3) Samuel Beresford, 11 July 1853, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio. She had one daughter, Mary Jane Simpson, born c1831.

7. Montgomery, born c1808; died 1891, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio; married Martha Meyers, c1830. They had 7 children – George W., Richard P., Ephraim, Charles, Milton G., Robert and Martha. What happened to Richard after the 1880 census is not known. At that time, all the children were still living unmarried at home with Martha, except for Charles. Ephraim married, but had no children. His other siblings apparently never married either, so Montgomery and Martha appear to have no descendants.

Are these all the children of Ephraim and Nancy? Well, I’m not sure. I mentioned that the 1820 census didn’t help clarify matters.

At that time, Nancy Holland had in her home not one female over 45 (herself), but TWO females over 45. Therefore, we are looking at some type of blended family.

Also in the home were the following:

Male, 16-25 (probably Thomas, born c1798)
Female, 16-25 (probably Mary, born c1802)
Male, 10-15 (probably George W., born c1804)
Female, 10-15 (probably Anne, born c1806)
Male, under 10 (probably Montgomery, born c1808)

Note the ages are off slightly, but since their true birth dates aren’t known, the children are still a good fit for those at home with Nancy in 1820.

The monkey wrench thrown in the mix, though, are the female 10-15 years old and the female under 10.

The elephant in the room is whether the female over 45 had one or two girls that she brought into the Holland home with her or if Nancy was the mother of one or both of the girls.

Given that husband Ephraim passed away in 1814, Nancy could have given birth to a child shortly after the 1810 census and another as late as 1815.

If so, one of those girls could be the “Eli. . . .” Holland listed with the heirs in the 1836 land deed. If she was born in 1815, that could also explain why the heirs were selling in 1836 – she had just turned 21 years old.

I don’t know if I will ever have an answer to those two young girls in Nancy Holland’s home in 1820.

Hollon, Kennedy

Documenting Parents for Nancy Kennedy Who Married Ephraim Holland, 1794 in KY, Part 1

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It’s always a fun day when I find some documentation for ancestors in my husband’s family tree. They are usually living out on the frontier where extant records are scarce.

Therefore, I was quite excited to find not one, but two, documents for Dave’s 4X great grandmother, Nancy Kennedy Holland. She was likely born about 1775 and probably in Frederick County, Maryland.

She married Ephraim Holland on 21 May 1794 in Bourbon County, Kentucky. The Hollands were also from Maryland, but hailed from Anne Arundel County.

What two documents did I find? Well, the first was fun on its own – a land deed from Thomas and Rachel Kennedy to Ephraim Holland on 12 July 1796. (Bourbon County, Kentucky Land Deed Book C:692-693)

There is nothing earth shattering in it, but it does identify Ephraim as living in Fayette County, Kentucky. It doesn’t mention anything about a blood or marital relationship between the Kennedys and Ephraim, though.

The second document is the will of Thomas Kennedy, dated 10 December 1816 and entered into Bourbon County Court records during the term of September 1827.

Bourbon County, Kentucky Will Book G:502
Source: FamilySearch

I Thomas Kennedy of the County of Bourbon and state of Kentucky do make and ordain the following my last will and Testament (to wit) After the expense of my funeral is discharged and my just debts are paid

I give unto my son Thomas the sum of one dollar in addition to what Ihave already given him.

I give unto my son James the sum of Eighty five dollars in addition to what I have already given him to be paid unto him at any time within two years after my decease.

I give unto my daughter Nancy the sum of one dollar in addition to what I have already given her.

I give unto my son Jesse all the ballance of my Estate both real and personal to go to his use & disposition to him and his Heirs forever.

Except one third part thereof to go to the use and benefit
of my wife Rachel during her natural life only and at her death to descend to my son Jesse and his heirs forever.

I do forthwith Enjoin it upon my son Jesse to take care of my son John and see that he is sustained and dealt humanely by as he is not capable of taking care of himself.

Lastly I do nominate my son Jesse in conjunction with my friends Nicholas Talboott and William Boggess to Execute this my last Will & Testament.

In testimony hereof I have set my hand and seal this tenth day of December one thousand eight hundred and sixteen.

Thomas Kennedy (seal)

in the presence of
Nicholas Talbott
William Boggess

Bourbon County Court September Term 1827
This last will and testament of Thomas Kennedy Dcd. being
proved in open court by the oath of Nicholas Talbott and William
Boggess subscribing witnesses thereto is ordered to be recorded.
att.
Thos P. Smith CBC

It isn’t clear from the will whether Thomas’s wife Rachel was his only wife and the mother of his children. Thomas never refers to his children helping their mother and calls John “my son.”

Find-a-Grave was very helpful in this case, as there are images posted from the Kennedy Cemetery in Bourbon County. The gravestones are very old and probably originals.

Additional information includes the fact that Rachel Graham was Thomas’s second wife. She was born 7 December 1750, North Carolina and predeceased Thomas, dying on 17 June 1826, Bourbon County, Kentucky.  Rachel married (1) Daniel Cook and they had a daughter Abigail, born in 1778 in North Carolina. Abigail married John Lyon, 15 November 1798, Bourbon County, Kentucky.

Thomas’s gravestone is flat on the ground, but very legible:

Born in Maryland. 22 January 1744 Resided 7 years in Virginia, visited KY in 1776, migrated with his family in 1779, resided at Strodes Station till 1785, then located on this place and died. Without a struggle or a groan, his last words were “I never felt better in all my life”.

The Strode Station Cemetery has a Find-a-Grave memorial for Thomas’s first wife, Ann Locker, born 1748; died Spring 1780, Strode Station, Clark County, Kentucky; married 19 April 1772, probably Fauquier County, Virginia.  There is a second memorial at Strode Station for their son, John, born 1775; died 1780.

There is a second monument at Thomas Kennedy’s grave, indicating Revolutionary War service in the Virginia militia.

Thomas’s children with Ann Locker. The family lived in Virginia and it’s possible the children were born in Fauquier County.:

  1. Thomas, born 24 March 1773, Virginia; died 1857, Crawford County, Illinois; married Elizabeth Eaton, 7 August 1793, Bourbon County, Kentucky.
  2. James, born c1774, Virginia; died between 18 May and 24 August 1835, when he wrote his will and when it was recorded in Lawrence County, Indiana County Court; married (1)? and   (2) Matilda (MNU), Matilda died between the 1840 and 1850 censuses, probably Lawrence County, Indiana
  3. John, born c1776, Virginia; died Spring 1780, Strode Station, Clark County, Kentucky
  4. Nancy, born February 1778, Virginia; died after 10 December 1816; married Ephraim Holland, 21 May 1794, Bourbon County, Kentucky. Ephraim died in 1814, Scott County, Kentucky.

Thomas’s children with Rachel:

  1. John, born 27 June 1785; died 2 December 1838, Bourbon County, Kentucky. John was unable to care for himself during his lifetime. He was unmarried. Jesse Kennedy called him “my silly brother, insane from birth to death.”
  2. Jesse, born 11 August 1787; died 3 April 1863, Bourbon County, Kentucky; married Polly Waugh, 5 March 1814, Bourbon County, Kentucky
  3. Rachel, born 20 December 1791, Bourbon County, Kentucky; gravestone says she died young, but no date.

This information was collected from various websites found online with details recorded in my notes. I wondered how much of this information was accurate until I hit the MOTHERLODE!

Come back for Part 2 tomorrow.

 

Hollon

Ephraim Holland’s Mostly MIA Family

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Little is actually known about the life of Ephraim Holland. His estimated birth year is 1765, based on the fact that his son, James, reported a birth year of 1791 in the 1850 census. Ephraim married Nancy Kennedy on 21 May 1794 in Bourbon County, Kentucky so he apparently was married at least twice.

The Hollands migrated from Anne Arundel County, Maryland sometime between the 1790 census and Ephraim’s marriage in Kentucky.

Ephraim appears only once during his lifetime in the court records of Scott County. That was during the September 1813 county court term when he was given permission to operate a tavern.

EphraimHollandTavernKeeperCrop
Ephraim, Tavern Keeper

It wasn’t much later that Ephraim Holland’s name was again in the court records, but this time, it was to appoint an administrator for his estate.

EphraimHollandEstateAdminCrop
Ephraim Holland Estate Administration

I mentioned in an early Holland post that Scott County has some damaged records. I think these images are from copies made of the original records, due to the spaces between some words in entries, which can be seen in this clip.

Notice, too, the date found on the same page:

CourtBookCrop
Court Order Book, 18??

However, this entry was either in March 1814 or 1815 because there is an entry for December 1815 which includes a mention of Ephraim’s inventory recording.

No list of heirs has been found in court records, but a land deed filed in 1836 lists Ephraim’s heirs selling a tract of land from his estate.

EphHollandLandDeed1836Snagit
1836 Land Deed

I am not going to transcribe the entire deed because for purposes here, the only important sections are noted in red – this land was part of a tract purchased by Ephraim Holland and his heirs are named in the opening section – Henry E. Brown, Abigail his wife, Thomas K. Holland, George W. Holland, Polly Holland, Ann Holland, Montgomery Holland, Mattison (James Madison) Holland and Eli. . . Holland of the county of Grant (Kentucky).

This wasn’t strictly true. Notice that signatures below are by Thomas, Henry E. and Abigail C. Brown, George W. Holland, Polly Holland and Ann Holland. Missing are Montgomery, Mattison and Elizabeth. I have no idea where Elizabeth was living, but Montgomery was in Cincinnati, Ohio and James Madison Holland had settled and married in Howard County, Missouri by 1818.

Ephraim’s wife, Nancy, survived her husband An inventory entry indicates cash received from Mr (?) Holland, which could be “Mrs.”

NancyKennedyHollandMention
Is this Mrs. Holland?

Aside from this inventory entry, Nancy Holland is found in the 1820 census of Scott County.

Scott County, Kentucky has a few early marriages, but regular marriage records don’t begin until 1837. If Nancy remarried, no record has been found. I am wondering if, remarried or not, she died about 1836 – hence the reason for the 1836 deed naming Ephraim’s heirs?

Thomas Kennedy Holland was likely named for his mother’s family. He was born about 1799, died 29 March 1856 of a diseased liver in Scott County, Kentucky, but had married and had a large family. The 1850 census shows wife Sarah A. Stone, born 1811 in Kentucky and children – Eliza A., born c1834,  Nancy J., born c1837, Elizabeth, born c1842, John E., born c1846 and William M., born c1849. Based on the gaps in birth years, Sarah might have been a second wife.

Thomas is enumerated in the 1830 census, but oddly, there isn’t a single person, including himself, enumerated in his household.

His 1840 census household shows a male 40-49, which would be him, a female, 30-39, which would be wife Sallie, a female 5-9, which would be Eliza A. and a female under 5, which would be Nancy J. However, there is also a male 20-29 and a female 20-29 living with them. I wonder if this could be the missing Henry E. and Abigail C. Holland Brown?

Daughter Eliza A. died of dyspepsia a few days after her father on 9 April 1856, unmarried. I don’t find Nancy J. after the 1850 census. Elizabeth born in 1842 married James Offutt and they had three children. Elizabeth died in Scott County in 1916. Her father was named as “Canada” Holland. Think “Can-a-day” and you can see a phonetic spelling of “Kennedy.” I have even found a descendant of this line! John Ephraim Holland married at least twice, first to Sallie Moran in 1871 in Lafayette County, Missouri and second to Theodocia King about 1885. He died on 17 November 1929 in Jackson County, Missouri, but had no known children with either wife. William M. Holland died in 1913 in Scott County. He married Lillie (maiden name unknown) and they had one daughter, Sarah, who married Moore Daniel Henderson. There might be descendants of this branch of the family.

I haven’t been able to identify Henry E. Brown and his wife, Abigail C. Holland in any census record, nor have I found a marriage record for them.

Montgomery Holland was born about 1809 in Kentucky. By 1850, he was living in Cincinnati, Ohio. He apparently married there as his wife, Martha Ann Meyers,  was an Ohio native. There doesn’t seem to be much doubt that this is the right man – his children are named George W., Richard, Ephraim, Milton G., Robert and Martha. Ephraim is not that common of a given name and he was probably named for his grandfather. Montgomery died in 1891 and is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Montgomery and Martha’s family is a bit unusual, as Martha is widowed in 1880, but has all six children still living at home with her and none are married. Their ages range from 45 down to 30 years old.  It appears that there are no descendants for Montgomery’s branch of the family.

I also haven’t been able to find any information on Polly, Ann or Elizabeth Holland, all mentioned in the deed. One of them could be the unknown female 20-29 years old living in Thomas’s home.

The last Holland post will cover Ephraim’s son, James, and his family, which is my husband’s line.