The
Hollingsworth Family came to America (1682 – 1980)
By
Bobbie Jean Kurtz (Granddaughter to Claudia Emmeline Hollingsworth)
INTRODUCTION
This blog will contain a brief history of our Hollingsworth ancestors as I begin my research journey.
The Family
Line is on my mother’s side, Patricia J. Schoenewald-Kurtz. Her parents are Claudia Emmeline Hollingsworth and Johann (John) Herman Schoenewald.
The generations of the Hollingsworth
line moved from the East Coast where they landed in Delaware from Ireland in 1682,
migrating to various locations until they finally stopped in Oregon where the
last generation of the Hollingsworth Name in my line ended when they
“daughtered out.”* Each family spread generation after
generation, until millions of descendants of these great families literally covered the entire face of the United States. This linked together the genealogical
lineages of many millions of our sturdiest Americans of today. Ohio, once
called the Northwest Territory, was the “bottleneck” (or Gateway) through which
all Quaker families passed in their migrations Westward, whether from the
Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and/or the New
England States.
They all met in Ohio, where they became
linked through marriages between other great Quaker families and their children. Then
they migrated to Indiana, from where
they spread northward and westward until they covered all states. Our Hollingsworth line converted from the
Quaker faith to members of the Christian Church sometime after 1837.
The Hollingsworth family
was noted for its enterprise industry. Many of its members were largely engaged in the manufacture of
flour, and were the owners of a number of mills on the branches of the Elbe
River in Cecil Co., MD, New Castle Co., DE, Virginia, South Carolina, and in
other states. Shipyards, steel mills, and farmers were also popular
occupations.
Some of the history
records state they were an old Saxon family said to have settled in the
northeastern part of Cheshire England, as early as 1022, in which year the
ancestral estate, Hollingsworth Manor, in Cheshire, was purchased. One document
stated that
Robert Hollingsworth of Hollingsworth Hall, from whom the family is descended,
was the Magistrate for the counties of Chester and Lancaster. The church of the
family and the hall, both several centuries old, are still standing, and upon
both are emblazoned the family Coat of Arms. It is probable that the
Hollingsworths went
over to Ireland from England with other planters, early in the 17th century. (Note - this information regarding England still needs to be researched and verified).
The name Hollingsworth, so
widely known and honored in the United States, is spelled several ways:
Hollingworth, Hollonsworth, and Hollingsworth. The last spelling had been clung
to by a large majority of the descendants of Valentine Hollingsworth. He was
the founder of the first family in America arriving from Ireland in 1682.
Note:
The genealogical journey is really never done, there is always more documentation that needs to be
researched in order to prove the information found. I will do my best to explain the reasons behind my theories and write out additional questions that need researched. If there are errors, please accept my apologies and share any information so the
blog can be updated. * Daughtered out
is a genealogy term that means the family name has ended with the female line
(daughter) since the male is the one who carries that name forward.
Quaker History
