Abraham Holland Family
From Maryland to Duncan Creek, Laurens County
Abraham Holland came from Maryland to the Duncan Creek settlement in what became Laurens County. His son Thomas Holland, Sr., married Jane Adair, joining the Holland and Adair families. The family history below was written by C. Bryan Holland, a son of Thomas Hampton Holland, for the Laurens County Historical Society in 1982. For the Maryland family, see Hollands of Maryland.
At a Glance
- Abraham Holland: born 1715 (per the Scrapbook), came from Maryland, bought land on Duncan Creek, died 1800
- Wife: Asenath Spires, married 1752; nine children, including Rezin, Thomas and William
- Thomas Holland, Sr. (1762–1815) married Jane Adair; buried at the Holland Cemetery (Old Zoar Chapel)
- Thomas R. Holland, Jr. married Mary Leak; buried at Salem Cemetery, the Holland–Leak–Adair Burying Ground; their family Bible survives
- Bluford R. Holland served in the 1st South Carolina Cavalry; buried at Leesville Methodist Church Cemetery
On This Page
- The Line of Descent
- The Scrapbook: Abraham Holland Family
- Notes on the Scrapbook
- Other Hollands in the Pension Rolls
- Sources
- Open Questions
- How You Can Help
The Line of Descent
| Generation | Name | Married |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abraham Holland (1715–1800) | Asenath Spires, 1752 |
| 2 | Thomas Holland, Sr. (1762–1815) | Jane Adair, daughter of Joseph Adair, Jr., and Sarah Dillard |
| 3 | Thomas R. Holland, Jr. (1805–1850) | Mary Leak |
| 4 | Bluford R. Holland (1839–1875) | Margurite Elizabeth Adair (1842–1916) |
| 5 | Thomas Hampton Holland (1867–1947) | Mattie Elizabeth Henry, 14 April 1892 |
| 6 | C. Bryan Holland, author of the Scrapbook article |
The Scrapbook: Abraham Holland Family
From The Scrapbook: A Compilation of Historical Facts About Places and Events of Laurens County, South Carolina (Laurens County Historical Society, 1982). The text is given as printed.
“My Ancestor, Abraham Holland (b. 1715), came from Maryland to Laurens District, where he died in 1800. The record states he purchased land on Duncan’s Creek. He married Asenath Spires in 1752; they were the parents of nine children. Some of the descendants of their children Rezin, Thomas, and William are living in Laurens County today.
Abraham’s grandson, John Holland, married Mary Ann Fulton. Their home was located about 816 E. Carolina Ave. (listed J.M.Pitts residence, 1907 county map). They owned several hundred acres of land north and east of their home, and their store was located across the street from the house. This store was the only source of store-bought goods in this area until 1830. Located in this store was the post office, “Holland’s.” This post office listed on maps dated as late as 1843 and 1855.
I am of the line of Abraham’s son, Thomas Holland, Sr. (1762-1815). He married Jane Adair, daughter of Joseph Adair, Jr. and Sarah Dillard. Thomas and Jane were the parents of five daughters and one son, Thomas R. Jr. Thomas and Jane Holland are buried in Old Zoar Chapel Cemetery on the hill south of Duncan’s Creek on Spartanburg Highway (56 North).
The marble tablet placed by Musgrove Mills and Henry Laurens chapters DAR, in 1926, on the front wall of Duncan’s Creek Presbyterian Church lists names of sixteen men who served in the Revolutionary War. Included in this list: Joseph Adair, Sr., Joseph Adair, Jr., James Adair, John Copeland, and Thomas Holland.
Thomas R. Holland, Jr. (1803-50) married Mary Leak; their plantation was in the area of American Legion and Rosemont Cemetery property. Thomas and Mary are buried in Salem Cemetery, located about three miles east on U.S. Highway #76. Living in Laurens County are some descendants of four of their children: Elizabeth Jane, Thomas III (some of his descendants moved to Texas), Essie, and Bluford R. Holland (1838-75)
My grandfather, Bluford R. Holland, served during the Confederate War in the S.C. Cavalry, 1861-64. When he entered service his personal horse was appraised at $200. When on duty at Ellis Ford on Rappahannock River, December 31, 1862, his horse was killed by the enemy. On December 20, 1863, he was paid $200 for his horse. Bluford married Margurite Elizabeth Adair (1842-1916), daughter of Thomas and Jane Blakely Adair. They lived near the fork of Duncan’s and Beard’s Fork creeks in Scuffletown Township. They are buried in Leesville Methodist Church Cemetery.
My father, Thomas Hampton (Hamp) Holland (1867-1947), on April 14, 1892 married Mattie Elizabeth Henry (1871-1958), both from Long Branch area. We lived at the eastern boundary of Laurens Township, on Leesville Road.
My lineage – T. Hampton, Bluford R., Thomas R., Jr., Thomas Sr., and Abraham Holland.”
C. Bryan Holland
Notes on the Scrapbook
- Old Zoar Chapel Cemetery is the Holland Cemetery on this site. Salem Cemetery is the Holland–Leak–Adair Burying Ground.
- Dates: the article gives Thomas R. Holland, Jr., as 1803–50 and Bluford as 1838–75. The family Bible gives Thomas’s birth as 16 August 1805, and the Bible and his gravestone give Bluford’s as 8 August 1839.
- The DAR tablet at Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church is dated 1926 in the article; the church page gives 1928.
- Ellis Ford, 31 December 1862: the day Bluford’s horse was killed is the day Union troops drove in the regiment’s pickets at Richards’ and Ellis’ Fords. It is also the place Aunt Mae’s battlefield directions lead to.
Other Hollands in the Pension Rolls
These Revolutionary War Hollands turn up in pension rolls and rosters but are not known to be Abraham Holland’s family of Duncan Creek. They are listed here so researchers can tell them apart. None of them is Thomas Holland, Sr. (1762–1815), who died before the pension acts of 1818 and 1832.
| Name | Service and record | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Holland | Private, S.C. Militia. Age 76, living in Tuscaloosa County; enrolled 2 July 1833, $80 a year. | Revolutionary Pension Roll, Sen. Doc. 514, 23rd Cong., 1st sess., 1833–34 |
| John Holland | Private, S.C. State Troops. Age 68, living in Sumter County; enrolled 17 April 1834, $80 a year. Pension S7027 | Revolutionary Pension Roll, Sen. Doc. 514, 1833–34 |
| Thomas Holland | Private, S.C. Militia. Age 71, living in Limestone County; enrolled 13 June 1833, $76.66 a year. Still there 1 June 1840, age 78. | Revolutionary Pension Roll, Sen. Doc. 514, 1833–34; Census of Pensioners, 1841, p. 148 |
| Thomas Holland | Born 17 Dec 1763 in Maryland. Served in the Ninety Six District militia from 1777–78 under Capts. Thomas Weems, Joseph Pickens and William Strain and Cols. Pickens and Anderson; at Kettle Creek and the siege of Ninety Six. Moved to Alabama. Pension S32327 | Bobby Gilmer Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution, p. 456 |
| William Holland | Revolutionary soldier buried in the Holland family graveyard beside the home he built in 1835, about 9 miles from Scottsboro, Alabama. Reported by Mrs. Emma C. Swindel of Tuscaloosa. | General D.A.R. Report, 1927–28, p. 109 |
| Basil Holland | North Carolina Continental Line, Sharp’s Company, 10th Regiment, Salisbury District. | Roster of the North Carolina Continental Line; contributed by Ed Mammen |
A note on South Carolina records: South Carolina kept its own muster rolls and paid its own soldiers and suppliers, so most of its Revolutionary War records never went to the federal government. They are held at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia.
Sources
- C. Bryan Holland, “Abraham Holland Family,” in The Scrapbook: A Compilation of Historical Facts About Places and Events of Laurens County, South Carolina (Laurens County Historical Society, 1982).
- Family Bible of Thomas Holland and Mary Leak (see the Bible page).
- Pension and roster sources are cited in the table above.
Open Questions
- Who were the parents of Asenath Spires, and who were all nine of Abraham’s children?
- The Scrapbook gives Abraham’s birth as 1715. Anthony Holland’s youngest son Abraham was born about 1698 (see Hollands of Maryland). Are they the same man, or father and son?
How You Can Help
If you descend from Abraham Holland and Asenath Spires, or have records of the family, I would love to hear from you.
Holland Family: Family History · Hollands of Maryland · Abraham Holland Family · Thomas Hampton Holland · Thomas Holland / Mary Leake Bible · Eula Mae Holland Hansen