Holland Cemetery
Traditionally the site of Zoar Chapel
Clinton, Laurens County, South Carolina
This small family cemetery sits high on a hill in Clinton. Highway 56 was cut through it, and part of it is on private property. Jane Adair Holland and her husband Thomas Holland, Revolutionary War veteran, are buried here. They were my 5th great-grandparents.
At a Glance
- Where: on a hill beside Highway 56 in Clinton, south of Duncan Creek. Part of the cemetery is on private property.
- Also known as: Old Zoar Chapel Cemetery. Tradition places Zoar Chapel here; see below.
- Oldest identified stone: Forcipa Holland, 1811.
- Recorded here: 11 identified stones, at least 14 markers that can no longer be read, and several family members believed buried here without stones.
- For our families: Thomas and Jane (Adair) Holland and their daughters Asenath and Forcipa; Thomas’s brother William Holland’s family, including his daughters Elizabeth Potter and Delilah (Holland) Adair; the Fryers and McClintocks; and Thomas G. Potter, who gave the land for the Duncan Creek churchyard.
On This Page
- The Stones (Holland · Fryer and McClintock · Adair · Potter)
- Burial Register
- Zoar Chapel
- Restoration
- Photo Gallery
- Sources, Open Questions, and How You Can Help
The Stones
Inscriptions are given as they appear on the stones.
Holland
Thomas Holland, 12 February 1762 – 3 October 1815
Sacred to the memory of
Thomas Holland born
Feb 12, 1762 and departed
this life Oct 3, 1815
Erected by John Bryan
Thomas Holland served in 1782 as a private in the South Carolina Militia. His stone and Jane’s were put up by their son-in-law, John Bryan.
Jane (Adair) Holland, 30 May 1765 – 25 August 1830
Sacred
To the Memory of
JANE HOLLAND
who was born May 30th 1765
and departed this life
Aug 25th 1830
Erected by John Bryan
Jane was the daughter of Joseph Adair, Jr. See her 1830 will.
Asenath (Holland) Copeland, died 1 February 1823
Asenath Copeland
Daughter of Thomas and Jane Holland
She died Feb 1,
1823, aged
28 years.
Found near Jane in December 2022, and covered again to protect it. See Asenath Holland Copeland.
Forcipa Holland, 1810 – 1811
F. H.
Found January 2023. This is the oldest stone here that can be identified. Its place beside Thomas and Jane, and the initial “F,” point to their baby daughter Forcipa.
Fryer and McClintock
John Fryer, 13 February 1775 – 24 September 1820
SACRED
To the Memory of
JOHN FRYER
who was born
February 13th, 1775
and died
September 24th, 1820
Aged 45 years 7 months
and 11 days
William M. Fryer, 8 March 1815 – 28 January 1818
Sacred
To the Memory of
Wm M Fryer,
who was born
March 8th, 1815
and died
Jany 28th, 1818
Aged 2 years
10 months
and 20 days
Margaret C. (Fryer) McClintock, 18 February 1817 – 4 October 1841
SACRED
To the Memory of
MARGARET C. McCLINTOCK
Daughter of
John & Ann Fryer
who was born
February 18th 1817
and died
October 4th 1841
Aged 24 years
and 7 months.
Weep not for her the bitter tear,
Nor give the heart to vain regret;
‘Tis but the casket that lies here,
The gem that filled it sparkles yet.
The last four lines are worn; the verse is a common epitaph of the period and has been completed from it. Margaret’s husband was Robert McClintock, and she is the “M.C.” on the infant’s stone below.
Infant McClintock
McClintock
Infant daughter of Robert and M.C. McClintock
Adair
Elizabeth Adair, 17 June 1810 – 17 October 1823
Elizabeth Adair
daughter of James and Delilah (Holland) Adair
June 17, 1810 – Oct. 17, 1823
Potter
Thomas G. Potter, about 1775 – 12 February 1852
SACRED
to the memory of
THOMAS G. POTTER
who died on the
12th Feb A.D. 1852
aged about 77 years.
Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord, for they cease
from their labors and their
works do follow them.
Remember old and young as you pass by–
As you are now, so once was I,
As I am now, so you wilst be
Prepare for death, and follow me.
In 1838 Thomas Potter deeded 3¾ acres to Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church for its churchyard, land he had bought from John Leak. See the churchyard deed.
Elizabeth (Holland) Potter, 10 December 1791 – 24 September 1844
Elizabeth Potter
daughter of William Holland, and wife of Thomas G. Potter
died Sept. 24, 1844
aged 52 years, 8 months, 14 days
Elizabeth was the daughter of William Holland (1757–1822), Thomas Holland’s brother.
Burial Register
Everyone known or believed to be buried here, in order of death.
| Name | Died | Relationship | Stone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forcipa Holland | 1811 (b. 1810) | Daughter of Thomas and Jane | Small stone marked “F. H.,” found January 2023 |
| Thomas Holland | Oct. 3, 1815 | Husband of Jane; Revolutionary War | Stone |
| William M. Fryer | Jan. 28, 1818 | Son of John Fryer | Stone; footstone found February 2024 |
| John Fryer | Sept. 24, 1820 | Son of Richard Fryer and Rachel Holland | Stone |
| Richard Fryer | 1821 | Son of John Fryer | Listed in earlier notes; stone not pictured |
| Asenath (Holland) Copeland | Feb. 1, 1823 | Daughter of Thomas and Jane | Stone found December 2022 |
| Elizabeth Adair | Oct. 17, 1823 | Daughter of James S. and Delilah (Holland) Adair; granddaughter of William Holland | Footstone found January 2023; headstone February 2024 |
| Jane (Adair) Holland | Aug. 25, 1830 | Wife of Thomas | Stone |
| Greenberry Copeland | Sept. 21, 1835 | Son of John and Asenath (Holland) Copeland | Recorded by the Laurens District Chapter SCGS; not yet found |
| Margaret C. (Fryer) McClintock | Oct. 4, 1841 | Daughter of John and Ann Fryer; wife of Robert McClintock | Stone |
| Infant McClintock | no date | Daughter of Robert and Margaret C. McClintock | Stone |
| Elizabeth (Holland) Potter | Sept. 24, 1844 | Daughter of William Holland; wife of Thomas G. Potter | Stone found March 2024 |
| Thomas G. Potter | Feb. 12, 1852 | Husband of Elizabeth | Stone found December 2022 |
| Abraham Holland | 1800 | Father of Thomas | Believed buried here; no stone identified |
| Asenath (Spires) Holland | 1802 | Mother of Thomas | Believed buried here; no stone identified |
| William Holland | 1822 (b. 1757) | Brother of Thomas; father of Elizabeth Potter and Delilah (Holland) Adair | Believed buried here; no stone identified |
| Ann Weyman | Not known | Possibly buried here |
There are at least 14 more markers that can no longer be read.
Zoar Chapel
Tradition says the Holland Cemetery was the site of Zoar Chapel. Bishop Francis Asbury mentions the chapel in his journal (Volume II, page 212), on Wednesday, 6 November 1799:
“We came to Zoar Chapel; a new, unfinished building, the morning was rainy, yet two or three dozen people attended; we lodged at William Holland’s.”
Spartanburg County also has a Zoar Chapel and claims it as the one Asbury visited. But William Holland, Thomas’s brother, is known to have lived in Laurens County near this cemetery. In 1813 he was a trustee of nearby Rehoboth Methodist Church when it was deeded land, and he is believed to be buried here. No deed for Zoar Chapel has been found.
From The Scrapbook (1982)
“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.
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.”
— C. Bryan Holland, “Abraham Holland Family,” in The Scrapbook, Laurens County Historical Society, 1982.
Editor’s note: The DAR tablet is dated 1928 on the church page. Thomas R. Holland, Jr. was born in 1805.
Restoration
Sacred Site Research and Restoration has been clearing and documenting the cemetery. Many of the stones on this page were found in that work.
Photo Gallery
January 2022
March 2022
January 2023
It was such a moment to walk where my ancestors did, over 200 years ago.
Unknown Markers
Unknown markers are everywhere in the leaves. Those that can’t be identified will still never be forgotten. This is a sacred place.
From the Other Side of the Fence
See also Holland Cemetery – From the Other Side of the Fence.
Sources, Open Questions, and How You Can Help
Sources
- Laurens District Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society, Burying Grounds, Graveyards and Cemeteries, Laurens County, SC, Volume One.
- Francis Asbury, Journal, Volume II, page 212 (6 November 1799).
- 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).
- Southern Christian Advocate, 8 November 1844 and 12 March 1852 (Potter obituaries).
- Photographs by Greg Gaines (Sacred Site Research and Restoration) and Lisa Bowes; John Fryer inscription by Lowell Browne.
Open Questions
- Where is Richard Fryer (died 1821)? He was on earlier lists, but his stone has not been photographed.
- Elizabeth Potter’s birth date is known as 10 December 1791, but the age on her stone (52 years, 8 months, 14 days) works back to 10 January 1792. Is the stone a month off, or the record?
- Who was Ann Weyman, listed as possibly buried here?
- Which of Thomas and Jane’s daughters married John Bryan, who put up their stones?
- Where is Greenberry Copeland’s stone, recorded by the SCGS survey?
How You Can Help
- Help restore and protect this place: Holland Cemetery Fundraiser.
- Support Sacred Site Research and Restoration.
- If you have photographs, family records, or corrections, please get in touch.
Holy Places: Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church · Duncan Creek Cemetery · Holland Cemetery · Holland–Leak–Adair Burying Ground · Leesville Methodist Cemetery