The Thomas Holland and Mary Leak Bible
Family record of the Holland, Adair and Anderson families, 1805–1878
In July 1999, before there was such a thing as internet research, I wrote letters and made phone calls in my quest to learn more about my ancestors. One of the kind gentlemen I corresponded with was Mr. Tom Anderson, who had the family Bible of Thomas Holland and Mary Leak and sent me copies of its pages.
At a Glance
- Family: Thomas Holland (born 16 August 1805) and Mary Leak (born 22 May 1811), married 24 July 1828
- Entries: marriages 1828–1868, births 1805–1877, deaths 1850–1878
- Families named: Holland, Adair, Anderson, Henry and others
- Also kept in the Bible (1999): two locks of hair, one blonde and one brown; a doily; and several pressed flowers
- Held in 1999 by: Tom Anderson of Edisto Beach, South Carolina, a descendant of L. C. and Martha Anderson
On This Page
- Tom Anderson’s Letter, 1999
- Marriages
- Births
- Deaths
- Anderson Family Entries
- A Note in the Apocrypha
- Sources
- Open Questions
- How You Can Help
Tom Anderson’s Letter, 1999
Enclosed are the best copies I can make of the entries in the Thomas Holland and Mary Leak Bible. The Bible is in pretty bad shape and I have sealed it up in saran to preserve it. It contains 2 locks of hair, 1 blonde, 1 brown. I know not whose but if you ever need any D.N.A. I am sure it is an Anderson, Holland, or Adair. It also contains a ‘doily’ and several pressed flowers, all 150 years old. If you ever get down this way we will open it up again. Note Bluford’s birth at the bottom of p-3. How did you ever get up North?
Note the children of L.C. and Martha Anderson, the Thomas and the Franklin. This is the origin of my name and my father’s.
I wish, 55 years ago, that I had sat on the ‘piazza’ with the old folks on Sunday afternoons and listened instead of chasing little birds with a B.B. gun in the woods with my cousins.
Tom Anderson, Edisto Beach, S.C., 13 July 1999 (excerpt)
Editor’s note: The entries below are transcribed from photocopies of the Bible pages. Names and dates are given as written; a raised question mark (?) marks a reading that is uncertain.
Marriages
| Date | As written |
|---|---|
| 24 July 1828 | Thomas Holland and Mary Leak who intermarried July 24th day 1828 |
| 18 September 1845 | J. D. Young Cook? and Elizabeth Jane Holland who intermarried September 18th day 1845 |
| 24 October 1850 | T. R. Holland and M. J. Finney? was intermarried Oct the 24 day 1850 |
| 26 August 1852 | J. L. Adair and A. F. Holland was intermarried Aug the 26 1852 |
| 19 August 1858? | B. R. Holland and M. E. Adair? who intermarried Aug 19th 1858? |
| 14 January 1868 | L. C. Anderson and M. C. M. Holland who intermarried Jan the 14 1868 |
The marriage page also carries three births, written in the left column:
- Thomas Hampton Holland was born August the 2? 1867
- Elbert Rush? Holland was born 1868
- Reason Logan? Holland was born (no date)
- A fourth entry, for a Mary ? Holland, is too faded to read.
Births
| Date | As written | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 16 August 1805 | Thomas Holland was born August the 16 1805 | the father |
| 22 May 1811 | Mary Holland was born May the 22 1811 | the mother, Mary Leak |
| 17 June? 1829 | Elizabeth J. Holland was borne Jun 17 day 1829 | |
| 4 March? 1831 | Thomas Rutledge Holland was born March 4? 1831 | |
| 10 August 1833 | Asenath? Franklin Holland was borne Aug 10th day 1833 | probably the A. F. Holland who married J. L. Adair |
| 14 November 1833 | M. J. Holland was born the Nov 14 day 1833 | probably M. J. Finney?, wife of T. R. Holland |
| 27 February 1835 | Green Berry Reason Holland was born Feb? the 27 day 1835 | agrees with his stone at the Holland–Leak–Adair Burying Ground |
| 17 August? 1837 | Wyatt Richard Holland was born Aug 17? 1837 | |
| 8 August 1839 | Bluford ? Holland was born August 8? 1839 | Bluford R. Holland |
| 7 March 1842 | Jeremiah Rush Holland was born March 7 1842 | |
| 6 December 1844 | Sarah Ann Missouri Holland was born December 6 1844 | |
| 7 March 1847 | Martha Cassandra? Marion Holland was born March 7 1847 | the M. C. M. Holland who married L. C. Anderson |
Deaths
| Date | As written |
|---|---|
| 25? March 1850 | Thomas Holland who departed this life on the 25th day of March A.D. 1850 |
| 8 April 1855 | Wyatt Richard Holland departed this life April 8 1855 |
| 11 May 1856 | Thomas Rutledge Holland departed this life May 11 1856 |
| 25 March 1860 | Mary Holland who departed this life March the 25 1860 |
| 6 May 1864 | Jeremiah Rush [Holland] who departed this life May the 6 1864 |
| March 1865 | Sarah A. M. Holland who departed this life March the [day blank] 1865 |
| 15 April? 1865 | Green Berry Reason Holland who departed this life Apr? the 15th 1865 |
| 14 February 1870 | A. F. Adair departed this life Feb 14 1870 |
| September 1870 | W. H. Henry departed this life Sept 1870 |
| 23 October 1870 | E. J. Henry departed this life Oct the 23 1870 |
| 23 October 1871? | Elizabeth Jane Henry departed this life Oct the 23 1871? |
The last column of this page also records a birth: L. C. Anderson was born March the 20 1843.
Anderson Family Entries
L. C. Anderson married Martha C. M. Holland in 1868. Their children are recorded on the second Deaths page. Tom Anderson wrote that the names Thomas and Franklin in this family are the origin of his own name and his father’s.
| Name | Born | Died |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Lewis Anderson | 24 October 1869 | 14 August 1877 |
| Augusta Anderson | 15 February 1871 | 20 September 1877 |
| Lorie? Holland Anderson | 28 March 1873 | |
| ? Franklin Anderson | 4 March 1877 | 25 August 1878 |
The same page also records: grand children: William Washington departed this life June 8 1855?, and the death of a Mrs. M. J. Finney? on 18 July 18__.
A Note in the Apocrypha
Below “End of the Apocrypha” someone wrote: Clarence Hollingsworth? was born Dec the 16? 1855. Two fainter lines below it cannot be read.
Sources
- Family Bible of Thomas Holland and Mary Leak, Family Record pages; photocopies sent by Tom Anderson, 13 July 1999.
- Letter from Tom Anderson to Lisa Bowes, Edisto Beach, S.C., 13 July 1999.
Open Questions
- Where is the Bible today?
- Readings still uncertain: the husband’s name in the 1845 marriage (J. D. Young Cook?); the surname of T. R. Holland’s wife (Finney?); Bluford’s middle name as written; Asenath (?) Franklin Holland; the Anderson child born 1873; the first name of Franklin Anderson; Clarence Hollingsworth (?).
- Were E. J. Henry (died 1870) and Elizabeth Jane Henry (died 1871?) the same person, entered twice?
- Whose are the two locks of hair?
How You Can Help
If you know how to reach Mr. Anderson’s family, I would love to return his original letter to them, and I would love to know where this treasured Bible is today. Corrections to the readings above are welcome too.
Holland Family: Family History · Hollands of Maryland · Abraham Holland Family · Thomas Hampton Holland · Thomas Holland / Mary Leake Bible · Eula Mae Holland Hansen