FRANKLIN MARION HOLLIDAY - A CASUALTY OF THE CIVIL WAR

Franklin Marion Holliday, grandson of Revolutionary War Patriot Daniel William Holliday, Jr., - and son of the third Daniel William Holliday - was born in 1833 near Sulligent, Alabama in what is now Lamar County. Of note, as with many families of that era who hailed from South Carolina, Franklin Marion was named after Francis Marion, the Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina known as “The Swamp Fox”.

Amazingly, Franklin would go on to be married to Mary Rose Anna Hollis, who was the granddaughter of John Hollis, another Revolutionary War Patriot who actually served under General Francis Marion - and was noted as a “favorite young officer” of the General’s! (Captain John Hollis also fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain during the Revolution!)

Mary Rose Anna Hollis was the daughter of Darling Hollis and Francis Lavendar. Franklin and Mary Rose Anna had four children, including Darling Hollis Holliday, born in 1858. Other children included Rhoda Jemima (born in 1855), Daniel William (born in 1856) and Nancy Serena (born in 1859).

Franklin Marion Holliday became a preacher as well as a farmer and in 1862, at the age of 29, Franklin left his home and family to fight on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil War. Apparently, his company had been forced to retreat from the Yankees at Nashville, Tennessee and the Yankees caught up with them at Athens, Alabama. Franklin was killed in the Battle of Athens in 1864 and buried on the battleground. [Photographs of his gravesite are included in the Holliday section of this website.] Family lore tells the story that Franklin’s mule returned home several weeks after the battle and this is how the family knew Franklin would not be coming home.

Franklin’s son, Darling Hollis Holliday, married Sarah Loretta Thomas in 1877 and began (and ended) their lives on the family land at “Old Moscow” in Lamar County. Over time, Darling and Sarah would welcome 10 children into their family! Details about each of the 10 and their children can be found in this website…… Both Darling and Sarah are buried on what was once their family land, in the Holliday family cemetery, established in 1883 when Darling Hollis, father of Mary Rose Anna Hollis Holliday - and grandfather of Darling Hollis Holliday - died and was buried there. (Of note, Mary Rose Anna Hollis Holliday FRYE is apparently buried in Sulligent, Alabama in the Hollis Cemetery! After Franklin’s death, she married a man named William Frye and had several more children.)

Of particular interest, an amazing family reunion was held in Birmingham in 1952 - at the home of Mallie Evalee Holliday Gordon (#6 of the ten). Each of the SEVEN surviving children of Darling and Sarah was able to attend - including Robert Sim (Sim Bob), WIlliam Floyd (Floyd), Bessy Tallue, Mallie Evalee, Isaac Burley (Burley), Nancy Annie May (Annie May) and Rollie Crumpton (Rollie). [Photographs of this amazing reunion can also be found on the website, in the Holliday section, of course……..] Almost 70 family members attended this reunion, which was held on Mothers Day, Sunday, May 11, 1952. (As a side note, Bessy Tallue Holliday Spence, #5 of the ten, died of cancer only a little over a month later, on June 21, 1952,)

DANIEL WILLIAM HOLLADAY, JR. - PATRIOT OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND HIS MIGRATION FROM THE "HIGH HILLS OF THE SANTE" IN SOUTH CAROLINA TO “MOSCOW” IN LAMAR COUNTY, ALABAMA

How did the Hollidays (Holladays….) of Virginia and South Carolina get to the new state of Alabama???

Daniel William Holladay, Sr. sold his land in Virginia, 197 acres on East Northeast River, to his brother-in-law, Thomas Pulliam in 1743 and in 1756, Daniel and wife Agnes moved to Albemarle County, Virginia. On February 14, 1756 Daniel was granted 2 patents for land (400 acres) in the extreme Southeast part of Albemarle County on Totier Creek, which paralleled the Hardware River just South of it and ran into the James RIver. He also bought 150 acres on Hudson’s Creek. In about 1758, he migrated to South Carolina where he bought 150 acres in Craven County (now known as Sumter County). On September 4, 1759, 350 acres were assigned to him in Craven County near the “High Hills of the Santee.” Part of this tract is now Poinsett State Park (15 miles off I95, located near Wedgefield SC - close to Sumpter SC).

As the march towards war with England continued to escalate, both Daniel, Sr. and Daniel, Jr. signed the South Carolina Association test, pledging their loyalty to the colonial cause. Daniel, Jr. enlisted when South Carolina’s troops were first organized on November 4, 1775, as an orderly-sergeant in Col. William Moultrie’s South Carolina Regiment. He served under Captain James McDonald in the battle of Fort Sullivan on June 28, 1776. Unfortunately, his military record also documents that on August 8, 1777, he was reprimanded for gambling. He was also reprimanded on April 3, 1778, for neglect of duty. He was discharged on April 6, 1778 after paying a substitute to continue service in his place.

In 1778, Daniel, Sr. and Agnes sold 750 acres of land in Craven County, South Carolina to William Ree for 5000 pounds. In 1781 and 1782, Daniel furnished supplies to the Continental troops and petitioned the government for repayment. Both Daniel and Agnes died in 1784.

In 1798, Daniel Jr. was appointed a Commissioner to ascertain the dividing line between the South Carolina counties of Kershaw and Richland. In 1804, he bought 500 acres of land in Kershaw District on the Wateree River.

In 1819, Daniel Jr.’s son Daniel moved to the new state of Alabama, settling in Marion (now Lamar) County. He acquired a tract of 160 acres of land on January 8, 1820.

In 1826, Daniel Jr. moved from South Carolina with son John and his young family, to join his son, William Daniel, at Moscow, Marengo County, Alabama [Not Marengo, an older town - Moscow, in Marion County, near current day Sulligent, Lamar County Alabama]. Daniel subsequently applied for and was adjudicated a Revolutionary War veteran pension and land grant in Alabama. He died on February 4, 1837, and is buried at Mulberry Cemetery in Moscow. (NSDAR Genealogy Records, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution)

His service in the Revolutionary War is documented in his application for a pension and reflects that “Sgt. Daniel Holladay (aka Holiday/ Holliday) S10867:SC Troops, under Lt. Fuller, for 3 years, served in 2nd Regiment of regular Troops (SC Continental Line) under Lt. Hall, Capt. James McDaniel & General William Moultrie. From High Hills of Santee, Sumpter District, marched to Ft. Moultrie, Sullivan’s Island, Charleston SC; after 2.5 years, hired a substitute, George Powell (paid 200 # currency). Stated he is known (in 1832) by Colonel John Hollis; Colonel James Moore & D. Hollis, Esquire.” (Barb Carruth, Sulligent, AL)

MORE ON THE HOLLIDAY FAMILY CEMETERY

WELL……

Summer is in full swing and the heat and humidity in Alabama is fierce and unrelenting! Years ago, when many of “The Greatest Generation” were still around, we had “HOLLIDAY FAMILY REUNIONS” in Sulligent almost every Summer. Once all the food was shared that everyone had brought to share, and everything was cleaned up, and we had all visited with one another and exclaimed over the sweet babies and beautiful children, and taken photographs and so forth, some of the more hardy crowd would decide to go out to visit the family cemetery.

About 15 years ago, my mother and my daughter and my grandchildren (then about 5 years old and 1 year old or so), along with my brothers and their families decided to join the caravan to visit the cemetery. Now, please know that it was ‘hotter than hades’ and we were all kind of gasping for air before we even got started good! Couple that with the fact that the cemetery is on a dirt road - a RED DIRT ROAD - so the red dirt was swirling around us and please know that this trip was a labor of family love!

And once we arrived, we all piled out of our cars and blithely entered the gate of the chain link fence, talking and chatting and wandering from headstone to headstone and even discussing whether one of our Great Grandfathers actually buried his horse on the outer boundary of the cemetery - and if he did, exactly where did he bury it?!? We were having a great time, even in light of the afore-mentioned heat, humidity and red dirt.

But, even the heat and the humidity and the red dirt and all of the accompanying miseries from these things absolutely pale to insignificance to what was waiting for us - hidden and horrifying……. chiggers…….

If you happen to live where you don’t have chiggers and you don’t know about chiggers, let me enlighten you! According to WebMD, outdoor fun “sometimes comes with a price -- an itchy rash from pests you can't even see.” These are chiggers - bugs so small you probably can’t see them, but they can definitely ruin a few days for you! Of course, you won’t have any idea what’s happening at first. You don’t really see them, and probably don’t feel them as they grab hold of your pants legs and so forth and begin crawling around looking for a patch of flesh to attach to! They can end up anywhere, but provide utter misery wherever they end up! The itching is indescribable and the usual remedies for skin irritations may or may not work - the effects from chigger bites are as persistent as are the ‘little buggers’ themselves! Time may be your only hope…..

Most of us got them….. Some of us worse than others….. My 5 year old granddaughter - who was being carried by one of my brothers mind you so that her feet never hit the ground, ended up with one under her arm! Merciful Heavens……

There is no doubt that it was a nightmare for several days and has most likely given me and my daughter a slight case of immortal fear about getting out into the great outdoors to have a picnic or take a walk in a wooded area or pretty much anything else with the common denominators of Summer, outdoors, walking in the grass - and not having any bug spray handy.

Don’t get me wrong! I’m glad we went to the cemetery! The sober reality of all those who came before us and worked so hard to create a new life for themselves in what was the “wilderness” of the early days after Alabama became a state sort of washes over you as you look at their headstones - and those of all the babies.

I think a lot about my ancestors and the courage and determination and hard work they possessed to be able to do all that they did. I think about my Great Grandmother Holliday who gave birth to those 10 children in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. And I think about there being no air conditioning. (Of course, their house had a dog trot, thank goodness for them!)

But to be perfectly honest, I also think about chiggers……. and I have a feeling that they definitely dealt with chiggers in those days - most likely without the benefit of calamine lotion - and I have pity mixed in with all the pride in and gratitude for each one of those folks that lived and worked and provided the foundation that has allowed me to live in the comfort of air conditioning and the joy of paved roads and the amazing privilege of being a citizen of the United States of America…… and the freedom from chiggers as long as I never forget the bug spray and think carefully before I think I want to take a leisurely stroll through the family cemetery!

THE HOLLIDAY FAMILY CEMETERY

South of Sulligent, off of Highway 17 and Moscow Road, you will find one of several HOLLIDAY FAMILY CEMETERIES located in Lamar County, Alabama. This cemetery can be found on the land that was settled and farmed by Revolutionary War Patriot Daniel William Holliday who, along with his son and members of the family had emigrated from South Carolina to this part of The Alabama Territory.

These Hollidays eventually acquired over 600 acres of land and made a good life for themselves that would last through several generations. Buried in this cemetery are a number of descendants of Daniel Holliday, most notably Darling Hollis Holliday and his wife Sarah Loretta Thomas Holliday, who raised 10 children on this land, many of whom went on to build their own homes and families, living and farming on the family land.

A number of years ago, the children of these 10 siblings came together and established a fund to ensure that the family cemetery would be maintained and cared for over many years to come. The task of supporting and managing this important task has now fallen to the descendants in the “Baby Boomer” generation - the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the 10 siblings! We have a very reliable man who faithfully cares for this cemetery and we, of course, pay him to do so!

I think it goes without saying that we must continually contribute to this fund in order to assure that we will have the funds going forward to continue to manage and care for this important legacy for our Holliday family.

COMING SOON! WATCH FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO

SUPPORTING THIS VERY IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY!

MORE BASIC INFORMATION......

Besides the HOLLIDAY family, my brothers and I and our cousins also represent three other families - all three of which came together on the Eastern end of Long Island, New York - in the mid 1600’s. Some of this information is repeated from yesterday’s post - just for the sake of clarity!

Our grandfather, ROLLIE CRUMPTON HOLLIDAY joined the Marines in 1924 and was assigned to a ship which was based at Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey. Our grandmother, LOIS CAROLYN BEEBEE HOLLIDAY, was the daughter of WILLIAM THOMAS BEEBEE and CARRIE JANE FIELD BEEBEE. By 1927, she was a teacher and had relocated from her home in Sag Harbor, New York to live at the YWCA in New York City. She and Rollie met on a train when he was on leave. We are not quite sure why she was on the train on that particular day or evening, but nevertheless, they met and eventually decided to marry, which they did in June of 1928, just before Rollie was discharged from the Marines in July of 1928. Lois rode the train South to Alabama and they set up “housekeeping'“ in a small cabin built for them on HOLLIDAY family land by Rollie’s father and brothers. It was a rocky start - with one of his brothers stating to him, “Well, you’ve gone and married a damn Yankee!”.

Our BEEBEE family has a most interesting history, with ties to both the HALSEY and FIELD families on Eastern Long Island, New York. JOSEPH BEEBEE was the first documented BEEBEE settler, who emigrated from Plymouth, Massachusetts to purchase Plum Island off the coast of Long Island (where he is buried). His family moved on to settle Southold on the Northern end of Long Island, where they became prosperous farmers and members of the community. Our Great Great Grandfather was JASON WILLIAM BEEBEE and our Great Grandfather was WILLIAM THOMAS BEEBEE. Our grandmother Lois had two siblings, a younger sister named HELEN and the youngest, a brother named MELLVANE, neither of whom had children.

Our Great Great Grandfather BEEBEE married ERMINIA BUELL HALSEY or “MINNIE”, daughter of LEDYARD H. HALSEY and MARIA JANE STANBOROUGH HALSEY. The HALSEY side of the family is descended from THOMAS HALSEY, one of the original seven settlers of SOUTHAMPTON, NEW YORK. The house he built on Main Street in 1648 - known as The Hollyhocks - is still there and is now a house museum.

Our Great Grandmother, CARRIE JANE FIELD BEEBEE was the daughter of JOHN HEDGES FIELD and CAROLINE SHAW FIELD. John Hedges Field had a very exciting early life, sailing to San Francisco in 1849 to join “The Gold Rush” in California. We don’t have alot of information about his adventures, but know that he eventually returned to Sag Harbor where he married and had three children. CARRIE was the oldest, with a younger brother and a younger sister - neither of whom married or had children. Therefore, our mother and her three sisters - Lorese Helen or “Peggy”, Carolyn Loretta or “Cricket” and Sarah Jean or “Sis” - are the only descendants from that part of the Beebee/Field family.

The other interesting family genealogy fact is that our Great Grandfather THOMAS WILLIAM BEEBEE had six siblings - one brother who died at age 10 and five sisters. His sister Erminia or “Minnie”, had a daughter named Molly, who died as a young child. Another of his sisters, Lucille, had four children, but she died very young and we don’t have alot of information about the lives and descendants of her children. We would LOVE to make contact with these distant cousins and are hoping that they too are interested in making contact with their BEEBEE connections!

Well, that’s the overview of how and why all of this began. We all feel it is very important to preserve the treasures and the memories and the stories and the history that are so plentiful and important in our family. We invite you to join us and become a part of this journey!

Hi! Welcome to our Family website - and to this new blog......

Welcome, Everyone!

This is a brand new blog, begun as a way to communicate about this website, which is a serious “work in progress”. This website was created over three years ago as a project to organize all of the family history files accumulated and created by Patricia Holliday Dorsett, my mother. My three brothers and I have been the recipients of a significant amount of information about our family and its history over 200+ years in America and more than that in England. In addition to the information about our genealogy and the fascinating aspects of our ancestors, we also have a number of “FAMILY TREASURES” and “FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS” that tell the story of our family and its several branches.

On the website (again - a work in progress), you will find short histories of each family in our ancestry. Importantly, our HOLLIDAY family tree is by far the largest, with the most descendants and members of the family who I hope will be able to find and appreciate this website. Our grandfather, ROLLIE CRUMPTON HOLLIDAY, was the youngest of ten children in his family. His parents were Darling Hollis Holliday and Sarah Loretta Thomas Holliday, who lived on their over 600 acre farm in Lamar County, Alabama. His nine siblings, listed in birth order, include James Franklin, Robert Sim (“SimBob”), Richard Dupree, William Floyd, Bessy Tallue (Spence), Mallie Evalee (Gordon), Lucien Redden, Isaac Burley, Nancy Annie Mae (Harris). Of note, neither James Franklin and Richard Dupree ever had children, but there are many descendants from the remaining eight siblings!

I hope all Holliday descendants find this website and enjoy looking through the hundreds of documents and photographs and history. Also, we plan to create access so that other family members can contribute their own treasures, photographs and information, helping to further preserve the rich history of our family.