Ezekial, (son of Joseph, son of George, son of Abraham, son of Thomas, son of Valentine,) is the main interest in putting this page together, due to my interest in his daughter Lydia, my 3rd gr-grandmother, but I will be going into a great many of his relatives as well. I only hope to be able to lay it out as clearly as possible!
Eventually, at the bottom of this page, I will post all the assembled Quaker records in their original language. :) For the first mention of it, I will write it out, but for any mentions afterward, I will use the Quaker term. All the records will use the Quaker terms. Somewhere in these pages I will also assemble a list of the Quaker terms. All of this, is a work in progress, begun August 2013.
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The migration of the South Carolina Hollingsworths began circa 1805. Many of this clan had originally hailed from Virginia. The South Carolinian Quakers had decided they didn't wish to live in a state where slavery was accepted. Many of them headed west and a large number went to Miami Co, OH to join the Miami MM there.
Ohio was the "gateway" to the west and all eastern pioneers had to pass thru via Ohio.
Ezekial went farther west, and settled in Union Co, IN, where most of his children were born. As you will see on a map below, Union Co, IN actually wasn't very far geographically from Miami Co, OH.
Many of Ezekial's family members were Quakers so their records reflect their movements.
Ezekial's half brothers Jonathon and David were both received on certificate from (rocf) Bush River, SC at Miami MM, OH.
Ezekial's brother Jacob was also rocf Bush River, SC at Miami MM, OH. His other (full) brothers Abraham, Levi and Richard show death dates in OH and IN, but I have yet to find Quaker records for them. Levi shows being disowned for marrying out of unity (mou) at Bush River, SC in 1788, so perhaps he never rejoined the Quakers.
Marrying out of unity meant the person had married a non-Quaker. (To my best understanding) This is opposed to Marrying Contrary to Discipline (mcd), which could mean several things. Either: (1) The couple did not wish to go thru the process via the Meeting to gain approval, (2) The couple was related, as in first cousins, or (3) The wife was pregnant.
Ezekial's uncles Isaac, James, George, Henry, John, Nathan and Aunt Susanna were all rocf from Bush River, SC at Miami MM, OH as well.
West Branch Monthly Meeting House, West Milton, Miami, OH
One must wonder; did they all make their way together? Surely Ezekial did not attempt his journey alone. He had been disowned in 1803 at Bush River MM, SC, a couple of years before the migration dates of the other family members for mcd, as he had married his first cousin, Jane.
Years later, they would make the next step in their westward journey and end up in Vermilion Co, IL. Several family members made this trek with him as well, or if not with him, they ended up there. 1/2 brother David and brothers Levi & Jacob all died in Vermilion Co, IL.
The map above has red stars on the counties that the various Hollingsworths settled and/or died in. You can see the slow migration west. Unfortunately, this map cuts off the further west portion of Iowa that includes Keokuk Co.
Ezekial was a busy man in Vermilion Co, IL.
Circa 1840, Ezekial and family left again; this time for Iowa Territory. The U.S. Congress had only just established the territory of Iowa on June 4, 1838. The first American settlers had come to Iowa in 1833. the Hollingsworths settled in Keokuk Co. What a life that must have been...
In 1841 the town of Richland was laid out by Prior Woodward, and this same year an organization was formed by the Quakers under the authority of the Pleasant Plain Monthly meeting. Among the members of the first organization were James and Angeline Williams, Prior C., Susannah, Samel, Wm. A., and Ruth Woodward; Beriah, Sarah, Eli, Lydia, John Sr., Moorman, Allen, John Jr., George and Mahlon Haworth; of the Hadleys there were William, Mary, Lydia, John, Jarah, Joel, Eleanor and Riley.
A Preparative meeting was organized by the Pleasant Plain Meeting in 1845 and later another meeting was organized at Rocky Run, about four miles northeast of Richland.
This meeting was composed of part of the above members with the addition of others, among them being John Howard a minister. This organization was discontinued about ten years later........
The town of Richland itself bears the distinction of being the oldest in Keokuk county. Its first cabin dating back to 1838, and the town proper being laid out in 1841. The town was then in what was known as the "old strip" and had the start of the country by three or four years. It received its name from the rich alluvial soil with which the surrounding territory abounds. The first settler was probably Aaron Miller, early in the spring of 1837, although by treaty rights with the Indians he should not have been permitted to make settlement until October of that year. <<Source>>
In 1847, Ezekial's son Jeremiah had purchased 80 acres of land in Keokuk, Co and continued to purchase a great deal of land in the years to come.
The above 1887 map shows Jeremiah's ... Richland, IA town center is southwest.
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Look into Joseph Hadley. Buying land in Vermilion Co, IL 1837, died in Keokuk Co, IA.
