Various Family Documents, 1872-1908, and undated
Scope and Contents
The Holloway Family Scrapbook contains legal documents, personal and business correspondence, receipts, ephemera, clippings and photographs pertaining to the Holloway family, a prominent free family of color in Charleston, SC. Series 1: "The Scrapbook," holds a variety of documents: Highlights include legal documents with deeds (1806, 1821, 1871), a conveyance (1811), slave bills of sale including one for the slave "Betty" (1829), an agreement (1829) to apprentice the slave boy Carlos in the carpenters and house joiner's trade, exhorter licenses to preach and a photograph of a 1797 document declaring patriarch Richard “Holliday” [Holloway] a free mulatto. Personal and business correspondence include letters concerning the hiring out of slaves, an offer (1837) to buy the "Holloway Negroes,” a letter (1831) from Samuel Benedict about emigrating to Liberia, agreements for carpentry work, and information about the Brown Fellowship Society, the Century Fellowship Society, the Minors Moralist Society and the Bonneau Literary Society. Also included are invitations, Confederate and corporate tax receipts, receipts for general merchandise, and Confederate scrip. Other letters and newspaper clippings, including letters to the editor written by James H. Holloway, concern Negro taxes, Negro slaveholders, the Liberia movement, the Methodist Episcopal Church, civil rights and related topics. James H. Holloway's niece, Mae Holloway Purcell, preserved the scrapbook after his death and added to its contents. The bound scrapbook was microfilmed by the South Caroliniana Library in 1977 but was later disbound and reorganized. Using the microfilm as a guide, this archive attempts to recreate the original order and this digital presentation of the scrapbook reflects those efforts.
Dates
- Creation: 1872-1908, and undated
Creator
- From the Collection: Holloway, James H. (James Harrison), 1849-1913 (Person)
- From the Collection: Purcell, Mae Holloway, 1891-1982 (Person)
Extent
From the Collection: 4.0 linear feet (3 oversize boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Materials Specific Details
Eulogy (undated) by J.B. Middleton to unknown person; printed materials regarding marriages of Charles T. Holloway (1908), Mitchell K. Holloway (1883), James Holloway (1872); Newspaper article (undated) from The Southern Reporter concerning James H. Holloway article on taxation and social justice; Correspondence (1907) between G.S. Dickerman of the Southern Education Board and James H. Holloway. Letter (1904) from G. S. Dickerman to James H. Holloway on Holloway genealogy and Dickerman's article in the The Southern Workman on fellowship societies. Circular (1904) from the Century Fellowship Society advertising a religious service at their society hall into commemoration of 115th anniversary of their cemetery and the laying of the cornerstone of a new building; Circular (undated) from the Society listing "Causes for Justifiable Pride. Note (1909) from officers of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church Sunday School attesting to the punctuality of James Holloway, signed by Joseph E. Berry, librarian; Receipt (1893) from Claflin University to Charles Holloway Pinckney for his one dollar donation to the school's building fund. Notice (1891)from the U.S. Civil Service Commission that Charles Holloway Pinckney has passed the examination for employment with the railway mail service. Letter (1907) from Yates Snowden, historian, to James Holloway about using the Holloway scrapbook to write history of free people of color.
Repository Details
Part of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Repository
125 Bull Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424 United States
843-953-7608
averyresearchcenter@cofc.edu