Photographs and Correspondence, 1828-1907, and undated

File — Box: 2, Folder: 7

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

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: 1828-1907, 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

Additional Description

Materials Specific Details

Newspaper clippings (1906) from The Southern Reporter of G. S. Dickerman on Charleston and African American history; Newspaper clipping (undated) calling for a collection of African American art, antiques, history, etc. that might represent Charleston at the Negro Exhibit at the Jamestown Exposition.

Printed circular (1906) celebrating James H. Holloway's contributions to the Centenary Methodist Church; Typed letter (1902) from President L.M. Dunton of Claflin University asking James H. Holloway for a donation of books to honor the Holloway family in the university library.

Correspondence (1889, 1891) to James H. Holloway from C.S. Williamson, E. M. Lawrence, and Thomas McGregor Carr detailing a Centenary Church lecture series and thanking him for supplies for the Centenary's pulpit; Photographs (ca. 1900) of Brown (Century) Fellowship graveyard and the Centenary Church Home, Smith St. Letter (1887) from Rosa Simonds thanking James H. Holloway for his fundraising for the Centenary Methodist Church Sunday School;

Letter (1911) from Alexander Sprunt to James H. Holloway praising the "Society" and extolling the virtues of Tristram T. Hyde among local Sunday school workers.

Typed letter (1903) from the law offices of Ficken, Hughes and Ficken to James H. Holloway noting their change of address;

Typed letter (1905) from G. S. Dickerman to James H. Holloway suggesting that he begin collecting books and pamphlets related to the history of "colored people." Typed letter (1906) from the Charleston Messenger seeking James H. Holloway's help in organizing a free library for blacks in Charleston; Letter (1906) from S. H. Burnett of the Sumner Literary Association inviting James H. Holloway to a banquet honoring black dignitaries "Kelly Miller, the Grimke Brothers, and others" who are visiting Charleston; Receipt (1906) for James H. Holloway for money received to attend banquet in honor of Francis Grimke and Kelly Miller. Letter (1906) from M. A. Holmes, principal of Avery Institute, to James H. Holloway requesting that he not invite Francis Grimke to give a lecture on the same night of commencement. Typewritten letter (1906) from Francis Grimke to James H. Holloway regretting that the date of Holloway's invitation to lecture at his "noble association" occurs on the same night as commencement exercises at the Avery Institute.

Letter (1907) to James H. Holloway concerning Charleston contributions to the Negro Exhibit at the Jamestown Exposition, signed by Arthur Macbeth; Note (1907) from J. E. Davis informing James H. Holloway that due to the heavy workload created by the Jamestown Exposition, Holloway's requested printing job cannot be completed.

Letter from Wilbur Thirkield, president of Howard University, confirming his intention to visit and lecture.

Photographs (circa 1900) of CFS cemetery, the Century Methodist Episcopal Church Home, and tombstone of Samuel Creighton, Sr., noting his connection to the graveyard; correspondence and printed matter typescript of a 1828 article from the Christian Advocate and Journal on educating black children.