Correspondence, Deeds of Land, and Various Newspaper Clippings, 1797-1913, 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: 1797-1913, 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
Newspaper clippings (1909) concerning an upcoming referendum on liquor prohibition in Charleston including a letter "To the Editor" from James H. Holloway; Start of poem describing the heroism of a slave that saved St. Michaels Church from a fire. Newspaper clipping (undated) of address given by South Carolina Supreme Court Justice C. A. Woods "advocating compulsory education and a square deal for the negro." Newspaper clippings (undated) of African Americans in the news including a notice of a poet, J. E. McGirt, giving a recital in the Century Fellowship Society Hall.
Note (1906) from Hannah Allen planning her funeral arrangements; End of poem describing the heroism of a slave that saved St. Michaels Church from a fire; Newspaper clipping (1913) touting the success of prohibition in Kansas; Invitation (1855) to Charles H. Holloway for wedding of Samuel Weston; Partial letter (1906) from cousin Richard Holloway Clark in Toronto to James H. Holloway concerning the death of Hannah Allen.
Letter (1904) from Rev. William R. A. Palmer to James H. Holloway concerning a "wonderful historical document;" Letters (1905) from G. S. Dickerman mentioning his historical sketch of the Century Fellowship Society and its president, Thomas Holmes.
Membership certificate (1887) from the Brown Fellowship Society for James H. Holloway; Library committee report (1844) naming C. H. Holloway as chairman; Minutes (1846) of the Library Society with members present including Holloways, J. Bass, S. Weston, A. McKinley and others.
Library Society meeting minutes (1846); Announcement (undated) by James H. Holloway outlining his conditions for running for alderman; correspondence between JH and various people; Photostat of 1797 document affirming the citizenship of Richard Holloway, a "free Mulatto Man," (also view Box 1, Folder 4); Handwritten deed of land (1871) in Marion County South Carolina, sold by James McIntyre to James H. Holloway. Land conveyance (1871) from Rebecca Mcintyre to James H. Holloway relinquishing her rights to the land sold him by her husband, James.
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