THE HOLLINGSWORTH REGISTER

VOLUME I., NUMBER 1.

     The oldest English sources yet examined, being early dated and undated deeds relating to the family of HOLLINGWORTH (HOLLYNWORTHE), are to be found in Cheshire, Lancashire & Yorkshire. Examination of a map will show that these counties (shires) all join in a cluster, in the northern part of the country. From these first appearances (about A.D. 1250) until the late 1500's, no instance has yet been met of the 13-letter surname "HOLLINGSWORTH" (HOLLINSWORTH.) The earliest appearance of this latter name are to be found in parish church records from LONDON, many miles to the south, in the middle 1600's. Shortly thereafter, it begins to appear in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and from that time onward, it steadily moves into the forefront.

     In Ireland, the main settlements of the family were as follows: (1) In County Armagh, northern Ireland, before 1632, of whom came the American Quaker branch. (2) In Parish of Clonduff, County Down, near Armagh, before 1714, a family of dominantly Presbyterion faith, dwelt. Both of these families are ancient, and may have a common ancestor. (3) In counties Wexford and Wicklow, in the southeast part of Ireland, below Dublin, a family appeared about 1750. This family was dominantly Church of Ireland (Protestant Episcopal). Your Editor is a descendant of this clan. He feels that this family is an offshoot of the family of County Down. About 1610-1615, one William Brownlow, Esq., came to Ireland from England. He founded the city of Lurgan, Co. Armagh, which, in 1619, consisted of 42 English families. This, perhaps, was the source of the Hollingsworth family in Ireland. If so, it antedates the appearance of the family of the same name, in ENGLAND! Perhaps the addition of the letter "s" (if the families of Hollingworth and Hollingsworth are the same) has something to do with the Ireland settlement. It is well known that the clan "MacFarlane," of Scotland, have a branch in Ireland, who began to spell their surname "McFarland," adding the letter "d", after arrival there!

     "Hollingworth" families in Ireland were rare. A Captaine Hollingworth, officer in the forces of Queen Elizabeth I., but of English origin, earned himself a black name during his military ravages in Ireland about 1570. Ralph or Radulphus Hollingworth, and son Anthony, clergymen in the English church, were serving in Ireland in the 1650-1670 period. Also, in Dublin, several "Hollingsworth" (Hollinsworth) families appear from time to time. The earliest appearance is when Raphael Hollinsworth, of Francis St., nailer, married Alice Bennett, 13 Dec., 1657. This, by the way, is the earliest record of the 13-letter name to be found in Ireland, with legal proof attending. In 1707, a Rachel Hollinsworth married one Samuel Nelson. Benjamin Hollinsworth (Holyworth) and wife Ann, of Francis Street and later of Cutpurse Row, Dublin, had four children baptized in the period 1714- 1730. Thomas, later a merchant in New Row, who died childless in 1747; Margaret, married Henry Shea, a merchant in the same street, who left five children (Shea), and Elazabeth & Benjamin, Jr., nothing about whom is known. There is also a record of the Intestate of one Alexander Hollansworth, merchant, of Dublin, in 1723. There were similar records of Hollinsworth in Dublin in the early 1800's. Todaya, there are several families residing there, chiefly from the Wexford-Wicklow family to the south, who have moved to the city.

     Several prominent traditions are affiliated with the several families in Ireland. The Hollingsworths of County Down tell two stories: (1) That the first of the name came with Alderman William Hawkins, founder of Rathfryland, about 1641, when Cromwell landed in Ireland; (2) That they came as soldiers in