THE HOLLINGSWORTH REGISTER

VOLUME I., NUMBER 1.

-48- H O L L I N G S W O R T H Q U E R Y S E C T I O N (Continued)


6516	HOPES TO BRING THE VALENTINE HOLLINGSWORTH HISTORY UP TO DATE, ETC.
	Mrs. Willie Nell (Hollingsworth) Ashcraft, of 933 Harding Avenue, Fayette, Alabama, Zip Code 35555, U.S.A., wants to collect your family records if you are a descendant of Valentine Hollingsworth, Sr. She and others are getting the up-to-date records for completion of a new edition, long overdue, of the history and genealogy of this ever-growing family. The latest we now have was published in 1925!
6517	HOLLINGSWORTH-HARPER-DARBY
	About 1870, Loftus Hollingsworth and his brothers, Henry Samuel & Edmund Valentine (no relation to the Quakers - named so because he was born Feb. 14th, 1830) came to North Plainfield, New Jersey. They were the sons of Samuel & Margaret Hollingsworth of Mount Nebo, Hollyfort, Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland. They founded the once famous fur mill at that site. The family lived in Scotch Plains. The fur was manufactured by a staff of workers in a large mill on the edge of town. Rabbit fur was the chief article, and the felt fur was then sold in New York and was used widely in men's hats. The Trade-Name "Hollingsworth-Harper-Darby" was well known for over fifty years. Do you know any genealogy about this family? All items will help! The editor hasn't been able to rouse any of the living descendants.

T H E S P O T T I S W O O D E F O R T U N E Here is one for your "scrap-book!" We of the "Wexfords" have tossed this story around for well nigh a hundred years. So far, no solution to it has ever been found. This is a composite of two versions of the tale! It seems one JACK HOLLINGSWORTH, an adventurous lad (a mariner), when upon one of his travels, came eventually to Calcutta in India. (Another version has "America" in place of "India.") There, he came into the employ of a very, very wealthy Gentleman, Lord Spottiswoode. John became acquainted, and soon fell deeply in love with the old Gent's only child - Lady Ellenor Spottiswoode, and they decided to marry. But John was a commoner, and Lady Ellenor was of Gentler birth, and the old man forbade the union. But the Hollingsworths being what they are ... Johnny swept his love into the nearest boat and fled away and married the lass anyway! (This all happened over two hundred years ago.) So Lord Spottiswoode, not to be outhanded, cut his child out of his legacy - his vast riches. He claused his will so that only the "seventh generation" after him could collect that pile of gold. So Johnny Hollingsworth settled down near Arklow, County Wicklow, in the south of Ireland, with his bride. They had two children - (guess what they named them?) - John Jr. and Ellenor Jr. Ellenor married a Mr. Prestage; and John Junior became father of 10 children - 9 of them boys. John Jr. is supposed to be the John who died in 1854 at Big Rock, Arklow, listed in the deaths on page 12 of this Issue, No. 2. If it were legally possible to prove this story, the Wicklow family would become rich overnight! The "seventh generation" is said to have come due for the legacy many years past, and solicitors and all kinds of legal investigations in England and Ireland were made - all to no avail! The fire in Dublin and other destructions of records are said to be the fault. So the money still is waiting.

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