Joseph4 Hollingsworth, son of Joseph3 and Martha (Houghton) Hol-
ingsworth is a puzzling human being! to put it mildly.  In writing
this article about him, we are stepping carefully, as if over a bed
loaded with land mines, lest we set off a charge which might only add
to the confusion.  In HR Vol. 2, page 46, we probably made an error
of confusion about him.  We stated that he died Sept. 10, 1792 age 54.
This date is in Bush River Quaker Records (HR Vol. 1, p. 22) but it
probably refers to Joseph5 son of George4 and Hannah McCoy Hollings-
worth.  One thing we should stipulate here, though, is, that in Stew-
art's "Descendants of Valentine Hollingsworth, Sr." pages 6 and 41,
Joseph5 is so stated to be George's son.  This is the only authority
which we have.  (Also on p. 41 Hollingsworth Genealogical Memoranda,
1884.)  It occurred to us that Joseph4 son of Joseph and Martha (Hough-
ton) Hollingsworth might easily be confused with this son of George!
More investigation is needed, however.

    Our subject was born probably after 1741, in Frederick County,
Virginia.  He died about 1796, near Tyger River, Union District,
South Carolina, aged about 55.  His estate was opened in Union Dist-
rict June 1, 1796.  His Administratrix was his (?second?) wife, Lydia,
whose maiden name is believed to be Lydia Comer, or Comber.  Though
the papers filed in (Box 2, package 63) this Estate file are in some
ways helpful, no relationships or names of heirs are given.  (HR Vol. 3
p. 65 item 1.)  Among buyers of the personal estate were Joseph Comer,
and Daniel, Isaac, Levy and Lydia Hollingsworth.

    Hopewell Meeting of Quakers, Orange & Frederick Counties, Vir-
ginia (HR Vol. 2, pp. 99, 100) gives us some help via the Minutes of 
the meeting, which show that: "10th month (October, New Style) 5, 1767,
Joseph Hollingsworth condemned for marriage, out of unity with Friends
with recommendations from his neighbours in Carolina..."(Tattletales!)
This entry probably refers to our subject, as distinguished from his
cousin Joseph5 son of George, in that Joseph5 did not receive a cert-
ificate for Bush River until Feb. 1, 1768, in good standing.  We know
that Joseph3 Hollingsworth, whose wife was Martha Houghton, had come
to Hopewell in 1741 but had gone to Anson County, North Carolina, be-
fore 4 Sept., 1753, at which time Joseph3 had received a land grant
from the Governor of North Carolina. (HR Vol. 2 p. 118 item 55.)  This
Joseph died about 1757.  Therefore we are not dealing with him.  If a
third Joseph is injected here, it might contaminate our theories and
this must be more carefully investigated, but it seems likely that
our subject, Joseph Jr., had married his first wife shortly before the
Quaker minute dated Oct. 5, 1767.

    His second marriage seems to be more clearly discernible.  Minute
of Cane Creek Meeting, Guilford County, North Carolina (HR Vol. 1, p.
126) indicates "LYDIA HOLLINGSWORTH, (formerly COMBER) disowned for
marriage out of unity with Friends, Minute dated Dec. 6, 1783."  This
means Lydia, formerly a member in good standing, had been disowned for
marriage to 'one not a Quaker,' which fits Joseph, who, as you see,
had himself been excommunicated for his first marriage.  The name of 
Lydia as this Joseph's wife appears not only in his Estate records,
but in the Richmond County, Georgia, Deeds and the Head-Right Land
Grants (for latter, see HR Vol. 3,p. 60 item 9) for Georgia as well.

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