Campbell County, Georgia no longer exists. The area that was Campbell County is now mostly in the present day counties of Douglas and Fulton.
The Hollis men that lived in this area are of great interest to my research due to the fact that two of these men lived in the same area where my great grandfather later lived (now northern Douglas County). Although my great grandfather was born in Louisiana, he appears to have moved to Douglas County in the mid 1870s, married a girl from the area and raised his family there. My father and his father were both born in Douglas County (Douglasville) in that same general area. This area is very close to the southern border of Paulding County and the old community of "Dark Corner" - the Dark Corner community has a rich history. The families of Weddington, McKelvey, McClung, Van Zant and others made their homes here. My Dorris and Clements ancestors were early settlers of the area and later my Davis ancestors lived in the same area. On the 1860 census, my great grandmother's parents (Milton L. Davis and Sarah Elizabeth Dorris Davis) are shown living in the Dark Corner area. Today, the area that was Dark Corner is just to the east of the town of Winston along Highway 78. To see maps of the Dorris land, visit this page.
Three Hollis men arrived in old Campbell County in the early to mid 1800s: Elias, Joseph and Thomas. All three of these Hollis men are shown on the early censuses in old Campbell County, GA. Elias and Joseph appear to have arrived early and Thomas M. Hollis arrived a bit later. Elias does not appear to have lived in the same area as my own Hollis ancestors but Joseph and Thomas do appear to have lived very close. I do have a few fairly close mtDNA matches that claim to be descended from Elias Hollis' son Samuel P. Hollis. Thus far in my research, I cannot connect these men (Elias, Thomas and Joseph) with one another nor can I connect them to my own family.
ELIAS HOLLIS
Elias first appears on the censuses in 1830 living in Campbell County, GA. I did find a newspaper record for him dated in 1834 for DeKalb County where a letter remained for him at the Decatur post office. And there is a record for him owning land in Gwinnett County, GA (Land Lot 226, 6th District). Today, this lot is very close to I-85 and Beaver Ruin Road.[1] He also is shown in a land lottery record for 1823 where he is shown to be living in TIPPENS DISTRICT of Gwinnett. Tippens District is where many notable families lived who later became residents of Atlanta (Collier, Ezzard, Winn, etc.) - My paternal Clements ancestors lived there as well. Note that Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties were the westernmost edge of the Georgia frontier in the 1820s. Lands west of the Chattahoochee River were still largely unsettled by white Europeans.
Elias married Rebecca Green in Campbell County in 1832. Based on the censuses, Elias was born about 1800 in SC. Elias does not appear to have lived close to my Hollis ancestors: My Hollis ancestors lived in present day southern Paulding County and northern Douglas County; Elias appears to have lived near present day Fairburn in Fulton County. Elias did own land in present day Haralson County but he doesn't appear to have lived on that land. Haralson adjoins Douglas County and it this area was a part of Campbell County.
Rebecca Green's father appears to be Shadrach Green who is likely the Shadrach Green that is shown on the 1820 census for Hall County, GA and the same Shadrach that is shown living in the Pendleton District of SC on the 1810 census. Shadrach Green was an early surveyor for old Campbell County and his name can be found on a historic marker in downtown Fairburn. Interestingly, on the 1820 census for Pendleton there is a Jacob Hollis (age 45+) and a Marshal Hollis (age 16-25) shown living fairly close together. I found nothing on either of these men (Jacob and Marshal) nor any connection to Elias; However, many of the Pendleton families followed the same migration trails from Pendleton into northern Georgia.
One of the sons of Elias and Rebecca (James J. Hollis) later lived in the town of Douglasville Georgia and he is buried about 100 yards away from my own Hollis ancestors in the city cemetery.
Anecdotal evidence from other researchers claim that Elias was the son of Leander Johnston and that she was a Hollis that married a Hollis. I do not know where this claim started but the only record found for Leander is an estate document for Rosannah Hollis, widow of Moses, where a Leander Johnston shares an equal portion of the estate residual of Rosannah presumably making Leander the daughter of Moses+Rosannah. If this is true, Leander would not have children named Hollis. While this does not preclude Leander from being married to a Hollis before marrying a Johnston, there is absolutely nothing in the records found to indicate that she was married twice. She was not noted in her father's estate (Moses) in 1794 so she likely would have been a minor at that time.
Also, some researchers claim that Leander is a male's name and the husband was Leander Johnston. This theory doesn't "fit" if one examines the actual estate documents of her mother Rosannah in 1819 (see below) where her daughters are listed with their married names. Daughters Jemimah Smith and Margaret Patterson are listed and at the bottom grandchildren are also listed. Nowhere is a husband listed in this accounting.
In either case, Leander would not have children with the surname of Hollis unless of course she married a Hollis male. Again, we have no proof of this.
THOMAS M. HOLLIS
Thomas' middle name appears to have been Merrimon or something similar sounding. Thomas is an extremely interesting study because he lived within a few miles of my Dorris, Clements and Hollis families. The area was called Dark Corner back in the mid 1800s and today it is a small area of northwestern Douglas County. If one looks at the 1840 census, Thomas is shown living very close to the McLarty, McClung and Weddington families. These families all remained in the area for many generations with many becoming leading citizens of Douglas County when it was formed in 1870. In fact, Reuben McClung is buried in the same cemetery as my paternal Dorris 3rd and 2nd great grandparents. Reuben McClung was in Gwinnett County before moving to Campbell County - he was a Justice of the Inferior Court in Gwinnett. Other than the geographical association and the fact that they were all Methodists, the only other association that I can find for Thomas is that he may be descended from the Fairfield Hollis clan due to the fact that his wife (Violet Clinton) appears to be from the Kershaw District of SC. Her father was the Revolutionary War soldier William Clinton and he is shown on the early censuses for Kershaw District. There are Hollises that lived in Kershaw District but it is not known if they lived near the Clintons - the early Kershaw censuses were listed alphabetically. William Clinton also made his way to Campbell County, Georgia along with most of his family.
On the 1850 census, Thomas is shown to have been born in SC yet I found no records for him prior to the Georgia censuses (1840-1870). However, there is a "Manuel Hollis" shown for the 1830 census for Fairfield District, SC of the correct age. Thomas is listed on the 1840 census as Merriman and the 1870 census as Lamar. To my knowledge, no one has sufficiently identified the "Manual Hollis" shown on the 1830 census to include or exclude him from being Thomas M. Hollis. The only clues on the 1820 census are his close neighbors Peter Hollis & Moses Knighton. Peter is the son of Moses Jr. and Moses Knighton was the administrator of Moses Jr's estate. However, there is no Manuel or Thomas Hollis listed in the estate records for Moses Jr. There is a Berryman Hollis that was a son of Moses Jr. [4]
In Georgia, Thomas first appears on the censuses in 1840 for Campbell County where he is listed as Merriman Hollis. Then on the 1850 census he is still listed in Campbell County under the name Thomas M. Hollis. By 1860, he is still in Campbell county listed as Thomas Hollis. Sometime in the 1860s, he apparently moved a few miles away to the Austell/Powder Springs area of Cobb County, GA where is is listed on the 1870 census as Lamar Hollis. He died sometime before the 1880 census was taken. His widow Violet is shown on the 1880 census still living in the Austell/Powder Springs area.
Per the 1850 census, he had one daughter that was born about 1833 in SC and another born in GA in 1837, thus we have a rough timeframe for when he moved to GA from SC.
William P. Clinton, the brother-in-law of Thomas M. Hollis, is shown living in Campbell County, GA on the 1830 census. He does not appear to be married. Interestingly, the Joseph Hollis I discuss below is shown living fairly close to William P. Clinton (20 total pages of names - 4 pages separate them).
On the 1850 census, a Mary Hollis, age 35 is shown living in Thomas' household. This Mary could be his sister, a cousin or a widow of a deceased brother of Thomas'.
The most interesting fact about Thomas M. Hollis is that he lived in the same area as my Clements, Dorris and Hollis ancestors lived - Dark Corner, now northwestern Douglas County. The noted Methodist Minister J.B.C. Quillian who handled the funeral for my 3rd great grandfather Rev. John M. Dorris, is shown living practically next door to Thomas M. Hollis on the 1870 census (Powder Springs area).
Reuben McClung is another fairly close neighbor to Thomas Hollis and he is buried in the same cemetery as Rev. John M. Dorris (Sweetwater Baptist Church) and his wife Elizabeth Clements (my 3rd great grandparents) and their daughter Sarah Elizabeth Dorris Davis (my 2nd great grandmother).
We also have several of the Winn family that were close neighbors: Lorenzo, Francis, Galaness and others.
From what I can tell, many of these families were devout Methodists.
Click here for information on the descendants of Thomas M. Hollis and Violet Clinton.
JOSEPH HOLLIS
Other than the 1830 census for Joseph, I found no records for him. This name may have been a typo by the census taker or he may have somehow avoided leaving any sort of a paper trail. Based on the 1830 census, he has a rather large family with numerous males. He is shown to be 40-50 (born 1780-1790).
Note that he is not shown to be living close to Elias Hollis (above). However, there is a Thomas Willingham shown living close and Thomas he might be the Thomas Willingham that married Elizabeth Baggett in 1829. Elizabeth might be related to Stephen Baggett [2](1784-1877) that lived and died in Winston, Douglas County, Georgia - this area the Dark Corner District. If true, this might place Joseph Hollis living in the same area as Thomas Merrimon Hollis (1840, 1850 & 1860 censuses) and then later John William Hollis (1880 and later censuses) who is my great grandfather. The Baggett family is detailed in the book "The History of Dark Corner, Campbell County, Georgia" by John B. Bailey.
One the 1840 census, Stephen Baggett can be found living in District 784 of Campbell County. Also now living in District 784 on the 1840 census are several of the same names shown on the 1830 census shown living near Joseph Hollis (Crow, Wilkerson, Camp for example).[3] Thomas M. Hollis is shown in District 730 and Elias Hollis is in District 652. It is clear from the maps below that Joseph Hollis and Thomas M. Hollis lived fairly close to one another while Elias Hollis did not live near these other Hollis men. Not the proximity of these districts to Douglasville, where my great grandfather lived. In fact, District 730 includes the town of Douglasville which is where my immediate Hollis (father, grandfather, aunts, uncles, cousins) family lived.
One interesting item with the Baggett family is that they were apparently living in Walton County, Georgia when the 1820 census was taken and the name Alexander Going can be found living fairly close to them on this census. The Going family of Fairfield District, SC is discussed elsewhere but it is an interesting coincidence because Walter Pool and his son Hardy, also of Fairfield District, SC, are also living in Walton County at this time. Alexander is shown living close to Walter and Hardy on the 1830 census for Newton County, GA. They likely lived near the Walton/Newton County line. Note that it was Walter Pool's son Hardy K. Poole that wound up living practically next door to Rufus Hollis in Arkansas on the 1850 census. Strange coincidence indeed. It is also likely that Rufus' 1st wife (Nancy Pool) is related to Walter and Hardy K. Pool. Hardy K. Pool and Rufus Hollis may have traveled together to Louisiana in the early 1840s.
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[1] In the book The History of Gwinnett County, GA, this lot is also listed as having been sold to a Jesse Hollis. I cannot explain this anomaly unless if was a typo made somewhere along the way or perhaps Elias' middle name was Jesse.
[2] The late Joe Baggett (1949-2002) was a noted historian of Douglas County. He wrote a book entitled "Who's Who In Douglas County" which details many of the frontier Douglas County families. He likely is a descendant of Stephen.'
[3] According to John B. Bailey in his book, "The History of Dark Corner", there were a few marriages with Baggetts, Willinghams and Camps. Stephen Baggett had a son named Jackson Baggett (CSA died at Chancellorsville) whose wife Nancy is buried in the Sweetwater Cemetery where several of my Dorris/Clements ancestors are buried. My great great grandmother Dorris is buried there - the mother of Josephine Davis who married John William Hollis (my great grandparents).
[4] Noted in the estate documents as a named child along with 6 other children: Brunson, Mouncy, Elijah V., Peter, Rosannah & Moses.
(This page was updated on 12/8/2022)