Rufus Hollis (b. 1814 in SC ;d. after 1867) is as far back as I can confirm my Hollis line. As I noted elsewhere on this blog/website, I have not yet identified his parents. On the few records that we have, Rufus always indicated his name as Rufus and he went by no other name nor did he use a middle initial; However, Rufus could be a nickname: Back in medieval times, Rufus often referred to a red-headed son. If Rufus was a nickname, then our search becomes even broader because there are a number of different Hollis men that I have found from Fairfield District that have little or no information about them. For example, we know that Moses Jr. had a son named Berryman but there are few records for him.
The earliest known records for Rufus originate in Arkansas and Louisiana and this was the obvious starting place to look for records. I visited the Farmersville, LA courthouse and looked through most of their historical records for the period and found no land records for Rufus. He either was a renter or a sharecropper the entire time he lived in Louisiana. I have not visited the El Dorado, AR courthouse to see if there are any records for him when he was in Arkansas. Note that Union Parish, LA and Union County, AR adjoin one another.
The earliest record for Rufus is his marriage in Union Parish, LA to Nancy Pool in July 1843:
A few observations:
As noted above, Hardy's father,
Walter Pool, can be found on the 1800 & 18100 censuses living fairly close
to the Hollis clan in Fairfield District, SC.
Walter then can be found living in Newton County Georgia on the 1810
census. Then he is shown living in
Walton County Georgia on the 1820 and 1830 censuses. (Note that Walton and
Newton County adjoin one another so he may not have moved or only moved a short
distance.) Interestingly, on the 1830
census Walter now has close neighbors Richard & Minor Gwynn who likely are
also from Fairfield District South Carolina and the census taker misspelled
their names - they are probably descendants of the Winn family for which the
town of Winnsborough/Winnsboro, Fairfield District, South Carolina is named. They might even be the Richard and Minor Winn
shown on the 1820 census for Fairfield District, SC. A Lemuel Wynn was the 1st Sheriff of Newton
County Georgia in 1822.
Based on my limited research, when they lived in Georgia, Walter and Hardy lived on Little Haynes Creek very close to what is now called the Georgia International Horse Park (It was one of the venues used in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games) which is just east of Conyers, Georgia. Note that Big Haynes Creek and Little Haynes Creek form the Newton- Walton County border which likely explains why he is listed on the Walton and Newton County censuses but always living on the same land.
In addition to the marriage documents, Rufus is on the 1850 living in Lapile Township, Arkansas: censuses:
I did find a online record for a land transaction for Hardy K. Poole dated 7-1-1859 in Union County, AR. The land was 40 acres in Section 35, Township 19S, Range 12W. This area is just south of present day Strong, AR and adjoins the Union Parish, LA line. This is consistent with the location of Hardy's grave which is in Section 33 of Township 19S, Range 12W.
(Randymajors.org)
Then on the 1860 census Rufus is shown living in Union Parish, LA:
So, by the time the 1860 census was taken, Rufus has made a short move across the border to Union Parish, LA and his wife Martha appears to have died by this time and Rufus has remarried. The "C. Hollis" shown is Catherine Hollis who is shown on later censuses as his widow so Catherine is likely his 3rd known wife but there is no record of this marriage. On this 1860 census note the "JW Hollis" and "R. Hollis" shown living in Rufus' household. JW is my great grandfather John William Hollis and R is another son Reuben Hollis. The exact date of my great grandfather's birth is 1853 which likely makes him the son of Rufus and Martha Powell. Reuben, however, may be the son of either Rufus and Martha or Rufus and Catherine. Reuben married Lou Simmons and they had a large family. They remained in the Downsville area. Many of his descendants wound up in the Monroe area. I have been in contact with his descendants.
Sometime in the 1850s, Rufus' 2nd known wife Martha Powell Hollis dies and Rufus then marries/cohabitates with Catherine Whitehead; A woman almost 25 years younger. He appears to have had at least 2 children with her: Mary Frances and Thomas. Mary Frances married James Wesley Cox and they had a large family. They remained in the Downsville area for many years. Nothing is known about Thomas. I have been in contact with several descendants of Mary Francis.
Other than the later censuses, there is little information for Catherine. She appears to have been born in Alabama and is the daughter of a Whitehead - her mother is probably the next consecutive listing on the 1860 census. Based on the censuses, she was born about 1836 and died about 1900-1910. Her grave has not been located.
(Ancestry.com)
On the 1900 census, Catherine is living with her daughter Mary Francis and her family in Ward 5. The 5th Ward is likely District 5 which encompassed the Downsville area. Downsville is where Reuben and Mary Francis are buried. Catherine is shown to have been born in 1836 in Alabama. She may have died between 1900 and 1910: When the 1910 census was taken she is not listed.
The last record that I found for Rufus is an 1867 voter registration list for Union Parish, LA. The record does not indicate where he resided in Union Parish but he is listed fairly close to John Gideon Hollis so likely he lived near the town of Marion. On the 1870 census, his widow and children are shown living in the household of Celia Cook in Ward 2. I believe Districts replaced Wards and the Marion area is a part of District 2.
Some have speculated that he died in 1869 but there are no records for that date. He does not appear on the 1870 census. I have visited the area where he is known to have lived and walked numerous cemeteries but found no record of Rufus or of his known wives.
JOHN GIDEON HOLLIS and SAMUEL HOLLIS
One of the more interesting coincidences that I found while researching Rufus Hollis is that he lived near John Gideon Hollis and Samuel Hollis in Union Parish, LA.
John Gideon and Samuel were sons of William Hollis the Revolutionary War soldier. William and his sons removed from Fairfield District SC and went to Autauga County, Alabama in the 1820s. After his father died, John Gideon moved west and arrived in Union Parish, LA in the early 1840s - apparently about the same time as Rufus. John Gideon lived near the town of Marion. His grave and several of his family have been located just south of Marion. Samuel appears to have arrived a little bit later and he settled in Spearsville. Many of the descendants of both of these men still live in the area and scores of their descendants are buried in the cemeteries in and around Union Parish.
I can find no close Hollis ties for Rufus and these 2 Hollis men except that they both appear to be from the Fairfield District area of SC. Based on my yDNA results (see below), I am related to proven descendants of John Gideon and Samuel but not closely related - our shared ancestor is further back in time. Note that John Gideon and Samuel descend through the James Hollis+Sarah Hall line and Rufus appears to descend from the Moses Hollis+Rosannah Hagen line - James and Moses were brothers, sons of John Hollis & Esther Canterbury of Fairfax, VA.
Rufus may have traveled with John Gideon Hollis but likely they had little to do with one another once they arrived in LA because I found no land records or transactions between the men.
DNA Results
At the present time, the best DNA tool for males is the yDNA analysis. The yDNA is only carried by a male therefore it is "handed down" from generation to generation. If I am truly a Hollis, then I would match yDNA with other Hollis men which luckily is the case: Based on my test results, I am related to numerous Hollis men who have proven Hollis ancestors from Fairfield District, SC. Interestingly, I also match yDNA to several Goins/Going/Goyen/Gowin men as well. The Goins/Going/Goyen/Gowin families appear to have had a close relationship with the Hollis families in Fairfield District as well as when they were in Virginia and North Carolina. There probably was an adoption or out-of-wedlock birth that took place prior to 1700. For the sake of my later research, I will focus of course on the Hollis men after about 1750.
My closest Hollis yDNA match is to a proven descendant of Elijah V. Hollis, Jr. and at 25 markers, we are a perfect match. I have other close yDNA matches to Hollis men who are proven descendants of the Fairfield District, SC Hollis clan but they are not as close.
One anomaly with the yDNA: I contacted what I thought was a proven descendant of Rufus' son Reuben and supplied him with a yDNA kit. The results came back as not remotely matching my own yDNA. He also supposedly took the Ancestry.com mtDNA test and again we do not remotely match. The only conclusions that I can surmise about this is that there was an adoption somewhere along the line or there was a problem with the actual sample. I asked him to try to get one of his brother's to test or for him to test again to confirm, but I did not hear anything further from him.
Regarding mtDNA which is a much more general DNA tool (matches male and female), there are at least 3 DNA contributors to the Ancestry.com database that claim to be descended from Rufus who share an mtDNA match with me. I have reviewed their family trees and they appear to be valid lineages. I will document them below keeping their names private. However, one has to be careful in reviewing the mtDNA matches on Ancestry.com because Ancestry.com uses the family trees posted by the users for matches - not the DNA itself. The mtDNA shows that you are related but unlike the yDNA, you do not know the family surname. So an individual might actually match mtDNA on more than one family. Also, the user may have posted incorrect family tree information. I think that Ancestry.com is working on this but it may be years before it is resolved.
The strongest mtDNA match that I have is with a elderly female from the Downsville, LA area who is descended from Rufus Hollis' daughter Mary Francis. I have researched her lineage thoroughly and I cannot find any other family where we might be closely related.
There are a couple more matches also via Rufus' daughter Mary Francis and one match through Rufus' son Reuben. There are also several matches with other Hollises but no conclusions about these since they may also match my mtDNA on other families.
I am almost 100% sure that Rufus Hollis is the father of my great grandfather John William Hollis.
I do not have any substantive proof of the parents of Rufus Hollis - All I have is speculation based on yDNA results of a few Hollis men and myself, a few old photos and my knowledge of the history of the Hollis clan.
This page is a work in progress - please check back.
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[1] He was the administrator for his father's estate in 1833 in Newton County, GA.
[2] He might be the Hardy Pool shown on the 1820 census for Jefferson County, GA.
(This page was updated on 4/25/2023)