Benjamin Hollowell (1659 - 1704)

Born 28 Feb 1659 in Chuckatuck, Nansemond County, Virginia

Husband of Elinor (Powell) Hollowell — married 1679 in Norfolk, Virginia

Descendants

Died 14 Apr 1704 at age 45 in Norfolk, Virginia

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Biography

Benjamin was a Friend (Quaker)

Benjamin (also spelled "Beniamine" in the Quaker Record^[1]) Hollowell, the sixth child and of Thomas Hollowell, Sr. and Alice was born on 28 Feb 1659 in Virginia.^[2][3]

Further Background

Benjamin's parents were of the Quaker faith, Society of Friends: both are listed in the Chuckatuck monthly meeting records of Nansemond, Virginia, where they attended church. Their children's birth and their deaths are recorded in the same records.

He was a grower of grains and tobacco and had an apple orchard, dairy barns, plenty of wooded land, a tide mill, near a waterway, an all-around good piece of land, on a main county road from Suffolk to Norfolk and on to Carolina.

When Thomas Hollowell acquired the property it was in “Lower Norfolk County,” which later became Norfolk County, and then the City of Chesapeake. The mouth of Sedge Creek where it joins Broad Creek may be at most two miles from the Elizabeth River, Western Branch. Broad Creek (now Bailey Creek) is on Elizabeth River. The Western boundary of his property would be approximately a mile from the now Suffolk city line, not Nansemond County. Land deeds and maps show the property the Hollowell homestead was located. Much of his farm is in what is now the Western Branch Park just southwest of the Chesapeake Squire Mall. (Land description from Jimmie Whedbee)

Virginia Colonial Land Office Patents, 1623-1774

To all and whoever?----Know ye that I the said Henry Checkoby?, duputy governor do give and grant unto Thomas Hollowell, Sr., 650 acres of land lying on the Northern side of the Western Branch of Elizabeth River in the county of Lower, Norfolk, Va. beginning at the marked pine upon Broad Creek and running by the Creek west by north 58 degrees on the said Creek NW 64 and thence on the said Creek NW by W, 50 chains, then on the said Creek west NW 136 poles, etc. to a white oak in his own line, thence SE to first station, four hundred fifty acres of the said land being formerly granted to the said Thomas Hollowell by patent bearing date 18, March 1662, the remainder two hundred acres being by and for the transportation of four person to this country [from England].

Death and Legacy

No place of burial is mentioned. Benjamin was most likely buried on his own land, as was the practice then, or at least nearby in that area. The Quakers often kept the burial sites unknown and no stones, but did keep good written records. Benjamin died while living at his homestead and his wife Alice outlived him about 13 years. Their son John inherited the Hollowell homestead.

Research Notes

• Another Thomas Hollowell listing in Cool Springs Cemetery is not a match, as that cemetery did not exist until 1895-1900. Thomas died 1687 and Cool Springs was far from his homestead. A volunteer who knew the area was asked to go and search for this headstone or information on that cemetery. His findings: They also reported, specifically: You're right Linda... this would be a stretch since the cemetery didn't exist until about 1895 donated from farmland. The general problem they reported is: The Cemetery office has NO record of this person. A memorial for Thomas Hollowell at that cemetery where the burial can not possibly exist. Cemetery records state there were no existing burials at that time. The problem being, we keep getting photo requests which we both know can't be done for a non-existent burial. NOTE: There will not be any photos of this private Cemetery and most likely no stone or markers. A family plot. Quakers typically did not place headstones or markers.
• Other spelling found in records..Holwell, Holliwel, Hallowell, Haliwel, Halliway, Holloway, etc.
• Vikki Hollowell Highfield Hollowell site

Sources

1. ↑ White. 2008, p. 36.
2. ↑ Benjamin's date of birth is recorded as "28th of 12 mo. 1659." Prior to 1752 in England and in the Colonies, dates were using the Julian calendar, in which the year began on March 25. That means that "1st month" referred to March, and "12th month" referred to February. So this date is most likely the 28th day of February, not the 28th day of December. Confusing, right?
3. ↑ Hinshaw records Hollowell, Thomas, of Elizabeth River & Alise, parents of Benjamin, born 1659, 12, 28 (among 10 children): Hinshaw, William Wade; Marshall, Thomas Worth; and Brown, Douglas Summers, ed. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. VI, Chuckatuck Monthly Meeting. 1950, p. 30. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Edwards Brothers, Inc.

• White, Miles, Jr. (compiler) Early Quaker Records in Virginia. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company. 2008.
• Hollowell, Lucy Elliott. The Hollowells. Jun 1969. Woodland, North Carolina: Self-published.

Acknowledgements

Some of the above reproduces secondary sourcing compiled by Bonnie Hamilton at Ladd, Reed, Cook, Engle, Hamilton, Lennon Ancestors, updated 2 Dec 2017, accessed 17 Dec 2018. Given the concordance with other compiled data, this profile has been updated.