Hollands of Jackson and Calhoun counties, Florida
Descendant List
Related Census Extract - PDF file - 92KB
Not much is known about this family, except that they began moving to Jackson County between 1880 and 1900 (possibly before 1892, when Almeda Holland married there). The ones mentioned here all appear to be children of Joseph E/P/H Holland of Colquitt and Mitchell County, Georgia. Joseph has different initials depending on the census, assuming they are all the same person, as they seem to be. However, some doubt arises because of the young age of the children who moved to Jackson while their father stayed in Mitchell County. Joseph Holland appears to be a son of John Thomas, a son of Eli Holland. See Alvin Holland's page for more information on Eli and his brother Enos.
Eli and Enos had both been in Colquitt County in 1860, but by 1870, Eli and his presumed son John Thomas had moved across the line to Mitchell County, where, coincidentally, Mary J Gray's son Andrew Jackson also turns up in 1870 instead of in Geneva County, Alabama, where he and the rest of his family had migrated from Worth County before the war. A J Gray moved on to Berrien County on the opposite side of Colquitt before 1880 when his brother Daniel J also appears in Mitchell County a few miles west of where Eli and John Thomas lived.
Wiley Eli Holland is enumerated in Jackson County in 1900 along with his brother Charlie T., while two other brothers are enumerated in Mitchell County in the household of their father, who had remarried about 1888. It is not known how long Charlie and Eli had been there, but an Edy Almeda Holland who may be their sister was married in Jackson in 1892. If she is the same person who is listed in their 1880 household in Mitchell County, then she would have been only about 18 in 1892. Why would she have been in Florida without her father? Her brother Charlie was about 20-21 in 1892, if the 1880 Mitchell census age is correct. Her brother Eli was only about 13. His age was given as 16 in 1900, but he was 1 year old on the 1880 Mitchell census.
By 1910, Joseph had also arrived in Jackson County, but he was boarding in someone else's house, not living with any of his children. By 1920, he had moved in with Eli in nearby Calhoun County. Mary J Gray's son Daniel J had also moved from Mitchell County, Georgia, to Calhoun County by 1900. His widow's pension application said they had moved there in Dec of 1892 or 1894. Eli lived in Blountstown and Daniel J Gray lived a few miles west of there at Pippins Mill, near Clarksville, which is about 25 miles south of Marianna in Jackson County.
By 1930, Eli had moved back to Jackson County to the town of Sneads, where his brother David also lived. From Sycamore in Gadsden County, where Susan/Suannah Holland lived, down to Blountstown is less than 25 miles. From Blountstown to Sneads is also less than 25 miles. From Sneads down to Sycamore is only about 15 miles - a neat little triangle. Of course, Suannah was dead by the time these other Hollands arrived, but she left family in Sycamore.
Maybe it is all coincidence that these Hollands and Grays are in the same places at the same times, but it seems too much coincidence to ignore. It seems to me that these people are dancing around together, but I cannot find any conclusive link. It is to be hoped that someone researching one of these families will see this report and be able to shed some light on possible connections among them.
