William Holloway

Ancestor Number

A056827 »

Date of Birth

June 18, 1747

Place of Birth

Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Date of Death

May 10, 1831

Place of Death

Windsor, Kennebec County, Maine

Spouse(s)

Mary Molly Trask

Children

Seth, John, William, Molly, Betsey, Joel, Lydia

American Revolution Service

Private, corporal and sergeant in the Massachusetts Line and private in the Continental Army

State of Service

Massachusetts

Donor

Marta Hallowell Black, Member of the Morristown, NJ Chapter

William Holloway’s earliest proven American ancestor arrived in Plymouth County around 1628.

In January 1775, Holloway left Plymouth County and purchased land abutting a lake in Hallowell, Maine, perhaps intending to trade in furs and timber. News of the Battles of Lexington and Concord apparently caused him to change plans, for he sold the same land a short two years later, in January 1777, while on furlough from the army. He had enlisted describing his occupation as a “mariner,” and it is possible he served under John Glover, rowing people across the Hudson and Delaware Rivers.

A photocopy of his pension application, with the old soldier’s shaky signature at the bottom

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According to his pension records, he was present at West Point, fought in the Battles of Saratoga and Monmouth, and suffered through the winter at Valley Forge.

In 1782 he became ill and was put into the hospital, where he was kept for nearly 12 months. Holloway was furloughed by Dr. McKnight in 1783. His first son, Seth, was born the year he left for war. His second child, John, was born seven years later, bespeaking the long absence he endured from his wife and home.

William Holloway’s earliest proven ancestor was also named William Holloway, and was a proprietor and freeman in Plymouth County. He moved to the growing town of Boston in 1650, where he joined the First Church of Dorchester, which funded the first public school in America. In 1649, according to records, he bought a “house and orchard” on what is now Washington Street, between Bedford and Essex Streets, currently the site of the Chinatown subway station. The location was well situated for business purposes, and he set up a shop as a cloth merchant and tailor. His business prospered, and grew even more under the management of his wife, Elizabeth, after his death. In 1653, he appeared as a witness in a lawsuit against one George Bryant, charged with criminal conspiracy for “taking advantage of the simplicity of Sarah Webb,” a maid. So began many generations of civic service.