margaret lee censullo's Page

--Part Two--

My husband's line goes through Valentine, then Thomas and then through his son Jacob.

I looked into your ancestors William Martin and Terrisa Josephine Hollingsworth Caldwell Martin. That lady had a lot of names! Here is what I found:

1. Josephine Hollingsworth 1st married Jasper Caldwell. He died in 1886. Josephine then marries W.F.H. Martin (born Nov. 1849 - KY) on 11 August 1889 in Pratt Mines, Jefferson County, Alabama. Terrisa Josephine Martin is buried in the Fraternal Cemetery (Also known as: Greenwood Cemetery, Pratt Mines Cemetery, or Sam Foley Cemetery) in Pratt City, Jefferson Co, Alabama. My strong guess is that William Martin is also buried there. The family was living in Pratt City in 1900, and Jospehine continued to live there after William's death.

This cemetery was in terrible ruin for many years and had only in the last decade or so been tended to. There are some folks that have listed Terrisa Josephine Martin on Findagrave.com, but somebody is very mixed up. She actually is listed as three separate people for this cemetery. One of those listings has her married to a "James Martin". This is definitely not correct. The dates on James' headstone are B. 1849 and D. 26 Nov 1884. This also isn't correct. There may have been a James Martin with that death date in that cemetery, but it is not William F.H. Martin. He was alive and well in the 1900 census for Pratt City, Jefferson Co, Alabama. He is dead by 1910.

As far as his death goes, you had given me the year 1908, but I think some folks have confused Josephine's husband with another William H Martin who died in 1908. This William H Martin is also listed on Findagrave.com too, with the death date of 1908, but he is buried with a woman named Samiria in Cullman Co, Alabama. This is not your ancestor. So, here is my best guess. I think your William F.H. Martin is buried in the same cemetery as Josephine, it's just that his headstone either hasn't been read correctly or maybe it is so badly damaged that it is no longer readable. If I were you I would send away for either his will or if he died without a will, I would request a copy of his estate from Jefferson County. It will name heirs and will also give you a better idea about when he died and possibly even where he was buried. Jefferson County has death records going back to 1881, so you could probably write to the courthouse and request a copy of death register entry. Here is a link to everything you ever wanted to know about Jefferson County: https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Jefferson_County,_Alabama_Genealogy#Death

Here are the links to the documents I found for William and Josephine:

1). Marriage Record for:

Josephine Hollingsworth & Jasper Caldwell

Familysearch.org:  https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQJ5-M3T

2). Marriage Record for:

Josephine Caldwell & W.F.H. Martin

Actual image of marriage record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9HV-QF5

I couldn't find a death record for William in the Alabama Death records online, but do try writing to the Courthouse. One other place you could try is a local genealogical or historical society, near Birmingham, Alabama. They often have newspapers, or at the very least, obituaries.

If you would like to chat more you can contact me directly at my e-mail: grandiflorafd@yahoo.com.

Hope this helped!

Tina

Hi Margaret,

Thank you for your note today. I will have to answer you in multiple parts since this box won't let me go over a certain amount of letters.

--Part One --

I married into the Hollingsworth family, but I am EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the family. I am also a professional genealogist, so I can probably set you in the right direction for these folks.

You asked me a few questions, and I think I have answers for all of them. I will go in order.

1. You asked: Do I know why the Hollingsworths went to Ireland. I would say almost certainly it was because they were Quakers. The Quakers were heavily persecuted in England and were sent to Northern Ireland to get them our of England. This website explains it nicely: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/history/20018/our_first_friends,_the_early_quakers/924490.

2. You asked "Why did Thomas go to Delaware?" Well, Valentine Sr. came over to America on or about the same time as William Penn, who was also a Quaker. William was given land by King Charles II to establish a colony in the area in what we now know as Pennsylvania. He was suppose to settle a certain part of Pennsylvania, but when everything was all said and done, the part of Pennsylvania that Valentine and Thomas were in (New Castle) ended up belonging to Delaware. There was very hot disputes over this little piece of land, but in the end the State of Delaware got it. So, it started off as Pennsylvania, but ended up being Delaware. It was not because they moved. Here is a good explanation of the Delaware vs Penn. borders: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_(border).