Col. Henry Hollingsworth papers, 1781-1800

The collection primarily consists of papers of Col. Henry Hollingsworth (1737-1803) and his descendents relating to land owned in Cecil County, Maryland and in Newcastle County, Delaware. Materials include correspondence, land deeds, and land plats. There are papers relating to: Col. Henry Hollingsworth (1737-1803); his wife Jane Evans Hollingsworth (1760–1835); his brothers Zebulon Hollingsworth, Jr. (1735–1812) and Levi Hollingsworth (1739–1824); his children Mary Hollingsworth (1772-1850), William Hollingsworth (1773-1817), Hannah Hollingsworth Partridge (1782-1844), Elizabeth Hollingsworth (b. 1785), Ann Hollingsworth Talley (b. 1787), and Henry Hollingsworth, Jr. (b. 1790).

There are papers relating to Hannah Hollingsworth Partridge's husband James Partridge and her son John (1810-1898) as well as papers of Mary Hollingsworth's (1772-1850) second husband Frisby Henderson (1767-1845). As Mary Hollingsworth first married John Gilpin (1765-1808) there are also some papers of Gilpin descendents such as John Gilpin, William H. Gilpin, Thomas H. Gilpin (d. 1908) and John P. Cochran.

The papers pertaining to most family members are small in number and are usually incoming letters from family members or legal papers. Exceptions are Henry Hollingsworth, Jr. (b. 1790), John Partridge, and William H. Gilpin.

Henry Hollingsworth, Jr. appeared to have worked for Cecil County as a clerk and an auditor and many of his papers (1806-1838) are copies of legal documents used in various types of land transactions. John Partridge's papers (1835-1860) deal with the sale of lands and his mercantile business in Elkton, Maryland. Partridge also kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings and notes (1845-1852) on water power. William H. Gilpin's papers (1862-1898) deal mainly with the collection of bounties by Maryland soldiers who enlisted in Maryland regiments during the Civil War. Gilpin apparently acted as an agent for a group of soldiers, and the papers include correspondence, legal opinions, and lists of soldiers seeking bounties.

Land papers, deeds and plats, are a large part of the collection. Hollingsworth family land papers cover the period 1687-1861 and deal with land in Cecil County, Maryland and Newcastle County, Delaware. There is another group of land papers dealing with land in Newcastle County, Delaware. These are from the period 1866-1895, and the principal owner appears to be John P. Crawford, father-in-law of Thomas H. Gilpin (1847-1879).

There are five letters relating to Republican politics of the period 1800-1811. All but one appear to have been collected by someone in the collection. On December 3, 1800 John Gilpin wrote to Col. Henry Hollingsworth from Annapolis about the electoral votes for the presidential election and the possibility of Jefferson's election. There is an 1801 letter from Dewitt Clinton introducing journalist and Republican supporter James Cheetham (1772-1810) to James Madison. A letter (1808) from Republican William Eustis (1753-1825) while he was secretary of war mentions negotiations between France and Russia. There are two letters written to Richard Cutts. One in November 1803 from John Langdon (1741-1819) comments on the current session of Congress and the possible appointment of Jeremiah Clark as collector for the port of New York. Cutts' other letter is from Henry Dearborn (1751-1829) then collector for the port of Boston in which he explains a controversial act in connection with the position.