William Holdridge (1763-1803) and
Lavinia Bailey (c. 1763 - c. 1797)

4. WILLIAM HOLDRIDGE, son of William3 and Unknown, was born 2 March 1763 in probably, South Carolina,[1] and died between 6 August and 19 October, 1803 in Laurens County, South Carolina[2]. He married (1) about 1786, in South Carolina, LAVINIA LEVIECEY2 BAILEY, who was born about 1763, in South Carolina, and died between 1791 and 1797, in Laurens County, South Carolina, widow of William Holcombe,[3] and daughter of William1 Bailey and Ann[4]. After Lavinia's death,[5] he married (2) MARY POLLARD, daughter of Unknown, who died before August 1803 in Laurens County, South Carolina.[6]

William Holdridge fought in the Revolution, first serving militia duty in the area of Ninety Six District as private before the reduction of Charlestown,[7] which occurred in 1780. Then he served ten months in 1781 in the State troops under the command of General Thos Sumpter, in the company Commanded by Capt. William Smith.[8]

William Holdridge married Lavinia V. Bailey, sister to James, William and Zachariah Bailey. She was a neighbor and the recent widow of William Zones Holcomb, son of Grimes Holcombe, who died about 1786 "in his 33rd year of life leaving the above widow and five small children". The children of William Holcombe and Lavinia were Grimes, Philemon, Thomas and two unknown. [9]

William Holdridge is enumerated in the 1790 US Census, Laurens County, South Carolina. Names of family members are not included in the early census, but if we place known children of William Houlditch and the five children of Lavinia Bailey from her first marriage to William Holcombe in the categories, the family composition matches that in the census. One free white male 16 and over [William], five males under 16 [Grimes Holcombe, Philemon Holcombe, Thomas Holcombe, James Holdridge, George Holdridge], four females [wife Lavinia, daughter Lavinia, Unknown Holcombe, Unknown Holcombe]. [10]

He witnessed this deed between 08 Sep 1791 and 14 Oct 1791: Wm. Bailey Jr. and wife Margaret to James Bailey for L20 sterling, 100 acres on Little River where said James now lives, original grant to William Bailey deceased, bordering on Samuel Powel. Witness: William Houlditch, Zachariah Bailey, Andrew Rodgers Jr., Joshua Saxon JP.[11]

On November 1, 1791 Ann Bailie and William Holdritch sold land in Orange County, North Carolina, "Ann Baylie and Wm Holdritch of Lawrence [Laurens] Co., SC to James Wood of Orange for $100, 225 acres on both sides of Allibees [Ellerbees] Creek". [12] The names John Bailey and William Bailey, but no Houlditch, were found in an index of Orange Co. N.C. Land Grant Records, 1752-1885 [13]. Those search results and the following reference to land bordering William Bailey indicate that the land in question was originally Bailey land, not Houlditch: "Oct 6, 1778 Richard Clements enters 600 ac in Orange Co on waters of Ellebys Cr of Nuce River, border: on E. by the entry made by Robt Abercromble & Richard Clements, on S by the land of Wm Bailey & Lewis Howell, on N by Wm Crisen Hall, & W.; includes his improvement: warrant issued Feb 4, 1779. [14]

William Holdridge is enumerated in the 1800 US Census, Captain William Burnsides Company, Laurens County, South Carolina. The family composition has changed. Three of the older males are not there [Grimes, Philemon, and Thomas Holcombe have come of age]. Lucy, age 4, and Mary, age 7, are not accounted for. Two free white males under 10 [William and Zachariah], two free white males 10-16 [George and James], one free white male of 26-45 [William]; two free white females 10-16 [Unknown Holcombe stepdaughter, and daughter Levina], one 16-26 [unknown Holcombe stepdaughter], and one free white female 45 and over, probably second wife Mary Pollard. [15] The marriage date of William Houlditch to Mary Pollard has not been proven, so it is not clear which children are those of Lavinia and which are those of Mary. But since Lucy and Mary are not living in the home in 1800, and Zachariah was already two years old, these youngest girls were probably the children of Lavinia, sent to live with relatives after her death, and remained with these relatives even after William's remarriage.

William Holdridge died in 1803, naming James, Lavina, George Washington, William, Mary, Lucy, and Zachariah in his will. He apparently was a widower by then as he named no wife in his will, and he named guardians for the five minor children, George Washington, William, Mary, Lucy, and Zachariah. [16]

Children of William Holdridge and, most likely, Lavinia Bailey:

  1. James5 Holdridge
  2. Levina Holdridge, b., probably in Laurens County, 10 April 1787
  3. William Holdridge, b., probably in Laurens County, 15 April 1789; d. in Sumter County, Alabama, ca. 1839; m., probably in Laurens County, ca. 1813, Frances Berton
  4. George Washington Holdridge, b. in Laurens County, 15 February 1792; d. 22 July 1862 in Tardeyville, Pontotoc County, Mississippi; m. Jane Finley 29 May 1817, probably in Laurens County
  5. Mary Holdridge, b. in Laurens County, 5 April 1793; d. in McCalla, Jefferson Co., Alabama, 1871; m. John Hall, probably in Laurens County, about 1808
  6. Lucy Holdridge, b. in Laurens County, 19 November 1796; d. in Buncombe County, North Carolina; m. Enoch Ducker; children William H. Ducker, James Ducker, Mary E. Ducker, Henry Milton Ducker, Lavinia Ducker, John Hogan Ducker, Sarah I. Ducker, Hezekiah S. Ducker

Children of William Holdridge and, most likely, Mary Pollard:

  1. Zachariah Holdridge, b. in Laurens County, 11 September 1798; d., probably in Baker County, Alabama, 1880; m., probably in Laurens County, about 1820, Sarah Martin Caldwell
  1. Brent Holcombe, "Holditch Bailey Bible Record," South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. XVI (Spring 1988)
  2. William Houlditch will (proven October 19, 1803), Laurens County Will Book C-1, page 74
  3. William Holcum, pay indent (sergeant in the SC militia); Accounts Audited of Claims Out of the Revolution in South Carolina; file #3680; South Carolina Archives Microcopy no. 8; (Scholarly Resources Inc.: Columbia, SC, 1976)
  4. Hannah E. McPherson, The Holcombes Nation Builders (Washington, D.C.: Publisher not given, 1947)
  5. Cynthia Holdridge Smith, Proof Summary: "Wives of William Houlditch", 2008; online
  6. William Houlditch will (proven October 19, 1803), Laurens County Will Book C-1, page 74. No wife was named in the will and guardians were named for the minor children.
  7. William Holdridge, pay indent (private in the SC militia); Accounts Audited of Claims Out of the Revolution in South Carolina; file #3685; South Carolina Archives Microcopy no. 8; (Scholarly Resources Inc.: Columbia, SC, 1976)
  8. William Holdridge, pay indent (private in the SC State Troops, Captain Wm Smith's company, Thomas's regiment, Gen. Sumter's brigade); Accounts Audited of Claims Out of the Revolution in South Carolina; file #3685; South Carolina Archives Microcopy no. 8; (Scholarly Resources Inc.: Columbia, SC, 1976)
  9. Hannah E. McPherson, The Holcombes Nation Builders (Washington, D.C.: Publisher not given, 1947)
  10. William Holdridge household, 1790 U.S. Census, Laurens County, South Carolina, page 74
  11. Sara M. Nash, Abstracts of Early Records of Laurens Co., SC, 1785-1820 (No place: Fountain Inn, 1982), page 63 of Early Records, page 61 of Deed Book D
  12. Orange Co., NC Deed Book 4, pp.89-90. There was an Ellerbees Creek in Claremont Co., SC, present day Sumter Co.
  13. Orange County Land Grant Records 1752-1885, Surname Catalogue H and B, photocopied by Diane Mundle and mailed to me, January 2, 2006
  14. Orange County, NC, Miscellaneous Deeds 1778-1795, online http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nc/orange/deeds/how0002.txt, no. 701
  15. William Holdridge household, 1800 U.S. Census, Laurens County, South Carolina, Captain William Burnsides Company, page 32
  16. William Houlditch will (proven October 19, 1803), Laurens County Will Book C-1, page 74