Dear Jeannie (or should I say Ms. Ology?) The Hollys were from Stamford, CT and came out in 1714-15 along with Seely, Knapp and other families. A brief article by Roger Joslyn (which I copied but failed to note in what journal it appeared), reports the original will of Samuel Holly of Goshen Precinct, found among the Orange County Court of Common Pleas and other court papers, Box 10424815, County Clerk's office storage. Samuel was born in Stamford, 20 Oct 1704, son of John (Samuel, John). In 1714 his father, John Holly of Stamford, shipwright, purchased a tract in the Wawayanda patent and presumably came out the following April as you note. Samuel wrote his will in 1748, dividing his farm between his sons Ebenezer and Joseph, and also mentioning sons Ezekiel, Salvinis, Samuel and Noah. John Holly, in 1723, had deeded part of his land to his sons, 71 acres to Noah, and 91 acres each to Samuel and Bezaleel, all of Goshen (Deeds B-328-30). In 1764 Ebenezer, weaver, quitclaimed his share to his brother Joseph Deeds C 172). A list of the inhabitants west of the Highlands in Orange County in 1715 included John Holly, Ebenezer Holly, Noah Holly, and Benjamin Holly. Jeanne Majdalany's The Story of the Early Settlers of Stamford, CT 1641-1700, gives an abbreviated genealogy of the Holly family. John Holly, b 1685, d 1724, m 1708 Abigail Hoyt. No brother Ebenezer and no other Ebenezers shown. Majdalany does not list John's children. So where does that leave us. One possibility is that Ebenezer gave his age wrongly at the boundary hearing, or that it was later transcribed wrongly and that he was the son of Samuel. More likely he could be a brother of Samuel but not included in father John's 1723 deed, perhaps because he had already been taken care of. Would a 17-year old be listed among a handful of male inhabitants west of the Highlands in 1715? Can't say. There is a Holly genealogy (maybe more than one) which I don't have. The family has been pretty thoroughly researched and a look at one of the compiled genealogies might give you your answer. Sorry I can't tell you who Ebenezer's father was, but this might help you on your way. Oliver Oliver Popenoe 5 Kassel Court Mamaroneck, NY 10543 Phone: 914-381-3226 Fax: 914-381-0329 Email: oliver@popenoe.com -----Original Message----- From: JKillickbr@aol.com [mailto:JKillickbr@aol.com] Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2000 10:43 AM To: NYORANGE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: Surnames - TUTHILL, SMITH, HOLLY (by smickley@ptd.net) In a message dated 05/31/2000 11:36:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time, smickley@ptd.net writes: << John TUTHILL was possibly the son of John and Temperance SMITH, m. abt. 1752. his sister was Freegift TUTHILL living in Orange County in 1734)>> Yes, your John is a son of JOHN and TEMPERANCE (SMITH) TUTHILL. FREEGIFT TUTHILL was definitely MALE, (as were all others of the same given name). << Who were Temperance SMITH's parents?>> Temperance was a daughter of JAMES SMITH and JERUSHA TOPPING. <Does anyone have more information on Ebenezer Holly?> >From "Proceedings to determine boundaries of the Wawayanda and Cheesecocks Patents", Independent Repulican Printing Company, Goshen NY 1915, p. 17: Ebenezer Holly, of Wawayanda, age 87 (in 1785), "came here with his father in April 1715." Therefore, Ebenezer was born approximately 1698. Unfortunately, his father's name is not stated, and it doesn't say WHERE they came from. Happy hunting, Jeannie-ology : )