Thomas HOLLOWELL

                   NOTE:
      There is much discussion as to whether Thomas' first two children were born in Virginia or in England.  The general concensus seems to be that they were born in England and come over with their mother after Thomas was already in Virginia.  There is further detail of what is known about Thomas and Alice in PAF Notes.



In April, 1649 Thomas Hollowell and his family, then consisting of himself, his wife, and two children, were transported to Virginia by Stephen Gill. They settled on the west side of the Western Branch of Elizabeth River, and he was known as Thomas Hollowell of Elizabeth River.He was granted three patents for 650 acres of land on the west side of Western Branch. The first for 300 acres was dated January 11, 1652; the second for 150 acres was dated March 18, 1662; and the third for 650 acres (including and confirming the above 450 acres) was dated September 21, 1680, for transporting a total of seventeen persons.When the Society of Friends came into Virginia in 1656, the family left the Church of England and became members of the Society. Both Thomas Hollowell and his wife were ministers in the Quaker faith, and were active members of the Chuckatuck Monthly Meeting.Thomas Hollowell died March 25, 1687, and his will was proved in court May 17, 1687 in Lower Norfolk County, Colony of Virginia. It is now on file at the new Chesapeake Civic Center, Great Bridge, Virginia (Book 5, file 22, Norfolk County).------------He was transported to the colony of Virginia on the ship Constant by Stephen Gill of York Co., VA in 1647. In 1672, he was mentioned by George Fox in a letter written from the Elizabeth River Friends at "Nansemun" who were setting up a men's quarterly meeting at John Fowler's or Thomas Hollowell's." Thomas made his will 13 Mar 1686/7, proved 17 May 1687 Lower Norfolk County, VA. (per David Korman)

Another account is as follows:

As we know it, Thomas Hollowell, Sr. of the Western Branch of Elizabeth River in Lower Norfolk, Colony of Virginia, was our first Hollowell ancestor to arrive in the Colony of Virginia. He first appears in public records as a "headright" of Stephen Gill in 1649. Before proceeding further, I would like to explain the "headright" system to dispel the misconceptions about Thomas' entry into the Colonies.Virginia law allowed any person paying the cost of passage for himself and/or another person to claim 50 acres of land in the right of the new settler. A voucher to prove "importation" was obtained, and could be transferred by the "importer" (assigned) to anyone else. The land claim did not have to be made promptly after the immigrant arrived. Some of these vouchers changed hands for years before they were ultimately redeemed for land. It should also be noted that by paying the cost of an immigrant's transportation, the "importer" became entitled not only to the headright land, but also to receive service, i.e., labor, from the immigrant for a specified time. If the immigrant was a minor, the time of service ran until the child became an adult, or later than that if the indenture contract so specified.Everyone assumes that Thomas Hollowell and his wife Alice came to Virginia in 1649 and their first two children, Sarah and Thomas, were born before they arrived in the Colony of Virginia. The reference for this assumption is the patent for 1150 acres of land Stephen Gill recorded 30 April 1649 in Yorke Co. for the transportation of 23 persons named in the patent, one of whom was Thos. Hollowell. Much speculation has been made and many theories expounded about how and where Thomas and Alice were married, her maiden name, and how/when the first two children arrived in the colonies. We may never know Alice's maiden name, but it is a certainty that all of the children were born in the colonies. It is definitely a fact that Alice and the two oldest children did not come at the same time as their father, but were not mentioned in the patent. Stephen Gill received 50 acres of land for each person he transported. If you multiply 23 x 50, it equals 1150 acres. Surely Mr. Gill would not have given a "freebie" ride to three persons and deprive himself of an additional 150 acres of land. The date given is when the deed was registered not necessarily the date the people arrived. It was often years later when deeds were actually registered, some having changed hands several times in the interim.Thomas Hollowell's name next appeared in a Quarter Court held at James Citty 30 Oct. about 1650 where he had 1 bill of 265 lbs. of tobacco. (Book B, Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, 2 November 1646-15 Januqry 1651/2). It would have been almost impossible in a little over a year for Thomas to have come into the colonies in 1649, work off his passage price, obtain land, plant and harvest a crop of tobacco large enough to have the 262 pounds of tobacco available to pay the bill mentioned above. The most logical explanation is that Thomas was here before 1649 when the deed was registered. It is also unfortunate that the records of Yorke and Nansemond Counties are no longer extant for they would certainly be able to shed some insight into solving the many mysteries surrounding the early settlers.It is a well-known and much documented fact that Thomas Hollowell and his wife, Alice, were members of the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers. On 12 November 1663, Thomas Hollowell and his wife were arrested by Thomas Lovell the Underschrieve for Lower Norfolk County where several people called "Quakers" were meeting unlawfully. This proves that Thomas and Alice were actively pursuing their religious beliefs. When George Fox, the Society of Friend's founder, visited the Colony of Virginia in 1672, he found followers firmly settled