Fifth Generation

102. Algernon Sidney HOLDERNESS MD^{139,147,149,150} was born on 6 February 1834 in Caswell County, North Carolina.¹³⁵ He served in the military in 1862–1865 at Company B, 1st Regt., Arkansas Cavalry (Monroe's Regt.) in Civil War. He died on 28 April 1904 at the age of 70 in Fordyce, Dallas County, Arkansas.^36,135,151

In Caswell Co NC there was also an Algernon Sidney Yancey born 28 Jan 1816, son of Bartlett Yancey & Nancy Graves. Algernon Sidney was an Englishman who wrote a book on personal freedoms - a book muchly celebrated during the Revolution - and he was put to death for espousing such views.

Medical Degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Vital Records: Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929
Holderness, Algernon S.
Died: Apr 29, 1904 in: Fordyce, AR
Born: 1833
Type of practice: Allopath
State/year of licenses: AR
Journal of the American Medical Asociation citation: 42:1303

1860 Calhoun Co AR Census: A. S. Holderness, age 26, "Doctor", born in NC lives with his sister and her husband. A. McLemore & Sallie.

15 Aug 1860 Federal Land Patent - Calhoun Co AR, issued at the land office in Champagnolle. Military Warrant under the Scrip Warrant Act of 1855, Jonathan I. Holderness and Algernon S. Holderness. 80 acres located in S32, T12S, R12W, the S1/2 SW 1/4. Originally issued to Graves Gunn, Warrant #35386, Corporal, Captain Patterson's Company, Kentucky Militia, War of 1812. Said warrant having been assigned by Graves Gunn to Jonathan I. Holderness and Algernon S. Holderness in whose favor the tract has been located.

Confederate records from National Archives state A. S. Holderness enlisted 16 June 1862 by J. M. O'Neill at Hampton to serve 3 years or the War. Company B of 1st Regt. Arkansas Cavalry (Monroe's Regt.) 18 Apr 1863, he was detailed as Asst. Surgeon and left at Fayetteville with 1 horse. His papers include a Parole for A. S. Holdiness (sic) of Calhoun Co, Ark. aged 29 years, 5' 9 1/2 " high, eyes blue, hair light, complexion fair; dated 23 Apr 1863 at Fayetteville, Ark. He promises not to give information to the enemies of Government of the United States or harbor any spies of the so called Confederate Army or communicate to any members thereof. Handwritten on the parole is "and that I will not go beyond the Hospital Limits of the Town of Fayetteville, Ark., nor bear arms whilst on duty". Signed with his signature: A. S. Holderness, Ass. Surgeon, CSA, Monros Regt.
I have found a reference on p.215 of Goodspeed's book on NW Arkansas to "Assist-Surgeon Holderness" in an article on the battle of Fayetteville.

Found in a small collection of Algernon's papers held at the Arkansas History Commission was a fragment of a letter written by his brother George on 9 Jun 1864 from Selma, AL - by Nov 17th, George died in Mobile. The letter is transcribed in the notes for George W. Holderness

There are also orders and an invoice.
HdQrs Cabells’ Brig
Champagnolle, Ark.
Jany 25, 1865
Special Orders
No 9
Lt. A. S. Holdiness with ten men will proceed to Marks Mill and and vicinity and collect all army guns he may find receipting for the same – he will make diligent search wherever he may have reason to think they may be. He will also arrent and confine in the nearest Millitary Prison all men he may find between the ages of Eighteen & forty five who are absent without leave.
By ord. of
Col. Monroe.
By En I. Field, Adj
To Lt Holderness
This detail has been permited rations to ___ & forage [can’t read]

Lt. A. S. Holderness declared subsistence for 15 men and 15 horses for 42 days from 8 Feb to 22 Mar 1865. Costs were $282 - he was paid $100.
The expense was approved by Col. J. C. Monroe, his commander.

Head Qrts Monroe’s Regt Camp
March 20, 1865
Special Order
Lieut. Holderness will make a detail from his squad sufficient to bring from Warren to camp, twenty five or thirty Sabres which belong to the Regt.
Also bring to camp all men belonging to Co. “B” and notify in writing all of the Co. whom he may not see that unless they report immediately no favors will be shown. and that I will pledge myself to hunt them up let it cost what it may
four or 5 days delay will be excusable if you can bring in your absent men
Respt.
A. V. Ruff, Lt Col.
Comdg Regt
Wheeler will report to you for chit
AVR

Algernon's discharge (copy at the Arkansas History Commission)
Hd Qrs Monroes Regt Cabells Brig, Ark. Cavly
May 27th 1865
This certifies that A. S. Holderness, 1st Lt Co “B”
Monroes Regt has remained in Camp a
Faithful Confederate Soldier from the date
Of his Enlistment, 12th May 1862 until honorably
Discharged by verbal order of his Brig. Commander
A. V. Ruff
Lt.Col.____

The collection at the Arkansas History Commission, Call number MS.000085, also includes Item No. 29 which I requested, but they said it was too large to copy. Dated 8 Dec 1866 is an indenture of apprenticeship by Agnes McLennon for Jordon McLennon, age nine, to A. S. Holderness. The child is catalogued as Aftrican American - a term that surely is not in the 1866 document. There was no person with the surname McLennon in Calhoun Co in 1870.

18 Jul 1867. Receipt for voter registration for Algernon S. Holderness, Moro Precinct, Calhoun Co, notes that he is registered under an “act to provide for the more efficient government of the Rebel States.”

From The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, Fordyce [county seat of Dallas County]
In the 1870s, Henry Atkinson, an African American, secured the land that would become Fordyce and later sold it for $118 to Dr. Algernon Sidney Holderness, who built a sawmill on the site.

1870 Census. Moro Twp, P. O. Chambersville, Calhoun Co, AR, Hh 48
Algernon Holderness, age 36, physician, Value of Real Estate - $2450, Personal - $350, b. NC
Catherine B., 34, b. AL
George D, age 3, Harry, 1, Robt T., age 3 months.

1880 Calhoun Co AR. Algernon & Catherine, children down through James. Catherine's mother Moriah Dixon lived with them. She was 70, born in Georgia.

Land Patent issued 15 May 1883 to Algernon S. Holderness from the land office in Little Rock. Dallas Co. 80 acres.
Located S35, Township 10S, Range 13 W. NE 1/4 NW 1/4 & SW 1/4 NW 1/4.

1900 Census. Fordyce Town, Dallas Co, AR, Hh 350
Algernon S., b. Feb 1834, age 66, married 34 years, b. NC, Physician
Catharine, Wife, b. Feb 1838, 62, 9 children - 7 are living, b. AL
Minnie, dau, b. Dec 1871, 28, b. AR as were all the children, teacher
May, dau, b. May 1875, 25
Marvin, son, b. May 1877, 23
James, son, b. Apr 1879, 21, salesman, drugs
Vergie, dau, b. Oct 1881, 18
Boarders:
Thomas B. Thrast, b. Sep 1869, 30, b. GA, Compositor
Horace Gray, 21, b. AR, Salesman, dry goods
John Lewis, (Black), 28, b. MS, Laborer, sawmill

Holderness, A.S.
DALLAS COUNTY
Submitted by: Jamila Sloan
<http://www.genexchange.org/biodex.cfm?state=ar>
Dr. A. S. HOLDERNESS, physician and surgeon, Fordyce, Ark. A prominent physician and surgeon, who by his own great abilities has attained distinction in his profession, is Dr. A. S. HOLDERNESS. This gentleman was born in Caswell County, N.C., in 1834, and is the son of Robert C. and Elizabeth (BROOKS) HOLDERNESS, natives also of Caswell County, N.C., where the father passed his last days, dying in October, 1833, four months before Dr. A. S. HOLDERNESS was born. The mother came to Arkansas in 1851 and died in Calhoun County in 1859. Robert C. HOLDERNESS was a farmer by occupation and the son of William HOLDERNESS, who was a native of England, but came to America when a young man, served in the Revolutionary War, and died in Caswell County, N.C. He was a successful tiller of the soil. The grandfather, Charles Brooks, was a native of Caswell County, N.C., and there passed his entire life engaged in farming. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Dr. A. S. HOLDERNESS was the youngest of seven sons and one daughter born to his parents, and received a good education. He attended three and a half years at Dan River Institute, Yanceyville, N.C., and finished at Caldwell Institute, at Hillsboro. He came to Calhoun County, Ark., in 1850, and four years later graduated in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. Since then he has practiced his profession in the immediate vicinity of Fordyce, where he has lived since 1850. He is one of the oldest physicians of Southern Arkansas, and one of the most successful. He was nearly all through the war, in the Confederate army, as assistant surgeon of the First Arkansas Cavalry, and operated in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Texas. For a short time he held the rank of first lieutenant of Company B. He was discharged in Texas, May 27, 1865, and the same year was married to Catherine B. DIXON, a native of Chambers County, Ala. When her father died she was quite small and came with her mother to Arkansas at a very early day. The mother died at the home of Dr. HOLDERNESS, in Fordyce, about 1888. To the Doctor’s marriage have been born nine children - five sons and three daughters living, and all have received excellent educational advantages. The Doctor owns several thousand acres of land, and considerable property in Fordyce. When he first came to Arkansas he and family settled near Chambersville, where they resided until 1882, and then moved to Fordyce, where he erected a sawmill, which he operated for three years. He owned the site where Fordyce now is, was first to settle where the town is and was the first mayor of the place. In politics he is Democratic, and his first presidential vote was for J. Buchanan, in 1856. The entire family, except the youngest child, are members of the Methodist Church, and Dr. HOLDERNESS has been a steward in the same since 1859. His wife has been a member for many years, or since early girlhood.
Source: Biographical & Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas (1890) The Goodspeed Publishing Company.Page 723-24.

from Dallas County, AR History (1890). EBook from Hearthstone Legacy Publications, 2008.
First Settlers: "Dr. A. S. Holderness, physician and surgeon, who by his own great abilities has attained distinction in his profession, is Dr. A. S. Holderness. This gentleman was born in Caswell County, NC, in 1834, and is the son of Robert C. and Elizabeth (Brooks) Holdernes, natives also of Caswell County, NC, where the father passed his last days, dying in October, 1833, four months before Dr. A. S. Holderness was born. The mother came to Arkansas in 1851 and died in Calhoun County in 1859. Robert C. Holderness was a farmer by occupation and the son of William Holderness, who was a native of England, but who came to America when a young man, served in the Revolutionary War, and died in Caswell County, NC. He was a succesful tiller of the soil. The grandfather, Charles Brooks, was a native of Caswell County, NC, and there passed his entire life engaged in farming. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Dr. A. S. Holderness was the youngest of seven sons and one daughter born to his parents, and received a good education. He attended three and a half years at Dan River Institute, Yanceyville, NC, and finished at Caldwell Institute, at Hillsboro. He came to Calhoun County, AR, in 1850, and four years later graduated in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. since then he has practiced his profession in the immediate vicinity of Fordyce, where he has lived since 1850. He is one of the oldest physicians of Southern Arkansas, and one of the most successful. He was nearly all through the war, in the Confederate army, as assistant surgeon of the First Arkansas Cavalry, and operated in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Texas. For a short time he held the rank of first lieutenant of Company B. He was discharged in Texas, May 27, 1865, and the same year was married to Catherine B. Dixon, a native of Chambers County, AL. When her father died she was quite small and came with her mother to Arkansas at a very early day. The mother died at the home of Dr. Holderness, in Fordyce, about 1888. To the Doctor's marriage have been born nine children -- five sons and three daughters living, and all have received excellend educational advantages. The Doctor owns several thousand acres of land, and considerable property in Fordyce. When he first came to Arkansas he and family settled near Chambersville, where they resided until 1882, and then removed to Fordyce, where he erected a saw-mill, which he operated for three years. He owned the site where Fordyce now is, was first to settle where the town is and was the firs mayor of the place. In politics he is Democratic, and his first presidential vote was for J. Buchanan, in 1856. The entire family, except the youngest child, are members of the Methodist Church, and Dr. Holderness has been a steward in the same since 1859. His wife has been a member for many years, or since early girlhood (723-24)."
"Fordyce is in the bloom of robust health. Its site was partly cleared by W. W. Killabrew before 1850, and late in the seventies Henry Atkinson, a negro, secured it, and in 1881 sold the plat to Dr. A.S. Holderness for $118. Dr. Holdernes had located a saw-mill on the woolen-mills’ sited, and also built his home. The railway came in 1882, and the land was sold to the Southwestern Improvement Association, who platted a town late in 1882, and named it in honor of S. W. Fordyce, president of the railway company" (704). He is also listed as the first mayor, in 1885 (705). "The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Conference Training School, at the foot of Chief Street, was erected by the citizens in 1888, led by Dr. Holderness, J. D. Dunn, Hampton Bros,. G. C. Story, E. A. Acruman and others, and given to the Little Rock Conference. Its cost was, entire, about $10,000, and the frame, two-story, with seven rooms and four instructors, under Principal J. D. Clary, B. A., enables students to prepare for any Methodist college. There were 125 enrolled last year" (706).

Buried Oakland Cemetery, Fordyce, Dallas Co AR.

Arkansas Democrat, Little Rock, AR, 30 Apr 1904, Saturday, p.1
DR. HOLDERNESS DEAD AT FORDYCE
Well Known Physician Passed Away at the Age of 71 Years
Fordyce, Ark., April 29.
Dr. A. S. Holderness, a prominent and well known physician of Fordyce, Arkansas died today. Dr. Holderness was seventy-one years old and had practiced in Calhoun County, and in the city of Fordyce, for many years. He was born in North Carolina and came to Calhoun County in the fiftires. He served through the war in the Trans-Mississippi division. A wife and six children, all grown, survive him.

Algernon Sidney HOLDERNESS MD and Catherine Barnes "Cattie" DIXON were married on 16 November 1865 in Calhoun County, Arkansas.²⁹ Catherine Barnes "Cattie" DIXON^112,150 was born on 5 February 1838 in Chambers County, Alabama.¹⁵⁰ She died on 26 February 1928 at the age of 90 in Dallas County, Arkansas.³⁶

1850 Census. Chambers Co, AR, Hh 258
Mariah M. Dickson, 38, b. GA
Sarah J., 19, b. GA
William B., 14, b. AL
Catherine, 12, b. AL
Nancy E. Thorton, 19, b. GA

1860 Census. Moro, Calhoun Co, AR, Hh 87
Sharing home with A. E. Hurd
M. Dickson, 47, male [she was female], Farmeress, b. GA
Catherine, 21, b. AL

Catherine's parents were born in Georgia according to the 1880 Census.
In 1920 Catherine still had Minnie at home. Her father listed as born in AL as she was, her mother listed as born in GA. Also living with her was a Servant, Viney C. Frazier, age 49, House Keeper, who had two sons Jack and Arthur also living there.

Cattie Dixon married to Dr. A. S. Holderness. 16 Nov 1865.

Buried Oakland Cemetery, Fordyce, Dallas Co AR.
An obituary appeared 27 Feb 1928 [Monday] in the Pine Bluff Commercial newspaper.
Mother of H. I. Holderness Dies at Age of Ninety
Pioneer Resident of Fordyce Had Been in Declining Health Sometime
Mrs. Catherine B. Holderness, aged 90, widow of Dr. A. S. Holderness of Fordyce, and mother of H. L. Holderness of this city, died at the family residence at Fordyce last Sunday morning. Mrs. Holderness had been in declining health for several months. Her son, Mr. Holderness, was called to Fordyce last week at which time it was reported that she was not expected to live.
She was born in Chambers county, Ala. and came to Arkansas in early girlhood, settling at Chambersville, where she was married to Dr. Holderness in 1865.
In 1882 she came with her husband to Fordyce, where she has since lived. At the time of her death she was the oldest citizen in point of residence. Mrs. Holderness was a lifelong member of the Methodist church and was at the time of her death the only surviving charter member of the Fordyce church.
In former years she was a frequent visitor to Pine Bluff and had many friends here who will regret to learn of her death.
Dr. and Mrs. Holderness reared a family of nine children, five of whom survive her. They are H. I. Holderness of this city, Miss Minnie Holderness of Fordyce, M. E. Holderness and J. S. Holderness of St. Louis, and Mrs. John R. Hampton of Little Rock. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were to be held at the Methodist church this afternoon. Services were to be conducted by the Rev. Rex B. Wilkes and the Rev. S. D. Bartie, pastor of the Presbyterian Church.
Honorary pallbearers were: G. M. Hampton, Dr. H.H. Atkinson, C. J. Marsh, H. B. Couch, J. H. Meek, Robert Finley, S. H. Adams, T. W. Wynne, J. T. Richardson, P. W. Dedmon, and Fred Morton.
Active pallbearers were Joe S. Elliott, E. B. Rhodes, J. D. Clary, Fay. L. Dunn, Lewis Ames, Herbert Abernathy, B. M. Boone, and J. A. Poltills.

Algernon Sidney HOLDERNESS MD and Catherine Barnes "Cattie" DIXON had the following children: