Randolph  County,  Indiana

Betsy  Holloway

             Betsy Holloway, widow of  William Holloway, once a farmer of great prominence in Stony Creek township, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, June 18, 1808, and is the second daughter of  John and Rachael (James) Fisher, natives of Virginia. John Fisher, the eldest son of  Joseph and Ann (Cary) Fisher, was born in 1776.  Rachael James, the mother of  Mrs. Betsy Holloway, was the daughter of  Thomas and Sarah (Stanton) James, natives of Virginia and of English descent.  John Fisher was reared to farming, was quite well educated in the common schools of his early day, and was a successful man in business, as far as his vocation was concerned.  His children were nine in number, viz:  Robert, deceased farmer of Randolph county, Ind.;  Elias, who died when quite young;  Joseph, deceased farmer of Delaware county, Ind.;  Sarah Ann, deceased;  Betsy, the subject proper of this sketch;  Thomas, deceased farmer of Randolph county;  Mary Etta, deceased;  Elias (No. 2), who died at an early age, and  John, a deceased farmer of Grant county, Ind.  After his marriage John Fisher followed his trade of shoemaker until his removal from Virginia to Columbiana county, Ohio, where he entered 160 acres of wild land, which, with the assistance of his faithful wife, he partially cleared away, and on which he erected a log cabin.  Here Mrs. Holloway was born, and here lived for ten years, when the family moved to Cincinnati, making the trip on a flat-boat and occupying nine days on the journey. From Cincinnati Mr. Fisher moved to Richmond, Ind., when there were but three houses in the town, and for several years lived on rented land, and then came to Randolph county, where he entered a second tract of 160 acres, and but a short time after sold out, and entered his third tract of 160 acres, which he industriously tilled until his death, which occurred in 1859, followed by that of his wife in 1866. Both were members of the Society of Friends, and their remains repose in Hardshaw cemetery.
            Mrs. Betsy Holloway was married April 3, 1828. Her husband, William Holloway, was the youngest son of  William and Sarah (Stanley) Holloway, natives of Virginia, in which state William was born February 16, 1808.  To the happy marriage of  William and Betsy were born five children, as follows:  Rachel, who died in infancy,  Sarah Ann, wife of  Wesley Moore, of Monroe township, Randolph county;  George, a deceased farmer of Wells county;  Hannah, deceased wife of  Jonathan Thornburg, of Stony Creek township, and  John, a deceased farmer of Randolph county. The married life of  William and Betsy Holloway began on a small farm, which was increased, through the industry and good management of Mr. Holloway, to 136 acres, and on this property the widow still lives. William passed away September 6, 1858, after a life of usefulness and purity, a devoted husband, an affectionate father, and a consistent member of the Society of Friends.  Mrs. Holloway bears her years well, but lives not so much for the world as for the hour to come when she shall rejoin the loved ones gone before.
A Portrait & Biographical Record of Delaware and Randolph Counties, Indiana, A.W. Bowen & Co., 1894, page 1213-1214
Submitted by Dusti
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