PART I — THE ANCESTRY

CHAPTER II — The Cherry - Hollenback Lines

The Cherry Family In England

  LIKE most early family records those of the Cherry Family are scattered, often incomplete, making it difficult if not impossible to arrange an entirely unbroken line. Those in England will be more easily understood and followed, and their authenticity made more evident by beginning at a middle date and working each way.

  Maidenhead is a city on the right bank of the Thames River, 26 miles west of London. The following from a book on monuments, etc., located there is selected as a good starting point for the Cherry Ancestral Records:

Origin Of The English Cherry Family

  The following explanation is by Rev. Henry Curtis Cherry

  Thomas Cherry of Maidenhead, was a descendant of the De Cheries of Picardy and Normandy, Lords of Beuval, Leguidere, and Villencourt. In 1407, as appears from the French Archives, Jean de Cherie sought for and obtained a safe conduct to pass over into England. This applied also to Jean’s family and his father, Thomas.

  As the titles held by the Cheri Family passed on down to the oldest son always, and Thomas was descended from a younger son, he and his son, Jean, as well held no title. By an Inq. Post Mort (a form of inheritance tax process) under Henry IV, it appears that

  The original John (Jean) had two or more sons, one of whom, also named John, born about 1420, located at North Kilworth in the adjoining county of Leicester. This second John prospered in his new location and reared a large family at least four of whom were sons: Edward, John, William, and Thomas (born about 1443-1460). Due probably to the disturbed condition of the times, there is no absolutely definite record found as yet of the children of this generation or of the four sons. But John Cherry, born about 1500, was a grandson of one of the four sons mentioned, tradition says of Thomas, and a great grandson of the John who located at N. Kilworth.

  This John Cherry had the following family: 1 Thomas, who became a wine merchant in London. 2 Richard, who went to Cassington and there founded a new branch of the Cherrys. 3 John (See below). 4 Robert, Edward, 6 Henry. These three disappear from the records at a time when they would be young men. Traditions say that Robert went to Scotland; this has not been verified. Still more persistent traditions say that Edward and Henry went to North Ireland, about 1550-1560, and this is borne out by records of Cherrys in Londonerry and Antrim Counties later.

  7 Sir Francis Cherry, who entered public life and became ambassador to the Court of Russia 1597-93, sent by Queen Elizabeth by whom he was knighted, “for faithful and gallant service,” at Chatham, July 4, 1604. He became the founder of the Cherry line at Camberwell.

  3 John, born about 1530-35, mentioned above, married Agnes Pratt. Thomas, a son of this union, and born about 1560, married Margaret Watkins, July 6, 1594. Their children were: 1 Thomas, later of Maidenhead; baptized January 1, 1596, married Ellen Powney, 1621, died and was buried with his wife in 1657. 2 Rev. Edward Cherry, Rector Gr. Holland, Essex county. 3 Ann, married Hercules Clerke. These records bring us back to the starting point; for the Thomas and the Ann Cherry just named are the same two with whom the genealogy of the Cherry Family in England began at the first of this chapter.

  Further records show that Thomas and Ellen Cherry had sons as follows: 1 Arthur, 2 John, 3 Richard, 4 William, who became noted for establishing a free school for boys at Bray. Some of the boys who attended this school became famous men later, as Thomas

  5 Thomas, 6 Henry, 7 Edward, 8 George. From this George the Cherry families of Buckland, Denford, and Burgfield are descended. There is no further record in England of Thomas, Henry and Edward; but from the persistence of their first names, and of other names common to the family line, especially Ellen, the general agreement of family traditions in several places remote from each other, and from fragmentary records, it is well established that these three went to Antrim, possibly Henry to Londonerry, Ireland. This is further borne out by historical evidences for as the Cherrys were in general staunch Protestants, especially the line to which Thomas of Maidenhead belonged, they would be eligible to the free lands offered Protestant English and Scotch settlers in north Ireland by King James I of England (James VI of Scotland). And with their characteristic venturesome makeup doubtless several of the Cherry descendants took advantage of such opportunity to acquire lands, especially the younger sons; even though the lands obtained were those of whom the native Celts had been dispossessed and so abandoned.

  It is also very probable that the Cherrys sided with the Puritanical element under Oliver Cromwell and so quite likely that Thomas, Henry and Edward found it most convenient to leave England on the Restoration of King Charles II and be welcomed to Antrim County Ireland by relatives already there. That the Thomas Cherry of Maidenhead line was deeply impressed religiously about that time is evidenced by the sudden appearance of Biblical names, Moses, David and Aaron, among the usual Thomases, Edwards, Johns, Richards, etc., of their descendants soon after.

General Lines Of Descent

  From the original Thomas and Jean who left France in 1407 the records are available, and except for one generation continuous down to Thomas Cherry of Maidenhead, 1596. These records are confirmed by the continuous and persistent use of the same first names: Thomas, John, William, Richard, Henry, Edward, Robert, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Ann. From Thomas of Maidenhead the line goes to Ireland, through his sons, Thomas, Henry and Edward.

  Due to unsettled conditions, all records, both state and church in Ireland prior to 1700, are very fragmentary and uncertain. But in connection with these fragments the still persistent use throughout of the same first names already mentioned, and especially now of Ellen (wife of Thomas) and the general and consistent agreement of family traditions from widely separated sources, show without question that the Edward Cherry who led the way to America in 1737, was a direct descendant of Thomas Cherry of Maidenhead; that he was a grandson of either Thomas or Edward (most likely Thomas) sons of Thomas Cherry of Maidenhead, and who came to Antrim County, Ireland about 1660.

General Character Of The Cherry Families

  It appears that the Cherrys usually prospered wherever they located and many became large landholders; the lands, under English customs, passed on to the oldest son. The younger sons had to find places in the world for themselves as best they could, and were in general successful in so doing. Some became churchmen, or entered the professions; others became tradesmen or went into business of various kinds; due possibly to a prior family custom in France some of the earlier Cherrys in England became wine merchants. It was the younger sons who became emigrants to other lands.

  The traditional English Esquire seems to have been typical of the landholding Cherrys; bluff, hearty, hospitable, liberal minded men, a credit to their community, popular with the people, especially their tenants. It may be interesting however to note one exception, the more so as it well illustrates rural English life at the time. This exception was named William, and told singularly enough by Thomas Hearne, the noted product of the celebrated Boys Free School at Bray, founded by a former William Cherry. A poem was written on the incident and from this quotations are made. Following is the story as told in Hearne’s memoirs:

“At Brick bridge our Princes frequently came at the time of hunting in Windsor Forest. Not far from the Bridge on the “Commons,” ground not fenced in but legally a part of the estate of William Cherry Esquire, was a fine oak, the “largest in England.” It was called “Nan’s Oak,” because tradition said that Anne, wife of King James I, delighted to sit in its shade; that she took sick under it and the illness proved mortal.

“Early in the reign of King James II the oak was cut down by order of Esquire Cherry, who planted a hawthorne tree in its place, and inclosed the Commons as a part of his estate.” (A perfectly legal procedure technically, but of course not at all popular with the people).

Cherry planted the hawthorne tree near to Brick bridge,
And wronged the poor people of their privilege.
He cut down the oak tree where Queen Anne did dine,
And said of the Common, “All this shall be mine.”

  Naturally the people were much incensed as the Common had been open to all, so they drew up a complaint and petition to the King, who himself sometimes hunted there.

Said the King, when hunting one day very merry,
“Who took in this Common?” They said “Twas Squire Cherry.”
“Then pray,” quoth the King, “Why not throw it out?”
They answered the King, “That we dare not pursue,
Cherry is a great man and he will us undo.”
“Go, throw it out quickly, without any fail,
And if any one troubles you, I’ll be your bail.”

  So they tore down the fences, dug up the young trees set, filled up the ditches, and turned the land back into a common.

Then up came Squire Cherry pretending great power
And threw them in prison as strong as a tower.
The King heard the news and from prison away
He brought them to Windsor and caused them to stay;
And to each of them he ten guineas did give,
To enable them better thereafter to live.
* * They ate and they drank and did merrily sing,
“May Cherry be damned but God save the King!”

  But the story turns out all right for the Cherry Family after all, for Hearne goes on to say: “My good friend, Francis Cherry (son of Squire William) is a mighty fine man, and very different in principles from his father.”

  There seems to have been a migratory strain in the Cherry Family; from their original location in Northampton they scattered into Surrey, Essex, Leicester, Cassington, Leominster, Denford. and various other places in England and later into north Ireland and probably Scotland, numbers of them came to America. It would hardly be desirable even if it were possible to follow the different lines of the family in England or attempt to tell of the many good things they accomplished or important positions held. They were inclined

Cherrys In Ireland

  Owing to the greatly disturbed conditions of the country at the time only piecemeal records are available. From these a few Cherrys were there before 1600, many more after 1650. Some were in Londonerry but most of them in Antrim County. Concurrent family traditions, the same persistence of certain names, and the few available records confirm the descent as already noted. The Hearth Money Rolls and other similar records give John, Thomas, Edward, Richard, and Henry Cherry in Belfast; William, Richard, John and David in Lisburn Parish, while Solomon, John, Thomas, William, Richard and Aaron are listed elsewhere. The names of Ellen, Sarah and Elizabeth also appear.

  The families seemed inclined to change location. Robert Cherry, of England, who spent much time tracing Cherry records writes: “I visited my father’s birthplace (Tyrone) some years ago but found little trace of my family. They are always migrating. I wish they had at least gotten into jail so their names would be on record somewhere.”

  The Cherrys seem to have been most numerous in Ireland from 1700 to 1750, but largely disappear after that. Probably most of them came to America. Rev. C. J. Taylor, Rectory of Lisburn, writes (April, 1935) that “at present there is not a person in the entire Parish by the name of Cherry.” The author in his investigations, has come in contact with several Cherrys whose ancestors came from Ireland to America after the Civil War.

The Cherry Family In America

  Though the names of the original immigrants are often unknown, many of the Cherry Family came to the New England colonies before 1700, as shown by the names of their descendants on the roster of the soldiers of the Revolution. Besides our own ancestor, Captain William, there were at least three other Captain William Cherrys on the patriot side. One of these, evidently from New Hampshire, is thus mentioned in the account of the experiences of Paul Otis in the Revolution (New England Register) “Otis and Captain William Cherry stood behind a tree; Otis put out his head to see better and a rifle ball came whizzing between his head and the tree.”

  Some Cherry settlers prior to 1700 are: Thomas, and Samuel and wife, N. J.; Henry, in Pa.; Francis, 1643 and John, 1698, Norfolk Co., and Richard, 1655, Lancaster Co., Va. David Cherry, 1674, Wickford, R. I. It appears that the Cherry immigrants north of Virginia came in part at least, from England; and that those after 1700 were nearly all from Ireland, and almost entirely from Antrim County.

  The following Cherrys were in the colonies at the time and place mentioned: Thomas and Reuben Cherry, 1715, N. J.; James 1712, Faithful 1727, Samuel 1734, William 1737, Thomas 1748, all in Norfolk Co., Va. A Samuel Cherry settled in N. C. about 1730. His son, Samuel, was a Lieutenant in the Revolution. Another Cherry family, said to have been of Scotch-Irish descent, settled in N. C. at the same time near Edgecomb and had a large family. A son, William, became a captain in the Revolution. There was also a Captain William Cherry from New Jersey. There seem to be more Cherrys in New Jersey at the present time 1935, than in any other place, though they are found in every state.

  The writer has come in contact with the descendants of several of those named; there are many others in the records searched and it would be interesting to tell of some of the incidents connected with them. But mention will be made of but one family besides our own ancestors, and this because the writer has come in contact with so many of the descendants. David Cherry, a first cousin of our ancestor, Thomas Cherry, came with his wife, Margaret, and settled in Pee Dee River County, near Charleston, S. C., in 1750. They had three sons: George, William and James. All served in the Revolution, the first two under Captain Lide, in a regiment organized October 9, 1775, the first to form in the Carolinas, it is claimed.

  William had three sons: George Washington, William, and James Henry. George W. was born 1790, died 1883, in Tennessee. He married first his first cousin, Mary Cherry, an heiress, and the daughter of his father’s brother, who was very wealthy. The parents of the couple, all strict Presbyterians, were horrified at such a marriage and promptly disowned and disinherited them both. Mary died soon after giving birth to a son, John, who was an albino! As albinos were then generally believed to be one result of marriages between first cousins, the grandparents felt it was a just punishment sent by heaven on the guilty pair and that their own harsh judgment had been confirmed. But the albino son had a fine mind, was well educated and became a prominent school man. One correspondent says

  George Cherry, soldier in the Revolution and son of the original immigrant David, married Jane Chestnut, also from Antrim County, Ireland. He had a son, David, named after his grandfather, who was one of the Cherrys who left the south because he did not believe in slavery; this David settled at Bloomington, Ill.

  While the Cherry immigrants were more numerous in New Jersey, Virginia, and the Carolinas they were to be found in every colony. New York had several, and the name is frequent on the roster of the Revolutionary soldiers. Their descendants naturally drifted westward; those who came later, especially after the Civil War, located mostly in the north. Iowa seemed to have been a favorite state.

Our Cherry Ancestors In America

  Our original immigrant ancestor was Edward Cherry, a great-grandson, as already stated, of Thomas Cherry of Maidenhead, England. He was past fifty when he came to Virginia in 1737; with him came his wife, Alice, at least three grown sons, probably other children; possibly married daughters and their husbands. Thomas, the oldest son, seems to have come over before the others, probably as a sort of advance agent to prepare for the coming of the remainder of the family. Doubtless they knew quite a great deal of Virginia from neighbors or relatives who had been there; for from various sources it is very evident they were not the first settlers there from Antrim County.

  In “Shenandoah Pioneers” by T. K. Hartwell it says: “The first settlers came to Shepherdstown (now in Jefferson Co., West Va.) in 1732, under Joseph Hite. Afterward Hite located the Irish immigrants who arrived 1737-1741 on the Opecquon.”

  A little explanation of the geography of the region will help make more clear where our Cherry ancestors first located. The Opecquon is a small river now forming a part of the northwest boundary of Jefferson county. About half way of the boundary it turns more towards the north and the last ten miles of its course is very winding, lying between high borders inclosing a narrow valley in Berkeley county. It empties into the Potomac some 15 miles north of Harpers Ferry. The Cohangeroote, is a smaller stream several miles south of

  The same history says that a man named Van Meter had also obtained a large land grant in the same section, that it “lay between the river Shenado and the Cohangaroote, extending to the Opecquon and up the south branch thereof.” When Hite came to survey his land he found it and Van Meter’s overlapped in part, something not uncommon in those wilderness days. To avoid trouble Hite bought Van Meter’s claim.

  Of the early settling there the same history says: “The tide set in about 1730, some crossing the Potomac east of the mountains, and a few families the Cohangaroote west of them. In 1732 these latter founded Mecklenberg, later changed to Shepherdstown, now in West Virginia.”

  In order to understand fully the location of the records and the difficulty in finding them, an explanation of the county formation in Virginia is necessary. Orange County, in which most of the territory just described lay at the time, comprised at first a sixth or more of the entire state, Virginia. In November, 1738, the House of Burgesses voted to divide it into three counties: Orange, Frederick and Augusta. This was done in 1743. Later, from these three counties eight others were formed, and parts of two more! Berkeley, with Martinsburg as the county seat, was formed in 1772. Then in 1801 Jefferson county was cut off from Berkeley with Charles Town as the seat. Doubtless all this division into new counties was due to the ambition of the larger towns to become county seats. Both the last two counties named are now in the state of West Virginia. Orange and Augusta are left rather small counties well down toward the center of Virginia.

  All this shifting made the tracing of various records very difficult. involving years of research in obscure early history; it all seems simple enough when done. But one would hardly look for the early records of Jefferson, West Virginia, at Orange C. H., a small village down in central Virginia. But there, very plainly, is the record of the first ancestral Cherry acquisition of land in America, as follows: “October 25, 1737. Luje Amlen, of St. Marks Parish, Orange County, for Ten Pounds current money, hereby sells, grants and conveys unto Thomas Cherry of said Parish and County 125 acres of land on Banks of Cohangeroote River, etc., etc.”

  This 125 acres was partly cleared and had the usual pioneer log cabin with some other crude log structures, a garden, and some fruit started. Here our Cherry ancestors made their first home in the New World. The older sons had evidently brought their wives with

  It seems that Edward Cherry located further to the southwest or else moved there later; for the records of what was then Augusta County show that his widow, Alice, was appointed administratrix of his estate, August 10, 1751, with Robert Rennick and Abraham Vanderpoole as sureties. The names of the appraisers are given but further details of the estate are missing. It must have been considerable however for soon after the sons bought large tracts of land.

  As shown by various records the ancestral Cherry Families along the Opecquon and Potomac prospered and took an active part in public affairs. Thomas, our next direct ancestor, was a member of the first jury, 1744, in the new county of Frederick. On June 19, 1752, he obtained from Lord Fairfax, then governor of Virginia, a grant of 400 acres in Frederick County. William and Aaron, his brothers, also secured large land grants from Fairfax. Thomas and William together secured another such grant in Berkeley County later, surveyed for them by Thomas Rutherford, April 23, 1763. Besides these lands they acquired several hundred acres more by purchase.

  William Cherry was married but had no children and left most of his property to his brother, Thomas. His notably brief will is as follows:

1. I give to my beloved wife one-third of all my property.
2. I give to my brother, Thomas, two-thirds of my real estate and two-thirds of my personal property.

Signed 1765, William Cherry.

  The many Cherry Families scattered throughout Virginia and the Carolinas were all more or less related, and as they were mostly large landholders naturally acquired slaves. It appears however that these were in general treated exceptionally well. They were allowed so many privileges that they were often called “free slaves” by those on other plantations. It was a common Cherry custom to provide before death for the freedom of such as had served them a long time. Some of the families went north, especially to Iowa, because they did not believe in slavery.

  In the ten years following 1758 frequent raids were made by the Indians from the northwest on the settlements where the Cherry Families located. These raids were accompanied by the usual ghastly tragedies of such, for the Indians seldom made captives,

  Thomas, the oldest son of Edward, and our next ancestor, was evidently a most capable man, and with the property left him by William, died a rather wealthy man. He made his will in 1760, and though he lived a long time after, never changed it. Omitting later provisions for the disposition of the property left him by William, and long lists of chattel, etc., left each child, the following is a brief summary of it:

1. I give to my well beloved son, William, his heirs and assigns, the upper part of my tract of land lying on the Potomac in Frederick County. Also the tract of land I purchased from Joseph Ambrose, adjoining this tract.
2. To my son, Aaron, the middle part of my tract of land on the Potomac, in Virginia, together with 200 acres I purchased from James Grim.
3. To my son, Moses, the lower part of my tract of land on the Potomac in Virginia, and also the tract of land I bought from John Soverence, on the Potomac, when he becomes 21.
4. To my son, John, the lower part of my tract of land called the Skythorn on the Potomac River in Maryland; also half of a registry made in my name, when he becomes 21.
5. To my son, Ralph, the upper part of my tract of land called Skythorn on the Potomac River, in Maryland; also the adjoining tract called Chance.
6. It is my will that my beloved wife, Rachael, shall live on the land with my son, Aaron; I also give her a Negro girl, named Nell.
7. To my daughter, Rachael, I give 40 pounds.
8. To my daughter, Honour, 40 pounds.
9. To my son, Thomas the following:
   (Then follows a long list of chattels, etc.)

* * *

  Thomas had provided for the freedom of his other slaves, besides Nell, and for the distribution of the property left him by William. He had already partly arranged for his two daughters.

  While William was evidently the favorite son and named first in the will there are indications that he was the third and not the oldest son. Also since William would not have been of age in 1760, date of the will, it is likely that there is an error copying the date in the records; that it should have been 1765, same date as William’s.

  Reared among landed proprietors William Jr. seems to have been a typical Virginian of the old school. While he developed good business abilities he preferred military activities and later served as paymaster in Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774. The main feature of this war was a military expedition against the Indians in Ohio, especially the Shawnees and Mingoes. In this William probably saw that part of Ohio in which he was awarded land later. When the final break with England came he was in the prime of life, experienced in military affairs, a man of prominence and influence, and at once ardently espoused the cause of American freedom. Unmarried he was free to devote his time to it and was at once prominent and active in arousing his countrymen to decisive action.

  When the 4th Virginia Regiment was organized under Colonel Elliott he was helpful in forming a company of volunteers and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, February 10, 1776, in the company of George Wall, and promoted to be First Lieutenant August 17, 1776. The regiment later passed under the command of Col. Robert Lawson and still later of Col. Isaac Beall.

  In November, 1777, William was commissioned Captain of a company in this same regiment and served through some of the severest struggles of the war. He was finally compelled, on account of poor health, to retire from more active service, but retained his commission as captain and served as recruiting officer at Martinsburg, till practically the end of the war. For his long term of service he was awarded 3,000 acres of land “between the Little Miami and the Scioto Rivers in Ohio” and 500 acres in Kentucky. The deeds, signed by President Adams, are now in the possession of Miss Gladys Cherry of Silverton, Ohio. Later the Virginia Legislature awarded him, or rather his heirs, additional lands, as those already allotted had not covered in full his long term of service.

  In 1779 the Captain met Mary Ann Hollenback, who with her parents had fled to relatives at Martinsburg to escape the Indian atrocities near her home at Wyoming, Pa. As both were zealous workers in the patriot cause they met frequently and a friendship formed which developed into matrimony, and they were married December 24, 1779. And with the advent of this new ancestor it is next in order to develop her family lines.

The Hollenback Ancestral Families

  This line has been traced in full by Edward Welles, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., a grandson of Matthias Hollenback described further on. Complete records were available and these Mr. Welles collected for a Family Tree in 1878. These records and letters written by Mr.

  George Hollenback (originally Hollenbach) our immigrant ancestor, born in 1670, and his wife, both of German parentage, came from the Kingdom, then Grand Duchy of Wurtemburg (now a part of Germany) in 1717 and settled in Philadelphia county, Pa., where he died July, 1736. He left for that time, a goodly property to his four children: Matthias, John, Mary Katherine, and George. Of these four, John Hollenback became our next ancestor. He was born in 1720, at New Hanover, Montgomery (then Philadelphia) county, Pa., and when grown moved to near Jamestown, Lebanon (then Lancaster) county, Pa. There he married a widow, Mrs. Eleanor Stout, whose maiden name was Jones. From this union a family of five resulted, from whom all the eastern families of Hollenback, Welles, Laming, etc., and all the western families of Cherry, Harris, Hollenback, Raymond, etc., have developed. Our next ancestress was the youngest of the five children but brief mentions is made of the others, in order of birth.

  I George, 1748-1824, married Hannah Barton and had a family of 17 children! Soon after his marriage he moved further west along the Mononghahela River. Several of his children went to the ‘Ohio Country’ later and he died at the home of one of these near Zanesville.

  II Jane, 1750-1822. She married David Hunter of Martinsburg, Va., and had five children, three sons and two daughters. None of the sons ever married. The older daughter married Dr. Alexander Straith; she died a few years later and the Doctor married the younger sister.

  III Matthias, 1752-1829. In 1769 Matthias located at Wyoming, now Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Later he there established a profitable mercantile business into which a few years after he took his younger brother, John, as a partner. In this they were engaged when the Revolution began, with their youngest sister, Mary Ann, then only 16 years old as their housekeeper, and who sometimes helped in the store. Matthias soon entered the army as a commissioned officer and fought in the New Jersey campaign under Washington. He resigned in 1778 to return home and help rescue the valley from the combined Tory and Indian forces, led by the notorious John Butler, a dastardly New York Tory. Some time before the historic massacre Matthias had sent John and Mary Ann, with all the books, papers. etc., of the business, down the river for safety.

  After the war he married Sarah Burrett, studied law and later served for 30 years as Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of his state. Matthias had no sons, but through one of his daughters he became the ancestor of Gen. John F. Hartranft, who distinguished himself in the Civil War and as governor of his state, Pennsylvania.

  IV John 1755-? He was associated with his older brother Matthias till after the war began. When it was over he married Elizabeth Stansbury and lived for some time at Wilkes-Barre. He had two sons: John and Matthias. The further record of John and his descendants is missing.

  V Mary Ann, 1761-1796. She was our next ancestress, the writer’s great grandmother, and deserving of more than passing notice; for in her comparatively short span of life was crowded much of the tragic and heroic as well as the romantic, with later the care of a large household and family. She was born near Jonesboro, Pa., June 15, 1761. She seems by nature to have been energetic and efficient. When barely sixteen she went to Wyoming to keep house for her brothers and help in their business. There she met Elias Bixby, a young soldier, and after a courtship interrupted by the early events of the Revolution the two plighted troth and were to be married, “when the war was over.”

  But her husband-to-be was killed in the battle of Wyoming, July 3rd, 1778. Mary Ann had been sent down the river to safety and it was six weeks before she received definite evidence of his death in the form of certain “keepsakes” found on his dead body. She never returned to Wyoming.

  Nearly all the settlers in the valley perished; for the few troops left at home, mostly old men and boys, were no match for the sudden onslaught of the fierce, crafty, weather-hardened Indians and the even more savage Tories. The entire valley was for a time at the mercy of these dastards. Helpless children and women were tortured, tomahawked, and treated in every conceivable beastly manner. The hapless captives were shown no mercy. Near Wilkes-Barre (formerly Wyoming) is preserved a large flat stone, well protected from unfeeling “relic hunters;” on this stone “Queen Esther,” a fiendish Indian female, beat out the brains of sixteen helpless captives. Two broke loose and escaped. Death in the wilderness was preferable to capture by the Indians; for those who escaped to the woods had no time for preparation, many were mere children, and so often perished in the solitude of the Pocono forests, from the unusual and blistering heat, lack of food or water, or from the wild beasts. So ghastly was it all that the wilderness region was long known as “The Shades of Death.” It was often weeks before the bodies of the dead were found, if at all.

  There is a family tradition that the father of Mary Ann, John Hollenback, who lived some distance from Wyoming, escaped by the ruse and aid of an Indian to whom he had been friendly. This Indian sought John out and tomahawk in hand pretended to be pursuing him, but at the same time calling to him softly: “Run, John Hollenback, run; run for your life!” Needless to say John ran, and so escaped the general death.

  Stunned by the tragedy Mary Ann went to live with her married sister at Martinsburg, Va. There her native energy soon reasserted itself and she found relief from her sorrow by helping in every possible way the American cause, as nurse, secretary, hostess, and messenger. It was in this last capacity that she met Captain William Cherry, early in the spring of 1779; he was stationed at Martinsburg as recruiting officer, with the rank of Captain. Both were ardent patriots and it seemed but natural, though the Captain was many years her senior, that their friendship developed into matrimony, and they were married December 24, 1779.

  It may be interesting to note that the wedding ring given by William to his wife was by her bequeathed to their youngest daughter, Mary, who married James Harris. She in turn passed it on to her youngest daughter, Martha Harris Stackhouse. Martha had no children and gave it to Mary Katherine Zillefrow, a grandniece. She gave it to Dorothy Smith, now Mrs. Weisner, because she was doubly descended in the Cherry line; her father, Samuel, being a great-grandson of Eleanor Harris Villars, and her mother. Maud Statler-Smith, a granddaughter of Mary Harris Statler.

Captain William Cherry’s Home

  The couple began housekeeping at Martinsburg, as the Captain was stationed at the county seat, and there their first two children were born. They maintained a home in keeping with the Captain’s position and standing in the community, a home noted for its welcome and hospitality. In 1783 they moved to the “Cherry Tavern,” owned by the Captain at Charles Town. With the courteous hospitality of the husband and the efficient management of the wife, the tavern prospered; in connection with the Cherry Home, separately partly from the Tavern itself, it became the center of the higher social gatherings of the town and country around it.

  In the “History of the Lower Shenandoah Valley,” page 356, is the statement: “Ad in Charles Town paper, April 8, 1786, states that horses for a race must be entered with Capt. Wm. Cherry.” Then on the next page it continues: “The Captain Wm. Cherry spoken of was an old Revolutionary hero, and proprietor of the famous “Cherry Tavern,” which was

  The Tavern was at first operated mostly with slave labor, which was also used in the home apart from it. Later the slaves were partly dispensed with; for Mary Ann Hollenback had been reared in a thrifty German Pioneer home and so not entirely dependent on slave labor. Though the Captain was quite wealthy for the times, Mary saw that the older children were trained to habits of industry and the girls became skilled in the various household duties of the day and so were fitted for the pioneer life that became theirs later. Both parents saw to it that their children were well educated; the letters of these, many of which are in possession of the writer, show this very clearly. And from the various pieces of fine clothing, jewelry, trinkets, etc., that have come on down as heirlooms, it is quite evident that the daughters were well supplied with the feminine finery of those days, all of the very best quality. And in the same way heirloom pieces of the finest silver and china tableware indicate that the Captain’s household furnishings were of a high standard.

  It must have been a busy, bustling happy home, as directed and managed by the energetic and efficient Mary Ann, and a center of Charles Town’s best society. But the mother never saw any of her children live to complete maturity for she was taken ill in the midst of it all and passed away April 13, 1796, when her youngest child was but five years old. It vas a most untimely death, for her children, and her husband as well, who was not in good health, all needed her kindly care, and the children her training.

  In spite of failing health William maintained the home till his death April 9, 1803. But from all indications it was far different than when under the management of the thrifty mother. The older daughter married only two years after her mother’s death, and the second two years later, leaving all the responsibility of the home on Mary. The older son, William, evidently had left home and was at Winchester; the second, John, had been sent to live with his Uncle Matthias Hollenback, who had no son. So that at the last there were but Mary and the two younger sons at home.

  The Captain’s will, made in 1797, shows how thoughtful he was in providing for the welfare of the doubly orphaned children, in case he died before they matured. As he lived till 1803, some of the property described in the will had been disposed of, and his

  1 The lands, 3,000 acres in Ohio and some in Kentucky, awarded him by Virginia for his long term of service in the Revolution, he left to his four sons, when they should become of age. Later he deeded the lands to Matthew Frame, to be held in trust by him for the sons till they were 21.

  2 The income from all other property, tracts of land in (then) Berkeley county, several houses and lots in Charles Town, mortgage notes, money, etc., was to be held by his executors “to provide for my children during their minority; to have them well educated and kept in the best families, And if the income from the properties is not sufficient for this, then such parts may be sold as will be necessary to supply the deficiency.”

  3 When all the children were of age the remaining property was to be sold and the “proceeds divided equally among his surviving children, male and female alike,” except Elizabeth, who as explained, had been given her share. Abraham Davenport, Thomas Hammond, Van Rutherford, and Alexander White, were named as executors. As the Captain lived six years after making the will, and two of his sons were making their own way — there was left but the two younger sons to be looked after. While the Captain had disposed of some of his properties before his death there still remained enough to provide each of the seven children quite a goodly patrimony.