Black Lives Next Door in Fairfax

The deed of William W. and Elizabeth Holland showed the designation of eight acres of their land for their son, Cornelius Holland. His name was especially prominent in the records found in conjunction while conducting research for the last deed of land. It is unknown where the other ten acres of land from the Holland estate went. It is likely that the family sold the land due to a need for money or due to other circumstances. It was then discovered that the land from the deed of William W. and Elizabeth was split amongst the other members of the family as evidenced by the land tax record from 1920. Following this period, the records become convoluted. In the 1920 land tax entry the acreage of the Woodlawn area was split amongst nine members of the Holland family, with no mention of the eight acres given to Cornelius Holland. The total acreage adds up to around 80 acres for all the members of the Holland family. It is entirely possible that the other members of the family accumulated land of their own, but it is puzzling that there were no other records of them under the estate until this tax entry. The most accurate to the research entry in the tax book is W.W., assumed to be William W., listed at around eight and a half acres. This could be the eight acres sold to Cornelius Holland, but still under the name of his father as the land transfer did take place in the same year as the land tax record was published. However, the other acreage that wound up in the Holland family could not be traced by the researcher due to convoluted sources.

Even earlier mentions of the Hollands in the land tax books from previous years did not show every member of the family and remained focused on William W. Holland instead of the others. The researcher’s best assumption in the splitting of the estate is that the main landowner, perhaps Cornelius Holland, had passed away and left the land in their will to be divided amongst the family. However, due to the size of the family, a will that outlines the exact distribution if the land to the family has not yet been found. Further research needs to be done in order to determine the exact way the land was split up amongst the Hollands, as the original estate of William Holland had been dissolved.

Researched by: Kate Trebra