THE HOLLOW LOG Issue 23, September 2004 The Hollow Family Researchers’ Newsletter ISSN 1445-8772 Shared Ancestors but a hemisphere apart These two families have their origins in and around Zennor. The ancestors of the family above moved away from Zennor, first to Redruth and then to Australia. Those in the family below have stayed there for generations farming the land at Zennor and Towednack Born in Redruth in 1863 Henry Hollow migrated with his parents to Australia in 1879. He married Elizabeth Whelpton in 1887 at Queenstown (now St Andrews) Victoria in 1887. Henry’s forbear, Matthew Hollow, son of John Holla and Sarah Eddy, moved from Zennor to Redruth around 1765. Four generations on, Henry’s father, also Henry ▲ Henry and Elizabeth Hollow and established Hollow & Sons, family from left, Harold, Elizabeth, Builders and Contractors. Their INSIDE THIS ISSUE Edward Charles, Hazel and Henry. Circa 1922. story has been told in the previous Redruth Masons to three issue of The Hollow Log. Melbourne Builders – part 4 The story continues on page 2 The last instalment of the story of Hollow & Sons. Page 2 The Hollows and Towednack Not only have Hollows lived in the Towednack Zennor, area for a long time but they have had close associations with the Towednack church. Keith Hollow documents these associations Page 8 Cornish Churches - Towednack A short history by Christopher Norman Hollow Page 10 Towednack Parish Hollow Records ▲ Christopher and Mary Hollow with sons Augustus William Hollow (left) and Christopher Norman Hollow (right). circa 1930 Entries in the parish registers and from monumental inscriptions Christopher Hollow, born 1878, was from a long line of Hollow farmers who Page 12 worked the land in and around Towednack for hundreds of years. He was a Hollow Spotting descendant of John Hollow , also a son of John Holla and Chessen Thomas Spotting has been held over until next issue who married at Zennor on 26 March 1695. Their story and that of the Towednack church begins on page 8. The Hollow Log Page 1 Redruth Masons to H E L L O T HERE Melbourne Builders – part 4 In the previous two issues we have concentrated on the It has taken me a while to get this together, what with Hollow & Sons the company, now we will return to the being a grandpa and all. Nathan Paige Lowery arrived in family and see how they lived through the 20th century. Dublin on June 22. Joy and I were there, well almost, he After moving to Melbourne from Adelaide and living initially came a week early while we were in Scotland but we met in and around Clifton Hill, Fairfield, Kew and Alphington, in him at 4 days old and spent two glorious weeks with him the 1920s the Hollows began moving south of the Yarra (and his parents Jo our daughter and partner Ryan). We River. Henry Hollow (1835-1901) and wife Priscilla Gray are now long-range grandparents but there are lots of (1837-1904) saw little of the 20th century it was to belong to photos coming across cyberspace chronicling his every their children and their children. development. Look for a photo next issue. Clara the first-born child remained a spinster all her life living with and looking after her parents at “Pendarvis” in Como T H E HOLLOW W EBSITE Street Alphington until their deaths. She lived on in Pendarvis until the move to south of the river commenced. Pendarvis is http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chollow/ of Cornish origin but its significance to the Hollows is The database on the website continues to grow, I try to unclear. update it every couple of months. Ellen (Nellie), the second born, had married Thomas Jeffrey Rye in 1889. They lived in Surrey Hills and Hawthorn. Rye O D D S POT became a manager of one of Melbourne’s big department stores in Bourke Street, Buckley & Nunn. Nellie had two Harold hollow’s eagle eye found a reference to another sons, Samuel Henry (Harry) Rye (1890-1954) and Clarence Hollow resident of Brighton in the Melbourne Age of George Rye (1893–?) December 27 last year. Nellie’s brothers, Henry and Samuel Hollow had both “A fellow called Mark Hollow could not have had no idea of what married in 1887. (Note, Nellie had kept those names for one he was starting when he erected what is believed to have been the first of her sons) The family seemed to enjoy living close to one Brighton bathing box in 1862.” another. The early years were spent in Alphington/Fairfield A recent sale of one of these boxes had just bought where the Hollows had three adjacent houses; Priscilla $150,000. Hollow lived at Pendarvis and had son Samuel on one side Mark Hollow arrived from St Buryan with his family in and son Henry (Harry) on the other. When Priscilla died her 1849 and kept a market garden in Brighton for many years. unmarried daughter Clara continued to live there. Eventually one of her grand daughters, Marie Annette, daughter of Samuel, and her husband Bill Tolson lived in a Hollow and C ONTACT Sons house a few doors down the street. They called their house “Swinside”. Colin Hollow edits the Hollow Log, comments and contributions are always welcome. Write to 11 Dorothy St. Croydon, 3136, Australia. Or e- mail: [email protected] Hollow and variants Holla, Hollah, Hollaw and Hollowe are registered with The Guild of One-Name Studies. Guild members who are Hollow researchers are Colin Hollow (Mem.No. 3056) and Keith Hollow (Mem. No. 3257) ©No material in this newsletter should be produced without permission. “Swinside” Como St. Alphington The Hollow Log Page 2 By 1924 Harry was living in a Hollow and Sons built house at goldfields at Sebastapol near Ballarat her parents were both 7 Menzies Ave, Brighton. The house still stands today. Welsh. Leaving Como St about the same time as Harry, Samuel had Samuel and wife Mary Ellen Williams had five children, Clara, moved to 7 Aroona St. Caulfield. Which is about 7 km north Lillian, Marie Annette, Irene Alexandra and Norman Henry. of Brighton. The births of the children were spread over 20 years. While When Samuel lived in Aroona Rd he lived on a double block Samuel settled initially in Caulfield he eventually moved to and opposite was his daughter Clara and husband Robert Brighton too. Gradually Brighton became the family Harkness. His sister Clara lived with him and his wife until stronghold. Henry (Harry) moved there first in 1920, and Clara’s death in 1934. Samuel Hollow’s house was called then son Harold W Hollow bought there in the late 1920s Cartref. He also owned the block next-door which was his and Sam moved there from Caulfield in 1940. Samuel’s huge garden. Cartref is Welsh for Home or abode; this was nephew, Edward Charles (Charlie) also lived in a Hollow & Sons built house in Kean St. Caulfield. The family tradition of living together in an area continued. Samuel and Mary’s family Clara Hollow (1887-1945) Clara was a milliner and married Robert Ellis Harkness, a surveyor, in 1926. Robert Harkness had served in the Australian Army pay Corps during World War I and may have continued to work with the army after the war. He is “Cartref” 7 Aroona Ave. Caulfield remembered as have worked at Victoria Barracks in St Kilda Mary Ellen’s influence for although she was born on the Road in Melbourne. The wedding party included Irene Clara Hollow’s wedding party taken on the front steps of Cartref, next to Clara are sister Irene and brother Norman The Hollow Log Page 3 Hollow as bridesmaid, Norman Hollow as groomsman and College. After gaining his qualifications Bill set up his own two of Clara’s nephews, Mervyn Tolson and Jack Trezise as electrical contracting business. The first premises his pageboys. Robert and Clara Harkness lived opposite Clara’s company worked from were 14-16 St Francis St. in the city, a parents in Aroona Avenue Caulfield. The house at 12 Aroona building owned by the Hollows. Part of Bill Tolson’s business was called “Cregah” after Cregah Rd. in Belfast where the was fire restoration like Hollow & Sons and the two firms Harkeness family used to live. Cregah was later sold to Clara’s often worked together. nephew Mervyn Tolson, one of the pageboys at her wedding, The Tolsons lived in Como Street Alphington, a few doors son of Marie Annette Hollow and William Tolson. The down from the three Hollow houses. The house was called Harknesses did not have any children. “Swinside” after the town in Cumberland, England, Bill Lillian Hollow (1889-1969) Tolson’s hometown in England. Lillian married Cyril Rowland Trezise a bank clerk, at Geoff Tolson, second son of Bill and Marie, remembers Alphington on 10 living there and having lots of open paddocks to March 1917. They had play in. The streets and footpaths were unmade. two children, Jack born One prank of the Tolson boys (Geoff’s brother 1920 and Kenneth also bill was four years older) was to dig a hole in born 1925. the footpath, fill it with water then put sticks over the hole. On top of the sticks newspaper Marie Annette was laid then a thin film of dirt. Then boys then Hollow (1897-1975) lay in wait for some unsuspecting pedestrian to Marie Annette married step into their trap. Another memory Geoff has William Tolson at Lillian Hollow and Cyril Trezise of Alphington was the Williams Jam Factory Alphington in 1918.