Holtzclaw

The Holtzclaw Family History

From Ancestry and Descendents of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia, 1714-1750

By B. C. Holtzclaw

THE HOLTZKLAU-HOLTZCLAW FAMILY The origin of the family is from the very ancient parish of Holtzklau, first mentioned in 1089, with a parish church dating back to the 13th century in the central village of Oberholzklau, and a number of other villages in the parish, including Niederholzklau. There is a brook called the Klav (an ancient name for a gully or ravine) which runs through the parish, so that the name means "the woods of the Klav." The brook later changes its name to the Ferndorf, runs through Klafeld (the "field of the Klav"), and joins the river Sieg at Weidenau. Holzklau has always been an almost exclusively agricultural parish. The case is different with Weidenau, and to some extent Klafeld. Weidenau was situated at the confluence of the Sieg and the Ferndorf, and due to the abundance of water power was a center of the iron industry from the 15th century and probably even earlier. Besides the old farming village of Weidenau, when our ancestors lived there, the township (Gemeinde) contained seven iron-works settlements as well, Hardt, Muenkershuetten, Muesenershutten, Meinhardt, Schneppenkauten, Fiskenhuetten and Buschgotthardshuetten. Through marriages in the third and fourth generations of the pedigree given above, the Holzklaus of Weidenau became connected with the ironworks people there, particularly in the family of Johannes Holzklau of Weidenau, Jacob Holtzclaw's grandfather.

JOHANN HOLTZKLAU, the earliest known ancestor of the Holtzklau family, came to Siegen in 1558 through his marriage to Treina, widow of the master baker, Hans Latsch, who died in 1554; after his marriage he conducted in the "Latschen Haus", the bakery which had been operated by his predecessor since 1543. A public house or inn was operated in connection with the bakery. The Siegen city accounts from 1571 on the receipts of ground-rent shows record of "The Latsch house, now Johan Holtzclaw, 6 Heller." The house, situated in the Loehrstrasse, now gave a by-name to those who lived in it from time to time; thus Johann Holtzclau was called by the nickname "Latsch", in the 1567 list of bakers; and his children were sometimes so called, as well as his wife's third husband, who occupied the house after Johann's death in 1578.

When Treina, the former wife of Johannes died in the year 1598, she left 1/3 of her estate to each of the two sons born to her and Johannes Holtzclau, Johannes and Thomas, and the other 1/3 to Hans Knie, her third husband who survived her.
Besides the sons Johannes and Thomas, Johann Holtzklau (d. 1578) had other children, namely a son Johann, born around 1555, a daughter who had married Johannes Feld and died in 1597, and our direct ancestor Franz Holtzlau of Weidenau. According to records, these children were born of an earlier marriage of the father, before he moved to Siegen from Weidenau.

HANS JACOB HOLZKLAU, the 1714 immigrant, was born in 1683 in Nassau-Siegen. He was the son of Hans Henrich Holtzklau and Gertrud (Patt) Solbach. Hans Jacob succeeded his brother, Johannes, as schoolmaster at Oberfischbach in 1708. He married ANNA MARGRETH OTTERBACH b 1686 d/o Herman Otterbach of Trupbach.
They had the following children, born at Oberfischbach before they emigrated to Virginia:
(1) Johannes was christened on 17 July 1709. The godfather was Johannes Otterbach of Trupbach (the mother's brother).
(2) Johann Henrich was born on 14 Nov 1711 and christened on 22 November. The godfather was Johannes Jung, bachelor, of Trupbach (this sponsor was Jacob Holtzclaw's nephew, John Young, the 1734 immigrant).

JOHN HOLTZCLAW b 1709 Nassau-Siegen d 1752 Prince William Co., VA. (later Fauquier Co.) s/o Hans Jacob Holtzclaw (the 1714 immigrant) & Anna Margaret Otterbach m 1729-30 CATHERINE THOMAS d some time after 1763, a young widow, d/o Capt. William Russell, the Ranger (1680-1756), of Stafford and Fauquier Cos., VA. & Grace ____. Capt. William Russell was a son of John Russell, who died in Stafford Co., VA. about 1699 and Jane_____, who married a second time to a Richard Martin. John Russell was probably a son of Nicholas Russell, an early resident of Westmoreland and Stafford Cos., VA.

Catherine, wife of John Holtzclaw, seems to have had at least one son, Jacob Thomas, by her first marriage. She and John Holtzclaw had 7 children, as follows:
(1) Henry m Susannah and moved to Burke Co., N.C. prior to 1782. A substantial amount of information on the family of Henry exists in census and county records.
(2) Joseph b c 1735 d in Fauquier Co., VA 1786. He served in Capt. William Edmunds' Company in 1761 in the French and Indian War. He and his wife were members of Carters Run Baptist Church in Fauquier Co., and Joseph was a delegate to the first general association of the Particular Baptists in Virginia in 1771. His wife, Caty Holtzclaw, was paid for supplies furnished the troops in the Revolutionary War. Joseph Holtzclaw married Caty or Catherine James about 1761. When Joseph died in 1786, Caty was appointed guardian of the orphans, Archibald, Betsy, Stephen, Eli, Aggy, Franky and Sally Holtzclaw. Apparently another daughter, Cathy Holtzclaw, was born posthumously.
(3) Elizabeth b c 1735-40 m John Duncan, Jr. of Fauquier Co., VA. prior to 1762. John Duncan, Jr. was in the Fauquier militia in 1761 in the French and Indian War.
(4) Mary m Daniel Bennett. Daniel Bennett and Mary his wife of Fauquier Co., VA. in 1775 deeded away land that had been left Mary by her father, John Holtzclaw, in Culpepper Co.. The Bennetts seem to have moved to Shelby Co., KY., where Daniel Bennett is shown in 1795 with 1 tithable in the tax lists.
(5)Benjamin b c1745-50 m Catherine Melinda Russell b January 1757.
(6) Josiah
(7)Catherine m Joseph Martin, son of the immigrant, John Joseph Martin.

HENRY HOLTZCLAW was the progenitor of most of the North Carolina Holtsclaws. His son John (a NC Rev. War Vet.) was father of William who was the father of Elijah (drew a Confederate Pension for Service in Co. D of the 37th NC Regiment) who was the father of my great-grandmother Nancy Caroline Holtsclaw.

Return to my HomePage