Rebecca Hollensworth was born February 22, 1885 in Neenah, Wisconsin and was the daughter of Sarah Emma Cleggett and H. T. (Albert) Hollensworth. She died of tuberculosis July 23, 1909 and is buried in Appleton's Riverside Cemetery. On her death certificate her race is listed as "multiple." Her occupation in the 1906 Appleton city directory was teacher.
Rebecca lived with her sister and mother at 438 State (now 528 W. Fifth St.,) the home of her mother's parents William S. and Rebecca B. Hollensworth Cleggett.
Members of the family are listed as mulatto on the 1860 census when they lived in Stevens Point and also on the 1870 and 1880 census schedules when they lived in Appleton. However, in both the 1900 federal census and the 1905 Wisconsin census they are black. By 1910 they were back to mulatto.
Her aunt Mary Cleggett's entry in the Lawrence College Alumni Record, 1857-1905 states the family is of "Scotch-Irish-negro ancestry."
