A Gathering of Hollimans, Part IV

by Glenn N.  Holliman


This is the fourth in a series of articles concerning the October 14/15, 2011 family seminar held in Fayette, Alabama, the ancestral location of many Hollimans living today.

On the outskirts of Fayette last October were many cotton fields (above) waiting for the harvest.  This crop was important to Southern Holliman families for several centuries.  The farm land in the Sipsy River bottoms and the the timber and minerals of the ridge and ravine topography of the area have provided income to generations of Hollimans in that part of west Alabama. 

Above at the Fayette, Alabama seminar for Holliman descendants, Raiford Brandon, Bill Holliman and Vonceil Duckworth took notes while Joe Parker (above) shared his many insights in the Holliman family.

The gathering did not lack for educational expertise.  In addition to Kathleen and Jimmy Holliman (above left), a professor at Auburn, was Lenwood Holliman (above right) of Lamar County, Alabama, a retired superintendent of schools.  Both Lenwood and Jimmy descend through Charles Holliman, a son of James Grantson Holliman.

The Hollimans attending, sans spouses, were left to right front row: Jeanette Holiman Stewart, Vonceil Duckworth, Lenwood Holliman, Glenda Norris (number 12), Jimmy Holliman, Raiford Brandon and David Jennings.  Back row: James Franklin Holliman, Glenn Holliman, Bill Holliman, Joe Parker and Lynn Holliman.

Sending greetings to Alabama from Caernarvon, Wales in Great Britain was cousin Bob Hollyman-Mawson (left) who forwarded some of his humerous findings on Holyman behaviors in Nottingham, England in the 1500s.  His article, which generated chuckles, was distributed at the seminar.

Finally after a presentation on our English heritage to the Fayette group, an accumulation of my articles on English Holymans, was distributed (see below).  If anyone would like a copy of Bob Hollyman-Mawson's article and/or mine, I am happy to email.  My email address is Glennhistory@gmail.com.

This publication describes my adventures during 2010 and 2011 in the search of the Holliman families of England before our ancestors became Americans.  The parish church on the cover is Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire, England where a very great uncle of the America Hollimans was born in 1495.  This uncle became The Rt. Rev. John Holyman, appointed a bishop during the turbulent reign of Queen Mary Tudor.


One cannot close our visit to Fayette, Alabama without a word of thanks to the Rose Hill Inn for their generous hospitality, the staff at the Fayette County Civic Center who worked on a Saturday for us, and my genealogical partner and second cousin, Glenda Norris who donated great time and energy to insuring the Holliman Round Table event would occur.


And much thanks to those who came so far and shared knowledge and asked good questions as we all sought to know better our ancestral roots.  


Next postings, more on Alabama Hollimans before we return to Merry Ole England and Wales in search of our Medieval and Renaissance roots. 

A Gathering of Hollimans, Part III

by Glenn N. Holliman

This is the third in a series of articles concerning the October 14/15, 2011 family seminar held in Fayette, Alabama, the ancestral location of many Hollimans living today.

At the Georgia-Pacific Railroad Depot in Fayette stands a historical sign.  The Depot is now a visitor’s center and museum where in the 1880s the rail road reached Fayette.  In 1917, this writer's grandfather and grandmother rode this train with their four children to start life over in Irondale, Alabama, a blue collar suburb of Birmingham.  There Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman increased their family by three more children (one my father b. 1919 H. Bishop Holliman).  Their movement during World War I foreshadowed the disapra that the Holliman families and tens of millions of American families would experience from the middle to the end of the 20th Century.


On October 15, 2011, seminar and round table discussions were held at the Fayetteville Civic Center.  Some of those attending were below left to right, David Jennings and his uncle Bill Holliman, both of Picken’s County, Alabama.  Later, after consulting the papers of the late Walt O. Holliman, it was determined they are descendants of Charles Holliman (1795 – 1841 ca), one of the three brothers who immigrated to west Alabama in 1836 from South Carolina.  Bill is a retired college music professor.

Above, same photo on the right, from the Selma, Alabama area were Jimmy and Kathleen Holliman.  Jimmy is a descendant also of Charles Holliman, and is a professor with the University of Auburn Agricultural Extension Service. 

Keeping notes at the meeting was Jeanette Holiman Stewart of Texas, below.  Jeanette has entered over 10,000 Holliman names in her database!  Behind Jeanette, left, is Frank Holliman who still retains some of the original land settled by the pioneering Holliman families in Fayette County.

  Below, Joe Parker flanked on his left by Lynn Holliman delivers a point during the discussions.   Joe provided information on the Holliman lines from Christopher Sr. (1618 – 1691) to the present.  His knowledge of the various Holliman branches through their Southern migrations is encyclopedic in scope.

 At the meeting, we remembered many Holliman pioneers, both living and deceased who could not be present.  Undoubtedly this is only a partial list, and I apologize for not having information to include all.  Additions to this Holliman (and all its spellings) Hall of Fame are welcome.


Recognized were Maxine Wright of Arkansas and Dr. Rhodes Holliman of Virginia.  Both descend from James Grantson Holliman and have accomplished through the decades a mountain of research.  Dr. Sidney Arthur Holleman’s 2003 publication of his branch of the family (Texas) was praised also.  Ron Holliman of Dothan, Alabama, a descendant of James Grantson and John Thomas Holliman, also has compiled significant records but due to business and family could not be with us.

Among those whose earthly  journeys are over and recognized as contributing significantly to our knowledge of this American family are Cecil Rhodes Holliman, Glenda Norris’s grandfather, Walt O. Holliman, also late of Alabama, whose research has been preserved by his children, and Dr. Charles Holliman, late of North Carolina whose work lives on the writings of others. 

Above Glenn Holliman and Tina Peddie in February 2011 near her home in California.  In addition to being an accomplished genealogist, Tina conducts searches for adopted children seeking biological parents.

Tina Peddie’s establishment of the Hollyman Internet chat room in 1999 has been instrumental in the sharing of family information and networking of various Holliman researchers.  Her contributions from her home in California also include the  re-publication, with the just deceased at age 93, Dr. Jeremiah Holliman, of the George E. Holleman 1953 ground breaking genealogical book on the family.  Her achievements and George E. Holliman's tome, the first known publication concerning the family, were recognized with appreciation.

Next posting, more on the Holliman Alabama seminar....

A Gathering of Hollimans, Part II

by Glenn N. Holliman

In mid-October 2011, a dozen descendants of Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691),born an Englishman and died a Virginian, gathered in Fayette, Alabama for a seminar on the family.  In 1836 three Holliman brothers arrived in Fayette County in West Alabama.  Today their descendants live in Fayette, adjacent counties and states, and literally all over the country.  In these articles we look at Fayette and also family, some living and some passed on.

Above, Fayette County’s legal system and records resides in its one hundred year old gold domed court house.  A fire in 1911 destroyed much of the down town taking many early records with it. 

Above and far left James Monroe Holliman, Glenda Norris’ great grandfather, stands in front of Harkin’s Store which was destroyed by the 1911 disastrous fire that swept through the west Alabama community.  Later, James became a successful attorney in Birmingham, Alabama (1878 - 1938).


Today, (below) the front street across from the Court House reflects the gentle pace of life during a Friday afternoon in autumn.  

Below, James Franklin Holliman (right) inspects the materials Raiford Brandon (left) brought to the Fayette Round Table.  Frank is a descendent of Cornelius Holliman and Raiford of Charles Holliman.  All present were descended from Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 – 1691) and his son, Richard Holyman (1660c – 1711) with the exception of Joe Parker, who descended from Christopher Holyman, Sr. through a different son; that being Christopher Holyman, Jr.

  Below, two blocks from the Court House is the old train depot which survived the 1911 disastrous fire, now a community museum and visitor’s center.  Just a few blocks away stood the home of John Thomas Holliman (1844 – 1930), the great grandfather of Glenn Holliman and great, great grandfather of Glenda Norris.

Below, holding the bridle of his horse, John Thomas Holliman, and Martha Jane Walker Holliman (1845 – 1931), his wife, stand in the 1920s in front of their Fayette home, only four blocks from the County Court House and close to the depot.  The house is now gone. 

Like almost all Alabama white men and his male relatives of that era and age, John Thomas Holliman was a Confederate veteran.  He fought at Stone’s River in the West and the Petersburg, Virginia Crater in the East.  Martha Jane’s father, Samuel Walker (1822 – 1900) also of Fayette County, was one of the remaining 7,000 who surrendered with Robert E. Lee at Appomattox.  (A fascinating article on John Thomas Holliman by Dr. Rhodes Holliman, grandson of James Monroe Holliman, can be found in the Archives, March 2010.)

Next posting, more views and news of the Alabama Round Table....

A Gathering of Hollimans, Part I

by Glenn N. Holliman

In the small community of Fayette, Alabama on October 14 and 15, 2011, a dozen blood-related Hollimans, all descended from Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 – 1691), gathered to share research and pose questions as to their common lineage.

Those who came overnight lodged at the Rose House Inn (above) in Fayette, a quiet community, forty or so miles west of Birmingham and the same distance north of  Tuscaloosa.  It was in this frontier county that three Holliman brothers, Warren, Charles and Cornelius settled in 1836, emigrating from South Carolina.  All three were sons of James Grantson Holliman (1750 – 1836).  Warren and his family moved on to Arkansas.  Charles, Cornelius and hundreds of their descendants stayed in Fayette and surrounding counties.

Not wasting a moment, Joe Parker (left below) and Lynn Holliman (right) immediately upon arriving began sharing information on the front porch of the Inn’s guest house.  Both had driven from Texas, and planned to travel further east on family vacations and research.  Joe had prepared a software disk of Hollimans (and various spellings) and their locations in the United States.

During the evening, Joe, Lynn and yours truly examined papers on James Grantson Holliman from the Walt O. Holliman collection recently donated by his children for review by other family members.  


With combined research and the work done by Walt in previous decades, we concluded that the evidence is overwhelming that Samuel Holliman (1707c - 1789), a grandson of Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691), must be the father of James Grantson.  The name of James Grantson Holliman's father has bedeviled family historians for decades.

On the Friday evening, a reception was held and, those of us who knew each other only by email, began to share stories in person.  Above seminar organizer Glenda Norris, (left in pink) of the Birmingham, Alabama suburbs, reviews a family history prepared by Raiford Brandon (right) and his wife, Shelia (in blue).  


The Brandons had traveled from their home near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Raiford’s family tree not only is connected to England through his Holliman roots, but also has branches leading to members of the Tudor Royal Court of the 1500s.     

Also traveling from Texas to Alabama were Gladys Parker, above left, and Jim and Jeanette Holiman Stewart, all of the Lone Star state, representing some of the many family members that continued west from the Deep South.  Gladys, Joe Parker’s better half, is a serious genealogist herself.                   

Next Posting, more on the Round Table and a look at Hollimans in Fayette County, Alabama