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