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Richard Holliman (1665? - 1711), a Son of Christopher Holyman, Sr (1618 - 1691)...and the Grandfather of James Grantson Holliman (1750 - 1836)
Christopher Holyman, Sr., the founder of the Holyman family that immigrated from England to Jamestown, Virginia in 1650, had six children, four males and two females. The girls married Atkinson's and the boys carried the family name forward, sometimes spelling it Holliman, Holleman, Holloman, Holyman and other variations depending on the literacy level of the county court clerk at the time!
Holliman family researcher, Joe Parker, proposes that Richard Holliman, one of Christopher, Sr.'s sons is the grandfather of my 4th great grandfather, James Grantson Holliman. Based on the evidence we have at this date (subject always to additional research and interpretation), I favor Joe's thesis. James Grantson Holliman's father? That would be one of Richard's sons - Samuel Holliman, my 5th great grandfather, and Richard, my generation's 6th great grandfather.
Let's first examine what we know of Richard Holliman, his life and go from there. George Holleman in his 1953 classic volume on the family does not give a birth date for Richard, but lists him as the 4th child born to Christopher and an unknown mother. The third child, William, was born in 1661 and the 5th child, Ann Holyman Atkinson married in 1691. So if Ann were born in the late 1660s or early 1670s, then Richard's birth falls approximately in the mid-1660s, give or take a few years.
Richard would be the first son of Christopher Holyman, Sr. to die in 1711, perhaps in his mid-40s.
Information is available on Richard and his wife, and mother of Samuel, one Margaret Jordan House.
We will look closely at the fascinating Jordan lineage in later posts, a remarkable early Virginia family branch of the Holymans.
From Christopher Holyman, Sr.'s 1691 will, we know Richard inherited land along the Blackwater River in Isle of Wight County. Evidently, he sold some of it to his brother, Thomas.
Richard Hollyman patented 1150 acres of land in Surry County, Virginia in 1696, five years after his father died. The Christopher Holyman, Sr. land was on the border of Isle of Wight and Surry Counties.
Obviously doing well, Richard patented another 1,023 acres on the south side of the main Blackwater River, 25 April 1702. This latter he received for transporting immigrants to Virginia. There is evidence he inflated the numbers in order to secure more acres under the 'head right' system. For every person one 'imported' to Virginia, one received 50 acres outright. (Information found p. 83, Crutchfield, James A. The Grand Adventure. Richmond, Dietz Press, 2005 with contributions by Joe Parker, genealogist.)
Why can't I use shaving cream to highlight inscriptions on difficult to read stones?
ReplyDeleteOur professional conservators tell us it is definitely not a good idea to use shaving cream on porous gravestones because there are chemicals and greasy emollients in shaving cream that are sticky and very difficult to remove from the stone with a simple washing. Indeed, even with vigorous scrubbing and lots of rinsing, the cream fills in the pores of a porous stone and cannot all be removed. The result of leaving it there is that in time it may discolor or damage the stone.
Instead, use a mirror to shine sunlight across the face of a stone, making the lettering stand out. You should always prefer a non-invasive method to interact with gravestones just as we do with medical tests on our own bodies.