When We Were English, Part 59

by Glenn N. Holliman

New Research Confirms Holliman English Lineage....

It has been a year since I have used this space to write of recent research delving into the roots of the American Hollimans (and assorted spellings) in England.  In my last writings, with the help of English genealogists Peter Smith and Anne Holmes, the Holyman lineage from England to the Virginia colony appeared (and continues to appear) to be as follows:

John Holyman of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire (d 1521), father of
John Holyman of Cuddington (d 1533), father of
Thomas Holyman (d 1558) of Cuddington and Dorothy Clark, daughter of Christopher Clark, parents of
Christopher Holyman, orginally of Cuddington (d 1588) and Margaret Lee, orginally of Dinton, later both of Sherington, Buckinghamshire, parents of
Thomas Holyman (d ca 1650) and Helena Poynard of Bedford, Bedfordshire, parents of Christopher Holyman of Isle of Wight, Virginia (1618-1691)

This research into wills, baptism and marriage records, time, place and commonality of first names, especially the name of Christopher, all seemed to have fallen into a convincing thesis.

What was lacking was a DNA test with an Englishman who believed himself a descendant of the same Holymans of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire. (It is the male DNA that provides the continuity of lineage.)  Thanks to Bob Hollyman-Mawson of Wales of whom I have written earlier in this space, I began an email exchange with Lindsay Holliman of Braybrook, near Market Harborough in the midlands of England. 

 Below, two cousins, Glenn Holliman on the left and Lindsay Holliman, right, study mutual lineages in Lindsay's home, January 2014.

We arranged to meet last winter in his home and village.  Thanks to genealogist cousin Tina Peddie, I had a DNA kit, and Lindsay kindly took the test.  Months later, the results were in, and as Tina wrote from California "BINGO!".   Lindsay tested positively to American Holliman DNA tests, mine included, that we Americans and Lindsay all share a common ancestor, one somewhat deep in time, but a same grandfather in our English past.    Below, Lindsay in his office nook surrounded by photos of his Holliman family.
 





Below is the lineage that Lindsay has traced to date of his family.  Note please the commonality of our mutual Buckinghamshire roots.  The English saying is "Bob's your uncle!" or there it is - strong evidence of science and saved records that both Lindsay and Holliman Americans share that common ancestry.


Robert Holliman (1599-1638) of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, father of
Robert Holliman (1620-1667) of Cuddington and Mary, parents of
Brightwell Holliman (1650-1711) and Mary Wheeler, both of Cuddington, parents of 
Brightwell Holliman (1694-1761) of Cuddington and Mary Gibbs, parents of
John Holliman (1725 ca - ?) of Cuddington and Sarah Steel of Waddeston, Buckinghamshire, parents of
James Holliman of Cuddington (1767-1853) and Elizabeth Cook of Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, parents of
James Holliman of Long Crendon (1797-1866) and Sarah Hendry of Haily, Oxfordshire, parents of
 John Holliman (1831-1907) of Long Crendon and Lillah/Zillah Sheriff of Winchendon, Buckinghamshire, parents of
James Holliman (1859-1932) of Long Crendon and Louise Atkins of Towcester, Northamptonshire, parents of
George James Holliman (1889-1950) of Chelsea, London nd Florence Howlett of Littleport, Cambridgeshire, parents of
Frederick George Holliman (1920-2001) of Cambridge and Dora Circuit of Bedford, Bedfordshire, parents of

Lindsay Holliman (1946) of Cambridge, now Braybrook


Lindsay observes from his research: "Generally the early surname spelling was Holyman, but this changed increasingly to Holliman as the 19th century progressed.  The English census returns show the usual variations in spelling - no doubt a combination of the illiterate householder's accent and the spelling ability of the enumerator.

Long Crendon is a village 3 miles from Cuddington, home of the still named Holyman Farm.  During the Medieval and Tudor periods the Holymans were a noted family in the Cuddington/Haddenham area of Buckinghamshire and appear to have had some considerable influence. 

By the 19th century however, those that remained in the Cuddington area, were largely employed on the land as labourers.  By the early 20th century there were no Hollimans living in the Cuddington area, including Haddenham, Long Crendon, Chearsley and Winchendon." - Lindsay Holliman

There is more work to be done and more to be said in forthcoming posts....but this is a major confirmation of the English Holliman heritage!

Have questions about Holliman family history? You are invited to join the Hollyman Email List at Hollyman-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com and the Hollyman Family Facebook Page located on Facebook at "Hollyman Family". Post your questions and perhaps one of the dozens Holyman cousins on the list will have an answer. For more information contact Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com, the list and Facebook manager for Hollyman (and all our various spellings!).

Join your many cousins at MyFamily.com and view an expanded Holliman family tree and many files on the history of the family.  Just write to glennhistory@gmail.com for an invitation. Or go to the HOLLYMAN GENEALOGY MyFamily site at http://myfamily.com/group/hollyman. Then click on "Request to Join" in upper righthand corner!

Exploring further Holleman History in Old Virginia, Part 12

by Glenn N. Holliman

Note in previous articles, I have written of Josiah Holleman and his sons, Joel and Wilson who lived in 19th Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia.  In this posting, Allen Holleman of North Carolina writes of Jesse Holleman, the father and grandfather of the before noted Hollemans.  Allen's lineage is profiled in our October 4, 2012 article in the Archives of this blog. Take a look at Allen's blue convertible! GNH

Jesse Holleman, a Man Among Men 
by descendant Allen Holleman (photograph below)

 

Jesse Holleman (1735 ca - 1825) is a great grandson of Christopher Holyman (1618-1691), the patriarch of most of the Hollyman (various spellings) clans in America.  Christopher, Sr. arrived in Jamestown in 1650, and fathered Christopher, Jr. who parented John Holleman, the father of Jesse Holleman of this article.  All lived in Isle of Wight County, VA and had extensive land holdings in this Tidewater area of southeast Virginia. 

We don't know much about Jesse's early life other than he was born about 1735-37. His mother was named Elizabeth but we know less about her except that she was named as heir and executrix of John's will dated and applied in 1751 when John died. 

Below a Google photograph of the Holleman Farm at Mill Swamp today.  Approximately 100 acres remain of the original 1,020 acres Christopher Holyman, Sr. patented in 1684.  The Mill Swamp Cemetery land and possibly the land for the Mill Swamp Baptist Church, adjacent to the Cemetery, were donated by the Holleman family.  The Holleman House and remaining farm are located on the left center of this picture on Highway 621.

Jesse inherited 200 acres beside the Mill Swamp as a teenager, and it is safe to say he began farming the land as he grew into manhood.  He was educated well enough to read and write as he signed his name, not using an 'X'.  Also in his later professions of surveyor and land appraiser, many documents and other written works were necessary.  Even later, as a Baptist minister he needed not only to read and quote the Bible but to deal with the records and documents required.

Jesse acquired other properties and expanded his farming, mainly tobacco which leeches the soils so badly that land could be used only for a few seasons.  He, and later his sons, must have worked the farms themselves as census records show him having only one slave.  Although the slave population grew rapidly in Virginia in the 1700s, Jesse probably could not afford bonded servants in his early years.  Tobacco demands skill to raise, cure and transport, and he may have been able to hire some help among the numerous free blacks in Isle of Wight County.

What was Jesse like, what sort of man was he?  Farming demands dedication and hard work so he would have been self-directed and even driven.  By learning a new profession, he showed determination to succeed and proposer. He surely had high standards for himself and expected no less for his children.  

And they did not disappoint. A son, Josiah, became a member of the House of Delegates and a long time commissioner of Isle of Wight County.  A grandson, Joel Holleman, became a U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House of Delegates.

The Holleman family was reasonably prosperous and prominent in the area among such neighbors as the Wombles, Gwaltneys, Burwells, Wrenns and Cofers.  And in marrying Charity Cofer (m. ca 1766), Jesse did very well indeed.  He was held in such regard that he was co-executor of her father's will along with her brother and was trusted to value the land and divide it according to the senior Thomas Cofer's wishes.

There are records of Jesse's father, John, being a land appraiser, and one wonders if John might also have been a surveyor.  Jesse had probably learned much from John, even at a young age, as children grew up quite early in colonial times.  Jesse became a highly-regarded surveyor, an exacting science even in that more "primitive" time.  Land appraisal is more of an art, but requires trust in one whose judgement and experience can be relied upon for sale or inheritance purposes.  There was little circulating money, so property and the cash crop tobacco were the basis for wealth.

Jesse and Charity had three daughters: Mary "Polly", Sarah and another whose name is lost to history.  I have read that they had twelve sons but we can only identify seven.  All the boys names started with 'J': John, Josiah, Jesse (Jr.), Jordan and Jonathan we know quite well and some about Jeremiah but nothing about Jeptha.  He might have died at a young age - as possibly others?

And none named James. It was written by early genealogists that  James Grantson Holliman (1750-1836) of North Carolina was a son of Jesse, but Joseph Parker, Maxine Wright, Jeanette Holiman Stewart and Glenn N. Holliman have demonstrated otherwise earlier at this blog site.  Charity would have been only 10-12 years old if she had birthed James Grantson, and she never lived in North Carolina as did he.

Charity was in the 1810 census and died before 1816 when Jesse married a prominent widow, Frances Dews Stringfield, when he was about 70 years old. 

And no, there were no more children, but Jesse took up another profession, that of minister of the oldest Baptist church in Virginia - Mill Swamp Baptist that is still a thriving congregation today.  There was a previous congregation that met at Burleigh Plantation, but this group never had a building per se.  MSBC grew from this first Virginia attempt at organized Baptist worship. When he was in his 80's, Jesse again served the church as minister.  Below, Mill Swamp Baptist Church as it looks in the 21st Century.

And what might seem strange today....Jesse was also a distiller of spirits.  It was common practice to have a toddy before dinner, and Jesse, who evidently had no use for temperance, made apple brandy, his favorite.  It probably helped him live longer and surely made the journey more enjoyable.  My how the Baptists have changed!

Many researchers have stated that Jesse was a patriot in the American Revolution (true) - as a soldier in the army. That part is not accurate.  He would have been about 40 and too old for field service - except maybe as a senior officer and the records would exist for that. 

No, he had a large farm and family to look after as well as his other professions. As all able-bodied men were expected to serve in the local militia, Jesse might have served there, probably along with his teen-aged sons.

 Alas, when the British officer, Banister "Bloody" Tarleton, burned the Isle of Wight courthouse, many of the militia records were lost along with many other documents. (This is why we have lost so much information on our antecedents.)

Jesse did something equally important as being a soldier.  In 1779 he was appointed Surveyor of Roads for Isle of Wight county, building and maintaining roads used by the citizens, militia and army. Unfortunately the area roads were utilized by the British as well, who made excursions into the region burning, pillaging and thieving, before being driven back to their ships by the militia. 

This service is the important basis for a number of DAR and SAR applications - including my own.  Jesse Holleman was truly ‘A Man Among Men’.

Jesse died in December of 1824, and his will was proved with an inventory on January 3, 1825.  It has long been written that he was buried in the Mill Swamp Baptist church cemetery, but that land was not given until later.  It is almost certain that Jesse was laid to rest in the existing cemetery on the Holleman farm, possibly with John, and Christophers Sr. and Jr.  Wooden markers of the time did not last long, and Wilson's is the earliest carved in stone. - Allen Holleman of North Carolina

  I am grateful to Allen for this article, and encourage all who have an ancestral story to send it along so we may share it with others. GNH

Next posting...back to our English Roots, some new research....

Have questions about Holliman family history? You are invited to join the Hollyman Email List at Hollyman-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com and the Hollyman Family Facebook Page located on Facebook at "Hollyman Family". Post your questions and perhaps one of the dozens Holyman cousins on the list will have an answer. For more information contact Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com, the list and Facebook manager for Hollyman (and all our various spellings!).

Join your many cousins at MyFamily.com and view an expanded Holliman family tree and many files on the history of the family.  Just write to glennhistory@gmail.com for an invitation. Or go to the HOLLYMAN GENEALOGY MyFamily site at http://myfamily.com/group/hollyman. Then click on "Request to Join" in upper righthand corner!