The Hollimans of England Part 6

by Glenn N. Holliman

We continue the biographies of the ancestors of Lindsay Holliman, who shares with this writer a multi-great grandfather, Thomas Hollyman (b 1558) of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, England.  In 2014, DNA testing revealed our paper trails were correct thus tying the American Hollimans to Cuddington in the 15th Century and to Linday's English lineage!

Lindsay's family story is similar to the Holliman families in the United States in the 20th Century.  More and more persons in industrialized countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States left occupations in rural areas and migrated to the growing cities to take advantage of job opportunities.  Their children in turn acquired excellent educations and entered service professions. And alas, both nations and families would participate in two World Wars in the that century. - GNH

Below Lindsay and his wife, Madeleine, in their North Midlands home in England, 2014.

Lindsay Holliman writes:   

"My grandfather, George James Holliman (1889-1950) was born in Chelsea, London, England on 2 March 1889 and was christened there on 31 March that year. He was the eldest of four children, the others being, in order of age: Ada Eleanor Mildred Holliman (1890), William Thomas Holliman (1894) and John Alfred Holliman (1900). 

On 28 October 1908 he married Florence Howlett in the Registry Office at Littleport, where the family were staying at the time, she being a native of that town. By the 1911 census they had moved to Cambridge, the great university city.  George had the the splendid job title “horse keeper for job master” – i.e. he looked after the horses for someone who hired out horse-drawn carriages for domestic use. George was an accomplished cornet player in the Cambridge Salvation Army Band and by 1914 he had become bandmaster. 

George is front row, left in this 1910s band. 

 

 And then World War I happened.

By 1916, he was in Bologne, France driving Salvation Army ambulances, and he did this until his service was terminated on 28 January 1919.  

After the War, he and his brothers helped their father, James, in the family hardware business as it was at the time. The brothers worked in the business all their working life (photograph below ca 1928). The business  eventually wound up in about 1970 when John Alfred Holliman retired.

  George and Florence with Emma, Florence's mother in the 1930s in Cambridge.

George and Florence had two children – Irene Mildred and Frederick George Holliman. Florence lost two brothers in WWI – Frederick (after whom my father was named) at Rouen and William at Flanders.  George died suddenly during the night of 3 December 1950 and was buried on 7^th December.  - Lindsay Holliman

In a future post, the conclusion on this English Holliman family, cousins of almost all Hollimans (various spellings) who live in the United States. One Christopher Hollyman migrated to Virginia in 1650; other Hollymans remained in England.

For information on Hollimans and allied families, please refer to the 28 March 2015 blog for an inventory of available manuscripts and data on Hollimans and allied families, please refer to the 28th March 2015.

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!).