Connecting the Hollyman Lineages, Part 2

 by Glenn N. Holliman

This is the second in a series of articles by professional genealogist Anne Holmes of Buckinghamshire, England.  In this blog she seeks chiefly to discover kinship ties between Hollymans living in London of the 16th and 17th centuries with the Hollymans who lived in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire.  Cuddington which lies east of London, south of Aylesbury, is an ancestral home of most Hollymans (various spellings) who reside in the United States. 

This research is also valuable to the descendants of Hollymans who departed from London in the 19th Century for New Zealand, Australia, other parts of the British Empire and of course, those who remain in the United Kingdom. - GNH

Part 2 by Anne Holmes

Rather than going backwards in time, one approach to solve some of the London HOLLYMAN lineage challenges is to look at the male HOLLYMANS present in London in the 17th Century and earlier and then to work through possible male descendants, looking for further clues.  From past research, for example, it is known that some Cuddington HOLLYMANS did move to London.

Above Hollymans (various spellings) in Cuddington in front of the late 1600s thatch cottage at the Hollyman farm, May 2019.  Fortunately this sojourn to our native land occurred ten months before the Pandemic of 2020.

John, a son of Thomas HOLYMAN of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire (d1558) lived in London. John died there in 1578, unmarried and therefore no descendants. His nephew John, son of Christopher HOLYMAN his brother, was a beneficiary of this John’s Will.

Note both these Thomas and Christopher Holymans of Cuddington are direct great grand fathers of the American Hollymans.  This Christopher Holyman married Margaret Lee of Dinton, and they lived most of their lives in Sherington, Buckinghamshire.  They are the grandparents of the Christopher Hollyman who migrated from Bedford, Bedfordshire in 1650 to Virginia. - GNH

Another son of Thomas HOLYMAN, Richard, also died in London 1603. Richard can be found liable for tax in Middlesex in the 1590s where previously he had been liable for tax in the Hundred of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. This Richard HOLYMAN lived in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, London but kept his property interests back in Cuddington. 

Above the Medieval tower of St. Giles, Cripplegate with the Barbican complex in the left background.  The church was largely destroyed by the Blitz in World War II, and damaged in several earlier London fires.  Buried in the church were John Foxe who wrote the Book of Martyrs and John Milton who wrote Paradise Lost.  Oliver Cromwell married here in 1620.  

Below as Richard Holyman of Cuddington and London would have known St. Giles in earlier centuries.

This Richard had two surviving sons, Francis and Thomas. Francis died in Middlesex in 1633 but he too kept his links to Buckinghamshire. Like his father, Francis was liable for tax in 1623/4 in London where previously liability had been Buckinghamshire.  It has been difficult to trace any descendants of Francis’ brother Thomas.

This Francis who died in 1633 had three sons, Richard, Thomas and Simon, alive at the time of his death. Francis’ widow Margaret died after her husband in 1647 in Winslow, Buckinghamshire. At the time her Will was written (1643) only sons Richard and Thomas were surviving but their resident location not given.

 And then there is the Francis HOLLIMAN, Silk Weaver and Thrower who died in the parish of St. Mary’s Whitechapel, Middlesex in 1678. The administration of Francis estate was applied for by his daughter in law Mary, wife of Francis’ deceased son William. William had died in Marhalsea, south of the River Thames, in 1676 leaving behind two children.

 

Above St. Mary's Whitechapel in the Middlesex district of London, 

located approximately 3 miles east of Charing Cross. 

In 1666, the Hearth Tax for St. Mary’s Whitechapel lists a Francis HOLLYMAN as having a house with six hearths (fireplaces) so quite a big house to inherit.

Apparently, Francis had dictated a written Will before he died to an Ann HAWKE bequeathing his estate to the two children of his deceased son William. It looks as though from notes against the administration document (written later in 1693) there was a problem with this bequest. Unfortunately, the genders of Francis two grandchildren are not known as again suitable baptisms not found. 

There is evidence Francis HOLLIMAN, Silk Weaver of St. Mary’s Whitechapel was a nonconformist, a member of the Whitechapel Independent Church, hence the lack of baptismal evidence for his family. It is not impossible this Francis’ ancestry had its origins in Cuddington. - Anne Holmes

It is interesting that Anne's research reveals Hollimans belonged to two churches in London with Non-Conformist ties (i.e. not Anglican or Roman Catholic).  One Holliman known to history as a Non-Conformist is Stephen Holliman of Bedfordshire, a member in the late 1600s of a Bedford parish pastored by John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress.  Stephen was a brother of Christopher Hollyman, the 1650 immigrant to Jamestown, Virginia.  

The second Non-Conformist would be Ezekiel Holliman, born in Buckinghamshire, who immigrated to New England in the early 1630s and baptized the establisher of the Baptist Church in American, Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island and advocate of religious freedom.- GNH

More research of Ms. Holmes in our next blog!

Connecting the Hollyman English Lineages, Part 1

by Glenn N. Holliman

Professional genealogist Anne Holmes has been researching the Hollymans of England for almost a decade since she and I met in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Her work exploring the United Kingdom ancestors of most Hollimans in American (numerous spellings since 1650) has been outstanding.

Above, Jeanette Holiman Stewart, keeper of the Hollyman Ancestry.com tree, Anne Holmes, center and beside a Lee tomb, church historian George Lambert in 2013. Entombed in the sanctuary at St. Peter's and St. Paul's in Dinton, Buckinghamshire are the resting places of the Lee families, ancestor's of Margaret Lee Hollyman, grandmother of Christopher Hollyman who migrated in 1650 to Jamestown, Virginia.

Anne's work seemingly climaxed as she guided approximately 30 American cousins in 2019 through Buckingham and Bedfordshire revealing the parish churches and domestic locations of our English fore bearers. She has not ceased her research and in the past year has tried to connect the lineages of the Cuddington, Buckinghamshire Hollymans (from which most American Hollimans descend) with groups of 17th Century Hollymans in Somerset (Bristol) and Worcester.

Above, Holliman cousins at St. Peter's and St Paul's, Dinton, May 2019

This research has been triggered by information provided by Michael Hollyman of Australia who reached out by email to us earlier this year. Michael's ancestry involves both London and Somerset persons and more than a hint of relationships to the Cuddington Hollymans. Anne has picked up these threads and using her time during the global pandemic has researched these connections. What follows are a number of articles concerning her research.

To Michael in Australia, we tip our hats for his sharing of family research and to Anne a continued shout out for her perseverance in exploring the roots of parentage whose DNA we carry. - GNH

Part I by Anne Holmes

My initial search was to look at the London HOLLIMANS to try and link them back to the Cuddington HOLLIMANS and also to look at a possible connection to the Somerset HOLLYMANS also.

Michael Hollyman's possible earliest HOLLIMAN known ancestor was a Richard HOLLIMAN or HOLEMON, a bachelor and Brewers Servant, who married a Mary BROWN in London in 1753. The marriage, recorded in the London Clandestine Marriage Register, noted Richard was from the parish of St. Andrew’s Holborn and Mary from St. Luke’s parish.

St. Andrew's Church in London

Clandestine marriages were a way of circumnavigating church regulations on marriage: one example being the bride or groom being under twenty-one therefore no need for parental consent to marry. The earliest age at which a male could marry at this time was fourteen and a bride twelve (normally with parental consent), but a groom marrying at fourteen was rare. Young men had to have the means in which to support a family if one came along and at fourteen that would have been difficult, even in eighteenth century London.

St. Giles in the Fields, sometimes known as the Poets Church,

is near Covent Garden in London.

These London Clandestine marriages took place in several locations in London including the Fleet Prison Chapel, Kings Bench Prison Chapel, the Mint and the May Fair Chapel. The Hardwicke Marriage Act of 1753 that came into force on 25th March 1754 put an end to the clandestine marriages in these institutions.

A baptism could not be found for Richard in St. Andrews Holborn parish circa 1739 or before. However, there was a baptism of a Richard HOLLMAN in St Giles in the Field, Holborn in 1716, son of William and Mary. A possible candidate for the Richard who married in 1753, but was the Richard born in 1716 a HOLLIMAN or a HOLMAN? The register entry is unclear.

However, looking for a marriage of the parents William HOLLMAN or HOLLIMAN and Mary in London, there were three possible marriages between 1696 and 1700 and in locations not that close to Holborn, so not enough firm evidence to take the family of this Richard back further.

To confuse matters further there was also another Clandestine marriage of a Richard HOLLIMAN of Ealing, Middlesex to a Rachel THORNE of Dinton in 1734. Noting the bride was from Dinton, Buckinghamshire this Richard may be connected to the Cuddington HOLLIMANS. As can be seen, with incomplete information, the London HOLLIMANS at this time are a confusing picture. - Anne Holmes

The stories Anne has composed from her research will continue with the next blog and numerous others. - GNH