Ronald R. Holliman - A Major Family Historian of Alabama Hollimans

by Glenn N. Holliman


In the early 1990s, after years of study in Alabama and Georgia libraries and numerous interviews with aging distant cousins, Ronald Robert Holliman, a descendant of Christopher Hollyman, 1618-1691, penned a 200-plus page magnificent volume of research.  His well-organized work tells the story of his Alabama and North Carolina ancestors. Masterfully detailed with priceless stories and lineages, he produced a ground-breaking work in the pre-Internet age.

Left, Ron and a copy of his research.

A native of Pell City, Alabama, Ron and I share as great grand parents John Thomas, 1844-1930, and Martha Jane Walker Holliman, 1846-1931, of Fayette County, Alabama.

Whereas I am descended from Ulyss S, Holliman, 1884-1965, Ron is the grandson of Silas Green Holliman, 1876-1943, and Carrie Bell Geer, 1876-1965. His parents are Robert S. Holliman, 1916-2007, and Winnie Helen Wilson, 1917-1989.

Right, Confederate Civil War veteran John Thomas Holliman ca 1900. His father and two of his brothers died in the War.  He was a veteran of seven major battles and later raised a family on a small, struggling farm.



Above, Silas Green and Carrie Holliman with four of their eventual eight children, ca 1907. 

Below in 1935, left to right the five surviving sons of John Thomas Holliman - Bill, Silas Green, James Monroe, Leland, missing is Eck (d 1928) and finally Ulyss.  Picture made at Caine's Ridge Baptist Church in Fayette County, Alabama.

For the past quarter century, Ron has had to lay aside his genealogical research to raise a family and direct the Southeast Alabama Regional Development and Planning Commission.  He took retirement from managing this large private-public enterprise late last year.  

With his permission, I have placed his work on the virtual archives web site - www.bholliman.com . Go to Research page, find the - Search bar and type in 'Ron Holliman' and one will be directed to his multi-chapter work.

Below, Rebecca Anne Kirkley, Ron and Anne Holliman Phillips. Becky and Ron have been married since 1967 and have numerous grandchildren.  Anne is a daughter of Euhal and Edna Westbrook Holliman, and this writer's first cousin.  Anne, a long time resident of Dothan, Alabama, joined me in visiting Ron and Becky in February 2017.

For additional information on Holliman families (Hollyman spelled numerous ways), these platforms are available.

Hollyman Ancestry.com - managed by Jeanette Holiman Stewart at htreekeeper@outlook.com 

Hollyman Facebook - managed by Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com

www.bholliman.com - a virtual archives of Hollyman and allied families managed by Glenn N. Holliman

http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com - managed by Glenn N. Holliman

A Gathering of Hollimans, Part IV

by Glenn N.  Holliman


This is the fourth in a series of articles concerning the October 14/15, 2011 family seminar held in Fayette, Alabama, the ancestral location of many Hollimans living today.

On the outskirts of Fayette last October were many cotton fields (above) waiting for the harvest.  This crop was important to Southern Holliman families for several centuries.  The farm land in the Sipsy River bottoms and the the timber and minerals of the ridge and ravine topography of the area have provided income to generations of Hollimans in that part of west Alabama. 

Above at the Fayette, Alabama seminar for Holliman descendants, Raiford Brandon, Bill Holliman and Vonceil Duckworth took notes while Joe Parker (above) shared his many insights in the Holliman family.

The gathering did not lack for educational expertise.  In addition to Kathleen and Jimmy Holliman (above left), a professor at Auburn, was Lenwood Holliman (above right) of Lamar County, Alabama, a retired superintendent of schools.  Both Lenwood and Jimmy descend through Charles Holliman, a son of James Grantson Holliman.

The Hollimans attending, sans spouses, were left to right front row: Jeanette Holiman Stewart, Vonceil Duckworth, Lenwood Holliman, Glenda Norris (number 12), Jimmy Holliman, Raiford Brandon and David Jennings.  Back row: James Franklin Holliman, Glenn Holliman, Bill Holliman, Joe Parker and Lynn Holliman.

Sending greetings to Alabama from Caernarvon, Wales in Great Britain was cousin Bob Hollyman-Mawson (left) who forwarded some of his humerous findings on Holyman behaviors in Nottingham, England in the 1500s.  His article, which generated chuckles, was distributed at the seminar.

Finally after a presentation on our English heritage to the Fayette group, an accumulation of my articles on English Holymans, was distributed (see below).  If anyone would like a copy of Bob Hollyman-Mawson's article and/or mine, I am happy to email.  My email address is Glennhistory@gmail.com.

This publication describes my adventures during 2010 and 2011 in the search of the Holliman families of England before our ancestors became Americans.  The parish church on the cover is Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire, England where a very great uncle of the America Hollimans was born in 1495.  This uncle became The Rt. Rev. John Holyman, appointed a bishop during the turbulent reign of Queen Mary Tudor.


One cannot close our visit to Fayette, Alabama without a word of thanks to the Rose Hill Inn for their generous hospitality, the staff at the Fayette County Civic Center who worked on a Saturday for us, and my genealogical partner and second cousin, Glenda Norris who donated great time and energy to insuring the Holliman Round Table event would occur.


And much thanks to those who came so far and shared knowledge and asked good questions as we all sought to know better our ancestral roots.  


Next postings, more on Alabama Hollimans before we return to Merry Ole England and Wales in search of our Medieval and Renaissance roots. 

A Gathering of Hollimans, Part III

by Glenn N. Holliman

This is the third in a series of articles concerning the October 14/15, 2011 family seminar held in Fayette, Alabama, the ancestral location of many Hollimans living today.

At the Georgia-Pacific Railroad Depot in Fayette stands a historical sign.  The Depot is now a visitor’s center and museum where in the 1880s the rail road reached Fayette.  In 1917, this writer's grandfather and grandmother rode this train with their four children to start life over in Irondale, Alabama, a blue collar suburb of Birmingham.  There Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman increased their family by three more children (one my father b. 1919 H. Bishop Holliman).  Their movement during World War I foreshadowed the disapra that the Holliman families and tens of millions of American families would experience from the middle to the end of the 20th Century.


On October 15, 2011, seminar and round table discussions were held at the Fayetteville Civic Center.  Some of those attending were below left to right, David Jennings and his uncle Bill Holliman, both of Picken’s County, Alabama.  Later, after consulting the papers of the late Walt O. Holliman, it was determined they are descendants of Charles Holliman (1795 – 1841 ca), one of the three brothers who immigrated to west Alabama in 1836 from South Carolina.  Bill is a retired college music professor.

Above, same photo on the right, from the Selma, Alabama area were Jimmy and Kathleen Holliman.  Jimmy is a descendant also of Charles Holliman, and is a professor with the University of Auburn Agricultural Extension Service. 

Keeping notes at the meeting was Jeanette Holiman Stewart of Texas, below.  Jeanette has entered over 10,000 Holliman names in her database!  Behind Jeanette, left, is Frank Holliman who still retains some of the original land settled by the pioneering Holliman families in Fayette County.

  Below, Joe Parker flanked on his left by Lynn Holliman delivers a point during the discussions.   Joe provided information on the Holliman lines from Christopher Sr. (1618 – 1691) to the present.  His knowledge of the various Holliman branches through their Southern migrations is encyclopedic in scope.

 At the meeting, we remembered many Holliman pioneers, both living and deceased who could not be present.  Undoubtedly this is only a partial list, and I apologize for not having information to include all.  Additions to this Holliman (and all its spellings) Hall of Fame are welcome.


Recognized were Maxine Wright of Arkansas and Dr. Rhodes Holliman of Virginia.  Both descend from James Grantson Holliman and have accomplished through the decades a mountain of research.  Dr. Sidney Arthur Holleman’s 2003 publication of his branch of the family (Texas) was praised also.  Ron Holliman of Dothan, Alabama, a descendant of James Grantson and John Thomas Holliman, also has compiled significant records but due to business and family could not be with us.

Among those whose earthly  journeys are over and recognized as contributing significantly to our knowledge of this American family are Cecil Rhodes Holliman, Glenda Norris’s grandfather, Walt O. Holliman, also late of Alabama, whose research has been preserved by his children, and Dr. Charles Holliman, late of North Carolina whose work lives on the writings of others. 

Above Glenn Holliman and Tina Peddie in February 2011 near her home in California.  In addition to being an accomplished genealogist, Tina conducts searches for adopted children seeking biological parents.

Tina Peddie’s establishment of the Hollyman Internet chat room in 1999 has been instrumental in the sharing of family information and networking of various Holliman researchers.  Her contributions from her home in California also include the  re-publication, with the just deceased at age 93, Dr. Jeremiah Holliman, of the George E. Holleman 1953 ground breaking genealogical book on the family.  Her achievements and George E. Holliman's tome, the first known publication concerning the family, were recognized with appreciation.

Next posting, more on the Holliman Alabama seminar....

The Hollimans of Alabama

by Glenn N. Holliman

Back to the 19th Century...A Series of Articles on the Hollimans and Related Families of Fayette County, Alabama


Frank Holliman shares information with Bill Holliman, left, and Bill's Uncle Bishop Holliman at the Holliman-Stewart Cemetery in the Bluff Community of Fayette County, Alabama.

Pictured is the gravestone of Frank Holliman's grandfather, William Bailey Holliman, a son of James Franklin Holliman and Rebecca Stewart Holliman.

Right, located near the Holliman-Stewart Cemetery is the old home of William Baily Holliman, a classic early 19th Century 'dog-trot'.  The name originated as the family dogs would sleep or trot through the opening between the two sides of the cabin.  Generally one side was built to hold the kitchen with its wood stove (not comfortable in the summer) and the living rooms on the other side.  Of course, no running water, central heat or air, or electricity.  Those were the good ole days?

Plan now to attend the Holliman and Associated Families Genealogical Round Table at the Fayette County, Alabama Civic Center, 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday, October 15, 2011. For information and reservations for lunch, contact Glenda Norris at gnorris@bcbsal.org or Glenn Holliman at Glennhistory@gmail.com.  Sessions to include Tracing the Holymans from England to Alabama, Holliman Farm Sites in Fayette County and sharing of information on Associated Families.  All invited!

The Hollimans of Alabama

by Glenn N. Holliman

Back to the 19th Century...A Series of Articles on the Hollimans and Related Families of Fayette County, Alabama




Spring Hill Cemetery in Bluff, Alabama is the final resting place of a pioneer ancestor who made the trek from the Carolinas to Alabama in 1836, raised a large family, survived the Civil War although losing a husband and two sons, farmed, midwifed and lived to be 94 years old.  Family lore has her enjoying her 'flowers' - her 'Four Roses' - deep into her final years.


"Mary Polly Lucas Holliman, January 2, 1819 - July 5, 1913, Pioneer Strength, Integrity, Human Kindness"

Even thought 'strenth' may be mis-spelled, this grave stone speaks eloquently of the wife of Uriah Holliman, 1817 - 1862.  As Dr. Rhodes Holliman, a great, great grandson has written (see Archives of this blog, March 2010 and copy below), Polly buried a husband and son (Charles Daniel Holliman) at Okalona, Mississippi after the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.  Sick herself, she rode home, raised the children remaining and lived to the age of 94.  During the decades after the war she served as a mid-wife, delivering many of her own grandchildren.

"In 21 years of married life, Mary Polly and Uriah would produce 13 children - seven boys and six girls.  She could hitch up a mule to a plow and till the soil as well as any man.  While maintaining her farm, she became the only source of medical assistance in her community as a herb doctor, caregiver, and midwife to many of her neighbors.  She would accept appeals for help from all over the area, saddle up a mule and ride out to provide services." - Dr. Rhodes Holliman


Below family members, four of whom are direct descendants of Polly Lucas Holliman, gaze over the Spring Hill Cemetery in the Bluff community of Fayette, County.  Left to right: Wally Allen, Jean Holliman, Tommie Holliman Allen, Bill Holliman, Bishop Holliman (great grandson of Polly Lucas) and Jeanette Holiman Stewart.  Bishop Holliman,b 1919, is a first cousin of Rhodes Holliman's father, Cecil Rhodes Holliman (1903 - 1982).

On that early April day in 2011, when sixteen Holliman descendants traveled through Fayette County, the trees were leafing out in pastel green. One noticed that the soil of Fayette County could not decide if it wanted to be red clay or sandy stone and rock.  Both pine and oak thrive in the ravines and on the ridges adjacent to the Sipsey River that flows north to south through the county. Swamps cover many areas near the river bottoms. From this soil our 19th Century ancestors harvested cotton, corn and lumber.   Hogs and cattle grazed in the woods and pastures. Below the ground, coal emerged, and today oil and gas flow deep from the Alabama earth.

                                       Above, a  dirt road winds off from the Bluff cemetery


Next more posts on the Hollimans of Alabama....


Plan now to attend the Holliman and Associated Families Genealogical Round Table at the Fayette County, Alabama Civic Center, 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday, October 15, 2011. For information and reservations for lunch, contact Glenda Norris at gnorris@bcbsal.org or Glenn Holliman at Glennhistory@gmail.com.  Sessions to include Tracing the Holymans from England to Alabama, Holliman Farm Sites in Fayette County and sharing of information on Associated Families.  All invited!

The Hollimans of Alabama

by Glenn N. Holliman

Back to the 19th Century...A Series of Articles on the Hollimans and Related Families of Fayette County, Alabama


    Warren Holliman (1833 - 1908), A Civil War Veteran of the 41st Alabama Infantry Regiment

Above Warren Holliman (1833 - 1908) took a .58 mini-ball to the arm on August 17, 1864 during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, knocking him out of the Civil War.  At age 29, he signed up for the conflict with his relatives and neighbors with the 41st Confederate Alabama Infantry.  This storied regiment was at Stones River, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Richmond and Petersburg before surrendering with General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, Virginia in April 1865.  After three months in a Richmond hospital, Warren was sent home in November 1864, his war effectively over.  Photo and information from the extensive files of  Dr. Rhodes Holliman, family historian, and Vonceil Duckworth, descendant of Cornelius Holliman.  More on Warren and his military adventures in later posts.

Above on a warm, sunny April day, 2011, Bill and his daughter, Joey Holliman, look for Holliman grave stones at Chapel Hill Cemetery in Fayette County, Alabama.  Warren Holliman and his two wives are buried at Chapel Hill (see previous article).   Bill Holliman, a multi-great nephew of Warren, is a 3rd great grandson of Cornelius Holliman (1792 - 1862). 


 Now living in Mississippi, Bill grew up in Irondale, Alabama, a grandson of Ulyss (1884 - 1965) and Pearl Caine Holliman (1887 - 1955), who migrated from Fayette County to Jefferson County in 1917 to take advantage of employment opportunities in the Birmingham area.  This migration from rural Alabama communities to metropolitan areas accelerated during the World War I era.  Today, descendants such as Joey and Bill return to Fayette, Lamar and Tuscaloosa Counties to discover family roots and stories.


More soon on the Fayette County family tour led by Glenda Norris, a 4th great grand daughter of Cornelius Holliman.


Plan now to attend the Holliman and Associated Families Genealogical Round Table at the Fayette County, Alabama Civic Center, 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday, October 15, 2011.  For information and reservations for lunch, contact Glenda Norris at gnorris@bcbsal.org or Glenn Holliman at Glennhistory@gmail.com.