William Ralph Holliman, 1924-2017, a 6th Great Grandson of Christopher Hollyman, 1618-1691

by Glenn N. Holliman

A Member of the Greatest Generation Leaves Us....

Ralph with his grand daughter, Rachel, ca 1990 

After a short, sudden illness, Ralph Holliman, the youngest son of Ulyss (1884-1965) and Pearl Caine Holliman (1888-1955) passed away February 20th in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  He was surrounded by his wife, Laura, two daughters - Pam and Kathy - and granddaughter Rachel.  Ralph died at age 92 blessed with decades of retirement and numerous decades of management achievement with a national corporation.  H. Bishop Holliman (1919) age 97, my father is the remaining survivor of a family of seven children.


Ralph was born in Irondale, Alabama, a working person's suburb of the rapidly growing city of Birmingham, a then young metropolis that produced steel for the nation.  In 1917, his father, Ulyss, had moved his growing family of eventually seven children from rural Fayette County, Alabama and found lifetime work as a carpenter repairing street cars.  

Right, Ralph in 1925 in the arms of his Mother at 2300 3rd Avenue North, Irondale, Alabama. The child on the porch is Bishop Holliman, b 1919.

Left, Motie Chism and Ralph in 1943.

Ralph grew up during the Great Depression and married his high school sweet heart Motie Chism, a union that lasted sixty years until her death in 2003. She was 17 and Ralph 18, a war time marriage as he was off to the U.S. Army a few weeks after their brief honeymoon in February 1943.  With the exception of a brief visit to one of his army training stations, she would not see him again until the summer of 1945 after her husband served as a clerk in the Army Air Corp in England and France.


Using the G.I. Bill, Ralph enrolled in Birmingham-Southern College in 1945 but with the arrival of the first child in 1947, he found full time work in the office of American Bakeries. After many transfers and promotions, he retired in the early 1990s from the same company as a national vice president located in Chicago. 

A direct descendant from Christopher Hollyman (1618-1691), the English immigrant who migrated to Virginia in 1650, Ralph's long life encompassed a considerable portion of the American experience.  

In 1968, Motie and Ralph celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.  

One of the most intriguing aspects of genealogy is observing the tapestry of American history in one's ancestors. 

It was in my uncle's generation and those of my grandparent's that emerging technologies and engineering transformed the way Americans lived. Ralph's parents began their marriage in 1906 as farmers living and working much as countless generations before them had so done.  It was during their time and Ralph's that the American economy and standard of living vastly improved.  

A quiet and private man, but with a wry sense of humor, in 1998 he wrote nine pages of memories.   Below is a portion of this manuscript.  My uncle's own words capture an America about to move into a world of conveniences and technologies we now take for granted.

"I Remember - Every Monday morning Mama would wash clothes on the back porch.  We had a big black washing pot in the back yard over a fire that boiled all of the clothes.  Mama had a wash board that she used to scrub the clothes.  I can still see her working over the wash tubs with sweat covering her face.  When the clothes were ready to hand out to dry they were usually hung on the fence or bushes.  Mam finally got a clothes wringer that helped a great deal.

- We did not have inside bathroom plumbing until I was 7 or 8 years old.  The out house was located about 100 feet up our back yard.  The day that we got an inside bathroom was a great day.  Daddy built the bathroom using part of a bedroom.

Ulyss Holiman with the family dog in the early 1920s in a bountiful garden.

- We had chickens, a cow and a garden.  Old Charlie would come and plow the field for Daddy and we grew corn mostly in the larger field and vegetables in a smaller garden.  Mama would catch a chicken and wring its neck and cook it for dinner.  I could never bring myself to wring a chicken's neck.  The cow every now and then would eat bitter weeds and the milk would then taste bad.  Mama always did the milking.

- Churning the milk and making fresh butter and buttermilk.

- That we did not have sliced bread in the house until I was 10 or 12 years old. Mama and Daddy made biscuits every morning for breakfast and corn bread for the other meals.  We always had steak and white gravy and biscuits for Sunday breakfast.

 - We had an ice box and the ice man would come around almost every day.  Ice cost 10 to 25 cents.

- I could not wear long pants for the first 10 years or so.  I had to wear knickers. Why I do not know.

 - Mama crocheting and sewing at night while listening to the radio..  We had Zenith radio.  Some of the popular radio programs were Lum and Abner, Amos and Andy, etc.

 - ...Marie, a black woman, could come to the house and work in the kitchen.  I remember one time when I was probably 15 that I told Marie that I had to go shave and she laughed.

 - Aunt Vista standing in front of the fire place smoking a cigarette and on top that she was divorced.  How could anyone be that bad I thought. 

Left, in 1985 Bishop and Ralph Holliman with their Aunt Vista Gumpp, 1898-1986.

- One day while Mama and Daddy were away, my brother and sister - Bishop and Virginia - decided we needed a telephone.  We called the telephone company and had them come and install one. Luckily Mama and Daddy did not have it taken out,

- That Daddy did not spend a lot of time with us children.  Now I realize that he worked six days a week leaving home probably around 5:30 am and turning from work around dark. He walked to town, caught the bus and then changed to a street car in Woodlawn.  He was tired.

- That in the middle of March 1943, I was drafted into the Army and went to Ft. McPherson in Atlanta.  This nearly 19 year old boy was gone from home for the first time and not knowing what was in store for him, cried all night."

Right - April 1944 in Bournemouth, England with the U.S. Army Air Corp and an unidentified buddy.

In 2007, after four years a widower, Ralph married Laura Mills and found a new happiness in the last decade of his life.  There was golf, gardening, travel and family.

 Ralph and Laura on his 90th birthday

Below in Wales in the early 2000s with Kathy, Pam and Rachel

Uncle Ralph, a constant in my life for my seventy years, has passed away from us, but his influence will continue for generations.  He leaves two very talented and scholarly daughters and a grand daughter who edits books.  

As Kathy wrote in his obituary, "He was a strong and steady presence in their lives, a man who knew his own mind but continued to be open to change."  Well could these words apply to the incredible generation that his life encompassed. - GNH

The full document of Ralph Holliman's memories can be found under his name at www.bholliman.com, a virtual archives for the extended family.  Go to the Resource Page and enter his name in the Search Box.  One will find over 1,750 manuscripts on Holliman and associated families.

DNA, Cousins and a Promotion

by Glenn N. Holliman

This writer and another writer, Tina Peddie, both Hollyman family historians, gathered in Tennessee 8 October 2016 to discuss genealogy. Tina has moved recently from California to Tennessee.

Joining us for the 3 hour session on DNA analysis were Glenn's two sisters - Becky Holliman Payne and Alice Holliman Murphy.  Alice has explored her husband's Irish roots, and Becky is seeking DNA analysis of her children's Payne background.

Tina has for decades been a force to research and communicate Hollyman history. In the 1980s, she expanded and reissued George Holleman's 1953 ground breaking history of this American family. In 1999, utilizing the technology of the early Internet era, she opened and directed a Hollyman Yahoo chat room.  Most recently, she is the administrator of the Hollyman Facebook page.  She is the go-to person for DNA guidance and explanation for the family. 

 Becky, who lives near Tina's home in Tennessee, took extensive notes during our 
DNA tutorial courtesy of Tina.

During our discussion, Tina and I reviewed our  Holliman roots.  We, and of course my sisters, are descended from Samuel Holliman (1707-1786) who was born in Surrey County, Virginia and died in Johnston County, North Carolina. James Grantson Holliman was a son of Samuel, and is my generation's 4th GGF.  Tina's ancestor was David Holliman, another son of Samuel, who moved to Georgia and eventually a descendant married a Keene, Tina's maiden name. 

Left, Alice Holliman Murphy, makes Texas her home. Both she and Becky attended the national Christopher Hollyman gathering April 1, 2016 in Isle of Wight, Virginia.  She has been collecting material on the Murphy clan, which included a recent trip to Ireland.

My two sisters and I gathered in Tennessee for the promotion ceremony of Becky's son, Bryan, to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.  One of Alice's children, Jonathan, is on active duty as a major in the Army. 

Below, some of the members of the immediate family who are veterans gathered in Tennessee for the swearing in of now Lt. Colonel Bryan Payne. Left to right are Glenn N. Holliman (Vietnam), Paul Payne (Viet Nam era), Bryan Payne (Iraq) and the father of this writer, H. Bishop Holliman, b 1919, Seaman 2nd class, a radioman on destroyers in the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic in World War II.  

Bishop is the father of Glenn and grandfather of Bryan.  Bishop's grandfather, John Thomas Holliman (1844-1930) and great grandfather, Uriah Holliman (1820-1862) fought in the Civil War.  Bishop's second great grandfather, Cornelius Holliman (1796- 1862) was a veteran of the War of 1812 and third great grandfather, James Grantson Holliman (1750-1836) served as a patriot in the American Revolutionary War in the North Carolina militia.

For information on placing an article, please write Glenn N. Holliman at glennhistory.gmail.com.  For manuscripts and materials on Hollymans and other associated families, visit the growing virtual archive at www.bholliman.com/ .  For Hollyman Facebook entrance and DNA assistance, write Tina at Tinapeddie@yahoo.com.

Our Families Colonial Era, Part XXVII

by Glenn N. Holliman

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!

Above the Holleman House in Isle of Wight County, Virginia near the Blackwater River.  Built in the 1830s, the home and farm are still owned by descendants of Christopher Holyman, Sr.  On this plantation, Richard Holliman grew up. When of age, he sold part of his inheritance to a brother and purchased land in Surry County adjacent to his boyhood home.

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.

Above, Bishop Holliman (b 1919) surveys some of the land of Isle of Wight plantation founded by Christopher Holyman, Sr (1618-1691) in 2011.  Bishop, this writer's father, is a 6th great grandson of Christopher.

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.) 

Next, the Walt O. Holliman Manuscripts are ready for emailing.  Lists shortly to be posted in this space.

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


This is my last post on the April 9, 2011 Fayette County, Alabama excursion organized by my second cousin, Glenda Norris.  Working with information from her Uncle Rhodes and Grandfather Cecil Rhodes Holliman, Glenda scheduled the day, and even did a 'test drive' before leading 15 of her distant cousins on a trip through family history.  Below in the Tuscaloosa County, Spring Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, Glenda in the background cleans a tombstone while her husband, Scott, and Norman Holliman look on. Robert Holliman in the foreground takes photos.

In this cemetery is the unmarked grave of my generation's third great grandmother, Elizabeth Holliman, wife of Cornelius.  They led their family by horse and wagon in 1836 from Lancaster County, South Carolina near the North Carolina line through George to west Alabama.  Here on recently released Indian land, the family purchased land and began farming.  Two brothers, Warren and Charles Holliman, made the trek also, although Warren moved on in a few years to Arkansas to put down roots and establish the Holliman name there.  In the photo below, 91 year old H. Bishop Holliman, who visited Fayette County for the first time in the 1920s (He was born in Irondale, Alabama in the 1919) explores the cemetery.

Several earthen grave sites dot the Spring Hill Cemetery.  In one of these resting places, may be the remains of Elizabeth Plyler Holliman, pioneer Mother and Grandmother

Next post, we return to study earlier Hollimans in England....
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 including the social at 5:30 pm, Rose House Inn in Fayette on Friday evening, October 14th.  Y'all come!

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


Below Norman Holliman photographs his distant cousin, Glenda Norris, at the head stone of a common great grandfather, Cornelius Holliman, 1792 - 1862.  Cornelius is buried in the Old Blooming Grove Cemetery in the Bluff community of Fayette County.  It was wretched year for the Holliman family.  A son and grandson of Cornelius, Uriah and Charles Daniel Holliman, died in May of 1862 after the Battle of Shiloh.  Now in the autumn of that tragic year of 1862, Cornelius, passed away from natural causes. Born in North Carolina, he rests in Alabama soil.

Below members of the Holliman excursion view graves at Old Blooming Grove Cemetery.  It was early spring, the trees were leafing out and the brush and weeds were still few and low to the ground.

Here Bishop Holliman, b 1919, and great, great grandson of Cornelius, stands with his son, Glenn N. Holliman, b 1946 at the headstone of the pioneer who left the Carolinas and by horse and wagon in 1836 crossed Georgia and much of Alabama to reach the ravine and river bottom country of Fayette County.  One hundred and twenty-five years later, some of his many descendants paid homage to his courage and energy and those of  his brothers, Charles and Warren, and their wives and children who treked west with them.
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 also to the 5:30 pm to 9 pm social at the Rose House Inn in Fayette, Friday, October 14, 2011!

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

The Visit to Caine's Ridge, a Family Excursion in 2011

Lecturing on family history near the burial sites of this paternal and maternal grandparents is 91 year old H. Bishop Holliman (in purple shirt with cap).  As a boy he used to visit John Thomas and Martha Jane Walker Holliman, his paternal grandparents at their last home near the Fayette train depot.  One of his memories is sitting on their porch on the south side of town watching the trains come into town.

Below in a photograph taken in either 1928 or 1929 are John Thomas and Martha Jane Walker Holliman standing in front of their home in Fayette.  John would died in 1930 and Martha Jane in 1931.  The young man sitting on the porch in a white shirt and tie on the far right is 10 year old Bishop Holliman!

Cleaning the Caine monument is Glenda Norris using shaving cream.  When gently scrapped off, the cream reveals difficult to read letters.  Glenda credits her Uncle Rhodes Holliman for the process. In the background are Robert Holliman and Faye Gardner.


Bishop Holliman's father was Ulyss Holliman (1884 - 1965) who grew up in Fayette, married Pearl Caine (1887 - 1955) in 1906, and removed to Jefferson County, Alabama in 1917 in search of increased income for  his growing family.  Pearl Caine's grandparents, William Ellison and Melissa Anthony Caine, lie buried under the gravestone above.  It was Pearl's grandfather who gave the land for the church.

The journey to explore Holliman and their families continues in the next post....


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

Below, H. Bishop Holliman, great grandson of Samuel T. Walker, and Glenda Norris, 3 great grand daughter of Samuel, stand at his grave at Pilgrim's Rest Church in Fayette County, Alabama.  Glenda led a tour on April 9, 2011 of Holliman and associated family cemetery sites.  Glenda and two cousins, Norman and Robert Holliman, are attempting to have installed a Confederate tombstone marking the incredible military service of this family ancestor. Samuel (1820 - 1900) was one of the 7,000 or so troops left in Lee's army when he surrendered at Appomattox!

The late Cecil Rhodes Holliman (1901 - 1980) has written extensively on the Walker family and in later postings the history of the Walkers and especially Samuel will be explored.  One of Samuel Walker's daughter's, Martha Jane, married John Thomas Holliman (1844 - 1930), a grandson of Cornelius Holliman and son of Uriah Holliman (1820 - 1862).  John Thomas and Martha Janes Holliman had five children, one being Glenda's great grandfather, James Monroe Holliman.  Another child was Ulyss Holliman (1884 - 1965), the father of Bishop Holliman, above.

Located near Samuel's resting place at Pilgrim's Rest is his wife, Elizabeth Walker (1821 - 1879), mother of Martha Jane Walker Holliman.

More next week on the Hollimans and associated families....




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.  Sessions on the Holymans from England to Alabama, Holliman sites in Fayette County, Alabama, and general sharing of Associated Families material.  All invited!   For information and reservations for lunch, contact Glenda Norris at gnorris@bcbsal.org or Glenn Holliman at Glennhistory@gmail.com.

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

By 1836, several sons of James Grantson Holliman (1750 - 1836) and other associated families had migrated to Fayette County, Alabama from Lancaster, South Carolina.  Cornelius (1792 - 1862), Charles (1795 - 1850) and Warren Holliman (1801 - 1876) were part of the westward movement of the American nation and my family in the 19th Century.  


Warren would later move on to Arkansas and father many Holliman descendants in that part of the United States.  Cornelius, Charles and many of their descendants remained in Fayette and adjoining counties.  Many others went to Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.


An Excursion into History....
On April 9, 2011, Glenda Norris, a descendant of James Grantson and Cornelius Holliman families, led fifteen of her distant cousins through the cemeteries of her many great grandparents to share their stories.  She would be the first to tell you that she stands on the shoulders of her grandfather, Cecil Rhodes Holliman, and his son, her uncle, Dr. Rhodes Holliman.  The research about to be shared comes from their hands and also of the late Walt Holliman, a descendant of James Grantson and Charles Holliman, his son.


Glenda Norris reports:

"The first stop of the tour was Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr. burial site. It was unseasonably hot for April (92f) even for the Deep South. But that didn’t slow anyone down. Everyone was more than willing to take a short ‘hike’ into the woods, up a small hill and then a left turn into the forest to view the ‘old Indian burial ground” where Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr. gravesite is located.

Here is a photo of everyone getting ready to make the walk. Left to right are: Jeanette Holiman Stewart (Austin, Texas), Glenn Holliman (Newport, Pennsylvania), Lenwood Holliman (Gordo, Alabama), James Franklin Holliman (Sulligent, Alabama), Bishop Holliman (in cap from Avilla, Indiana and the oldest at 91), Laura Vonceil Duckworth (Reform, Alabama), Wally and Tommie Holliman (Irondale, Alabama), Faye Gardner (Kennedy, Alabama), Bill Holliman (Horn Lake, Mississippi), Jean Holliman (Irondale, Alabama), Joey Holliman (Florence, Alabama) and Tyler Duckworth (Tuscaloosa, Alabama and at age 15, the youngest on the trip). Obscured is Robert Holliman and taking the photograph is Norman Holliman (both brothers from Marysville, Tennessee)."

All the above are either descendants of Charles (about 1795 - before 1850) or Cornelius Holliman (1792 - 1862).  Of course, all have the DNA of Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691), the Englishman who left Bedford, Bedfordshire and immigrated to Jamestown, Virginia in 1650.

Above, Glenda Norris shares information at the grave site of her 4th great grandfather, Charles Daniel Lucas Jr. whose daughter, Mary 'Polly' Lucas married Uriah Holliman, a son of Cornelius Holliman.  Below, Glenda points out a Creek Indian burial site.  Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr. was a Federal Indian agent and may have been the son of a  Catawba Indian mother from South Carolina.  When he died, he requested to be buried with his Native American friends.  His wish was granted and he lies today sharing the sandy soil with first Alabamians.

Next post on Fayette County, Glenda provides detailed information on the Lucas family....

A Salute to our Family's World War II Veterans: Part III

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. –Sir Winston Churchill


Bishop Holliman and His War
(1941 Seaman's Photo Right)
by Glenn N. Holliman

In July 1943, the German Army and Italy, its companion in the war, were reeling on both the Russian and Mediterranean fronts. The protracted battle of Stalingrad resulted in the Nazi's loss of an entire Army and many divisions of their reluctant allies. North Africa had fallen to Montgomery and Eisenhower's desert armies by May 1943.

Not yet strong enough to invade France, the British and American leaders next turned their expanding forces to the major island of Sicily, Italian soil. A victory in Sicily might knock Italy out of the war and force Germany to engage on a new front.

Into this maelstrom of war sailed a small destroyer, the USS Butler, approximately 1,600 tons in size. Working at his forward duty station, copying code from distant radio signals, was a young man from Irondale, Alabama - Bishop Holliman, age 23. After a year and half in the Navy, he was about to receive a baptism of fire.



The USS Butler was at sea in 1943. Launched in 1942 in Philadelphia, its top speed was 34 knots. It came loaded with torpedoes, depth charges, four 5-inch guns and anti-aircraft batteries.

The Butler (DD636) was a fighting ship. After the invasion of Sicily, she escorted Royal Navy carriers before returning to New York, where Bishop Holliman was transferred to the USS Barker. In the Pacific in 1945, a Japanese kamikaze detonated a bomb under the Butler that killed nine crewmen. The ship survived, but was decommissioned in the fall of 1945 after only three years of service. But the taxpayers received more than enough value from this gallant lady.

Putting out from Algiers to convoy Allied troop ships to the invasion, the Captain spoke over ship's loudspeaker: "There will be no giving up or thoughts of abandoning ship. We will fight to the very last." Feeling fear and determination, the crew suffered horrible seasickness as the Butler plowed through atrocious weather while escorting American soldiers to battle.

And fight this tiny U.S. ship did, first through air raids as she approached Sicily that July 8th. The next day, the ship shelled German tanks and shore positions at the Gela beachhead, allowing General George Patton's 1st Infantry Division to advance inland with fewer casualties. A few days later, the Butler exchanged fire with German shore batteries at Palermo. The Luftwaffe once again attacked and damaged sister ships.

All the time, Bishop remained at his post relaying coded messages to the bridge. For the young man from Alabama, the continuing war became a blur of convoy duty and several crossings of the North Atlantic and into the Mediterranean. On June 6, 1944, Bishop was at his duty station on his destroyer, now the USS Barker, as she passed through the Straits of Gibraltar. There he intercepted BBC signals announcing the invasion of Normandy. He thought that now at last this long war might soon be over.

No doubt he was comforted by the letters he was receiving from a young southern girl, temporarily located in Pennsylvania, whom he had met while on liberty in 1942. A chance meeting at Atlantic City, New Jersey had led to correspondence, visits while in port, and finally, on June 26, 1945, a wedding in Philadelphia.

The war ended and Bishop and his new bride, Geraldine Stansbery, originally of Bristol, Tennessee, began married life together in Birmingham, Alabama. Three children, eight grandchildren and, to date, seven great- grandchildren have blessed their lives.

Blog Launch and Newsletter Vol 2

Last week the Holliman Family History Newsletter, Vol 1 was emailed to many family members in a Word document. While this method was well received, my daughter has talked me into posting family history on the Internet in a blog format. Many of you know I am not computer savvy, yet I have discovered there are quite few advantages to blogging:

- Pictures are easy to upload and view
- Previous information and photos are automatically archived for future reference
- You can visit this blog at your leisure and easily access it on the Internet
- Websites of interest and other blogs, such as the one Grace Holliman writes, can be easily linked to this site

Please bear with me as I discover the ins and outs of blogging. No doubt there will be a few glitches along the way. This blog is a work in progress. Your comments, questions, and any information you have on family history is most welcome here.

Glenn N. Holliman, Compiler

In this post we focus on the Daly and Herrin families:

Vena Holliman (1909-1990) was the first born daughter of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman. In 1928, she married Robert Daly, an up and coming banker in Irondale and Woodlawn. They had two children, Mary Daly Herrin, Irondale and Dr. Robert Daly, Florence, AL.

In this photo ca 1954 (clockwise from top):

Clayton Herrin, Pearl Caine Holliman, Vena Holliman Daly, Mary Daly Herrin, Lula Hocutt Caine

In the unpublished memoirs of H. Bishop Holliman, a brother of Vena Daly, we found these observations. Bishop captures a time and place of a family in Alabama in the 1920s and 30s and the generosity of Robert and Vena.

Memories of Robert Daly and Vena Vivian Holliman Daly

by Bishop Holliman (Written 1983).

Vena Vivian was born December 21, 1909. It was always common knowledge that she, my eldest sister, was exactly ten years older than I. My only memory of Vena being at home in Irondale, Alabama was of her dating Robert Daly. They were married June 12, 1928 at the Irondale Methodist Church. I was 8 years old, but I can recall the event clearly.

Vena attended Shades Cahaba, and since she was only 18 at marriage, she would not have done much work outside of the home. It is my recollection that she and Robert dated for three years. Many times on their dates they would have to tolerate Virginia, Ralph or me. Since Robert had been in the family as far back as we three could remember, we assumed he was there to see us as well as Vena!

‘Going riding’ was the thing to do in those days, so many, many times, one of us or all three, would be with them. I don’t know why they put up with us as they did. They would take us on picnics and fishing trips to the Cahaba River in the summer.

Their honeymoon was spent in Miami, Florida, and believe me, that was a long way from Irondale and not just in mileage. I still recall the excitement of getting post cards from them and having friends know that we had family who could go to Miami!

Robert had built the two brick houses on the hill next to our house, but I believe they lived with the Dalys out on the mountain (the east side of Irondale) the first years of their marriage. In 1929, they took a trip visiting Lake Lure in NC and Mammoth Cave in KY. They took Euhal (a brother of Bishop, 1912-1989) with them.

At the time Robert drove a Packard roadster---with a rumble seat! In 1933, they went to the Chicago World’s Fair taking Loudelle (Loudelle Holliman Ferrell, 1914-1998) with them. Beginning in 1934, a third vacation became standard fare, and for the rest of his life, they always vacationed on the beach.

In 1934, Mary was 3 years old, they began going to Florida on vacations and for some reason they took Virginia and me along. Ralph was considered too young. Virginia was able to babysit with Mary so she was of some value to them. I was of no value, except to go along as a fishing buddy. Virginia and I went with them again in 1935 and 1936. Robert, I suppose, paid all our expenses. We were not old enough to question the source of our support for those trips...they would volunteer to let us go with them and we did - gladly!

In 1931, they were living in one of the brick houses next to us, because that is where they were when Mary was born June 15, 1931 (Mary Daly Herrin). Vena and Robert spoiled Virginia, Ralph and me. We made their home ours, and did not hesitate to impose upon them at any hour – day or night – and we expected to be treated royally by them, and we were. I do not know why they were so good to us, but they were.

Robert Daly had the greatest influence on our young lives, certainly Virginia, Ralph and me. He was born in August 5, 1901, lived about 3 miles from Irondale, had completed whatever schooling was available to him, and I think, had taken a business course. He then started working at the First National Bank in Birmingham, and by the time we were old enough to remember, he was manager of the Woodlawn Branch, the position he held until his death March 12, 1959 of heart disease.

Robert was more than a 'brother' to us. We dearly loved him, all the family did. Even before they were married, he would give us presents, loose change, etc. He was always generous, a very affable person and apparently had great natural ability to deal with people as he did. Even after I was in college I would not hesitate to call on him if I needed help, transportation, etc.

As I got older, nearly every night after being out - working, dating, whatever, I would come by their house and chat. As WWII came closer, we would get in heated discussions about world events. He would agitate me purposely to get me stirred up. Robert never got mad. He was always smiling and would help everyone, I guess, who came to him.

When I left to go into the Navy on November 13, 1941, Robert, along with Mama, Daddy, Virginia and Vena were at the station to see me off. All during the war, Robert would write cheerful, newsy letters to me, and I treasured them and looked forward to them. After the war of course life changed for all of us, and new concerns and priorities came to the front. Life was never the same again, but Robert's influence on our lives remained strong and had a lasting effect.

Bishop Holliman now lives in Avilla, Indiana with his wife, Ellen Cox Holliman.