Where did James Grantson Holliman Live? (1750-1836)

 by Glenn N. Holliman and Sally Campbell

Background

James Grantson Holliman’s great-grandfather, Christopher Hollyman (1618-1691), gave up his home in Bedfordshire, England, and sailed the dangerous Atlantic with his sister, Judith.  They arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1650.  Judith married and disappeared from history.  Chris farmed, married, and, by his death, had accumulated over 1,000 acres in Isle of Wight County.

Christopher divided his land among his four sons.  One of them, Richard, chose to stay in the area and expanded his share of the family's legacy by acquiring land in Surry County.  His son, Samuel Holliman (1707-1789), inherited his grandfather’s adventurous spirit and relocated to Edgemore County, North Carolina.  Years later, possibly due to the depletion of his land from years of tobacco farming, Samuel moved again, this time to Johnston County, North Carolina. 

This map was passed along to this writer by the late Rhodes Holliman, Ph.D. It shows in yellow and purple markings where James Grantson Holliman performed his militia service during the American Revolution when he lived in Johnston County, North Carolina. For a copy of his pension application, one may visit Hollyman Tree (Holyman Heritage Group) at Ancestry.com or www.bholliman.com, a virtual archive of associated family materials.

Either in Edgemore or Johnston County, James Gantson Holliman came into this world in 1750 and died in 1836. After service in the North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution, he followed in his ancestors' footsteps and moved to newer, richer farmland. 

James purchased property in what is now Union County, North Carolina, and Lancaster County, South Carolina. There, he prospered. His sons Charles, Warren, and Cornelius married, but like their father, other ancestors and tens of thousands of young Americans, continued the westward movement. Their destination was Fayette County, Alabama. Warren would move on to Arkansas after a few years in Alabama.

Cornelius received a free land grant for his service in the War of 1812.  Perhaps the other brothers migrated in order to establish larger, more productive farms.  Sally reminds us that in order to move family, stock, tools and supplies in a wagon train, migrants had to have a certain amount of cash or trade goods. One did not start a new farm and house penniless.  The people left behind were either financially established, impoverished, or elderly like James Grantson Holliman. His daughters did not move to Alabama.  They stayed in the Carolinas most probably to care for their father in his final months.

New Research

Sally Campbell, a descendant of James Grantson Holliman, has searched land records and traveled the countryside of Lancaster, SC and Union, NC counties to discover precisely where he farmed and raised his family. James owned properties on both sides of the state borders, which confused his descendants as to whether they were South or North Carolinians. 

He took an oath in Anson County (now Union County) for his Revolutionary War service.  In his 80s, it appears that James had a disability, and he went to Monroe (Courthouse), NC, rather than Lancaster (Courthouse), SC, because there were fewer creeks to cross by cart and horse. Does this research clarify the location of his legal residence?  Perhaps his descendants can claim citizenship from either state!

 Sally’s research reveals:

 1. James owned property along Lynches Creek, the boundary between Lancaster and Chesterfield, South Carolina counties.  Anson County, North Carolina, was divided later, and James' property was in what is now Union County.

 2. James also owned land in South Carolina adjacent to Paul Plyler at the fork of Wild Cat Creek, on the south side of Great Lynches Creek, and on the south side of Pole Cat Creek.

 3.  Paul Plyler, a major property owner, had possession of South Carolina land on both sides of Otter Creek and Little Otter, a branch of Lynches Creek, and Wild Cat Creek.

 This map prepared by Sally shows Monroe, NC where James took his Revolutionary War service oath.  Underlined in red in North Carolina is the Pole Cat Creek property area.  In South Carolina underlined in red is Otter Creek. 

This is a close up of the map.  Tradesville, nearer than Monroe, NC, to Holliman property, probably was the village of choice to purchase supplies.  Pole Cat and Otter Creeks are underlined west of the Lancaster and Chesterfield County lines—the county line defined by Lynches Creek.  

Building on the thoroughness of Sally’s research, I pulled up a map that the late Walter Holliman did in the early 1990s before the internet era. Walt, whose family donated his research to this writer, reinforces Sally’s work. He, too, identified South Carolina creek branches where Hollimans and Plylers lived. At the top of Walt’s map, he also shows there were Holliman and Blakeney properties on the North Carolina side.

All three of these families, or at least some of their offspring, moved to Fayette County, Alabama, where some of descendants live to this day.  Cornelius Holliman received his Alabama land as a grant from War of 1812 service.

I want to thank Sally for reaching out to provide this information, her interpretations and catching typos. Not only was James Grantson my fourth GGF, but his neighbor Paul Plyler is also my fourth GGF because his daughter, Elizabeth, married Cornelius Holliman, my third GGF. This story affirms what historians have written: neighbors married neighbors, and neighbors often migrated in families in America’s westward movement. It appears that the Carolina neighborhood caught ‘Alabama Fever’.

Sally Campbell is a descendant of both Cornelius Holliman and Charles Holliman, double-descended from James Grantson Holliman.  Below is her story. - GNH

My parents were from Texas and stationed in Washinton DC during WW2, and that is where I and my twin sister were born.  After WWII, they moved to a suburb of Philadelphia PA, where I grew up.  I graduated from Simmons College in Boston, and married and moved to NY state for 10 years.  Then my husband and I moved  to Charlotte NC, with our three children.  I worked in Computer Services for UNC-Charlotte for about  fifteen years, then my husband and I bought a cruising sailboat which we sailed to the Bahamas and back for 3 or 4 winter months almost every year for 20 years.  

I have always been interested in family history then was started in researching names, dates when I interviewed my paternal grandmother about her 8 siblings. I wish I had interviewed all my grandparents.  I knew my maternal grandfather Elijah J. Holliman was born in Fayette, Fayette County,  north western Alabama.  I discovered Newells' History of Fayette County, which mentioned that Cornelius and his wife Elizabeth Plyler were from South Carolina. I found 'The Plyler Genealogy'  by Monroe, NC.author Herman Starnes.  With the Internet it was easy to communicate with the late Maxine Wright of Arkansas. - Sally Campbell

The sources for this article are based on land abstracts from the book 'Some South Carolina County Records Vol. 1 by Brent Holcomb, printed in 1976, pages 143 through 195, and 'Lancaster County South Carolina, Union County North Carolina metric Topographic Map' by the US Geological Survey printed in 1986.

 

Some Descendants of Charles Holliman of Fayette County, Alabama, Part 1

I am grateful to Juanita Holliman and her daughter Amy Holliman Armstrong for this comprehensive sharing of their lineage, descendants of Alabama pioneer Charles Holliman and brother of my GGG grandfather, Cornelius Holliman (1792 -1862).  - Glenn N. Holliman

A West Alabama Holliman Lineage including the Families of Walters, Blakeney, Henderson, Warren and Hendrix

by Amy Holliman Armstrong and Juanita Holliman

      

Three sons of James Granston Holliman (1750-1836), Cornelius, Charles, and Warren, in 1836 brought their families to Fayette County, Alabama from Anson County, North Carolina (later Union County, North Carolina).  After this arduous trip on foot and by wagon, they settled in the Newtonville area. The brothers had spent the previous winter in that area, went home in the spring, and returned with their wives and large numbers of children.

Of these three families, two remained in Fayette County.  Warren Holliman (1801-1876) left about 1840 and led a wagon train of settlers to Arkansas.

Cornelius’ wife, Elizabeth Plyer, died after the family arrived at Newtonville. He later married Elizabeth Lucas Rainwater and the family moved to the Bluff area of Fayette County.

Charles (1795-1842) and his wife, Barbary (Barbara) Walters (1797-1880) remained at Newtonville and raised their children there.  They were the parents of Peter, Asa, Joshua, John, Milly E., Suzanna, James, Jessie, Warren C., Cornelius, Elijah and Aaron.  All except Aaron were born before the family arrived in Fayette County.  Barbary in 1870 lived with her daughter Suzanna.  Charles and Barbary’s burial place is unknown.

Left, a photograph of Warren C. Holliman (1833-1908), the eighth child of Charles and Barbary, was born in North Carolina.

Warren married Mary Blakeney (1835-1896), the daughter of Thomas Blakeney (1800-1892) and Sarah Roberts Blakeney (1807-1861).  Thomas and his family migrated from South Carolina in the early 1830’s and settled at Newtonville.  Sarah is buried at First Shepherd Church Cemetery, established in 1834, at Newtonville.  Thomas is buried at Chapel Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, also at Newtonville.   

                                               Thomas Blakeney, picture on right.

Mary Blakeney was a granddaughter of a Revolutionary War veteran, Captain John Blakeney (1732-1832).  John Blakeney, a native of Ireland, arrived in America about 1750.  He served with Francis Marion during the Revolutionary War.

 Warren and Mary Blakeney Holliman were the parents of John, James W., Francis Marion (1861-1939), Sidney Warren, Moses Jefferson, Sarah, Barbara Elizabeth, and Suzan Kizziah (called Kizzie).

Warren C. Holliman served in Company B of the 41^st Alabama Infantry CSA.  He was wounded in 1864 and discharged at Petersburg, Virginia.  His brothers, Cornelius and Elijah, also served in the 41^st.  Aaron Holliman, Warren’s youngest brother, served in the 1^st Alabama Cavalry, a Union regiment.  (This is one of numerous Southern families whose families were divided by the war. - GNH)

 After Mary’s death in 1896, Warren married Luzia Howard (1848-1901).  Warren died in 1908, and he and his two wives are buried at Chapel Hill Baptist Church Cemetery at Newtonville.

Below right, Francis Marion and Nancy Henderson Holliman with children William Arthur and Ella.

 Francis Marion Holliman (1861-1939), Warren and Mary’s son, married Nancy Jennie Henderson (1860-1913), the daughter of Hugh and Nancy Henderson.  About 1902, Francis Marion and Nancy moved away from Newtonville, first to Eldridge in Walker County, then to Winfield in Marion County.  They were the parents of four surviving children: Sidney Warren (1886-1980), John A. (1889-1970), Ella (1892-1983),  and William Arthur (1899-1983). Ella married Oscar Smith.

 William Arthur Holliman  married Zolena McKay (1903-1930), the daughter of Archibald McKay.  They had three children.  After Zolena’s early death, William Arthur married Lela Warren (1908-1996), the daughter of John Franklin Warren and Emeline Smith Warren.  Lela and William Arthur had two children, the last a son, James Arthur, who married Juanita Hendrix, the daughter of Roy Lee Hendrix and Mary Katherine Wagnon Hendrix.

The 4 surviving children of Francis Marion Holliman and Nancy Henderson Holliman at a Winfield, Alabama reunion in the 1960s -  from left:  Sydney (1886-1980), William Arthur (1899-1983), Ella Holliman Smith (1892-1983), and John Holliman (1889-1970).

James and Juanita have one child, a daughter, Amy Holliman Armstrong.  William Arthur and Lila Holliman are buried at Winfield City Cemetery in Winfield, Marion County, Alabama. 

Right, William Arthur and Lila Warren Holliman on their 50th anniversary in 1980.

Amy Holliman married Brandon Wayne Armstrong, and they are the parents of a son, Aiden James Armstrong. 

The above is a partially revised version of an article originally printed in The Heritage of Fayette County, Alabama, publishers Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 1999.  Sources are family knowledge, tombstones, census records for Fayette County, Alabama; various marriage records; Roster of South Carolina Patriots of the American Revolution compiled by Bobby Gilmer Moss; application for pension made by Warren Holliman; The History of Newtonville and Its Pioneer Citizens by Buren Sullivan; The First Alabama Cavalry, USA, 1862-1865, by William Stanley Hoole; Forty First Alabama Reg’t Infantry Confederate States of America, by George B. Wright; letter from G.R. Holliman dated 1977. Additional edits by Glenn N. Holliman.  Photographic credits are Mrs. Lela Warren Holliman collection, Rhodes B. Holliman and Juanita Holliman.

Appendix

Juanita Hendrix Holliman adds:

John Holliman (1889-1970) married Evelyn (Evie) Abernathy (his first cousin) and lived in south Fayette County until their deaths.  A son, Lloyd Holliman, lived near Birmingham, as recently as 4-5 years ago. Another son lived in the north, not sure where.  The only daughter, Lois, lived in Mississippi and died there, I think.  Dewey Holliman, another son, lived near John in Fayette County.

Sydney Holliman (1886-1980) resided in Marion County, Alabama and had 3 sons.  Ed Holliman continued to live in the Guin/Winfield area, Troy Holliman lived for many years in Tuscumbia, and Roy Holliman lived for many years in Tennessee, but returned to Winfield, Alabama, some years before he died.

Ella Holliman (1892-1983) married Oscar Smith and lived in the Winfield, Alabama area. Some of their children went north.  Pauline and her husband live in Ohio.  Genny Lee and her husband lived at Guin, Alabama.  Flora and her husband, Donald Miles lived for many years in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, then returned to Guin, Alabama.  Ira Smith lived in Ft. Wayne many years then returned to Winfield. Not sure about the other children, but don't think they lived in Birmingham area.

William Arthur Holliman (1899-1983) had 3 surviving children by Zolena McKay, his first wife.  William Garlon Holliman married (1st) Frances Roberts, and (2nd) Adelle Cantrell Voce. He lived with both wives at Winfield.  Loudell Holliman married James Elbert Morris of Fayette County, and they moved to Greenville, Indiana in the 1950's, raised their children there and remained there the rest of their lives.  Louise Holliman married Brady Baccus of Winfield and they lived in Winfield the rest of their lives.

William Arthur had 2 surviving children by his 2nd wife, Lela Warren.  Mildred Holliman married Harold Johnson of Fayette County and they lived for a while at Winfield, moved to Mississippi briefly, finally moved to Saraland (near Mobile), Alabama.  Mildred and one daughter are still at Saraland. Another daughter (of Mildred and Harold) lives near Monroeville, Alabama.   

James Arthur Holliman (1944) (always James, never Jim!) is my husband and we live on his parents' homeplace (which we own), though in a different house which James had built  in 1977.  The old house (in fair condition) is still standing next door to us.  James worked for about 46 years at Continental Conveyor & Equipment Company in Winfield, in 2 or 3 different jobs, but for many of those years as a receiving clerk.  He retired in 2011. About 2 years before James retired, Continental changed owners and became Joy Global.   We cattle farm in a small way.  James has raised cattle since he was in his early 20's.  We presently have about 20 cows, a bull, 11 calves, 8 donkeys, in addition  to 2 dogs (heelers) and an uncertain number of cats.  

I am from Fayette County (which adjoins Marion County).  I've worked in several offices since going to work in 1970, while still in vocational school.  Mostly I've worked for construction companies and for a period worked for an architectural firm. My first job was at Continental Conveyor, where I met James.   Presently, I work at Rebasco Decorators, a retail store in Fayette, Alabama, which sells carpet, paint, blinds, fabric (finish construction products).  My employer's main business is as a painting/flooring contractor, and I do paperwork work required for the contracting business (payroll, billing,  etc.) as well as store work. 

James and I have a daughter, Amy, who married Brandon Armstrong of Winston County, Alabama, and they now live in Winston County.  She graduated in 2003 from University of North Alabama at Florence, Alabama, with a degree in Family and Consumer Science. She is employed by Northwest Alabama Mental Health, and works as a social worker, dealing with intellectually challenged adults.  They have a son, Aiden James Armstrong, born 2009, who is in 2nd grade.

William Arthur Holliman was a farmer for many years, and he also did carpenter work.  For a few years he worked at a pants manufacturing  plant in Winfield.  He was born at Newtonville in south Fayette County, and moved during his early childhood to Eldridge, a community in Walker County, near Winfield, and for a brief period, his family lived in Arkansas.  They returned to the Winfield area and in 1919 he married Zolena McKay.  He and Zolena and two of their children were living on a rented farm near Winfield in 1924 when a farm became available for sale (the property James and I now own).  He purchased the farm and he and Zolena lived there until her death in 1930.  

Later in 1930, he married Lela Warren.  He lived there until his death in 1983. Lela continued to live on the home place until she entered a nursing home a few months before her death in 1996.   Lela and Arthur did leave their farm for 2 years during the 1930's. They moved to Brilliant and truck farmed, selling their produce to the miners who worked in the coal mines at Brilliant, in an effort to earn money to pay for their place (this was the Depression and money was scarce).  In the late 1940's a small church, The First Assembly of God, was established in our community.  Lela and Arthur were early members of the church. The church building was built by a number of neighborhood men, including Arthur, who did much of the carpenter work.  The church remains active today, though it has been re-named.

Francis Marion Holliman (1861-1939), Arthur's father, worked at farming, though I'm uncertain if he actually owned his own property.  Later in his life, after his wife's death lived with his children, different ones at different times.  He spent a good bit of time with Arthur's family. In fact, he died at Arthur's home.  His tombstone, put up long after his death, indicates a death date of 1939. However, he was counted in the 1940 census, so probably he died in either 1940 or 1941.  Unfortunately, James did not know him, as he (James) was born in 1944.  

From all accounts I've heard of Francis Marion, he was a hard worker. He did much work on Arthur's farm (now ours), doing ditching, plowing, and other farm work. His wife, Nancy Jane Henderson, was born in 1860 in Fayette Co. AL (her stone says 1861 but that is an error) and died in 1913. She stumbled and fell while working in a pea patch, and the injury progressed to a point that it killed her - possibly infection, possibly a hernia caused by the fall, not sure of this, but I know the injury was what caused the later problems. She apparently lived only a short while after her accident. Francis Marion was born in 1861 in Fayette Co.  Nancy Jane (Jennie)'s father was Hugh Henderson, who served in the 41st Alabama Infantry, as did Warren Holliman, Francis Marion's father.  Her mother was Hugh's first wife, named Nancy, who was mostly likely a Cook.  

Additional Commentary and Photographs to follow in Part 2.

Maxine Wright makes available a Warren Holliman Family History

by Glenn N. Holliman

Holliman cousin, Maxine Wright, recently sent me a booklet prepared several decades ago by the late Mavis Williams and the late Chester Bullock, a Baptist minister.  Most of this 65 page manuscript highlights the life of Warren Holliman and his descendants in Arkansas.  Ms. Williams was a great granddaughter of Warren Holliman (1801-1876), one of the three Holliman brothers who left Lancaster County, South Carolina in 1836 to move their families to Alabama.

Warren was restless and after several years, left his brothers Charles and Cornelius in Alabama and moved his family and others by wagon train to Arkansas in 1840.  The brother, Charles Holliman, is Maxine's great great grandfather and brother Cornelius is this writer's great, great, great grandfather.

Maxine writes: "I started doing research back before computers, subscribed to genealogy magazines and wrote letters to different Hollimans. I posted queries in books and sent SASE along with family group sheets. Most always received a reply. There is a picture of Warren Holliman and his wife Barbara in a museum in Sheriden, Arkansas."

Thanks to Maxine this manuscript has now been scanned and with her permission is available by email to those who might be descendants of Warren Holliman or who wish to add to their family library. She writes that Mavis and Chester had wanted it shared with all.

Maxine is so kind to share of her collection of family history materials, and like the family of the late Walt O. Holliman, hopefully their example will encourage others to share research and memorabilia via the Internet.

For a copy of the manuscript on the life and family of Warren Holliman, please write me at glennhistory@gmail.com.  Since the last posting of this blog, several have requested manuscripts prepared by Walt O. Holliman, which I have been happy to oblige.

A Holliman History by Walter O. Holliman, Part VI

by Glenn N. Holliman


This is the sixth in a series of a history of the Holliman family written by Walter O. Holliman in 1995 and edited in 1996. 


In this Third Generation as Walt labels his manuscript, his ancestor Cornelius Holliman (1792-1862) leaves the used-up soil of South Carolina, and with a good dose of Alabama fever, he and two of his brothers leave the grave of their father, James Grantson Holliman, and migrate to West Alabama in 1836.

If you have information to add to this narrative, please let us hear from you.

From the Walter O. Holliman Archives

by Glenn N. Holliman

An Announcement -

My son, Christopher S. Holliman, writes a blog at http://the62mets.blogspot.com/ and, no, it is not about baseball.  One of his most recent blogs is a trip to the Crater at the Petersburg, Virginia battlefield where his 3 GGF and 2 GGF fought for the Confederacy.  You might check it out.  There are some photographs.


And now...
A Special Posting...
Several of you have been studying the page on the Walter O. Holliman Materials, an index of his voluminous research on his families and have asked for information.  Below I reproduce six pages of photocopies he made in the early 1990s of Johnston County, North Carolina Holliman land records.  This information may or may not be new to serious Holliman family researchers but I am happy to post this and other items as time permits.

Walt came to believe, as did Dr. Charles Holliman, that Samuel Holliman was the father of my 4 great grandfather, James Grantson Holliman (1750-1836).

A Gathering of Hollimans, Part II

by Glenn N. Holliman

In mid-October 2011, a dozen descendants of Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691),born an Englishman and died a Virginian, gathered in Fayette, Alabama for a seminar on the family.  In 1836 three Holliman brothers arrived in Fayette County in West Alabama.  Today their descendants live in Fayette, adjacent counties and states, and literally all over the country.  In these articles we look at Fayette and also family, some living and some passed on.

Above, Fayette County’s legal system and records resides in its one hundred year old gold domed court house.  A fire in 1911 destroyed much of the down town taking many early records with it. 

Above and far left James Monroe Holliman, Glenda Norris’ great grandfather, stands in front of Harkin’s Store which was destroyed by the 1911 disastrous fire that swept through the west Alabama community.  Later, James became a successful attorney in Birmingham, Alabama (1878 - 1938).


Today, (below) the front street across from the Court House reflects the gentle pace of life during a Friday afternoon in autumn.  

Below, James Franklin Holliman (right) inspects the materials Raiford Brandon (left) brought to the Fayette Round Table.  Frank is a descendent of Cornelius Holliman and Raiford of Charles Holliman.  All present were descended from Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 – 1691) and his son, Richard Holyman (1660c – 1711) with the exception of Joe Parker, who descended from Christopher Holyman, Sr. through a different son; that being Christopher Holyman, Jr.

  Below, two blocks from the Court House is the old train depot which survived the 1911 disastrous fire, now a community museum and visitor’s center.  Just a few blocks away stood the home of John Thomas Holliman (1844 – 1930), the great grandfather of Glenn Holliman and great, great grandfather of Glenda Norris.

Below, holding the bridle of his horse, John Thomas Holliman, and Martha Jane Walker Holliman (1845 – 1931), his wife, stand in the 1920s in front of their Fayette home, only four blocks from the County Court House and close to the depot.  The house is now gone. 

Like almost all Alabama white men and his male relatives of that era and age, John Thomas Holliman was a Confederate veteran.  He fought at Stone’s River in the West and the Petersburg, Virginia Crater in the East.  Martha Jane’s father, Samuel Walker (1822 – 1900) also of Fayette County, was one of the remaining 7,000 who surrendered with Robert E. Lee at Appomattox.  (A fascinating article on John Thomas Holliman by Dr. Rhodes Holliman, grandson of James Monroe Holliman, can be found in the Archives, March 2010.)

Next posting, more views and news of the Alabama Round Table....

Our Family's Colonial Era, Part XIII

by Glenn N. Holliman

A Holyman Family from Isle of Wight, Virginia to North Alabama

A Closing Observations as the Old Year Slips Away....

1650 - 2010: 360 Years of American History in one Family

Christopher Holyman, Sr. arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1650. He and his immediate descendants lived approximately a century in Isle of Wight County and adjacent counties. However, around 1740, my direct Holliman descendants from this multiple great grandfather began moving south and west searching for land and increased fortune.

For my line of Hollimans, the chronology is approximately this, and of course, sons and daughters were always splitting off and moving to other parts of what is the United States. Many in the late 1700s and early 1800s would move to Tennessee and Kentucky. For the most part, my branch of this colonial family would migrate to the southern states, although there are exceptions.

Prior to 1650 - Origin of American family is England, with Christopher Holliman, Sr. born 1618 in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England with possible other relatives in Tring, Hertfordshire, England.

Research to date does not support the reported John Holyman (d 1650) of Tring, England and Southampton, Virginia as the father of Christopher Sr. The parents of Christopher Sr. appear to be Thomas (b 1576) and Helene Poynard of Bedford.

The map below traces my Holyman family migrations from Isle of Wight, Virginia to Birmingham, Alabama. Numerals are printed adjacent to each 'stop' . Below the map, the numerals are next to copy about each family historic home. As the map is copied from a history book on the westward movement, no part of this map may be used for commercial purposes. Click on the map twice to enlarge. The large red arrows indicate the forced migration of Native Americans from their tribal lands as European - Americans and African -Americans advanced westwardly.

1. 1650 to 1740s - Most of my direct descendants lived in Isle of Wight County and adjoining counties in Virginia. Naturally, many descendants under the names of Holleman, Hollomon, etc. reside in southern Virginia to this day.

2. 1740s to 1790s - Through the parents and relatives of James Grantson Holliman, the Johnston County, North Carolina area became home for my branch of the family.

3. 1790s to 1836 - In the 1790s Anson County, North Carolina and Lancaster County, South Carolina (border counties) became the location of this James Grantson Holliman family.

4. 1836 - 1918 - In 1836, three sons of James Grantson Holliman moved their families to Fayette County, Alabama. The families of Charles and Cornelius Holliman stayed in Alabama and descendants live in the area to this day. Warren Holliman moved with others to Arkansas, and there remain many Hollimans. Others of these extended families moved to Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and other parts of the southwest and middle Great Plains.

5. 1918 - 1960s - My generation's grandfather, Ulyss S. Holliman (1884 - 1965), a son of John Thomas, grandson of Uriah and great grandson of Cornelius, moved his family from Fayetteville, Alabama to Irondale, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. Several other families migrated to the economic attractions of the 'Magic City' also, including James Monroe Holliman, a brother of Ulyss, and his children. Others of Ulyss' brothers scattered throughout North Alabama; one Bill Holliman, remained in Fayette County, dieing there in 1940.

1960s to the present - While many of my first cousins remain in the Birmingham and North Alabama region, and 2nd and 3rd cousins in Fayette Country area, many grand and great grand children of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman, have relocated across the country living in Chicago, Boston, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska, Arizona and other states. As with many families, advances in education, transportation and career opportunities have led to the dispersion of formally regionally located kinfolk to every part of the country.

Next Posting, a close examination of life in Isle of Wight County in the 17th Century, and its influence on our family today....