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.

 

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.

EARLIER HOLLEMAN/HOLLIMANS IN WAKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

by J. Allen Holleman

Allen Holleman, organizer of the Hollyman Gathering April 2016 in Isle of Wight County, Virignia, continues his articles on some of the Hollemans who left Virginia and moved south to North Carolina. Allen's direct lineage stayed in North Carolina (but certainly not all), while mine kept moving south and west, eventually in my case to Fayette County, Alabama in 1836. - Glenn N. Holliman

The recent posts I have lately added seem to indicate that John and Jesse (Jr.) Holleman were the first of our ancestors in Wake County, North Carolina; arriving in 1804/05.  They were not.

Wake was created in 1772 in large part from the huge, old Johnston County to the east, as well as from Orange on the west side and a sliver from Cumberland to the south.  Chatham County was created from Orange at the same time.

Far right, Allen at the Smithfield, Virginia Hollyman seminars with cousin Steve Holleman, descendant of Jonathan and Barnett Holleman.

About 1800 Lewis Holleman, son of Jedediah, known as Jeddia, who was brother of Jesse Sr., my 5th GGF, bought property in Raleigh as well as some near-by farmland.  In 1805 he married a widow, Penelope Lane Atkins.  Penny's father was James Lane, brother of Joel Lane, called the "Father of Raleigh".

Penny had a dower right to 1/3 of a large plantation, and the couple were given leave to run the entire plantation by the Atkins family for the benefit of her two children by Thomas Atkins.  In 1812 they had a son, one of several named William Henry Holleman, who in the latter half of the 19th C. became a wealthy businessmen and one of the largest property owners in Raleigh.

In the first US census in 1790, there were two others named Holliman.  One was James Grantson Holliman, a direct ancestor of Glenn N. Holliman, the principal of this website.  Before 1800 he had moved west and amassed huge acreages in Anson and Mecklenberg Counties in NC and Lancaster Co., SC.   He evidently had a large farm in Johnston Co. that became part of Wake in 1772.

The other was Thomas Holliman, with his wife Amelia and two children.  They lived in Raleigh west of the State House.  After he died, before 1800, she remained until her 2nd marriage later.  We don't know where Thomas was from.  A descendant, Lynn Holliman Fusinato, an excellent genealogist herself, has not been able to discover his origin.


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/ .

Please click on 'Older Post' below to see all of Allen Holleman's recent articles and the August 1, 2016 posting by Susan G. White.  A descendant of the Isle of Wight, Virginia Hollemans, she records the various quests of her maternal lineage to acquire a higher education.  GNH

Exploring further Holleman History in Old Virginia, Part 12

by Glenn N. Holliman

Note in previous articles, I have written of Josiah Holleman and his sons, Joel and Wilson who lived in 19th Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia.  In this posting, Allen Holleman of North Carolina writes of Jesse Holleman, the father and grandfather of the before noted Hollemans.  Allen's lineage is profiled in our October 4, 2012 article in the Archives of this blog. Take a look at Allen's blue convertible! GNH

Jesse Holleman, a Man Among Men 
by descendant Allen Holleman (photograph below)

 

Jesse Holleman (1735 ca - 1825) is a great grandson of Christopher Holyman (1618-1691), the patriarch of most of the Hollyman (various spellings) clans in America.  Christopher, Sr. arrived in Jamestown in 1650, and fathered Christopher, Jr. who parented John Holleman, the father of Jesse Holleman of this article.  All lived in Isle of Wight County, VA and had extensive land holdings in this Tidewater area of southeast Virginia. 

We don't know much about Jesse's early life other than he was born about 1735-37. His mother was named Elizabeth but we know less about her except that she was named as heir and executrix of John's will dated and applied in 1751 when John died. 

Below a Google photograph of the Holleman Farm at Mill Swamp today.  Approximately 100 acres remain of the original 1,020 acres Christopher Holyman, Sr. patented in 1684.  The Mill Swamp Cemetery land and possibly the land for the Mill Swamp Baptist Church, adjacent to the Cemetery, were donated by the Holleman family.  The Holleman House and remaining farm are located on the left center of this picture on Highway 621.

Jesse inherited 200 acres beside the Mill Swamp as a teenager, and it is safe to say he began farming the land as he grew into manhood.  He was educated well enough to read and write as he signed his name, not using an 'X'.  Also in his later professions of surveyor and land appraiser, many documents and other written works were necessary.  Even later, as a Baptist minister he needed not only to read and quote the Bible but to deal with the records and documents required.

Jesse acquired other properties and expanded his farming, mainly tobacco which leeches the soils so badly that land could be used only for a few seasons.  He, and later his sons, must have worked the farms themselves as census records show him having only one slave.  Although the slave population grew rapidly in Virginia in the 1700s, Jesse probably could not afford bonded servants in his early years.  Tobacco demands skill to raise, cure and transport, and he may have been able to hire some help among the numerous free blacks in Isle of Wight County.

What was Jesse like, what sort of man was he?  Farming demands dedication and hard work so he would have been self-directed and even driven.  By learning a new profession, he showed determination to succeed and proposer. He surely had high standards for himself and expected no less for his children.  

And they did not disappoint. A son, Josiah, became a member of the House of Delegates and a long time commissioner of Isle of Wight County.  A grandson, Joel Holleman, became a U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House of Delegates.

The Holleman family was reasonably prosperous and prominent in the area among such neighbors as the Wombles, Gwaltneys, Burwells, Wrenns and Cofers.  And in marrying Charity Cofer (m. ca 1766), Jesse did very well indeed.  He was held in such regard that he was co-executor of her father's will along with her brother and was trusted to value the land and divide it according to the senior Thomas Cofer's wishes.

There are records of Jesse's father, John, being a land appraiser, and one wonders if John might also have been a surveyor.  Jesse had probably learned much from John, even at a young age, as children grew up quite early in colonial times.  Jesse became a highly-regarded surveyor, an exacting science even in that more "primitive" time.  Land appraisal is more of an art, but requires trust in one whose judgement and experience can be relied upon for sale or inheritance purposes.  There was little circulating money, so property and the cash crop tobacco were the basis for wealth.

Jesse and Charity had three daughters: Mary "Polly", Sarah and another whose name is lost to history.  I have read that they had twelve sons but we can only identify seven.  All the boys names started with 'J': John, Josiah, Jesse (Jr.), Jordan and Jonathan we know quite well and some about Jeremiah but nothing about Jeptha.  He might have died at a young age - as possibly others?

And none named James. It was written by early genealogists that  James Grantson Holliman (1750-1836) of North Carolina was a son of Jesse, but Joseph Parker, Maxine Wright, Jeanette Holiman Stewart and Glenn N. Holliman have demonstrated otherwise earlier at this blog site.  Charity would have been only 10-12 years old if she had birthed James Grantson, and she never lived in North Carolina as did he.

Charity was in the 1810 census and died before 1816 when Jesse married a prominent widow, Frances Dews Stringfield, when he was about 70 years old. 

And no, there were no more children, but Jesse took up another profession, that of minister of the oldest Baptist church in Virginia - Mill Swamp Baptist that is still a thriving congregation today.  There was a previous congregation that met at Burleigh Plantation, but this group never had a building per se.  MSBC grew from this first Virginia attempt at organized Baptist worship. When he was in his 80's, Jesse again served the church as minister.  Below, Mill Swamp Baptist Church as it looks in the 21st Century.

And what might seem strange today....Jesse was also a distiller of spirits.  It was common practice to have a toddy before dinner, and Jesse, who evidently had no use for temperance, made apple brandy, his favorite.  It probably helped him live longer and surely made the journey more enjoyable.  My how the Baptists have changed!

Many researchers have stated that Jesse was a patriot in the American Revolution (true) - as a soldier in the army. That part is not accurate.  He would have been about 40 and too old for field service - except maybe as a senior officer and the records would exist for that. 

No, he had a large farm and family to look after as well as his other professions. As all able-bodied men were expected to serve in the local militia, Jesse might have served there, probably along with his teen-aged sons.

 Alas, when the British officer, Banister "Bloody" Tarleton, burned the Isle of Wight courthouse, many of the militia records were lost along with many other documents. (This is why we have lost so much information on our antecedents.)

Jesse did something equally important as being a soldier.  In 1779 he was appointed Surveyor of Roads for Isle of Wight county, building and maintaining roads used by the citizens, militia and army. Unfortunately the area roads were utilized by the British as well, who made excursions into the region burning, pillaging and thieving, before being driven back to their ships by the militia. 

This service is the important basis for a number of DAR and SAR applications - including my own.  Jesse Holleman was truly ‘A Man Among Men’.

Jesse died in December of 1824, and his will was proved with an inventory on January 3, 1825.  It has long been written that he was buried in the Mill Swamp Baptist church cemetery, but that land was not given until later.  It is almost certain that Jesse was laid to rest in the existing cemetery on the Holleman farm, possibly with John, and Christophers Sr. and Jr.  Wooden markers of the time did not last long, and Wilson's is the earliest carved in stone. - Allen Holleman of North Carolina

  I am grateful to Allen for this article, and encourage all who have an ancestral story to send it along so we may share it with others. GNH

Next posting...back to our English Roots, some new research....

Have questions about Holliman family history? You are invited to join the Hollyman Email List at Hollyman-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com and the Hollyman Family Facebook Page located on Facebook at "Hollyman Family". Post your questions and perhaps one of the dozens Holyman cousins on the list will have an answer. For more information contact Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com, the list and Facebook manager for Hollyman (and all our various spellings!).

Join your many cousins at MyFamily.com and view an expanded Holliman family tree and many files on the history of the family.  Just write to glennhistory@gmail.com for an invitation. Or go to the HOLLYMAN GENEALOGY MyFamily site at http://myfamily.com/group/hollyman. Then click on "Request to Join" in upper righthand corner!

The Parents of James Grantson Holliman, Part III

by Glenn N. Holliman

From Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691) to James Grantson Holliman (1750 - 1836) - The Lineage

In the last post cousin Jeanette Holiman Stewart of Texas demonstrated to my satisfaction that James Grantson Holliman's parents could not have been Jesse and Charity Cofer Holliman of Isle of Wight County, Virginia.  The dates and locations do not work.

As a descendant of James Grantson and Christopher, Sr (DNA testing), I was curious as to who my missing ancestors are.  So are others, one being a careful and thoughtful genealogist, another distant cousin, Joe Parker, again of Texas.  I share below his thesis with you.  And Joe, calls it that, his thesis.  We both agree that genealogy is a process where information is gathered, assessed, and lineages tested by time and additional research.

                                                        Above, Joe and Gladys Parker


Joe wrote me the following several months ago, and I quote,


 "Based on what I have been looking at the last few months, it is my personal belief that James Grantson Holliman was a grandson of Richard Holliman who died in 1711.  The author of the Hollyman book, George A. Holleman, has that one of Richard's grandsons is name 'James'.  This James lives in the correct era, and mingled with Hollimans who are descendants of the Richard Holliman (a son of Christopher Holyman, Sr.), all in Johnston County, North Carolina.


Until further information comes along, I am going to go along with this opinion.  Somewhere out there, there is a thread of evidence that does point out his father and his lineage.  Just find it and properly identify it."


So Joe proposes (and I am in agreement with him with the evidence in hand including my own research) this branch of the James Grantson Holliman tree:

Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 -1691) and unknown wife (Anne)
to
Richard Holliman (1660s ca -1711) and Margaret Jordan House Holliman
to
Samuel Holliman (abt 1708 -1789) and
to
James Grantson Holliman (1750 -1836)

During our Holliman Round Table in Fayette, Alabama on October 14 and 15, 2011, Lynn Holliman of Texas and I discussed the above with Joe.  Thanks to the work of Walt O. Holliman, who died 2003, we were able to examine his additional research in detail.  Walt's evidence bore out Joe and Jeanette Stewart's  research.  By legal records such as wills, land deeds and military service, no one else qualifies as James Grantson Holliman's father.

Samuel Holliman appears to be the great grandfather that many family genealogists have been searching for decades.


In our next post, we examine some more Colonial Era Hollimans....

The Parents of James Grantson Holliman, Part I

by Glenn N. Holliman

Who are the Parents and Grandparents of James Grantson Holliman (1750 - 1836)?

Several months ago, I posted articles on Hollimans who settled in West Alabama in the 1830s and their descendants who live there to this day.  The Alabama Hollimans (and others) descend from James Grantson Holliman, my generation's 4th great grand father who was born in Johnston County, North Carolina in 1750 and died in Lancaster County, South Carolina in 1836.  Some of his children, one being Cornelius Holliman, my 3rd great grandfather, moved to Alabama the year their father died.

The Hollimans (various spellings) began to leave southern Virginia, generally Isle of Wight and Surrey Counties, in the decades after the Tuscarora tribe was displaced from North Carolina in the 1710s and 1720s.  As with thousands of others, they began to settle south of the Virginia border in the tidewater, sand hill and piedmont sections of eastern North Carolina.  The spelling of Holliman varied from generation to generation and from county clerk to county clerk.  Hence, one find Hollomans, Hollemans and other variations after the 'y' in Holyman gave way to other vowels.

As with almost all genealogies there are 'missing gaps' or uncertainties of the names of ancestors.  What follows hopefully a mystery solved concerning my generation's 5th great grandparents.


The names of the parents and grandparents of James Grantson Holliman have been a puzzle to many.  A popular Holliman family lineage web site states that Christopher Holliman Sr. (d 1691) begat Christopher Holliman, Jr. (true enough) who begat John Holliman (true) who begat Jesse Holliman (true) who was the father of James Grantson Holliman (not supported by evidence).  

Several years ago over dinner in Virginia with my cousin Dr. Rhodes Holliman (who along with his late father Cecil Rhodes) is an accomplished Holliman historian, observed that the family lineage between Christopher Sr. and James Grantson was 'soft' and had some holes in it.  Coming from a person highly immersed in Holliman history, and who has continued to build on his father's extensive research, well, this got my attention.  Dr. Rhodes Holliman, below, has been stalwart in keeping the flame of the history of Alabama Hollimans burning brightly.

Then I heard from Maxine Wright, persistent and careful Holliman researcher from Arkansas and another descendant of James Grantson Holliman, who discovered a host of reasons that challenge this ‘conventional’ line.Then I noticed on the Tina Peddie chat room other cousins, Joe Parker and Jeanette Holiman, who are always very well researched, also challenged the above lineage. Ron Holliman from Alabama raised my doubts also with information on Samuel Holliman's historic home near Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Take a minute below to review the 'traditional' lineage that is posted widely on the Internet and many Ancestry.com sites. The web site done a number of years ago represents a mountain of work by a distant cousin for which we all should be grateful.  However, as with any historical research and interpretation (especially mine), we need to keep probing and critiquing. Genealogy is a process.

The Web Lineage that is challenged but still on the web and Ancestry sites - 


Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691) (DNA testing proves this Christopher is my ancestor)
to
Christopher Holliman, Jr. (1660 ca - 1733)
to
John Holliman (d 1751), wife - Elizabeth
to 
Jesse Holliman, (d 1812), wife Charity Coffer in 1753
to 
James Grantson Holliman (1750 - 1836), my 4th Great Grandfather 

Now in the next posting, Jeanette Holiman Stewart will prove a negative and demonstrate the above lineage is not POSSIBLE.

A Holliman History by Walter O. Holliman, Part V

by Glenn N. Holliman


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


In this Second Generation document, Walt shares his research on James Grantson Holliman (1750 - 1836).  There is more to be written on this Holliman's Revolutionary War record in which he served in his local Johnston County militia as a young man, but this manuscript does include a copy of his petition seeking a pension for his service.  Also included in this material is the story of two of his daughters seeking financial redress for his military years.

At this writing, Walt was not aware that James' wife was Elizabeth Bryant, evidently from a neighbouring farm, and related to a distinguished family in Johnston County, North Carolina.

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).

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....