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....

Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman Descendants

by Glenn N. Holliman

Christmas in Alabama 1946

A Gathering of the Children and Grandchildren of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman

World War II was over and the soldiers, sailors and airmen had come home to new families and careers. At Christmas time 1946, my Grandmother Pearl Caine Holliman, employed a photographer to come and photograph her family using the new invention of flash bulbs. All her children and their spouses were home, again, for the holidays at 2300 3rd avenue, Irondale, Alabama.

Three of her sons (Melton, Bishop and Ralph) and one son-in-law,(Walter Cornelius) had served over seas during the war. Her fourth son, Euhal, was ordered to a pre-induction physical, but due to his age and number of dependents, he was never called. The other two son in laws - Robert Daly and Charles Ferrell were over age. During the war and in the two years after, all seven children of Ulyss and Pearl became parents, three for the second, third or fourth times (Vena and Robert Daly, Loudelle and Charles Ferrell and Euhal and Edna), and four (Melton and Ida, Bishop and Gerry, and Virginia and Walter Cornelius, and Ralph and Motie) for the first time!

The Baby Boomer Generation was underway, and would not cease for this family until 1956. Bishop, Virginia and Ralph all married during the war. Two of these three marriages would end in divorce decades later. The four marriages made in times prior to World War II survived until the death of the first spouse.

While many of my cousins have grown up enjoying and wondering about this photograph, many of the second cousins have not seen or studied it. Here it is along with commentary of the family. Any errors are mine alone; corrections and clarifications always welcome. There is another photograph made in 1950 which I am saving for another occasion.

Pause and reflect this Christmas season how joyful Ulyss and Pearl were to have this large family, safe and secure, around them that year as the world recovered from war. Imagine that this was happening in other Holliman and related families all across the nation. (Click twice and the picture will enlarge.)

Front row, left to right: Mary Daly holding her three year old brother, Robert W. Daly, Jr., Charles Halford Ferrell, next to his mother, Loudelle Holliman Ferrell who is holding John Melton Ferrell. Next are Euhal and Edna's twin boys, Jerry and Terry, and then Edna holding Jean Holliman. Standing tall is Pati (Hairston), Melton and Ida's daughter, and peeking behind her is Carolyn Ferrell (Tatum). Finally on the front row is Virginia Holliman Cornelius holding her first daughter, Nancy Carol Cornelius (Morton).

Back row, left to right. Vena Holliman Daly stands in front of her husband, Robert Daly, the parents of Mary and Bob. The Dalys married in 1928. Next Ida has her arm around Melton Holliman, her husband since 1932. The parents and grandparents of this large family are next - Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman, married in 1906, when Ulyss was 22 and Pearl 18. They are 62 and 58 years old respectively when this picture was taken.

Grandmother Holliman has her arm around Anne Holliman (Phillips), eldest daughter of Euhal and Edna. Euhal in the stripped tie stands next to his daughter, and just behind him is Motie, the wife of Ralph (tallest in back row). Their first daughter, Pamela, will be born in 1947.

Holding the four month old baby boy on the back row is my father, Bishop Holliman, and next to that baby (yours truly) and smiling broadly is my mother, Geraldine Stansbery Holliman.

Behind Gerry is Walter Cornelius, Virginia's husband, and at the far right, looking distinguished as always, is The Rev. Charles Ferrell, husband of Loudelle since 1935.

Twelve cousins are pictured in this December 1946 gathering. Mary Daly (Herrin) was the first born in 1931; the last born was my sister, Alice Holliman (Murphy) in 1956. Altogether, there would be 19 great grandchildren. Sadly, Grandmother Holliman who died in May 1955 did not live to hold all of them. She dearly loved her family.

Merry Christmas to all of us still living who were present that day and to the additional cousins, children, grand children and great grand children who have come after us! And a grateful and loving remembrance of those who were present in 1946 but who have left the family in this life. God Bless Us Everyone!!!

Our Family's Colonial Era, Part XII

by Glenn N. Holliman

What Can We Learn from the Will of John Holyman?

I am indebted to Joe Parker, a serious Holliman genealogist, for the material below from the Northampton County, Virginia Record Book, Vol. III, 1645 - 1651, page 448. The work is edited by Dr. Howard Mackey and Marlene Alma Hinchley Groves. Opinions and any errors in this article are mine alone.

Below is the will of John Holyman dated May 8, 1650, two weeks before Christopher Holliman Sr. and Judith Holliman arrived in Jamestown, Virginia.

"Memorand That this day ye Last will & Testant' of John Holoman of Northampton County, planter, dec'd was pr'ved:

J'No Hollowman his will & desire is that hie giveth unto Christopher Kirke towe cowes & one heyffor with towe steers & one yearlinge, and towe calves & towe sowes & towe barrowes, and more. towe shutes of clothes & a gun w'th a chest & a cutlace, and my Bedd w'th covinge w'th three sheets. As witness my hand this 8 daye of May 1650./ JNo [ his mark ] Hollowman. Wit: Wm Mortt [Mott?]

JNo Hollowman his Acco'tt the 8th day of Maye 1650/ of what Debtes is oweinge him abroad w'thout any spec. as followeth, witnes' my hand.

Test: Wm Moulte/ JNo [ his mark ] Hollowman"

Translation? John leaves to one Christopher Kirk two cows, a heifer (a cow not yet giving milk), two steers, a yearling, two calves and two pigs (female). The barrows are neutered male pigs. And he leaves more, which we assume are farm tools. Judging from the above John is a small farmer with a modest amount of livestock, typical for a yeoman planter at that time in Virginia's history. Christopher Kirk fathered a line of successful children and grandchildren, and their story may be explored further in colonial records (just Google the name and time).
What else? Two suites of clothes, a gun, a cutlass, a chest and a bed with three sheets. Okay, John could defend himself from wild animals and Native Americans (was John present in 1644 when 500 plus colonists died, a very serious uprising?).
Above left a 17th century French cutlass, a curved short sword.

What's missing from this will? Well, number one, every thing is left to a friend and not to a spouse or children (or a brother and sister). If Christopher Sr. and Judith yet had not arrived from England, it is not too surprising that nothing is left to them, if one assumes John is either their father or more likely, their brother. No wife? Women were still scarce in Virginia in 1650, and perhaps this John never married or a spouse may have died.
No mention is made of land? Did John rent land? Possibly unless he had given it away before writing the will, which seems odd. So probably he rented some acres. He was not an indentured servant or he would not have had the livestock. However, he did not have any sheep, so wool or clothe would have been precious. A wife was important for spinning wool and making clothing. Cotton was not yet grown, so clothes, generally all imported, were expensive and highly prized. Hence clothes left to a friend in the will.
No furniture or kitchen items, silverware or other items described. Virginia was not yet a mature or abundant colony. Most English, approximately 15,000 by 1650, were yeoman farmers, struggling to plant Indian corn, some beans and tobacco (as much as possible).
I have searched databases of Northampton County, Virginia and have found no other listing of John Holyman (or similar name) during these times. Northampton is also on the Eastern Shore, the southern most county. Granted this is the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, but it is some distance by water from Jamestown or Isle of Wight County.
So is John Holyman a possible ancestral uncle? Or as is claimed by one Hollyman web site, the father of Christopher Holyman Sr.?
Let's refresh our memories. Remember these dates and names from my October 14, 2010 posting?

1610 - September 16, one John Holliman baptised. John married a Mary Parrell on July 25, 1641 at St. Mary's Parish, Bedford, England. If this be our John, did Mary make the trip to Virginia with him?

1616 - Thomas Holloman, brother of the above John, baptised at St. Mary's Parish, Bedford on March 20. Is this the Thomas of Martin's Hundred near Jamestown who took land in the 1635? Did this Thomas start the family moving to Virginia when he was only 18 or 19 years old?

1618 - Christopher Hollaman, brother of the above, baptized on September 2. Is this our Christopher Holyman Senior who immigrates to Jamestown in 1650, raises a large family, makes his earthly fortune and dies 1691?! Is this my generation's 8th or 9th great grandfather?

1621 - Judith Holliman, sister of the brothers above, baptised on February 11. Is this the Judith who arrives in Jamestown with a Christopher in 1650 and/or later in 1653?!

Genealogy is not an exact science, and it is so frustrating not to be able to tie these lines of kinship together. My opinion is that this John Holyman is a brother (and not their father) of Christopher and Judith Holyman who arrived in Virginia at the time of John's death. Evidence and logic - yes. Proof? I have none.

Next posting, we shall look at the Holliman migrations across the Southern English Colonies and United States.

Our Family's Colonial Era, Part XI

by Glenn N. Holliman

Some 17th Century Holymans - Who Were They?

Most of us reading this blog are descendants from Christopher Holyman (Holliman, etc.) who was born in England, immigrated in 1650 to Jamestown with a person named Judith, presumed to be his sister, both from either Bedford or Tring, England. Judith disappears from the story, but we know Christopher, Sr. died in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in 1691, having prospered as a planter.

In other blogs, I have shared research by others on Thomas Holeman who in 1635 purchased land at Martin's Hundred, south of Jamestown. There was also one Robert Hollman, who in March 1635 owned land in Henrico County, along the James River. Then there is John Holyman who died in Southampton, Virginia in 1650, a possible brother of our Christopher Holyman and the above Thomas Holeman.

There are still more Hollimans!

Beside the descendants of Christopher Holliman, Sr., other Hollimans also were arriving in the New World. Here is a list I have put together so far, and of course, welcome information, additions and clarification.

1653 - Another Judith Holyman and a second Christopher Holyman arrived three years after our Christopher Holyman Sr. and the original Judith Holyman stepped ashore at Jamestown. Most genealogists believe they were relatives, perhaps a son, a daughter or a mother?

1656 - On April 25, 1656 one William Holliman arrived, transported courtesy of Thomas Rolfe. Who was Thomas Rolfe? None other than the son of John Rolfe and his famous wife, Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, chief of the tribes when Jamestown was founded. Well....my goodness....By 1658, William Holliman was a land owner. All this from Nell Nugent, Volume 1, pages 328 and 377, Cavaliers and Pioneers.

Above in this 1994 photograph, my son, Christopher S. Holliman and my nephew, Bryan Payne, pose at Jamestown in front of the statue of Pocahontas. Both are direct descendants from their multi-great grandfather, Christopher Holyman, Sr., who landed at this site in 1650.

1658 - February 26, one John Hollman transported by John Dorrant. A Holliman simply slightly misspelled?

1659 - How about some indentured servants, poor people who bought their passage to Virginia in exchange for years of work? Labor to work tobacco fields was very scarce in the colony. There was Jane Hollyman, unknown family, who on September 10th was ordered to serve her master an extra year at the end of her indenture for running away. This freedom loving female Hollyman had escaped for six months from one William Cox. The county was York, Virginia. Interesting, our Christopher Holliman, Sr. was transported in 1650 by one John Cox. Relationship?

1675 and 1681 - The names of Thomas Hollyman pop up twice, both times in Lancaster County, Virginia as indentured servants. Are they the same person or two named Thomas Hollyman? The second in 1681 is listed as a servant of Lt. Colonel John Carter, ah ha, of the famous Carter family. Later the Carters will cease using indentured servants and instead utilize African slaves. This John Carter will die early eventually leaving the entire family estate to Robert "King" Carter who will become the wealthiest man in Colonial Virginia, acquiring over 300,000 acres and 1,000 slaves. This John Carter got his start in Isle of Wight County in the 1640s, the same country were our direct great grandparents would put down roots.

For citations on Jane and the two Thomas Hollymans, go to the Immigrant Servants Database on the web. Citations in original records are given. A very neat web site where one can cross check numerous family trails.

From whence did these Hollymans come? Bedford or Tring, England? Some other part of the England? Are these distant cousins? Perhaps, probably, perhaps. Joe Parker has identified even more Hollimans who lived in Virginia in the second half of the 17th Century. So there are more stories to tell.

More on Colonial Virginia and the Family of Christopher Holyman, Sr. in the next post....

Our Family's Colonial Era - Part X

A Civil War in England and

War with the Dutch in the Chesapeake Bay
by Glenn N. Holliman


Virginia was not immune from the disturbances in England. After the English Civil War, and Charles I losing his crown and head, Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth ruled from 1649 to 1660. Robert Berkeley, a long serving royal appointee, was dismissed as governor of Virginia in 1652 when a Commonwealth ship sailed up the James River and demanded Berkeley’s surrender of the colony and his post.

Below Oliver Cromwell, the uncrowned king of England during the Commonwealth Era.


With the restoration of Charles II to the British throne in 1660, Berkeley left his plantation and exile at Green Spring (near present day Williamsburg) and returned to lead from Jamestown, still the capitol.

Violence never was far away from the Hollimans and their farms in what is now Smithfield, Virginia on the Cypress River (a short river which emptied into the Pagan and then into the James) and later the Blackwater Swamp, still in Isle of Wight County. In 1667, a Dutch fleet sailed up the James and burned twenty colonial ships carrying tobacco. Six years later, the persistent Dutch in a continuing trade war with Britain, returned and burned or captured another ten ships.

Did the Holliman’s suffer financial losses as a result of this international war? Did they hear the guns and see the smoke? Undoubtedly the Virginia militia was turned out. Was this long-forgotten naval engagement (and war) the first occasion for Holliman’s to muster in defense of their new country?

Economically the Virginia colony was suffering from a surplus of tobacco, falling commodity prices, restrictive trade laws and increasing taxes. In addition to Dutch and Mercantile wars, the frontier (northern Isle of Wight County was a border) still experienced friction and violence between settlers and Native Americans. If this sounds like 21st Century America, we are reminded that physical and economic security are paramount issues in any community or century.

Next posting, other Hollimans arrive in the Virginia colony....