The Hollyman English Ancestry Quest 2019, Part 1

by Glenn N. Holliman

The Hollymans Gather in the Cotswolds

May 17, 2019 

Above, at the Royal Hart Hotel courtyard in Moreton in Marsh, Gloustershire, England, Hollyman cousins from Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey, Indiana, Florida, Alabama, California, North Carolina and the countries of the United Kingdom, Nigeria and Italy gather on May 17, 2019, the first night of a tour of Hollyman (various spellings) ancestral sites in England.

Left to right, front row are Glenn Holliman, Alice Holliman Murphy, Rebecca Holliman Payne, Allen Holleman, Marcia Holliman, Mary Lippo, Di Holliman and Madeleine Holliman.  Second row, Lindsay Holliman, Paul Holliman, Susan White (in front of Paul), Bryan Holliman, Matthew Holliman, Marshall Cocke, Ann Holliman Krueger, Alison Holliman Marlowe, Kimberly Holliman, Teresa Holliman, Mary Ann Holliman Fenske, Rob Fenske, and Dr. Jim Holliman.  Third row, in the blue shirt, Glenn and Kathy Joiner, Elisabeth Krueger Ahrens, Karen Holliman, and Kathleen and Jim Holliman.

First Some Background....

Since 2009 upon retirement, I have been seeking information on the paternal ancestry of my Holliman surname.  Birmingham, Alabama (b 1946) is my birthplace and that of my late father, Homer Bishop Holliman (1919-2018).  He told me his father, Ulyss (1884-1965) and grandfather, John Thomas (1844-1930) were from Fayette County, Alabama located near the Mississippi border.  Beyond that Dad had no further information.

With the advent of the internet and time to explore, I discovered the research of Ron Holliman in Dothan, Alabama (a second cousin) and shortly thereafter of Cecil Rhodes Holliman (1902-1986), my father’s first cousin, and his son, Dr. Rhodes Burns Holliman (1928-2014).  Through conversations and emails with Rhodes, I found Glenda Norris, Tina Peddie, Joseph Parker, Lynn Holliman, Maxine Wright, Jeanette Holiman Stewart, Allen Holleman, Jim and Karen Holliman and some wonderful second and third cousins in and from Fayette County.  In 2011, the children of Walter O. Holliman (1927-2003) posted to me 20 boxes of their late father’s prodigious research, over 50 allied families!  I am still scanning and uploading this work.

Along the way, my daughter Grace introduced me to ‘blogging’ and having a bit of my father’s writing bug, I began to record first the stories of my father and his six siblings.  There are 18 first cousins from this generation, and those who could shared letters and photographs for the articles which have been posted since 2010 at http://hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com and http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com/ .   A few years ago, my stepdaughter, Cyndi, created a virtual archive where I have uploaded over 3,000 manuscripts and records donated by relatives noted above.  That site is at www.bholliman.com.

 Above at the Crown Pub in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, brothers Rod and Andrew Holliman and Lindsay, their second cousin.  Rod and Andrew live in west England and Lindsay now in Scotland.  In 2013 DNA testing comparing Lindsay of English descent to Glenn N. Holliman, Alabama born, confirmed their paper ‘trails’ that both descend from Thomas Hollyman, d 1558, of Cuddingdon. Thomas was the great grandfather of Christopher Hollyman, 1618-1691, who immigrated to Virginia in 1650.  This Christopher is the ancestor of almost all Hollimans in the USA.

Before long, distant cousins found my web sites and inquiries tumbled in, expanding my knowledge of the extended family and introducing me to some wonderful people interested in our common heritage.  The list is now over 100 email addresses.

During excursions to England I found, with the help of the late Roger Smith, the late Fred Cooper, Jayne Sullivan, Bob Hollyman-Mawson, Lindsay Holliman and genealogist Anne Holmes the ancestral record of Hollymans from the 14^th to the 20^th century in the United Kingdom. 

Eventually I was led to the Hollyman farm in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, now owned by Caroline and James Stonham, pictured below in front of their 1699 thatched cottage on the site of the 15^th Century Hollyman manor.  This kind couple have welcomed many Hollimans to their historical home.

Last autumn, my two sisters, Becky Holliman Payne and Alice Holliman Murphy, asked if I could take them to the English sites.  As several distant cousins had asked also for a tour, I asked why not offer an organized quest for all who wanted to view the discoveries made over the past decade? 

Above, my sisters Alice Holliman Murphy and Becky Holliman Payne in the garden of the Hollyman 1699 home, now owned by the Stonham family in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire.

Hence May 17-19, 2019, 25 American cousins made the trip over and we were joined by three English cousins – Lindsay and wife Madeleine, Rod and wife Di, and Andrew, all with the last name Holliman, all of us descended from Thomas Hollyman, d 1558, of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, England.

So with this background, let us proceed to the next blog, peel back the centuries and discover our English heritage and those whose DNA we carry. - GNH

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.

Going Forward

by Glenn N. Holliman

Thoughts to Share and Feedback Welcome

Our first national gathering of the Christopher Hollyman Families Society was held March 31 - April 2, 2016 in Smithfield, Virginia.  Judging from the comments and photographs posted on Face Book, it proved to be the grand experience the organizers hoped it would be.  Allen Holleman and I met with Sarah Barlow Wright, Joe Barlow and Billy Joe Holleman in October 2015 to carve the outlines of a three day event.  Allen kindly took on the job of coordinating meeting and residence space and registration.

Left, part of the group at our gathering space for our meetings, Billy Joe Holleman in the blue shirt and Brenda Holloman, right, in white.

The Smithfield Inn, where we had dinner on March 31st, had the only private room in town with a restaurant attached (or the other way around).  We originally thought the service and space would be fine for say 25 or so who might attend, even believing the rooms available at the Smithfield Inn would be sufficient for out-of-towners.

Wow, did you surprise us!  Almost sixty persons registered (some could not make it at the last minute) pleasantly forcing Allen to reach out to the Hampton Inn for lodging, meeting space and to bring in a food truck for meals.  And he did all this from Raleigh, North Carolina, a lot of work for which we are all grateful.  
  

Right, Mike Holliman, Jimmy Holliman, Norman Holliman and Becky Holliman Payne, all with Alabama roots.

And Billy Joe and wife went over the top, not only escorting us around the Holleman House, providing a hay ride to the possible resting place of Christopher Hollyman and other descendants, but then feeding us Smithfield Ham, cookies and hot and cold drinks at the Mill Swamp Baptist Church.  That church is the first Baptist Church planted in Virginia and was founded in part by the Hollemans.  The land for the cemetery adjacent to the church was donated by Hollemans from Christopher's original 1,020 acres.

Joe Parker, center in the light blue shirt, helped 'supervise' the generous ham sandwich snack at Mill Swamp.   

Besides the emotional experience of standing on historic Hollyman ground and the delightful opportunity to meet so many new cousins, the conference provided education on mutual family history and discussion on formalizing a Hollyman society.  Some of these outcomes I reported in the recent April  5, 2016 post.  

One thought in particular was the desire to meet again, to hold another Gathering, perhaps in two years, and perhaps even in England, the ancestral European home of Christopher's descendants. 

So the purpose of this blog is really a questionnaire asking for your feed back.  May I ask you to send your comments to glennhistory@gmail.com please.  Whether you attended earlier this month or not, we would welcome your opinion as we go forward in planning.

1. If and when another Gathering is held, where should it be?

2. Should we meet at a conference hotel with an in-house restaurant, meeting rooms and an indoor pool for children who might attend with parents and/or grandparents?  

3. Or should we hold the Gathering at a less expensive conference center in the woods, perhaps a bit more rustic setting and facilities but at a lower cost?  And such might not be near an Interstate Highway or airport.

4. Should it be held at or near a historic Holliman landmark, such as Samuel Holliman's 1741 restored home in Edgecombe County, North Carolina?  Or should we stay in the Jamestown/Richmond, Virginia area, our common American ancestral home?

5. Would one have an interest in holding a Gathering in Buckinghamshire, England and visit historic sites in High Wycombe, Cuddington, Dinton, Sherington and Bedford, Bedfordshire?  Obviously this would require a lot of planning and appropriate expense.

Below in 2014, Carolyn Stonham, owner of the 1699 Holyman House in Cuddington, Buckingshire, England with cousins Lindsay Holliman of England and Glenn Holliman of Pennsylvania, USA.  This thatch cottage would be an important stop on a Hollyman ancestral tour of England.

In my next post, I will get into agenda building.  As one plans a conference, one wants to offer subject matter that is meaningful to as many as possible.  That is why we met in Isle of Wight County, Virginia and began our program with the latest research on our English roots. Everyone there had that interest in common.  

So more thoughts and opinion seeking in the next blog.  Enough for now.  Please take a moment to respond to the above questions.  

Again, just write me at glennhistory@gmail.com or leave a comment below. I will 'combine' thoughts and share the findings.