The Hollimans of Alabama

by Glenn N. Holliman

Back to the 19th Century...A Series of Articles on the Hollimans and Related Families of Fayette County, Alabama


Actually this article is about a Baptist Church just south of Fayette County and Newtonville.  Spring Hill Baptist Church is located just over the Tuscaloosa County line.  The memorial stone below in front of the church honors to of my generations's three great grandfathers - Charles Daniel Lucas and Cornelius Holliman.  Their graves were visited on April 9, 2011 by some of their descendants.

Below the church with the memorial stone in front.

As we know, Charles Daniel Lucas is buried several miles away in an Indian grave site.  Cornelius is at peace twenty or so miles north at Old Blooming Grove in the Bluff Community.  Glenda Norris believes Cornelius's wife, Elizabeth Plyler, is buried inside the gates of the Spring Hill Cemetery.  However, her grave is lost.

Next post, more graves in Spring Hill....
Plan now to attend the Holliman and Associated Families Genealogical Round Table at the Fayette County, Alabama Civic Center, 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday, October 15, 2011. For information and reservations for lunch, contact Glenda Norris at gnorris@bcbsal.org or Glenn Holliman at Glennhistory@gmail.com.  Sessions to include Tracing the Holymans from England to Alabama, Holliman Farm Sites in Fayette County and sharing of information on Associated Families.  All invited, including the 5:30 pm - 9 pm social at the Rose House Inn, Fayette, Friday, October 14th.

The Hollimans of Alabama

by Glenn N. Holliman

Back to the 19th Century...A Series of Articles on the Hollimans and Related Families of Fayette County, Alabama

Below are observations by Holliman family historian, Glenda Norris.  She credits much of her knowledge to Dr. Rhodes Holliman, her uncle.  It was Rhodes who, as a boy in the 1930s, would hike several miles into the piney woods, dodging more than a few snakes to re-discover the location for the family.  Several monuments now mark this spot.

Glenda Norris reports:

"Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr. was the son of Charles Daniel Lucas, Sr. and 'Dorcas' (no last name has been found). It is believed that the mother of Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr. could be a Catawba Indian from the Pee Dee River area in Marlboro County, South Carolina. She was only 13 years old when she married Charles Daniel Lucas, Sr., a tailor.  Their son, Charles Jr., was born on June 30, 1771 and died May 31, 1853."

Above, on April 9, 2011, Holliman and Lucas descendants take the trail to the Lucas and Indian graves which are located several hundred yards through the woods off County Road 100 in south Fayette County.

"Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr. was a traveler and migrated from South Carolina to Alabama before the Holliman brothers. His first homestead was in Marengo County, Alabama where he purchased 80 acres on October 20, 1823 and then 80 more the next spring.  Two years later, he established a homestead in Fayette County, and still ambitious, 40 acres on October 16, 1834 in Tuscaloosa County.  


The Fayette and Tuscaloosa properties were connected, almost touching Highway 171 on its east side. He was a deacon at the Spring Hill Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa County.  A monument at the church celebrates he and Cornelius Holliman, a son-in-law, as ‘founders’ of this church.

Charles Jr.  earned his living 'stock dipping' and as a Federal Indian agent. Newtonville, Alabama straddled the line between the territory of the Chickasaw (north) and the Choctaw (south).  By 1836, all these land claims were extinguished.  In a dreadful and, even in that day, controversial act, most of the Native Americans remaining were removed to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma).  


With the dispersal of the tribes, the Federal government sold the land to immigrant families from the south east U.S. - the Hollimans, Lucases and other associated families.


Charles Lucas, Jr. claimed to be ‘black Dutch’, a term at the time to obscure one's possible Indian ancestry but this has not been proven, only speculated.  He was a man of large stature (6’4” - 6’6”) and had great strength.  It has been passed down through generations that Charles Daniel killed a panther with his bare hands.

 His burial site is in southern Fayette County, Newtonville area off of County Road 100 (Walnut Lane). At one time this land belonged to Charles Jr. and his home was not far from the burial site. His grave is on a ridge line, over looking a ravine. The site is an Indian burial ground as he chose to be buried with his friends."

Glenda Norris, foreground, provides information at the internment site and memorials to Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr.  The site contains numerous Choctaw or Chickasaw Indian burials, disturbed in an earlier century by grave robbers.

"Charles Daniel Jr. was married to Mary Hasten (in some places spelled Hastings). They had 10 children together. Family historians suggest that Charles Daniel ‘over disciplined’ one of his children with his cane. This did not go over very well with his family and because of his temper, his wife, Mary and the rest of his children left him and moved to the Bluff community. Due to this estrangement Mary Hasten Lucas was buried at the Spring Hill Cemetery, 20 or so miles north of this pioneer’s resting place."

This original stone marker stands on the burial site of Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr., pioneer and Indian agent, who helped open Northwest Alabama to Anglo and African American settlement in the early 19th Century.

When Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr. was born, George III, was sovereign over the American colonies.  When Charles Jr. died, Franklin Pierce had just become president of the United States, a union on the verge of dissolving."

For additional information on Charles Daniel Lucas, Jr., go to Archives and the February 13 and 26, 2010 editions of this blog.  Rhodes Holliman incorporated his own research and that of his father, Cecil Holliman and the late Walt Holliman to create some excellent articles that are available for all to read.  Some of the general information for these postings comes also from Robert Scott Davis's book, "Tracing your Alabama Past" (University of Mississippi Press, 2003).

More soon on the Holliman migrations across the Southern United States from the 17th to the 19th Centuries....Information and your written insights always welcome as we share together.

The Hollimans of Alabama

by Glenn N. Holliman

Back to the 19th Century...A Series of Articles on the Hollimans and Related Families of Fayette County, Alabama

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


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


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


Glenda Norris reports:

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome Family!

Important Notice:

Since composing this article in February 2010, additional research has failed to identify John Holyman (1572 - 1650) of Tring as the father of Christopher Holyman, Sr., the believed first generation of Hollimans in America. My interpretation at this time is that Christopher Holyman, Sr. was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England in 1618. We have data that he arrived in Virginia in 1650 and died in 1691. (Last updated April 13, 2014)

This is the story of the Christopher Holyman families from Jamestown, Virginia to the present day. All family members, and those who have married into this family, are invited to join in the exploration.

Through this blog we plan to include interesting facts, family trees, lore, geographical information and first hand memories. This blog is a work in progress. Your comments, insights, corrections, articles, photographs, diaries and old letters are most welcome. In this format we plan to hand off our past, and present, to the future.

Glenn N. Holliman, Complier

Grace A. Hollilman, Editor

Family Lineage
What follows is a baseline genealogy of a Holliman paternal family tree through the life of John Thomas Holliman of Fayette County, Alabama and his sons. John Thomas is the father of six sons (photo below). Most of the persons receiving this email are descendents of two of the sons: James Monroe Holliman and Ulysses (usually spelled and pronounced Ulyss) Selman Holliman.

Jim Monroe Holliman, an attorney, and his wife Anna Elizabeth Baker, had two sons who grew to maturity: Cecil Rhodes and Charles Baker Holliman. Ulyss and his wife, Pearl Caine, had seven children: Melton, Vena Holliman Daly, Euhal, Loudelle Holliman Ferrell, Bishop, Virginia Holliman Cornelius and Ralph Holliman.

All the above, and most of you reading this, are descended from an immigrant from a Bedford, England immigrant with probable additional grandparents from Cuddington and Sherington, Buckinghamshire, England.

Christopher Hollyman (b 1618 Bedford, England – d 1691, Isle of Wight Co., Virginia)

Richard Holyman (b 1660 ca - d 1711)

Samuel Holliman - (b 1707 - 1781), Johnston County, NC.

James Grantson Holliman (b 1750, Johnston Co., North Carolina – d 1836, Mecklenburg Co., North Carolina). Wife was Elizabeth Bryant.

Cornelius Holliman (b 1792, Anson Co., North Carolina - d 1862, Fayette Co., Alabama) First wife and mother of Uriah, Mary Elizabeth Plyler (1793-1835).

Uriah Holliman ( b 1817, Lancaster, Co., South Carolina - d 1862, Okolona, Mississippi after the Battle of Corinth). Wife was Mary Polly Lucas (1819-1913).

John Thomas Holliman (b 1844, Fayette Co., Alabama – d 1930, Fayetteville, Alabama)
Of the marriage to Sarah Corbett, William Perry Holliman (1871-1941) was the surviving child. Of the marriage to Martha Jane Walker, five sons were born: Silas Green Holliman (1876-1943), James Monroe (1878-1938), Thomas Leland (1880-1970), Andrew Eckford (1882-1926) and Ulysses Selman Holliman (1884-1965).

Sons of John Thomas and Martha Jane Walker Holliman

Left to right are: Bill, Green, James Monroe, Leland and Ulysses. The vacant spot is for Eckford who died in 1926.

The photo was taken at Fayette Co., Alabama May 1934 by Cecil Rhodes Holliman with an old bellows Kodak on 120 film. Rhodes Holliman, his son, remembers the photo and observes the following:

I remember the sense of necessity that pervaded the crowd to get this historic family photo. It was made at the annual Holliman reunion and ‘eating on the grounds’. With Eck dead, everyone wanted to preserve the remaining family image. I used to play under this old church while services were in progress. I'm surprised that the building didn't collapse while full of people. The ferruginous rock pilings did not have any mortar! The building was literally balanced on these pilings! Uncle Bill’s son, Grady, played the guitar to accompany the singing. This is where I fell in love with the hymn, "Just a Little Talk with Jesus". 

I remember an over-weight lady whose name was Cousin Maggie Thornton. She came to the reunion in a wagon pulled by a team of mules. She had an old steamer trunk full of food: pies, fried chicken, potato salad, you name it. She was famous for her cooking. I think that she was a spinster. She was distantly related -- collateral family. I think that she is buried at Caine’s Ridge. Uncle Bill could walk to church; his old shack was across the road and a little south, back in the woods. I think that his house site still shows on the USGS Topo maps.

Bishop Holliman (b 1919), a son of Ulyss, was also present at this reunion, and remembers Maggie Thornton. Ulyss, Euhal and Bishop drove from Irondale (a suburb of Birmingham) to Fayette for the day, a major drive in 1934.


Mary Polly Lucas Holliman (1819-1913)

The Story of Her Father and Grandfather

Contributions from Glenda Norris, Rhodes Holliman and S. Emmett Lucas, Jr. Prepared by Glenn Holliman.

Mary Polly Lucas, was the daughter of Charles Daniel Lucas (1778- 1853) and Mary Hastings (9/10/1786 - 1/21/1867), all originally from South Carolina. Polly Lucas became the wife of Uriah Holliman on 8/29/1836 in Tuscaloosa, AL. Uriah and Polly had many children, one being John Thomas Holliman, the direct ancestor of most persons reading this information.

Charles Lucas Sr. (1755 - 1810?) was the grandfather of Polly Lucas. Charles was probably a tailor who lived in Marlboro County, SC, along the Pee Dee River near the North Carolina line. Glenda Norris reports that Charles was married to Dorcus (maiden name unknown) who is thought to have been an American Indian. One of their sons was Charles Daniel Lucas, Polly’s father.

Charles Daniel Lucas (1771-1853) stood six-foot-four and according to Polly, he once killed a panther with his bare hands. In 1819 Charles Daniel moved his family from South Carolina to the new state of Alabama (just as the Holliman family did in 1836).

Rhodes Holliman, a great great great grandson of Charles Daniel, reports that Charles had a fierce temper yet managed to serve as a deacon in the 1830s at the Springhill Baptist Church near Moore’s Bridge, Fayette County. Family lore states that Charles Daniel hit one of his sons causing his wife, Mary Hastings Lucas, to move herself and children from Newtonville to the Bluff Community northwest of Fayette.

Charles Daniel died in 1853 after having served as a Federal Indian agent. He is buried in an Indian burial site seven miles from Fayette toward Newtonville. In death, as in life, Charles Daniel Lucas was not completely at peace. In 1870 grave robbers attempted to disinter him but were scared off in the process.

Charles Daniel’s wife, Mary, is buried in an unmarked grave at the Springhill Baptist Church Cemetery in Fayette Co., along with their daughter, Mary Polly Lucas Holliman, and John Thomas Holliman’s first wife, Sarah E. Corbett.


In the picture below Glenda Norris (Alabaster, AL) and her uncle, Dr. Rhodes Holliman (Dublin, VA), visit the gravesite of Charles Daniel Lucas in Fayette Co., AL near Newtonville in 2007.

Glenda (b 1959), is the daughter of Cecile Eugenia Holliman Youngblood (b 1937), who is the daughter of Cecil Rhodes Holliman, (1902 – 1986), who is the son of James Monroe Holliman (1878 – 1938) who is the son of John Thomas Holliman (1844 – 1930) who is the son of Uriah and Mary Polly Lucas Holliman. Rhodes (b 1928) is the son of Cecil Holliman, the grandson of James Monroe Holliman, and great grandson of John Thomas Holliman.