Connecting the Hollyman English Lineages, Part 1

by Glenn N. Holliman

Professional genealogist Anne Holmes has been researching the Hollymans of England for almost a decade since she and I met in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Her work exploring the United Kingdom ancestors of most Hollimans in American (numerous spellings since 1650) has been outstanding.

Above, Jeanette Holiman Stewart, keeper of the Hollyman Ancestry.com tree, Anne Holmes, center and beside a Lee tomb, church historian George Lambert in 2013. Entombed in the sanctuary at St. Peter's and St. Paul's in Dinton, Buckinghamshire are the resting places of the Lee families, ancestor's of Margaret Lee Hollyman, grandmother of Christopher Hollyman who migrated in 1650 to Jamestown, Virginia.

Anne's work seemingly climaxed as she guided approximately 30 American cousins in 2019 through Buckingham and Bedfordshire revealing the parish churches and domestic locations of our English fore bearers. She has not ceased her research and in the past year has tried to connect the lineages of the Cuddington, Buckinghamshire Hollymans (from which most American Hollimans descend) with groups of 17th Century Hollymans in Somerset (Bristol) and Worcester.

Above, Holliman cousins at St. Peter's and St Paul's, Dinton, May 2019

This research has been triggered by information provided by Michael Hollyman of Australia who reached out by email to us earlier this year. Michael's ancestry involves both London and Somerset persons and more than a hint of relationships to the Cuddington Hollymans. Anne has picked up these threads and using her time during the global pandemic has researched these connections. What follows are a number of articles concerning her research.

To Michael in Australia, we tip our hats for his sharing of family research and to Anne a continued shout out for her perseverance in exploring the roots of parentage whose DNA we carry. - GNH

Part I by Anne Holmes

My initial search was to look at the London HOLLIMANS to try and link them back to the Cuddington HOLLIMANS and also to look at a possible connection to the Somerset HOLLYMANS also.

Michael Hollyman's possible earliest HOLLIMAN known ancestor was a Richard HOLLIMAN or HOLEMON, a bachelor and Brewers Servant, who married a Mary BROWN in London in 1753. The marriage, recorded in the London Clandestine Marriage Register, noted Richard was from the parish of St. Andrew’s Holborn and Mary from St. Luke’s parish.

St. Andrew's Church in London

Clandestine marriages were a way of circumnavigating church regulations on marriage: one example being the bride or groom being under twenty-one therefore no need for parental consent to marry. The earliest age at which a male could marry at this time was fourteen and a bride twelve (normally with parental consent), but a groom marrying at fourteen was rare. Young men had to have the means in which to support a family if one came along and at fourteen that would have been difficult, even in eighteenth century London.

St. Giles in the Fields, sometimes known as the Poets Church,

is near Covent Garden in London.

These London Clandestine marriages took place in several locations in London including the Fleet Prison Chapel, Kings Bench Prison Chapel, the Mint and the May Fair Chapel. The Hardwicke Marriage Act of 1753 that came into force on 25th March 1754 put an end to the clandestine marriages in these institutions.

A baptism could not be found for Richard in St. Andrews Holborn parish circa 1739 or before. However, there was a baptism of a Richard HOLLMAN in St Giles in the Field, Holborn in 1716, son of William and Mary. A possible candidate for the Richard who married in 1753, but was the Richard born in 1716 a HOLLIMAN or a HOLMAN? The register entry is unclear.

However, looking for a marriage of the parents William HOLLMAN or HOLLIMAN and Mary in London, there were three possible marriages between 1696 and 1700 and in locations not that close to Holborn, so not enough firm evidence to take the family of this Richard back further.

To confuse matters further there was also another Clandestine marriage of a Richard HOLLIMAN of Ealing, Middlesex to a Rachel THORNE of Dinton in 1734. Noting the bride was from Dinton, Buckinghamshire this Richard may be connected to the Cuddington HOLLIMANS. As can be seen, with incomplete information, the London HOLLIMANS at this time are a confusing picture. - Anne Holmes

The stories Anne has composed from her research will continue with the next blog and numerous others. - GNH

The Annual Meeting with Jeanette Holiman Stewart

Our Annual Review
by Glenn N. Holliman

Jeanette Holiman Stewart is the keeper of the amazing Hollyman Ancestry.com tree.  For the last four winters she and I (photograph on the right) have gathered in her Florida home and reviewed our activities the previous year.

Check her Hollyman Ancestry Tree and you will discover the work that she and other genealogists in the family have accomplished.   Here are the numbers for what are now many years of achievement.


People - 54,931
Photos - 25,808
Stories - 2009
Records - 250,332    

If there be anything you wish to know about the family in the USA, contact her through the Ancestry site.  You do not need to be a member to review the Tree and can send her a message concerning an ancestor.  Odds are she will have information for you.

The Passing of Robert Hollyman-Mawson
(1948-2019)

Our time together this year was joyous and sad.  Sad because we lost a talented Hollyman genealogist, Robert Hollyman-Mawson of Bangor, Wales.  Bob died last fall after years of ill health.  Many of you had exchanged emails with him in the past decade.

Left, Bob in 1965 as a young sailor in the British Royal Navy.  He was very proud of his service.

In January, I flew over to Wales and with the kind permission and encouragement of his surviving daughter who lives in Canada, took possession of his worldly goods.  There were boxes of personal items now saved and to be delivered to his daughter when I return from England in June 2020 on the Queen Mary.  There are also seven boxes of genealogical materials saved for scanning and sharing on the www.bholliman.com virtual archives.  

It will be summer (coronavirus permitting) before I can return with the materials and begin posting them for Hollyman genealogists to utilize.  We all are grateful to his daughter for making this possible.

America and Australia Connect

A much more joyous event was receiving an email last month from Michael Hollyman of Australia.  Mike and I now have been trading emails and information back and forth for several weeks.  Working closely with Mike, I hope to begin sharing information on the Hollyman families of New Zealand and Australia via this blog.

Most intriguing is evidence Mike shared of DNA evidence that the Hollymans of Somerset, England and Wales indeed are related to the Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire Hollymans from which most American Hollimans (various spellings) descend.  Over the years, Bob Hollyman Mawson and I had fretted about closing this gap between these two branches.  

A significant portion of Mike's information was collected and published by his late father, K. J. (Jim)  Hollyman of New Zealand and his Welsh genealogical partner,  Dennis Hollyman.   More on all this in later writings!

Genealogy is the recording of transitions.  It is a sorrow to lose Bob, and we salute his work in serving our family history.  We thank his daughter for allowing us to do so. - GNH

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Preserving our Past for the Future 2019

by Glenn N. Holliman

Our Annual Review of the Fascinating work of Jeanette Holiman Stewart!

Here we are again as we  have for several winters, Jeanette on the right and I on the left, comparing notes at the home of Jeanette and Jim Stewart in Florida.

Jeanette is the chief administrator of the Hollyman Ancestry.com site, now with over 50,000 names, up from 44,000 last year.  The number of records has passed 225,000!

This is a prodigious piece of work that she and others have accomplished over the years.  Jeanette receives questions almost daily from distant cousins from all over the world.

In the photograph above, we were working on two particular issues involving our common ancestor Richard Hollyman, d 1711, one of the four sons of Christopher Hollyman (1618-1691) of Bedfordshire, England and Isle of Wight, Virginia.  Richard married a widow, Margaret Jordan House, probably in 1700.  In 1707,  our 5th great grandfather, Samuel was born and later moved from Surry County, Virginia to North Carolina.  In the centuries to come, our American families continued moving west.  Jeanette was born in Texas and I to an Alabama family.

An Intrusive Court Case in Colonial Virginia

What is fascinating is that Richard and Margaret started their family before benefit of a legal marriage.  She was called before a parish court in Surry and found guilty of 'fornication' and named our Richard as the father of her child, name of which we are not sure.  Widow Margaret was fined the ghastly sum of 500 pounds of Virginia tobacco for her premature intimacies with Richard.  Margaret did have a child from her first marriage, Mary, who was at least temporarily taken away from her, evidently our multiple great grandmother perceived as an unfit mother.  This was indeed a different era in a seemingly tightly regulated colonial American society.

Master Hollyman genealogist Joseph Parker sent me details of the above incident several years ago.  One can find his research at www.bholliman.com, a virtual archives.  Go to the Records page and enter Margaret's name (try also Richard Hollyman or Joseph Parker), drill down a bit and click on the manuscript which also contains other items of interest of Colonial era Hollimans.

A Complicated Task

Jeanette and I have begun the task of tracing Margaret Jordan's Virginia ancestors which is proving complicated.  Evidently there were several Jordan families in the new colony prior to 1650, one of the most famous persons being Samuel Silas Jordan (1578 ca -1623).  Samuel Jordan served in the first House of Burgess in Jamestown in 1619, the first assembly of representative democracy in what became the USA.  Is Samuel a great grandfather of descendants of Richard Hollyman?  As yet, we do not know.  More research is required, so Jeanette is directing me to spend more time at the Library of Virginia, the next time I visit grandchildren in Richmond.

What was that other issue Jeanette and I were studying?  Check out the next blog to learn more about the founding family for most Hollimans (various spellings) in the present USA!

Preserving our Past for the Future

by Glenn N. Holliman

The Annual Review with Jeanette Holiman Stewart

Forty-three thousand plus names, almost twenty thousand photos, 2,000 stories and over 200,000 records!  

That is the total to date of the items Jeanette has loaded into the Hollyman Tree at Ancestry.com web site over the past six years.  Most days of the year, when not visiting grandchildren with her husband Jim, playing with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Henry, she is keyboarding away adding leaves to the ever expanding Hollyman Tree.

Below, Jim and Jeanette Holiman Stewart at
Indian Shores, Florida

Conceptualized by Joseph Parker, Lynn Royal Holliman, Tina Peddie, Glenda Norris, Jeanette and this writer, today the extended  Hollyman families (and all our various spellings) have a tremendous resource to discover their ancestors and many branches of cousins.

Others have joined Jeanette's committee - Denise Keeter Goff, Sue Jones, Allen Holleman, Chris Holliman and more.

"Adding names to the Tree is often detective work.  Names can be similar or the same in any locality.  In recent generations I have to deal with multiple marriages or relationships within a life-time which means children by multiple partners. It can be so confusing so one must be careful. 

I note adoptions when the evidence is there. If a long time relationship, but not confirmed legally, I will include a note.  Also, now we have same-sex marriages; one I will list as spouse.

Right, Barb L. Holliman, Glenn's wife, and Jeanette sharing lunch along the St. Petersburg waterfront.

I love the search, finding a gem; its exciting finding fresh lines I have never heard of.  Connecting various branches is fun when family lines click together!  Some branches are just floating; later on we find a record that defines such. 

Some branches are so fascinating - public speakers, educators, naturalists for example, such cool families in the 19th century when the country was younger and poorer.  So many have done remarkable things.

And we have so many soldiers in the Tree.  I am so proud of the service Hollymans (various spellings) and allied families have done to preserve our country.  They may have been simple farmers, but they performed exceptional service for the nation."


We are so grateful for her service to our extended family.  To contact Jeanette directly, email her at htreekeeper@outlook.com. - GNH

Hollomans of Illinois

by Glenn N. Holliman

On the Trail of the Illinois Hollomans!

In my last post, we shared the story of Betty Holloman Fritch  (left) and her missing 18th Century ancestors.  Betty's great, great grandfather, James Holloman, shows up in the 1820 Census in Johnson County in the southern part of Illinois.  Betty is a native of that area with ancestors in both Johnson and Polk Counties. As her brother, Jack Holloman, is a DNA match with yours truly, both of us descended from Christopher Hollyman (1618-1691) and his English fore bearers, Betty is puzzled she cannot locate her great grandfathers between Virginia in the 1690s and Illinois in 1820.

Below, Joseph Parker of Texas, and soon-to-be-Florida, offers some important clues that may answer Betty's mystery.  Joe is no stranger to those who follow Hollyman genealogy. His mind is filled with decades of research and reasoning on Hollemans, Hollimans, Holimans, Hollomans and all the various American spellings.  In short, he is the go-to-person, a living encyclopedia of stories and lineages.  Our thanks to Joe for once again helping to fill-in-the-blanks of a cousin's genealogy! - GNH

A Possible Answer to Betty's Riddle
by Joseph Parker

In my notes, someplace, you will find many of the Hollemans/Hollomans/Hollomons that moved into the lower three or four counties of Illinois - some prior to Statehood of Illinois in 1818.  I don't have all the information before my eyes at this time, but three of those counties were Pope, Union, Randolph, and another that I can't name at this time.

 Right, Joe Parker, Hollyman Genealogist Extraordinaire!

When Wilson Holleman and his two sons, Moody Holleman and Josiah John Holleman, left Surry County, Virginia between early 1796 and before 1800, they moved over to Muhlenberg County, Kentucky (western Kentucky south of Illinois and the Ohio River) where they were in 1803 (from records).  Along the way, I believe that they stopped in eastern Tennessee where many of the Hollemans were then located, and then moved on to western Tennessee and then Kentucky.

In doing so, I believe that this family took some of the Hollemans/Hollomans with them; and most probably, Hickman Holloman, William Holloman, and a James Holliman (spelling derived from local records of the times).  Also traveling was a younger son of Wilson's, Edmund Holleman. 

Records of Edmund indicate he served in Indian Wars around 1812 with Zachary Taylor. He then moved over to Union County, Illinois, where he met and married Martha Thornton (citation from the William Thornton Bible).  

In 1818, Edmund and Josiah John then moved down the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and thence over to Lawrence County, Mississippi, where Moody married and settled down. But Josiah John and Edmund with their families then proceeded to move back to Tennessee. 

However, Edmund went back to Union County, Illinois.  When he died about 1828, Martha then proceeded to move on south to Clark County, Arkansas where she married again and lived out her life there. 

My records of southern Illinois were hard to come by, and very few and far between.  I believe that those Hollemans located in southern Illinois are from the same family of Wilson Holleman - hence, my own family (which arrived later in Texas). - Joseph Parker

So Betty, perhaps Edmund of Union County, Illinois, a county in the southern part of the state adjacent to Johnson and Polk Counties, may be the missing link to your great great grandfather, James Holloman? And you may be rather closely related to Joe! 

Our Hollyman Ancestry.com administrator, Jeanette Holiman Stewart, has responded to Joe's insightful words above with additional information and questions. Her comments are below followed by Joe's affirmation of her insights. It is grand to have these two fantastic chroniclers of our family's history share their knowledge and continue to 'fill in the blanks' on this American story. - GNH

From Jeanette Holiman Stewart - 

This is very exciting! Joe, I have a question though. Wasn't Edmund Peyton Holleman Sr. the son of Joseph Holleman Jr and Elizabeth Wilson? If so, he would be the brother of Wilson Holleman. I may be confused here, but just wanted to clarify. Also, any records you may have about Martha Thornton Holleman, I need desperately. All I have is her marriage to Edmund in Johnson, Union, Illinois. Also, Joseph Holleman Jr and Elizabeth Wilson had a son named James, a brother of Edmund and Wilson (if I have Edmund correct).

Below, Jeanette in her office keeping the Hollyman

Ancestry.com tree intact and accurate.  She has 
close to 40,000 names now in the database!

In the tree we have this James Holleman b abt 1770 in Surry County, Virginia. Betty's James Holloman that married Lorinda Davis was b abt 1803 in Virginia. The birth dates for both of those James are not arbitrary, I may have them off a bit, but thirty years or so is a leap.

Many people have attempted to tie the James that married Lorinda Davis to William Holleman (the s/o Arthur Holleman Sr). This William Holleman died in Southampton, Virginia in 1803. Now we know that Arthur and Joseph were brothers, so their kids may have been close and some may have done this migration together. Just things to ponder, but I really need Joe and Betty's wisdom to untangle this a bit. - Jeanette Holiman Stewart

From Joe Parker - 

Jeanette, you are absolutely correct. As to the notes on Martha Thornton, those are with the notes that I passed on to Glenn, or, those notes that I have lent to Lynn Holliman.

In late 1832, early 1833, Martha Thornton Holleman married again to Peter Lettherhead and moved on to Clark Co., AR -  or - moved on down to Clark Co., AR where her parents were then living, and then married there.  The settlement folder where the estate of Edmund Holleman was decided in Illinois, is empty, with no known disposition of any goods noted.  Martha Thornton was the daughter of William Thornton, and the Bible Record of William Thornton is on record some place.  William Thornton died someplace in Texas after 1840.

I have a feeling that that the birth of James Holleman/Holloman(?) is in Tennessee - but, where, and whose parents are his, is still a mystery to me, at this time.  I was never able to find enough records of Tennessee to clarify much of my information.  There is always that possibility that he was a brother to Hickman Holliman.

The Census Records of Lawrence Co., MS, taken in 1818 for application to Statehood purposes by Mississippi, does show Josiah John Holleman and his family in that area, beside Edmond Hollomon, wife, and female child - as best I remember.  (Those records copies are in my notes, which are now in the hands of Glenn Holliman in that large black loose leaf binder that I gave in Virginia - possibly marked "Book 2".)  In January, 1820, the US Census taken in a county of TN at that time, does show Josiah John Holleman and family there at that time (it also gives a definite possibility that the son of Josiah John and wife, could have been born in MS rather than all the following statements that William Arthur Holleman was born in TN.)  It also shows an Edmund Holliman, with wife, but not child, in that TN county.  Edmund was known, by records, of having returned to Illinois not later than 1825, when he was then a militia man at that time there.

Jeanette, this has some good thoughts about it.  There is a "time-frame" that would allow such a son to join Wilson and family in KY in the years just after 1803.  It IS an intriguing possibility that such is feasible - but, that paperwork is missing.  I have found no official paperwork for southern Illinois prior to Statehood in 1818, other than a few land grants by the Federal Government.  Further research is required. - Joe Parker

The above is an excellent example of how knowledgeable genealogists using research and citations work through the often complicated detective work to ascertain our ancestors.  We of the Hollyman families are so fortunate to have Joe and Jeanette dedicated to accurately sharing their abundant knowledge. - GNH

For additional information on Holliman families (Hollyman spelled numerous ways), these platforms are available.

Hollyman Ancestry.com - managed by Jeanette Holiman Stewart at htreekeeper@outlook.com 

Hollyman Facebook - managed by Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com

www.bholliman.com - a virtual archives of Hollyman and allied families managed by Glenn N. Holliman

http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com - managed by Glenn N. Holliman

The Hollyman Ancestry.Com Tree

by Glenn N. Holliman

Jeanette Holiman Stewart - Builder and Keeper of the Tree

She began THE Tree in 2012, and almost daily Jeanette adds names and dates, focused on filling out the many, many branches of the Hollyman (various spellings) lineage.  This very determined cousin of mine will soon add the 40,000th name!  In addition at Hollyman Ancestry.com one will find 176,000 records, and 16,000 photographs and 1,400 stories.  There are 21,000 people with hints and 91,000 hints to review!

A retired cancer nurse, her lineage goes back to the Hollymans of England and her American experience to Christopher Hollyman (1618-1691).  Her ancestors followed the southwestern migration to the Carolinas, Alabama and eventually Texas from where she hails, the daughter of a Texas sheriff.  She now lives in Florida with husband Jim Stewart, (below) a retired engineer and CEO of numerous corporations.

Jeanette has developed some definite procedures for maintaining the scholarly integrity of the Tree. She only adds names when there is a citation or legal record such as a census, will or tax statement that such a person is a 'blood kin' or a partner/spouse of a Hollyman. Due to the size and complexity of the effort, she does not add allied families.

"Persons have to establish their own trees for non-DNA or step-children allied with Hollymans.  If I included them, I would never be able to get around to the direct descendants!"

What has she learned from inputting these tens of thousands of Holliman ancestors?

- "I can see the family moving through the narrative of American history.  For example during the Great Depression of the 1930s, families consolidated and moved west for jobs. There was lots of mobility during and after World War II. Many Rosie the Riveters and female nurses. Many sacrifices.  We have a lot of people buried at Arlington."

- "Up until World War II, we were largely a southern USA family although some Hollomans were living in the mid-west - Indiana, Illinois and Missouri."

- "Families are changing.  The word 'partner' shows up more and more in the late 20th century.  Logging families is more challenging as divorce and multiple marriages or no marriages but children are appearing often complicating the recording of relationships."

- "The longest name I have recorded is a Native American who married a Hollyman descendant - Mary 'Mollie' Pinal Insedesealth Tashkachin Clan, a member of the Navajo peoples.  We have a slew of Native Americans mainly in Oklahoma but also Tennessee."

- "Due to forced servitude prior to the Civil War, we have numerous African-American Hollimans/Hollemans, many congregated still in Virginia, the colony where Christopher Hollyman landed in 1650."

- "Ninety-five percent of our ancestors were 'normal', although my husband reminds me there is no 'normal' regarding human behavior or families.  About 5% seem to be rogues, misfits, criminals, mentally ill, alcoholics or abusers.  This is probably the national average for these categories.  It does concern me that we seem to have a large number of suicides in the Tree.  I don't know why."

- "I learn about dying reading the death certificates.  For example, in South Carolina many worked in textile mills and a number succumbed to tuberculosis.  The Civil War led to the premature deaths of many of our male ancestors."

- "I realize how important the family of origin is.  Some families have remained in a region for generations moving through the decades from farming to factory workers, nurses, teachers, merchants - the fabric of local communities.  Other families have clusters of professionals - physicians, researchers, managers, college professors and so forth.  There are bursts of creativity in some families and others that move quietly through life."

- "The name is spelled many ways - Holyman, Hollyman, Holleman, Holloman, Holliman, Holiman, Hollaman, etc.  The spelling often depended on how the census taker or county clerk 'heard' it in the 18th and 19th centuries.  The English spelling in the 1500s was generally spelled Holyman or Hollyman according to legal documents." 

Will Jeanette ever stop her 40 hour a week avocation?  Will she ever finish?  

"I think when I reach 80,000 or so names, I will call a halt, temporarily at least and 'publish' the Tree although it is available to all now via Ancestry.com.  One does not have to be a member to view the Tree and discover ancestors.  Just write me at htreekeeper@outlook.com and I will send a 'guest' invitation.  Of course members can view the public tree any time. Many people contact me asking or additional information or providing new names and branches.  I meet the nicest cousins."

Greatest frustration?  "Not having the time or information to add our English and Australian branches.  Some Hollymans are 'dangling' out there when we are not able to connect persons to a branch of the tree.  When someone writes me, we often can connect, but sometimes we cannot.  At least a few Hollymans in America arrived after Christopher Hollyman whom we cannot place.  There are Hollymans in England for whom we do not have DNA tests or documents to show where they fit in the Tree.  That frustrates me and the persons who contact us."

The future of the Tree?

"None of us ever gets younger, so working with a leadership group, we have other administrators such as you (Glenn) who have the password and occasionally enter names.
We have others who assist now and can succeed me such as Denise Goff, Glenda Norris, Lynn Holliman, Allen Holleman, Sue Jones and Tina Peddie.  

Below, Glenn N. Holliman, left, with Jim and 
Jeanette in their Florida home by the Gulf
of Mexico.

Your son, Christopher, has agreed to 'officially' take over at some time when our generation is no longer around.  And Christopher has promised you his son, Derek, age 2 1/2, will be there for us hopefully in future generations! 

We don't want to lose this work, so it is important to have a cadre of administrators as the decades slip by. We need to keep working on a formal hierarchy to maintain this platform and others such as your virtual archives at www.bholliman.com." 


For additional information on Holliman families (Hollyman spelled numerous ways), these platforms are available.

Hollyman Ancestry.com - managed by Jeanette Holiman Stewart at htreekeeper@outlook.com 

Hollyman Facebook - managed by Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com

www.bholliman.com - a virtual archives of Hollyman and allied families managed by Glenn N. Holliman

http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com - managed by Glenn N. Holliman

A Holyman Gathering in Virginia

by Glenn N. Holliman

A report on the First National Gathering of the Descendants of Christopher Hollyman (1618-1691)....

They came from Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia - direct descendants of the Englishman who migrated in 1650 from Bedford, Bedfordshire to Isle of Wight, Virginia. This picture taken at the Smithfield, Virginia Hampton Inn were many stayed and sessions were held.

Christopher Holyman (or Hollyman) settled in 1661 along the Cypress River and in 1684 nestled his family in northern Isle of Wight County along the Surrey County border.  He left his four sons over 1,000 acres to be divided amongst themselves.  Direct descendants - the Barlows and Hollemans still live in the county and in southeast Virginia and provided hospitality for those who traveled back to the community where the American venture of this extended family began.

Right, Steve Holleman of South Carolina and Allen Holleman of North Carolina.

Counting spouses and significant others, over 50 individuals from March 31 to April 2, 2016 enjoyed visiting and sharing research on our various lineages.  Organized by Allen Holleman of Raleigh, North Carolina and coordinated with the great assistance of Joe Barlow and Billy Joe Holleman of Smithfield, Virginia, cousins explored early home sites of 17th century Hollymans.

Below, after first sessions and an afternoon stop at the Isle of Wight Museum (a gem of a museum), the group traveled to the original plantation of Christopher Hollyman.  Billy Joe Holleman, owner and steward of the Hollyman plantation, explained who is buried in the family cemetery adjacent to the 1830 Holleman House and other older out buildings.  After a tour of the grounds and farm, Billy Joe and his wife hosted a late afternoon 'feast' of gourmet Smithfield ham and rolls at the Mill Swamp Baptist Church fellowship hall.

Many expressed their deep feelings at being able to walk the ground where Christopher Hollyman and family had girded virgin timber, cleared the first fields, raised livestock, corn and a cash crop and thrived in the New World.  And from this place, our ancestors lived and eventually began the western movement across what became the United States of America.  

Below, Sarah Barlow Wright, whose mother was raised in the Holleman House in Mill Swamp, shared her knowledge of the 1830 colonial style residence.  On this property Hollemans have lived and continue to live since 1684.

Billy Joe Holliman even provided a 'hay wagon' to take cousins deep into the former plantation fields to share the site of the oldest cemetery known to hold the remains of ancestors. Right in red, Laurie Sherrod and in white top with black dots, Jeanette Holiman Stewart.

Below in light green, Brenda Holloman of of Wake County, North Carolina, shared her thoughts as the group gathered at the oldest cemetery located on original Hollyman land. In living memory, a house of unknown age, but old, was located near this location.  Is this then the unmarked grave of Christopher Hollyman and some of his 18th century descendants?   We may never know.  Then again, what if?

 At the Hampton Inn community room, sessions were held on our English heritage and research papers and booklets distributed by Lynn Holliman, Steve Holleman, Allen Holleman and Glenn Holliman.  Importantly consensus emerged to formally organize a Christopher Hollyman Families Historical Society with future memberships and gatherings.  Among the goals of the Society will be to conduct scholarly research and share and preserve that research and family documents and photographs.

Below center in light blue, Joe Parker, acknowledged 'dean' of Hollyman family history, donated a volume of his research to be scanned and uploaded to the family's new virtual archive at www.bholliman.com/ .

Development of a Society web site is to be explored that would link or fold into the site current assets.  These being the Yahoo Hollyman group chatroom and Hollyman Facebook page developed and administered by Tina Peddie (who can be reached at desabla1@yahoo.com) and the Hollyman Ancestry.com Tree administered by Jeanette Holiman Stewart (who can be reached at htreekeeper@outlook.com).  Other assets include two administered by this writer - http://hollimanfamilyblogspot.com/ and a virtual archive at www.bholliman.com/ .

Additional photographs of this emotional and important Gathering can be found at the Hollyman Facebook page. Photographs on this page provided by Alice Holliman Murphy of Texas.

Please continue to watch this space not only for more items of family history, but information on the emerging Christopher Hollyman Families Historical Society....

An Archive of Holliman Family Materials

A Collection

of Holliman and Associated Families Materials 
assembled by Glenn N. Holliman

as of 28 March 2015

This writer has been in communication and visited with Phil Upchurch, a superb genealogist of his family's history whose stories closely parallel the Hollimans, both families from Tidewater Virginia and the Piedmont of North Carolina.  Discussions are underway with his organization, Allied Families, to create a virtual archive of our mutual families and others, which would allow for the storage and the immediate downloading of materials such as listed below of the Holliman families.

Until that day comes, I list below an archive of scanned Holliman and associated family manuscripts and research made available by Maxine Wright, Joe Parker, Bob Hollyman-Mawson, Bishop Holliman, Anne Holmes, Sarah Holliman Hatch, Lindsay Holliman and others; plus the  late Walt O. Holliman, Cecil R. Holliman and Rhodes B. Holliman.  These are mainly of Alabama and Texas families and their ancestors from the Carolinas, Virginia and England. Materials vary from one page to 200. 

From time to time, I scan and upload additional materials.  I post announcement of scanned materials on future blogs at http://hollimanfamilyhistory.com/ .  Happy to add your research to the list.  Bear in mind some of this writing is 20 to 50 years old and has been super ceded by new research in the Internet age.

Happy to send these materials by email and insure their research is available to present and future generations.  Contact me at glennhistory@gmail.com.  My thanks to cousins who continue to make their findings available!

Surnames: Alexander, Baldwin, Barham, Bass, Beall, Blakeney,  Baker, Bond, Bostick, Brewer, Bryan, Bryant, Bullock, Burns, Calvert, Carter, Champion, Chew, Clemmons, Cofer, Cole, Crafford, Crockett, Curtis, Dale, Daniel, Davidson, Davies, De Mallpas, Douglas, Dover, Duckett, Edwards, Edgerton, Emerson, Fitzhugh, Fowlehurst, Fox, Gains, Galvin, Garrison, Gonson, Graves, Gray, Guyton, Guins, Hall, Hamby, Hawkins, Hendrix, Hill, Hogg, Holliman, Hollyman, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Jones, Judkins, Juston, Kaiser, Lees of England, Love, , Lucas, Maget, Mansfield, Manwaring, McBee, McComas, McCurdy, McKnight, McNewsome, Moore, Nicholson, Norsworthy, Noyall, O'dell, Oliver, Pearce, Peerce, Pettigrew, Petway, Pitman, Plow, Plyler, Porten, Prather, Petite, Ridgely, Riggan, Roberts, Smith, Spencer, Sprigg, Standley, Stanyard, Swan, Strother, Thompson, Thornton, Thrope, Trelawney, Turpin, Underhill, Underwood, Walker, Wallace, Walters, Weedon, Whitherspoon, Whitten, Williams, Wilmot, Wilson, Whitaker and Yerby.  

In addition to the above, the following histories, research and cemeteries are available.

Dr. Rhodes B. Holliman (1928-2014), professor of biology at Virginia Tech for many years.  Continued his father, Cecil R. Holliman's work in family history.  Rhodes wrote extensively of his Alabama roots.  This photograph taken 1975.

Cemeteries -

Fayette, Alabama and surrounding counties, 4 parts

Grant Co., AR

Pickens Co. AL Unity Cemetery

Shepherd Baptist Church Burials, Fayette Co., AL

Springhill, Millport, AL

Family Histories and Biographies

FAMILY HISTORIES Alexander, Frank (1833-1925) et al by W.O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Baker and Kaiser Papers, 2 vols collected by C.R. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Baker, George (b 1782) by C.R. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Baker, George and Descendants by Douglas Blakeney, 2001

FAMILY HISTORIES Baker, Hogg and Jones Families, 2 vols by Cecil R. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Beall, Walter (1590-1653) et al by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Beaver, Elizabeth Blakeney biography by Minnie Beaver Rivers, 1926

FAMILY HISTORIES Blakeney Ancestors by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES  Blakeney and Associated Families by Cecil R. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Blakeney, Baker and Holliman Alabama Biographies contributed by Adolph Blakeney

One of the outstanding Blakeney historians and novelists is Reed Blakeney of Georgia.  Here in 2013, I hold one of his novels entitled Sipsey, the story of some Blakeney ancestors in Fayette, Alabama.  Yes, Hollimans, the Blakeney's Alabama farm neighbors and blood kin, are mentioned in this pager turner.

FAMILY HISTORIES Blakeney's Irish Heritage

FAMILY HISTORIES Blakeney, James A. House, Mecklenburg, NC

FAMILY HISTORIES Blakeney, John (1732-1832) et al

FAMILY HISTORIES Blakeney, Thomas and Descendants by Reed Blakeney

FAMILY HISTORIES Blakeneys of Smith County, Mississippi

FAMILY HISTORIES Blakeneys, Ten Generations by Rob Blakeney

FAMILY HISTORIES Boddington, Henry of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, contributed by Lindsay Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Bryant Back Trails by Lazelle Parsons Long

FAMILY HISTORIES Bryant Family History by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Bryant Family Tree by Annabell  Wishart Lane, 1954

FAMILY HISTORIES Bryan(t)s of Kentucky and Mississippi

FAMILY HISTORIES Bullock and Holliman lineages by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Burns, Fox and Dover Families

FAMILY HISTORIES Champion, Edward (b 1610) et al

Maxine Wright of Arkansas is prolific in her research and always willing to share.  Her Holliman line stems from 19th Century Alabama and Tennessee.

FAMILY HISTORIES Clemmons-Holliman lineage by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Cofer Families by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Curtis, Dr. James (1819-1882) et al

FAMILY HISTORIES Davidson, James A. (1788-1856) et al

FAMILY HISTORIES Davies, Samuel (1725-1815) et al

FAMILY HISTORIES De Mallpas (1240) ca

FAMILY HISTORIES Douglas, Scottish Ancestor

FAMILY HISTORIES Edwards, William (1605-1673)

FAMILY HISTORIES Egertons et al, Middle Ages to Am. Revolution by W.O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Emerson, Fitzhugh, Fowlehurst and Gonson Families by W.O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Fox Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Glavan, Marilyn Wilson Lineage

FAMILY HISTORIES Graves and Gray Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Guins of Lamar Co., AL

FAMILY HISTORIES Guyton, Joseph of S.C. Ancestors by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Hall, Hawkins and Crockett Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Hendrix Family by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Hogg, Baker and Jones Families and Records by Cecil R. Holliman, 1980

FAMILY HISTORIES Holleyman Family of South Carolina

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Cecil R. - Immediate Ancestors, 1976

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Cecil R. Notes from 1750 to 1900 on SC and AL Hollimans

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Cecil R. My Family in 13 Parts

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Cecil R. papers compiled by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Charles, Warren and Cornelius by Kay Blevins

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Cornelius (d 1864) by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Cornelius materials

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Cornelius 1812 military record

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, David (d 1818)

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, David 1819 Will by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Elijah (d 1836) records by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Ezekiel information by Maxine Wright

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Henrietta lineage

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, James Franklin Children by Sara Hall Holliman Hatch

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, John Newton Hall Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, John Thomas (1844-1930) biography by Rhodes B. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Joshua by J. H. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Leon O'Lenthus Family

FAMILY HISTORIES Hollimans in CSA by Rhodes B. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Mary Lucas (1819-1913), Two Biographies

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Rhodes B. (1928-2014) lineage

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, David Fannin and Trogno Family

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Uriah and Family of Alabama

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Walt O. relations

FAMILY HISTORIES Holliman, Warren C., the Walters and Bryant Records from the Collections of Victoria Boune, Maxine Wright and Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Hollyman, Edward of Wigginton, near Tring, England

FAMILY HISTORIES Holymans of Hertfordshire, England by Glenn N. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Howard, Judkins and Love Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Jones Families of Fayette and Walker Counties, AL, Cecil R. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Jones, Keeping Up With The by Cecil R. Holliman 1970s ca

FAMILY HISTORIES Juston, Eddy Smith of Fayette Co., AL lineage

FAMILY HISTORIES Lees of England, a folder

FAMILY HISTORIES Lucas Genealogy and other Families

FAMILY HISTORIES Manfield, Manwaring, McBee and McKnight Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Moore, Nicholson and Odell Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Oliver Families by Walt O. Holliman

Below meeting in California in 2011, Glenn Holliman and Tina Peddie, the communications guru who has brought hundreds of Hollyman descendants together on her Yahoo chat room and Facebook Hollyman page.

FAMILY HISTORIES Peerce, Petite and Petway by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Plyler Family records

FAMILY HISTORIES Ridgely Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Riggan Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Roberts Family by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Roberts, Sarah lineage by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Smith, Col. John by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Spencer, Sprigg, Sandley by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Steward, Wm. M Civil War letters, Fayette Co., AL

FAMILY HISTORIES Thompson, Thorton and Trelawney by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Tring, England Hollimans by Anne Holmes 2013

FAMILY HISTORIES Walker Families of Alabama by Cecil R. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Walker, James (b 1765)

FAMILY HISTORIES Wallace, Walters and Whitaker Families by W.O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Walters, Easter Holliman research by Cecil R. Holliman, 2 vols

FAMILY HISTORIES Walters Families by Cecil R. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Weedon Family Records of England

FAMILY HISTORIES Whitten Family by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Williams, Wilmont and Wilson Families by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Wilson Family History by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Wilson Families of Fayette Co, AL from Heritage Pub.

FAMILY HISTORIES Wilson Family of Pendleton

FAMILY HISTORIES Wilson, Joel by Walt O. Holliman

FAMILY HISTORIES Yerbys of Fayette County, AL

Cecil R. Holliman (1902-1986), outstanding attorney in Birmingham, Alabama and exhaustive family researcher in the pre-Internet age.  Picture taken in 1919 at Marion Military Institute, Alabama.  Father of Rhodes B. Holliman.

Family Records and Research

Alabama Records pertaining to Hollimans, a folder

Alabama Family Union Soldiers by Cecil R. Holliman 1964

Anson Co., NC Records

Auiler, Patsy Holliman emails to/from Rhodes B. Holliman

Baker, Hogg and Jones Family Records, Vol. 2 by Cecil R. Holliman

Baker and Kaiser Papers by Cecil R. Holliman 1960s ca

Baker, Prof. Jacob H. letters to Cecil R. Holliman

Bedfordshire, England Notes by Glenn N. Holliman

Blakeney 2003 Reunion and Ancestral History

Blakeney's Irish Heritage

Blakeney Notes by Deanna Adams Holm and Rhodes B. Holliman

Blakeneys Irish Notes by Rhodes B. Holliman 1999

Blakeney, James  A. House, Mecklenburg, NC

Blakeney Notes by Rhodes B. Holliman

Blakeney Notes and Tables by Walt O. Holliman 1995 ca

Bryant and Holliman Deeds and Wills, other Histories by Walt O. Holliman

Bryant Families Deeds and Wills by Maxine Wright

Bryant, James Family Here and There by Lazell P. Long, 1989

Bullock, Chester papers

Bullock Family Notes

Burns, Fox and Dover Families

Civil War Letters of Wm. M. Stewart to Biddy Stewart, Fayette Co., AL, 1860s

Chesterfield Co., SC

Choctaw Co., MS

Cousin Emails by Maxine Wright

CSA Alabama Military Records for Hollimans

41st AL, CSA Regt.. H Co. Roster, 30 May 1862

41st Al CSA Regt., H and B Co. Rosters

41st AL CSA Regt. on Warren Holliman by Juanita Holliman

Hatch, Sarah Hall Holliman lineage

Herfordshire Holymans of England by Glenn N. Holliman

Hollimans and Blakeneys in Fayette Co., AL Cemeteries 1999

Holliman, Bessie Moore

Holliman, Cecil R. Notes on Alabama and S.C. Hollimans

Holliman, Cecil R. Notes from 1750 to 1900

Holliman, Cornelius 1812 Records

Below, Jeanette Holiman Stewart of Texas visits in 2013 Bob Hollyman-Mawson in Wales.  Jeanette is the keeper of the 20,000 plus names in Hollyman Ancestry.com Tree.  Bob is the British expert on his ancestors in Bristol, Somerset and Wales.  He also has a vast collection of names and histories of international Hollymans.

Holliman, David by Tina Peddie and Jeanette Holiman Stewart

Holliman, David by Tina Peddie

Holliman, David will d 1819 by Maxine Wright

Holliman, Elijah by Maxine Wright Holliman

Holliman, Isaac and Mollie by Hollis McCoy, Texas 1985

Holliman, James Franklin Holliman papers

Holliman, J.F. and Dr. Joshua, Notes by John H. Holliman 1964

Holliman, James F. papers

Holliman, James Grantson 1800 and 1810 census

Holliman, James Grantson lineage by Walt O. Holliman 1995

Holliman, James Grantson Revolutionary War Pension

Holliman, Juanita's notes and emails to Rhodes B. Holliman,, early 2000s

Two avid Holliman researchers, Joe Parker, left and Lynn Holliman, right, both of Texas, compared notes in 2011 in Fayette, Alabama, a root county for many Texas Hollimans.

Holliman, Marriages 1609-1938 by Joe Parker
Holliman Names and Associated Families with Index, 2 Parts by Cecil R. Holliman

Holliman, Spellings, Six Parts by Cecil R. Holliman

Holliman, Rhodes B. 1942-45 School Days photographs

Holliman, Rhodes B. Ancestor Photographs, 1999

Holliman, Rhodes B. Emails on Blakeney Families 2000 ca

Holliman, Walt O. Relations

Holliman, Walt O. Emails to Rhodes B. Holliman 2000 ca

Holliman, Warren, the Walters and Bryant, Elizabeth records from collections of Victoria Boune, Maxine Wright and W.O. Holliman

Hollimans in the CSA by Rhodes B. Holliman

Hollimans who fought in Wars

Holyman, Christopher 1684 patent, Library of  Virginia

Holyman, Christopher (1618-1691) some records

Holyman, Christopher (1618-1691) some descendants

Left, Peter and Maureen Smith of Bedfordshire first opened new vistas to Hollyman history in England in 2012. 

Below, in 2014, Barbara, Madeleine and Lindsay Holliman, visited with Carolyn Stonham, left, at Hollyman manor farm from the 16th century in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, another breakthrough event in understanding Holliman English heritage.

Holyman Name, English Origin

Itawamba Co., MS Records

Lamar Co., AL Records

Lancaster Co., SC Records

Marion Co., AL Records
Mississippi Hollimans Notes

Mecklenburg Co., NC

Moore, Bessie letters by Maxine Wright

Noyall and Richard Holliman, Isle of Wight, VA documents

Rowan Co., NC Records

Somerset Family Tree of England by Bob Hollyman-Mawson

Tuscaloosa Co., AL Records

Wake Co., NC Records

Walker Co., AL Records

Walker Family names

Walters, Easter Holliman notes collected by Cecil R. Holliman

Wilson and Hughes Creek Nation Passports

Virginia Early Records by Maxine Wright

Walter O. Holliman, Jr., below, (1926-2003) left us a magnificent library of manuscripts, right, of his Holliman lineage and his associated families. 

His children bequeathed his genealogical materials to me, and I remain grateful for the opportunity to pass along his valuable research to future generations.

Histories

All Spellings of Holliman by Cecil R. Holliman, six parts

Boddinton, Henry of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire by Lindsay Holliman

Bryant Back Trails by Lazelle Parsons Long

Civil War Letters of Wm. M. Stewart to Biddy Stewart, Fayette, AL

Clemmons-Holliman Family History

Cofer Family History

Holliman, Edward of Wiggington, near Tring, Hertfordshire

Holliman Family History by Cecil R. Holliman

Holliman, James Franklin, Recollections of Children by Sarah Hall Holliman Hatch

Holliman Names and Associated Families by Cecil R. Holliman

Holliman, Rhodes 1942-1945 Memorabilia of Woodlawn High, B'ham, AL

Holliman, Richard of Haddenham, England by Lindsay Holliman

Hots Springs, AK and Holimans by Maxine Wright

In 2013, then 93 year old Bishop Holliman gave an oral history interview to historians in Irondale, Alabama, his home from his birth in 1919 until he left for World War II.  He now lives in Avilla, Indiana, age 95. 

Irondale, AL, Memoir of by H. Bishop Holliman 2013

Irondale, AL Further Memories of the 1930s by H. Bishop Holliman 2014

Lee Brasses at Dinton, Buckinghamshire, England

Below, in 2014 Anne Holmes in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, English with Hollimans on the historic medieval farm of the 15th century Hollyman family.  A professional genealogist, Anne has been superb in locating and translating Hollyman and Lee families documents. 

St. Mary's Parish, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England

Shepherd Baptist Church, Newtonville, AL

Tring, Hertfordshire Hollimans by Anne Holmes

Please email glennhistory@gmail.com for copies of the above or if you wish to contribute materials yourself.