Further Exploring Holleman History in Old Virginia (and North Carolina) Part 14

by Glenn N. Holliman


With this post, we continue the series of articles by Allen Holleman of North Carolina, USA who explores the lives of his ancestors.  Readers may have noticed a series of posts for 19th Century Virginia and then the next article, 19th Century England.  Both branches descend from Thomas Holyman, d. 1558 in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, England. It is interesting to note the differing lives, but perhaps similar occupations of these distant cousins, separated by time and space.

Left, Allen Holleman, family historian and his latest Mustang


Below from Terrine Holleman Woodlief , the GGG-Daughter of Jordan Holleman; she a teacher in Cary, North Carolina (1896-2001). 1 and 2 footnotes

"As kids we would listen, open-mouthed, to the tales Dad told us which his grandfather, Jordan Holleman, told him about the trip from Isle of Wight County, Virginia, the home of Jordan's father, Jesse Holleman.  They cut trees, for there were no roads in 1815 to where they wanted to go.    Trees and mud were a pest most of the way to Wake County, where Jordan settled on farmland in what is now Apex (North Carolina).  He and then his son, Wiley Wilkins Holleman, became a stabilizing part of the community.  They helped found Salem Baptist Church in 1840 and started a Masonic group."

^{Allen Holleman writes Part 1 of his Story of Jordan Holleman, his 4th great uncle....}

Terrine's great-great-grandaddy may have embellished the tales a bit as there were certainly roads to, in and through Wake County as folks had been moving there for years from Virginia.  But they might have needed to clear a path or two.  I have found that Uncle Jordan (he was a 4th Great-Uncle of mine) was a bit of a character and we'll see he had quite a sense of humor.

Jordan Holleman, (22 November 1782 - 1875), was the 3^rd Great-Grandson of 
Christopher Hollyman (1618-1691) who arrived in Virginia in 1650, settled in Isle of Wight County and amassed a farm of 1020 acres.  Jordan’s father was Jesse Holleman (1737-1824), the patriarch of our Wake County, North Carolina lines, though he never left Virginia.

As with all of Jesse’s sons, Jordan had a basic education, could read and write and knew some math, as well.  And certainly had experience in farming.

JORDAN HOLLEMAN, PLANTER

We find him in the 1810 census at 28, with his own farm in Isle of Wight County, VA. (IOW).  This would seem to be a larger farm than a young man could acquire; perhaps Jordan was running the family farm.  Though divided by inheritances, the farm was part of the original 1020 acres patented by Christopher Hollyman (d 1691).  This portion had passed to Jordan's father, Jesse.  However, the Census has parents, Jesse and Charity, living some distance away.

Jordan seems to have liked having lots of folks around him as the 1810 census shows him head of household with another male 16-25, two females 16-25, seven other “free white” and two slaves. We cannot account for the others with any certainty as only the head of house was named before 1850. More than likely they were relatives - cousins perhaps as they were listed as part of the household.  His younger brother, Jonathan, and bride of one year were listed two houses/farms away.   The other seven free persons would likely be field-hands living on the farm.3

We have not found the marriage record but that census leads us to think he and Mary Simmons (1790-1850), known as Polly of Southampton County, had married before the 1810 census, accounting for the other young woman  They then began their own family. In November 1812 Wyatt Jack Holleman (1812-1892) was born in the year of a major event in our country's history –  The War of 1812.

The War of 1812

Jordan Holleman had been serving as a sergeant in the 29th Regiment of the Virginia Militia, known as Ballard's Regiment under the commander, Major Joseph W. Ballard. His company commander was Capt. Simmons Gwaltney.   In January 1813, the 29th came under the command of the US Army, but an April 1813 poll in IOW, indicates they were not deployed, and remained at home as reserves with farms and families to protect from the evil Brits. 

Capt. Simmons Gwaltney (1765-1820) was married to Jordan's sister, Sarah (1776-1823) and also in the company were Jordan's brothers: Lt. Josiah Holleman (1771-1848), the 2nd in command and Corporal Jonathan Holleman (1787-1854).   Along with them were several other Gwaltneys and Cofers, Dews, Delks, Stringfield, Crocker, Gray, names we know and are related to some of them, a Who's Who of Isle of Wight County, Virginia. 

The British warship,  HMS Plantagenet, a 74 gun frigate, for several months lay off the "Rocks"⁵  in the James River.  Her very presence and occasional changing of position kept the 29th busy watching her movements.  It must be presumed that this ship was to intercept any vessels sailing from the James.

In June 1813 the British attempted a landing, and were soundly beaten back by the accurate and well-placed fire from the excellent riflemen of the 29th who had almost been born with a rifle and developed great accuracy in hunting. With the aborted landing at the "Rocks" the Royal Navy re-learned a lesson from the Revolution about how good the Americans were with firearms.  Although the Plantagenet remained at her station, they never made another attempt at a landing. ⁶

After the war, in 1815 Jordan and Mary decided to follow his older brothers, John and Jesse (Jr.) to North Carolina and first settled in western Wake County near them.  This was close to Chatham County, and land must have been less costly there as they bought additional properties across the line on the New Hope River. ⁷

Jordan's first property in Wake County seems to have been purchased from the estate of Stephen Mann in 1815.  Over the years there are records of him buying and selling properties in Wake and Chatham, some involved his older brother John, as well.  It seems they were partners in the land business.

  One 1818 deed says,  “Jordan HOLLEMAN of Chatham Co to Archibald Haralson of Orange County, for seven hundred and fifty cents, tract on the waters of New Hope, adj. .. containing 168 acres”.  I have found a copy of that deed and it does look like 'seven hundred and fifty cents but there is a tick on the left edge where I suspect the clerk added a '$' as he left off the word 'dollars', but that was not clear on the copy.

He did sell 54 acres in Chatham Co. for $216 in 1819 that was likely his youngest brother Jonathan’s first property in North Carolina.  That was prime land on a stream for irrigation, at $4.00 an acre. - Allen Holleman

Part 2 to be continued...on the story of Jordan Holleman

Footnotes
¹ (From: HISTORY OF WAKE COUNTY, NC, 1983, pg.373: Elizabeth Murray Reid) 

²The Masonic Lodge that Jordan helped found would have been the Western Sun Lodge, that existed from 1817 to 1827 at New Hill.  Jordan's oldest son, Wyatt J. Holleman, helped to found the Cary Masonic Lodge about 25 years later and served as Grand master for over 10 years and his son, Joel was Secretary .  He was also part of the founding of the Town of Cary - if a city of 150,000, that stretches from Raleigh on the east side to a portion in Chatham County to the west can be called a town, as it is even today.  

³ Of Jordan’s older brothers were two whom we know nothing of besides birthdate and probably died young,  Josiah was living in Smithfield, VA in public service and his family was with him.  The two eldest, John and Jesse, Jr. were already in North Carolina.

⁴  Mary Simmons was the daughter of Sprately Simmons (1740-1800) and Ann Drewry.  He was a Sergeant in the 15^th Virginia Regiment active in the American Revolution and was at Valley Forge in 1778.

⁵ The "Rocks" refers to a shore lined with natural marl, made up of petrified oyster shells.

⁶From a history of IoW by Col. W. M. Morrison   

⁷Which in the 1970's, for flood control and water supply, was dammed where it joined the Cape Fear River to become Jordan Lake.  

More in a later Posting on an amazing episode in the life of Jordan Holleman....  

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

There is also a massive Ancestry.com Holyman and Associated Families Tree available for review.  For an invitation to this collection of over 20,000 individuals, please write glennhistory@gmail.com.  

I also have a collection of associated family manuscripts and research collected by the late Walt Holliman, Cecil Holliman and Rhodes Holliman.  Happy to send these materials by email and to insure their research is available.  The surnames: Alexander, Baldwin, Barham, Bass, Beall, Blakeney,  Baker, Bond, Bostick, Brewer, Bryan, Bryant, Bullock, Calvert, Carter, Champion, Chew,Cofer, Cole, Crafford, Crockett, Curtis, Dale, Daniel, Davidson, Davies, De Mallpas, Douglas, Duckett, Edwards, Edgerton, Emerson, Fitzhugh, Fowlehurst, Fox, Gains, Garrison, Gonson, Graves, Gray, Guyton, Guins, Hall, Hamby, Hawkins,Hendrix, Hill, Hogg, Holliman, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Jones, Judkins, Love, Lucas, Maget, Mansfield, Manwaring, McBee, McComas, McCurdy, McNewsome, 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, Wallace, Walters, Weedon, Whitherspoon, Whitten,Williams,Wilmot,Wilson, Whitaker and Yerby.  These are mainly Alabama families and their ancestors from the Carolinas and Virginia. Materials vary from one page to 200. - GNH at glennhistory@gmail.com.

Further Exploring Holleman History in Old Virginia (and North Carolina) Part 13

by Glenn N. Holliman

I am happy to post another article by cousin Allen Holleman who continues to research and write of his ancestors, direct descendants of Christopher Holyman (1618-1691) who migrated from Bedford, Bedfordshire, England with his sister, Judith (b 1621), and made his home in Isle of Wight, Virginia. GNH

A Holleman Family leaves Virginia....
by descendant Allen Holleman, 4th great grandson of John Holleman (1766-??)

My previous article (May 3, 2014) was about JESSE HOLLEMAN, great-grandson of CHRISTOPHER HOLLYMAN, and only briefly mentioned his nine sons and four daughters. While the daughters are important, the focus is on the boys as they carried the family name directly forward. We have very little to relate on four of them, and Glenn Holliman has given us so much knowledge on the second son Josiah, who with his children were a well regarded and successful family in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in colonial times, early America and even today. I will concentrate on the four sons who chose to migrate to North Carolina, leaving the legacy and property of 150 years and family behind. Why...?

JOHN HOLLEMAN, the eldest of Jesse and Charity Cofer Holliman's sons was named for his grandfather and born 4 Feb 1766 in Newport Parish in western Isle of Wight County, VA on the family land by the Blackwater River. We don't know a lot about his early years but can surmise much just because he was the son of Jesse and much was expected of him being the firstborn.

He was schooled in the basics and could read and write and learned math as well.  Most of his real-world education was from Jesse and seems to be mainly in farming, and 18th century land and farming economics.  He doesn't seem to have taken up surveying, one of his father's professions. Yet we see he learned about land appraisal and trading. In 1796 he appraised the estate of his uncle, James Cofer.

About 1783 at age 17, he married NANCY WOMBLE, the daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Womble. It is most likely that in early marriage they lived with Jesse and Charity.  Son Axum was born in 1784 and Davis in 1785. The family farm was well looked after but getting rather crowded, with other siblings. John inherited land from his grandfather THOMAS COFER in 1784, and he and Nancy likely moved there and farmed that until tobacco drained the soils of nutrients.

The original Virginia patent of Christopher Hollyman's original 1020 acres had been well divided by 1800, and there was not a lot of available farmland nearby. The Holleman boys, being adventurous sorts, needed to make their fortunes and futures as Christopher had done in leaving England for Virginia. North Carolina had become a draw for many, with a lot of available land and an emerging "civilization", especially in Wake County near the new state capital, Raleigh. 

All eight of John and Nancy's children were born in Virginia and moved to North Carolina with them. That would have been after 1802 when the youngest, Edwin was born.  Axum, the eldest, bought farmland from Mark Cook in 1804 and sold another parcel in 1807 both in Chatham County, NC.   If he moved south with his family that would place them at least that early.  Axum was an independent sort and may have moved first and influenced the others. 

I can't place John in Wake County solidly until witnessing an 1810 land sale, where his son, Jeremiah bought farmland from Richard Levens.  Generally, witnesses to legal transactions, such as deeds and wills, were substantial citizens - landowners, so he and his sons were well established there already. 

Below, a North Carolina county map with Wake County in blue.  Chatham County is just to the west.  Johnston County bordering Wake is the historic home of another set of Hollimans, Samuel and James Grantson in the 18th Century. GNH
 

Between 1812 and 1848, John became quite a land trader as he is named on numerous deeds as buyer or seller. He also witnessed several deeds for others, and executor of several wills establishing that he was a respected and trusted citizen of the county. 

John seems to have been a money lender also, and some loans did not go well as he had to take property in settlement of some debts.  That may not have been all bad, but it must have been difficult to foreclose on friends and neighbors. We don't know how many of these there might have been as only the problem loans were recorded by the county.  And we might think he wasn't particularly avaricious as he signed notes as security for others, promising to cover their debts.  Again, only those that didn't go well were legally noted.  Even though the debts were discharged by sale of property, it must have been a hassle to have to travel 25 miles to Raleigh - much of the day by horse, and then deal with the legal issues. 

Below, pioneer John Holleman of the early 19th Century would scarce recognize the metropolis known as the Carolina Research Triangle.  Several millions live in the multi-county region which abounds in numerous universities and high tech services.

 
A Remarriage and Legal Troubles...

John's wife, NANCY WOMBLE was on the 1840 census but died before 1844 when he marries another NANCY, nee UTLEY. We don't know whether she was a spinster at 50 or had been married to an Utley but suspect the former as the bondsman was Hinton Utley. John would have been quite a catch to support her in her later years and he certainly needed a wife to cook and keep house for him. But, as we shall see, it may not have been a match made in heaven.

The last land sale I have for John is an important issue, even after he passes away in August 1850, as you will see as the history of my 4th GGF comes to a close. He was selling off  properties and transferring land to his son, Edwin.

Wake County, NC, Deeds, Book 18: pp. 584-585:

10 Apr 1848.

John HOLLEMAN of Wake Co to Edwin HOLLEMAN of Wake Co

for $125, tract adj. Johnson Busbee, Allen Jones, Burwell Utley, containing 279-3/4 acres.

Signed: John HOLLEMAN

Witness: John Bennett

Many of us are familiar with an abbreviated abstract of the will of John Holleman, but it leaves out some wording that is significant and indicaties some strained relationships, shown in italics.

Wake County, NC, Wills- Book 27:pp. 088-089:

Will of JOHN HOLLEMAN SR. of Wake Co, NC.

To beloved wife NANCY HOLLEMAN the interest of $500, to be paid by executor during life tenure or widowhood then the $500 to be divided among my heirs.

Wife Nancy HOLLEMAN to have all of property she brought to my house when I married her.

It is my will and desire that my beloved wife NANCY HOLLEMAN have the interest of five hundred dollars as before named and what property she brought to my house as before named and no more. It is my will and desire that she have that much of my estate as her only shear (sic) in my estate in any way what ever=

To son JOHN HOLLEMAN $1 as his only shear in any and all in any way whatever=

To lawful heirs of son Jeremiah HOLLEMAN dec'd. $1 to be equally divided among them all and as there only shear in any and all of my estate in any way what ever=

Furthermore it is my will and desire that my executor herein after named shall sell all of my property consisting of land, negros and perishable property... and furthermore collect all debts due to me - and all the moneys arising from the sale of all my property... 

to be equally divided among children whose names follow: AXUM HOLLEMAN, DAVIS HOLLEMAN, EDWIN HOLLEMAN, PEGGY BRIGHT, BETSY WILSON, NANCY DUPREE.

...appoint son Edwin HOLLEMAN executor.                                                                                                                                13 Oct 1846.                                                                                                                                                         Signed: JOHN HOLLEMAN                                                                                                                                         Witnesses: R.M. Brown, John Brummet                                                                                                           Proved August term 1850 by R.M. Brown and John Bennet

John died in August of 1850.  Nancy, surely in a state of grief and confusion and inexperienced in legal matters, likely thinking she would be able to remain in the home and on the property she had shared with her husband and perhaps thinking she was to receive the $500 stated, gave agreement of the will, by receipts to Edwin, son and executor. 

Then finding the ugly facts: that the interest only of $500 was not enough to live on and worse, she was not to remain in the house nor did she inherit any property.  Beloved wife indeed?  It was customary then for a widow to be granted a place to live for her life or widowhood - unless she remarried.  

We can only speculate as to how and why the will was written this way. Was John so callus as to toss her out even after he was gone?  Was she so difficult he just didn't care?  Or did he just see her as a cook and housekeeper and no more?  Was his mental state in his 80's such that he didn't realize how this would affect her? Or was he so influenced by his progeny - Edwin, in particular, as claimed? Or was this an inadvertent omission? We cannot know for sure but we can surmise, considering the very specific wording of the will.  It was very direct.

After the realization that she had a problem, through a lawyer named Saunders, she filed suit against Edwin and the other heirs, in the Wake Court of Pleas and Quarter. Claiming that her husband had a personal property estate of "$8000 or some such large amount" (a LOT of money in 1850) and asking for 1/3 of all the real property he "seized and possessed" further that "through some improper influence, left her without a home".   

Pleas and Quarter was more of an administrative court handling relatively minor cases and staffed by Justices of the Peace.  And a panel of three JP's twice considered this case, in Nov. 1850 and in 1851, decided that she was not entitled to additional properties but that she should be supported and twice awarded a years supply of household supplies and foods paid for by the estate. 

The lists of foods is informative in that it tells us what was normally available. Beef was not included although cattle were raised in North Carolina.  Beef was more expensive, and chicken more common and cheaper.

Most was preserved by drying, smoking or salting.  List of Nov. 1850: 2 barrels corn, 300 lbs. pork (most likely smoked or salted bacon or hams), 1 barrel flour, 20 lbs. coffee, 4 gallons molasses, 20 lbs. lard, pepper, spices and ginger, 1 bushel salt, 15 lbs. cotton, 5 lbs. wool, 10 lbs. butter, 2 gal. vinegar.  

Again in 1851 the court awarded: 2 barrels corn, 200 lbs. bacon, 30 lbs. sugar, 25 lbs. coffee, 5 gallons molasses, 20 lbs. lard, 20 lbs. butter, 1 bushel salt, 4 gallons vinegar, pepper, spices and ginger, 15 bushels potatoes, 5 bushels Irish potatoes, a lot of vegetables.  (I don’t know if this meant a specified amount or grouping  or just a whole bunch of vegetables.)

It is presumed that she went back to live with her Utley relatives, and we lose track of her.  The other progeny went on to live their lives, and we have quite a lot of records on them
.

Next we'll examine the three other brothers of John who had moved to North Carolina....Allen Holleman, 2014 

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

There is also a massive Ancestry.com Holyman and Associated Families Tree available for review.  For an invitation to this collection of over 18,000 individuals, please write glennhistory@gmail.com.

Exploring further Holleman History in Old Virginia, Part 12

by Glenn N. Holliman

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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