Some Descendants of William Henry Holleman of Isle of Wight, Virginia

by Glenn N. Holliman

One of the delights of genealogy is meeting distant cousins whose research adds to the tapestry of one's family story.  Last April 2016 at our Isle of Wight, Virginia Hollyman Gathering, I met Susan Gallier White, a serious student of her Holleman and Faison ancestors.  She offers this insightful tribute on her ancestral grandmothers who all pursued higher education in a time in which women were not encouraged to do so.  - GNH

The Maternal Lineage of 

 Susan Gallier White, 3^rd great granddaughter of Sally Holleman Faison
                                                            by Susan Gallier White

          In my ongoing study of my line of the Holleman family, I have become intrigued by whom I refer to as “my five orphans,” children of William Henry Holleman (1795-1834) and Jackey Peters Holleman (1798-?).  William was a son of Josiah Holleman and Nancy Clark, and Jackey, daughter of William Peters and Margaret Loftin, grew up in Sussex County, Virginia.

                                                                         Susan G. White

  Below, a tintype, unknown date, of  Sally Holleman Faison  (1823-1909). Sally looks like a  petite lady, and isn’t smiling for us.  Not many people did  when the photography process was somewhat tedious.  Family called her “Mammy Sal.”  She married Josiah W.  Faison, who was from Sussex County, Virginia.  She went  to school in Smithfield, Virginia, at Oak Grove Academy.  She is my third great grandmother.

The Holleman children were James Henry (1819-1858), Margaret Amanda (1822-1891), Sally (1823-1909), Mary Agnes (1829-1875) and John Randolph (1830-1913).  William and his family lived near Proctor’s Road and Mill Swamp church, owning two pieces of land, one 50 acres and the other 116 acres.

  Billy Joe Holleman and I met at the Holleman family gathering this past spring, and we have tried to locate the exact site, but we have not to date.It was near William’s brother Wilson Holleman’s home at Mill Swamp, the lovely place we still know today.  William died in February, 1834, and since Jackey was not mentioned in her husband’s obituary, but her children were, one can supposed she had died by then.  Her last child, William, was born in 1831 and lived only briefly; Jackey most likely died between 1831 and 1834. 

This past spring as I was gathering information about William Henry Holleman, provided by Denise Keeter (an intrepid Holleman researcher and contributor to the Hollyman FamilyTree on ancestry.com) suggested I write about his three daughters' educations.  She and I had marveled that the girls were well educated for the time.  William was wealthy (confirmed by his itemized estate) and the two guardians of the surviving five children made payment for clothes, education, room and board that suggest the value they put on on a girl's education.  Rent from William's land and the hiring out of his seventeen slaves provided income.



Left, tintype of Elizabeth Faison (1842-1898), daughter of Sally Holleman Faison.  She looks to be in her early twenties, so this picture was made in about 1860.  I know nothing of her education.  She was born in Sussex County, VA.  She and her sister married brothers, Jacob and James Heath, who were from Duplin County, NC.  All 4 moved to Duplin County, and lived there all their lives.  My mother once told me that this picture was made at her wedding.  I don’t know how she knew that.

Sally, Mary Agnes, and Margaret Amanda Holleman went to school in Smithfield, Isle of Wight, Virginia at the Oak Grove Academy.  Their teacher while there was Julia Elizabeth Benham Hayden, who grew up in Norwich, Connecticut.  Mrs. Hayden had moved to Smithfield in 1826 and taught girls in the home of Archibald Atkinson, probably until 1836, when Oak Grove Academy opened. Helen Haverty King, in her book Historical Notes on Isle of Wight, Virginia, tells us that Mrs. Hayden married Sampson White, and continued her school until 1854, when she was suffered from 'advanced age and physical infirmities.' 1 

Joel Holleman (1799-1844), a brother of William, and uncle to these children was their first guardian.  Joel was a Virginia congressman and later a U.S. Senator.  Joel’s guardian accounts revealed frequent entries of payments to “Mrs.White.” for tuition.  He also bought books, paper, new clothes, both store bought and home sewn by Rebecca Gwaltney, the girls’ aunt.  They were regularly outfitted with shoes, bonnets, and mention is even made of a “corded skirt” for two of the girls, which was a petticoat of the times.  Margaret Amanda and Sally were boarded out with various friends and family while they went to school.

(One can learn more about Joel Holleman and his families in the spring 2014  issues of this blog. - GNH)

Left, another picture  of Elizabeth Faison Heath, perhaps in her forties.  Note picture taken at studio in Richmond, VA.  My family called her “Mama Bet.” She had  3 children, two daughters, Bettie Florence and Sally.  She had one son, Perry.  She was my second great grandmother.  I have a letter written to her by a friend, expressing how glad she was that her daughters were “studying music.”  Mama Bet died before her mother Sally did. 

Bettie Florence Heath (1871 -1959) daughter of Elizabeth Faison Heath, my great grandmother. She married Jordan Horne, and they had 4 living children, 3 sons and one daughter. The family lived in the town of Magnolia, Duplin County, NC.  One son, Ralph, went to jewelers school in Philadelphia, PA.  Another, Herbert, graduated from Blackstone Military Academy in Blackstone, VA.  Her daughter, Bettie Florence, graduated from Stuart Hall Girls School in Virginia, and then from East Carolina Teachers College.


        Joel Holleman died in 1844, and Joseph Pretlow, from neighboring Southampton County, and possibly a family friend, became guardian to the two youngest children, Mary Agnes and John Randolph Holleman.  Joseph is mention several times in Thomas C. Parramore's book, Southampton County, Virginia.  He was a Quaker by faith, taught school, and learned of a Quaker school for young ladies in Philadelphia, run by Harriet Mickle Whitall and her sister Sally.

       Whitall’s family published John M. Whitall, the Story of his Life, in 1879 that contains many entries by Harriet.  The school did very well, she said.  Joseph sent Mary Agnes to Philadelphia for a term there, in 1845, when she was 15.  We even know where the school was located, on the NW corner of Race and Franklin Streets, Philadelphia. Ms. Whitall closed the school that year, so Mary Agnes only went the one term, but she went well turned out.  Pretlow makes note of dresses, a parasol, and gloves.  He made entry of a $34 charge for her return travel expenses home from Philadelphia.

Below, Bettie Florence Horne (1903-1980), daughter of Bettie Florence and Jordan Horne.    She was their only daughter and earned a college degree from East Carolina Teachers College.  She never married.

The two guardians eventually turned over the girls' final estate balances to the husbands of the young ladies.  By 1845, each girl had married and settled nearby.  Mary Agnes even married her husband, John Archer Cotton, in Pretlow's home in 1847. 3

In 1836, William Peters, grandfather of above girls, directed in his will that his “man Jacob” was to be hired out to provide money for the education of his children, one daughter, Jackey, and two sons, James and Matthew.  He also directed that two thirds of his estate proceeds be used to educate his grandchildren.  By 1857, all children and grandchildren had been educated, so  Jacob was sold in a transaction conducted by Peters' executor, his son James E. Peters.4   Margaret Amanda, James, William and Sally with her husband Josiah Faison, each received 1/13 of the proceeds.  Mary Agnes was not mentioned.

Left, Alma Luesta Melvin Horne (1900-1989) married Ralph Coffield Horne, a son of Bettie Florence Heath Horne.  Alma was from Sampson County, NC.  She was my grandmother, and she was a school teacher when she and Ralph met.  She taught school all of her adult life, in NC.  I can remember her working on college home correspondence courses when I was about 10. 

Here is Florence Elizabeth Horne (1925-1993), my mother.  She married Neil Edward Gallier, and they had 3 children, my two brothers Neil Edward, Jr., Frank Wilson II, and me.  She attended East Carolina Teachers College, now known as East Carolina University, for two years.

As we know the land in this region had worn out in the years leading up to the Civil War, and the aftermath of the war tore apart the already exhausted economy.  But as I look back to this series of events, I see that I stand on the shoulders of educated women.  Jackey and her daughters Margaret Amanda, Sally, and Mary Agnes were given schooling that even in their time was a luxury.

My family line is through Sally, and I have a letter a friend wrote to Sally's daughter Elizabeth (Mama Bet in our family lore). In the letter she mentions how glad she is that Elizabeth's girls are “studying music.”⁵   Mama Bet's daughter, my great grandmother Betty Florence Heath, sent all 4 of her children to school, and her only daughter graduated from college. (The boys did not!) 

My grandmother, from Sampson County, NC, was a school teacher and I can remember her studying college home correspondence courses.  My mom, a child of the depression, went to college for 2 years, and always drilled into my head that I would go to college (which I did!).  

I just wanted to share with you the gift my foremothers gave me.  I know that despite the history of backwaters and worn out land of Isle of Wight, Southampton and Sussex counties in my life, I own the value of an educated woman!  - Susan Gallier White, 3rd great granddaugher of Sally Holleman Faison

Footnotes

¹King, Helen Haverty and others. Historical Notes on Isle of Wight, Virginia.  Virginia Beach, VA:  Donning and Company, 1993, p. 115.

²Parramore, Thomas C. Southampton County Virginia.  Charlottesville, VA:  University Press of Virginia, 1978, pp. 60, 147.

3

“Married.”  Mary Agnes Holleman marriage announcement.  The Republican, Petersburg, VA.  January 27, 1847, p. 3, col. 1.

The Oak Grove Academy in Smithfield, Virginia

⁴Loose Court Papers of Sussex County, Virginia, 1754-1870, #1858-22.  Peters, et als V. Peter’s Executor.  These papers were discovered for me by Gary M. Williams, Clerk of the Court. Josiah and Sally Faison’s share of a ¼ of a 1/13 portion was $7.38.  Calculating using that amount, sale of Jacob totaled $383.76.  A note in these papers names William H. Basdorn as charging $1.00 “for crying (calling the auction) Jacob at Public Sale.”  The arrangement for Jacob to be hired and his wages provide funds for education was outlined in William Peters’ will of 1836.

⁵Personal correspondence to Elizabeth Faison Heath, dated 1 July 1884, from Mary Crawford, Reams, Virginia

Want to know more about your Hollyman and associated families?  Check out the growing virtual archive at www.bholliman.com/ .  This storage unit now has over 700 manuscripts and grows monthly.

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!