Connecting the Hollyman Lineages, Part 5

 by Glenn N. Holliman

In this installment by professional genealogist Anne Holmes of Buckinghamshire, England, she weaves a thread of connections among Worcestershire, London and Buckinghamshire Hollymans.  In this tapestry Hollymans all over the globe may share a common ancestry, perhaps through, as Ms. Holmes notes, in a Hollyman family that emerged from (High) Wycombe in the 1300s.  For American readers, the DNA and paper trail for most living in the States flows from Cuddington, Buckinghamshire in the 1400s, which lies a few miles from High Wycombe. - GNH

Studying the Hollyman Connections by Anne Holmes

The final Will I studied was of Humfrey HOLYMAN of Blakeshall, Wolverley, date 1575. Humfrey had married Agnes BASKERVILLE sister of Humfrey BASKERVILE, also mentioned in BASKERVILLE’S Will of 1563, but Humfrey of Blakeshall did not mention a brother Richard or John, just children William, Humfrey, Mary, Margery and Agnes.

Parish register details in Worcestershire revealed further HOLLYMANS locally, namely a John and Ales HOLLYMAN of Alverchurch. Like Richard this couple were having their children baptised in the 1560s, namely Henry, William, Thomas and Humfrey. Perhaps this John was Richard’s brother?

The parish church in Leigh, Worcestershire, where Hollymans may have worshipped in the 1500s. Photo 2011 by GNH.

As the family tree surrounding Richard HOLLYMAN, Citizen and Mercer of London evolved, a picture begins to emerge of the interconnection between the HOLLYMANS, BASKERVILLES and PAKINGTONS of Worcestershire and gentry families further afield in counties such as Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. There is even a Benet or Benedict LEE of Bucks in there too. Benet LEE was Henchman to Henry VIII, and he was marred to Margaret PAKINGTON daughter of Robert PAKINGTON of Aylesbury.

And returning to the London HOLLYMAN search, what happened to Richard’s HOLLYMAN’s children. Did his surviving sons lead on to a further trail for London HOLLYMANS? 

Sadly not, as yet. Lionel entered the Church of England as a priest and lived in Sherrington, Wiltshire. He had two children Lionel and Mary before he died in 1609. Robert, youngest son of Richard HOLLYMAN, became a Grocer in London and had two children Richard and Alice then he  died quite young too. I have not been able to pinpoint what happened to Richard, son of Robert though. And it is unclear what happened to Richard and Martha’s other two surviving sons as of 1572, namely Henry and Edward. Therefore, the London trail has gone cold for this HOLLYMAN family.

A water color by Carol Stonham of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire.  

The field was part of the Hollyman farm of the 1500s.

To conclude, because of all the interwoven family connections discussed above, there is some possibility the Worcestershire HOLLYMANS, as stated, may be connected to an early branch of the Cuddington HOLLYMANS. 

High Wycombe market place with parish church in background 

where 14th century Hollymans may be resting.

The thinking is here perhaps the link could be as early as the late fourteenth century and the Richard HOLLYMAN who was the Member of Parliament (1386) in (High) Wycombe. Did he have a family? Did they all settle in Bucks and if not where else? As an MP he would have had prestigious connections and perhaps marry possible children in to noted families. 

Lindsay and Magdeleine Holliman with Anne Holmes (center) in High Wycombe 2014.  Photo by GNH.

It is known the Hanborough HOLLYMANS in Oxfordshire were connected to the Cuddington HOLLIMANS, so perhaps some migrated to Worcestershire too, especially the younger sons who were not main property inheritors from their fathers, but none the less had good connections to serve their futures well.

And the London HOLLYMANS? It is still an unclear picture, and quite a few HOLLIMANS with the Christian name Richard! - Anne Holmes

Online sources used:

Boyds Citizens of London at FindMyPast at https://www.findmypast.co.uk

 British History Online at https://www.british-history.ac.uk

Re: History of Leigh, Worcester and London Port Books

 London parish registers 1538-1813 digitised on Ancestry at  https://www.ancestry.co.uk

 The Oxford Authorship at http://www.oxford-shakespeare.com/langham.html

Baskerville, Pakington and other Tudor Will transcriptions.

 Visitation of Worcestershire 1569 at

https://archive.org

Re: Pakington pedigrees.

 Worcestershire parish records found on FamilySearch at https://www.familysearch.org/en/

 HOLYMAN Wills from Worcestershire Archives, namely:

Richard HOLYMAN of Sturbridge date 1541
Thomas HOLYMAN the Elder of Lye (Leigh) date 1553
Elizabeth HOLYMAN of Leigh date 1558
Humfrey HOLYMAN of Blakeshall, Wolverley date 1575

 

Connecting the Hollyman Lineages, Part 4

 by Glenn N. Holliman

A decade or so ago, I visited Worchstershire as parish records indicated that numerous Hollyman families lived as early as the 1500s in that region of England, along the Severn River.  This trade and migration route is the longest river in the U.K., some 220 miles that flows south to Somersetshire  and Bristol where more Hollymans were located (and remain so to this day).

Note that Christopher Hollyman, 1618-1691, the ancestor of most American Hollimans (and various spellings) left Bedford (center right on the map) in 1650 for Virginia.  His immediate ancestors were from the Aylesbury and High Wycombe area of Buckinghamshire.  Worcester is just southwest of Birmingham and Bristol further south, a port city along the Severn Wash leading to the North Atlantic.  

Distant cousins such as Mike Hollyman of Australia, a contemporary of mine, have roots in both the Bristol area, London and Buckinghamshire strongly suggesting ancestral kinship ties earlier than the 1500s.  

Descendants of Christopher Hollyman in America are from the lineage of The Rt. Rev. John Holyman, born in Cuddington in 1495 near Aylesbury.  My Uncle John served as the second Roman Catholic bishop of Bristol from 1554 until his death in 1558.  Yes, his episcopate was during the reign of Mary Tudor better known as 'Bloody Mary' who encouraged the burning of Protestants at the stake. John allowed several burnings in Bristol, but felt so discomforted by the acts that he never attended these horrible executions.  In 2019 many of his descendants visited his tomb in Church Hanborough near Oxford and located his resting place in the sanctuary of the parish church where he had served during his priesthood. - GNH

In 2019, Kimberly Holliman found the resting place of her very Great Uncle John Holyman hidden in the wall or perhaps in the floor of St. Peter and St. Paul, a few miles from Woodstock.

In the following article, genealogist Anne Holmes explores the relationship between London Hollymans and Worcester Hollymans in the 1500s, furthering our knowledge of distant kinfolk. Please refer to her earlier articles for context.

Part Four by Anne Holmes

During his lifetime Richard HOLLYMAN is mentioned in the Wills of several of his PAKINGTON relatives and also in the 1563 Will of his old Master Humfrey BASKERVILLE. In this Will Humphrey BASKERVILLE also refers to Richards’ brother John HOLLYMAN. Richard HOLLYMAN was bequeathed two hundred pounds and his brother John HOLLYMAN fifty pounds. Humfrey BASKERVILLE also requested Richard HOLLYMAN had the bringing up of his daughters Anne and Martha. The sister of Humfrey BASKERVILLE, Agnes was married to a Humfrey HOLLYMAN of Blakeshall, Waverley in Worcestershire and this Humfrey is mentioned also in other contemporary BASKERVILLE and PAKINGTON Tudor Wills. 

Thus here, there is a strong suggestion here that Humfrey HOLLYMAN and brothers Richard and John HOLLYMAN were related, suggesting that Richard HOLLYMAN was probably born in Worcestershire. To try and further confirm this, I ordered several Tudor Wills from the Worcestershire Archives, namely that of Richard HOLYMAN of Stourbridge date 1541, Thomas HOLYMAN the Elder of Leigh date 1553, Elizabeth HOLYMAN of Leigh 1558 (Thomas widow) and Humfrey HOLYMAN of Blakeshall, Wolverley date 1575.

The results of these Wills were disappointing. Richard HOLYMAN who died in c1541 did not mention any children in his Will.

Above, Anne Holmes and Christopher Hollyman descendants at St. Mary's parish in Bedford, Bedfordshire in 2019, where Christopher was baptized in 1618.

Thomas and Elizabeth HOLYMAN did have a son Richard but not a son John. Richard HOLYMAN Mercer of London was known to have had a brother John in 1563 (Humfrey BASKERVILLE Will). Thomas’ son Thomas inherited his father’s lands in the Leigh, Worcestershire.

These HOLYMANS of Leigh are interesting though as the Lord of the Manor to the Leigh in 1575 was an Edmund COLLES. This was twenty years after Thomas HOLYMAN’s the elder’s death but contemporary with Thomas’ son Thomas. Edmund’s brother Michael was ‘of Bradwell in Buckinghamshire’. 

Another brother John COLLES had estates in Hatfield in Hertfordshire and a further brother William married Margaret PAKINGTON in 1564 so consequently became brother in law to Richard HOLLYMAN Mercer of London. William COLLES, like Richard was also a Merchant and he appears too in the London Port Books of 1567/8. - Anne Holmes

Next writing, Ms. Holmes provides a summary of her findings.

 

Connecting the Hollyman Lineages, Part 3

 by Glenn N. Holliman

Professional genealogist Anne Holmes of Buckinghamshire, a recognized authority in America on the Hollymans and Lees of England, continues her research on the Hollymans of London and their relationships with the Buckingham and Bedfordshire Hollimans.  In this blog, the 3rd in this series she begins to explore the possibilities of kinship ties with branches in Worcestershire and Somerset. The Richard Hollyman examined in this article was wealthy and moved in high social circles. - GNH

Part 3 by Anne Holmes

Going back in time to the Elizabethan era there was another Richard HOLLYMAN present in London in the Tudor period, namely a Richard HOLLYMAN Citizen and Mercer of London. Richard died in 1572 and was buried in the parish churchyard of St. Michael Bassishaw, London.

A mercer dealt with fine fabrics such as silk and velvet. To the left, Queen Elizabeth I, England's greatest queen.

 It is not certain where Richard was born but as the research unfolded, and more information was discovered about him, it began to seem more and more likely he came from the Worcestershire branch of HOLLYMANS. This is interesting as there is a suggestion, in the Hollyman Dictionary that the earliest HOLLYMAN noted in North Somerset may have been born in Belbroughton, Worcestershire in 1661.

St. Michael Bassishaw was dedicated to the Archangel Michael and named after the Basing family during medieval London. Haw means yard.  There were several rebuildings of the parish due to fires.  In 1900 the church was demolished on land now occupied by the Barbican Centre complex.

Richard HOLLYMAN Mercer first appears in the records (those that could be found online) in 1557 and 1558, in the London Livery Company Records. He is noted as a Mercer and a New Freeman of the City of London. His Master was a Humfrey BASKERFIELD or BASKERVILLE. To reach the status of New Freeman, Richard would have completed a seven-year apprenticeship. 

The minimum age to start a Mercer’s apprenticeship in London was sixteen years old so Richard would have been at least twenty-three years old in 1557. Eleven or so years later in 1569, Richard HOLLYMAN is noted as a Master of the Mercer’s Company himself. His apprentice Thomas HODSON now becoming a New Freeman of the City of London.

In 1560, Richard HOLLYMAN had married Martha PAKINGTON of the gentry family the PAKINGTONS of Worcestershire: the PAKINGTONS also had connections to Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.  Note, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire is just a few miles from Cuddington and Dinton, ancestral homes of most Hollimans (various spellings in the USA).

Martha’s uncle Robert PAKINGTON was the first PAKINGTON of Aylesbury. Robert married an heiress of Sir John BALDWIN of Aylesbury, and thus inherited some of BALDWIN’s Buckinghamshire lands and property. 

Murder by 16th Century Technology!

Robert PAKINGTON is an interesting character. He was murdered in Cheapside, London in 1536, shot with a handgun, one of the first of this type of crime in the country. 

Below, handguns of the 1500s.

His brother Augustine PAKINGTON had predeceased him by 1536 but Augustine was known to have smuggled English Bibles into the London Ports from places like Antwerp in Belgium. It is thought Robert PAKINGTON was involved in something similar. Some of the PAKINGTON family though remained staunch Catholics throughout the Reformation, note here the later recusant PAKINGTONS of Harvington Hall, Worcester.

Richard HOLLYMAN’s marriage into the PAKINGTON family opened up a whole new level of society for him. His associates (mostly relatives by his marriage to Martha) were heads of Companies such as the Mercers and Grocers of the City of London, and some were Aldermen like his old Master Humfrey BASKERVILLE (Humfrey died 1564).

Richard and Martha HOLLYMAN had, it seems, ten children from their twelve-year marriage. The children were: Humfrey, Richard, Elizabeth, Lionel, Henry, Anne, Margery, Edward, Robert and Sarah. Richard had a prosperous career as a Mercer importing exotic goods into London, such as nutmeg as well as the materials for his Mercers business.

Richard appears in the London Port Books of 1567/8 importing the following goods from Antwerp:

1567 November: 35 lb of nutmeg cost £5 16s 8d ,

1568 January: 11 cwt of madder cost £7 6s 8d

1568 January: 2 cwt of estrige wool and 16 cwt of madder cost £20 13s 4d

1568 September: 90 half pieces of fustian cost £30

Fustian was a cloth made of cotton and flax, manufactured mainly in Italy and southern Germany.

Madder was a vegetable root that was used as a source of dye.

Estrige wool was imported from Central Europe.

Richard HOLLYMAN died suddenly in 1572. He did not leave a Will, but administration of Richard’s estate was applied for by Martha’s Brother, William PAKINGTON. By 1572 it seems two of the children of Richard and Elizabeth had died, sadly their namesakes Richard and Elizabeth. 

This information came from the nineteenth century Percival Boyd’s Citizens of London. Boyd did get one piece of information wrong though. Martha as a widow did not marry Robert BURBAGE of the famous BURBAGE family, as the 1569 Visitation of Worcestershire also states. I managed to locate the Will of Robert BURBAGE dated 1575. In his Will Robert BURBAGE refers to his wife Margery. Indeed, other sources do indicate Robert BURBAGE married Martha’s sister Margery PAKINGTON. - Anne Holmes

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

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!

The Hollimans of England, Part 4

by Glenn N. Holliman

In previous articles, Lindsay Holliman of England has been tracing his branch of the Holliman family from the time of Thomas Holyman, d 1588.  Thomas was the common great grandfather of Lindsay and myself.  One of Thomas' children stayed in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, the ancestor of Lindsay. The story of his descendants continues including a 4th great half uncle whose story could have come from Charles Dickens.

November 2014 Glenn, left, and Lindsay Holliman, right, stand in front of the medieval market place in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, the home of a 14th Century Richard Holyman and another probable great grandfather!

Another son, Christopher, my 9th great grandfather, married into the Lee family and moved to Sherington, Buckinghamshire.  One of Christopher's sons, Thomas moved to Bedfordshire from which one of his sons, Christopher Holyman migrated to Isle of Wight, Virginia and started most of the American Holliman (various spellings) families.

In previous postings, Allen Holleman of North Carolina, has reported on his branch in the 19th Century.  It is interesting to compare how the lives and fortunes of Old World and New World Hollimans unfolded in the 19th Century. -GNH


The English Ancestors of Lindsay Holliman continued...by Lindsay Holliman

Prior to the 17th Century, early generations in my tree appear to have been both reasonably well off and educated. Later on, however, probably as a result of being younger children, my branch became more menial and less literate. As I have written in earlier articles, the short move from Cuddington, Buckinghamshire to Long Crendon took place in the latter part of the eighteenth century, possibly following the marriage of James Holyman (ca 1767 – 1853) to Elizabeth Cook who was from Long Crendon.  Both villages are approximately 40 miles west of London.

During the 19th century many of the local women were lace makers working from home to provide supplementary income whilst being available for the children. My great great grandmother, Zillah Sherriff, was a lace maker. She was the wife of John Holyman (1831-1907) who worked at Long Crendon Manor. 

The  picture is of a Long Crendon lacemaker working outside her house in the late 1890s. It also shows Long Crendon High Street - a view which would have not changed much over the 19th century, and would have been familiar to all members of my family in Long Crendon. Lace makers worked outdoors wherever possible because the light was much superior.

 James had a half-brother, Richard (1809-1854), my half 4th great uncle, who was imprisoned in 1837 for stealing potatoes. The following are extracts of letters from Thomas Hayton, vicar of Long Crendon from 1821 to 1887. They paint a pathetic picture. (Minor editing of the letter for clarity -GNH)

Crendon, 26 May 1837

Gentlemen:

The following case I submit for your consideration, not, I hope for your approval. It is abstractly the case of the wives of labourers committed to jail on suspicion of petty thefts, whether they – the wives on application for relief - should be uniformly ordered into the workhouse. 

Richard Holliman of this parish of Long Crendon is now confined in Aylesbury jail, waiting his trial for having some potatoes on his premises, supposed not to have been his own. He has a wife and three small children under 7 years of age: she, the wife, is a woman of good character, steady, industrious habits.  

The Board of Guardians at Thame relieved her out of the workhouse two weeks, but a fortnight ago ordered her into the House, agreeably with a standing rule in reference to persons so situate. This rule, I, as guardian, never could approve being carried out rigorously into effect, inasmuch as it frequently bore unnecessarily harsh upon a poor female. 

This woman alluded to has been undergoing the severest privations rather than fall in with an order, which I cannot but consider Unenglish and against the spirit of the Poor Law. 

Starvation, however, is before her, if she does not enter the Workhouse. Doing this she must necessarily give up her Cottage, have her little goods scattered among alien hands, or sold, her garden planted with cabbages and pillaged.  Should her husband be acquitted, they will be homeless, almost castaways. These are the obvious consequences of sending her into the workhouse.   

I will not pretend to work upon your feelings by describing to you how agonizingly reluctant she is to be compelled to enter the “Prison House” as she calls it, for no fault of hers, and a supposed on of her husband’s …, I am sure you will not sanctions that which I consider to be cruel in the extreme."

Below an English Victorian Work House

The Poor Law Commissioners did not accede to Thomas Hayton’s pleading and Richard was found guilty and sentenced to six months hard labour at the House of Correction, Aylesbury. The above illustrates the hardship under which the common man existed in times gone by. It is likely that Richard helped himself to the potatoes merely to provide food for his family. This is the same Richard who was looking after his father, James, in the 1851 census. -Lindsay Holliman

Next English posting...Lindsay's ancestors migrate to the city and begin to rise economically....

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 of Alabama families and their ancestors from the Carolinas and Virginia. Materials vary from one page to 200. - GNH at glennhistory@gmail.com.

Our Families Colonial Era, Part XXVII

by Glenn N. Holliman

Richard Holliman (1665? - 1711), a Son of Christopher Holyman, Sr (1618 - 1691)...and the Grandfather of James Grantson Holliman (1750 - 1836)


Christopher Holyman, Sr., the founder of the Holyman family that immigrated from England to Jamestown, Virginia in 1650, had six children, four males and two females.  The girls married Atkinson's and the boys carried the family name forward, sometimes spelling it Holliman, Holleman, Holloman, Holyman and other variations depending on the literacy level of the county court clerk at the time!

Above the Holleman House in Isle of Wight County, Virginia near the Blackwater River.  Built in the 1830s, the home and farm are still owned by descendants of Christopher Holyman, Sr.  On this plantation, Richard Holliman grew up. When of age, he sold part of his inheritance to a brother and purchased land in Surry County adjacent to his boyhood home.

Holliman family researcher, Joe Parker, proposes that Richard Holliman, one of Christopher, Sr.'s sons is the grandfather of my 4th great grandfather, James Grantson Holliman.  Based on the evidence we have at this date (subject always to additional research and interpretation), I favor Joe's thesis. James Grantson Holliman's father?  That would be one of Richard's sons - Samuel Holliman, my 5th great grandfather, and Richard, my generation's 6th great grandfather.

Let's first examine what we know of Richard Holliman, his life and go from there.  George Holleman in his 1953 classic volume on the family does not give a birth date for Richard, but lists him as the 4th child born to Christopher and an unknown mother.  The third child, William, was born in 1661 and the 5th child, Ann Holyman Atkinson married in 1691.  So if Ann were born in the late 1660s or early 1670s, then Richard's birth falls approximately in the mid-1660s, give or take a few years.

Richard would be the first son of Christopher Holyman, Sr. to die in 1711, perhaps in his mid-40s.

Information is available on Richard and his wife, and mother of Samuel, one Margaret Jordan House.
We will look closely at the fascinating Jordan lineage in later posts, a remarkable early Virginia family branch of the Holymans.

Above, Bishop Holliman (b 1919) surveys some of the land of Isle of Wight plantation founded by Christopher Holyman, Sr (1618-1691) in 2011.  Bishop, this writer's father, is a 6th great grandson of Christopher.

From Christopher Holyman, Sr.'s 1691 will, we know Richard inherited land along the Blackwater River in Isle of Wight County.  Evidently, he sold some of it to his brother, Thomas.

Richard Hollyman patented 1150 acres of land in Surry County, Virginia in 1696, five years after his father died.  The Christopher Holyman, Sr. land was on the border of Isle of Wight and Surry Counties.

Obviously doing well, Richard patented another 1,023 acres on the south side of the main Blackwater River, 25 April 1702. This latter he received for transporting immigrants to Virginia.  There is evidence he inflated the numbers in order to secure more acres under the 'head right' system.  For every person one 'imported' to Virginia, one received 50 acres outright.  (Information found p. 83, Crutchfield, James A. The Grand Adventure.  Richmond, Dietz Press, 2005 with contributions by Joe Parker, genealogist.) 

Next, the Walt O. Holliman Manuscripts are ready for emailing.  Lists shortly to be posted in this space.

A Holliman History by Walter O. Holliman, Part III

by Glenn N. Holliman


This is the third in a series of a history of the Holliman family written by Walter O. Holliman in 1995 and edited in 1996.  


Please refer to previous posts in order to understand the sequencing of these pages.  Walt continues sharing his research on the Holliman family that came to Virginia in 1650.  The Samuel Holliman below is believed by several serious Holliman genealogists, including this writer, to be the son of Richard Holliman and father of James Grantson Holliman (1750-1836).  Walt assigned Samuel to the Thomas Holliman line, and he admitted below his ambiguity over the issue.

It is hoped the above pages are useful for those who do not have this research.  This closes our presentation of Walt's 1995 publication.  In the next posting, we shall read of his 1996 conclusions and research beginning with Samuel Holliman (1707-1789), the believed father of James Grantson Holliman.


Obviously, much has happened in family research since Walt typed these words.  If you see any errors or material that should be challenged or enlarged, please let us know.