Connecting the Hollyman Lineages, Part 2

 by Glenn N. Holliman

This is the second in a series of articles by professional genealogist Anne Holmes of Buckinghamshire, England.  In this blog she seeks chiefly to discover kinship ties between Hollymans living in London of the 16th and 17th centuries with the Hollymans who lived in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire.  Cuddington which lies east of London, south of Aylesbury, is an ancestral home of most Hollymans (various spellings) who reside in the United States. 

This research is also valuable to the descendants of Hollymans who departed from London in the 19th Century for New Zealand, Australia, other parts of the British Empire and of course, those who remain in the United Kingdom. - GNH

Part 2 by Anne Holmes

Rather than going backwards in time, one approach to solve some of the London HOLLYMAN lineage challenges is to look at the male HOLLYMANS present in London in the 17th Century and earlier and then to work through possible male descendants, looking for further clues.  From past research, for example, it is known that some Cuddington HOLLYMANS did move to London.

Above Hollymans (various spellings) in Cuddington in front of the late 1600s thatch cottage at the Hollyman farm, May 2019.  Fortunately this sojourn to our native land occurred ten months before the Pandemic of 2020.

John, a son of Thomas HOLYMAN of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire (d1558) lived in London. John died there in 1578, unmarried and therefore no descendants. His nephew John, son of Christopher HOLYMAN his brother, was a beneficiary of this John’s Will.

Note both these Thomas and Christopher Holymans of Cuddington are direct great grand fathers of the American Hollymans.  This Christopher Holyman married Margaret Lee of Dinton, and they lived most of their lives in Sherington, Buckinghamshire.  They are the grandparents of the Christopher Hollyman who migrated from Bedford, Bedfordshire in 1650 to Virginia. - GNH

Another son of Thomas HOLYMAN, Richard, also died in London 1603. Richard can be found liable for tax in Middlesex in the 1590s where previously he had been liable for tax in the Hundred of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. This Richard HOLYMAN lived in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, London but kept his property interests back in Cuddington. 

Above the Medieval tower of St. Giles, Cripplegate with the Barbican complex in the left background.  The church was largely destroyed by the Blitz in World War II, and damaged in several earlier London fires.  Buried in the church were John Foxe who wrote the Book of Martyrs and John Milton who wrote Paradise Lost.  Oliver Cromwell married here in 1620.  

Below as Richard Holyman of Cuddington and London would have known St. Giles in earlier centuries.

This Richard had two surviving sons, Francis and Thomas. Francis died in Middlesex in 1633 but he too kept his links to Buckinghamshire. Like his father, Francis was liable for tax in 1623/4 in London where previously liability had been Buckinghamshire.  It has been difficult to trace any descendants of Francis’ brother Thomas.

This Francis who died in 1633 had three sons, Richard, Thomas and Simon, alive at the time of his death. Francis’ widow Margaret died after her husband in 1647 in Winslow, Buckinghamshire. At the time her Will was written (1643) only sons Richard and Thomas were surviving but their resident location not given.

 And then there is the Francis HOLLIMAN, Silk Weaver and Thrower who died in the parish of St. Mary’s Whitechapel, Middlesex in 1678. The administration of Francis estate was applied for by his daughter in law Mary, wife of Francis’ deceased son William. William had died in Marhalsea, south of the River Thames, in 1676 leaving behind two children.

 

Above St. Mary's Whitechapel in the Middlesex district of London, 

located approximately 3 miles east of Charing Cross. 

In 1666, the Hearth Tax for St. Mary’s Whitechapel lists a Francis HOLLYMAN as having a house with six hearths (fireplaces) so quite a big house to inherit.

Apparently, Francis had dictated a written Will before he died to an Ann HAWKE bequeathing his estate to the two children of his deceased son William. It looks as though from notes against the administration document (written later in 1693) there was a problem with this bequest. Unfortunately, the genders of Francis two grandchildren are not known as again suitable baptisms not found. 

There is evidence Francis HOLLIMAN, Silk Weaver of St. Mary’s Whitechapel was a nonconformist, a member of the Whitechapel Independent Church, hence the lack of baptismal evidence for his family. It is not impossible this Francis’ ancestry had its origins in Cuddington. - Anne Holmes

It is interesting that Anne's research reveals Hollimans belonged to two churches in London with Non-Conformist ties (i.e. not Anglican or Roman Catholic).  One Holliman known to history as a Non-Conformist is Stephen Holliman of Bedfordshire, a member in the late 1600s of a Bedford parish pastored by John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress.  Stephen was a brother of Christopher Hollyman, the 1650 immigrant to Jamestown, Virginia.  

The second Non-Conformist would be Ezekiel Holliman, born in Buckinghamshire, who immigrated to New England in the early 1630s and baptized the establisher of the Baptist Church in American, Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island and advocate of religious freedom.- GNH

More research of Ms. Holmes in our next blog!

When We Were English, Part LV

by Glenn N. Holliman

Holymans in the First Elizabethan Age....

In the last post, we closed the Will of Thomas Holyman who died in 1558, the year that Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne of England.  The eldest son, Richard Holyman, inherited the lion's share of the large family estate.  It is my thesis that this Richard, who died in 1603, was a great uncle (many times over) of the Holymans who migrated to Virginia in 1650.

English historian A. H. Dodd in his 1961 work captured the status of country families such as the emerging Holyman family of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire.  Thomas Holyman proclaimed himself a yeoman, unlike his father and grandfather (John who died in 1533 and John who died in 1522) who described themselves as husbandmen, a lower social status.

Yeomanry was the rural middle class, and often those in this social class were in a state of economic flux.  Yeomanry was a half-way house to gentility.  As a member of the gentry, a male was no longer addressed as 'goodman' but rather 'master'.  From what we know of our Richard Holyman, Christopher's oldest brother, he moved to the 'gentry' class.

Evidence of this?  He had a home in London as well as his 'manor' house in Cuddington, and lands in other parts of Buckinghamshire. The web site 'The Parishes of Stone Hundred - Cuddington, A History of the County of Buckinghamshire'  reveals that parts of 'the manor of Cuddington' came into his possession.  Later in a lawsuit, he and another Richard Holyman, possibly his son, defended their manorial rights in court.

Richard Holyman also had the rights to the local watermill and leased it for 21 years to Thomas Tyringham in 1582.    Even after the sale of the mill along the Great Thames, a tributary to the the Thames River, the Holymans retained their right to a free fishery.  Below the entrance to the site of the old water mill in England. Photograph taken April 2012.

 

 



The Tyringhams were themselves a prominent Cuddington family who also had interests in other parts of Buckinghamshire.  The Tyringham Hall still stands in Cuddington, only a long stone's throw from the present Holyman farm.  Below, in a November afternoon sun in 2012, the house remains a lovely piece of Stuart era architecture. 

Further evidence of the rise of this branch of the Holyman family was the marriage of Richard's brother, the landless Christopher Holyman who would die in December 1588.  This Christopher would marry into a family that was on the rise socially and economically, the Lees of Buckinghamshire.  

And Christopher will leave Cuddington for Sherington, and live not far from a Tyringham property in northern Buckinghamshire.  Did Christopher, one of the many sons of Thomas Holyman, establish some type of economic relationship with his Cuddington neighbors whose family had relations in Sherington?  We do not know but it is an intriguing thought that might explain why Christopher removed himself to a community, 35 miles or so from Cuddington and close to another shire - Bedford.

And from Bedford, Bedfordshire would come Christopher and Judith Holyman who emigrated to Virginia in 1650!

Below, located five or so miles from Sherington is the Tyringham House as it appeared in 2011.  This current hall reflects the wealth of the Tyringham family in previous centuries.  Today, the house and land are in the possession of another 21st Century family.

In the next post, we return our attention to Christopher, the person whom I believe is my generation's 9th great grandfather.


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!).

Since early 2010, I have been publishing research and stories on the broad spectrum of Holliman (Holyman) family history at http://hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ . For stories on my more immediate family since the early 20th Century, I have been posting articles since early 2011 at http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com/ .

Let's save the past for the future! If you have photographs, letters, memorabilia or research you wish to share, please contact me directly at glennhistory@gmail.com. Several of us have an on-going program of scanning and preserving Holyman and related family records. Don't just let family's genealogical work or photographs languish unread and deteriorating in an attic. Write us please and tell us of your items. Thanks to the Internet, we are able to scan, upload to the web (with your permission) and return the materials to you. - GNH

 

The Parents of James Grantson Holliman, Part III

by Glenn N. Holliman

From Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691) to James Grantson Holliman (1750 - 1836) - The Lineage

In the last post cousin Jeanette Holiman Stewart of Texas demonstrated to my satisfaction that James Grantson Holliman's parents could not have been Jesse and Charity Cofer Holliman of Isle of Wight County, Virginia.  The dates and locations do not work.

As a descendant of James Grantson and Christopher, Sr (DNA testing), I was curious as to who my missing ancestors are.  So are others, one being a careful and thoughtful genealogist, another distant cousin, Joe Parker, again of Texas.  I share below his thesis with you.  And Joe, calls it that, his thesis.  We both agree that genealogy is a process where information is gathered, assessed, and lineages tested by time and additional research.

                                                        Above, Joe and Gladys Parker


Joe wrote me the following several months ago, and I quote,


 "Based on what I have been looking at the last few months, it is my personal belief that James Grantson Holliman was a grandson of Richard Holliman who died in 1711.  The author of the Hollyman book, George A. Holleman, has that one of Richard's grandsons is name 'James'.  This James lives in the correct era, and mingled with Hollimans who are descendants of the Richard Holliman (a son of Christopher Holyman, Sr.), all in Johnston County, North Carolina.


Until further information comes along, I am going to go along with this opinion.  Somewhere out there, there is a thread of evidence that does point out his father and his lineage.  Just find it and properly identify it."


So Joe proposes (and I am in agreement with him with the evidence in hand including my own research) this branch of the James Grantson Holliman tree:

Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 -1691) and unknown wife (Anne)
to
Richard Holliman (1660s ca -1711) and Margaret Jordan House Holliman
to
Samuel Holliman (abt 1708 -1789) and
to
James Grantson Holliman (1750 -1836)

During our Holliman Round Table in Fayette, Alabama on October 14 and 15, 2011, Lynn Holliman of Texas and I discussed the above with Joe.  Thanks to the work of Walt O. Holliman, who died 2003, we were able to examine his additional research in detail.  Walt's evidence bore out Joe and Jeanette Stewart's  research.  By legal records such as wills, land deeds and military service, no one else qualifies as James Grantson Holliman's father.

Samuel Holliman appears to be the great grandfather that many family genealogists have been searching for decades.


In our next post, we examine some more Colonial Era Hollimans....

A Holliman History by Walter O. Holliman, Part IV

by Glenn N. Holliman


This is the fourth in a series of a history of the Holliman family written by Walter O. Holliman (1927 - 2003) in 1995 and reworked by him in 1996.  


In this posting of a manuscript written in 1996, Walt labels this chapter as Generation One choosing to begin his Holliman family history with Samuel Holliman (1707-1789).  Walt was uneasy about the accuracy of his information on Christopher Holyman, Sr. and other early Hollimans in Virginia.  As I have pointed out in early blogs, he had reason be concerned about the veracity of information he had gathered on Holymans in the early to late 1600s.


Some of the material Walt presents below concerning the origins of Hollymans in America has been superceded by new research.  However, in this story there could be some tid bits that could yet lead us in new paths of genealogical research.


Walt provides valuable research on Samuel Holliman's real estate dealings in North Carolina.  On page three, Walt states one Elizabeth Jones, born Isle of Wight, was a wife of Samuel Holliman.  This is the first time I have seen such information and welcome comment on it.

As I have written extensively, I believe the Hollimans emerged from a family in Bedford and Buckingham Shires, England with Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618-1691) arriving in Jamestown in 1650.  My descendant, in my opinion, is through Richard Holyman (1660s ca - 1711), a son of Christopher, Sr., through Samuel Holliman (1707-1789) and on to James Grantson Holliman (1750-1836).  Still, it is fascinating to study Walt O. Holliman's manuscript and reflect on what adds to our genealogical picture and challenges our perceptions. 

Above in Walt's own handwritting and type is his research on Holliman land sales in Johnston County, North Carolina in the 1700s.  This is valuable for those seeking North Carolina roots.

A Gathering of Hollimans, Part II

by Glenn N. Holliman

In mid-October 2011, a dozen descendants of Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691),born an Englishman and died a Virginian, gathered in Fayette, Alabama for a seminar on the family.  In 1836 three Holliman brothers arrived in Fayette County in West Alabama.  Today their descendants live in Fayette, adjacent counties and states, and literally all over the country.  In these articles we look at Fayette and also family, some living and some passed on.

Above, Fayette County’s legal system and records resides in its one hundred year old gold domed court house.  A fire in 1911 destroyed much of the down town taking many early records with it. 

Above and far left James Monroe Holliman, Glenda Norris’ great grandfather, stands in front of Harkin’s Store which was destroyed by the 1911 disastrous fire that swept through the west Alabama community.  Later, James became a successful attorney in Birmingham, Alabama (1878 - 1938).


Today, (below) the front street across from the Court House reflects the gentle pace of life during a Friday afternoon in autumn.  

Below, James Franklin Holliman (right) inspects the materials Raiford Brandon (left) brought to the Fayette Round Table.  Frank is a descendent of Cornelius Holliman and Raiford of Charles Holliman.  All present were descended from Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 – 1691) and his son, Richard Holyman (1660c – 1711) with the exception of Joe Parker, who descended from Christopher Holyman, Sr. through a different son; that being Christopher Holyman, Jr.

  Below, two blocks from the Court House is the old train depot which survived the 1911 disastrous fire, now a community museum and visitor’s center.  Just a few blocks away stood the home of John Thomas Holliman (1844 – 1930), the great grandfather of Glenn Holliman and great, great grandfather of Glenda Norris.

Below, holding the bridle of his horse, John Thomas Holliman, and Martha Jane Walker Holliman (1845 – 1931), his wife, stand in the 1920s in front of their Fayette home, only four blocks from the County Court House and close to the depot.  The house is now gone. 

Like almost all Alabama white men and his male relatives of that era and age, John Thomas Holliman was a Confederate veteran.  He fought at Stone’s River in the West and the Petersburg, Virginia Crater in the East.  Martha Jane’s father, Samuel Walker (1822 – 1900) also of Fayette County, was one of the remaining 7,000 who surrendered with Robert E. Lee at Appomattox.  (A fascinating article on John Thomas Holliman by Dr. Rhodes Holliman, grandson of James Monroe Holliman, can be found in the Archives, March 2010.)

Next posting, more views and news of the Alabama Round Table....

Our Family's Colonial Era, Part XXV

by Glenn N. Holliman

The Will of Christopher Holliman, Sr.
Isle of Wight County, Virginia 1691


Below is Christopher Holyman's (Holliman, Holleman, etc) Virginia will of 1691.  This is an easy to read version, but it is authentic and  prepared, I believe, by a distant cousin.  The original was filed in the Isle of Wight when William and Mary occupied the thrones of England.  The colonies were almost a century away from George Washington, another Virginia, becoming President of the United States.  Let's examine the will and see what we can learn.  (Click on will to enlarge.)

We note first of all a salutation common to English and colonial wills of the time, a statement of faith and belief in Christ Jesus. These faith statements are less common today. Christopher's grave is lost.  Until the late 18th century, grave stones were rare in the colonies and virtually none at all in the 1600s Virginia.  A family cemetery is now located adjacent to the current 1830s two-story brick Holleman house on the site of the original 1,020 acres that Christopher Holliman, Sr. owned.  One suspects this might be the location of the first home, certainly a log house, and family grave sites  (Click Archives and visit articles  April 2010.)

Distant cousins visit at the original Christopher Holyman, Sr. (1618 - 1691) plantation in July 2011.  Pictured above at the Holleman farm in Isle of Wight County, Virginia are left to right, Bryan Payne (Tennessee), Alice Holliman Murphy (Texas), and Spenser and Corey Holleman, brothers who live at the original site.  This Holleman family cemetery, with the earliest headstones from the first decades of the 1800s, may have been the location of the grave of Christopher Holyman, Sr.

 Let's look at the bequests:

Thomas - Christopher had deeded already a plot of land to this son.  The number of acres is not mentioned for any of the bequests.

William - This son received that portion of land between Thomas's plantation and the neighbor, William Gualtney (later spelled Gwaltney and of Welsh origin).  The Gualtney's in the late 1800s will become merchants, first selling peanuts and later hams.  These are now the famous Smithfield Hams of Isle of Wight County.  Many of the Queen Anne style homes of downtown Smithfield were constructed from the financial success of the family.  Records indicate Holliman daughters married Gualtney's from time to time.

Christopher, Jr. - This first borne son received his cleared land and buildings already constructed.

Richard - The youngest son received land for tobacco growing, timbering and clearing more if he wished.  His bequest is the only mention of the principle crop - tobacco - and a bequest of a tobacco barn.  Richard continued  what became my branch of the family tree as he is my 6th great grandfather.  More on him later in my writings.

Next posting, more analysis of this 17th Century family will....

When We Were English, Part XXXV

A Cuddington, Buckinghamshire Connection?  Maybe So
by Glenn N. Holliman

8.    In the 1580s, Robert Holyman of Cuddington had real estate dealings with Thomas Tyringham, whose home was in the near village of Nether Winchendon, Buckinghamshire, and may have had family in Tyringham near Sherington.  (See article posted July 28, 2010) Could a Robert Holyman relative be our Christopher Hollyman of 1589 in Sherington?  Could this be the tie to the Cuddington Holymans, approximately 30 miles south of Sherington?

The pub at Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, only a few blocks from the former Holyman farm, sports a thatched roof, a not uncommon architectural feature in English villages.

A scenario can be constructed that Christopher Holyman, Sr. who died Isle of Wight, Virginia in 1691, was the son of Thomas Hollyman, probably born in Sherington, Buckinghamshire who by 1609 was earning a living in Bedford, Bedfordshire and married that year at St. Peter’s parish.

And this Thomas, a second son who inherited some assets, but not family property, from Christopher Holyman (will of 1589) of Sherington, is the same Thomas Hollyman who went to grammar school in Lathbury, Buckinghamshire in 1595.

And while more research is needed, this 1589 Christopher Hollyman of Sherington may have moved to the area from the central part of Buckinghamshire, the Cuddington, Tring or Cholesbury area, perhaps being born sometime from 1520 to 1550.  Perhaps!

Thatched roofs in Sherington, Buckinghamshire.  Did Holymans centuries past sleep and live under threshes?

Now who then is the Christopher 1589’s father?!!!  Are we on the edge of taking the family tree another one hundred years or so back in time, to the time when The Rt. Rev. John Holyman, Counter-Reformation Bishop, was born in 1495 in Cuddington, Buckinghamshire?  (See blog article of September 2010.)

Notwithstanding the significant number of Holliman families in Worcestershire, is this Christopher Hollyman of Sherington, Buckinghamshire the grandfather of the Christopher Holyman who sailed to Virginia in 1650?  Have we found my generation’s 9^th great grandfather?

And indeed, are we a few more bits of research from tying the Cuddington/Tring Holymans to the Sherington and Bedford Holymans?  Are we pushing the family history back to the 1400s!

Our Family's Colonial Era, Part XVI

by Glenn N. Holliman

Who Were the Children of Christopher Holliman, Sr.?

In 1952, George A. Holleman, formerly of Chicago and later Columbus, Mississippi, wrote and published privately a work called The Hollyman Family. To my knowledge this work, which was expanded and reprinted by Holliman genealogist Tina Peddie, is the first and still the only comprehensive volume to discuss the founding of our Holliman family and to list hundreds of names of Holliman descendants. It is a monumental piece of research for the pre-internet age. Those of us who are his distant cousins are grateful for this volume, and Tina's work to update it and keep it alive.

The 350 odd page volume is available from Tina Peddie, desabla1@yahoo.com.

In this book George Holleman published, probably for the first time, a list of the children of Christopher Holyman Sr.

They are:

Thomas Holyman - ? to 1734

Christopher Holyman, Jr. - ? to 1731 in Isle of Wight Co.

William Holyman - 1661 - 1704

Richard Holyman - ? to 1711 in Surry Co.

Ann Holyman who married John Atkinson in 1691

Mary Holyman who married James Atkinson (John's brother) in 1691

The genealogists, reports and data I have read seem in agreement that primarily Hollymans, Hollemans, Hollimans, Hollomons, etc. in the United States are descendants of this family. This is not to say that other Hollimans could not have migrated later to other colonies or that other Virginia Holymans, such that have been discussed in other postings, did not leave families also.

However, to my knowledge (and I wish to be corrected if in error), most if and not all Hollimans (and variations) trace their lineage through Christopher Holyman, Sr. Personally, this is my branch, so those of you related to me through grandfathers and great grandfathers are descendants of dear Christopher Sr.

And thank you George A. Holleman for your pioneering work!