The Carson Family

From Washington County, Virginia 
To Rockcastle County, Kentucky
To Jellico, Tennessee
To Davie, Broward County, Florida

James Holman (Holdman, Holeman)
Born: about 1814 in Madison County, Kentucky
Died: about 1886 in Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, Kentucky

James Holman (Holdman, Holeman) was born about 1814 in Madison County, Kentucky. He lived in the area of Brodhead and Crab Orchard, Kentucky, which are on the border of three Kentucky counties: Lincoln, Garrard, and Rockcastle.

On June 4, 1835 in Garrard County, Kentucky, James Holman was married to Martha Ramsey, the daughter of Alexander Ramsey, by Baptist minister Benjamin Polston. 

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The results of the DNA tests show that the descendant of James Holeman, b. 1814 is:

"very tightly related" to the descendant of the Daniel Holman who was born about 1787 in North Carolina, had children in Tennessee, and homesteaded in Douglas, Missouri;

"very tightly related" to the descendant of the Kenneth Holeman who died in 1871 in Upperfreehold, Monmouth Co., New Jersey who is thought to be a descendant of Robert Holeman, died 1709 in New Jersey;

"related" to a descendant of the Elias Holeman (1759 - 1827, Burlington County, New Jersey); and

"related" to the descendants of Thomas Holeman, born about 1723, who moved from the Shenandoah Valley to North Carolina in 1752.

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Based on our findings so far, the following is a plausible story.

* Two of the sons of the Robert Holman who left a Will in 1709 in Monmouth County, New Jersey (Thomas b. 1686 and Daniel b. 1689) first moved from New Jersey to Kent County, Maryland to be near their relatives. [This idea was first proposed to me by Holman family researcher, Randy Holman Schmidt.]

* Daniel Holman (b. 1689) and probably his slaves and others arrived in Shenandoah County, Virginia prior to 1736. Some Holman family researchers believe that Daniel Holman was married twice. His first wife is thought to be Rachel, and she and Daniel had at least one child, Jacob Holman. In 1737, in Orange County, Virginia he married his second wife, Elizabeth Cathey. They had been living together prior to the marriage. They had a daughter, Rebecca Holman. [Question: What happened to his first wife and any children?]

* Sometime between 1736 and 1749, Thomas Holman, (b. 1686), the older brother, acquired land at headwaters of Holman Creek. There is no record of Thomas Holeman (b. 1686) buying land from Joist Hite.

* Daniel Holman (b. 1689) built a settlement/fort on the east side of the north branch of the Shenandoah River, near where "Holman Creek" empties into the River. [Question: how big was the original settlement and who were the people involved?]

* In 1749 and 1750, the Holmans resolved any deed problems with Lord Fairfax (who sued Joist Hite over the implementation of the land grant). The original of the five deeds appear to be boiler-plate with each saying "...Assigns Proprietors of the said Northern Neck Yearly and every Year on the Feast Day of St. Michael the Archangel the Fee rent of One Shilling Sterling Money for every Fifty Acres of land hereby granted..." Apparently, after Thomas Holman (b. 1686) resolved any deed problems with Lord Fairfax, the land was sold to Robert Stapleton in 1749.  

* Jacob Holman, son of Daniel (b. 1689), was the administrator of "Old Daniel's" estate in 1770 and inherited Daniel's land. 

* Thomas Holman who was born about 1723 in Kent County, Maryland, arrived in Wilkes County, North Carolina around 1750, and died in 1798 in North Carolina. [Question: Was he the son of Thomas b. 1686 or Daniel b. 1689?]

* Isaac Holman (born about 1725, and died 1808 in Rowan County, North Carolina) is thought to be the son of "Old Daniel of Shenandoah" and his first wife. There is circumstantial evidence that the two men are associated with each other, but evidence of a father-son  relationship is pretty thin.

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All Holman/Holeman/Holdman family researchers should be thankful that Holman Family Researcher, Georgia Kinney Bopp took the time, effort, and expense to secure the work of a professional genealogist.

Information from Holman Family Researcher, Georgia Kinney Bopp (from the GKBopp Database on RootsWeb WorldConnect)
regarding Shenandoah County, Virginia. Click here to see JOHN FREDERICK DORMAN, Genealogical Research, regarding HOLEMAN-HOLMAN-HOLDMAN in Shenandoah County, Virginia

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"LIFE ALONG HOLMAN'S CREEK" By J. Floyd Wine
On March 26, 1736, Daniel Holman was granted a patent for 319 acres on the north branch of the 'Sherando' river. He was probably the first settler to acquire land along Holman's Creek as the stream was named for him. 

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The Virginia governor, with the concurrence of the Council, could grant a huge number of acres to an individual, with the condition that the grantee would settle within a stated period of time a minimum number of families on the tract. The grantee was supposed to be restrained from charging more than a specified price per acre. He issued deeds, just as though the land was owned by himself.

Joist Hite, a wealthy Pennsylvanian with the support of the Governor of Pennsylvania, received a land grant from the Governor of Virginia in 1730. Joist Hite lead a group of sixteen families (including his own and his married daughters) from Philadelphia to the Valley. First stop was Shepherdstown, Virginia (now West Virginia). While there, members of his party explored the Valley to locate and mark their proposed land claims. Joist Hite then settled a few miles south of the Shawnee Spring (near present day city of Winchester) in Shenandoah County, Virginia in 1732.

Daniel Holman secured his land on Holman Creek in Shenandoah County from Joist Hite (319 acres on north branch of Shenandoah River, surveyed March 26, 1735). However, the 1746 survey for the location of the Fairfax Line showed that about sixty settlers who bought land from Joist Hite were actually living on part of the claim of Lord Fairfax. (Holman Creek was in the disputed area.) These settlers had two choices: buy their land from Lord Fairfax, or move.

Daniel Holman and his son Jacob Holman, paid Lord Fairfax and remained on the land. Thomas Holeman paid Lord Fairfax, but immediately sold the property.

The headwaters of Holman Creek today are in Rockingham County, Virginia -- within a square formed by North Mountain Road (Rt 613), Winestore Road, Mechanicsville Road (Rt 614) and the Rockingham County/Shenandoah County border. Once in Shenandoah County, it flows by Knupp Road (Rt 738), by the intersection of South Middle Road (Rt 614)/Flat Rock Road (Rt 728), north of the town of Quicksburg, by Pinewoods Road (RT 730), by the intersection of Quicksburg Road (Rt 767)/Turkey Knob Road (Rt 698), and empties into the north branch of the Shenandoah River near exit 269 of I-81, just west of the Old Valley Pike (Rt 11). Its length is about ten miles. Daniel Holman's land was at Quicksburg, near the mouth of Holmans Creek. Jacob Holman's land was next door going west upstream. Thomas Holman's land was further west upstream, south of Forestville. Isaac Johnson's land was next to Thomas Holman, but south of the Fairfax line.

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If a Holman settled in the area of Holman's Creek in the Shenandoah Valley prior to 1736, he or she would be in the land records of Joist Hite. Old Daniel Holman is the only one I found in the Hite land records.

If a Holman settled in the area of Holman's Creek in the Shenandoah Valley around 1749-1750, he or she would be in the land records of Lord Fairfax.

* Old Daniel Holman and his son, Jacob, are in the Fairfax records. This is understandable since the Holman Creek area was in the land grants disputed by Joist Hite and Lord Fairfax.

* A Thomas Holman is in the Fairfax records, but not the Hite records. If this is Daniel's older brother, it means that Thomas followed Daniel to the Shenandoah Valley sometime after 1736 and before 1749. On the other hand, this could be the Thomas Holman born in 1723 in Kent County, Maryland and died 1798 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. (He was a minor during the Hite time period.)

* There is no record of Isaac Holman in either the Hite or Fairfax land records.

If a Holman settled in the area of Holman's Creek in the Shenandoah Valley after 1736 and left before 1749, there would be no land record for them.

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Thomas Holman

Thomas Holman born in 1723 in Kent County, Maryland and died 1798 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. I am assuming that he was part of the Holman group in the Shenandoah Valley.

Rachel Holeman, the daughter of Thomas Holman (1723-1798) and his first wife Mary Thompson, was born about 1743 in Maryland and married Henry Johnson in March 1763 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. If this is correct it means the wife of Thomas Holman (1723-1798) was in Maryland, not on Holman's Creek in 1743.

[Note: Some Holman researchers believe that Rachel Holeman was from Massachusetts, but I believe that in the past some researcher confused "Ma" to be Massachusetts rather than Maryland which is across the border from Pennsylvania.]
[Note: There is no apparent relationship between the Henry Johnson who married Rachel Holeman (c1743-1815) and the Isaac Johnson who lived on the headwaters of Holman's Creek.]

Thomas Holman (1723-1798) could be the son of one of the New Jersey Holman brothers (Thomas b. 1686 and Daniel b. 1689) or some unknown Holman.

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Isaac Holman

I could find no record of Isaac Holman, died 1808, buying or selling land in the Valley.
Many Holman family researchers believe that Isaac Holeman, died 1808, is the son of old Daniel Holman of the Shenandoah Valley. There is circumstantial evidence that the two are associated with each other, but evidence of a father-son relationship is pretty thin. In searching these records in the Shenandoah valley counties, I did find evidence that the Minister who married Daniel Hoolman also baptized "Isaac Hoolman." However, I did not find in the Shenandoah Valley any land grants or land transactions for an Isaac Holeman. Also, there is no mention of Isaac in the wills of Daniel Holman's widow, Elizabeth; or Daniel's son, Jacob. 

There is a connection between Isaac Holeman, died 1808, and the Isaac Johnson family living just across the border in Rockingham County, Virginia:
* Isaac Johnson (1745-1814), son of the Isaac Johnson who had a plantation at the headwaters of "Holman Creek" married Elizabeth Holeman (about 1751-1840), oldest daughter of Isaac Holeman, died 1808.
* Johnsons and Holemans living in Anderson County., Kentucky claimed to be related, and to descend from the Thomas Holeman (son of Isaac Holeman, died 1808) who married Mary Graham  
"The Holmans in America concerning the descendants of Solaman Holman" by David Emory Holman, M.D. contains a letter written by Elizabeth (Holeman) Smith, written in 1887. In the letter she says:
* Her grandfather was William Holeman: married twice; second wife was Sarah Johnson, relative of Col. Dick Johnson; and lived in Surrey Co, North Carolina and had nine children.
* Her great-grandfather and his brother came to this country from England long years before Rev War; got separated; all trace of other brother lost. If her information is correct, her great-grandfather would be Isaac Holeman, died 1808.

"SUTHERLAND'S AND THEIR TANGLED BRANCHES" by Robert J. Walsh states that Isaac Holeman "moved to the frontier of the North Carolina Colony about 1752. He brought along his father and mother whose first names, unfortunately, are unrecorded. When they died, he buried them on his own land." (Obviously, this is not Daniel and Elizabeth Holman of the Shenandoah Valley. Could it be Thomas Holman (b. 1686) and his wife? )

According to "The Ancestry of Grafton Johnson" about 1745, Isaac Johnson, born about 1722, established a plantation at the head of Holman Creek (north branch of Shenandoah River) in the part of Augusta County that became Rockingham County. His son, Isaac Johnson (1745-1814), was born in Rockingham County, Virginia; and relocated to North Carolina about 1765 where he met and married Elizabeth Holman (about 1751-1840), oldest daughter of Isaac Holman, died 1808. Isaac and Elizabeth (Holman) Johnson relocated to Rockingham County, Virginia around 1768; and returned in 1783 to the part of Rowan County that became Davie County, North Carolina. In this second trip, they received a North Carolina land grant of 300 acres, located about eight miles east of Isaac Holman settlement.

Isaac Johnson, even though his property was close to Thomas Holman, was not in the Hite/Fairfax claim dispute (he was south of the Fairfax Line in Rockingham County). Rockingham County is located south of Shenandoah County. 

The southwestern part of Shenandoah county is called "The Forest." The adjoining land in Rockingham County is called "The Plains." ["When the white explorer came, the Rockbridge area, like the Valley of Virginia in general, was largely occupied by tracts of prairie. These were known as Indian meadows, or as savannas, the word prairie having not yet come into the English language. These meadows were fired at the close of each hunting season so as to keep back the forest growth and thus attract the buffalo and other large game. This practice had undoubtedly been going on for centuries." ("A history of Rockbridge County, Virginia" by Oren F Morton)] 

[Note: There is no apparent relationship between the Henry Johnson who married Rachel Holeman (c1743-1815) and the Isaac Johnson who lived on the headwaters of Holman's Creek.]

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Daniel Holman (b. 1689) married second Elizabeth Cathey.

In 1737, the time of the marriage of Daniel Holman, the law in Virginia was:
Only ministers of the established church were permitted to perform the ceremony. A minister not of the established church was subject to a heavy penalty. The minister of the local parish should receive all the fees for marriages, even if they were performed by another minister.
Licenses were issued by the Justice of the Peace, and the Clerk of Court was required to report the names of the parties to the Secretary of the Colony, so the Governor would have an account of the fees collected.

"Records of Rev. John Casper Stoever Baptismal and Marriage, 1730-1779" Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1896
Original record "was written in German and contains many Latin phrases as well as a few English and French".
MARRIAGES Record of persons united in Matrimony by me, John Casper Stoever, Evangelical Lutheran Minister in Pennsylvania, Anno 1730:
page 55. 1737, June 8. "... Daniel Hoolman and Elizabeth Cartlay. North River, Shenandoah. vulgo. Cockel Town in Orange county, in the Colony of Virginia."

Rev. Stoever organized his journal by listing the head of the household and his or her location. Below that he listed the date of the event for the family members. He did not give the location of the event, however, the location must have been nearby the residence of the household. On June 8, 1737, the date of the marriages of John Hodge and Elizabeth Windseeth, Jacob Thigh and Mary White, Daniel Hoolman and Elizabeth Cartlay, he also baptized persons in "Shenandoah" households.

[Note: From "The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc." 
The Germanna Colonies consist primarily of the First Colony of 42 persons from the Siegerland area in Germany brought to Virginia to work for Governor Spotswood in 1714, and the Second Colony of 20 families from the Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg area of Germany brought in 1717, but also include other German families who joined the first two colonies at later dates. At the time, the Germanna area was the westernmost outpost of colonial Virginia. In 1725, most of these Germans moved west to the Robinson River Valley, and in 1733, Johann Caspar Stoever, Sr became the first pastor of their German Lutheran Church. He came to America in 1728 with an adult son of the same name, and a daughter, Elizabeth Catherine, who married Johannes Kuntz in 1738 in Pennsylvania. The son Johann Caspar Stoever, Jr. was the Pastor of the Lutheran Congregation of the Hill Church in Cleona, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.]

[Note: "Vulgo" suggests that there was a common law marriage. Daniel Hoolman/Elizabeth Cartlay and John Hodge/Elizabeth Windseeth had children baptized by Rev. John Casper Stoever, Jr. on the same day they were married.]

[Note: In 1737 Johann Caspar Stoever, Jr. married Daniel Hoolman and Elizabeth Cathay on North River, Shenandoah. vulgo. Cockel Town in Orange county, in the Colony of Virginia. Which river did Rev. Stoever mean?
* The Shenandoah River divides into the north branch and the south branch near present day Front Royal.
* The North River empties into the south branch of the Shenandoah River near present day Port Republic. The Middle River, previously called Carthrae's River, empties into the North River, between the North River and the South River.]

[Note: It appears that James Guill who was present at the marriage of Daniel Hoolman/Elizabeth Cartlay lived in the area south of the "Great Plains."
* In 1740, he purchased land from William Beverly.
* In June 1743, he received a land grant on a branch of the North River (which flows into the south branch of the Shenandoah River) called Walling's Creek.
* In 1745 he purchased land on the North River (which flows into the south branch of the Shenandoah River) from Thomas Rutherford. The Rutherford land was on Cub Run which starts near present day Keezletown (west of the southern tip of Massanutten Mountain) and runs south to empty into the south branch of the Shenandoah River.]

[Question: Was there in Indian town or colonial town named Cockel Town? The name "cockle" is given to a number of small, edible marine bivalves which have a somewhat similar shape and sculpture. Historically, freshwater mussels provided food for early man and Native Americans, but their relative tastelessness and rubbery consistency did not make them a preferred food like their saltwater counterparts, oysters and clams. Mussel shells were used for jewelry, for making pottery and utensils, as currency, and for trading by certain Native American tribes.]

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Lyman Chalkley's three-volume Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County, 1745-1800 (Rosslyn, Va., 1912-1913; reprint, 1965) Vol 3, Page 320
Deed Book No. 6, Page 19.    16th March, 1750. 
Robert Stapleton and Catherine to Charles Stapleton, 200 acres, part of tract granted to Thos. Holdman by Fairfax 3d February, 1749, and by 
Holdman to Stapleton. Cor. George Brock and Peter Gartner, Ruddle's line. Robert (his mark) Stapleton. Catherine (her mark) Stapleton.

Chalkley, Lyman. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965. Originally published in 1912.
Page 107.--15th February, 1748. Daniel Holdman and Peter Gartner's bond as guardian of Julia, George and Elsye Brock, orphans of Rudal Brock.
Page 255.--28th August, 1750. Daniel Holdman's account against estate of Rudy Brock for services done to the children--3d November, 1750, cash paid for George Brock's land; Efey Brock's share of grain. 

Page 476.--25th December, 1752. Peter Cotner's will. Yeoman. Eldest son, George; 2d son, Peter. Daughter, Mary, infant, under 18. Wife, Mary. Four children. (George is to pay his youngest brother £__ of coming of age). Teste: Michael Waren, Samuel Holdman, Thos. Moore. Executors, wife, Mary, and Adam Rider. Proved, 21st March, 1753, by all witnesses; Danl. Holdman and executors qualify, with surety Jacob Bare. [Questions: Are Peter Gartner and Peter Cotner the same person? Is "Samuel Holdman" a mis-reading of Daniel Holdman?]

"Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia: Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County, 1745-1800," by Lyman Chalkley, 1912
Volume I AUGUSTA COUNTY COURT ORDERS. ORDER BOOK No. I. Page 12
* February 11, 1745. Daniel Holdman and Saml. Wilkins-- to oversee a road from Benj. Allen's mill to North River.
* September 18, 1746. Jurymen--Daniel Holdman, John Hood, James Armstrong, John Rutledge, Adam Dickerson, James Armstrong, Ro. Gibson, Thos. Cotner.

[Note: Samuel Wilkins lived in present day Dayton, south of present day Harrisonburg. Present day Route 42 crosses Mill Creek (west of Mt Jackson); goes south to cross Holman's Creek at Forestville; goes south to cross the north branch of the Shenandoah River at Timberville; goes south, parallel to Linville Creek; goes south through Harrisonburg; goes south through Dayton; and reaches the North River (which empties into the south branch of the Shenandoah River.)]

Were these persons part of the original Holman settlement?

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During the French and Indian War, John Hite, one of the commissioners for Frederick Country, in a July 2, 1758 letter to Col George Washington mentions the Daniel Holeman fort. (Letters to Washington and Accompanying Papers. Published by the Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton.) [Note: John Hite was son of Joist Hite.]

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Virginia Census, 1607-1890
Name: Daniel Holman
State: VA
County: Frederick County
Township: Rent Rolls
Year: 1759
Record Type: Rent Role
Database: VA Early Census Index
Source Information:
Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Virginia Census, 1607-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.
Original data: Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.

Virginia Census, 1607-1890
Name: Danl Holman
State: VA
County: Frederick County
Township: Rent Rolls
Year: 1764
Record Type: Rent Role
Database: VA Early Census Index
Source Information:
Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Virginia Census, 1607-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.
Original data: Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.

Heads of Families   Virginia     1783
Shenandoah County      Alex'r Hite list
Dan'l Holeman      2 white     3 black
Jacob Holman       9 white   14 black

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Notes from Will of Jacob Holeman (son of "Old Daniel Holman")
Shenandoah County Will Book B - Page 86 - Dated October 26, 1783 

* Wife Margaret: his plantation, consisting of two tracts containing 550 acres.
* Son Daniel: plantation, consisting of 420 acres.
* Son Andrew: after Margaret dies, 400 acres of her plantation
* Son Jacob Herod: after Margaret dies, 150 acres of her plantation
* Wife, sons, and daughters (Elizabeth, Rachel, Rebecca, and Mary Ann) all received slaves.
* Executors: well beloved wife Margaret Holeman & my trusty friend Reuben More
* Witness: Samuel Miles, Thos. Lewis, Wm. Cathey 

[Note: Jacob Holeman and his wife Margaret had previously sold to Henry Houser the 395 acres he inherited from his father Daniel.]

[Note: The widow, Margaret, married second William Cathey.]

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