Thomas Hollier's operation on Samuel Pepys

John Blandy, a retired urologist, is carrying out research into the actual operation that Samuel Pepys underwent at the hands of Thomas Hollier in 1658. He wrote again saying he has now drafted a paper along with his colleague John Kirkup, who is the honorary curator of instruments at The Royal College of Surgeons. He believes that the operation that Pepys underwent was one known and practised by Huguenots in rural France.

This may be so, but I still don't think that Thomas Hollier himself was a Huguenot. However, the paper will be interesting to read.

John Essex Hollier

Mark Sealey, who has done a lot of work tracing his line descending from Joseph Essex Hollier, wrote asking about the descent of his brother John Essex Hollier (1827-1868). I worked on this last year for another researcher and it proved quite a challenge, thanks to missing census entries, missing GRO index entries, incorrect marriage certificates and re-marriages all of which contrived to make it a puzzle. However, I think I now understand this line. All part of the Studley Holliers.

The Sydenham Holliers

Sandra Jones from Australia has traced her family back to the emigrants from Sydenham, Oxfordshire. She wanted to know if this is the same family as I refer to as the Sydenham Holliers - to which the answer is yes!

Wiliam Woodland and Mary Holyer

Judith Lawrence, who I have communicated with in the past, wrote to the Woodchurch list enquiring whether anyone knew the origins of the Woodland family. I don't know, but there do seem to be several links between the Woodland and Holyer families.

William and Mary's son John married Sarah Davis, whose sister Elizabeth Davis married Richard Holyer the Miller of Brenzett. Judith also told me that when John and Sarah's daugher Jane died in 1913, the executor of the Will was Jabez Holyer, a son of Elizabeth (Davis) Holyer born after her husband Richard died. Jabez's father is reputed to be Thomas Tuearsly Tunbridge.

Confused? You should be!

US WW1 Army Draft cards

Managed to download all the Hollyer, Holyer and Hollier entries from the recently completed Ancestry index of WW1 draft cards. In some cases, the father's name is given so assisting the connection of individuals to families, something that is problematic for this generation of people, given the loss of the US 1890 census.

Woodchurch meeting

Travelled down to Woodchurch, Kent yesterday to meet with others at the Museum to discuss Woodchurch genealogy matters. Woodchurch is the home of the Holyer family. Robert Chown attended for the first time: he has been busy transcribing original Woodcurch records. See http://woodchurch.hollyer.name

New Hollyer blog location

I have decided to move the Hollyer Blog to this new site, which I hope will be more reliable than the previous one at MSN. To view the old site go here.

Francis Percy Hollier

Veronica Hollier wrote about her husband's family who descend from Francis Percy Hollier, from the Sharnford Holliers. Unfortunately, I had previously made an error and thought that this family were connected to the Studley Holliers. We all make mistakes from time to time and verification from the families themselves is always important.

John Reginald George Hollyer

Lisa Ellis, granddaughter of John Reginald George Hollyer (1894-1959) contacted me. He was part of the Farnham Hollyers that descend ultimately from the Coventry group, via the City Hollyers. I sent Lisa the same trees that I sent her brother Tim last year.

More Holyer connections

Carol Trotman from Canada wrote concerning her connections with the Holyer family from Woodchurch. She thinks her Breeds/Breads family might have several connections - which it not impossible in such a small community as Woodchurch was.

Westminster Archives

Yesterday, in between meetings in London, I dropped into Westminster Archives to check out the original filmed registers of St Martins in the Fields to look at the Hollier famliy that might be the origin of the Virginia Holliers. They were all there, though the churches even in the 1660s were still using the old style dates, with the year beginning on March 25th, something the IGI entries doesn't show.

The Virginia Holliers

Carolyn Cosgriff responded (see earlier entry) with copious details of her 40 years of research into the Hollier family in Virginia - which features no less than 6 generations with the name Simon Hollier. Good to find another researcher who has in-depth knowledge of US families.

Edward Button & Mary Holyer

Hazel Lansley from Australia enquired about the above marriage from the Woodchurch Holyer family. As usual I sent charts showing the Holyer ancestry. Edward's brother Samuel married into another branch of the Holyer family at Woodchurch - a close community.