National Portrait Gallery

Had a belated e-mail from Terence Pepper, the Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery. Last March I visited the NPG to inspect a photo-album containing family photographs of Frederick Hollyer, the famous photographer (1838-1933). He tells me that work will begin on cataloguing the album in 2006 and I hope my identification of individuals in the album will have helped.

Sarah Jane Holyer again

Another little victory! I found that Martha Godden did indeed have a son Thomas Godden in Sandhurst, Kent. The baptism record shows he was born 12th March 1794, baptised 30th. So this finally proves that Martha (as Martha Hook) was the Great Grandmother of "Jane Holyer" with whom she was living at the time of the 1861 census and that Jane must be Sarah Jane Holyer born 1853 to John Holyer and Jane Godden.

Deddington Holliers

Because of Carol Eden's interest, I transcribed into one speeadsheet my various Deddington parish register entries, discovering a few interesting things along the way. It looks as if John from the Over Worton Hollier family really did come from Deddington.

Louisiana Holliers

Linda Hollier Rome wrote enquiring about her Hollier family connections in Louisiana. The family story she has is that the Holliers were Acadians - that is, French settlers in Canada who then moved to the USA. However, although the Hollier family are in that area of the USA where the Acadians settled, the family came directly to Louisiana from Nantes, in France.

Sarah Jane Holyer

Sarah Jane Holyer's birth certificate arrived yesterday and shows that she was the previously unknown first child of John Holyer and Jane Godden. She wasn't with this couple in the 1861 census. However, that family was living in Woodchurch at Bench Hill, while the Jane Holyer whose identity I am seeking is at the Bench Hill Turnpike House with Martha Hook, who says that Jane is her grandaughter. But in fact, Martha's maiden name was Godden and in the 1851 census she and her husband are living next door to Thomas and Ann Godden, whose daughter Jane was Sarah Jane's mother. I suspect Martha had Thomas in 1794, before her marriage to Stephen Hook in Tenterden in 1803. So this would make Martha the Great Grandmother of Sarah Jane. But it does seem to prove the link.

Camberwell Marriages

Marion Harper Hopkins sent through 4 marriage transcripts from the Camberwell Marriage Challenge. Although the basic facts of the marriages were known, the precise date and church were not, and this is the benefit of the Marriage Challenge concept.

Hollier Butcher's shop, Moreton on the Marsh

Carol Eden managed to locate a photo on the web of the Hollier butchers shop at Moreton in the the Marsh. It's now an antiques shop.

She's also discovered that the two candidates for her grandfather George Henry Hollier in the 1901 census are the same person! It's not unknown for a person to be recorded twice, but with totally different occupations is unusual.

Billie Joe T Hollier

Billy Joe T. Hollier signed my guestbook. Little doubt that he is one of the Louisiana Holliers who descend from 3 brothers from Nantes, in France - though he seems to think his roots are from Lyons.

Holyer burials at Woodchurch

Thanks to Robert Chown's indexing and Gary Samson's database, a new resource for burials at Woodchurch has been made available here. This caused me to think again about the 1872 death of Jane Holyer in the Workhouse, aged 20. I had thought, despite the age, that she was the daughter of William Holyer and Mary Ann (née Parsons) born in Warehorne in 1845. But after some investigation in the 1861 census, I found both Jane aged 8 and Jane the daughter aged 16. Maybe she might be the Sarah Jane Holyer registered in Q1 1853. I decided to order this certificate hoping it will help identify her origin.

Canadian WW2 papers

Howard Mathieson mentioned a source for Canadian newspaper extracts from WW2 on the Guild Forum. I found records for Percy Hollyer, Hubert Hollier and Ernest Holyer.

Stretton on Fosse family

Carol Eden wrote back responding to my sending her the tree of the Stretton on Fosse Holliers. She pointed out that Mary Hollier, wife of Benjamin, at the head of the line, was probably born in Duns Tew in Oxfordshire. It then occured to me that Benjamin and Mary of the Stretton family must be the same as the Benjmain and Mary at Duns Tew, so two major Hollier trees can now be linked back to the family at Over Worton.

Marjorie Aimer 1924-2005

My cousin phoned me early this morning to pass on the sad news that my Aunt Molly (Marjorie Aimer, née Hollyer) passed away this morning. Molly had been a regular correspondent over many years and encouraged me to pull together the family history after my father died. She had always followed my various discoveries with interest. She will be missed by all the family.

George Henry Hollier - which one?

Carol Eden (née Hollier) wrote enquring whether I could confirm the identity of her grandfather George Henry Hollier, as there are several persons of that name. I found 3 candidates, but on balance agree with Carol that her family seems to come from the Stretton on Fosse Hollier family. However, one of the George Henry Holliers I considered seems to have no birth or death record, nor appears in any other census apart of the 1901. Yet despite this, he is in the marriage index and his son's birth in the birth index. A few mysteries still remain to be solved...

Ambrose William Hollier

Sue Hedges wrote telling me that she came across Ambrose's marriage to Kate Hutton in 1899 while looking through the Headington parish registers. This is not the first time Sue has noticed my study name while looking through other documents. Surprisingly for an Oxfordshire Hollier, Ambrose, by 1901, had moved to Harrogate in Yorkshire. But then it seems that Kate was a northern lass, born in Sunderland, with a father from Yorkshire.

Channel 4 Lost Generation

Channel 4 has launched a website in conjunction with its series Lost Generation, about the Great War. The site features a database of WW1 memorials and I was pleased to find a previously unknown memorial to my Great Uncle George William Hollyer, which you can see here. I have sent them further information on George.

Tim Hollier update

One of my long-term correspondents, Tim Hollier, sent through some updates about his family, which I have incorporated into the individual website I produced for him, which can be seen here. Tim's family is interesting, having been in various places over the generations, including Cumbria, Aberystwyth, Tipton (Staffs), and Fordingbridge (Hants), from where the earliest record of his line dates from 1776. Tim is now in the film business, see here, in addition to his long-standing career in music, see here.

Death Duty Registers

Peter Armstrong mentioned on the Guild Forum that the TNA has published online Death Duty Registers for 1796-1811. I downloaded 7 entries for Hollier and Hollyer. The Hollyer entry was an error - reading the will made it clear that this was really a Hellyer. Three of the Hollier entries provided valuable genealogical information, especially the two for the Isle of Wight, which have solved a number of mysteries.

Scottish Holyers

Hazel, who was formerly married to John Holyer (born 1963, unusually for a Holyer in Edinburgh), wrote to me about her family. Always good that previously unknown current family members provide information. As it happens, John's sister Susan had provided much the same information back in 2001. Worked out that Hazel's sons are 6th cousins, twice removed, to me.

This and that

Carolyn Cosgriff continues to correspond with more ideas about the English origins and connections of the Virginia Holliers. Sandra Jones wrote correcting me on speculation about a further Hollier emigrant from Sydenham to Australia. I just didn't think there would be two people called Damaris - certainly not a common name. John Blandy replied to my message about his article on Samuel Pepys's operation; he now seems to accept my view that Thomas Hollier the surgeon was not a Huguenot. Added a few more pictures to the Art Gallery.