D'arcey Hollier

Looking at the Hollyer Genealogy Facebook group that I set up, I saw that Facebook were showing an associated group called "come and join the Hollier network! Please don't let me be the only one ;-)" run by D'arcey Hollier. She's managed to get quite a few Holliers around the world signed up. I couldn't resist sorting out her ancestry, which goes back from Barking to Shoreditch to Newcastle-on-Tyne and then to the Sharnford Holliers of Leicestershire.

More medals saved

Back in June 2006, I reported how I had helped secure some WW1 medals for the Hollyer family descendants, see here. Now I am pleased to report that it's happened again. The medals of Harold Victor Hollyer are back in the hands of his family.

Lewknor Holliers

Angela Carter wrote to challenge the hypothesis of mine that the progenitor of the Lewknor Holliers, William who married Jane Messenger in 1781, was the William born in Deddington in 1760. She suggests that Jane was born in 1743 in South Weston and that it's unlikely she would have married someone 17 years her younger. If she is right with her identification of Jane, then this would have meant that she had her 4 children between the ages of 38 to 43.

Hard on the heels of this, Michael Hollier - who has been the main contact for the Lewknor Holliers in Australia responded to my Newsletter. Finally, a new contact, Alan Hancock, also from Australia asked about his UK forebears and suggested that he wanted to do some more research on this line when he comes to the UK.

Like London buses, they turn up together!

Creole Holliers

Following the Newsletter, I've had a flurry of replies from various folks, including one from Billie Joe Hollier from Louisiana, one of a line of Creole Holliers. Here is a family group at the Hollier Bar-B-Que Bash July 2007.

Derek Newark

Derek Newark is another new contact. He is the grandson of Sabina Hollier (1859) from the family of Charles & Harriet Hollier. Charles had served in the army in India and the family haled from Tamworth, but can be traced back right to Shustoke in the 16th century. I had previously researched this family in relation to Sabina's brother Charles Matthias Hollier, who was born out in Sialkot, India.

Newsletter 2007

Today I attempted to send out a Newsletter about the study to everyone I've been in contact with over the last 7 years. It wasn't easy! Of the 337 addresses, some 83 have already bounced back as invalid, showing just how easy it is to lose contact with people even in this electronic age.

If you are interested, the newsletter is here.