Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman and their Descendants

by Glenn N. Holliman

Homer Bishop Holliman, 1919

the Fifth Child of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman

America was changing dramatically during the 1920s and 1930s.  The rise of the automobile culture accelerated the national economy and gave citizens the ability to travel and observe the various parts of a large nation.  By the 1930s, even in the midst of an economic depression, paved roads and more powerful and reliable car engines began to allow middle and laboring class Americans to explore their country, previously not possible for the average family. 

 This was unprecendented, and in the life of Bishop Holliman, we can observe a young man, growing up and leaving Irondale, not just physically but intellectually and culturally (but never emotionally!).  It was a journey millions of others of his generation, including his siblings, would make with increased mobility and the exposure to other peoples that World War II and the open highway would bring.

The photo above reveals a Florida tourist camp of 1935, a typical vacation residence, one where the Dalys and Holliman children - Virginia, Bishop and Ralph - would stay during the mid and late 1930s.  The Holiday Inn was still a generation in the future.  Primitive by 21st Century standards, sans air conditioning and with little plumbing, these cabins and early Fords and Chevrolets allowed the average Alabama family to take a vacation, visit the Gulf Coast and the Southern Mountains.  The world began to grow larger to the generation that came of age in the 1930s and 1940s.

Above vacationing in Clearwater, Florida in 1936 are left to right Virginia Holliman Cornelius, Mary Daly Herrin, Vena Holliman Daly and Bishop Holliman. These trips, financed basically by the largest of Robert Daly, opened up new worlds to the younger children of Ulyss and Pearl Holliman.  Their lives and careers would be considerably different from their parents and grandparents.

Note: The information and opinions expressed in these family biographies are those of the writer alone. Comments, corrections and additions are most welcome. The purpose of these articles is to capture a period and family in American history and to pass this legacy along to future generations who share the common bond of family.


More of a Changing World and Family in the next post....