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

Of the four sons of Ulyss and Pearl, all left Irondale, Alabama for career reasons, although Euhal moved back to Birmingham from near by Gadsden, Alabama in 1955.  In that generation, we see the diaspora of the Holliman sons.  In the generation of their children and their sisters's children, of the 18 cousins living, only five remain in the Birmingham area at this writing (Charles Ferrell, Mary Herrin, Patti Holliman Hairston, Jean Holliman and Tommie Holliman Allen). 

 Granted, earlier generations of Holliman children had moved across the country from Virginia to North Carolina to Alabama (by 1836), and others then on to Texas, Arkansas and Missouri, but the 18th and 19th Century Hollimans had been looking for land to farm - new fresh, unworked soil lying fallow waiting for the plow.  There were no new farmers of the children and grand children of Ulyss and Pearl Holliman. Beginning with Ulyss's generation and his brothers, one observes the increasing diversity of American occupations as society and industry grew more complex.

The below photograph of Bishop and Gerry Stansbery Holliman was taken in 1958 in W. Columbia, South Carolina, one of the many homes of the family as Bishop climbed a career ladder.  The three children are left to right: Becky Holliman Payne, Alice Holliman Murphy and Glenn Holliman.  When this picture was taken all commercial air travel in America was by propeller and there were no Interstate Highways.  With the exception of small Volkswagens and Fiats, almost all automobiles sold in America were made in Detroit, Michigan.  The rent on the three bedroom house behind us was $80 a month, heated with oil, and cooled with one small window air conditioner.

Bishop left school teaching in January 1952 to take a position with the Social Security Administration, a government retirement and disability program born in the New Deal year of 1935.  So in the summer of 1952 Bishop moved his family from the Irondale area (where he thought he would spend his life) to East Tennessee and later to other southern towns as he climbed the managerial ladder.  By 1964, he alighted in Cookeville, Tennessee as manager of the office there.  It was a good fit.  There was a university (Tennessee Tech) where his three children went to college and met their spouses.  Gerry and Bishop became the mainstay of the local Methodist Church, and both were active in community organizations.  Bishop served as head of the United Way, Rotary Club and Red Cross during the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1990, Bishop married Anne McGauphlin of Hartsville, South Carolina, whom he had first met in 1940 when both attended Methodist youth fellowships in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina.  Unfortunately, Anne died of cancer in 1999.  Left to right are Glenn, Bishop, Anne, Alice and Becky.  Click on photos to enlarge.

In January 1983, he retired from his federal work.  The year 1988 saw the dissolving of his war time marriage (not the first or last marriage to do so).  His former Methodist youth friend, Anne McGaughlin of Hartsville, South Carolina became his new bride in 1990.  Their marriage was happy until her death due to cancer in 1998.  In 2000, he looked up a widow he had known in earlier decades in Gadsden, Alabama.  Before the year was out, Ellen Cox became the new Mrs. Holliman.  They live today near her family in Avila, Indiana.  My father continues to astound us!

In 2002, Virginia Holliman Cornelius, Bishop's only surviving sister, celebrated her 80th birthday.  Left to right are Virginia, her daughter, Carol Cornelius Morton, Bishop and wife, Ellen Cox Holliman.

Next post, we will celebrate the life of Virginia Holliman Cornelius, a pioneer in Alabama banking....

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.

Plan now to attend the Holliman and Associated Families Genealogical Round Table at the Fayette County, Alabama Civic Center, 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday, October 15, 2011. For information and reservations for lunch, contact Glenda Norris at gnorris@bcbsal.org or Glenn Holliman at Glennhistory@gmail.com.  Sessions to include Tracing the Holymans from England to Alabama, Holliman Farm Sites in Fayette County and sharing of information on Associated Families.  All invited  All invited, including the Holliman social at the Rose House Inn, Fayette, 5:30 pm to 9 pm, Friday, October 14th.