by Glenn N. Holliman
From the Files of Rhodes Burns Holliman, 1928-2014....
This past April 29, my second cousin, Dr. Rhodes Burns Holliman died in Dublin, Virginia. To the left is a recent picture of Rhodes and his surviving wife, Phyllis Anne.
Rhodes was an avid collector of family materials, building on the pioneering work of his father, Cecil Rhodes Holliman (1901-1986) of Birmingham, Alabama. Cecil was a first cousin to my father, H. Bishop Holliman, b. 1919.
At Rhodes passing, his family graciously has entrusted me with the pleasant task of reviewing and scanning the genealogy and pictures that date from the 1910s to the present.
While examining materials today, I came upon a lovely photograph of my Aunt Vena Holliman Daly (1909-1990), mother of my first cousins, Mary Daly Herrin and Dr. Robert W. Daly, Jr.
This photograph is not in the files of family pictures I have been collecting from my many cousins. I am wondering if this is an heretofore undiscovered photograph of Vena, taken perhaps near the date of her marriage to Robert W. Daly, Sr. in 1928? Her name is recorded on the photograph.
As other pertinent materials emerge from the boxes of materials saved by Rhodes, I shall be posting them at this site as well as at http://hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ .
Some of you have been following a central archives that several distant cousins and I established a year or so ago at MyFamily.com. Unfortunately, Ancestry.com, the parent company, is retiring that site. Below is an announcement, I posted on the site which I reproduce below. Many of the files I have collected deal with the Holliman, Blakeney, Baker and other associated families that made Fayette County, Alabama their homes in the 1830s.
"All, as this MyFamily site disappears on Sept. 30th, I have copied all FILES to my computer. A list of these files, about 200, can be found at the PAGES section of http:hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com /. These represent thousands of pages of genealogical materials and manuscripts.
For the time being this is the best I can do until an appropriate archive site comes along. I am happy to email by Zip file these records, and encourage you and others to have a look at the catalogue (alphabetical order by families and records) from time to time. There are many records of Holliman and associated families.
My thanks to the families of the late Cecil R. Holliman, his son, Rhodes B. Holliman and Walt O. Holliman for the use of their files to scan, save and share via the Internet, systems not available to their generations. Also others such as Maxine Wright and Joe Parker have shared with me.
As time goes on, I shall be Zipping all my records to the core group that is also archiving them, and I especially welcome younger genealogists to copy, save and distribute these files. My estate has the password(s) to my computer files, and they will be available when I am no longer in this DNA format!
I think we all have a responsibility to save and share, especially with the age of personal computers and the Internet. If you have something stored in your attic, for family's sake, scan and share. I am happy to help if you need assistance.
How fortunate we are to have Jeanette Holiman Stewart continuing to create and add to an 18,000 name family tree file. Make sure you stay connected to this massive tree after MyFamily closes. The tree lives on at Ancestry.com.
And Tina Peddie continues to maintain communications through her Facebook and designated email site. We are a fortunate as an extended family to live in these times and to have access to a growing body of genealogical information!
Now back to scanning! Glenn N. Holliman, 7th great grandson of Christopher Holyman (1618-1691)"
Next week, Back to World War II....
by Glenn N. Holliman
Home on Leave, a Look at the Home Front....
Above, Birmingham, Alabama's L & N (Union Station) as it neared destruction in the late 1960s. A generation after World War II this massive structure was torn down as passenger traffic declined from a high of 42 trains a day to a very few. Below, Bishop and his father, Ulyss Holliman of Irondale, Alabama.
"Arrived at L & N station (Birmingham, Alabama) at 8:15 a.m., March 1, 1942. Words will not describe my feelings." - Diary of Bishop Holliman 1942 writing of his first leave from the U.S. home to Irondale, Alabama from his duty station in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Waiting at home for the young sailor, the first of the family to serve in World War II were, among others, below Vena Holliman Daly, Ulyss and Pearl Holliman, his parents and the first grandchild in the family, Mary Daly (Herrin).
The experiences of millions of service men and women in World War II can be captured in my father's words below. He had been gone for 3 1/2 months, and like all others in uniform in those dark days, faced an uncertain future. I reproduce his words verbatim and the names of Irondale friends and families which add to our understanding of that community's history.
"Robert (Daly), Vena and Mary (Vena and Mary Daly pictured above with Ulyss and Pearl Holliman) met me at 1st and 20th (in Birmingham). Boy, was I glad to see them. Also called Paul Propst (a Methodist minister friend) while I was waiting on them. Arrived at home - really a happy occasion to see Irondale, the folks again. Grandma (Lula Hocutt Caine 1861-1957) was at the house. At 11 a.m. went to church (the Irondale Methodist Church), a great occasion and surprise. All of us had lunch at the house (the Holliman house at 2300 3rd Avenue N).
Virginia and Walter (the newly wed sister and new brother-in-law, the Cornelius's) came out. Mr, and Mrs. Runyan (Renfro Runyan ran the Irondale water department), Cecil Rhodes Holliman (a first cousin, Birmingham attorney and son of Jim Monroe Holliman, photograph below), Ralph (his younger brother, photograph below) and Vista (his mother's younger sister - Vista Caine Robbins), Paul Propst, Charles and Mrs. Pugh (neighbors, Charles a good friend), Joe and Lena Daly Minyard (Lena was the sister of Robert W. Daly, Sr.; Joe worked at the Birmingham Electric Company) and Karl Daly (father of Robert W. Daly, Sr., a farmer and native of Ireland (1875-1950). I went up to see Mr. and Mrs. Count (Irondale neighbors). I ate supper with the L.L. Jones (the Methodist minister in Irondale) and Charles Pugh. Saw Archie (the 22 year old son of the Jones). Enjoyable occasion. Went to Young People's meeting at church. Made a few remarks. Very, very nice to be back."
A few of the relatives seen on this first leave were left, Ralph Holliman, in a school photograph (b 1924) and the family of Cecil Rhodes Holliman (1902-1986), Cecil, his son Rhodes Burns Holliman (b 1927), his daughter Cecile (Youngblood) (1938 - 2012), and wife Ruby Burns Holliman (1903-1980). Cecile Holliman Youngblood is the mother of Glenda Norris, an active Holliman and Blakeney family historian.
Other friends and relatives seen on this short leave home were his brother-in-law Charles Ferrell and friends Earl McBee and the lovely Marsh sisters (Lois especially) of Woodlawn, Alabama.
As with millions of GIs during World War II, the time away from the military passed all too quickly. Within a week Bishop was back in the Navy at the New Orleans base, learning to be a Navy aviator. Would this new training and duty work out for him?
In the Pacific the Japanese fleet still was running amuck, and Hitler prepared to launch a second spring offensive against the Russians. Rommel still controlled central North Africa....the world was a dangerous place.
Next posting, a continued Look at Irondale, Alabama and military lives during the War....
Have questions about Holliman family history? You are invited to join the Hollyman Email List at Hollyman-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com and the Hollyman Family Facebook Page located on Facebook at "Hollyman Family". Post your questions and perhaps one of the dozens Holyman cousins on the list will have an answer. For more information contact Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com, the list and Facebook manager for Hollyman (and all our various spellings!).
Or join your many cousins at MyFamily.com and view an expanded Holliman family tree and many files on the history of the family. Just write to glennhistory@gmail.com for an invitation.
