James Holman (Holdman, Holeman)
Born: about 1814 in Virginia or Kentucky
Died: after 1880

Possible Ancestors of James Holman:

Great Grand Parents: Thomas Holman, who died about 1798 in Wilkes County, North Carolina and his wife Mary.

Grand Parents: Joseph Holman, born about 1746 in Maryland and his first wife, Elizabeth Wilson, born about 1750 in Rowan Co, North Carolina, the daughter of James Wilson and Mary Jones. (Joseph’s second wife was Catherine Livingston, the widow of a Mr. Wilson.)

Parents: James Marion Holman, born about 1770 in Rowan Co, North Carolina and Sarah Wilson, born about 1774 in Madison Co., Kentucky. (Sarah Wilson’s mother, Catherine Livingston Wilson, after her first husband died, married Joseph Holman, the father of James Marion Holman.)

Reasons supporting the idea that this is the family of the James Holman, born 1814, are:

· Four of the five sons of Joseph Holman and Elizabeth Wilson (Joseph Holman,
William C. Holman, John Holman, and Daniel Holman) each named one of their sons "James". I believe that James Marion Holman also named one of his sons "James".
· James Holman, born 1814, is the right age and was in the right location to be a son of James Marion Holman and Sarah Wilson. Other families suspected of being the parents of James Holman, born 1814, have been ruled out: 1) The DAR mistakenly approved an application based on the assumption that the parents of James, born 1814, were Edward Holman (born December 1760 in Kent County, Maryland and died April 6, 1842 in Callaway County, Missouri) and Abigail Williams. However, the documentation was limited to the fact that the will of Edward Holman mentions a son named James. The son mentioned in Edward’s will is the James Holman, born January 26, 1799, who married Mary E. Martin. 2) Some researchers believe that the James Holman, born 1814, is the son of Daniel Holman and Rebecca Johnson. However, this was James J. Holman, born about 1809, who married Mary A. Young.
· Daniel Holman, son of Joseph Holman and Elizabeth Wilson, and the James Holman, born 1814, used the same names for some of their children: James, Madison, Amanda, and Sarah.

James Holman (Holdman, Holeman), born about 1814 in Virginia or Kentucky, is the earliest documented ancestor in our Holman family tree. He lived in the area of Brodhead (Stigall's Stand), Kentucky, which is on the border of three Kentucky counties: Lincoln, Garrard, and Rockcastle.

On June 4, 1835 in Garrard County, Kentucky, he was married to Martha Ramsey, the daughter of Alexander A. Ramsey and Nancy (Polly) Nelson, by Baptist minister Benjamin Polston. James Holman and Martha Ramsey had eleven children:

1. Mary Holman was born about 1836 in Kentucky, never married, and died of consumption in 1851 in Garrard County, Kentucky.

2. James Alexander Holman was born about 1837 in Kentucky.

3. Amanda (Mandy) M. Holman was born in February 1839 in Kentucky. On June 23, 1862 in Garrard County, Kentucky, she married William P. Tatum, a wagon maker and a blacksmith. William and Amanda’s daughter, Mary F. Tatum, married Robert L. Collier. William and Amanda’s son, Samuel J. Tatum, owned a department store (and may have been a bootlegger). Samuel J. Tatum died November 29, 1944 in Lincoln Co, Kentucky and left a sum of money. Claudia Lung Carson, the widow of Samuel David Holman, received part of the inheritance.

4. Sarah (Sally) Holman was born May 1839 in Kentucky. She married John McGill, a carpenter.

5. Daniel Holman was born June 27, 1842 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. On January 8, 1868 in Rockcastle Co., Kentucky, he married Elizabeth Margaret Carson, the daughter of (Preacher) David Carson and Catherine Lawrence. Daniel Holman and Elizabeth Margaret Carson had ten children, including:

· Their son Thomas Jefferson Holman first married Mayme S. McClure and after she died, he married his first cousin, Perlina Coffey. Perlina Coffey was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Coffey and Ruth L. Carson, the daughter of (Preacher) David Carson and Catherine Lawrence.
· Their son David Carson Holman first married Capitola Slaughter, the sister of Katy Slaughter, and after she died, he married Mary Ellen Cowan.

6. Thomas Holman was born about 1844 in Kentucky. On December 9, 1873 in Lincoln County, Kentucky he married Elizabeth Melvin.

7. Mildred E. Holman was born in October 1847 in Kentucky.

8. William (Will) H. Holman was born in June 1848 in Kentucky. According to his sister-in-law, Claudia Lung Carson, Will never married.

9. Francis (Fanny) Holman was born about 1849 in Kentucky and died between 1870 and 1880. According to her sister-in-law, Claudia Lung Carson, Fanny never married.

10. Madison (Matt) Holman was born on September 3, 1856 in Garrard County Kentucky. (The midwife was Polly Doolin. In the 1850 census Jonson and Mary Doolin were neighbors of the parents of Martha Ramsey Holman.) On December 12, 1883 in Lincoln County, Kentucky, Matt married Julia Ann Lindsay.

11. Samuel David Holman was born on June 7, 1859 in Brodhead, Kentucky. On December 23, 1884 in Lincoln Co., Kentucky, he married Claudia Lung Carson, the daughter of James Fish Carson and Eliza Ann Myers and the granddaughter of (Judge) John Evans Carson and Marcinda W. Fish.

Samuel David Holman

James Holman and Martha Ramsey were in the 1850 census in Lincoln Co., Kentucky with their children: Mary, James, Amanda, Sally, Daniel, Thom, Mildred, and W. H.

James (listed as a farmer) and Martha were in the 1860 census in Garrard Co., Kentucky with their children: Amanda, James, Sarah, Daniel, Thomas, M.E., William, Francis, Madison, and Samuel. A nearby neighbor was Ancel George and his wife Mary, the sister of Martha Ramsey.

James (listed as a wagon maker and smith) and Martha were in the 1870 census in Crab Orchard, Lincoln Co., Kentucky with their children: Thom (listed as a hack driver), Mildred E., William (listed as a farm laborer), Francis, Madison (listed as a farm laborer and in school) and Samuel D. (listed as in school). Nearby neighbors were their daughter, Amanda and her family; Julia Lindsey, the future wife of Madison; and Elizabeth Melvin, future wife of Thomas.

James (listed as a retired blacksmith) and Martha were in the 1880 census in Crab Orchard, Lincoln Co., Kentucky with their children: Madison (listed as works on farm) and Samuel (listed as teamster). Nearby neighbors were their daughter, Amanda and her family and Archibald Carson, first cousin of (Judge) John Evans Carson.

The 1890 census is not available. James and Martha have not been located in the 1900 census.

Contributed by Gerald (Jerry) F. Radke.