Hollyer/Holyer Family Tree

The information on this page has been researched and collected by Peter Walker.
The Hollyer Portal

The family tree through the Hollyer line:

1. John Holyer

1714-1772

2. William Holyer

1741-1810

3. John Hollyer

1766-1824

4. Josiah Hollyer

1799-1864

5. William Josiah Hollyer

1821-1857

6. Captain Walter Hollyer

1857-1925

7. Elizabeth Jane Hollyer

1874-1961

8. Charles Ernest Hartley Hollyer Hill

1904-1996

9. Alberta Irene Hill married William C. Sparrow
10. Holly Jean Sparrow married Norman Charles Cawfield
11. Kathryn Alberta Cawfield married Pierre Arthur Boivin
12. Adora and Shiloh Boivin

 

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Generation 1


John Holyer

1714-1772

Occupation:  Butcher

Buried in Woodchurch, Kent

Married to 

Elizabeth Gregory 

in 1737 in Canterbury Cathedral

Children:

Susannah Holyer 1738-1740

John Holyer 1739-

William Gregory Holyer 1741-1810

Thomas Holyer 1743-1744

Abraham Holyer 1745-1815

George Holyer 1746-1748

Elizabeth Holyer 1748-1782

(9 x Great Grandparents of Adora and Shiloh Boivin)

Marriage Allegation of John Holyer and Elizabeth Gregory

From Peter Walker's research 

The Holyer, Hollyer, Hollier One-Name Study

The first hard fact we know about John Holyer is that in 1737 he married Elizabeth Gregory in Canterbury Cathedral by Licence. How he came to marry in such an illustrious place we don’t know, but we might assume that Elizabeth’s father had the right contacts. At the time, both John and Elizabeth were shown as being of Faversham. We can speculate however, that John might be the John Hollier shown as being baptised at about 8 years old in Egerton, Kent in 1722/3. Since no parents were mentioned and given the age at which he was baptised, it could be he was an orphan under the control of the parish. It is likely that he was descended in some way from earlier Holyers in Kent. 

In this allegation, he states his age as 23, which points to a birth date of 1714. Once married, John and Elizabeth seem to have initially settled in Frittenden but by 1739 he became a butcher at Woodchurch, establishing a link with the village that went on for many generations. He had his own land, suggesting that the Gregory family may have ‘set him up’. It seems that John’s land lay to the east of the village close to where Highlands Farm is today. John and Elizabeth had 7 children. Interestingly, the Woodchurch baptism registers describe John and Elizabeth as being 'of Faversham' on Susannah's baptism of 1738 and 'of Frittenden' on John's baptism of 11th December 1739. However, on 1st June 1739 John obtained a Settlement Certificate from Frittenden Parish to enable him to settle in Woodchurch. ("To Woodchurch ... We the churchwardens and Overseers of Frittenden do hereby certify, own and acknowledge John Hollier Butcher, Elizabeth his wife and Susan their daughter to be inhabitants legally settled in Frittenden"). By 1741 and the baptism of their 3rd child William, it appears they were living in the parish. They had another four children: Thomas (1742-1744), Abraham (1745-1815), George (1746-1748) and Elizabeth (1748).

In 1755, John is shown as paying Poor Relief tax of 3 shillings on his land and property assessed as worth £4 rent, but in 1758 he paid 4s and 2s each for his tenants Peter Illenden, Stephen Jewhurst and James Venner.

In 1772, just a few days before he died, John made his will. He asks his Executors to sell off the majority of his land of 41 acres, comprising Highlands and a wood adjacent to Wightwick Wood, to repay the mortgage on these lands and distribute the money remaining to is children John (of Egerton), William and Elizabeth. His remaining land of around 8 acres passed to his son Abraham. His house was divided between Abraham and Elizabeth, the former part being that rented by Peter Illenden and his mother. Elizabeth also got 2 acres of woodland adjacent to Highlands.

All Saints Church

Woodchurch, Kent

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Generation 2

William  Holyer

1741-1810

Occupation:  Butcher

Buried:  Woodchurch, Kent

Married to:

Sarah Batchelor 

1742-1808

Date of Marriage:

April 5, 1763

Children of William Holyer and Sarah Batchelor:

William Holyer 1764-1764

Sarah Holyer 1765

John Holyer 1766-1824

Elizabeth Holyer 1770

William Gregory Holyer 1773-1845

Ann Holyer 1776-1780

James Holyer 1778-1780

Mary Holyer 1780-1780

Kitty Holyer 1782-1801

(8x Great Grandparents of Adora and Shiloh Boivin)

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Generation 3

John Holyer
1766-1824
Occupation:  Butcher

Married to:
Sarah Pearce
1769-1841

Date of Marriage:
September 30, 1792

Children of John Holyer and Sarah Pearce:

Sarah Hollyer 1794
John Hollyer 1795-1800
Elizabeth Hollyer 1797
Josiah Hollyer 1799-1864
John Hollyer 1801-1867
William Hollyer 1803-1804
Mary Hollyer 1805
Edward Hollyer 1808
Joseph Hollyer 1809-1887
Richard Roberts Hollyer 1814-1876

John's baptism at Woodchurch is missing from the parish registers at Woodchurch and from the Bishop's Transcripts, but everything points to his having been born around 1766. He married Sarah Pearce in 1792 and moved to be the butcher at High Halden, where the first 8 or their 9 children were born. Around 1810, the family seems to have moved to Dover, where their last son Robert was born. John is the first Holyer in my line that starts to use the double L Hollyer spelling. That is certainly the spelling adopted when he arranged an apprenticeship for his son Joseph just before he died. John died in Buckland by Dover in 1823, after which Sarah stayed with her son in law John Down at Canterbury, where she died in 1841. Notable amongst John's family was Josiah, who became a Hotel Keeper at Rye (George Inn), Dover (Shakespeare Hotel) and Cliffe, Lewes (Bear Inn). Their last son, Richard Roberts, was governor (with his wife as Matron) of the Workhouses at Battle, Sussex; Bletchingley, Surrey and Aylesbury, Bucks.

John Holyer signature on land indenture 1806

High Halden
A village and civil parish in the Ashford District
of Kent, England.

Dover, Kent about 1810

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Generation 4

Josiah Hollyer
1799-1864
Occupation:  Inn Keeper

Married to:
Martha Wood
1799-1864

Date of Marriage:
October 29, 1820
at St. Mary the Virgin Church, Dover

Children of Josiah Hollyer and Martha Wood:

William Josiah Hollyer 1821-1857
John Hollyer 1823-1824

Josiah Hollyer was a bookkeeper at the Ship Inn, Dover in 1821,
clerk at the Ship Canal Office in 1823,
Innkeeper of the Shakespeare Hotel in 1836 and
the Bear Hotel, Lewes in 1861.
In 1846 he was a Director of the Dover and East Kent
Building and Investment Society.

The Shakespeare Hotel, Dover

The Bear Hotel

From a listing in The Fashionable Directory

(businesses in the Dover area)

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Generation 5

William Josiah Hollyer
1821-1857

Occupation:  Innkeeper


Married to:
Clara Margaret Divers
1823-1845
Marriage Date:
March 14, 1842

Married to:
Louisa Mary Wood
1819-1860
Marriage Date:
February 1, 1848

Relationship with:
Sophia Taylor
Child with Sophia:
Walter Hollyer
1853-1924
See Walter Hollyer's page here

From the Hollyer One Name Study Blog
Peter Walker's research

William Josiah Hollyer - Freemason

A couple of years ago, I came across this extract:-

Freemasons Quarterly Review 1844

DOVER.—The Festival of St. John was celebrated by the Brethren of the Lodges 235 and 700, who met together on Thursday, at the London Hotel; the Worshipful Master of Lodge 235 being in the chair. About thirty of the Brethren sat down to an excellent dinner, which reflected great credit upon the new host of the above hotel, Brother Hollyer. After the cloth was removed, the usual Masonic and loyal toasts were proposed and drank with due honours. The conviviality of the evening was much enhanced by the vocal powers of Brothers Doorne, Hollis,Reuben, Johnson, and others.

I assumed that this extract related to Josiah Hollyer (1799-1864) who was a Hotel proprietor at various times in Rye, Dover and Cliffe. Knowing that the United Grand Lodge of England hold very good historical records of Freemasons, I was able to get this infomation but it's clear that it relates not to Josiah but to his son William Josiah Hollyer (1821-1857) :-

William J Hollyer
Lodge of Faith, Hope and Charity No 700, Dover
Initiated: 2nd August 1843
Passed: 23rd October 1843
Raised: 22nd November 1843
Age: not stated
Address: Dover
Occupation: Hotel keeper
Remained a member until the lodge closed in 1850

Lodge of Peace and Harmony No 235, Dover
Joined on 12th June 1844
Membership ceased 1849

The Kent Hollyers are all connected with
the Holyers originally from Woodchurch in Kent.  I
shall address here the descendants of John
Hollyer (1771-1824) who, in my line, appears to be
the first to have adopted the double L spelling.
The other Kent Holyers are described in the next
section. John had two main lines of decent that
were still active in 1881, via his sons Josiah and
Joseph.  Both these sons were described in the
Review.  Josiah himself died in 1864 and his son
William Josiah pre-deceased him in 1857.
William’s son George Thomas  died in 1863 at the
Bear Hotel, Cliffe where he was living with his
grandfather Josiah.  So, by 1881, the only
descendants of Josiah were the family of Walter
Hollyer, the army quartermaster, the illegitimate
son that William Josiah had by Sophia Taylor in
1853.
Peter Walker's research here