The spread of misinformation on the internet
The Truth About Gabriel Holland of Virginia by Wiley Julian Holland
Gabriel, John and Richard Holland of Virginia
Virginia Hollands by Wiley Julian Holland
Letham trunk in Jimmie Holland's family: What is it and where did it come from?
My Holland Family Odyssey: The 'Other' Holland Family from Virginia to North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee by Wiley Julian Holland
Michael Holland of Virginia by Wiley Julian Holland
Wiley Julian Holland on Jasper Land Holland formerly known as Gabe Holland and also known as Jasper Holland
Wiley Julian Holland on Jeanette Holland Austin
Wiley Julian Holland on John Holland and the Burnt Counties of Virginia

Gabriel Holland and the spread of misinformation on the internet 

I am addressing Gabriel Holland of Virginia because some researchers of the Holland family have inserted our James (Jimmie) Holland into the Gabriel Holland family without proof.  I don't have proof, either, that he was not born into that family, but believe that he was not based on three things: 

1. handed-down family stories (see Nellie),
2. evidence submitted by Wiley Julian Holland of Alexandria, Virginia (below and also see The Truth About Gabriel Holland of Virginia), and
3. mention of an item from Scotland in a will (see Letham trunk).  

Jimmie says through his stories that he and Ruthie came to America together on a ship, first lived along the coast in North Carolina for a few months, moved to Holland Corners, Virginia, for a few months, went to Gates County, then bought land and settled in what is now Wayne County, North Carolina (then Dobbs County).  

I believe Jimmie and Ruthie did go to Virginia to work in the mid-1700's -- there is some evidence that they were there.  Perhaps Jimmie worked as an indentured surf to a cousin and, after working his indentured time, moved to Wayne County, North Carolina, to settle.  This is the scenario, in fact, that is described in Nellie Holland Russell's book Bonnie New World, a fictional account of Jimmie Holland's early life.  But because he showed up in Virginia in the 1700's is not reason enough to claim that he was born there; and it is folly to assume that no more Hollands arrived in Virginia after the first ones.  The book, The Holland Family, researched by American Genealogical Research Institute and published by Heritage Press, in fact, lists 28 Hollands that immigrated to America in the 17th and 18th centuries.⁹²  

I suspect that some Holland researchers saw Jimmie's name on some tax list or land record and, not knowing where he came from, stuck him into a Holland family that was already there.  Specifically, he has been erroneously, I believe, placed as a child into the Joseph "of Spivey" Holland II family.  This error has been published on the Internet and repeated over and over until it is no doubt taken as fact by the unknowing and unsuspecting, just on the basis of its being so widely repeated.  This is an unfortunate and regrettable circumstance. 

This very situation is described on the website America's First Families, Genealogy Frauds section, in Fraudulent Lineages Update #2:  

Several people have complained about internet posters who have changed proven lines to include theirs to create a Hoax line.  This is being done by including various parts of their line with the proven line through the use of what appears to be a source to a valid location. They know most researchers do not check an item if it carries a source.

The posted source may well be a valid one as it may contain the marriage date of two people including location, etc.  Now the person creating the Hoax will insert a child's name within the line they are changing to give the impression that the child is indeed the son or the daughter of the sourced married couple thus creating a line back to the couple and their ancestors.

There are two Holland family researcher who are very active on the internet and who do this.

Now, about the Virginia Hollands

by Wiley Julian Holland¹⁵³
July 2, 2011

This statement from Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume IV is incorrect:

Long resident in Nansemond county, Virginia, the family of Holland has in that time occupied honorable position in that locality. That the family is an old one is proven by the fact that Gabriel and Richard Holland arrived at Berkeley, Virginia, February 8, 1621, on the ship, "Supply," with fifty others, leaving England, October 5, 1620. Gabriel Holland was one of thirty-one signers to the answer of the general assembly in Virginia to the Declaration of the State of the Colony in 1624, and also was one of the signers for the incorporation of Henrico county and the incorporation of college plantations. In 1748 Henry Holland was a vestryman of Suffolk parish, Nansemond county, Virginia.

The Gabriel Holland who arrived in Virginia in 1621 on the ship Supply was not the same Gabriel Holland who signed the Declaration of the State of the Colony.  There were two Gabriel Hollands.  The one who came on the ship Supply in 1621 died of natural causes shortly after arrival. He is not the same Gabriel Holland who arrived on the ship John and Francis with his wife Rebecca and signed the Declaration of the State of the Colony in 1624. This Gabriel married Mary Pinke following the death of his first wife, Rebecca and there are no records of him after 1627/28. There is no record of either Gabriel Holland having children or residing in Nansemond County, Virginia.  Neither of the Gabriels have any relationship with the Henry Holland who was a vestryman at the UPPER Parish in Nansemond August 23, 1755 and Church Warden March, 28, 1758. This Henry Holland was the descendant of John Holland who arrived in Nansemond County directly from England before February 20, 1664.

Virginia Hollands

by Wiley Julian Holland¹⁵³
April 28, 2007

Part 1

On September 18, 1620, the ship Supply left Bristol, England and arrived in Virginia eight weeks later.  Two passengers were Gabriel and Richard Holland, probably brothers. They signed an agreement with the London Company, as other male enlistees, requiring them to work for 3 years helping to build the Berkley plantation. For the first year they would be provided “food, lodging, cattle, clothes, weapons, tools and other equipment.”  After the first year they would receive” 50% of the profits from their endeavors.”  At the end of their 3-year obligation, they would be “granted 50 acres of land.”  Seven passengers on the initial manifest stayed in England and did not make the voyage, leaving a ship’s compliment of 49 passengers including the Captain and his wife.

A later report by the London Company lists the status of the passengers aboard the Supply. It states that Gabriel and Richard Holland were among 15 of the passengers who had “died.”  It further states that the Captain, William Tracy, and his wife Mary were among 8 who had been “slayne dead’ after their arrival in Virginia. The record did not say Richard and Gabriel were killed, only that they were dead.  Many passengers never survived the trans-Atlantic  journeys at that time. The ship Jonathan, for example, arrived in Virginia May 27, 1620, and the records show 28 of the 57 passengers and crew dying on the trip. So there is a possibility Gabriel and Richard Holland never set foot on Virginia soil or if they did, died shortly thereafter.

In 1622, the ship John and Francis arrived in Jamestown and among the passengers was another Gabriel Holland and his wife, Rebecca.  On Good Friday March 22, 1622, Indians attacked Jamestown and it’s outlying settlements killing 347 men, women and children, roughly one third of the population in Virginia at that time. Following the massacre, the London Company conducted a survey to list the settlers who were killed, “so their lawful heirs may take speedy order for the inheritance of their lands here.”  A Thomas Holland at the Berkley Plantation and a Thomas Holland at the Edward Bennett plantation were listed as killed.  No other records on these two Hollands have ever been located to my knowledge.

According to John Bennett Boddie in his book, Historical Southern Families, Gabriel was living in Jamestown at the time of the massacre in 1622.  Many of the residents of Jamestown were saved because an Indian boy who had been converted to Christianity warned them. The fact that Gabriel was living in Jamestown is born out by the fact that 2 years later on 14 August 1624, Mary Pinke Holland, Gabriel’s second wife patented 12 acres of land on the island of James City which had been part of her former husband’s 100 acres.

Gabriel was a yeoman farmer and served as a sergeant in the militia. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses in the 1623/4 session. According to Boddie, “They appear in the records of the General Court up to about 1627, but disappeared after that.”  I could find no records of Gabriel having children.

Part 2

The date of the patent of land being approved is not the date the headrights (transported passengers) arrived in Virginia from England.  According to Nugent, all paperwork had to be in order showing proof of payment of passage for each person and a survey of the land had to be performed before a patent could be applied for and granted. The Holland transported in this listing was part of a larger group but I am not listing the names of all the others. I will name the Holland and the number of others with him. I, Wiley Julian Holland, have this book and will provide lookups for any other surnames.

This is a verbatim quote from Historical Southern Families, Volume 1, page 269, author John Bennett Boddie.

John Holland of Nansemond is the first ancestor of this present Holland family. He was a headright of Lt. Col. Blake and Edward Isom who patented 2500 acres in Nansemond, Feb. 20, 1664, for the transportation of 60 persons, among whom was John Holland.  On April 20, 1682, John Holland patented 760 acres in the Upper Parish of Nansemond at the miles end of Walter Bagley, and on April 16, 1683, he patented 200 acres in the same parish at a place called Kingsdale.  Another patent was granted him on April 20, 1694, for 500 acres on the east side of the cape. The date of death of John Holland is not known, but from CIRCUMSTANTIAL evidence, it appears that he had four sons, Henry, James, Joseph and John Holland.”

The following are Hollands mentioned in Nugents book but no other information was given.

This is from the Jamestown Record of the London Company:  “As early as 1621, the London Company realized the need to furnish women of marrying age to Virginia to “lifte ye morale” of the men.” In November 1621 the ship Tyger arrived in James City from England. The ship manifest stated the following: “Fifty more maids and yong woemen for marriage, with testimonies to their characters, passage to be paid after arrival at not less than 150 pounds of the best leaf tobacco, and proportionately more if any died on the way over.”  Ann Holland, age 19, arrived on a similar ship August 10, 1635, with 20 other women.  Martha Holland, age 24, arrived on the ship Paul in 1635 with 14 other women.  

Documentation?

Wiley Julian Holland on Jeanette Holland Austin

March 8, 2007
Mrs. Diana Holland Faust, Webmaster Jimmie Holland/Jerutha White Website
Re:  Origins of James ("Jimmie") Holland of North Carolina

Dear Diana,

I am not a descendant of Jimmie Holland and his wife Jerutha but I have researched my Holland family and others for many years. You have done a wonderful job on the site and I congratulate you and the others who assisted you.

I have been aware of the controversy surrounding the parents of Jimmie for some time, but because this wasn't my line, I hesitated to intervene. I now feel I should share the findings of my research on this issue with you. The information on your website shows Jimmie being born in Scotland and migrating to America with his wife, Jerutha, in the early or mid 1700s. There is an individual who has stated categorically that your Jimmie was actually James, the son of Joseph Holland Jr. and Esther Edmonds, having been born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

I am only addressing the one issue. Was Jimmie Holland, or was he not, the son of Joseph Holland Jr. and Esther Edmonds? On July 15, 2002, Randy Peacock posted the following message on the Holland family genealogy forum in response to a post by Christina Walter. "What documentation do you have that Jimmie's father was Joseph Holland? Would like to know your sources as I am related to this line."

On July 20, 2002, John Gabriel Holland [a.k.a. Gabe Holland and Jasper Holland] posted the following message on the Holland family genealogy forum responding to Christina Walter. "Suggest you go to Ancestry.com. Look for "Jimmie Holland" Someone has done a good job but placing James/John Holland who married Jerutha as an "original" immigrant from England which is absolutely INCORRECT."

Five minutes later on July 20, 2002 John Gabriel Holland posted the following message on the Holland family genealogy forum in response to the inquiry by Randy Peacock. "Randy, you ask for documented proof. Lets start with Kirk Davis Holland's book 'To Those Who Care', Chapman's Wills and Administration, Isle of Wight Co. ,Va. Boddie, etc, etc,etc. In addition to which Joseph'of Spivey'was my 1st cousin, six times removed. My Holland line remained in Nansemond, Isle of Wight ( many still remain there.)"

Let's examine Mr. John Gabriel Holland's citation, Kirk Davis Holland's book, To Those Who Care. The following quote is the only reference in that book concerning Joseph Holland Jr. and his son, James. "Joseph Holland Jr., son of Joseph Holland Sr. was born in 1715. He died in 1799 he had sons, Captain Joseph Holland, Job, James, Jacob, Solomon and John D., Holland. He signed as a witness, a deed to his father, Joseph Holland Sr. in 1744 He signed this as Joseph Jr.".

He was also one of the signers of a petition in 1784 about the division of the County. He signed the petition as Joseph Sr. because he was the oldest Joseph living at that time. When he was a boy, he was known as Joseph Jr. and at the time he signed the petition, he had a son Joseph who was later called Captain Joseph Holland." What does the above tell us. The only reference to James was that he was a son of Joseph Holland Jr. Nothing more.

Let's now examine his citation, Chapman's Wills and Administration, Isle of Wight Co., Va. Page. 258. This is the only reference to Joseph. "Henry Johnson Sr., son Aaron, son William, son Henry, land adjoining Mason Johnson and Joseph Holland, granddaughter, Mary Johnson, grandson Britain Johnson. Executors, William Duck and sons, Aaron and Henry. Died February 26, 1782, Registered January 1, 1784. Witness John Darden, Barnaby Holland and Benjamin Holland." What does this citation tell us? It proves that Joseph Holland Jr. was alive in 1784 and owned property adjoining Henry Johnson's land. There is no reference to Joseph's son James.

Let's now examine his citation on Boddie. John Bennett Boddie wrote the series , Southern Historical Families. Volume 10 has 14 pages, titled Holland of Nansemond. The above section dealing with Joseph Jr. having property adjoining Henry Johnson' land was included in this section. The other reference to Joseph, husband of Esther was, "This Joseph Holland is said to have been known as Joseph "of Spivey" or Joseph Spivey Holland. He is said to have died without a will in 1799. His known sons were Lewis Conner Holland and Lawson S. Holland, who moved to Georgia. Captain Joseph Holland 'of Kingsdale' in Nansemond seems to have been his son."  What does this citation tell us? There was a Joseph Holland who probably died 1799 in Isle of Wight intestate. There is no mention of a James Holland in this citation. I have the wills and inventories of Isle Of Wight County and no will of Joseph is on file.

Mr. John Gabriel Holland's citations of etc, etc, etc and his statement of being a distant cousin of Joseph has no bearing on whether James Holland of Isle of Wight was Jimmie Holland of Wayne County, North Carolina, so I will not comment further on those cites.

Binns Genealogy CD series reconstructed the 1790 and 1800 Virginia tax lists. The 1790 Isle of Wight tax lists show the following Hollands: Aaron, Benjamin, Everitt, James, Job, Mary, Robert, Titus, and William. The 1799/1800 tax lists show the following Hollands: Alice, Aaron, Benjamin Jr., Benjamin Sr., Everitt, Hardy, James, Job, John, John of Joseph, Miles, Mills, Patience and William.

James (Jimmie) Holland who married Jerutha White was living in Dobbs County, North Carolina in 1769 and was shown on the County poll tax list. He was also listed on the 1790 Wayne County, North Carolina census.
Based on all the plethora of information, I can only assume that James, the son of Joseph Holland and Esther Edmonds could not be the same person as your Jimmie Holland.

Sincerely,
Wiley Julian Holland
Alexandria, Virginia

Additionally, in reference to Jeanette Holland Austin:

On page 176 you state that Boddie said Joseph Spivey had Jacob and James. I have the entire series written by John Bennett Boddie and the only reference he gives on the children of Joseph Spivey is page 4 chapter, Hollands of Nansemond, Historical Southern Families,

Wiley Julian Holland on Jasper Land Holland
formerly known as Gabe Holland and also known as Jasper Holland

From: wholland15@verizon.net
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 4:05 PM
To: thefolks@betterthanmost.com
Subject: Fwd: Re: JL Holland/The Holland Family


> Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:36:13 -0500
> From: <wholland15@verizon.net>
> To: JC JC <carolinagirl1978@live.com>
> Subject: Re: JL Holland/The Holland Family
>
> Thank you for your e-mail concerning Jasper. I have a two inch thick file on him. I began investigating him in 2003 after I saw some outrageous claims he made about being a retired Army Colonel, a Reverend, a Doctor with a degree from VMI and an Attorney with a law degree from the Antioch school of law here in DC.
>
> I could look over those wild claims about himself but when he started forging Civil War letters, creating false genealogical lines, making up sources, forging wills while trying to peddle his CD to unsuspecting Holland researchers, primarily elderly women etc etc, I had enough.
>
> I had hoped he would stop trying to run his genealogical scams when he was released from prison in August of 2006, but like a bad penny, he keeps popping up. I can assure you he never had ANY published works just like he never HAD a son who was beheaded in Bosnia in 1994. I appreciate the heads up on "Gabe" as he likes to be called but I am totally familiar with that poor excuse for a human being.---- JC JC <carolinagirl1978@live.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hello. I saw your posting on rootsweb.com to Jasper Land Holland about his lying and fraud in telling the real story of the Holland family. I am related to this individual and unfortunately know him personally. From one decent Holland to another, please do not believe a single word this man has to say. Of all the years I've known him, everything that flows from his lips and in this case fingertips, is a full blown lie. He has stolen from our family, lied, threatened his ex wife and that's just to name a few things. He does have a book that he claims was a published product. However, I have a copy of this book and in it is even more crazy outrageous lies. There are many misspelled words and such which leads me to believe that he "published" this book on his own from a computer. Just wanted to give you the heads up. None of the members of our part of the Holland family will have anything to do with him. JC

 

Letham trunk in Jimmie Holland's family: what is it and where did it come from?

The item in a will that I mentioned above as further evidence that Jimmie Holland came to North Carolina from Scotland and not from a family in Virginia is found in Woodard Holland's will of 1853.  The will is that of Elisha and Patience Holland's 3rd child, grandson of Jimmie Holland.  He writes, "I give to my son Woodard Holland one Negro Girl called Violet, one silver watch, letham trunk, and short rifle called his for Ever."   

So, what is a Letham trunk and how does it connect Jimmie Holland to Scotland?  Darren Niven of Garden City, Georgia, who supplied Woodard's will, wrote this about the Letham trunk in 1998:

This is a large piece of furniture that looks like a book shelf.  It is about seven feet tall with a part in the bottom half that looks like a safe.  It has a lock on the bottom and was used to store money.  I tell you this since I have this same Letham trunk in my living room now.  My mother got it from her father when he died, and from older family members I know it sat in James Frances Holland's house when he was alive and had come from Woodard Holland Jr. when he came to Georgia from North Carolina.  For many years it was called a safe but when I started my research I found out from a family member that many years ago it was called a Letham trunk.

Darren had no idea why it was called the Letham trunk  He had a locksmith look at the lock on the safe (trunk) who told Darren that in his opinion, the lock was several hundred years old.  Curious about the Letham trunk myself, I did some searching on the Internet and what I found was that Letham is a small town in Scotland.  When Woodard Holland referred to his Letham trunk, he was surely referring to it as his father Elisha and his grandfather Jimmie had referred to it.  I believe it was Jimmie Holland's trunk that be brought his things over in from Scotland. The Letham trunk is the trunk that came from Letham.  I believe this is the key to the origin of Jimmie Holland. 

Conclusion:

Okay, so Gabriel and Richard Holland arrived at Berkeley, Virginia, February 8, 1621.  They died, according to the London Company.  Whether en route or soon after arriving in Virginia, we don't know for certain, but they died, and this was about a hundred years or more before Jimmie and Jerutha arrived.  We also know that many other Hollands arrived in Virginia between 1621 and 1745, mostly as transport indentured servants. Some offspring were named James; in fact, many were named James, it seems.  James was a very prevalent name, to wit, Jamestown, James River, James City County, and so on.  However, there is nothing that I have ever been able to find that indicates that Jimmie Holland was born in Virginia or that shows who his parents were.  If anybody can produce any documentation of any kind that substantiates the claim that Jimmie was born in Virginia, I would be eager to see it. 

On the other hand, we have stories that West Holland told to his grandchild Nellie Russell about his grandfather Jimmie Holland leaving Scotland and coming to North Carolina. She wrote those stories down -- she was a lawyer and a historian -- and she published them in a book at her own expense; she did not make them up.  I have a copy of her book, I have correspondence from her, and I met her in New York City. 

"Having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects which I once thought right but found otherwise...." Benjamin Franklin

To Holland names beginning with

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

To Surnames beginning with 

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

607

Holland site Published 10 July 1996 - This page added 8 October 1999  Last updated 10 March 2014

Contact Diana Holland Faust    Corrections and additions not only welcome but encouraged.  

This web site published 10 July 1996.  All contents copyrighted © worldwide 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Diana Holland Faust. US Copyright registration no. TX 5-037-197.  All rights reserved.  Commercial use or any other use of this information is strictly prohibited without prior permission.  If used with permission, this copyright notice must appear with the information.  Publication to any medium, electronic or non-electronic, without consent and without this notice is in violation of the law.