John Holland (bef. 1644 - abt. 1707)

Born before 1644 in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died about 1707 after about age 63 in Nansemond County, Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

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Biography

Birth

Assuming that he was about 20 years old when he was transported to Virginia, John Holland was probably born before 1644 in England. The first known record referring to him is the record of the headright granted on 20 February 1664 to Lt. Col. John Blake and Mr. Edward Ison for his transportation to Virginia. John was one of 50 persons transported by Blake and Ison, and was most likely transported as an indentured servant. ^[1] The details of his early life are unknown. The frequently repeated claims that he was born in 1628 in Jamestown and was the son of Gabriel Holland are disputed and almost certainly incorrect, as discussed in the Research Notes below.

Later Life

Likely after completing a period of 4-7 years indentured servitude, John Holland acquired land and appears to have prospered in Nansemond County, Colony of Virginia. On April 20, 1682, John Holland patented 760 acres in the Upper Parish of Nansemond at the miles end of Walter Bagley^[2], and on April 16, 1683, he patented 200 acres in the same parish at a place called Kingsdale.^[3] Another patent was granted him on April 20, 1694, for 500 acres on the east side of Capt. Johns Swamp. ^[4][5]

In 1704, John Holland appears on the Quit Rents of Virginia as the owner of 700 acres in Nansemond County. Also appearing on those lists in Nansemond County are Henry Holland (400 acres) and Joseph Holland (100 acres).^[6] (Contrary to the false claims repeated in many accounts, these 1704 Quit Rents do not include any ages for the men listed. See discussion in the Disputed Origins section of the Research Notes below.)

Marriage

There is no known record identifying John Holland's spouse. Some unsourced online trees, including a prior version of this profile, identify her as Elizabeth Oudelant, but there is no known reliable source to support this claim.

Death

He reportedly died in 1707 in Nansemond County.^{[citation needed]}

Children

John Bennett Boddie concluded that it was likely John was the father of at least four sons:^[5]

1. Henry
2. James
3. Joseph
4. John

Some researchers have also claimed that he was the father of Michael Holland, but that claim is disputed and unlikely to be correct for the reasons discussed in Michael's profile.^[7]

The following additional children have also been previously attached to this profile, with no supporting sources:

1. Stephen
2. Elizabeth
3. Mary

Research Notes

Disputed Origins

Some researchers, apparently beginning with Kirk Davis Holland in his 1963 typescript Holland: A History of the Virginia Holland Familes from 1620 to 1963,^[8] and also including Jeannette Holland Austin in her book The Georgia Frontier, published in 2005,^[9] have claimed that he was born in 1628 in the Jamestown Colony and was the son of Gabriel Holland. Neither of these researchers cites any reliable source for these claims and they are almost certainly incorrect.

The claim that John was born in 1628 is based on the false statement by Jeannette Holland Austin that the 1704 Quit Rents of Virginia give the ages of the men listed, and state that John Holland of Nansemond County was 76 years old in 1704.^[9] She apparently makes this statement in reliance upon Kirk Davis Holland, who also cites the 1704 Quit Rents and then makes the unsourced claim immediately afterward that the three Holland men of Nansemond County listed in those Quit Rents were ages 76 (John), 47 (Henry) and 20 (Joseph).^[10] This claim is frequently repeated in other unsourced online trees, and was included in a prior version of this profile. However, the 1704 Quit Rents do not provide any ages for the men listed.^[6] This claim is simply false.

The claim that John Holland was the son of Gabriel Holland is also disputed. Neither Kirk Davis Holland nor Jeannette Holland Austin cite any source for this claim. There are two men named Gabriel Holland known to have been in Virginia during the 1620s - the first was killed by Indians in an attack on the Berkley Hundred in 1621; the second, represented by Gabriel Holland, was married to a Mary (___) and lived in Jamestown but appears to have died before 1627 when his wife Mary was granted a patent in her own name on the Island of James City.^[5] There is no known connection between this Gabriel Holland and the John Holland who was transported to Virginia by Blake and Ison and for whom they received a headright in Nansemond County on 20 February 1664.

Headright Details

John Holland was a headright of Lt. Col. Blake and Edward Isom granted on 20 February 1664. He was one of 50 persons transported by Blake and Isom, for whom they were granted 2500 acres of land in Nansemond County.^[1] The index of this record in Cavaliers and Pioneers is as follows:

• LT.COL JNO. BLAKE & MR. EDWARD ISON, 2500 acs. Nancimond Co., 20 Feb. 1664, p. 154 (28). Trans. of 50 pers: Jno. Holland, Jno Gaye, Eliz. Ludlow, Ambrose Right, Jno. Members, Joyce Arnall, Maudlin Jones, Mathew Castome, Richard Harris, Peter Rich, Robert White, John Wale, James Diddicut, A Negro boy, Henry Mills, Heny Stone, Wm. Warde, Wm. Harrison, Xtopher Ashly, Eliz. Baly, Jane Fisher, Alice King, George Coales, Danll Burton, Jno. Johnson, Richard Newman, John Hewes, Mary Cocke, Tho. Belcher, John Fowke, 3 Negroes, Arthur Hope, Alice Steward, Robt. Harrison, 2 Negroes, Giles Danby, Danll. Rock, John Steward,Wm. Jones, Thomas Spicer, James Kirkcomb, Hen. Cutterbooke, John Dodd, A Negro, Matthew Holter, Thomas Mills, Wm. Jnoson.

This record is misinterpreted by many researchers to support a claim that John Holland himself received 2500 acres in Nansemond County, and/or that he was responsible for transporting the emigrants referenced in this headright claim. This error appears to originate with Kirk Davis Holland.^[11] This assertion is patently false. John Holland was one of the transported passengers, not a recipient of the headright. Kirk Davis Holland clearly had reviewed this index record in Cavaliers and Pioneers, so he either badly misinterpreted it or was intentionally misrepresenting it.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Nell Marion Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patnes and Grants 1623-1666, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1963), 484; images, Hathitrust, (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005994001 : accessed 19 Jun 2023).
2. ↑ Patents, v. 7, 1679-1689 Image 172 of 729
3. ↑ Patents, v. 7, 1679-1689 Image 261 of 729
4. ↑ Patents, v. 8, 1689-1695 Image 362 of 464
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} John Bennett Boddie, Historical Southern Families, 23 vols., (1957, reprint Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967), 1:269; images, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/48273/ : accessed 22 Jun 2023); Ancestry Sharing Link.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Annie Laurie Wright Smith, comp., The Quit Rents of Virginia 1704, (1957, reprint Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1975), 45; images, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/48421/ : accessed 22 Jun 2023); Ancestry Sharing Link.
7. ↑ See Disputed Parents section of the Research Notes in Michael's profile.
8. ↑ Kirk Davis Holland, "Holland: A History of the Virginia Holland Familes from 1620 to 1963," (typescript, 1963); images, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/726355-holland-a-history-of-the-virginia-holland-families-from-1620-to-1963 : accessed 19 Jun 2023), pps. 28, 189 & 203-204. Also available on Hathitrust here.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Jeannette Holland Austin, The Georgia Frontier, 3 vols, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2005), 3:154.
10. ↑ Kirk Davis Holland, "Holland: A History of the Virginia Holland Familes from 1620 to 1963," at 28.
11. ↑ Kirk Davis Holland, Holland, at 28 ("Acting as Headright under Lt. Blake and Edward Ison, he patented 2500 acres in Nansemond County, Virginia, February 20, 1664, the first proved date. John Holland transported 60 persons from England to the Colony, Records of Virginia Company, Cavaliers and Pioneers by Nugent, page 444.")