Origin
- Country
- England
- Meaning
- Dweller in a hollow or low-lying land
- Arrival Era
- Early 1680's into New Jersey
Known Family Members
- Robert Holman (~1660–1707)
- Joseph Holman (~1685–1741)
- Aaron Holman Sr (~1714–1782)
- Thomas Holman (1754–1836)Revolutionary War veteran; moved from Middlesex County, NJ to Franklin Township, Allegheny County, PA
- Catherine Holman (Jones) (1776–1852)Daughter of Thomas; married William Jones
The Holman's are ENGLISH, not German. To be fair, there are Germans with the Holman surname, but they do not belong to our branch. Our branch can be traced back to what is believed to be the original immigrant: Robert. The earliest European settlement attempts in Monmouth County, New Jersey, began around 1664–1665 following the British takeover of New Netherland. Since records indicate Robert Holman was a fully grown adult by the mid-1680s, he would have been born before Monmouth County was even open for British settlement. Some older trees speculate he came down from an earlier Puritan family in Massachusetts or Rhode Island (where a Samuel Holman bought land in 1667 but never settled in New Jersey). However, land records fail to show a legal link between Robert and those New England families. The most credible evidence links Robert directly to Devonshire, England. Parish records from the village of Musbury in Devon, England, reveal a prominent Holman family tree containing naming patterns matching this early New Jersey cluster. More information can be found by clicking on his name, listed to your left.
