The Holland family 2010 Photos taken by Richard Holland
					The Family shield is shown on the left. The following description is taken from the "Family Name History" Beazon of Arms: Azure semee of fleur-de-lis a lion rampant argent Translation: The heraldic colour azure (blue) denotes loyalty and truth. The Lion represents strength, courage and geneosity. Crest: Out of the flame proper an arm issuant habited in a sleeve sable, the first proper holding a Lion's gamb barwised erased or Motto: Fiat pax, florent justitia. Translation: Let peace be made, justice be done. Origin: England.
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The ancient name & history of the Holland Family
The Anglo-Saxon name Holland was established when the family resided in an enclosed region. The surname Holland originally derived from the Old English word "hough" which referred to a small protected space. (Harrison) We enclose this quotation in its entirety: "It has been stated on the authority of George of Croyland, who wrote an account of the family in 1550, that the noble and knightly race of this name could trace themselves backwards thirteen generations beyond the Norman Conquest! For 13 we should probably read 3; and there is a more credible genealogy which makes the fundator gentis one Otho, whose son Stephen flourished under Edward the Confessor, as lord of Stevington. co. Lincoln, and his son. Ralph de Holand, it is said, continued to hold his lands by the permission of William the Conqueror. These lands were in the district of Lincolnshire still known as Holland, but there is also a Holland in Lancashire which belonged to the family. They were ennobled by Edward I, and their blood mingled with that of royalty itself by the marriage of Thomas de Holland with the lovely Joane Plantagenet. the Fair Maid of Kent, and granddaughter of King Edward III." (PB) Careful analysis of surviving ancient records has revealed the Holland family to be descended from Anglo-Saxon tribesmen. Historians have studied documents such as the Domesday Book, and evidence suggests that the name Holland was first found in Essex. where the Saxon Begmundus de Holande was listed c. 975. Lancashire would prove to be a strong homeland in early years as the Assize Rolls of 1246 record William de Holaund at that time. (Reaney) Some were found at Thingwall, a detached hamlet, in the township of Little Woolton, parish of Childwall, union and hundred of West Derby. "Thyngwall was given in exchange by King John to an individual whose name is not now on record. In the following reign. Richard, son of Thurston de Holland. held a carucate of land here 'of our lord the king.' for one mark. in exchange for his inheritance in Snodden (Smithden), 'which the king placed in his own forest.'" (TD) "During the thirteenth century the descent of the manor [of West Derby] followed that of the wapentake and land between Ribble and Mersey, but in 1316 Thomas, earl of Lancaster, gave the manor, with 300 acres of wood, to Robert de Holand, and about four years later confirmed the grant with large additions, viz., the manor of West Derby. (BHO3) Another branch was found at Dalbury in Derbyshire in early times. "In the reign of Edward II. Dalbury and Lees were the property of Sir Robert Holland." (TD) In Devon, "Richard II gave [Dartington] to his half-brother John Holland, Duke of Exeter; and he erected the great hall and its associated quadrangle, if, indeed, a portion of the latter is not somewhat earlier. The part of the mansion now inhabited was rebuilt in the time of Elizabeth. Margaret, Countess of Richmond, had a grant of the manor in 1487 for life." (Worth) In Scotland. "there are several places named Houlland in Shetland and there are Hollands in Orkney. Hollandbush is in Stirlingshire. and Holland-Hirst is in the parish of Kirkintilloch. Willelmus de Holland, was a witness in the reign of Alexander II. Richard Holande, vicar of Ronaldsay, 1467 derived his surname from one of the three places so named in Orkney. " (Black) Over time the Holland surname was sometimes spelled Holland, Holand and these spelling changes often occurred in records referring to the same person. In the 16th century. for example, legal transactions recording the famous William Shakespeare spelled his name as Shakespere, Shakspear, Shakspeare and even Shaxspere. Before the 19th century people concerned themselves more with the sound of the name rather than any conventions of spelling. The Anglo-Saxons ancestors of the Holland family, originally two separate Teutonic tribes, migrated to England from what is now the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany. They settled along the southeastern coast of England in the 5th century. The rival kingdoms established by the Angles and Saxons were unified in the 9th century, and this stronger nation withstood Viking invasions for nearly two centuries. At the beginning of the 11th century the Anglo-Saxons lost the throne to Danish chieftains and, after a brief return in the person of Edward the Confessor, were completely ousted from power by the Normans in 1066. Norman rule brought many political and social reforms to England, with some actually benefiting the average citizen. William the Conqueror (c. 1028-1087) abolished the great earldoms which had divided power under the Anglo-Saxons with disastrous results. He revised the judicial system, introduced religious and economic reforms, and encouraged learning. The Norman line was followed by the Plantagenet line and England became an imperial power through the possession of lands in France. At this time the Holland family emerged in Lincolnshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated with manor and estates in that shire. These distinguished Saxon nobles had been settled as the Lords of Stevington thirteen generations before the Conquest and by the 12th century had branched north into Lancashire where they named their estates and village Holland. Thomas Holland married Joan Plantagenet the 'fair maide of Kent" and granddaughter of King Edward III. They also acquired estates in Devon but these were lost when Robert Holland was beheaded for assisting the insurrection of the Earl of Lancaster. Notables of the family at this time include John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (c. 1352-1400), 1st Earl of Huntingdon, English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester and then for conspiring against Henry IV; Thomas Holland. (1374-1400). 1st Duke of Surrey, 3rd Earl of Kent, 4th Baron Holland. Earl Marshal. English nobleman; Duke of Exeter; Earl of Kent; Count of Holland; Alianore Holland, Countess of March (1370-1405), through her daughter, Anne Mortimer, Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent, 5th Baron Holland, (1384-1408). Earl of Kent (c. 1400-c. 1407), the 106th Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1403, had a daughter with his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala, but had an affair with Constance of York and fathered illegitimately Eleanor de Holland (born 1406), Edmund killed at the battle of Ile-de-Brehat (1408); she was the great-grandmother of the Yorkist kings Edward IV and Richard Ill, Governess to Queen consort Isabella of Valois; Richard Holland (died 1661), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1654 and 1656, supporter of the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War; Sir John Holland, 1st Baronet (1603-1701), an English politician. Member of Parliament for Norfolk in 1640; Cornelius Holland (1599-c. 1671), English regicide of Charles 1 of England who fled to Switzerland upon the Restoration, he was the chief hand in drawing up the charges against King Charles 1 but he did not sign the warrant of execution; and John Holland (1658-1722). an English banker who founded the Bank of Scotland in 1695. The Holland family survived the Middle Ages, despite famine, plagues, and the trials of daily life. However, in the 17th century political and religious upheaval forced many families to leave England. Among the destinations selected by migrant families was Ireland. Protestant settlers and the followers of Cromwell were granted lands belonging to the Catholic Irish. Others families were banished to this isle or moved in search of jobs in the developing industries. In Ireland they settled in the counties of Limerick and Cork. In 1890. a birth census of Scottish families in Ireland was taken. From that census, it was estimated that there were over 2,330 people bearing the surname Holland throughout Ireland; about 23% were living in the province of Ulster. (Hanna) The newly discovered lands of the Western hemisphere drew people seeking land, riches, religious and political freedom. Immigrants bearing the Holland surname, or a spelling variation of that name, include Mr. Richard Holland, (b. 1783), aged 24, English farmer who was convicted in Middlesex. England for 7 years for theft, transported aboard the "Duke of Portland" in January 1807, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1867; and Mr. Thomas Holland, English convict who was convicted in Sussex, England for life, transported aboard the "Baring" in April 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia. The settlement of the west began when the wagon trains headed across the Allegheny, creating the Ohio settlements. later, the wagons pushed further west, before the railroads opened up a flood of western migration in the late 19th century. In more recent times, notable bearers of the surname Holland include Jerome H. Holland (1916-1985) American university president and diplomat, the first African American to play football at Cornell University in 1939, Ambassador to Sweden (1970-1972), recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Stuart Lund Holland (1876-1950) 2nd Baron Rotherham, British Army officer and politician: and Mr. Percy Holland, British alderman, held the position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1963-1964 and 1978-1979, he was Lord Mayor in 1966. There have been Historical events which have affected some of the Holland surname including: Mr. 'Thomas Holland (d. 1912) aged 28, English Reception Steward from Liverpool, Lancashire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking; Mr. Victor J Holland, British Leading Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking; and Mr. Arnold Holland, British Marine from Plymouth, England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking, "as later killed in action in 1942. Certificate # 24103202417792 © 1998-2024 Swyrich Corporation. All rights reserved www.hallofnames.org.uk