Hollick One-Name Study

Hollick
One-Name Study

Topics

About the Hollick One-Name Study
Variants
Origin of the surname
Distribution of the name
Data
Contact Details

About the Hollick One-Name Study

Commenced in 1979 this study evolved out of research into my own family line, in Welford, Northants.

When I ran into a brick wall looking for my 3x greatgrand parents it seemed the only way open was to record all events involving individuals of the same, or similar, surname until I found them. They were finally confirmed as the Robert HOLYOAK and Hannah LINNETT marrying at Naseby, just up the road from Welford, in 1762, but by then I was totally hooked on the idea of tracing the details of everyone who has ever been recorded by the name, either correctly, or in error as a result of mis-interpretation or whatever.

As a result I joined the GOONS and various Family History Societies covering the areas with a high HOLLICK presence, as well as the Society of Genealogists. I also undertook an ongoing project for the BMSGH that gives me the opportunity to read all the overseas exchange journals they receive. This not only gives me many useful leads but has also enabled me to make contact with two distant family members.

The advent of personal computers enabled me to start computerising the rapidly expanding mass of data and the arrival of the Internet has made a huge difference to information gathering; to the point where it is difficult to keep up with the appearance of new material.

Variants

It was a variant of the name that actually got me started on this O.N.S and I soon realised that variants were going to be the bain of my life as a GOON. HO(L)L(Y)O(A)K is a surname in its own right with a range of variants and one series of them, HOL(L)IOCKE(S) have frequently been used for either HOLLICK or HOLYOAK. There are two instances, in Coventry, of Marriage Certificates being filled in by the Vicar as for a HOLYOAK groom who then very clearly signs it as a HOLLICK.

HALLICK is another standalone surname, which appears to have originated in Leicestershire, and there have been a number of cases of this being converted to HOLLICK, or vice versa as, indeed, has HOLLOCK and its associated variants.

Transcriptions pose a particular problem with transcribers, in all innocence, reading 'o' as 'a' or even 'u' which places the results very far apart in an index. When we were all soucing our information by reading original documents it was relatively easy to note all potentially useful events as we came across them but, with more and more dependence being placed on indexes to lead us to areas for research, this is a major problem.

Origin of the surname

The origin of the name is something I often think about. HOLLOCK and HOLLICK translate, in Old English, as the 'hollow by the lake' but only in one instance, a farm in North Devon, does this appear to have been a factor. There is certainly evidence that some HOLLICK families came from HOLYOAK lines but beyond that I have found nothing on which to form an opinion.

To add to the mystery, and to muddy the waters, it has become apparant in recent years, particularly with the arrival of the Internet, that the name exists in both its 'pure' form, and as several variants, HOLIK for example, in Europe and, it seems, particularly in the Germanic States

Distribution of the name

With my own family line going back to Northants., from Birmingham, it was natural that I should start my research across both Northants., and Warwickshire and, whilst Warwicks., was a hot-spot it soon became apparant that there were families in Leicestershire, possibly coming out of Northants., as well as in Cambridgeshire. There were also a few in Norfolk and more in Suffolk where they intermingle frequently with HOLLOCK(S) lines .

Interestingly, some of the earliest records are to be found in Devon, Hampshire and Wiltshire, and, if I can ever find the time, I am anxious to look at the possibility of movement between these areas and the Midlands, by virtue of employment prospects with land-owners having interests in both these counties and the Midlands.

As is to be expected the name appears in the London area from, at least, the end of the 18C., and, as several HOLLICKs were transported to Australia, families there go back a long way.

Some N American families go back to the early to mid-18c but I have not yet been able to link any that far back to the UK. That's not to say that they are necessarily all mainland European in origin as there is still a tremendous amount of ground to cover. Links to the UK start to surface at the beginning of the 19C in both the USA and Canada.

Data

Currently I have computerised, and cross-referenced files to all English & Welsh (and most Scottish) BMD's from 1837-2000 (with information from approx 1500 certificates), all English & Welsh Wills 1858-1970 as well as many other English probate records, all IGI references, a substantial amount of UK census data as well as much material from parish registers and the like.

With the help of Hollick families and fellow researchers overseas, as well as Internet sources, I have also built up a significant amount of data, particularly for Australia and New Zealand, most of it linked back to the original UK families. Information on the North American families, a majority of which seemingly have their roots in mainland Europe, is being built up as fast as time will allow.

All this information is brought together in one computerised database which now holds data on over 11,000 individuals world-wide.

Obviously any information that visitors to this site might have will be very welome and, in return, I am always happy to help and supply what information I have about your own HOLLICK family line as well as suggesting lines of research appropriate to your needs.

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Mr David A Hollick
10 Rushford Close,
Shirley,
Solihull,
West Midlands
B90 4UF
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail:

This page last updated 25 February 2008.