England
IrelandThe roots of the Anglo-Saxon name Holway come from when the family resided as inhabitants at the hollow-way or holy way. [1]
Holway is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names.
John Halifax or Holywood (Latin: Johannes de Sacro Bosco) (fl. 1230), was an early English mathematician, probably born at Halifax in Yorkshire. "Holywood is said to have studied at Oxford, and to have afterwards settled at Paris about 1230. The remainder of his life was spent in Paris, where he died, either in 1244 or 1256." [2]
The surname Holway was first found in Middlesex at Holloway, a district in the parish of Islington, Finsbury division of the hundred of Ossulstone. [3]
Today, it is part of Greater London. There are a few different possible origins of the place name but the generally accepted origin is from the Old English words "hol" + "weg" which evolved to mean "the road with a hollow." [4] One of the first listings of the district was in 1307, when it was listed as Le Holeweye.
Richard de Holeweia was found in the Pipe Rolls for Devon in 1130 and later Hohn de la Holewete was found in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1275. John Holewey was in the Hundredorum Rolls for Oxford in 1279 and John del Hollewaye was in Yorkshire in 1308. A few years later, Hugh atte Holewey was listed in Devon in 1310. [5]
There were two listings for the family in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Johannes de Holeweye, Wiltshire; and William de Holeweye, Warwickshire. [6]
In Somerset, William Holeweye was there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign). [7]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Holway research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1581, 1684, 1666, 1734, 1720, 1734, 1722, 1723, 1691, 1759, 1691, 1684, 1695, 1562, 1616, 1562, 1582, 1599, 1604 and are included under the topic Early Holway History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Holway has been recorded under many different variations, including Holloway, Hollway, Holoway, Hollaway, Hollywood and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: James Holloway (died 1684), an English merchant from Bristol, and conspirator of the Rye House Plot.
John Holloway (c. 1666-1734), was a politician and lawyer in the British colony of Virginia, Speaker of the House of Burgesses (1720-1734) and first Mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia (1722-1723.)
Benjamin Holloway (1691?-1759), was an English divine, born at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, about 1691, was the son of Joseph Holloway, 'brasiator' (maltster), of that town. [2]
James Holloway (d. 1684), was an English "conspirator, a citizen of Bristol, probably imbibed strong protestant opinions from the master to whom he was apprenticed...
Another 152 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Holway Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Holway family to IrelandSome of the Holway family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 193 words (14 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Holway or a variant listed above: Dorothy Hollway settled in Barbados in 1663 with William, her husband; William Holloway settled in Maryland in 1775; Eadie Holloway settled with Elizabeth and Joe in Virginia in 1635.
