Did not have a son John Holland

Richard Holland

Biography

HOLLAND OF DENTON

Denton is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, five miles (8 km) east of Manchester city centre, and it is in the historic county of Lancashire. It is where Hollands of seven generations lived since the reign of Edward I.[1]

Parentage

A History of the Family of Holland of Mobberley and Knutsford in the Country of Chester provides the parentage of Richard Holland on page 29 as it says as follows:

"Richard Holland died on the 7th Feb 1483, being survived by his wife Agnes —. He was succeeded by his son and heir, Richard Holland (Xl.), who was born probably 1450, as he had a marriageable son in 1486, and his own father Richard, as we have already seen, cannot have been born earlier than 1431."[2]

The evidence is found in the charter dated 1 July 1486 for his parentage as it says as follows:

Richard Holland, senior, died 7 February 22 Edw. 4 (1483); after his death all the said premises descended to Richard Holland, junior, Esq., as his son and heir.

So seised, the said Richard Holland, junior, by his charter dated 1 July, 1486, gave the said premises in Bolton-on-the-Moors by the name of the messuages, lands etc. which Roger Stones, Richard Stones and Jurdan Walleden jointly or severally held of the said Richard [Holland] a term of years... Sherpuls and Harewode hamlets of the town of Bolton; also 13 acres of land in Denton, by the name of 1 field called Nether... [Richard] Holland, Esq., to Robert Dokenfeld, Esq., Ralph Arderne the son, Esq., Richard Heyton, son and heir apparent of William Heyton, Esq., and Ralph Devonport, Rector of the Church of Wilmeslow: to hold to them and their heirs for ever for the term of the life of Joan [Arderne], daughter of the said [sic] John Arderne, to her use; the remainder thereof after her death, to the said Thurstan Holland and his heirs male; for default, the remainder thereof to William Holland, son of the said Richard [Holland] and brother of the said Thurstan [Holland] and to his heirs male; for default, to Thomas Holland, son of Richard Holland and brother of the said Thurstan [Holland] and William [Holland], and to his heirs male; for default, the reversion thereof to the said Richard Holland and his heirs for ever.

Marriage and Family

The evidence is found in Harleian MS 2112, fol. 159b/195b that in 1468, Richard Holland acknowledged that he had received 24 marks from his father-in-law, Sir William Harrington in part payment of the marriage portion, and it implies that Richard Holland had married Isabella Harrington sometime before 1468.[3]

History of the Family of Holland of Mobberley and Knutsford in the Country of Chester also provides the information on the estimated date for the marriage between Richard Holland and Isabella Harrington and the number and name of their children on page 29 as it says as follows:

"Richard Holland, the younger, married, probably about 1466, Isabella, daughter of Sir William Harrington of Hornby, a famous Lancashire knight, who was standard-bearer at the battle of Agincourt, and by her had at least five sons and one daughter— Thurstan, his son and heir, probably born about 1469; William and Thomas, who were both living in 1486 and 1510; Robert, living in 1497 and 1510; Peter, living in 1510, and Ellen, who afterwards became the wife of John Bradshaw, the son and heir apparent of Alexander Bradshaw, Esq.; these latter were married prior to 1501. Richard Holland probably died about 1500 or 1501."[2]

The Holland of Denton pedigree from the 1567 Visitation of Lancashire shows five generations, and it reveals that Richard Holland and his wife had a son, Thurstan Holland, of Denton, Esq., who married Jane, the daughter of John Arderne, of Harden, co. Chester.[4]

The evidence is found in the charters of 1486 and 1497 that Richard Holland and Isabella Harrington had six children as follows:

1. Thurstan Holland, eldest son and heir (born c.1469, fl. 1486, died 1508)
2. William Holland (fl. 1486, fl. 1510)
3. Thomas Holland (fl. 1486, fl. 1510)
4. Robert Holland (fl. 1497, fl. 1510)
5. Peter Holland (fl. 1510)
6. Ellen Holland

Later Life

Richard Holland succeeded his father, Richard Holland in 1483, and in 1486 he made provision for his daughter-in-law, Joan daughter of John Arderne, who was to marry his son Thurstan.

In the following year and in 1497 Richard Holland made provision for younger sons, and in 1499 granted messuages and lands in Bolton and Myerscough to his son Thurstan and Joan his wife.

Death

Richard Holland was living in 1500 but seems to have died soon afterward.

His son and heir, Thurstan Holland succeeded him, but died in October 1508, leaving a son Robert, who though then but nineteen years of age had in 1500-1501 been married to Elizabeth Assheton, daughter of Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton.

Armorial Achievement

Arms.— Quarterly: 1, 4. Azure [sem%C3%A9e of fleurs-de-lis] a lion rampant guardant, between six fleurs-de-lis, argent, over all a bend gules [Holland]; 2, 3. Sable [argent], a cross lozengy argent [sable] over all a bend gobonated argent [or] and gules [azure] [Kenyon].[4]

Crest.— Out of a ducal coronet or, demi-lion, rampant guardant, argent, collared gules, holding in the dexter gamb a fleur-de-lis argent.[4]

These arms are given initially as being the same as those of Lancaster but were subsequently changed to azure, semée de fleurs-de-lis, a lion rampant argent over a bend gules. This line descended from Sir Thurstan de Holland of Upholland via his son William de Holland who married Margaret de Shoresworth heiress of Denton; however, their son Thurston de Holland of Denton was born when his parents were unmarried which may explain the introduction of the bend gules. It passed through paternal-line two generations until the arms of Kenyon were quartered with those of Holland at the third generation.

The arms of Holland of Denton were quartered with those of Kenyon because it indicated that Richard de Holland of Denton, who was born about 1325 and died 1402, married Amery, the daughter of Adam de Kenyon, but Amery's brother, John de Kenyon was married and died without any male issue to bear it, so it allowed Amery's husband to pretence her brother's on his arms, and it became quartered for their son, Thurstan Holland to bear his parents' arms. It passed through the paternal-line four generations.

That was how Richard Holland inherited his father's armorial achievement. It continued to descend through his son Thurston Holland (c. 1569).

DNA

One patrilineal descendant of Richard Holland and Isabella Harrington took a Big Y-700 test at Family TreeDNA and showed kindly his Y-DNA results. It shows that his haplogroup is R-FGC71023.

Research Notes

There are groundless internet fantasies claiming that John Howland of Newport in Essex was a son of Richard Holland of Denton and Isabella Harrington in Lancashire. Their purpose is to prove Richard Holland changing his surname to Howland and try to fit the Holland lineage of Denton in Lancashire into the Howland lineage of Newport in Essex. Now it is a common error found on the internet.

There is no evidence that Richard Holland of Denton and his wife Isabella Harrington in Lancashire had any association with John Howland of Newport in Essex.

The evidence is found in three documents (two charters of 1486 and 1497 and one inquisition of 1510) that Richard Holland and Isabella Harrington had only six children as follows: Thurstan, William, Thomas, Robert, Peter, and Ellen.

Therefore, John Howland of Newport in Essex is not one of them, and he is not descended from them or is not related to them at all.

As of now, the current research maintains that the parentage of John Howland of Essex remains unknown.

Recently, Y-DNA results for Holland of Denton branch show that the haplogroup is R-FGC71023. It is a different haplogroup from the Howlands of Fenstanton's haplogroup, R-A9708 because it is not directly descended from R-FGC71023. It proves that the Howlands of Fenstanton are not directly descended from the noble family, Holland of Denton.

Sources

1. Holland, pp. 17, 19.
2. Holland, p. 29.
3. Harleian MS. 2112, fol. 159b/195b.
4. Raines, p. 18.

• Raines, Rev. F. R. The Visitation of Lancashire of the County Palatine of Lancashire, Made in the Year 1567, by William Flower, Esq., Norry King of Arm. "Holland of Denton." England: Printed for the Chetham Society, 1870.
• Holland, Bernard. The Lancashire Hollands. London: John Murray, 1917, p. 286.
• Holland, Edgar Swinton. A History of the Family of Holland of Mobberley and Knutsford in the Country of Chester. Chapter II, "Holland of Denton." Scotland: The Ballantyne Press, 1902.