HOLLYER, Captain Walter - 1853-1925

(Married to Rose Ann Reilly)

Father of Elizabeth Jane Hollyer

Grandfather of Charles Ernest Hartley Hill

Great Grandfather of Alberta Irene Hill

Great Great Grandfather of Holly Jean Sparrow

Great Great Great Grandfather of Kathryn Alberta Cawfield

Great Great Great Great Grandfather of Adora Kathryn and Shiloh Holly Boivin

This article was written by Peter Walker from his 

extensive Hollyer research found here

(There appears to be a discrepancy regarding Walter Hollyer's

death.  Peter Walker has shown it as 1924 but the

death record on ancestry.ca as well as the notes

in his daughter's Bible indicate it was actually 1925)

Walter's daughter, Elizabeth, wrote this about her father

and it was in her Bible, where she kept many notes about the family.

Early Years

From Peter Walker's Hollyer Family Research:

"William Josiah Hollyer left a will which was proved in the

Prerogative Court of Canterbury.  Before stating the bequests to his son

 George Thomas and his wife, he mentions a Walter Taylor,

son of Sophia Taylor, who was to receive £1 a week until he became 21

and then £250 lump sum. 

Sophia was left all the furniture and effects at the house at 24 Clifton Street,

where she presumably lived.  Just this evidence alone is enough to suggest that

Walter Taylor might have been the son of William Josiah by Sophia Taylor.

It was a marriage certificate of 1869 that clinched the theory. 

A Walter Hollyer, who said he was 18, married Florence Godley, 16,

at St Nicholas Church, Brighton. 

Walter Hollyer quoted his father as William Josiah Hollyer (deceased), a Hotel Keeper. 

So Walter Taylor was using the name Hollyer."

Walter Hollyer's Birth Certificate

St. Mark's College  

I contacted the University that is now St. Mark's College and received a gracious

reply indicating that Walter most likely attended one of their 'Practising Schools'

which was for boys under the age of 12.   We know he

enlisted in the 66th Berkshire Regiment at age 18 but at the moment

what he was doing during his teen years prior to that are unknown.

He may have continued at the college or perhaps he was working.

Stay tuned while the research continues.............. 

 

Wellington Arch  

 There have been several references to Walter living in the Wellington Arch and it was

something about which his daughter spoke with pride, however, until I researched

it I had no idea that the Wellington Arch even had an interior.  The photos below

show the exterior of the Arch as well as the interior as it is used today.  Clearly,

there was enough room in the Arch for a residence.

1861 Census

Walter living at the Arch

(click to enlarge)

  The arch is hollow inside, and until 1992 housed a small police station. Transferred to

the ownership of English Heritage in 1999, it is open to the public and contains

three floors of exhibits detailing the history of the arch and some of its uses.

The southern pier was used as a park-keeper’s residence

and the northern pier as a police station.

 

I've included this below because the history of the Arch is relevant to

the history of Walter Hollyer.  According to the account written by

his daughter he lived here for 'many years' with his Uncle William

and the census show that he was living there before the Arch was dismantled

and rebuilt on its present site. (He was part of history on at least

a couple of occasions.)  I've also included a photograph of the Arch

as it was before it was moved.  William Taylor refers to his occupation

as 'Gate Keeper' at the Arch. 

 Wellington Arch 1870

  

First Marriage:

Florence Godley 1869

Walter Hollyer was 18 and Florence Godley was 16 years old.

 They married at St. Nicholas Church in Brighton.

 There is no indication that this marriage was officially divorced, separated or annulled and

the assumption may be that Walter Hollyer later married Rose Ann Rielly bigamously since

that marriage occurred only four years after his first marriage to Florence Godley.

Florence moved back with her parents and reverted to her maiden name which she was

still using when she died.  It would appear she never re-married.

Enlistment in the

66th Berkshire Regiment

June 1869

 

 Arrives in Bombay with regiment

in March 1870

 Marriage and Family

Walter Hollyer married Rose Ann in Kirkee, India in 1874. 

Their first four children were born in India 

and Elizabeth Jane Hollyer  was their first child.

 

Military

 Kandahar

 

 

 

 

Military Back In England

  

 

	1881 Census
	Another bit found in Elizabeth's Bible.  It reads:   Civilian Life  Post-Military  Retirement from the army
	1896 Suffolk Directory - Walter living in Hoxne (click to enlarge)
	1901 Census

Death - December 6, 1925

  

Walter's obituary published December 10, 1925.  

Perthshire, Scotland

 Burial Record

(click to enlarge)

.