About This Site

This site is for descendants of Joseph Holley and Rose Allen who came to these shores from England in about 1634. They were among the first settlers of Sandwich, Massachusetts, in 1637. We've found a dozen variants of this family's surname in the early records, and several variants remain in use today. Those who remained in Sandwich or emmigrated to Maine are most commonly found as Holway, though the 1790 census of Sandwich lists them as Hawley. Early emigrees to Rhode Island are found as Holloway, but we have yet to identify a modern descendant. The New York line went by Holloway until the mid-1800s, when Hawley became the spelling of choice. Descendants identified through DNA testing go by Holley, Halley, Holway and Hawley. Read more about this family here.

Get the Whole Story

A DNA test helped shatter the 'Brick Wall' that had frustrated at least three generations of Hawley family researchers. Of interest, it was a match with an Allen descendant that proved decisive.

Learn More & Join

DNA testing helped six of us discover we are related and then share the fruits of each family's genealogical research. That collaboration has led us all to new discoveries. Please join our little group now!

Get Help Navigating Our Site

We've tried to make navigating our site easy, but not all features are obvious. There are a few you might not find on your own; most when reviewing one of the 3,061 records in our data base.

We welcome your contributions. Please join the effort to find and document more descendants of Joseph Holley and Rose Allen. If you have some history or pictures to share, or suggestions to improve the site, please send them to us. Send Mail