• Surname has also been spelled as “Holliock, Holiocke, Holiock or Holyocke,” During this period of time, before about the late 1600’s, many writers relied on the spoken phonetic / pronunciation because literacy rate of most people of the time was quite low.

• The surname HOLYOKE and all of its variant forms seem to be derived from the holy oak, or gospel oak, an archaic term for a boundary tree. In Anglo-Saxon it is ““hálig āc” (Holy Oak)

• There are records that list his first name as possibly being “Thomas”, or “FRANCIS” … both of which are very unlikely. That being said, a lot of the information on William HOLYOKE are speculations loosely based on translations of early wills, birth dates of offsprings, etc.

• Many records has her maiden name as “FAIRCHILD”

• Some records spell her first name as “Joan”

• Some records record her death as Dec 1578.

• It is recorded she was a widow at the time of her death.


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