Spelled and referred to variously, the name of William Hollie first appeared in the Albany community record in May 1677 when he was sued by Dirck A. Bradt for "lost time" due to injuries allegedly inflicted by Hollie. That suit was dismissed but was not nearly the end of Hollie's legal difficulties. Over the next five years, he was charged with assault on several occasions, sued for debt, and for accepting pay and not working.

He probably was born prior to 1664 but does not connect to any of the known New Netherland early Albany families. We seek information on his origins and path to Albany.

Perhaps he was married and had a son of the same name who later married the daughter of Jenny Seeley.

In 1687, his name appeared on a petition of Albany merchants regarding the fur trade. In 1691, city records reveal that he formerly owned a house in Albany. In 1697, he was alone in a house enumerated by the census taker. Two years later, he signed a community petition pledging allegiance to the king of England. In 1709, his third ward property was valued on the Albany assessment roll.

In 1693, he was appointed cryer and then porter. As late as March 1711, he was petitioning the city council for the portership!

William Hollie (Holie, Holys, and other spelling variants) died in Albany November 1712. Lutheran church records called him an "oldenburger" and a "very decrepit old man. City records marked his burial date as December 22, 1712!

Sources: The life of William Hollie is CAP biography number 6048. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. We expect to find more family information once we settle on more definitive spellings for his name!