Holland, Virginia

Holland, Virginia has become a part of the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia. It is located in what used to be called Old Nansemond County. In 1860, the Holland City Commission was made up of 12 members, 10 of whom were named Holland.

Holland was named for an English family headed by Capt. John Holland, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1630. As a ship's captain, he traveled from Nantucket Point to Virginia and out to the English-held islands of the Caribbean. He died at sea (1652) but is actually buried at Cape Charles, Virginia.

His son, John Jr. migrated to Jamestown around 1645 and was a Major in the Virginia militia in 1654 in Westmoreland County and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses during the 1654/1655 session. He moved the family to Nansemond County.

James Holland, grandson of the original land grant holder for the area that later became Holland, Virginia, was still living in Nansemond County in 1680. He is buried somewhere on the grounds of Fighting Cock Plantation in Chuckatuck.