Who Do That Voodoo?

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

December 22, 2022

“Who Do That Voodoo”

 

Number of pages in Outline Descendant Report: 149 didn’t change (up from 149 last chronicle)

Number of pages in basic Descendant Report: 228 (up from 226 last chronicle)

 

Francis Holmes is # 1. I am now # 326. # 324, where I was last week, is now Mary Jane Holmes Hamilton.

Jonathan Marquez (Frances Anne Holmes Ballantyne line) is last at # 477.

# 472, where he was last week, is now Keith Wellman

This should change weekly, if I’m doing my job.

 

Something new in stats, just for fun:

 

I put the names of all descendants of Francis Holmes who are either in our Facebook group or on my mailing list for chronicles, in a bag. Spouses and friends are not included as they do not get numbered in the program’s default. Those who have no descendants are also not numbered, but I’ll include them with their parent’s number. I pulled out three names, and will follow them for two weeks. Next week, I’ll draw three more. This is for fun, but if the three names I drew were not in my tree that I am using now, I insert them. Win-win exercise.

 

The three I drew last week are:

 

·         Michelle Moore Gardner is now # 446, up from 439. # 439 is now Melanie Holmes Bowes.

·         Stoney Worster is now # 272, up from 271. #271 is now Carole Goddard Newmyer.

·         Glenn Holmes is now # 281. # 280 is now his sister, Marie Holmes Dockter.

 

New this week are:

 

·         Mark MacKillop is # 429. He’s in the Charles R Holmes line. He the husband of Kaylyn and the father of two young children. He pastors the Safe Harbor Church of Rochester, Indiana.

·         Marika McGinnis Patterson is #422. Marika is in the Charles R Holmes line, and is a cousin of Mark MacKillop. She’s married to Clay Patterson, and has three young adult children, Gracie and twins Rylee and Brody. Gracie is a family DNA match.

·         Susan Hyde Stephens is # 351. Susan is in the Louisa B Holmes Ballantyne Line. She’s married to Kirk Stephens and has two sons, Blake and Trevor. Blake and Christine have given her two small grandchildren, and her grin is widest when she holds them on her lap. I was glad to get to know Kirk and Susan when we shared quarters at the 2016 reunion.

 

FYI, this takes a lot of time, but it’s kind of fun. I do it on Tuesdays rather than Thursdays. Watch for your name.

 

~

I found some new to me books at the thrift store this week and I’m so pleased with my find. I bought a bunch of Munch books for Winston, nine to be exact, but I wanted to include that little rhyme. Some day, I look forward to listening to Erin reading them to Winston, as she does it best using many voices.

I think I’ll put some pretty paper and a bow on the other one, and stick it under the tree, labeled “from me to me, Merry Christmas.” I don’t know about this, perhaps Paula will know. It is called “The Little Brown Handbook.” It is the fifth Canadian edition, 2008. (There is a 6^th edition, but I think this will suffice for my needs/wants.) Why Paula? When editing my scribbles, she often mentions her little brown book. I think she has an ancient brown coloured grammar rule book. And mine is a grammar book, from a Canadian perspective. I figure it will contain the extra letters: ie, favourite rather than favorite. But, I have only made a brief skim of it so far.

I wonder if my copy is altogether different than Paula’s book, or if it is a descendant of Paula’s book as well as being a Canadian cousin. Spoken like a genealogist.

I’ll say no more, for I don’t want to make you jealous.

https://www.amazon.ca/Little-Brown-Handbook-Fifth-Canadian/dp/0321411579/ref=asc_df_0321411579/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312811949697&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3718217967926610122&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000124&hvtargid=pla-635300720856&psc=1

~

 

My cousin, Doug Holmes, sent me this photo this week. I think it is one of the ugliest photos I have ever seen of myself. And yet, with the caption he sent along with it – “who do that voodoo that you do so well,” I can’t help but enjoy it. If that’s what I look like when I get passionate about sharing our family history, so be it. I am pointing to the stone of Bessie, aka Charlotte Elizabeth Holmes, who married Elias Kinnear and died a week later. I cannot find a newspaper clipping or a death certificate, and I want to know why.

~

Some new people this week, and two new to me words. I know most of you won’t recall Edward Ketchum, who I mentioned last week. I haven’t talked about him much, if at all. And the other guys, the Rowlands, you won’t need to remember them. I mainly wanted to tell you about the will of one of them, and record it for myself. But Ketchum – he’s as important to us as Holmes, as he is another immigrant ancestor. Some of our immigrant ancestors knew each other, but not sure if they knew Ketchum or not This week, I reread Fen’s chapter on Ketchum, as well as several other resources I found long ago in my genealogy career. So thankful for Fen’s mentorship. But, not to worry if you don’t recall the name. Your mind is not slipping.

To help you, I am putting two charts into our Facebook group for you to refer to.

You should recall Charlotte Hoyt Holmes, wife of Daniel. Her mother was a Ketchum. If you descend from Betsy Marinda, you descend from Ketchum through our Fountain line. I haven’t talked about Fountains much either, but there’s another of our immigrant ancestors. We have a Fountain expert in our group.

My outline for Great-Granddaddy Edward Catcham/Ketchum and several other spelling variations of the name.

Title: Where There’s a Will: Edward Catcham/Ketchum c. 1590 – 1655.

Quotation

Introduction

                Purpose statement

 

I               Reasons

II             Research

III            Records

Conclusion. Refer back to the Purpose Statement.

 

That’s it for today, Thursday the 15^th. I puzzled over this upon my pillow – am I crazy to include it? I decided to go with it, and I will give the “reasons” in point #1. It will include trivia, like the weird letters and the new word I learned and the lessons I have learned by repetition. The handwriting, although written by a different clerk, is so similar to the handwriting in Francis Holmes’ probate records that I was able to breeze right through it with only a few blank ____ lines. It has a great inventory, although not as detailed as that of Francis Holmes. And, it should include some clues as to where to look when you have a mess like this to work with.

~

I have scheduled an American Ancestors Zoom presentation on the topic of “Deciphering Old Handwriting.” Being self-taught, I hope I can learn some helpful tools of the trade.

If asked what has been most helpful to me in this transcription journey, I would have one word to say: PRACTICE. But, of course, you have to start somewhere. Learn one thing, and practice. Then move on. That advice holds true in everything. Learning to play a musical instrument; learning to knit; learning a sport; learning to take good photographs . . . I never was good at sports, ever. I wonder if it’s because I didn’t practice. Maybe somewhat, but I don’t think so. If I hit a golf ball at all, it went sideways or backward – never forward.

~

Even though my Ketchum will story is still mostly outline and info dump, it does have a tentative introduction and the start of point one: Reasons. Does it “catcham” your attention? Oh, I’m so punny.

Edward Catcham/Ketchum

c. 1590 – 1655

Memorandum – The top part of y^e following Sheets of Records was blotted with Ink

as it appears three or four years before the Records came to me as Clerk viz while

Dav^d Esq was Clerk & Col Burr Judge. And Rowland.

 

“The horrified clerk watched as the spilt ink seeped into the pages of the earliest probate record book of Fairfield County. “Oh”, he groaned, “what can I do? How could I have been so clumsy?”  He despaired as the acid of the ink devoured portions of pages 1 – 93 of the earliest probate records of Fairfield County. Thankfully, it spared the index, where I find, at the top of a page, the name of my 8^th great grandfather, Edward Catcham. The best place to research is original records. Was there, I wondered, enough information left on Catcham’s page to benefit my search of the genealogy and history of Edward Catcham, better known as Ketchum?”

REASONS (part of outline – this will be removed but for now, keeps me straight)

“Even before I took a good look at it, I could see that a significant portion of the page was intact. Why was this so important to me? Edward and his second wife, Sarah Salmon, had, along with other children, a son, Joseph. I descend from three children of Joseph and his wife, Mercy Lindall: Elizabeth, Joseph, and Samuel. As dates of the death of Mercy and his second marriage to Sarah Jaggers are unknown, some of the children may be Sarah’s. Some of my Loyalist ancestors descend from these children and settled in Kings County, New Brunswick, and Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. Further along, I also descend from Edward Ketchum and Sarah Salmon through two of my great-great parents: Daniel Holmes, originally of Nova Scotia, and Charlotte Hoyt of New Brunswick. I need to shore up my research as best I can, and the best records are original records. This probate record with its lacunae is already transcribed by others, and is not original, but I don’t find any earlier copy. I like to do my own transcribing, as well. This must suffice. Most likely, Clerk David Rowland transcribed an earlier journal, and possibly he spilled the ink that ate the paper. He definitely passed it down to his nephew, Andrew Rowland.”

Does anyone know what lacanue is without looking it up? Did anyone look it up? It’s my NEW WORD.

 

“In memory of Andrew Rowland Esq. who died July 26, 1802. [Age] 65.

I found the most intriguing start to a will in my search. So different from the Puritan wills and any other wills I have seen. Mind you, the Puritan era was pretty much done by the early 1800s. I wanted to know who David and Andrew Rowland were – see the quote. Andrew was nephew of David, educated, a lawyer and judge of probate. As he has no bearing on the story, I probably won’t include it, but I do want to keep a record of it as it seems to me an anomaly. He died in 1802, leaving a will that began:

“Know all Men to whom these Presents come Greeting:

I Andrew Rowland of the Town and County of Fairfield in the State of Connecticut make this my last Will and Testament I Order my Executors here in after named to inter my Body in Christian manner: that there be no funeral Sermon nor Pall Bearers: I Order there be no Presents given on the Occasion: And desire there be no Eulogium or ­­­­Panygerick from Pulpit or Other wise at any Time whatever: In my Opinion they do no Good: I direct an Inscription on my Grave Stones to contain the month & day & year of my Death, and in the Year of my Age: . . . “

“Presents” probably means people present at the occasion. Another NEW WORD, and my mother and aunt requested this for their funerals, but I bet they didn’t know the word: “Panegyric,” from the Cambridge Dictionary – “a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something very much and does not mention anything bad about them.”

~

I am taking next week off, so I’ll be back with another chronicle early next year.

Happy Hannukah and Merry Christmas wishes to you and your family.

Uncle Peg

I Feel Sort of Like an Author

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

December 15, 2022

“I feel sort of like an author.”

 

LAST CHRONICLE CALL FOR CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

Send them along to me at holmespun7@gmail.com

 

Number of pages in Outline Descendant Report: 149 (up from 146 last chronicle)

Number of pages in basic Descendant Report: 226 (up from 222 last chronicle)

 

Francis Holmes is # 1. I am now # 324. # 320, where I was last week, is now Robert F Holmes.

Jonathan Marquez (Frances Anne Holmes Ballantyne line) is last at # 472.

# 460, where he was last week, is now Blake Stephens.

This should change weekly, if I’m doing my job.

 

Something new in stats, just for fun:

 

I put the names of all descendants of Francis Holmes who are either in our Facebook group or on my mailing list for chronicles, in a bag. Spouses and friends are not included as they do not get numbered in the program’s default. Those who have no descendants are also not numbered, but I’ll include them with their parent’s number. I pulled out three names, and will follow them for two weeks. Next week, I’ll draw three more. This is for fun, but if the three names I drew were not in my tree that I am using now, I insert them. Win-win exercise.

 

The three I drew last week are:

 

·         Lyndsay Yee Brady, # 368, is now # 375. #368 is now Sabrina Oksen.

·         Phyllis Fogg Hanson, # 397, is now # 408. #397 is now Dan Atkinson.

·         Julie Vasseur, # 429, is now # 440. #429 is now Heather Duncan. (As littles, these two girls went to each other’s birthday parties.)

 

New this week are:

 

·         Michelle Moore Gardner, # 439, is my niece, and is in the Charles R Holmes line. I met her many years ago, and well I remember the day we saw the Moore family off to Alaska. I held baby Michelle in my arms until she boarded the plane, and wondered if I’d ever get to know her. Fortunately, we saw each other quite often over the years. I recall holding her youngest, Lauren, who was about the same age as her mother was when I saw her off to Alaska. I walked her around the streets of West Point when we gathered for James’ graduation. Michelle is married to Dr. Ren Gardner, and has two teenaged daughters, Megan and Lauren.

·         Stoney Worster, # 271, is in the William N Holmes line. I have met him in person, as he attended the 2014 and 2016 Holmes Family Reunions. I met Jeanni, his wife, in 2016. She is such a help and encouragement to me. Stoney and Jeanni have three grown and married children – Ami, Matt, and Paul, and seven grandchildren. Why Stoney? I asked. I recall that he told me that there were four Charles’ at work: Charles, Charlie, and Chuck. So, Stoney of course.

·         Glenn Holmes, # 280, is in the William N Holmes line. I got to know him rather well as we prepared for the 2016 reunion. I had something fancy in my head for our banquet, which included music, and together, we prepared it. Lots of discussing, changing our minds, rearranging. Come the reunion, we travelled in different cars, and I happened to get tied up. Our choir was to practice, but I had the music. Planning a reunion of cousins, many of whom were complete strangers to each other, is like that. Nothing goes quite as planned. All told, we sounded just fine as we sang “We Rise Again.” Glenn is married to Mitzi; they sing and dance together. Together they have five grandchildren who they love to visit. At the 2016 reunion, they looked forward with great anticipation to the soon arrival of three of them: a single and twins.

 

 

FYI, this takes a lot of time, but it’s kind of fun. I do it on Tuesdays rather than Thursdays. Watch for your name.

 

~

Obituary of Harvey Sproul

 

Last week I told you of the passing of Harvey Sproul, special friend of Elizabeth Steeves. Here is his interesting obituary.

 

 

            Lincoln - Harley Irving Sproul Sr., passed on December 3, 2022, at his home peacefully with loved ones at his side. He was born December 7, 1931, in Lincoln, Maine, of Dana Crowley Sproul and Dorothy Emma (Vose) Sproul Ranney.

Raised in Lincoln, he graduated from Mattanawcook Academy in 1950 and then became a reservist at Portsmouth Air Force Base. He graduated in May 1953 from the RCA Institutes, Inc, in New York City with a Radio and Television Servicing Course certificate. Within days he married Myrna Lorraine Lakeman. They lived their entire lives in the home Harley built in Lincoln, where they raised their 3 children.

As a life-long learner, his mechanical abilities and in-depth scientific curiosity were recognized at an early age. He handcrafted many items such as toys, furniture, boats, camps and a packable reflector oven called "The Sproul Baker." His final effort to help advance science was his donation of his body to the medical department of the University of New England.                                                                                              

Harley started a local radio and tv repair business which soon evolved into a partnership with his cousin, James Vose, known as Sproul and Vose Jewelers, serving area customers for decades. He continued his appliance sales and repair service and Radio Shack and GE dealerships as Sproul's Inc.
Harley exemplified the spirit of community service and leadership by holding active memberships and offices in numerous local and state organizations. Especially meaningful was his key role in the formation of the Lincoln Sanitary District. He was also devoted to the First Congregational Church of Lincoln and the Men's Club, serving for years as Chairman of the River Drivers Supper.                                                                   

He was predeceased by his wife, Myrna; his parents; and his stepfather, Stowe Ranney. He is survived by his daughter, Shelly Sproul Gregory and husband, Chris, of Arizona; grandsons, Erik Potter and Ian Potter; son, William Sproul and wife, Carolyn, of Maryland; granddaughter, Emily Sproul Kuester; grandson, Dana Sproul; son, Harley Sproul Jr. of Arizona; many great-grandchildren; his older brother, Otis Jennings Sproul of New Hampshire; and several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his special friend, Elizabeth Steeves.                                                                                                                                                          

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at the First Congregational Church of Lincoln. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent in Harley's memory to the First Congregational Church of Lincoln, 19 School St., Lincoln, ME 04457.

Published on December 11, 2022.

https://obituaries.bangordailynews.com/obituary/harley-sproul-1086798981#:~:text=Lincoln%20%2D%20Harley%20Irving%20Sproul%20Sr,Emma%20(Vose)%20Sproul%20Ranney.

~

 

The newsletter is coming along, thanks to several well-wishers. I’ve done considerable editing, sometimes just throwing in a comma or two; sometimes changing a list into a paragraph. I intend to send it out on December 20^th, after the bulk of my Christmas singing is done. If you don’t receive it, you will need to send me your email address.

 

~

On Monday, I spent two and a half hours writing up the minutes for our two-and-a-half-hour board of directors meeting last Saturday. Phew. That’s it for genealogical research today. Sometimes, believe it or not, other things than Holmes family research demand my focus and eyes.

 

~

 

I have chosen my next victim for “Where There’s a Will.” Who is my victim? Edward Catchum, aka Ketchum. I knew that Charlotte Hoyt, wife of Daniel Holmes descended from him, but didn’t know if our Holmes’ did – so I went to Fen’s genealogy. I’ll look at it later, but for a quick glance, this will do. I am happy to report that both our Holmes and Hoyt families descend from Ed. Always happy to include ALL descendants. And our friend, David Hoyt, is distantly related somehow.

 

Why Great-granddy Ed? Well, I am not looking for standard easy peasy wills – I’m looking for challenging wills of people who are of some relation to us. Of course, I am. I don’t do easy. I scoured book one of the Fairfield Probate Book and, other than the index, it looks like this:

Edward Ketchum’s will and inventory records are on the right. Here is a portion of the thumbnail version page of book one.

What happened? “Memorandum – the top part of y^e following Sheets of Records was blotted with Ink as it appears three or four years before the Records Came to me as Clerk viz while [Dav^e] Rowland Esq. was Clerk & Col. Burr Judge

And Rowland.”

If you wish to see them, you will need an email. Ask. And learn this lesson from history: don’t spill your ink or coffee on your papers.

 Anyone want to volunteer to assist me to unravel this mystery? Okay, I see you shaking your heads.

 

~

 

I sent my Readers’ Digest version of the Richard Holmes story to Jeff, editor of our genealogical society newsletter, for editing and including in the January issue. It’s a long, challenging study, and I could probably write a book or at least a short story, but I had to cut it down to nubbins for News and Notes. A longer version will be in the summer issue of Generations. By the way, my Israel Smith story appeared in the Winter edition of Generations, distributed this week. It gives me the oddest feeling to see my stories in a magazine. I feel sort of like an author.

 Here is my Richard story for News and Notes. I have a great conclusion for the summer version, but just didn’t have the room for it in this edition. It didn't copy very well into Blogspot, but it's all there. For a better version, ask and I will send you a pdf email.

 

WHERE THERE’S A WILL

Richard Holmes c. 1637 – c. 1704

His wife, Sarah (Grant) Holmes c.1637- 1706

The Holmes’ of America may be proud of their Norwalk kinsman.^[i]

Where there is a will, there can be problems. Due to several complications, the lengthy probate of Richard Holmes’ Last Will and Testament must be tied together with Sarah’s inventory and probate. I investigated what problems arose in the execution of this old will.

You can find links to the actual documents at the end. Unless they are in italics, I have summarized them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Richard Holmes was the fourth and last child born to Francis Holmes, about 1637, either in England or New England. As an adult, Richard Holmes moved to nearby Norwalk, Connecticut, where he became the second blacksmith in the village.                                                                                                                                 

It is inferred that he was not actually the first ‘smith,’ but he must have succeeded, by only a short time, that primus artisan.^[ii]                                                                                                                                                

Richard and his wife, Sarah, had no children of their own, but they raised two children. Mehitabel Warner was Sarah’s niece. Her mother, Elizabeth (Grant) Warner, died shortly after giving birth to Mehitabel. Jonathan Stevenson was the young son of Jonathan Stevenson, Sr., a soldier who died in 1689. Jonathan, who came to live with the Holmes family at a young age, even though his mother lived nearby, was probably an indentured servant.^[iii] It appears to me that Richard and Sarah loved these two children, although not equally.   

                                                                                                                                                               Richard willed that after Sarah’s decease, with the exception of his smith’s tools and a few legacies, he wished to leave the bulk of his estate to Mehitabel. This included both his moveable and real estate. To Jonathan Stevenson, his former servant, he willed ten pounds.                                                       

Richard penned his Last Will and Testament on October 31, 1704, beginning:                                                       

In the name of God, Amen. Know y^e that I, Richard Holmes of Norwalk, of more than sixty years and unwell, being sensible of my mutability and mortality, and being still of right reason and perfect memory, see cause and good reason to make my will. To this end, I dispose of my worldly estate before death, so that it may be to God’s glory and my own peace and the comfort of those I shall leave behind. I declare this to be my Last Will and Testament . . . ^[iv]                                                                                                      

He must have been quite ill, for he further stated that he has arrived at the heel (or hell) of his old age (the Ancestry copy of the will looks like “heall), and he is under the afflicting hand of God. In the Imprimis that follows, he refers to “my poor Impoverished Soul” and “my poor and Crazy body.” I wonder what ailed my poor 8^th great-granduncle Richard.                                                                                                   

Soon, the complications began. I do not find a record of who challenged the will, and why, but I do see the decision of the judge, who based his decision on the testimony of the two men who witnessed Richard sign his will. The Prerogative Court . . . having Confidence that the pleas for & against y^e Probate of s^d will . . . his Cappasity for mak his will at y^e time of making therof and do allow and approved of s^d will (it being sufficiently proved) . . . This challenge took only a bit more than a month. Judge Nathan Gold received the testimony of the witnesses, Joseph Gregory and John Copp, on December 6th, 1704.^[v]                                

Joseph Gregory owned his hand as a witness to the will. He made oath that he saw Richard sign and seal the said will, and declare it to be his Last Will and Testament. He judged that Richard was in his right mind and understanding at the time of signing and sealing. John Copp did the same.                                            

Nathan Gold gave his favorable decision on January 3, 1705. He stated that under oath, Joseph Gregory and John Copp judged Richard Holmes to be in his right mind and understanding when he made his last will and testament. After considering the pleas for and against the validity of the will, as well as these testimonies, he approved it and ordered it to be recorded.                                                                              

Richard’s wife, Sarah, died on November 18, 1706. She the sole executrix; this complicated the process of executing the will. The court ordered power of administration to Sarah’s inventory to Samuel Hayes and John Bouton.                                                                                                                                                                

Then, just as John Bouton was about to distribute the estate as instructed, he died suddenly. The court appointed John Benedict to replace him. ^[vi]                                                                                                                   

It was now almost two years since the death of Richard Holmes. It must have taken time for Hayes, Bouton, and then Benedict to become familiar with this probate. These deaths surely contributed to the prolonged process of executing the will of Richard Holmes, but they do not explain the entire lengthy process.                                                                                                                                                                                           

Not only did Richard Holmes make his will, but in it he also stipulated his instructions for what was to happen to his estate after his wife died. His estate was appraised at approximately £320.                                

His inventory included clothing; linens; arms and ammunition; chests and a cupboard; pewter, brass, and ironware; a cart and plow tackling; shop tools, iron, and steel; animals; cash amounting to less than £2, and his buildings and homestead.^[vii] John Benedict, Samuel Hanford, and James Hayes took the inventory; Justice James Olmstead ordered it to be recorded on December 6, 1704. All of it was intended for his wife’s use during her lifetime. At her death, he bequeathed most of it to Mehitabel Warner, with the exception of small legacies to others.                                                                                                                       

The appraisers found Sarah’s estate to be valued at approximately £13. Compared to the appraisal of Richard’s estate at £320, this is a significant difference. It included only her wearing apparel and a list of the smith’s tools of her late husband. The appraisers mentioned that she had already disposed of a small hammer or two, but nothing else.                                                                                                                                      

When it came time for the Prerogative Court to make distribution, they concluded that the estate of Sarah should go to the sundry children of the late Robert Warner of Middletown, Connecticut, in equal proportion.^[viii] These children were the siblings of Mehitabel Warner and the nephews and nieces of Sarah (Grant) Holmes. The Court appointed Samuel Hayes and John Bouton to distribute the said estate. John Benedict replaced Bouton.                                                                                                                                                         

What of Jonathan Stevenson, Samuel Hayes, Thomas and Robert Bouton, the daughters of his brothers, John and Stephen, and his brothers – those people that Richard stipulated were to receive a small legacy?                                                                                                                                                                                                        Was this the right decision for the judge of the Prerogative Court to make? Mehitabel, raised as Richard and Sarah’s daughter (although probably not legally adopted), would only receive an equal portion to her siblings, rather than the bulk of Richard’s estate. I do not know enough about colonial laws of probate to say for certain, but I believe that Richard Holmes would have been disappointed.    Perhaps the complications of the alleged challenge to the will, as well as the deaths of Sarah Holmes and Robert Bouton, contributed to the difficulty of executing these wills. With nothing specific to go by in regards to Sarah’s wishes, the judge made what he decided was the best decision. Maybe there wasn’t much left to distribute. Unless there are other documents I have not located, the other people who obviously meant much to Richard received nothing.                                                                                              

The rest of the story will be submitted to the editor of Generations, probably for the summer issue of 2023. You can view the actual probates at:

      Last Will and Testament, Inventory, and Probate Records of Richard Holmes at Ancestry

https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/9049/images/007628167_00856?pId=1252065

     Last Will and Testament, Inventory, and Probate Records of Richard Holmes at Familysearch

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-892K-TRF6?i=597&cat=359148

    Inventory and Probate Records of Sarah (Grant) Holmes at Ancestry

https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/9049/images/007628167_00862?pId=1252071

     Inventory and Probate Records of Sarah (Grant) Holmes at Familysearch

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-892K-TRXC?i=638&cat=359148

    

    

 

 

 

 

 

---

ENDNOTES

[i] Selleck, Rev. Charles M., A. M. Norwalk. Published by the author: Norwalk, Conn.: 1896. Pages 103, 104.

[ii] Ibid, page 102.

[iii] Nettles, Curtis P. The Roots of American Civilization: A History of American Colonial Life. Second edition. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. 1938 and 1963. Page 323.

[iv] Familysearch – Probate records of Richard Holmes. Image 598, page 33. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-892K-TRF6?cat=359148

[v] Ancestry – Connecticut, US, Wills and Probate Records, 1609 – 1999 for Richard Holmes. Image # 857.

[vi] Familysearch - Probate Records of Sarah Holmes.  Image 639, page 89.

[vii] Familysearch. Image 598, page 33a.

[viii] Familysearch. Image 639, page 89.

 

~

My shopping is about done. My packages are mailed. I only need to buy powdered eggs and chocolate for Erin. I still have cards to write; as usual, some will be New Years cards in Christmas dress. And singing. Formal candlelight service this coming Sunday evening. So far, no snow in the forecast for Sunday. Oops, last minute forecast – storm beginning Saturday, ending Sunday.

 

We have had our first blizzard, and our icing sugared lawns are now blanketed in white.