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 20th, 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 ye 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 [Dave] 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.
~
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.
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 penned his Last Will and Testament on October 31, 1704, beginning:
In the name of God, Amen. Know ye 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 8th 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 ye Probate of sd will . . . his Cappasity for mak his will at ye time of making therof and do allow and approved of sd 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
[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.
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