BUT

 

Uncle Peg’s Chronicles

May 11, 2023

“BUT”

 

 

 

This photo by Traci Brasse made me smile this week, and with it, her post. Traci is Paula Holmes’ daughter, and some of you know of her cancer journey and have prayed and thought of her often.

 

“This evening, I screamed, danced, and finally cried. ‘We crushed cancer.’ Over a year later, we can celebrate remission.

 

Thank you to each and every one of you that supported me through cancer to this day and will be by my side in the future. I have the most amazing family, friends and medical staff.

 

I get to start living life tomorrow beyond yesterday’s cancer. It’s an entirely different journey than I have lived in the past. I know you spend at least the next 5 years always looking for cancer recurrence, but I WILL be living my best life and enjoying every beautiful sunset and sunrise God throws my way.” ~ Traci.

 

~

 

Next Tuesday, I go to court to see if they pick me as a juror for a case that will last eleven days. I sure hope that is business days, for I have two important NBGS meetings on Saturdays during that time period. If I am selected, I will not be doing any genealogy to write about. And I will not be happy, but I have no choice in this matter.

 

~

 

I still cannot update my Family Tree Maker Program without risk. But, if in the next few days it is not remedied, I am going to attempt to update it anyway. However, I think I’ll leave the stats in the past for the time being.

 

 

New names this week are Wendy Huke Abraham and Chris Holmes.

 

 

Wendy Huke Abraham is in the Carrie Holmes Steeves line. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Wendy, but I do enjoy her Facebook. She retired from nursing a short while back. Wendy married Samuel Abraham, and has two grown children, Samuel and Julianne.

 

Christopher Holmes is in the Charles R Holmes line. I’ve known about Chris for many years, and as a youngster used to see some cute photos of him. I met him last summer at the memorial service for his grandmother, Phyllis Davidson Holmes. Great to get to know this all-grown-up first cousin once removed. He’s a busy young man, but has taken some interest in his family history and he soaked it up on this trip, carrying around some mementoes that he received and sometimes looking a bit overwhelmed with it, coming at him all at once as it did. All genealogists and family historians know and remember wearing that look. Like his Uncle Karl, Aunt Brenda, and grandfather Jim, hopefully he will take a serious interest in his history when time permits. In the meantime, Chris, ask questions and keep a journal of what you learn from your elders – the best advice I can give to a future Holmes family genealogist.

 

~

 

My genealogy goals for this week were:

 

·         Chronicle several times, and publish on Thursday morning.

·         Start researching and writing about Daniel Holmes for the “Where There’s a Will” article.

·         Complete the William Holmes line for the Lincoln Historical Society when FTM is fixed.

·         Continue indexing old New Brunswick obituaries and death notices for the NBGS website project.

·         Get ready to scan Uncle Billy’s guest book for the NBGS website.

·         Get ready for the AGM for NBGS and for our branch, both in May. Write a teeny tiny welcome speech.

·         Revisit “Fairfield” of CCC.

·         Spend a bit of time on Moore family research.

I worked on the newspaper index a bit. I sent the revised program off to our board of directors for the provincial AGM. I worked on Fairfield; nothing new, but some editing. Mostly cutting! Based on good advice to “know more than you write”, I took out what does not move the story forward and added references to recommended books along the story route. I may put them all at the end later. I spent some time on my Moores, and found a couple of potential Holmes family lost souls. They are in the Facebook group under a separate post, and I may insert them into next week’s chronicle.

~

My thanks this week to Grace March and Cynthia Brignone, who gave me photos for this chronicle and our group.

It’s time to post graduation announcements and photographs. If you wish, please send along your graduation news for you, your children or grandchildren as their graduation occurs.

~

Congratulations to Sophie Gardner, daughter of Nichelle Gardner and granddaughter of Brook and Grace (Holmes) March, graduated on May 6 from the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a minor in Criminology. She has been accepted into University of Southern Maine’s three-year Master’s program for school society. Sophie is in the James Hoyt Holmes line. She and her mother spent Saturday with us at the 2016 reunion.

 

Congratulations to Joey Brignone on receiving his Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Utah. He will start his PhD research and program at the University of Utah in mechanical engineering with emphasis in robotics in June, 2023. His aim is to use robotics to help with prothesis in ALS patients. There will be more photos on our Facebook page shortly. In the photo, Joey is standing between his parents, Joseph and Cynthia (Ballantyne) Brignone.

~

I fell into a rabbit hole this week. Landed with a thud. For the life of me, I can’t remember how I fell in. But, I did. I read someplace that William H Appleton Holmes was the ninth time removed descendant of Francis Holmes. I decided to see if I could trace William to Francis. Just for fun, you know.

I could.

There once lived, in Wethersfield, Connecticut, one Jonas Holmes. Jonas is an enigma. He fits, date wise, right into the John and Rachel (Waterbury) Holmes lineage.

William H Appleton Holmes, born in 1896, married Helen Saunders in 1910, died in 1943, son of

Louis Humphrey Holmes and Caroline Mould, son of

Russel Humphrey Holmes and Mary Ann or Eleanor Bevier, son of

Phineas Holmes and Philura Humphrey, son of

Simeon Holmes and Emma Baldwin, son of

Phineas Holmes and Elizabeth Grimes, son of

Jonas Holmes, alleged son of (emphasis mine)

John Holmes and Rachel Waterbury, son of

Francis Holmes

 

Most people who research this family question whether Jonas Holmes was a son of John and Rachel. I see that Fen included him in his 2002 version, without stating that Jonas was putative. I seem to recall that he did make that statement in other places. I wonder if these SAR applications are the source of the Jonas theory.

Several people include him in their trees. Their sources are other trees. That is never a valid source. It’s worth a look if you are stuck, but it is worthless as a source to confirm anything.

I spent one evening researching this family and I am satisfied that the research is correct to Phineas and Elizabeth (Grimes) Holmes. But even in several SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) applications, where I initially did this lineage, they do not give sources for Jonas being the son of John and Rachel. I suppose they did not have to: what they needed was proof for the individuals up to Simeon, who served in the revolutionary war. The rest was gravy, and helped me.

BUT.

From the CT GenWeb: “Descendants of Francis Holmes.” It is somewhat out of date, but probably well researched and an excellent resource; just do your due diligence and compare to other sources.

“3.John Holmes, Sr. (Francis)^{30,31,32,33,34,35,36} was born Abt. 1635, and died Bef. 13 April 1715 in Bedford, Westchester Co, NY. He married Rachel Waterbury^37,38 11 May 1659 in Stamford, CT³⁹, daughter of John Waterbury and Rose [Taylor?].

No record of the death or Probate of the Estate of John Holmes, Sr. has been discovered. He died sometime between the payment of his quit rent tax on 9 Jun 1713 & 13 Apr 1715. Another record states his marriage took place on 3 Dec 1659. This record embodies the information recorded in the Stamford Town Records. When researching this family line, care must be exercised in distinguishing between this John Holmes, Sr. and John Holmes (1639-1729) of Beverly, Co York, EN, who was also one of the proprietors of Bedford, Westchester Co, NY.

Children of John Holmes and Rachel Waterbury are:
12 i. John Holmes, Jr⁴⁰, born 18 October 1660 in Stamford, CT; died Bef. 17 May 1738 in Bedford, Westchester Co, NY. He married Sarah Abt. 1694 in Bedford, Westchester Co, NY.
13 ii. Mary Holmes⁴¹, born 25 September 1662 in Stamford, CT. She married (1) John Miller, Jr. She married (2) Daniel Clason.
+ 14 iii. Stephen Holmes, born 14 January 1663/64 in Stamford, CT; died 15 May 1710 in Stamford, CT.
15 iv. Richard Holmes⁴², born Abt. 1667 in Stamford, CT; died Bef. 09 April 1708 in Bedford, Westchester Co, NY. He married Mary Miller Abt. 1690 in Bedford, Westchester Co, NY.
16 v. Rachel Holmes⁴³, born 07 December 1669 in Stamford, CT. She married Richard Westcott Abt. 1687 in [prob] Bedford, Westchester Co, NY.
17 vi. Sarah Holmes⁴⁴, born Abt. 1672 in Stamford, CT. She married Jonathan Miller⁴⁵ Abt. 1691 in Bedford, Westchester Co, NY.
18 vii. Jonas? Holmes⁴⁶, born 03 January 1671/72 in Stamford, CT. The assignment of Jonas as a son of John Holmes, Sr. is a punitive. There is no evidence beyond the quotations cited in the source for his identity. This compiler feels it is doubtful that he is a son of John Holmes, Sr., however he is assigned for posterity and pending further evidence one way or the other.
19 viii. Jonathan Holmes^47,48, born Abt. 1674 in Stamford, CT. He married Dorothy [Roberts?].
20 ix. Rose Holmes⁴⁹, born Abt. 1678 in Stamford, CT. She married John Westcott 09 April 1702 in Bedford, Westchester Co, NY.
21 x. David Holmes⁵⁰, born Abt. 1680 in Stamford, CT. He married Ruth Abt. 1699 in Bedford, Westchester Co, NY. The will of John Holmes, Sr. does not reveal a son David, however he is identified in the household of John Homes, Sr., in the 1710 Census, and Bedford Land Records identifies David in a land transaction in which his father, John Holmes, Sr. states "to my loving son, David Holmes, of the same place, etc, etc", several parcels of land. This is the only record that supports David's assignment as a son of John Holmes, Sr. in the Bedford Records.
22 xi. Joseph Holmes⁵¹, born Abt. 1683 in Stamford, CT. He married Joanna?.”

https://www.ctgenweb.org/county/cofairfield/pages/stamford/holmes_data.htm

I’ve not located any evidence that gives me the assurance that Jonas is the son of John and Rachel. I have very strong doubts. But, I did come up with a word that crops up occasionally in genealogy.

#18. vii. Jonas? Holmes⁴⁶, born 03 January 1671/72 in Stamford, CT. The assignment of Jonas as a son of John Holmes, Sr. is a punitive. There is no evidence beyond the quotations cited in the source for his identity. This compiler feels it is doubtful that he is a son of John Holmes, Sr., however he is assigned for posterity and pending further evidence one way or the other.

Punitive is not the correct word for this case. It means, according to Oxford Learners Dictionary, “inflicting or intended as punishment.” The word seems to be often used, but should be putative:

From Merriam-Webster dictionary: putative is an adjective, meaning

1.       Commonly accepted or supposed

2.       Assumed to exist or to have existed

We do have others in our John Holmes lineage that I eventually need to work on, such as Isaac Holmes. Although we have no actual evidence that he is the son of Richard Holmes and Mary Miller, and grandson of John Holmes and Rachel Waterbury, we do have circumstantial evidence. He lived near other family members, he bought and sold land with his assumed siblings and inlaws; that kind of thing. I don’t know that I can do any better with Isaac than other genealogists have, but I’ll certainly have a go at it in the future.

I have inserted Jonas, his wife, Sarah Appleton, and his children into my tree for the time being. Copy with caution and do your own due diligence.

~

Where There’s a Will

Daniel Holmes

1813 - 1883

That is the beginning. I am in the transcription phase. Some of it is just illegible. Now that I can read the script of the 16 and 1700s, I’m having a problem with the latter 1800s’ hen scratching. I’ve included a page: I can do the math. Unless you can read it, I’m not looking for help. I don’t think it will be part of my article. It’s just some minor accounting. Mind you, it might not have been so minor in the 1880s.

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I am enjoying my spring tonic – fiddleheads; both the meditative picking and the eating. I am looking forward to rhubarb, which is growing despite the lack of rain, the slew of rain, and the mainly cool or cold days. I don’t forage and garden and preserve enough, even though I enjoy it.

How about you? Do you enjoy picking? Gardening? Preserving?