Uncle Peg’s Chronicles
July 25, 2024
“Bridge Over the River Kennebecasis”
“These
were their settlements. And they kept good family records.”[1]
Don’t
forget to look for the title which is embedded in the chronicle.
FAMILY ALBUM
This photo of two much younger cousins is from 2009, at a cemetery in
Cumberland County; perhaps the Athol Cemetery. Peg and Karl went to a weekend
conference and took a tour of Cumberland County that day.
GRATITUDE
I am so grateful to those of you who replied with changes
and additions to your family trees. These were descendants of Fanny, Louisa,
and William. Also, Glenn, thanks for forwarding the email to your brother. The
rest are in progress. Almost ready, but I’ve been down a different, difficult
rabbit trail.
SUMMER BREAK
I completed the indexing of Uncle Billy’s guest book and sent that off
to the webmaster. Now, I’m back (at a turtle’s pace) to indexing newspaper
obituaries of 1848. Hopefully,
I’ll soon head up country for a stop at the farm, the little store, and some
cemeteries to “visit” our folks.
That was a couple of weeks ago. Since then, my genealogy has taken a
back seat. Actually, it’s almost non-existent for the nonce, as Fen would say.
My dog has been in a steady decline since May, and until last Thursday, when we
took her in for euthanasia, we had a big hole in our pocketbook and a bigger
hole in our hearts. As a last resort, I asked to talk to the senior vet in the
clinic before we actually put her down. He listened. He looked. He took another
round of blood. And he diagnosed, not the cause, but the effect. Learned a new
word: icteric. Her liver and kidneys were shutting down. He prescribed 14 pills
a day. It looks like the cause might be lepto, as he suspects, as she seems, as
of yesterday afternoon, to be reacting slowly but favourably to the antibiotic.
After losing eleven pounds (from 42 to 31), she is skeletal. But, Dr. Vessey
said, “she wants to live.” We realize she is still touch and go: it’s an up and
down hill climb. Update on
Wednesday, the 24th. Piper left us peacefully yesterday afternoon. This
is not genealogy related, but it has impacted our lives and I wanted you to
know why I haven’t been around much.
He invited me to walk the trail
across the bridge and the river any time. I believe I will walk it, but I’ll
give them notice.
MY GENEALOGY GOALS
- Chronicle
several times, and publish on Thursday morning.
- Keep
writing my next article for Generations, which is about the will of
Daniel Holmes.
- Spend
a bit of time on Moore family research: “Three Peas in a Moore Pod.”
- In
the evening, after chores are done, edit the Daniel and Charlotte family
genealogy.
- Index
old newspapers for NBGS.
- Manage
the NBGS Social Media Facebook page.
1924 to
1928
Those
are the years that our great or great-great grandparents spent renewing
relationships that had somehow fallen by the wayside but with organization,
letter writing, and challenging travel – by hook or by crook – they managed to
come together again. They reacquainted and rediscovered their family ties. And
then, one by one, they died, and many of those ties died with them.
2024 to 2028
One topic of interest
to many genealogists is migration. Those of us in 2024 know of transportation
means that our ancient ancestors never dreamed of. Hot air balloons and early
flying machines led to jet aircraft and space travel. Our immigrant ancestor,
Francis Holmes, and others of his generation, sailed to America. Ocean going
vessels sailing to and from various places, including Australia, was a common
mode of travel until the 1970s. Our Loyalist ancestors, fleeing the
post-Revolutionary War, generally sailed to Nova Scotia. When Samuel Holmes Jr
and his wife, Betty née McElman, wrote home to her parents, they mentioned
sailing either along the east coast or through the northern strait and the St.
Lawrence River. Daniel
Holmes traveled from Amherst to Petitcodiac – I’d say either by horseback or
foot, and then stayed put. Some of his children remained close to home. James
and Fanny moved from Ontario to Iowa right after the Civil War, and settled and
stayed in Brooklyn, Iowa. Robert and Louisa followed James and Fanny, but later
moved east and settled in Maine. James and Augusta went to Maine. William and
Anna and six of their children went from Maine to California. Alf and Carrie
settled in Massachusetts. Peter and Hannah went to Maine. Fenwick and Maude
moved to the unsettled area of Rat Portage, on the Ontario-Manitoba border. Fen
died in Florida, and Maude, back in New Brunswick. I would imagine these folks
of ours travelled by wagon train or train. From
there, they went just about everywhere, especially the descendants of William
and Anna. This month, I had a little discussion with Doug Holmes, son of Jerome
and Anna Holmes. Doug and his wife, Debra (Gough), live in Australia. I knew
that, but I didn’t know the circumstances. Brother Glenn forwarded my tentative
William and Anna Holmes line booklet to Doug, and Doug sent me updates of his
family. He and Debra have three children, Patrick, Tessa, and Sinead. As
you might know, I generally follow the in-laws back one generation. So it was
that I followed up on Debra’s parents, Harry and Barbara (Bentley) Gough. The
Gough’s were born in 1918 and 1922 respectively, both in Stoke-on-Trent in
England. With that information, I was able to determine that they passed away
in Australia from Find A Grave. Doug
sent me this little bit of bio: “Deb’s parents did pass away in Australia: Harry in
1997 and Barbara in 2015. Barbara and Harry
were what is known here in Australia as “Ten Pound Poms,” British immigrants to
Australia who came in significant numbers due to depressed post WWII conditions
in the UK. Australia was experiencing labour shortages in the 2 decades after
the war, so migrants were given free passage here. Australia offered much
greater social mobility than the UK as well, which was significant for working
class families. It turned out to be a very positive move for Harry and Barbara
- 5 of their 6 children (including Deb) were able to go to university here,
which would not likely have been available to them had they stayed in
England. My
next question had to be – where did you and Deb meet? “Deb and I met in Tonga in the South Pacific. I joined the
Peace Corps a couple of years after finishing university (back in the 80s) and
was assigned to a UN program in Nuku’alofa. Deb had joined the equivalent
Australian service, Australian Volunteers Abroad, and worked on a parallel UN
program in Nuku’alofa. And, well, the rest is history. We married in Hawaii, but decided on
living in Melbourne after we finished our work in Tonga. It was a good decision
- Melbourne has been a great place to raise a family.” Can you imagine those journeys our
ancestors took? Every
individual, every family in our tree has a story to tell, and I wish I could
tell them all.
https://museumsvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/resources/journeys-to-australia/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Pound_Poms
MUM’S MEMOIRS
The
chivarees. The first one I remember was for Uncle Cecil & Aunt Margaret.
They were married in the States and came home on their honeymoon so the
neighbours got together & gave them a chivaree. It was supposed to be a
surprise but I remember he had a treat. I can’t remember what it was but it
seemed pretty wonderful to me. There
was a big crowd the other one was for Barbara & Mel we just on the spur of
the moment decided to have one (no treat). They were staying at Aunt Tress
& Uncle Fred’s – Barbara’s home the first night and going away next day so
Herb Steeves & Bertha [Steeves ], Don & I, Wyone &
John [Dixon], Virginia & Alden [Golding], Nina & Willard [Milburn],
Jean Lane & Jerry Mitton drove up. Herb had a new Oldsmobile & Willard
an old car. I remember it had wooden spokes in the wheels. We went up to my
home & I was scared the hired man would be mad at us & he was a
terrible man to swear. Any way they got Dad to get a gun, an old saw and some
pieces of pipe to bang the saw with & we started with the stuff with Dad
and the hired man. Uncle Fred had a fellow working for him who had just come
from Hungary couldn’t speak a word of English and he was in bed. It must have
been 10 o’clock. We girls ran upstairs opened their luggage & emptied
confetti all through their clothes but when the noise started with the car
horns, guns saw etc the poor Hungarian didn’t know what was going on. Poor
Jerry was beating the saw & hit Edison (the swearer) on the thumb. The air
was “blue.” It was a fun time tho’.
[Except for the Hungarian. Mum didn’t write this but she told me that they
found him in his bed, terrified. Might have helped if they told him about this
beforehand.]
FAMILY HISTORY LESSON
I took a bit of a rabbit trail, as I was having a hard time focusing on
genealogy and family history this month. I looked around my Ancestry family
tree for something a bit different, starting with the children of Samuel Holmes
Sr and Elizabeth aka Betty Fountain, Daniel’s grandparents. Found that there
were some new folks researching their son James’ line, and nosing around a bit,
I saw that they had found some details that I didn’t know about. Time to
verify.
They didn’t find a
wife for James, nor did I. The mother of two of his sons was, but the will
indicates to me that James’ eldest son was of a different mother. And the
eldest son’s name was Nathaniel. Nathaniel was about four years younger than
the mother of his brothers.
Let’s look at what
Fen had to say about Nathaniel Holmes, alleged father of Samuel Sr Holmes, in
“The Holmes Line.” “Nathaniel
Holmes was born about 1723. When his father died about 1741 he was 18 years of
age and, perhaps, not quite ready to accept the burden of property and
responsibility. However he apparently gave the duties of the eldest son a good
try. On 20 April 1744 he received 15 acres in Bedford at Cohomongs, thus
expanding his patrimony. However, on 13 December 1749 he sold to Peter Holmes
for £50 New York money, six acres in Bedford bounded by Peter Holmes and Oliver
Arneld. Witnesses were Samuel Miller (Nathaniel’s first cousin, once removed)
and Ebenezer Holmes (Nathaniel’s uncle). On 29 July Nathaniel sold to Joseph
Clark for £5 and 15 shillings, New York money, five and 2/4 acres in Bedford,
bounded by said Clark and Holmes.
By 1760, Nathaniel
had probably sold off all of the land he had inherited from Isaac. In that
year, in a Muster Roll of the Men Raised and Pass’d in the County of
Westchester for Captain Gilcrest’s Company, May, Ye 13, 1760 he was
enlisted for the French-Indian War, giving his occupation as “Labourer.” This
was the common term for persons without landed property. All of his patrimony
has been sold. Here we lose sight of him. He may be the Nathaniel Holmes who,
with his wife Anna in North Castle, Westchester County in 1786 mortgaged to
Samuel Belden of Killingworth, Connecticut for £150, 17 and ¼ acres in North
Castle. In 1790, the first federal census shows a Nathaniel Holmes, Senior,
neighboring a Charles Haight, Jr. If this is the same Nathaniel Holmes, he
obviously was not identified as a Loyalist or, because of his age, was
permitted to stay in New York.
We have no other
records of Nathaniel Holmes or of his marriage to Anna (?). Neither do we have
information about his children. However, the same Muster Roll that listed
Nathaniel Holmes, Labourer, also shows as enlisting, at the same time, Samuel
Holmes, aged 16, also listed as a Labourer. This would make his birth year as
c. 1744. Remington [the professional genealogist that Fen hired] surmises that
Nathaniel and Samuel are father and son and that this son is probably Samuel,
Sr., the Loyalist and founder of the line in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
This account is based on that assumption.”
So, you see, our
evidence for Samuel Sr Holmes being the son of Nathaniel is circumstantial. I
would say it is probable. Now, naming patterns at the time were quite specific,
but absolutely not essential. So, this bit of information is also circumstantial.
I would say it is interesting. Often, the first son was named for his paternal
grandfather.
James named his
first son Nathaniel. Did he name him for his paternal grandfather? Maybe.
James had two more
sons, Richard and John. He made a will, and this is interesting for the era. I
found the will at FamilySearch, after much searching. I have looked at both his
will and his father’s in the last month. Here is my transcription, with one
word I cannot figure out, and I will tell you why it interests me, although I
don’t have time to research it before Thursday.
“James Holmes
Aspy Bay, Cape North,
County of Cape Breton
L13
Registered 30th
June 1840
Court of Probate,
Baddeck,
Victoria County, Nova
Scotia
The WILL of James
Holmes, Cape North
This is the Last Will and
Testament of me James Holmes of Cape North in the County of Cape Breton and
Province of Nova Scotia, Yeoman ~
In the first place my Will is
that all my just debts and funeral expenses be paid by my Executors herein
after named from and unto of such parts of my personal Property as may be least
prejudicial to the Whole ~
Item I
give to my Son Nathaniel Holmes the Sum of five pounds of lawful money of Nova
Scotia to be paid to him by my Executors within three months after my decease ~
Item I
give to my house Keeper Mary Kehoe, the mother of my Natural Children John
Holmes and Richard Holmes, one hundred acres of Land at the Middle Barrasois
(sic) in Aspy Bay Cape North aforesaid, purchased by me from my Brother Samuel Holmes. To have and To Hold the said
One Hundred Acres of Land with all and singular other the premises and
appurtenances thereunto belonging unto the said Mary Kehoe and to her Heirs and
Assigns forever ~
Item I
give to my Natural Son the aforesaid Richard Holmes Eighty Acres of Marsh in
the South Barrasois in Aspy Baty aforesaid which was granted to me by the Crown
about the year Eighteen hundred and twenty. To Have and To Hold the said Eighty
Acres of Marsh together with the ____
and appurtenances thereunto belonging unto the said Richard Holmes and to his
Heirs and assigns forever ~
Item I
give unto my Natural Son the aforesaid John Holmes Four Hundred Acres of Land
at or near Westchester Mountain in the Couty of Cumberland in the Province of
Nova Scotia which was devised to me by the last Will of my Father the late Samuel Holmes of Cumberland aforesaid
Yeoman deceased To Have and To Hold the said Four Hundred Acres of Land and all
and singular others the premises and appurtenances thereunto belonging unto the
said John Holmes his Heirs and assigns forever ~
Item I
give unto Margaret Rylie the Daughter of the aforementioned Mary Kehoe and who
has been residing in my House under my protection since she has been a child,
One Hundred and thirty six acres of Land now in my occupation at the South
Barrasois aforesaid and which I hold by grant from the
Crown bearing date on or about July in the year of our Lord one Thousand
eight hundred and twenty five, to Have and to Hold the said One Hundred and Thirty Six acres of Land and all and
singular other the premises and
appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining unto the said
Margaret Rylie and to her Heirs and assigns forever ~
Item, all
the rest residual and remainder of my Personal Estate of which I shall be
possessed, or entitled to, at the time of my decease, or over which I have
disposing powers I give to the aforesaid Mary Kehoe, John Holmes, Richard
Holmes and Margaret Rylie share and share alike and to and for their sole use
benefit and behalf forever, and I hereby appoint my said House Keeper Mary
Kehoe Executrix and my friend James Guinn of Aspy Bay aforesaid Executor of
this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking all former and other Wills by
me at any time heretofore made ~
In
witness whereas I the said James Holmes have hereunto set my hand and Seal to
this my Last Will the twenty second day of June in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and thirty nine ~
Signed Sealed
published and James
Holmes
Declared by . . .
Signed by witness: Edmond
M Dodd
Signed by witness: James
McKeagney
Signed by witness: A
P Haliburton
What is in red, I want to chase down, and then leave this for
after I finish my Daniel article. I did verify that Samuel Holmes, Sr, James’
father, left him the property in Westchester Mountain. I find the fact that
Samuel Holmes, Jr, his brother, sold him property in Cape Breton, intriguing.
Look at a map of Nova Scotia – the distance from where Samuel Holmes Jr lived
to where his brother, James, lived. That may put a new twist into the plot of
Samuel Jr’s story. And I’d like to find the grant of land from the Crown to
James.
FamilySearch:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZY-P98B-1?i=602&wc=SN1P-BZW%3A1412591302%2C1412825701&cc=2134302
This ends
week thirty of
our centennial virtual celebration.
