Uncle Peg’s Chronicles
June 12, 2025
“Cozy and Nourishing”
“These
were their settlements. And they kept good family records.”
Don’t
forget to look for the title which is embedded in the chronicle.
FAMILY ALBUM
Yesterday, June 11th, I took Carolyn Brown,
a cousin from the Zorobabel line (brother to Samuel Jr), on a rural tour of the
Holmes haunts. She said she had a lovely time. We started in Moncton. As we exited
the off ramp, I showed her approximately where Daniel Holmes (son of Samuel Jr)
and his wife, Charlotte, lived. We headed straight for Hill Grove, where we
stopped at the cemetery to pay our respects to Charles R and Phoebe Holmes and
Billy and Maggie (Holmes) Snider. I like to think they enjoy watching the
Clydesdales occasionally trot down the road and the big milk truck passes on its
way to the Von Waldow farm up the road. Not sure about that.
We stopped in front of the old homestead, pictured above
for Carolyn’s imagination, which is now a field in need of haying. Keep going
and we enjoyed a brief walk about the nursery and a lovely meal in the breezy fresh
air of the Cedar Café. The mushroom soup was lovely. Quick spin over to Portage
Vale, and she appreciated the view from my favourite spot on top of the hill to
take in the valley. Checked out the new (Ketchum Snider Doull) Matthews house,
and drove down the highway to Petitcodiac.
There, we walked around Maple Park, where I showed her
the Holmes Burnham Trail sign and the Holmes Brook, and finally to the
Petitcodiac Baptist Cemetery where rest Daniel and Charlotte and their
daughters, Hattie and Bessie. I got her to the station in plenty of time to
catch her bus to Fredericton, where she attended a conference and is, as I put
the finishing touches in this chronicle, in the provincial archives, looking up
her ancestors.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Carolyn.
Photos available by request.
Left: Hattie and Abner
Jones, Bessie Kinnear, and Daniel and Charlotte Holmes. My new to me blue
Zoom-zoom in the background. Its first NB adventure.
Right: Carolyn taking
a photo of Daniel’s tombstone. Surprise!
AND I QUOTE (from the last newsletter)
Celia: I LOVE that you were able to touch the SEAL!
Julia: Thanks again for keeping us connected.
1924
to 1928
Those are the
years that our Holmes ancestors 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
As a genealogist, I see lots of dates.
Primarily, I look for birth, marriage, and death. If they are available, I’ll
add christenings, divorces, that kind of thing. It becomes rather routine, and
I don’t give it much thought. That’s for the people I never met, and generally
they are way in the past. What interests me, sometimes, is what happens in
between that date of birth and date of death. What kind of people were they?
What did they contribute to their home, their locality, and world history?
Then there are the people I know. Often,
they are elderly, and their time had come, like my Dad and Mum. Dad passed on
my birthday twenty years ago. He was a good man, a good husband and father. A
good provider. An avid photographer for a while, active in church, a stamp
collector, a marching band lover (especially with pipes), and a growly lion
(lyin’ on the floor, playing with us kids). He served in Newfoundland during
the second world war. He had a dry wit, and I think you had to know him to
recognize it. Mum outlived him by 17 years, and at the end, tried to make it to
100 but she just couldn’t do it. She was a good Mum. We told her she should
work in a restaurant, for we liked her cooking. She made our clothes for many
years. She was frugal but we didn’t lack for our needs. I never did get the
go-go boots I wanted. I suppose I didn’t really need them. She had the gift of
hospitality, and that included both their friends and ours. My friends enjoyed
her hot chocolate and sometimes tuna burgers after a cold skate on Jones Lake.
I never met Dylan Davis, but I sure did
know about him. I would have, anyway, but taking up my genealogy obsession, I
got to meet, reacquaint, and virtuality or actually visit occasionally with my
cousins. They are all dear to me – every one of them. The years between Dylan’s
dates were short; he was only eighteen. I don’t know what he was like, but I
know that he was loved. He probably spent lots of time on his grandfather’s
ranch. Just recently, the Davis family held a reunion. Lily posted photos of
cattle branding – she’s an amazing photographer, and seems to specialize in
farm animals and race horses – lots of motion.
In a letter from Carleton Holmes to
Kirk Dickens: Ellery Holmes born September 15, 1908, was "killed in a
motorcycle accident while in college." He was twenty; born 1908, died
1928. He is buried in the West Broadway Cemetery in Lincoln, Maine, where many
of our family members are buried. I’m sure it was tragic for his parents,
Luther and Marcia (Jipson) Holmes, his brother, Rodney, and his grandparents,
William and Anna (Heath) Holmes. Reading and recording these tragic old details
always gives me pause, to wonder what kind of man Ellery would have become. It
is the knowing of people, nowadays, even virtually, that gives me sadness and
sorrow deep down, to share with you and record in the family annals.
News From Holmes
It is with sorrow that I share the
passing of Dylan Davis. He was the grandson of my first cousin, Susan (Lutes)
Davis, who passed away in 2010 in Colorado. Sue left to mourn her husband,
Warren, her daughter Karen and her family, and her son, Daniel and his family.
Dan married Nicole, and they had two children, Lily and Dylan.
On May 31st, Dylan died in
hospital after a collision on his motorcycle, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a
week or two after his high school graduation and the family reunion. He was
eighteen. The service will be live streamed on June 25th. If any
cousins of Sue would like the link, let Cindy know.
Dylan – Dan and Niki (Brilhart) Davis –
Warren and Sue (Lutes) Davis – Ralph and Nancy (Holmes) Lutes – Floyd and
Minnie (Colpitts) Holmes – Charles R and Phoebe (McMonagle) Holmes – Daniel and
Charlotte (Hoyt) Holmes – Samuel Jr and Phoebe (Holstead) Holmes – Samuel Sr
and Elizabeth (Fountain) Holmes.
THE UMBILICAL LINE
I just learned
something new (to me): Umbilical Lines. The term is a newish genealogical name
for the mitochondrial DNA line. Mother to daughter to granddaughter . . . can
be passed to the son but he does not pass it on, as I understand it.
I read about it
in a newspaper article at the Altoona Mirror. The article is titled Roots &
Branches.
https://www.altoonamirror.com/life/area-life/2018/05/roots-branches-tracing-and-extending-umbilical-lines-of-mtdna/
I rather like
it. Seems rather cozy and nourishing. I don’t know if it is proper to use it
for record-based research or not. I like calling the maternal line the spindle
or distaff line – I think because I am fond of yarn and thread. This will only
interest a few of you, but you might find it intriguing to see it.
I spent a few
days researching my spindle/distaff/umbilical/maternal/mitochondrial line. It’s
the one that runs along the bottom of your chart. Theoretically, every surname
should be different. You will notice that I have a Smith then Steeves then
Smith again. I have to have a deeper look, but I don’t think the two Smiths are
related. I would like to delve deeper into this, to verify the details as much
as possible.
I can go this
far (paper research plus DNA for a bit) and would like to put more research effort
into the mothers after Martha Smith to verify: Eleanor Janis Minnie Ray – Julie
Dawn Vasseur – Margaret Jane ‘Peggy’ Moore - Mary ‘Margaret’ Holmes - Minnie Beatrice
Colpitts - Lauretta Catherine Smith - Sarah ‘Caroline’ Steeves - Martha Smith -
Suzanne Mary Ann Gauvin dit Govang - Marguerite Gastonguay - Marie-Angelique
Morin - Marie Bergevin – Marie Anne Pitou – Marie Henriette Poilen.
Marie Anne Pitou
was born in France, and died in Quebec. Marie Henriette Poilen was born and
died in France.
So, who else shares
in this lengthy umbilical cord?
Frances and
Barbara Blakeney, sisters. They start at Lauretta. Barbara had sons; not sure
about Fran.
The rest are
descendants of Minnie.
My sister,
Patricia Leigh Moore Booth, starting at herself, as she had sons.
Katelyn and
Jillian Jones, daughters of Karen Davis Jones, granddaughters of Susan
Elizabeth Lutes Davis, great granddaughters of Nancy Holmes Lutes.
Sarah Steeves
Sawler, daughter of Cindy Ellen Lutes Steeves, granddaughter of Nancy Holmes
Lutes. Sal has two sons.
Allison Bell
Sherman and Madeline Bell, sisters, daughters of Jennifer Lutes Bell,
granddaughters of Nancy Holmes Lutes.
Our ethnicity in this line: English,
German, French.
Most records starting with Suzanne are
with the Catholic Church records in the Druoin Collection.
Phew. For me, 14 ancestors. I think
that is my longest thread, and with time, it is verifiable.
How about you?
Back left: Sarah ‘Carolyn’ Steeves
Smith. 1816 – 1903. Photo from Ancestry.
FAMILY HISTORY LESSON
Uncle Stephen Holmes
Due to the lack of available
presenters, the Cumberland County has cancelled its summer conference. Before I
got the notice, I had gathered all the Stephen Holmes data I could find – so
here is, in the rough. Perhaps my colleagues at Holmespun will be interested.
STEPHEN, born c
1771 in New York
Stephen Holmes,
the eldest child of Samuel Holmes, was born about 1771 in New York. The only
source I have so far is the Family Group Sheet of the Nova Scotia Genealogy
Society, which states that he was possibly born on that date. Stephen married
Mary Rushton, also known as Polly, in 1793, in Westmorland County, New
Brunswick. The transcription of the Westchester Township Record of Marriages
states that they married on July 22, 1792. Mary was the daughter of Peter,
according to this record. FOOTNOTE – TRY TO FIND THE
ORIGINAL. Page 2 of the WTR Transcription. Her mother is not
named, nor have I located her. The
Westmorland County, New Brunswick, record of their marriage gives the date of
1793;[1]
I use that date, rather than the Westchester Township Record.
The Westchester
Township Birth Records transcription records two sons: Stephen, born 1794, and Zerabalel, born 1797. FOOTNOTE. The name
Zerubabel, using various spellings, is common in this part of the Holmes
family. Need to see this – might be a typo. I
find no further record of these two sons, except for an Ancestry Family Trees
that states that Stephen died on July 26, 1797 – Geneanet being the source
provided and Geneanet only gives the date of birth, without a source. That is
therefore not a source at all.
I do
not have a date of death for Stephen and Mary. I do, however, have a puzzling
document which follows.
I found a deed
of sale for land that Stephen Holmes, yeoman, sold to Gabriel Purdy in
1797 for £3.
This deed acknowledges 250 acres in Westchester, the amount of acreage that his
father, Samuel, gave to him prior to making his will. Stephen sold, to Gabriel
Purdy, half of the land. Peter Rushton, his father-in-law, and Zorobabel
Holmes, his brother, witnessed the deed. Stephen signed it, and Polley, his
wife, made her mark.[2]
Excerpt from a
deed of sale of half of 250 acres to Gabriel Purdy 1797 for 3 pounds.
I located an
indenture between Jacomiah and Stephen Seaman of the first part, and Stephen
Holmes, blacksmith, of the second part, dated 1798. Jacomiah was the
father of Hezekiah Seaman, who married Stephen’s
mother in 1799. Jacomiah and Stephen Seaman sold to Stephen Holmes, for £40,
40 acres of upland at the mouth of the River Philip. The deed was registered in
1824. At that time, Stephen Jr, assuming he was alive, was a child. It had to
be sold to the father.
Here is the
puzzling document:
Fenwicke Holmes
sent me this document. I do not know how he obtained it, but it came from
someone in the Daniel Holmes and Maria McElmon lineage; Daniel being another
son of Samuel Sr. It states that “Daniel Holmes brother Stephen was a doctor
& lived & died in Boston.” It was only when I began this current
research that I began to doubt the verity of this fact. I have not been able to verify it. In the
deed above, when Stephen sold half of his land to Gabriel Purdy, he was called
a yeoman. In a later deed, he was a blacksmith.
I have not found a Dr. Stephen Holmes in Boston; that is not to say he
wasn’t there, but that I don’t have proof.
As I said
earlier, there may be grains of truth in every piece of information you
receive. I located this deed dated 1827.[3]
At this point Stephen would be about fifty-six years old; his son, Stephen, who
allegedly died as a child, according to Geneanet, would be about thirty-three.
“. . . I
Stephen Holmes of Minudie in the County of Cumberland . . . Doctor,” sold to
Stephen Read of River Philip forty acres of upland at the mouth of the River
Philip, dated June 13, 1827, three years after it was finally registered. What
if? Could it be that our Stephen Holmes, a yeoman and blacksmith, had a son
Stephen who lived and was a doctor, living and practicing in Minudie, who sold
a piece of land in River Philip, about sixty kilometers away? Could it be that
Stephen Sr. sold his land to Stephen Jr? Or, as I haven’t found a probate for
Stephen Sr, was it passed down to him in some way? Could it be that he later
moved to Boston and died there? I do not
know. I do know, however, that in 1798, Jacomiah and Stephen Seaman sold to
Stephen Holmes, blacksmith, forty acres of upland at the mouth of the River
Philip.[4]
My spring research involved another son, John, who
lived, worked, and died in Minudie. Perhaps Minudie figures even more
prominently in the Holmes family than I thought. Stephen was about
twenty years his brother John’s senior. To go from a career of yeoman and
blacksmith to that of a doctor, and leave for Boston when he was nearly 60 – does
that make sense?
I do not
have any further information or dates of death for Stephen and Mary at this
time. Perhaps, in the future, I will find more information. Or, perhaps someone
who follows in my footsteps will solve my mysterious brick wall.
Don’t
forget to include Fen’s wonder if Stephen and James were the sons of a previous
wife. I wonder why Fen wondered that.
To brighten
your day:
Sophie Gardner,
compliments of Grace March. Granddaughter of Brook and Grace March, and
daughter of Nichelle Gardner.
Sophie Gardner, Nichelle’s daughter and our granddaughter,
has started nursing school. She had earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology
and is now continuing on in the program to become an RN. We’re super proud of
her!
This ends
week twenty - four of our centennial virtual celebration of 1925 –
2025
9 FamilySearch. Public Archives/Archives Publiques, Canada. Register
of Marriages for the County of Westmorland, 1790 - 1835. Film # 008131195.
Image 10. Accessed May 23, 2025. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSVR-DS71-M?cat=47132&i=9&lang=en
10 FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLZ-BQH1-1?view=fullText :
May 21, 2025), image 95 of 575. Film Number/Image Group Number: 008189355
11 FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLZ-Y9XF-L?view=fullText :
May 21, 2025), image 237 of 567.
Film
Number/Image Group Number: 008189187
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLZ-Y9XF-L?view=fullText&keywords=Stephen%20Holmes%2CNova%20Scotia%2CCumberland&lang=en&groupId=TH-909-73227-39786-64
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