William K Holmes
Submitted by: Janelle HolmesHusband: William K. HOLMES
Birth: Nov 1826 Tennessee
Census: Oct 1850 Williamson Township, Milam County, Texas
Census: Feb 1851 South Fork American River, El Dorado County, California
Living: 1854 on the Blanco River, Comal County, Texas
Tax List: 1855 Comal County, Texas
Tax List: 1856 on Rio Blanco, Comal County, Texas
Signed: Feb 1856 Petition for State to build road from San Marcos to Fredericksburg
Census: 1860 Clapps Creek, Leon County, Texas
Census: 11 Jun 1880 ED 9, Bosque County, Texas
Living: abt 1892 Eastland County, Texas
Census: 11 Jun 1900 Justice Precinct 2, Bosque County, Texas
Tax List: 1907 Bosque County, Texas
Death: bet 1907-1910 Nacona, Montague County, Texas
AKA: Marvin William or William Marvin Holmes
Father: HOLMES
Mother:
Marriage: 1854
Wife: Frances "Fannie or Molly?" BLASSINGAME
Birth: May 1837 Alabama or Arkansas
Living: 1857 Leon County, Texas
Census: 7 Sep 1860 Clapps Creek, Leon County, Texas
Death: bef 1912
Father: Woodson ^ BLASSINGAME (b abt 1798)
Mother: Mary "Polly"^ (b abt Sep 1806)
Children
1 F Mary E(Elizabeth?) "Betty" HOLMES
Birth: aft Jun 1856 prob. Comal County, Texas
Census: 7 Sep 1860 Clapps Creek, Leon County, Texas
Census: 11 Jun 1880 Bosque County, Texas
Spouse: James Berry "Jim" DILLARD (m 23 Dec 1880)
2 F Sarah Caroline HOLMES
Birth: abt 1857 prob. Leon County, Texas
Spouse: John A. J. MC CRAREY (m 1 Aug 1875)
3 M Jonathan L. HOLMES
Birth: abt Jan 1860 prob. Leon County, Texas
Census: 7 Sep 1860 Texas
Death: prob. died yo prob. Leon County, Texas
4 M William Woodson "Bill" ?^ HOLMES
Birth: 9 Mar 1862 Clapps Creek, Leon County, Texas
Living: bet 1894-1896 Bosque County, Texas
Living: bet 1896-1898 Eastland County, Texas
Living: bet 1898-1900 Throckmorton County, Texas
Census: 1900 Precinct #2, Throckmorton County, Texas
Living: bet 1902-1904 Bosque County, Texas
Living: bet 1905-1934 Coleman, Coleman County, Texas
Census: 1910 Coleman County, Texas
Death: 30 Jan 1934 Santa Anna, Coleman County, Texas
Burial: 31 Jan 1934 Coleman City Cemetery, Coleman County, Texas
Living: by 1905 Santa Anna, Coleman County, Texas
Occupation: until Nov. 19 Farmer
Cause of Death: Hemmorhage, secondary postoperative prostratectomy
Spouse: Mary Ella ^ HARRIS (m 9 Mar 1892)
5 M George D. or T. HOLMES
Birth: Dec 1863 Texas
Burial: Long Branch, Eastland County, Texas
6 F Frances M. "Fannie" HOLMES
Birth: abt 1868 Texas
Spouse: William P. MOSS (m 1 Nov 1891)
7 F Sinda HOLMES
Spouse: MARTIN
8 F Nancy A. HOLMES
Birth: abt 1870 Texas
Spouse: Niles I MARTIN (m 31 Oct 1889)
9 M Jessie? A. HOLMES
Birth: abt 1872 Texas
FAMILY NOTES
Marriage(1): 1900 Census states they had been married 46 years.
General: BLASSENGAMEs listed in the 1850 Census of Providence, Chambers County, Alabama:
page 268 BLASSENGAME, Benjamin (also Chambers Co. 1840 p. 214)
Elizabeth (Perry Co.)
Evirina (Lawrence Co.)
p. 269 Thomas (Chambers Co.)
p. 268, Dwelling 65, Family 65:
BLASSINGAME, Benjamin, age 53 Farmer, value
1,000, BP SC
Elizabeth 35 NC
Franklin 21 GA
Jonathan 18 GA
William 14 Ala
James 12 "
Margaret 10 "
Austin 6 "
Lewis C. 5 "
Elizabeth 7 "
Augustus 4 "
MASSINGAME? , Eleanor 20 "
p.267 BLASSENGAME, Thomas 45 KY(19th Dist)
Emily 40 NC
Margaret A. 20 Ala
Elmira 15 "
Noah T 12 "
Algelina 10 "
George W. 6 "
Elizabeth 1 "
Elvira 18 "
BLASSINGAME in Clapps Creek, Leon County, Texas 1860 Census: p. 260 Dwelling 323, Family 323
BLASSINGAME, Mary age 54 value real $2,500 value pers $2220 bp Ala
, George W 32 Farmer "
, Luther 24 Wagoner "
, William 15 "
, Columbus 13 (1 yr of school) "
, Nancy 11 (1 yr of school) "
(aslo in next dwelling is WK Holmes with wife Frances born in Ala.)
HUSBAND NOTES: William K ^ HOLMES Birth(2): Family Tree Maker, Vol 4, family Tree # 182 compiled by ? says he was born 1827 in Tennessee. This conflicts with a letter from Velma Holmes Bozeman who says he was born in Scotland.
Censuses all show him born in Tennessee, and the 1900 Census shows him born in Nov. 1826.
Census: In "Garrison" listed as Private in US Army. Age 26 Census: Age 26, listed with a James Green from Missouri. In Gold Fields near Placerville
Living(3): Based on the tax rolls of the counties of Comal, Hays, Burnet, and Gillespie on file at the State Comptroller's Office at Austin, Texas ...
"The following are the first settlers in that part of Comal County which became a part of Blanco County in 1858 and which remained a part of Blanco County in 1862 (when the new County of Kendall came into being): [among others ...] W. K. Holmes came in 1854 to settle on 160 acres of a Preemption land grant on the Rio Blanco." Tax List: First appears in Tax list in Comal County. 160 acres of pre-emptive grant on Blanco River, valued at $80, 1 horse valued at $50. Total property $130 Tax List: Assessed on 160 acres, valued at $160, 4 horses, valued at $150, 10 cattled, valued at $60, total $370.
Does not appear on 1857 Tax Lists for Comal County, so had probably left the area and sold the land by then. This would have been the end of his 3 years to qualify for the Pre-emptive Land grant.
Signed: Petition was filed in May 1856
Census: The WK Holmes, at the dwelling adjacent to a Mary Blassingame, age 54, probably Mollie's mother is listed in the 1860 Census, p. 260, dwelling 324, family 324:
(Clapps Creek, Leon Co, Texas)
HOLMES, WK age 33 Farmer value real $2,300 value pers. $630 b p. Tenn
, Frances 23 Ala
Mary E 5 Tx
Sarah C 3 Tx
Jno L 8/12 Tx
WALLACE, J. M. 22 Laborer Ala
Census: P. 369, Dwelling 210/Family 210
William K. Holmes 53 (b. abt 1827) Farmer bp Tn.Fbp NC Mbp NC
Mary E (daughter) 24 (b. abt 1856) keeping hourse b. Tx
William W. 18 (b. abt 1862) works on farm b. Tx
George T? 15 (b. abt 1865)
Frances M 12 (b. abt 1868)
Nancy A. 10 (b abt 1870)
Jessie? A. 8 (b. abt 1872)
Where was William's wife Frances? Possibly at one of her relatives, as she shows up in the 1900 census. Sarah Caroline was already married by this time, so would not be shown
IREDELL, TEXAS. Iredell is at the junction of Farm Roads 927, 216, and 1238 and State Highway 6, forty-six miles northwest of Waco in northwestern Bosque County. It began in the late 1850s, when Ward Keeler and Ranse Walker settled in the vicinity and named the community after Keeler's son Ire. A post office opened in 1870. The settlement moved in 1880 from its original location near the Walker homestead to the south bank of the Bosque River near the Texas Central Railroad station. Later that year Iredell was destroyed by a flood and rebuilt on higher ground. In 1884 the population was estimated to be thirty, and by 1892 it had grown to 600. Iredell was a retail and service center for the surrounding countryside. In 1931 it had 570 residents and thirty businesses. In 1961 it had a population of 366. The recorded population in 1982 was 407. In 1990 it was 339.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: William C. Pool, A History of Bosque County (San Marcos, Texas: San Marcos Record Press, 1954).
Living: Possibly living in Eastland County when William W. married Mary Ella Harris.
Census: p. 181 Dwelling 79, family 79
William K. Holmes b. Nov 1826 73 years 43 years in Texas b. Tn, NC, NC Farmer
Francis (sic) wife b. May 1837 63 " m. 46 years 10 children, 8 living, b. Ark A A
Oscar D. (nephew) b. Oct 1871 28 b. KY Tn, KY Farmer
Effie (niece) b. Nov 1876 23 m 6 yrs 2 ch. b. KY KY
Elsie (Grandniece) b. Mar 1899 1 (need to check this, miscopied?) b. KY
Clarence (Grandnephew) b. mar 1899 1 b. KY
George D. (son) b. Dec 1863 36 b. Tx NC Ark
Tax List: line 25
W K Holmes 269 680/779 JL Folk (original grantee) 127 value $1250
2 mules value $150, cattle 14, value $70, 2 ? value $40 (last column)
line 26
WK Holmes 212 239 FT Duffau
183 "
$875 1horse/mule "
$40 , cattle 5, value $25, goats? 8, value $20, 1 : value $8 (these are the next to last two columns)
Death(4,5,6,7): According to Velma Holmes Bozeman, he was buried in Nacoma, "his grave be easy to find." However, a search of cemetery records for Montague County, published up until 1997 showed no Holmes of any name in either the Brushy Cemetery, near Fruitland, the Old Spanish Fort Cemetery, the St. Jo Cemetery, the Hopewell Cemetery or the Molsbee Chapel Cemetery of Nacona, Texas. It is possible that there is a separate cemetery for Masons or Odd Fellows and this requires more investigation in person.
A trip to Nacona in March 1999 and the main cemetery in that town produced no gravesite for William or Marvin Holmes. A volunteer for Montague County research was unable to find any record for any Holmes buried in that cemetery of the right age, or in any cemetery in Montague County. It is possible that he died in Nacona and was buried in Bosque County by the family.
Velma Holmes Bozeman further states in her letters that both her Holmes grandparents were dead by the time she was born in 1912.
He also does not appear in the 1910 Census so died sometime between 1907 when he appeared in the Tax List for Bosque County and 1910.
AKA(8):
General(9,10,11,12,13,14,3): A Tom Holmes family is mentioned as one of the early settlers east of Whon, Coleman County, about 1836. This could possibly be an brother or uncle. Calvin Holmes is also mentioned as early settlers of the Santa Anna area, with a Calvin Holmes being active in early Santa Anna Christian Church (possibly another uncle or brother). A James Holmes is mentioned as coming from Tennessee with his wife an Elizabethe ("Molly") Blasingame and her family, the Blasingames continuing on to California. As of November 2000 it is not known how these Holmes fit in, if at all. The 1850 Census of California shows no Blassingames by any spelling, however.
There is a James Holmes, age 47, a miner living in Placerville and vicinity, El Dorado County, in the 1850 California Census, birthplace Tenn.
According to a letter from Velma Holmes Bozeman, "Grandad Holmes camed (sic) from Scotland he was a tall red hair blue eyed man his folks were in Tenn when he was 16 years old he left home for California on foot (Note: this might have been with the aforementioned Blasingame family on their trek from Tennessee to California) traveled at night sleep in day as not run into Indians from Calif he came back to Texas, married settled in Bosque County, had 3 boys, my Dad WW Holmes, Bill Holmes, George Jr Holmes, 4 girls Fannie Holmes Moss, Sara Holmes Martin, Sinda Holmes Martin. I have let other girl slip from my mind. Out all of them I new Aunt Fannie & her children they if any or alive live at Dallas or Colo save Aunt Sina I of her girls when I was small. See, my Granddad & Grandma Holmes were gone when I was born ..."
Was Mason and Odd Fellow.
A search of the 1850 California census South Fork of the American River, El Dorado County, shows a William K. Holmes residing with James Green age 25 and Degachary, age 41, they being from MO and NY. William K Holmes was listed as age 24 (again, pretty darn close to be the same WK Holmes who was married to Frances Blassingame), birthplace Tenn. Date of the enumeration was Feb 3, 1851, Roll 21, page 881. This would tie in with family tradition that Grandpa Holmes came from Tennessee and went to California, although he was perhaps a bit older than reported or stayed in California several years.
Family Tradition says his name was Marvin William or William Marvin. The death certificate of William Woodson Holmes, gives his father's name as I. K. Holmes (information provided by wife Mary E. Harris Holmes)
There is a WK Holmes in Leon County in the 1860 Census, and a William Holmes in the Bosque County Census of 1840, as well as William Holmeses in the 1850, 1860 censuses. WFT Marriage CD #5 lists a Marvin Holmes and a Mollie Blassingame, although a search of this CD produced no Marvin Holmes married to a Blassingame.
List of Marriages for Bosque County turns up several Holmes, mostly the children of WK Holmes and Frances, verifying what was already reported by Velma Holmes Bozeman. But others, namely Joseph Holmes who married Mary Collins 24 Feb. 1870 and Martha Holmes who married Benjamin F. Martin 19 Nov. 1891 are not listed in any census so far discovered. In order to be old enough to marry, Joseph Holmes would have been born about 1848-50, yet he does not appear in the 1860 Census for Leon County, although a "Jno L" does but he was born 1860. Martha would have been born about 1871, possibly earlier. No census for 1870 has been located enumerating the William K. Holmes family and she does not appear in the 1880 census.
"Sinda" does not appear in any of the censuses, either, and Velma Bozeman may have confused her with another Aunt, Cindy Baggett Martin, daughter of Maude Ora Holmes, a sister of her father William Woodson, who married John Baggett.
Since "Molly" is sometimes a nickname for Frances, it is possible that this is William "Marvin" Holmes family, even though family tradition does not recognize any children named Mary or Jonathan. Of course there is a possibility that these first three children could have died of disease before the births of the others. A Mary E "Betty" Holmes married James Berry Dillard, son of Caroline Blassingame and her husband Reuben Dillard, and settled in Iredell, Bosque County, Texas. This gives further credence to the theory that Wm. K. Holmes is the same as the Holmes who settled later in Iredell. Also a James B. Dillard was living as a boarder not far away from the Holmes family in Bosque County in the 1880 Census. Mary E. was still living at home, keeping house for her father and younger sibling. The whereabouts of her mother is not known.
A Benjamin Holmes was one of the early settlers of Perry Co, Alabama, 1820 in Marion West, and as the Blassingames were also found in Perry County as early as 1830, it is a possibility that this Holmes family might be the ancestors of Marvin/William/WK. May be same as William Marvin/Marvin William HOLMES. However, this goes against the family tradition that William walked from Tennessee to Texas when he was 16 years old (abt 1843) There are several Holmes buried in Leon County, but their relationship to WK or Wm Marvin is unknown: They are:
The oldest Holmes in the Sardis Cemetery is Andrew J. Holmes b. 18 Dec 1828 d. 30 Aug 1906, Pvt, Co. 131 Reg. La Inf CSA (Sardis Cemetery, FM NW of Jewett near Newby Community, adjacent to Sardis Baptist Church)
Holmes buried in Buffalo Cemetery, Leon County Alice Holmes 14 Feb 1859 - 6 Mar 1940 Henry Holmes 8 May 1849 - 14 Jul 1922
Additional William Holmeses exist in other censuses. In the 1850 Census, Milam Co, Tex there is a William Holmes, in dwelling #388, US Army, age 22 from Ireland. Although this man would be about the same age as Marvin William, the 1860 Census for WK Holmes lists him as born in Tenn. Also there is a W.K. Holmes, age 26, birthplace Tenn in the same garrison.
In the list of Confederate pensions for Texas, there is a WK Holmes, pension 36136 from Somervell County, however, closer inspection of these documents prove he was born in SC and as about 20 years younger, so is not the same man.
One of the signers of the Petition to the State of Texas for a road in Comal County was signed by three of the Blassingame men and Wm. K. Holms (sic) in 1856, as well as a J.M. Green. A James Green was with Wm. K. Holmes in the 1850 (Feb 1851) Census of El Dorado Co, CA. This means the Holmes family, Woodson Blassingame's son-in-law and daughter were living in the same area in 1856 and most likely when Calvin wrote his letter for help to their friends in Hays County. Wm K. Holmes name is not listed in the names to which the letter was addressed, so this means he was either too far away to help or already in the immediate area. Indeed, it could be to his home that Mary and the other children fled after the murders of her eldest son and husband. Note: This petition seems to have been signed in February of 1856, as was a petition signed by most of the same men for the separation of the Blanco area from Comal County.
In The History of Blanco County, by Moursund, states that William K. HOLMES' land was on the Rio Blanco. Frankly, most of the earliest settlers that settled along the "Rio Blanco" were stretched from about present day Blanco City westward toward the present Kendall County line along, about a 7 to 10 mile stretch. This was land obtained through an Pre-exemption Grant (at this time about 160 acres, which had to be settled and improved in 3 years time for complete title). Based on the tax rolls of the counties of Comal, Hays, Burnet, and Gillespie on file at the State Comptroller's Office at Austin, Texas ...
"The following are the first settlers in that part of Comal County which became a part of Blanco County in 1858 and which remained a part of Blanco County in 1862 (when the new County of Kendall came into being):[among others ...] W. K. Holmes came in 1854 to settle on 160 acres of a Pre-exemption land grant on the Rio Blanco."
Nettie Holmes, in a conversation in the March 1999, said she had copied the pages from the Holmes family Bible, although she believed the Bible was currently in the possession of one of Iva Kendall Holmes' children, the Bible having been passed to him after the death of his brother Lewis, and then after Iva's death to his widow, Ola Dee Reynolds Holmes and after her death to one of their children. Velma is still alive in March 2000. The pages she copied, however, only seem to begin with the William Woodson Holmes family and nothing earlier.
WIFE NOTES: Frances "Fannie or Molly?" ^ BLASSINGAME
Birth: From 1900 census
Death(15):
General(12,13): Clapps Creek was a stream located 310937N, 0954521W in Leon County, Texas.
Perhaps "Molly" might be a nickname for Frances. Father's Probate in 1857 stated she lived in Leon County, TX. Death certificate of her son William Woodson Holmes with information provided by his wife Mary E. Harris Holmes, says his mother's name was "Fannie" which would definitely be a nickname for Frances.
No Census records listing a WK Holmes with a wife Frances have been discovered for 1870 and 1880 in any county in which they lived. Since Mary Blassingame is still living with her husband Uriel Crout in the 1880 Milam County Census, it is unlikely that Mary could be the Molly Blassingame which Cary Holmes spoke of as his grandmother.
CHILD NOTES: Mary E(Elizabeth?) "Betty" HOLMES
Census: Age is listed as 24. Not far away in the same Census is James B. Dillard, a boarder , age 21, born in Tx, parents born in GA and Ala
CHILD NOTES: Jonathan L. HOLMES
Census: In census listed as beign 8/12 years of age
CHILD NOTES: William Woodson "Bill" ?^ HOLMES
Birth(16,17):
Census: Sheet 24, line 23 From Soundex H-452
William W. Holmes b. Mar 1862 age 38, Tx
Mary E. b. Mar. 1874 age 26
Mary F. b. Feb 1893 age 7
William M. b. Oct 1894 age 5
Georgia M. b. July 1898 age 1
Census(18): ED 136, sheet 9
William W. Holmes age 48
Mary age 36
William M. age 16
Georgia age 11
Robert F. age 9
Ivy age 7
Evy age 7
Ola age 5
Louis age 3
Maude age 5/12
Death: Family Bible simply says 1932.
Death Index for Texas 1903 - 1940 lists William W. Holmes of Coleman County, as dying 1/30/1934 (record #957) It is to be assumed this is the most correct of the sources, unless the index contained a typo as to the year.
See further information under Cause of Death Burial(19):
Living(20): Death certificate states he had been of resident of Santa Anna, for 27 years, which would be 1907.
Cause of Death(21): Death certificate states "date of onset" as Jan 29, 1834, actual date of death as January 30, 1934, with other contributory causes of "senility and prostate disease (fibro adenoma of prostate). Date of the surgery was Jan 22, 1934.
Physician, Richard Sealy of Santa Anna, had been treating the deceased since Jan 1, 1934.
General(22): Spelling of middle name is from the Holmes family Bible. William died from cancer at the Sealy Hospital in Santa Ana, TX. (see Cause of Death)
The Holmes are listed among the many pioneer families which settled in the Coleman area and whose children attended the Mozelle High School, which served the areas of Brown Ranch, Elliott, Gouldbusk, Hardin, Hill, Starkweather and Doss.
In correspondence from Velma Holmes Bozeman, she says her grandfather lived with her mother for 7 years in Hico, and that the family is well-known in Hico and Iredell.
CHILD NOTES: George D. or T. HOLMES Birth: From 1900 census. Age in 1880 census is given as 15, so possibly he was born in 1865 Burial: Buried next to Mittie Harris and Edgar Holmes. General: A George T? Holmes is listed as a son of William K. Holmes in the 1880 Bosque County, Census, age 15.
George D. Holmes, son, age 36, is shown living with his parents in 1900 Bosque County Census, which means that perhaps if he is the same that married Ruby M. Moss shown below, she had died or they were divorced before this time.
A George Holmes is shown as marrying Ruby M. Moss 12 Nov. 1879 (Bosque County, Texas, Marriage Records, Vol. 1, p. 24)
CHILD NOTES: Frances M. "Fannie" HOLMES
Birth: This is assuming that Fannie is the Frances M. listed in the 1880 census in the household of William K. Holmes
CHILD NOTES: Sinda HOLMES
General: A Martha Holmes wed Benjamin F. Martin on 19 Nov. 1891 (Bosque Co, Tx, Marriage Records, Vol 2, p. 8
SOURCES
1. 1900 Texas Census. Bosque County.
2. Ibid. Bosque County.
3. Moursand. History of Blanco County.
4. not given. transcriptions of tombstones of those buried in the Molsbee Chapel Cemetery. 1966.
5. Texas Southern Daughters of the Revolution. Various county cemeteries. DAR 1959.
6. Mr. & Mrs. RD Gray. Grays Cemetery Records: Cemeteries in Cherokee, Clay, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Park, Com?, Eastland, Johnson, Callahan & Wise Counties of Texas. 1968.
7. Velma Holmes Bozeman. 1986.
8. Family Tradition.
9. History of Coleman County, Texas. 1987. p. 296.
10. Ibid. p-. 231 and 275.
11. Letter from Velma Bozeman to Deston ?. written November 22, 1981 from Goldthwaite, Texas.
12. Charlene Beatty Beauchamp. Blassingame GEDCOM file. imported on 25 May 1999.
13. Charlene Beatty Beauchamp, GEDCOM file. imported on 11 Jun 1999.
14. Leon County Cemetery Records. p. 137, vol 1.
15. Velma Holmes Bozeman. States in letter (1986) that both grandparents were dead before she was born.
16. Holmes Family Bible.
17. Death Certificates. #957 Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
18. State Soundex File. Texas - H-452.
19. Death Certificates. #957, Texas Dept. of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
20. Ibid. #957 Texas Dept. of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
21. Ibid. #957, Texas State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
22. personal knowledge. 1994.