Excerpts from the Spring Newsletter, 2012

May 2012

Dear Cousins,

Spring has arrived in New Brunswick, after a rather balmy, calm winter. We had some record setting hot days in March followed by a lion’s winter roar as we tobogganed into April. Winter’s swansong occurred on Easter Sunday. It is now looking and feeling very springy, with the baby birds, flowers and grass all growing.

I do want to remind you that we are planning a Holmes Family Reunion in July of 2014. There are nine generations of us descended from Daniel and Charlotte, and I hope as many people as possible will gather here close to their family home and celebrate their 200th birthday.

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB

Charles Robert Holmes, Daniel and Charlotte’s tenth child, took these photographs of the Redstone Schoolhouse or Mary Had a Little Lamb Schoolhouse in 1933. You can google Mary’s Little Lamb Schoolhouse for more history.

 Charles went on a visit to Brighton, Massachusetts in 1933 and wrote a letter to my 11 year old mother during his visit. Here is a transcription of his letter, as is –

Brighton Oct 8 1933

Dear Margret

Got your letter some time a goe so I thought I would write you a few lines and tell you I was to see the little red school house where little Mary and her lamb went to school the house is no bigger than the kitchen and there is still school yet the house is more than a hundred years old and just as we were coming away Mary and her lamb came but not the same Mary nor the same lamb there was about fifty people when we were their then we stopped and seen the way side inn it is about one hundred and fifty years old it belongs to Henry Ford we went all through it it is full of old old chairs and bed stids and the beds are all made don’t suppose any one has slept in them for fifty years the care taker has a house of his own

Well Lillian has got home with the baby it is a nice baby and it is good as it can bee I want you to write and tell me how the garden made out did any of the tomatoes get ripe and how is Nancy coming along and all of the rest

Yours Grandfather 

Margaret – Margaret Holmes Moore, daughter of Floyd and Minnie Colpitts Holmes

Lillian – Lillian Underhill Minella, daughter of Carl and Ella Holmes Underhill

Baby – Janet Minella Nolte, daughter of Mac and Lillian Underhill Minella

Nancy - Nancy Holmes Lutes, sister of Margaret, daughter of Floyd and Minnie Colpitts Holmes

HOLMES FAMILY GATHERING

c. 1924

 

Last year I told you about four reunions of the Daniel Holmes Family History Association. Recently I read about a photograph which mentioned certain people. I know that I had never seen that picture so I sent out an email to several cousins, asking if they had a copy. Thank you, Karl, for sending this along.

According to Fen Holmes, the photo was taken in 1924 at the home of James Holmes in South China, Maine. He received the information from Gladys Holmes, widow of Carleton Holmes. She identified the people in the photo; I do believe she may have mistaken the little boy in the front. According to Gladys, the people in the picture are:

Standing: Mrs. Abner Jones Allard, John Glocksen, Maud Holmes Glocksen, Walter Holmes, Anna Geitz Holmes, Harry Sanborn Holmes, Unidentified, Kingsley Ballantyne, Ruth Ballantyne, Laura Hall Ballantyne, Mary Weatherbee Holmes, and Kate Ballantyne.

Sitting: Idella Holmes Chadwick, with Harry Holmes, Jr., Augusta Corey Holmes, James Hoyt Holmes, Peter Holmes, and Jean Weatherbee.

For those of you who are interested, here is a list of who all these people are.

Mrs. Abner Jones Allard: Eliza Wilson Jones Allard is the second wife of Abner Jones. Abner married her after his first wife, Harriet Olivia Holmes Jones, died shortly after giving birth to her last child. She is the only mother that some of Hattie’s children ever knew. She attended several reunions, so she must have been close to the family. She remarried David Allard.

John Glocksen: husband of Maud Holmes

Maud Holmes Glocksen: daughter of James Holmes

Walter Holmes: son of William N and Anna Heath Holmes

Anna Geitz: second wife of Harry Sanborn Holmes Sr.

Harry Sanborn Holmes: son of James and Augusta Holmes. Which man he is I do not know, there are three of them there, but since one of them has his arm around Anna, he is probably her husband.

Unidentified: This could possibly be Harry S Holmes Jr.

Kingsley Ballantyne: (standing beside Ruth) Son of Robert and Sarah Louise Holmes Ballantyne

Ruth Ballantyne: daughter of Kingsley and Laura Hall Ballantyne

Laura Hall Ballantyne: wife of Kingsley Ballantyne

Mary Weatherbee Holmes: wife of Walter Holmes

Kate Ballantyne: widow of Daniel Ballantyne (who died in April, 1924; he was the son of Robert and Sarah Louise Holmes Ballantyne)

Idella Holmes Chadwick: daughter of James and Augusta Holmes, widow of Hadley Chadwick

Augusta Corey Holmes: wife of James Holmes

James Hoyt Holmes: son and 5th child of Daniel and Charlotte Hoyt Holmes

Peter Holmes: son and 9th child of Daniel and Charlotte Hoyt Holmes, brother of James

Jean Weatherbee: niece of Walter and Mary Weatherbee Holmes (they were her guardians)

Corey Holmes: son of Harry S Holmes and Anna Geitz

That leaves one man unidentified in the back row, and my theory that Harry Holmes Jr. is in the back row and Corey Hoyt Holmes is the child between Augusta and James Holmes in the front row. If you know who is in the back row or can confirm this information, please let me know. 

TWIN BOYS FOR DANIEL AND CHARLOTTE

George H and James Hoyt Holmes

       One winter's day, Daniel and Charlotte and four big sisters welcomed not one, but two wee boys into their household. Was baby George H a sickly child, or did he have a sudden illness? I do not know. With a pain in their hearts, they laid him to rest just a few weeks before his third birthday. I do not know where they buried baby George, but there is an old, unkempt cemetery nearby. New Brunswick historian J. E. Humphrey transcribed the stones in the Bleakney Pioneer Cemetery in 1917. Many of them are illegible now, and Mr. Humphrey made no mention of George. Nearly forgotten is this baby, but Charles and Phoebe Holmes called their first son George Howard - perhaps in memory of his young Uncle.

       Daniel and Charlotte named their other twin James Hoyt, after his maternal grandfather, James Hoyt III. Much healthier than his twin, James lived well into his 80's, and helped to organize the DHFHA.

James and George, born to Daniel and Charlotte on the 25th of February, 1944, grew up in their home in the Petitcodiac area. George lived to the age of three. James was a farmer like his father. He worshiped in the Baptist Church. He married Miss Augusta Corey in her home on December 21, 1870. Rev. John Williams performed the wedding ceremony. Augusta, the daughter of James Gardiner Corey and Nancy A Keith, was born circa 1850 in nearby Havelock, New Brunswick. She barely knew her mother, who died a year later. James’ second wife, Mary Jane Keith, helped to raise her and her brothers and sisters. James and Augusta's four children, Harry, Idella, Maud and Frank, were all born in New Brunswick. Shortly after Frank’s birth, the family moved to the United States. I believe that providing a good education for their children was important to James and Augusta.

       The family moved to Caribou, Maine in 1881. James’ younger brother Peter and his family also lived in the Caribou area. According to his naturalization records, James became a citizen on December 11, 1890. At that time, only the two younger children lived with them, as well as Augusta's brother Eli. Some time in the next decade, James and Augusta moved south to China, Maine. They lived in New York City in 1920, but I believe that was temporary. Some of their grown children resided in New York City.

James, a founding member of the Daniel Holmes Family History Association, attended most of the 1920s reunions. In the minutes of the Reunion Association meeting, held August 12, 1926 and written up later, “James Holmes was re-elected president.” Obviously, he was not present for the vote. It also says, “The following letters were read, Harry Holmes expressing his regret that he and family including his father and mother would be unable to be at the meeting, due to the illness of Aunt Gusty.” And there was a sad P.S. at the end of the document: “Since the above records were made James H. Holmes, our president and brother, died at his home at South China, Maine, Jan. 26, 1927 and was buried in the Chadwick burying ground in that town.”

       James died in 1927, and is buried in the Chadwick Hill Cemetery, China, Maine, beside his wife Augusta who died in 1929.

Harry Sanborn Holmes

James and Augusta's first child, Harry Sanborn, was born on the 26th of July, 1872, in New Brunswick. He moved to the United States with his family when he was 13. They lived in Caribou, Maine and later moved to South China. On the 24th of November, 1898, he married Miss Marion Mary Glocksen in Manhattan, New York. Marion, the daughter of Charles and Sarah McIntosh Glocksen, was born January 6, 1877 in New York City. Charles was born in Germany, Sarah in Brooklyn, New York.

Perhaps Harry received his education in New York, for that is where he lived, married and practiced dentistry. He and Marion lived in New York City and Lindenhurst from 1905 until at least 1930.

Harry and Marion's son, Harry Sanborn Jr., was born the 7th of July 1899 in New York. Marion died on the 27th of July, 1916 in New York, leaving behind her husband and 17 year old son. They buried her in the Calvary Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Harry went to live with his aunt and uncle, John and Maud Glocksen, in Louisville, Kentucky, for a while. In 1920, he was studying dentistry.

       Harry Sr. married Miss Anna M Geitz, a young lady born in 1897 in New York. They had one son, Corey Hoyt Holmes, in 1923.

       By 1945, Harry, Anna and their son Corey lived in Holly Hill, Florida. Corey was with the US Navy, serving as a dentist. Harry Sr. died on the 7th of April, 1954, and they buried him in the Shady Rest Cemetery, Holly Hill, Florida. I do not know when and where his wife Anna died.

Idella M Holmes

       As far as I know at this time, Idella, born on October 2, 1874 in New Brunswick, is the only descendant of Daniel and Charlotte to live to be over 100. She actively participated in public speaking until she was at least 93. She married Hadley F Chadwick in Caribou, Maine on Christmas day, 1894. Hadley Sr., the son of J. Frank and Augusta Chadwick, was born on October 21, 1868. Hadley and Idella had one son, Hadley H. Chadwick, born in November, 1895 in Maine. Theirs is a sad story. Hadley H, their son, died on the 25th of July, 1914, at the age of 18. His father, Hadley F, died two years after his son, on May 5, 1916.

       Dr. Idella Chadwick was active in the Church of Religious Science, founded by her cousin, Dr. Ernest Holmes. In Florida, she taught in the New Thought field. In 1945, she published a book, “How it is Done: A Clear, Concise Explanation of the Practical Use of Science of Mind.”

       Idella died sixty years after her husband, on the 17th of May, 1976 at the age of 101 in Orlando Florida. I do not know where any of the Chadwick’s are buried.

I found two newspaper articles about Idella.

1) October 1964, Miami, Florida, USA

Dr. Chadwick Will Speak

Dr. Idella Chadwick, a cousin of the late Dr. Ernest Holmes, of California, founder of Religious Science, will speak at Miami Church of Religious Science at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Miami Women's Club building. Her topic will be "Expectancy is Irresistible Power." Dr. Chadwick, a teacher in the New Thought field, recently celebrated her 90th birthday.

Published in the Miami News, October 17, 1964.

2) September 1967, Palm Beach Florida

First Church of Religious Science

Sunday, September 10, 11 AM

Dr. Idella Chadwick to be Guest Speaker

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and hear this remarkable, 93 year old woman who stands for 50 minutes, reads notes and autographs books, without glasses. She speaks with eloquence, nothing short of dynamic.

Plenty of parking space. Nursery attendant for small children. 811 No. Olive Ave, W.P.B. Church open daily 9 - 1. 833-9566

Published in The Palm Beach Post, September 9, 1967.


Added July 14, 2012: On the 1940 census, Idella Chadwick is living in the household of Guy and Emma Holmes in Los Angeles, California. She is a practitioner in the Institute of Religious Science.

Maud E Holmes

       James and Augusta's third child, Maud E Holmes, was born in New Brunswick on November 16, 1878. She moved with her family to Maine in 1881. She married Dr. John J Glocksen, son of Charles and Sarah McIntosh Glocksen and brother of Marion Glocksen, who married her brother Harry. Dr. Glocksen was born in January, 1880. He too was a dentist. He was born in New York, but he and Maud moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he had his practice. They owned and rented out five cabins in Louisville, Kentucky. John and Maud had no children.

       Dr. Glocksen died of tuberculosis in the Waverley Hills Sanatorium, Jefferson, Kentucky, at the age of 57, in 1938. Maud died in Louisville, Kentucky on February 16, 1973. She lived to be 94.

Frank J Holmes

       The baby, Frank J Holmes, was born in May, 1880, and came to Maine, USA with his family. He moved to Manhattan, New York, where he married Millie Wasboe, daughter of Olaf and Caroline Bernhard Wasboe. She was born in January, 1885. Olaf, a Norwegian, met and married Caroline in New York. Dr. Frank J Holmes too was a dentist. Frank and Millie had one son, Frank, born in 1913.

In 1920, Frank Jr. and his mother were living with her parents, Olaf and Caroline, in Manhattan. Dr. Frank Holmes is not on that census. In 1930, Frank Jr. is living with his maternal grandparents. Neither Dr. Frank Holmes or Millie Holmes is on that census. Under New York City Death Index, I do find a Frank

J Holmes who died June 22, 1912 at age 32, and a Millie C Holmes who died January 7, 1921 at age 35. These ages correlate to their birth date. That is all I have found so far on this family.

Some of this story was easy to piece together, and some of it was and still is very elusive. Perhaps the 1940 census records will help me find more people in this family and tie in all the loose threads. If anyone has any knowledge of these cousins of ours, please let me know.

Sources for the James Hoyt Holmes Family and George H Holmes

Book: Cemeteries of Westmorland County, Salisbury Parish, by the Southeastern Branch NBGS, 2006

Unpublished Manuscript: The Holmes Line, Fenwicke W Holmes

Censuses of 1852, 1861, 1871, 1881 (Canada), 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 (USA)

Newspaper: The Christian Visitor, Saint John, NB, December 29, 1870 (Marriage of James Holmes and Augusta Corey.) Vol. 30, No. 250

Tombstone of James and Augusta Corey at Find a Grave

Naturalization record of James Holmes found on Family Search: #H452, Caribou, Maine. James born 1845 in New Brunswick; arrival in US 1881; date of Naturalization Dec 11, 1890

Minutes of the 1926 meeting of the DHFHA.

http://www.mainegenealogy.net

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19641017&id=fNczAAAAIBAJ&sjid=beoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3989,352527

http://whsmemorial.tripod.com/index.html

http://ky.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19450323_0040338.KY.htm/qx

http://whsmemorial.tripod.com/index.html

United States Social Security Death Index

Florida Death Index 1877 - 1998

Kentucky Death Index 1911 - 2000

 Enjoy your summer season, and if you gather with family members be sure and email me a photo so we can include it next time.

Yours truly,

Peg

Peggy Moore Vasseur – Donald and Margaret Holmes Moore – Floyd and Minnie Colpitts Holmes – Charles and Phoebe McMonagle Holmes – Daniel Holmes