Fairfield County ScArchives Biographies.....Holmes, William ~1755 - 1799 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/sc/scfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Paul W. Holmes holmesp@cofc.edu March 2, 2018, 4:08 pm Source: References at end Author: Paul W. Holmes March 2, 2018 William Holmes (~1755-1799) William Holmes, born in Ireland around 1755 and a cousin of Finley Holmes [http://files.usgwarchives.net/sc/fairfield/bios/holmes11nbs.txt], came with Finley through the port of Charleston shortly after the colonies had independence from Britain. William and Finley probably traveled together to the upstate districts of South Carolina, where William settled along the Little River in Fairfield District about 20 miles north of what would become Columbia, South Carolina. Records show that he purchased land there in 1795 on the Little River at Neckley's Creek (shown on Robert Mills' map of the Fairfield District, SC surveyed in 1820). Most likely, William was older than Finley (10-15 years). He married in Ireland, his wife and some of their children were born there. The family probably sailed over after William had established himself in the Fairfield District, South Carolina. In 1793, William Holmes was listed as one of the charter members of Old Brick Church (first called Little River Church and later, Ebenezer Church). He and his wife, Mary, had six children: Ann Holmes (b. ~1777, d. 1825), who married Adam Hawthorn (b. ~1778, d. 1827); Jane Holmes, Mary Holmes (b. 1782 in Ireland), who married Robert Martin (b. ~1770 in Fairfield County SC, d, 1860); Harry (or Henry) Holmes; William B. Holmes (~1785 in Fairfield County SC, d. after 1850); and Joseph Holmes (b.~1789 in Fairfield County SC), who married to Mary Ann Pearson Holmes - her father was Philip Peter Pearson, RS-SC (b. 1746, d. 1835) and her mother was Mary Butler Pearson (b. 1765, d. 1854). Both sons of William, William B. Holmes and Joseph Holmes, were Reverends in the Methodist Episcopal Church and, according to one source, "They were the sons of a pious Associate Reformed elder." William Holmes died in 1799 in Fairfield County, SC . His last will left all his property to his wife and children. The 1800 census of Fairfield County shows William's wife with two male children and one female child in the family. The children all resided in South Carolina. The children of the two reverend sons, settled in South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida. In the 1850 Fairfield County Census, the household of Rev. William B. Holmes is shown as including a Robert R. Holmes, a 23 year old white male physician (shown as being born in Fairfield County, SC). In the 1840 census for William's family in Fairfield County there is one male age 10-14 (William's son, Francis A. Holmes, would have been 13 then), but not a slot for a Robert R. Holmes. Likewise for the 1830 census in Fairfield County for William's family, there is only one male age Under 5 (Francis would have been 3 years old). In the 1860 census for William's family (now in Fulton County, GA) , Francis (son of William B) is shown, but there is no entry for a Robert R. Holmes. Thus, Robert R. Holmes only appears on census records with William B. Holmes in 1850. The Robert R. Holmes, I suspect, is Robert Raines Holmes MD, son of Finley Holmes (b. 1802) and grandson of Finley Holmes (b. 1765). In 1850 Robert was 23 years old and had completed studies at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School - he was born in Georgia (not Fairfield County, SC). Robert could have been visiting his cousin, William B. Holmes, in South Carolina in August of 1850 when the census was taken. Later that year in October Robert was back home with his parents in DeSoto County, MS for the census there - thus, he was listed twice for the 1850 census. References Beasley, I. (1973). As I remember them —. (Memoirs of the Holmes family - printed for family distribution). Chreitzberg, A. M. (1897). Early Methodism in the Carolinas. Nashville: Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. pp. 210-211. Last Will and Testament of William Holmes, Fairfield County, SC. (1798). p. 51. Will Book #2. Recorded July 18, 1799, Apt. #4, File 117. Mills, R. (1820). Fairfield District, South Carolina. Surveyed by John Allen Tharp, 1820. Improved for Mills' Atlas 1825. Engd. by H.S. Tanner & Assistants. Property Indenture. (1795/1835). Fairfield County SC Deed ,1835, Book MM , Fairfield County, SC. p. 28. 1800 US Government Census, Fairfield County, SC - line 7 - "Mary Homes" (wife of William Holmes) 1840 US Government Census, Fairfield County, SC - Fairfield County SC - Fairfield County SC - four lines from bottom "Homes [sic] Revd Wm" - shown next to Joseph Homes [sic], his brother. 1830 US Government Census, Fairfield County, SC - Fairfield County, SC, five lines from bottom "William Holmes" - shown next to Joseph Holmes , his brother. 1850 US Government Census, Fairfield County, SC - Fairfield County SC - line 24 "William Holmes" (son of William Holmes). 1860 US Government Census, Fulton County, GA - line 1 - "William Holmes" (son of William Holmes). __________________________________________________________________ Text by Paul W. Holmes • holmesp at [i.e.,@] cofc.edu Additional Comments: Text by Paul W. Holmes - holmesp at [i.e., @] cofc.edu File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/sc/fairfield/bios/holmes12nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/scfiles/ File size: 5.8 Kb