William Holmes (abt. 1592 - 1678)

Born about 1592 in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 8 Nov 1678 at about age 86 in Marshfield, Plymouth Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message] and Jennifer Mandell [send private message]

William Holmes migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 3, p. 392) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Unknown Parents

Anderson reports William Holmes' origin was Sandwich, Kent, but his birth date, birth place, and parents are unknown.^[1] William Holmes was born about 1592, based on his age at death.^[1]

No sources have been found showing that Stephen Holmes and Elizabeth Richardson are his parents. Please do not add them back as parents without adding quality sources.

Immigration

William Holmes enrolled as a passenger aboard the Hercules on 17 March 1634/5, a servant of William Hatch, of Sandwich, Kent.^[1] He initially settled in Scituate where he took the oath of allegiance on 1 February 1638/9 as "W[illia]m Holmes, Senior." On 1 June 1658, he attained freemanship at Marshfield, where he remained.^[1] The date of the move to Marshfield is unknown and may even have been after the 1658 date of his freemanship there.^[1] All eight of the children were baptized in Scituate in 1661.^[1]

Marriage

William married by about 1638 to Elizabeth Unknown.^[1] The birth and parentage of Elizabeth are not known; nor is the date and place of marriage - although they were probably married in Scituate or Marshfield, MA.

Death and Legacy

William's will was dated 4 March 1677/8 and was proved on 25 February 1678/9.^[1] William left one-third to "my beloved wife" during her widowhood and the other two-thirds to "my two sons Israell and Isacke." He left "to my two sons Josiah and Abraham 5 shillings each" and "to my daughters, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, and Rebecca, twenty shilings each." Executors were "my beloved sons, Israell and Isacke."^[1][2]

Inventory was taken on 25 November 1678 and totaled £70 7s (no value assigned the house and land).^[1][2]

William died at Marshfield, Massachusetts on November 8, 1678 at the age of 86 years; he was buried on November 9, 1678.^[1]

Children

The births of the children apparently were not recorded anywhere. Baptism records are extant, but they were all in 1661.^[1][3] Therefore, Anderson estimates their birth order and birth dates based on their order in William's will and known marriage dates.

Children of William and Elizabeth:^[1]

1. Josiah Holmes, b say 1638; m Hannah Samson, daughter of Henry Samson
2. Abraham Holmes, b say 1640; m 1) Elizabeth Arnold, 2) Abigail Nichols, widow of Ephraim Nichols
3. Elizabeth Holmes, b say 1642, apparently married, no further record
4. Mary Holmes, b say 1644; m Thomas Tilden
5. Sarah Holmes, b say 1646, apparently married, no further record
6. Rebecca Holmes, b say 1648, apparently married, no further record
7. Israel Holmes, b say 1650; m Desire (Doty) Sherman, daughter of Edward Doty and widow of William Sherman
8. Isaac Holmes, b say 1653; m Anne Rowse, daughter of John Rowse

Note: Vinton in The Giles Memorial (pp 184-85) ^[4]reports Rev. John Holmes as a son of this William Holmes. Anderson disputes the evidence and offers an alternative explanation, leaving no basis for the claim.^[1] Vinton cites the land granted by the Plymouth Colony General Court to Rev. John Holmes "in the right of his father," and the use of the name, Isaac, for one of his sons. Anderson points out that the father-in-law, John Wood, was a resident of Plymouth Colony and died about that time (which would explain the land grant), and wife, Mary Wood, had a brother named Isaac.^[1] Anderson also disputes some of Vinton's conclusions about daughters' marriages.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14} Anderson, Robert Charles, (1995) "William Holmes," Featured name. Great Migration 1634-1635, G-H. AmericanAncestors.org. NEHGS, (Volume III, G-H, Page 392).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997D-V38J : 14 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 478 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
3. ↑ Vital Records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1909) Vol. 1, Page 184
4. ↑ Vinton, John. The Giles Memorial (Boston, 1864): (pp 184-85)

• Vital Records of Marshfield, Massachusetts to the year 1850, (Providence: Rhode Island Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1970), p. 91 (birth); p. 148 (marriage)

• Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700, (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. Reference Volume 2, page 782