From Margaret Harris Stover's article on Samuel Holmes of Montville, Connecticut in the Mayflower Quarterly (references omitted)
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The waterways were their highways. Here is an example of a sixth generation Mayflower descendant of John Alden, William Brewster, and Richard Warren who left his Plymouth home and family to establish himself in Connecticut. All places are Connecticut unles cried otherwise...

...Samuel Holmes settled in New London as a young man. Here he bought land adjacent to Samuel Avery from Thomas Bill 15 Feb 1749. He sold this parcel to Ebenezer Smith in March 1749/50 and bought another 25 acre parcel on Sawmill Brook adjacent to John Vibber on 27 Aug 1750. This land was conveyed to Luke Perkins on 6 April 1754. On 23 Nov. 1771 Samuel Holmes purchased six acres on Saw Mill Brook from the heirs of Mrs. Delight Lothrop, wife of Mr. Jabez Lothrop of Norwich and daughter of Mr. Joseph Otis late of New London, deceased. Samuel lived in the North Parish of New London, now Montville.

The will of Samuel Holmes, dated 4 Aug 1774 in his 52nd year and proved 15 Nov 1774, names his "wife" administrator. He stated that there are 11 children, but only daughter Prudence "who is incapable" was named. He left "what little I have to my dear wife." The witnesses were Joshua Raymond, Martha Chapman and Joseph Otis. Samuel signed the will with his signature. Twelve acres of land are mentioned in the inventory.

On 19 March 1793 Lucretia Holmes, widow, conveyed the six acres on Sawmill Brook in Montville for nine pounds to Alpheus Chapman. Lucretia signed by her mark and acknowledged the deed that same date. The witnesses were William Hillhouse and Patty Chapman.

From Genealogical and Biographical Record of New London County
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... When a young man he settled in New London, where he probably spent the rest of his life, dying in 1774.... He was a man of considerable means, and upon his death made his wife the executrix of his will, leaving his property to her and his daughter Prudence, who was unable to provide for herself. The will is recorded in New London. [#2677, New London records]

From Descendants of Mr. John Holmes, Messenger of the Plymouth Court by Eugene A. Stratton
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147 i. Samuel(5) Holmes, b. 26 June 1722 d. before 19 May 1779; left issue. [He stopped one generation early, as far as I am concerned!]

From Richard S. Holmes
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I see you descend from Samuel's son Jabez through his daughter Hannah (with reservations noted). I haven't yet found proof that my Nathan was Samuel's son Nathan -- or for that matter that "my Nathan" was in my line either, although I'm pretty confident of it.

At www.alden.org they have an 8-generation listing of Alden descendants which includes (<http://www.alden.org/aldengen/hannahbartlett/hannahbartlett04.htm>) some information on the family of Samuel Holmes I hadn't seen before, in particular: birth and death dates for John and Sarah; exact birthdates for Elisha and Samuel (son of Samuel and Lucretia) (Baker's History of Montville has a date for Elisha but it differs by two years from the one on this site); and all the details on Mary.

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48. Samuel Holmes (Sarah Bartlett , Hannah) was born on 26 Jun 1722 in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA. He died in 1774 in Montville, New London, Ct. Samuel married Lucretia Bill about 1747. Lucretia was christened on 9 Mar 1729 in Groton, Ct. She died on 20 Sep 1820. She was buried in Salem, Ct.

They had the following children:

M i Jabez Holmes was born about 1748. He died on 22 Apr 1814.
M ii Elisha Holmes was born on 27 Oct 1758. He died on 21 Dec 1844.
M iii John Holmes was born about 1756. He died on 13 Jul 1823 in Salem, Ct.
M iv Samuel Holmes was born on 27 Aug 1762. He died on 22 Apr 1852.
M v Nathan Holmes.
F vi Sarah Holmes was born on 20 Oct 1753. She died on 16 Feb 1821.
F vii Lucretia Holmes.
F viii Abby Holmes.
F ix Mary Holmes was born on 15 Oct 1767 in Montville, New London, Ct. She died on 24 Sep 1855.
Mary married Joshua Comstock about 1788. Joshua was born on 4 Mar 1763 in Salem, Ct. He died on 1 Feb 1828.
F x Anna Holmes.
F xi Prudence Holmes.
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Mary's birthdate is a bit of an embarrassment for the hypothesis that the Nathan Holmes who's buried in Farmersville, Cattaraugus County, NY is the Nathan who's listed here, since his gravestone says he was born in 1767. Of course, if Mary's birthdate is correct, Nathan could have been Mary's twin; it's also theoretically possible he was born in early January 1767, though not likely. And of course the date on his gravestone isn't necessarily correct. (The 1850 census mortality schedule says he died in Feb 1850 (another source says 1 Mar 1850) at age 83; that implies a birthdate in 1766, or early 1767.)

The web site does not show sources for this information.

More from Richard S. Holmes
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I recently learned that an article by Margaret Harris Stover on Samuel Holmes of Montville, Connecticut was published last year in the Mayflower Quarterly (Vol. 66, Sep 2000, pp. 243-249).

It's a good compilation of facts, though I was a bit disappointed to find Stover did not have any better sources for the identities of Samuel's wife and children than the books I've already seen. One fact I had not seen before stood out, though: alongside the name of Samuel's son Nathan it says "A Nathan Holmes m. Grace Chapman, born in the 1770s."

That pretty much clinches one of the connections I've guessed at. To remind you, near my 2nd great grandfather's grave in Poolville, town of Hamilton, Madison, NY is the grave of "Grace wife of Nathan Holmes Died Jan 30 1840 [aged] 69 Years". Together with other bits of evidence I believe this adds up to something like proof that there was a Nathan in Hamilton who came from Montville (and it supplies a surname for Grace). That this Nathan was father of Peter, Jabez, Phebe, Hiram, Henry, and Nathan, I have little doubt, but I'd like stronger evidence. I'd also like stronger evidence he was son of Samuel. (Note Samuel had other links to the Chapman family: Martha Chapman witnessed his will, Alpheus Chapman bought six acres from Samuel's widow, and Patty Chapman witnessed the transaction.) But I'm confident this is probably the right line.

Oddly enough, Stover gives no source for the above statement, even though she does cite sources for nearly everything else in the article. I took a look in the indices of several Chapman genealogies at the library but no Nathan Holmes was listed. My notes indicate there's a Chapman section in Baker's History of Montville, but I didn't think to look that up while I was at the library.

PS: I got a reply from Margaret Stover, the author of the Samuel Holmes article, regarding "A Nathan Holmes m. Grace Chapman, born in the 1770s." Turns out there's an error: it should be Grace Chapell, daughter of Peter Chapell and Esther Douglas. Source: Baker's "History of Montville", p. 480.

From Rich Holmes
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In the old Salem burying-ground there are several by the name of Holmes whose gravestones appear there. Upon one stone in the group of the Holmeses is the name "Lucretia, wife of Samuel Holmes, Died Sept. 20, 1820, aged 93 years," which shows that she was born about 1727, and would correspond with the age of the Samuel Holmes who purchased land in North Parish in 1749. Assuming that the Lucretia Holmes, born about 1727, was the wife of Samuel Holmes, we have a basis upon which to proceed in the lineage of the Holmes families.

This Samuel Holmes was probably the son of Elisha Holmes and Sarah Bartlett, daughter of Joseph Bartlett of Plymouth, Mass., born about 1722, and married Lucretia ____.

• Married: BEF 1748 in New London, Connecticut

1. Abby HOLMES
2. Anna HOLMES
3. Lucretia HOLMES b: in Montville, New London, Connecticut
4. Prudence HOLMES
5. Jabez HOLMES b: ABT 1748 in New London Co, Connecticut
6. Sarah HOLMES b: 20 OCT 1753 in Montville, New London, Connecticut
7. John HOLMES b: ABT 1756
8. Elisha HOLMES b: 27 OCT 1756 in Montville, New London, Connecticut
9. Samuel HOLMES b: 27 AUG 1762 in Montville, New London, Connecticut
10. Nathan HOLMES b: ABT 1766
11. Mary HOLMES b: 15 OCT 1767 in Montville, New London, Connecticut

1. Title: Mayflower Quarterly
   Author: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants
   Repository:
   Note:
   NAME http://www.themayflowersociety.com/news.htm
   ADDR
   EMAIL
   PHON
   Media: Book
   Page: Sept, 2000. Samuel Holmes of Montville, Connecticut by Margaret Harris Stover, C.G.
2. Title: Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families
   Author: William T. Davis
   Publication: Name: 1895; 1975; Genealogical Publishing Company; 2nd edition (1997);
   Repository:
   Media: Book
   Page: p. 138
3. Title: National Genealogical Society Quarterly
   Author: National Genealogical Society
   Publication: Name: Arlington, VA;
   Repository:
   Note:
   NAME Burton Collection, Detroit Public Library
   ADDR
   EMAIL
   PHON
   Media: Book
   Page: Vol. 74, p. 209
   Text: Descendants of Mr. John Holmes, Messenger of the Plymouth Court by Eugene A. Stratton, C.G., F.A.S.G.
4. Title: Mayflower Families Through Five Generations
   Author: Woodworth-Barnes, Esther Littleford, compiler, and Alicia Crane Williams, ed.
   Publication: Name: Plymouth MA: The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1999;
   Note: See Mayflower Families in Progress - The concept of this genealogical project was first formally conceived by George E. Bowman in Boston and Herbert Folger in San Francisco in the early 1900s. The format was an expanded version of the Alden Memorial published in 1867. With full approval at the annual meeting of the General Board of the Society on September 19, 1959 the project was officially started.
   
   Sixteen years later the first genealogy entitled Mayflower Families Through Five Generations was published with the first five generations of descendants of Pilgrims Francis Eaton, Samuel Fuller and William White; Volume 2 was issued in 1978, families of James Chilton, Richard More and Thomas Rogers; Volume 3 in 1980, family of George Soule. Then ten years later, Volume 4 in 1990, family of Edward Fuller; Volume 5 in 1991, families of Edward Winslow and John Billington; Volume 6 in 1992, family of Stephen Hopkins; Volume 7 in 1992, family of Peter Brown; Volume 8 in 1994, family of Degory Priest; Volume 9 in 1996, family of Frances Eaton,; Volume 10 in 1996, family of Samuel Fuller, Volume 11 in 1996, family of Edward Doty, Part One; Volume 12 in 1996, family of Francis Cooke, Volume 13 in 1997, family of William White and Volume 14 in 1997, family of Miles Standish.
   
   More recently additional volumes have continued to roll off the press. Volume 15 contains information on the family of Myles Standish, Volume 16, John Alden's family, of course, Volume 17 Isaac Allerton and finally, Volume 18, Richard Warren.
   Repository:
   Media: Book
   Page: Vol. 16, Part One, John Alden, p. 268 (birth)
   Text: Authors: Woodworth-Barnes, Esther Littleford, compiler, and Alicia Crane Williams, ed.
5. Title: Mayflower Births and Deaths...
   Author: Susan Roser
   Publication: Name: Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co., 1992;
   Note: ... from the files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants
   Repository:
   Note:
   NAME Ancestry.com; Burton Collection, Detroit Public Library
   ADDR
   EMAIL
   PHON
   Media: Book
   Page: Vol. 2
   Text: birth and death
6. Title: Vital Records of Plymouth, Massachusetts to the Year 1850
   Author: Lee D. van Antwerp
   Publication: Name: Picton Press, Camden, ME 1993;
   Repository:
   Media: Book
   Page: p. 66
   Text: provided by the Bartlett Society
7. Title: Mayflower Families in Progress
   Author: General Society of Mayflower Descendants
   Publication: Name: 1991;
   Note: Comprising multiple volumes, each on different families, with different authors and publication dates.
   
   In 1986, the first in a series of booklets Mayflower Families in Progress (MFIP) was issued as part of the Project (Mayflower Families Through Five Generations.). It contained four generations of the family of Pilgrim Peter Brown. This was done under directorship of former Governor General Cay Lanham. She directed the publication of four more Pilgrim families in this format: Francis Cooke, William Bradford, Edward Fuller and Richard Warren. In 1987, Edith Bates Thomas, Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee, became Director of the Five Generations Project. Thereafter, four generations of Samson, George Soule, William Brewster, Francis Eaton and Robert Bartlett; and five generations of Edward Winslow, Myles Standish, John Billington and Degory Priest were published in MFIP format. Mrs. Thomas also directed publication of second, third and fourth editions of MFIP, containing corrected and additional information.
   
   The goal of the project is to present documentation from primary sources for all information and to make the material available to the general public. With the publication of eight silver volumes in less than six years, the Society has taken a large step towards completion of the Five Generations Project.
   Repository:
   Media: Book
   Page: Robert Bartlett of the Anne p. 86
8. Title: Mayflower Descendant
   Author: George E. Bowman, Editor
   Note: A quarterly magazine of Pilgrim history and genealogy. Publication ceased in 1937 and the magazine was not revived for 50 years 34 volumes 1899-1940; publication resumed with Vol. 35 in 1985.
   Repository:
   Note:
   NAME GenealogyLibrary.com
   ADDR
   EMAIL
   PHON
   Media: Book
   Page: Vol. 13, p. 113 (birth)
9. Title: Researcher
   Repository:
   Media: Book
   Text: Richard (Rich) S. Holmes ("From Notes of Frances Manwaring Caulkins, Historian of New London County," handwritten notes. Photocopy sent by Dan McDonald to Richard S. Holmes, late 1998.), Dave Sharp, Elaine Tillquist Pavone (birth)