HOLMES, William R.

HOMLMES, SAUNDERS, STILES, MAXON, GREEMAN, BABCOCK, SCRIVEN, GARDNER, CRANDALL, BURDICK, HISCOX

Posted By: May Lyn Wake, (email)
Date: 11/29/2022 at 14:35:53

Updated notes for the William R Holmes biographical information found in “The 1901 Biographical Record of Clinton County, Iowa.”

I was thrilled to see the biographical article about W. R. Holmes on the Clinton County IAGenWeb site. I am a descendant of Ezra Stiles Holmes Saunders,
his mother, Martha Holmes Saunders was William’s sister. There are a few small errors that I would like to address for future genealogists who find this writing.

The book: "The Maxson Family: Descendants of John Maxson and Wife Mary Mosher of Westerly, Rhode Island", reveals a lot of data about the family of
William R. Holmes and his siblings.

William’s parents were Ezra Stiles Holmes and Sarah Maxson/Maxon. My family notes say Ezra S. Holmes was named after Ezra Stiles, well-known figure in the
late 18th century in New England.

William can be found living with his father and mother on the 1850 US Federal Census in Petersburg, Rensselaer County, New York. His sister, Jane, is mentioned on page 87 of the Maxson genealogy. Her husband was Hezekiah Coon not Koon. Other references include the cemetery where they are buried (Meadowlawn Cemetery in Petersburgh, NY) 3 , and numerous Federal and State census records. With William’s entry, also on page 87, it lists Emeline Maxson as his wife, and seven of their children: William, Edwin, Sarah, Bertha, Mabel, Albert and John.

Their youngest son, Ezra, b. 1885 was missing from the list and there was possibly
another child not listed, an unnamed infant buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Delmar, Clinton County, Iowa. On the 1900 census Emeline listed nine children/but only four living. An illness must have swept through Delmar in Oct 1877 because, Edwin, Sarah, Bertha and William all die with a space of ten days in 1877.

Sources:
1. Brown, Leroy Walter. The Maxson Family: Descendants of John Maxson and wife Mary Mosher of Westerly, Rhode Island. 1954. Online. Ancestry.com. Accessed 27 Nov 2022.
2. Stiles, Rev. Ezra. Wikipedia. Online. Accessed 27 Nov 2022.
3. Coon, Hezakiah. Find-a-grave. Online. Ancestry.com. Accessed 25 Nov 2022.
4. Holmes family. Find-a-grave. Online. Ancestry.com. Accessed 25 Nov 2022.

A lot of family trees on ancestry.com point to Emeline’s father being a sibling of her husband’s mother, Sarah Maxson Holmes; but I find no proof to this being the case; as he was not listed as next of kin in the will/probate of David Maxson in
1839.

In the "Maxson Genealogy" (on page 46) a William is listed as son of David and Sarah Greenman Maxson, but the dates associated with this William do not line up
with that of Emeline’s father and no further information is given for him. In the
reference to William R in the Maxson Genealogy (on page 87), it just lists Emeline’s father as William… no last name given.

Her mother is said to be Susan Scriven Maxson. There is a Susan Scriven Maxon buried in Stillman Village Cemetery, Petersburg, Rensselaer County 6 , but I cannot confirm she is Emeline’s mother; but looking at US census records she most likely is her mother. The tombstone reads:

Susan Scriven
wife of
William Maxon
Died June 24, 1888
Aged 80 yrs

Emeline’s sister, Lois, is mistakenly named Louis on several Federal Census records. She married Edmond H. Babcock in 1896.

Her other sister, Sarah (Sallie/Sally) A Maxson Sweet, married John W. Merrill in 1882, according to Vermont marriage records. Her first husband was Napoleon Bonaparte Sweet, according to the 1875 New York State census. He died in Oct 1878.

Additional Sources:
5. New York, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999. Maxson, David. Online. Ancestry.com. Accessed 25 Nov 2022.
6 Maxon, Susan Scriven. Find-a-grave. Online. Ancestry.com Accessed 28 Nov 2022.
7 New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967. Maxson, Lois. Online. Ancestry.com. Accessed 27 Nov 2022.
8 Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908. Sweet, Sallie (Maxon). Online. Ancestry.com Accessed 27 Nov 2022.
9 Sweet, N.B. Find-a-grave. Online. Ancestry.com Accessed. 28 Nov 2022.

William and Emeline’s daughter, Mabel Holmes married Bert Koplin not Copeland. References include her marriage record, 10 Federal census records, death
record and cemetery record.

I hope this helps future generations. The families of Holmes, Coon, Maxson, Scriven(s), Saunders, Stillman, Burdick, Crandall, Greenman, Gardner/Gardiner,
Babcock, Hiscox, and many more are all intertwined and go back generations to Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York State. You find them in various books
about early Westerly, Rhode Island, Stonington, Connecticut, Petersburgh, New York; the Sabbatarian Church, and the beginnings of the Seventh Day Baptist
Church.

Written by May Lyn Wake, Bellevue, NE. I have been researching the families of Saunders, Holmes, Scriven, Burdick, Crandall, Gardiner and Hiscox for several years. I have been to Rensselaer County and gone cemetery hunting. Several cemeteries are in terrible shape with trees growing and toppling the old stones.
Contact info: mlwake14@gmail.com .