| 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 |
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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.
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]
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.
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]
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]
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.
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