Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Memorial to Horatio Lewis Holmes in 1878 I.O.O.F. Proceedings of the Annual Right Worthy Grand Encampment of Rhode Island


Memorial page for Horatio Lewis Holmes, included in the 1878 Proceedings of the Annual Session of the Right Worthy Grand Encampment of Rhode Island for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Click on any image to enlarge it.


The booklet, which consists of about 67 pages, contains many names and has 5 other memorial pages, in page order:  [Please take all dates and places with a grain of salt, in case the informant was mistaken]
  • Horace Almy Manchester, born at Tiverton Four Corners, Rhode Island, in 1812; died at Stockton, California on April 30, 1877
  • Thomas Rodman Gardiner, born March 28, 1840 at Lime Rock, Rhode Island; died May 10, 1877 at Providence, Rhode Island
  • Nathan Porter, born March 28, 1817 at Salem, Massachusetts; died January 6, 1878 at Sacramento, California
  • Francis Cusick, born August 7, 1822 at Omagh in the North of Ireland; died January 21, 1878 at Providence, Rhode Island
  • Frederick D. Stuart, born July 12, 1814 at Brooklyn, New York; died January 25, 1878 at Washington, D.C.

Text of the Memorial page dedicated to Horatio Lewis Holmes:

Horatio Lewis Holmes,
P. H. P.
Born in Lexington, Mass., October 24, 1815.
Came to Providence, R. I. in 1835.
Exalted in Moshassuck Encampment, No. 2., 
February 5, 1846.
Installed M. E. High Priest of said Encampment, No. 2, 
July 18, 1850.
Admitted into the R. W. Grand Encampment of Rhode Island, 
January 31, 1853.
Died in the City of Providence, R. I., January 9, 1878.
Aged 63 Years.

From brief online research, hopefully correct:  [corrections and additions requested - found many inconsistencies and some of them repeated online]

According to the memorial page, Horatio Lewis Holmes was born October 24, 1815 at Lexington, Massachusetts.   A Massachusetts birth record confirms the date but places the birth at Kingston, Massachusetts and names Horatio's parents as Lewis Holmes and Sophia Holmes.  An entry on Ancestry.com, gives an incorrect birth year of 1813, which is readily cleared up by reading the referenced document itself.  I'm not sure if Horatio lived at Lexington, Massachusetts for a while, or if he had no connection with Lexington at all.

The Brewster Genealogy, by Emma C. Brewster Jones, includes a Horatio Lewis Jones with a birth date and place of October 24, 1815 at Kingston, Massachusetts, son of Lewis Holmes, Sr., and Sophia (Holmes) Holmes.  Unfortunately, Emma has poor Horatio as dying on February 5, 1842, the same death date as that of his first wife Mary Gladding Holmes, despite the fact that Emma also notes that Horatio married his second wife Nancy Hardenbeurg on November 25, 1845.   Horatio's death date of January 9, 1878 is correct, according to multiple sources.

Consequently, what I've determined is that Horatio Lewis Holmes was born at Kingston, Massachusetts, on October 24, 1815, the son of Lewis Holmes and Sophia (Holmes) Holmes.  According to the Brewster Genealogy, on September 30, 1840, Horatio married Mary Gladding of Providence, Rhode Island.  Mary died on February 5, 1842.  I don't know if Horatio and Mary had children or if Mary died in childbirth.  Also according to the Brewster Genealogy,  Horatio married Nancy Hardenbergh of Providence, Rhode Island, on November 25, 1845.  Horatio and Nancy had, I believe, at least two children, one of whom died in infancy.

According to an 1870 report of the Board of Water Commissioners of Providence, Horatio was hired at an annual salary of $1500 to inspect the city water pipes.  Horace and his brother-in-law Fayette Hardenbergh received a patent in 1877 for a top-roll support for spinning machines. 

Horatio and his two wives are buried at Swan Point Cemetery at Providence, Rhode Island.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.


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