NOTE: A recently-installed marker in the Old Enon Cemetery near 205 CR 1494* in Cullman Co., AL, refers to Walter as William W. Holmes. This name was suggested from speculation by a descendant. No legal, church, court or census records in South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee or Alabama support the speculation that he was named William. The same descendant speculated that he might have been the son of Isaac Jr. and Rebecca Bee Holmes of Charleston. This is now reported as fact in several websites. For correct information on William, Charleston attorney, husband of Margaret Edwards and son of Isaac and Rebecca, see South Carolina Genealogies, Vol 2, p. 148, published by South Carolina Genealogical Society.
Prevailing evidence suggests that Walter probably was the son of an older Walter Holmes, who was granted 450 acres of land on the north side of the present town of Union by the South Carolina colonial governor in June 1774 and sold this land five years later. Union County court records show that the elder Walter died in or before 1789. This Walter probably was the English emigrant mentioned below.
*Coordinates N34º 17.498' W86º 44.455'
___________________________________________________________
In a seminal study of Holmes family history, Walter's great granddaughter-in-law Eliza Rebecca Mask (Mrs. Hugh Willis) Holmes wrote, "Walter Holmes was born in South Carolina in 1760 where he was reared. In the year 1778 he married Miss Ruth Springer. They soon moved to Ky. Here Dennis and Nancy were born. They then decided to go back to visit their relatives in S.C. So Walter and Ruth mounted their horses and each took a child behind them and set out on their trip. After spending a few weeks with their people in S.C. they turned their faces toward their home in Ky but somewhere on their way home their son Isaac was born in 1797. Isaac claimed Tenn. as his native state. Walter Holmes father came from England but the date has been misplaced."
The 1760 date for his birth probably was estimated from entries in the 1830 and 1840 censuses of Morgan Co., AL. Birth dates of his children suggest that his birth would have been in the latter years of the 1760s.
Union County, SC, records show that Walter was involved in land transactions there before moving to Kentucky. In 1801 and 1805, he received grants of land, a total of 480 acres, in Barren Co., KY, in the portion that now comprises Monroe Co. Court records show that he was commissioned to build a road in Barren County and received a bounty for killing a wolf. Walter and Ruth were listed as members of Mill Creek Baptist Church from June 1801 until September 1806, at which time Walter was dismissed from membership in the church. The reason is not stated in the minutes, but it is known that the congregation was deeply divided over the teachings of their pastor, which strict Baptists considered to be heretical. Ultimately, the congregation split into two churches, with the group supporting the pastor keeping the new log church building constructed in 1804. This building still stands, now known as The Old Mulkey Meeting House, in a Kentucky state historical park just south of Tompkinsville.
When Walter sold some of his Barren Co. land in 1811, he was listed as a resident of Bedford Co., TN.
Walter acquired land in Cotaco Co. (now Morgan Co.), AL, in 1818. His sons all became landholders there during the following decade. He was last listed in the census in 1840, so he is assumed to have died before 1850.
He and Ruth were parents of four sons, Dennis, Isaac, James and John Walter, and four daughters, Nancy (Mrs. John P.) Brown, Rebeca (Mrs. Grant Taylor) Kyle, Elizabeth (Mrs. James B.) Drake and Margaret (Mrs. James) Bain.
Ruth was living with the family of her daughter Elizabeth H. Drake in 1850 and has not been found in the 1860 census.
Prevailing evidence suggests that Walter probably was the son of an older Walter Holmes, who was granted 450 acres of land on the north side of the present town of Union by the South Carolina colonial governor in June 1774 and sold this land five years later. Union County court records show that the elder Walter died in or before 1789. This Walter probably was the English emigrant mentioned below.
*Coordinates N34º 17.498' W86º 44.455'
___________________________________________________________
In a seminal study of Holmes family history, Walter's great granddaughter-in-law Eliza Rebecca Mask (Mrs. Hugh Willis) Holmes wrote, "Walter Holmes was born in South Carolina in 1760 where he was reared. In the year 1778 he married Miss Ruth Springer. They soon moved to Ky. Here Dennis and Nancy were born. They then decided to go back to visit their relatives in S.C. So Walter and Ruth mounted their horses and each took a child behind them and set out on their trip. After spending a few weeks with their people in S.C. they turned their faces toward their home in Ky but somewhere on their way home their son Isaac was born in 1797. Isaac claimed Tenn. as his native state. Walter Holmes father came from England but the date has been misplaced."
The 1760 date for his birth probably was estimated from entries in the 1830 and 1840 censuses of Morgan Co., AL. Birth dates of his children suggest that his birth would have been in the latter years of the 1760s.
Union County, SC, records show that Walter was involved in land transactions there before moving to Kentucky. In 1801 and 1805, he received grants of land, a total of 480 acres, in Barren Co., KY, in the portion that now comprises Monroe Co. Court records show that he was commissioned to build a road in Barren County and received a bounty for killing a wolf. Walter and Ruth were listed as members of Mill Creek Baptist Church from June 1801 until September 1806, at which time Walter was dismissed from membership in the church. The reason is not stated in the minutes, but it is known that the congregation was deeply divided over the teachings of their pastor, which strict Baptists considered to be heretical. Ultimately, the congregation split into two churches, with the group supporting the pastor keeping the new log church building constructed in 1804. This building still stands, now known as The Old Mulkey Meeting House, in a Kentucky state historical park just south of Tompkinsville.
When Walter sold some of his Barren Co. land in 1811, he was listed as a resident of Bedford Co., TN.
Walter acquired land in Cotaco Co. (now Morgan Co.), AL, in 1818. His sons all became landholders there during the following decade. He was last listed in the census in 1840, so he is assumed to have died before 1850.
He and Ruth were parents of four sons, Dennis, Isaac, James and John Walter, and four daughters, Nancy (Mrs. John P.) Brown, Rebeca (Mrs. Grant Taylor) Kyle, Elizabeth (Mrs. James B.) Drake and Margaret (Mrs. James) Bain.
Ruth was living with the family of her daughter Elizabeth H. Drake in 1850 and has not been found in the 1860 census.
NOTE: A recently-installed marker in the Old Enon Cemetery near 205 CR 1494* in Cullman Co., AL, refers to Walter as William W. Holmes. This name was suggested from speculation by a descendant. No legal, church, court or census records in South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee or Alabama support the speculation that he was named William. The same descendant speculated that he might have been the son of Isaac Jr. and Rebecca Bee Holmes of Charleston. This is now reported as fact in several websites. For correct information on William, Charleston attorney, husband of Margaret Edwards and son of Isaac and Rebecca, see South Carolina Genealogies, Vol 2, p. 148, published by South Carolina Genealogical Society.
Prevailing evidence suggests that Walter probably was the son of an older Walter Holmes, who was granted 450 acres of land on the north side of the present town of Union by the South Carolina colonial governor in June 1774 and sold this land five years later. Union County court records show that the elder Walter died in or before 1789. This Walter probably was the English emigrant mentioned below.
*Coordinates N34º 17.498' W86º 44.455'
___________________________________________________________
In a seminal study of Holmes family history, Walter's great granddaughter-in-law Eliza Rebecca Mask (Mrs. Hugh Willis) Holmes wrote, "Walter Holmes was born in South Carolina in 1760 where he was reared. In the year 1778 he married Miss Ruth Springer. They soon moved to Ky. Here Dennis and Nancy were born. They then decided to go back to visit their relatives in S.C. So Walter and Ruth mounted their horses and each took a child behind them and set out on their trip. After spending a few weeks with their people in S.C. they turned their faces toward their home in Ky but somewhere on their way home their son Isaac was born in 1797. Isaac claimed Tenn. as his native state. Walter Holmes father came from England but the date has been misplaced."
The 1760 date for his birth probably was estimated from entries in the 1830 and 1840 censuses of Morgan Co., AL. Birth dates of his children suggest that his birth would have been in the latter years of the 1760s.
Union County, SC, records show that Walter was involved in land transactions there before moving to Kentucky. In 1801 and 1805, he received grants of land, a total of 480 acres, in Barren Co., KY, in the portion that now comprises Monroe Co. Court records show that he was commissioned to build a road in Barren County and received a bounty for killing a wolf. Walter and Ruth were listed as members of Mill Creek Baptist Church from June 1801 until September 1806, at which time Walter was dismissed from membership in the church. The reason is not stated in the minutes, but it is known that the congregation was deeply divided over the teachings of their pastor, which strict Baptists considered to be heretical. Ultimately, the congregation split into two churches, with the group supporting the pastor keeping the new log church building constructed in 1804. This building still stands, now known as The Old Mulkey Meeting House, in a Kentucky state historical park just south of Tompkinsville.
When Walter sold some of his Barren Co. land in 1811, he was listed as a resident of Bedford Co., TN.
Walter acquired land in Cotaco Co. (now Morgan Co.), AL, in 1818. His sons all became landholders there during the following decade. He was last listed in the census in 1840, so he is assumed to have died before 1850.
He and Ruth were parents of four sons, Dennis, Isaac, James and John Walter, and four daughters, Nancy (Mrs. John P.) Brown, Rebeca (Mrs. Grant Taylor) Kyle, Elizabeth (Mrs. James B.) Drake and Margaret (Mrs. James) Bain.
Ruth was living with the family of her daughter Elizabeth H. Drake in 1850 and has not been found in the 1860 census.
Prevailing evidence suggests that Walter probably was the son of an older Walter Holmes, who was granted 450 acres of land on the north side of the present town of Union by the South Carolina colonial governor in June 1774 and sold this land five years later. Union County court records show that the elder Walter died in or before 1789. This Walter probably was the English emigrant mentioned below.
*Coordinates N34º 17.498' W86º 44.455'
___________________________________________________________
In a seminal study of Holmes family history, Walter's great granddaughter-in-law Eliza Rebecca Mask (Mrs. Hugh Willis) Holmes wrote, "Walter Holmes was born in South Carolina in 1760 where he was reared. In the year 1778 he married Miss Ruth Springer. They soon moved to Ky. Here Dennis and Nancy were born. They then decided to go back to visit their relatives in S.C. So Walter and Ruth mounted their horses and each took a child behind them and set out on their trip. After spending a few weeks with their people in S.C. they turned their faces toward their home in Ky but somewhere on their way home their son Isaac was born in 1797. Isaac claimed Tenn. as his native state. Walter Holmes father came from England but the date has been misplaced."
The 1760 date for his birth probably was estimated from entries in the 1830 and 1840 censuses of Morgan Co., AL. Birth dates of his children suggest that his birth would have been in the latter years of the 1760s.
Union County, SC, records show that Walter was involved in land transactions there before moving to Kentucky. In 1801 and 1805, he received grants of land, a total of 480 acres, in Barren Co., KY, in the portion that now comprises Monroe Co. Court records show that he was commissioned to build a road in Barren County and received a bounty for killing a wolf. Walter and Ruth were listed as members of Mill Creek Baptist Church from June 1801 until September 1806, at which time Walter was dismissed from membership in the church. The reason is not stated in the minutes, but it is known that the congregation was deeply divided over the teachings of their pastor, which strict Baptists considered to be heretical. Ultimately, the congregation split into two churches, with the group supporting the pastor keeping the new log church building constructed in 1804. This building still stands, now known as The Old Mulkey Meeting House, in a Kentucky state historical park just south of Tompkinsville.
When Walter sold some of his Barren Co. land in 1811, he was listed as a resident of Bedford Co., TN.
Walter acquired land in Cotaco Co. (now Morgan Co.), AL, in 1818. His sons all became landholders there during the following decade. He was last listed in the census in 1840, so he is assumed to have died before 1850.
He and Ruth were parents of four sons, Dennis, Isaac, James and John Walter, and four daughters, Nancy (Mrs. John P.) Brown, Rebeca (Mrs. Grant Taylor) Kyle, Elizabeth (Mrs. James B.) Drake and Margaret (Mrs. James) Bain.
Ruth was living with the family of her daughter Elizabeth H. Drake in 1850 and has not been found in the 1860 census.
