George Washington Holmes - Part Three

Check out Part One for George's story in Tennessee and Arkansas.
Part Two covers Missouri through arrival in Texas.

George and Caroline's next move is to Edwards County Texas, nearly 300 miles away from their previous home in Robertson County Texas. I'm jumping to the end of the story now, I feel you've earned it.

Final Resting Place - Vance Cemetery

George and Caroline are buried at Vance Cemetery, which today is located in Real County, Texas. At the time of their death the town of Vance was called Bullhead, and it was located in Edwards County. Mysteriously, George and Caroline's original headstones read only Mr. Holmes and Mrs. Holmes - no dates. 

Bottom image credit: Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com ; accessed 7 Dec 2017),  memorial page for Mrs. Holmes [no dates], Find A Grave Memorial no. 12919517, citing Vance Cemetery, Vance, Real County, Texas; the accompanying photograph by Mark Lindahl. Top image credit: Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com ; accessed 7 Dec 2017),  memorial page for Mr. Holmes [no dates], Find A Grave Memorial no. 12919518, citing Vance Cemetery, Vance, Real County, Texas; the accompanying photograph by Mark Lindahl.

Cousin Collaboration

Piecing together the final chapter of George and Caroline's life story has been a collaboration with cousin and fellow Holmes researcher, Tommy Joe (TJ) Holmes. Seeing online that he was researching the family, too, I reached out to TJ and we've been sharing information ever since. George and Caroline are my ancestors through their son William Abraham (Abe) Homes. They are also TJ's ancestors - through their son John Milton (Mitt) Holmes.

TJ knew that George and Caroline were buried at Vance cemetery, but not when or how they died. (Actually - spoiler alert - we still don't know exactly when or how they died.) After a bit of digging, I found some Edwards County tax records that helped me have at least a bit of closure surrounding their last years. I would, of course, love to know the rest of the story.  

What We DO Know 

Where everyone was in 1880

First, it's interesting to note that on the 1880 census the family was scattered all around the state of Texas. George and Caroline (and grandson James Gilpin) were in Robertson County. Samuel M was in Limestone County. Jake was in Medina County. Mitt was in Maverick County, and Abe and Jennie were in Frio County.

(You're cool with the nicknames by now, right? If not, check back on the family tree chart in Part 2.)

So Why Were George and Caroline in Edwards County?

Seems they were living there. George was taxed as a county resident for two years, 1883 and 1884. 

The County Tax Rolls for Edwards county hold some clues to this part of the story. Citing tax rolls can get a little tedious, so if you want to know who had how many horses, cattle, goats and wagons each year, or more information about their land,  I've detailed it here. For the sake of moving this story along, I'll summarize.

Abe and Mitt were in Edwards County first, by 1882, with wagons, horses and cattle. In 1883, they added goats to the mix. Maybe they entered the angora goat business that eventually became profitable in this part of Texas. Abe had 160 acres of land by 1883. Abe owned land on a parcel that was originally granted to DM Bowles, though I cannot pinpoint the exact location of this land on the map.

A second source to document their location in Edwards County can be found in a book about the area, Nueces Headwater Country, by Allan A. Stovall. Stovall writes, "On the Bullhead prong on the Nueces were Abe and Mitt Holmes, the Kelly O’Learys on the head of the river, and the Dan Flynns, seven miles above Vance on the Bullhead prong."

George W joined his sons in Edwards County around 1883. He appeared on the tax list in 1883 and 1884, then not again. 

Based on the years he is, then isn't on the tax lists, it seems that George may have died in 1884 or 1885. TJ has visited the cemetery and notes that the death dates of others buried near George and Caroline are between 1884-1886. TJ Holmes has added a nice, proper headstone at their graves.

Abe and J Holmes were still in Edwards County in 1885, when J Holmes was taxed on a lot in the Bullhead Community. I don't know if this is J Holmes is John Milton "Mitt" Holmes. In 1882, 1883, and 1884 John Milton was listed as JM Holmes, so its hard to know if the J Holmes on the 1885 tax list is him or not. 

What I'm more sure about is that their older brother Samuel M Holmes joins them in 1885, also purchasing a lot in Bullhead. Sam, who was a merchant in Limestone County, Texas, and who will be a merchant in his next move, looks a lot like a merchant on the tax list with $1000 worth of goods, wares and merchandise. 

Mitt leaves the county around 1885 or 1886. Abe and Samuel leave around 1889.

And that's a wrap on George Washington Holmes' story.  

I plan to post more about all of George and Caroline's children; the things I've learned about them on this research journey. So please check back for updates. Here's the first, on Samuel M Holmes. 

Thanks for reading all of this! I've posted nearly everything that I can find, cited as best I can, in an attempt not to be super boring, but to share and collaborate. If you have any additions or corrections, please comment or email! I'm happy to credit your work.