My Genealogy Hound

Nathaniel Holmes. In endeavoring to trace the genealogy of Mr. Holmes, we find that his grandfather, Finley Holmes, came originally from Ireland when about twenty-one years of age, and settled near Columbia, S. C, where he became in time a wealthy and successful planter. His son, who also bore the name of Finley, was born near that city March 24, 1802, and followed in his father’s footsteps at the time of his death, which occurred in Mississippi September 24, 1885, being the owner of about 6,000 acres of land in Desha County and 3,000 in Jefferson County. His wife, Emily G. (Raines) Holmes, was born in Montgomery County, Ga., July 29, 1806, and was a daughter of Thomas Raines, who had been a captain in the Revolutionary War, and a granddaughter of Maj.-Gen. James Abercrombie. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were married in Jones County, Ga., about 1823, and in time a family of twelve children gathered about them: Francis (a farmer of De Soto County, Miss.), Abercrombie (a farmer of Desha County, Ark.), Nathaniel, Winfield W. (a farmer of Desha County), Georgianna J. G. (who was first married to Thomas Woods and is now the wife of William W. Butts, a farmer of De Soto County, Miss.), and Martia (who first married B. D. Treadwell, and is now the wife of Moses W. Beardsley, of Memphis, Tenn). The following members of the family are deceased: Dr. Robert R. (who died in 1878), Alpheus C. (who died in 1879), Finley (who was accidentally killed by a gunshot in 1849), Dr. Laurencius (in 1886), Thomas (in 1863 while serving in the Confederate army) and Emily G. (in infancy). Nathaniel Holmes was born near Horn Lake Depot, Miss., June 22, 1843, and received a fair education in the academies of his native county of De Soto. Upon the opening of the Rebellion he, in May, 1861, enlisted in Company A, Memphis Light Dragoons, and was in the battles of Belmont, Shiloh, Thompson’s Station, Holly Springs, besides many small engagements, and July 9, 1863, was captured near Vicksburg, and after being incarcerated in Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis for about a month, he was removed to Camp Morton, Ind., where, for eighteen months he underwent all the privations and hardships incident to prison life. He was paroled at Richmond, Va., May 1, 1865, and was at home preparing to re-enter the service when news reached him of Lee’s surrender. After the close of the war, when twenty-two years of age, he began farming for himself in Desha County, on land which his father had previously purchased, and is now largely engaged in planting and raising cattle. He owns 880 acres of fine land at and near Walnut Lake, and has 450 acres under cultivation well adapted to the growth of corn, cotton, and the grasses, the principal crops, however, being corn and cotton. His marriage to Miss Flora V. Tillar was celebrated in Drew County, Ark., June 22, 1877, she being a native of that county, born March 24, 1859, and a daughter of Maj. J. T. W. Tillar, a very prominent and wealthy citizen of that county. Mr. Holmes and his wife have had three sons and two daughters: Thomas Tillar (born September 6, 1879), Nettie P. (born September 2, 1881), and Ida L. (born December 3, 1886), being the only ones living. Gordon and Clifton R. died in infancy. Mr. Holmes and his wife are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, actively interested in all good work in and out of the church, and he belongs to the K. of H., and is a Democrat in his political views. He is a member of the local school board, a strong advocate of education, and is liberal in the support of the same.