My husband, Mike, and I bought a computer program in 1992 to help my Aunt Joan Holmes organize the family trees she had been keeping on large poster boards. Little did we know, those poster boards would lead to a need for several more computer programs plus a filing cabinet to help organize what was evolving into a lot of information. Our research has been fun though, and has given us an exceptional opportunity to meet a lot of very nice people and to explore new places while doing something we enjoy.

Collecting genealogical information has been rewarding and will continue to be, but sharing genealogical information for the current and future generations is important too. Holmesfamilyhistory.org reflects our desire to emphasize the role of historian more as we continue to research the family history. This is not a commercial website. It's primary purpose is to establish a free online educational website for the collection and preservation of information, photographs, stories, etc. for the family and friends of the Orsamus Holmes family. However, a username and password will be needed to access research files. It's exciting that technology now provides an excellent opportunity for us to make our family histories much more personal and meaningful with old photographs, letters, publications, newspaper articles, stories, etc. while also helping each other move our family histories forward. If you would like to access the research files on this site, please send me an email briefly describing your connection to the Orsamus Holmes Family.

We will be digitizing and publishing our research on www.holmesfamilyhistory.org, and I would also like to encourage and offer this opportunity for others to contribute to and use this Holmes family online archive too. It is our hope that by utilizing technology, we, as friends and cousins, will be able to combine our resources and create an online genealogical record of the Orsamus Holmes family that will serve as a basis for educating, updating and preserving our family history much like the “Giles Memorial” did in 1864.

Please explore this website, download data for your research, use the message board for research questions, make suggestions, sign the guest book, contribute materials, etc. We hope you enjoy your visit and return often.

Sincerely,

Ginger Holmes Rowell
September 2004

Thanks for visiting our site! Ginger, Mike and Alisa

Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.0 or higher is needed to view many of the files in this site. This version of Acrobat Reader enables accessability features to make it easier for vision- and motion-challanged users. To download a free version of Acrobat Reader, click here.