Family Group Sheets
     
Orsamus Holmes was born in Pembroke, Massachusetts and was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. He married Ruth Webb, and they had 11 children together. Communities where they lived include Springfield, Vermont; Sherburne, New York; Sheridan, New York; and Killbuck, Ohio. Orsamus was a pioneer, and one of the first settlers to help establish both the Sherburne and Sheridan communities as those wilderness areas were opened up for settlement. It is learned from several local histories that he was active as both a civil servant and church deacon in the early days of these communities.

The amount of information available through Revolutionary War service records, local histories, and letters made Orsamus Holmes the natural patriarch for this Holmes Family History website. Enjoy your visit!
  • Biographical Sketches
    (1) A Biography of Deacon Holmes by Roscoe B. Martin (ca. 1925-1940)
    (2) Sketch of Orsamus Holmes in early Sherburne, NY (ca. 1884-1892)
    (3) Orsamus Holmes: A Biographical Sketch by Mike Rowell (1994)
    (4) Holmes Tavern Credited with Earliest Post Office & Other Local Firsts by Traci Langworthy (2004)
    (5) Soldiers of the American Revolution (1925)
  • Letters {285k/pdf}
  • Revolutionary War
    (1) Revolutionary War Pension Application (1832), Transcribed by Ginger Holmes Rowell & Mike Rowell
    (2) Military Service Pension File     (1610kb/pdf)
    (3) The Giles Memorial (1864)
    (4)     Military History - Bureau of Pensions Abstract to William H. Wilcox (1906)
     (5) Bureau of Pensions - Letter to Helen J. Wilcox (1929)
    (6) Photo of Mt. Defiance, Ticonderoga, NY
  • Land
    (1) Extract from Holland Land Co. Records (map) for Chautauqua Co., NY
    (2) Location of Holmes County, Ohio (map)
    (3) Location of land in Holmes Co., OH deeded to Orsamus Holmes in 1834
    (4) Deed conveying 5 3/4 acres from Walter Kimble to Orsamus Holmes (Aug. 19, 1834)
    (5) Deed conveying 2 1/2 acres from Malachi Clow to Orsamus Holmes (Aug. 22, 1834)
    (6) Deed conveying 82 acres from Malachi Clow to Orsamus Holmes (Aug. 25, 1834)
  • Monuments
    (1) Centennial Monument, Sherburne (Chenango Co.), New York, dedicated in 1893
    (2) Centennial Monument, Sherburne (Chenango Co.), New York, dedicated in 1893
  • Ancestor Pedigree Chart {162k/pdf}