This document attempts to set out some of the ancestry, family, and descendants of Nathan HOLMES, who was born in Montville, New London County, Connecticut, lived most of his adult life in Hamilton, Madison County, New York, and died in Farmersville, Cattaraugus County, New York. This is a somewhat audacious goal given that no such person has been proved (to my satisfaction) to exist — or rather, that that “person” has not been proved not to be several different people. The audacity becomes greater when we consider that there is no known contemporary documentation of Nathan’s parentage, marriage, or children, and no account at all, contemporary or otherwise, linking Nathan to most of his presumed children. Nathan is, in other words, the proverbial genealogical brick wall. However, several years of effort have yielded enough hints and circumstantial evidence to suggest a fairly consistent, plausible picture. Virtually nothing about Nathan can yet be proved beyond question, but the story presented here is, I think, probably correct for the most part.
I make no claim that I have exhausted the research possibilities connected with Nathan on the contrary, I believe I have only scratched the surface. This document is a work in progress, and will be revised as new information comes to light.
Some references are given; follow links on names in square brackets (e.g., [Tuttle1]) to see them, but in general I haven’t shown sources or detailed information on individuals here; instead, follow the links on individuals’ names (e.g., Nathan HOLMES) to see their entries in my online family tree.
Many of the locations mentioned here are marked on this map.
(Next page: Nathan of Hamilton)
