Brief
History of William Holmes
William is the
son of Gideon and Sarah Ellen "Martin" Holmes born
January 5, 1880 in West Weber, Utah. His mother Sarah was
the first white child born West of the Weber river in the
area known as Wilson Lane, West of Ogden, Utah. As a child
she played with migrating Indian children who wintered in
that area. Sarah's father John Martin was the first permanent
white settler West of the Weber River. He built the first
road up Ogden Canyon and as a contractor built a section of
the Transcontinental Railroad.
The old Wilson
Lane has changed due to development and is is now Wilson Lane,
West 20th street, 1900 West and 1800 South. The area is now
part of West Haven City, Utah.
As a child William
helped work in his fathers brick making plant on West 20th
street (behind the present Seventh Day Adventists School)
where many of the bricks used to build pioneer homes and buildings
in Ogden were made. His father donated the bricks for the
LDS chapel now a residence on West 20th street.
William served
an LDS mission. Married Mary Evelean "Child". They
had eleven children and most of the boys served in WWII. William
and Mary and several children are buried in the Liberty, Utah
cemetery. Mary Evelean died June 7, 1925 and William died
July 16, 1946. Only one of their children and one daughter
in law are alive today.
They had a blacksmith
shop on 19th street just North of 12th street, sold it and
moved to Goshen, Utah where they had a thriving peach farm.
When the irrigation flume broke and was not rebuilt they moved
to Liberty, Utah. They were known for their hard working industry,
impeccable honesty and charity to others, attributes that
each of their children have passed on and is a legacy and
attribute of their descendants.
We have two annual
events; a reunion and a cousins get-to-gether. |