By Staff
Jake Holmes of Brewton has a website on the internet telling about his family and its history. He has done a lot of research on the Holmes/Hoomes family that came to this area in the early 1800s and I know that there are many of you out there who are a part of this large family. For those of you who would like to look at the website go to www.gulf1.com/families/holmes.htm.
George Hoomes is believed to be the Dr. George Hoomes that practiced at "The Bowling Green" until his death in 1733. He died testate in Caroline County, Virginia. He and his wife had at least six children George Hoomes, Jr. (1709-1753) who married Frances ___., Christopher Hoomes (d.1753), Joseph Hoomes (1708-1753) who married Susannah Waller, Benjamin Hoomes (1704) who married Elizabeth Claiborne, Priscilla Hoomes (1702-1794) who married Joseph Pollard, John Hoomes (1700), and possibly others.
George Hoomes Jr. (1709) was a powerful landowner in Caroline County. He also held many public offices. His brother, Joseph, was also a powerful man in the county. After his death, his widow remarried to a man much younger than herself by the name of Francis Fleming. Francis began to run the estate down with his extravagance and would have continued to do so after Susannah died if the Hoomes family had not brought suit and had him expelled from "Old Mansion."
George Hoomes, Jr. and his wife, Frances had at least these children Stephen Ferneau Hoomes (1735), Ann Hoomes, Frances Hoomes and John Hoomes (20 Oct. 1749-16 Dec. 1805) who married on 2 Oct. 1768 to Judith Churchill Allen (1 July 1749-11 Aug. 1822).
John Hoomes owned a lot of land in Caroline County and 50,000 acres in Kentucky. One can only wonder of the origin of Bowling Green, Ken. and Churchill Downs, where he proposed to race his horses. He held many public offices and associated with people that we know now by their place in the history books. He donated land for the county courthouse to be built on and the county seat was named in honor of his home "Bowling Green." His own childhood home became known as "Old Mansion." He owned several plantations and one exists today in King William County, Va. called "Wyoming" which his son, George, lived in until his death in 1802 at the age of 22 leaving a widow and one small son, John Waller Hoomes.
John and Judith Allen Hoomes had at least fourteen children but some died at a young age. Others were Allen Hoomes (2 Sept. 1769), George Hoomes (16 June 1771), John Hoomes (10 March 1773), Edmund Hoomes (31 July 1774, William Hoomes (18 Sept. 1775), John Waller Hoomes (2 Oct. 1777-23 Mar 1824), George W. Hoomes (22 Nov. 1779-1802), William Allen Hoomes (28 Jan. 1782-26 Feb. 1816), Richard Hoomes (28 Mar 1784-27 Dec. 1823), Armistead Hoomes (3 July 1786-6 Feb. 1827), and Sophia Hoomes (5 Dec. 1788-9 Apr. 1863).
Armistead Hoomes (3 July 1786-6 Feb. 1827) was the son of John Hoomes and his wife, Judith Churchill Allen. On 6 November 1806 he married Ann C. Willis. She died 27 March 1810 shortly after the birth of their second child. On 20 September 1813, he married Lucy May Willis, a cousin of his first wife. After the birth of one child in July 1814, Lucy died on 14 August 1814. During this time, Armistead served during the War of 1812 and at sometime was promoted to Colonel. He was a State Senator from 1816 to 1820 from the district composed of Caroline and Hanover Counties, Virginia.
The children of Armistead Hoomes were George Churchill Hoomes (21 March 1808-1840), Henry Armistead Hoomes (22 February 1810-10 February 1852) and Lucy Mary Hoomes (6 July 1814). The son George Churchill Hoomes is the ancestor of the Alabama Hoomes.
Around 20 years after the death of George Churchill Hoomes, grandfather, John, and just before the death of his father, Armistead, the large estate was in a chaotic condition. Many suits were filed against his sometimes "erring and irresponsible grandsons". The court finally ordered settlement on the Hoomes estate in about 1820 and about five years later in 1825, George Churchill Hoomes began the long journey to lower Alabama.
George Churchill Hoomes, along with a member of the Blow family, Churchill Jones, young Dr. Taliaferro, and Mortimer Boulware, and one other were all sons of well-to-do Virginians and were all well educated-one was a doctor, one a lawyer, two were teachers.
George Churchill Hoomes staked out his claim in what became known as Teddy. He was a school teacher. One of his descendants later would relate how he ran away from home at the age of eighteen and came to Alabama with the Bolers. He married Celia Holleman from around Evergreen. She was the daughter of a North Carolina woodsman. They settled down and built a house that is now the J. T. Sheppard estate. According to his granddaughter, Pickie Hoomes Stone, he was ashamed of running away from home and marrying beneath his station in life and therefore he lost communication with his relatives. After the birth of his son, he did contact his brother informing him of the birth and received a gold watch as a present for the baby. Later after the death of George C. Hoomes, the mother, Celia, returned the watch to it's sender and refused to correspond with him or any of the relatives.
George C. Hoomes died at the age of 32 and was buried in an unmarked grave near McGowin's Bridge. His widow later moved to New Orleans with two of her grandchildren, Will and Emma White, children of Steve White and Fannie Hoomes.
The children of George and Celia Hoomes were Armistead Hoomes (1830-1897), John Willis Hoomes (1831-1899), Henry Hoomes, Fannie Hoomes, and Julie Hoomes.
I will continue with this story next week.
HAPPY HUNTING!!!!!