Copyright 2013.  Jason Holmes  New Zealand

This is dedicated to our Ancestors, and the many upcoming generations that will continue to make this Family grow and expand.  A very special mention to both my mother, Mary Catherine (Cathy) Holmes, and grandmother, Mary Phyllis Reeves, who both have shared my passion and fascination in this long, but fun and eventful journey through time...

Welcome to HolmesAncestry!

I would also like to thank everyone I have been in contact throughout the rest of the world and whom helped make it possible to gather all of this information. Without their help, I would not be able to bring any of this to you. Please check out the Favourite Sites page as there are some very useful and informative sites to visit.

It all started in 1994 while I was learning how to do Calligraphy. I found this family tree all neatly presented and decided that it would be great to do one of our four main families, Holmes, Learn, Reeves and Walker. After gathering information from parents and grandparents, I created our own Calligraphy tree. It was only small, consisting of our Great Grandparents and their descendants. This, however, sparked my interest even further. I wanted to know where they came from, and who else was in our tree. And now, 18 years later, I have gathered a tremendous amount of information from all over the world and bring to you, our family, HolmesAncestry. A work still in progress mind you. I see it as a never ending story; we, the descendants of our past, carrying on the names, traditions and memories of a by-gone era; and the past, the numerous ancestors we are related to, how they lived and where they grew up.

Along the years, I have encountered many dead ends. One thing I have learned, never give up. Just continue on with another branch, and who knows, a link may be formed, or a clue presents itself in need of further exploring. One thing I still have trouble comprehending, is the fact that once you know who your 4th Great Grandparents are, pu them in a tree, and you should have just 72 individuals in that line alone. Together, that would be 138 people you are directly related to. Now, of the 44,000+ people in our tree, I so far only know 18 of 72 4th Great Grandparents!

Now the other thing that really got me going, was that Mom showed me a Family Bible they were given from Dad’s father, Poppa (Ken) Holmes. This Bible belonged to his side of the family, and inside was a piece of paper with hand written names on it. After reading it thoroughly, we found out it was written by our Great Great Grandmother, Annie Eliza (Quackenbush) Joyes. She appears to have started a family history herself, as it shows her grandparents and great grandparents. Joyes and Quackenbush were two very new names to me, and got me wondering even more.

Through the years, I have learned a lot about our families. The stories are neat, and just knowing the name and dates of an ancestor living during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, is fascinating! Stories and information like an ancestor who is “a son of a gun”, being born in the middle of the Ocean; relatives who were massacred by Indians during the Revolutionary War; having a couple possible connections to the Dutch Royal Family; and being related to at least 2 American Presidents; to even having a couple Uncles stealing the birth certificate of their newborn nephew and naming him after themselves. Our ancestors have fought in both World Wars, the War of 1812, the War of Independence, and even the Battle of Waterloo.

Now I would like to introduce you to our Family. I have created this website in parts, consisting of the four Founding Families, as well as a page for pictures. As mentioned before, they are incomplete (and some still under construction); a never ending story of past, present and future. I hope you all enjoy reading this, as much as I have in gathering all this information over the years. It has been a fascinating journey, which has only just begun...