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Earliest Holmes ancestors
It is not yet clear if John Holmes, our earliest known ancestor, was from
Raphoe in County Donegal, but if he was, there are other members of the Holmes family in the parish from earlier records who
may be related.
There are two mentions of Holmes in a list of wills and testaments for
the diocese of Raphoe (which covered most of Donegal), but which relate to individuals specifically noted as residing in Raphoe.
These are James Holmes, probated 1788, and Samuel Holmes, probated 1857.
A James Holmes is noted in Griffith's Valuation for Raphoe Townparks in 1857 - this
is the same address for our John in 1911, and so this may indicate John's father, though this must remain unconfirmed
for the present.
John Holmes
abt. 1838 - aft. 1911
John Holmes was Calum's and Jamie's great
great great great grandfather.
In the wedding certificate of his daughter Lizzie
in 1900, John is described as a shoemaker. The 1911 census for Lizzie shows her as originating from the townland of Raphoe
in County Donegal, and from this it has been possible to find John also in the same census. The 1911 census for Raphoe therefore
shows us that by this time John was widowed, a retired bootmaker aged 73, and from County Donegal. He was Presbyterian
by religion and noted as residing at Raphoe Town Parks.
DAUGHTER of JOHN HOLMES
and (UNKNOWN):
Elizabeth Holmes
b: 1879 d: 19??
Elizabeth was Calum's and Jamie's great great great grandmother - see
below.
Elizabeth Holmes
1879 - 19??
Elizabeth was Calum's and Jamie's great
great great grandmother.
Elizabeth's mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) profile has been established following analysis of her great great grandson Christopher's DNA in 2007. This form of
DNA was passed to her from her mother, and further back along the maternal line. Her haplogroup was H, meaning that her maternal
ancestors eventually went as far back as an ancestor that the boffins in white coats have named Helena. Chris's sample
of DNA was matched against the Cambridge Reference Sequence by the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, and the following
differences (mutations) to the sequence were noted:
HVR1: 16519C HVR2: 263G HVR3: 315.1C
If anybody has the same mtDNA mutations as Elizabeth and her
maternal line descendants, it will be extremely likely that they shared a common maternal ancestor somewhere in the last 500
years. Elizabeth's mtDNA profile was shared by all of her children, and any siblings she may have had.
Elizabeth was born in Rafoe (Raphoe), County Donegal,
in approximately 1879. Better known as Lizzie, she was a member of the Church of Ireland and she could read and write.
In the second quarter of the year 1900, Elizabeth married Cochrane Watton, a painter/decorator from County Derry (GRO Dublin: Belfast 1 299 - 2nd quarter/1900). At the time of
the wedding, Lizzie was actually living in the Rosemount area of Derry in Ireland, and moved down to Belfast for the wedding,
which took place at the Mariners Chapel in the city. The witnesses were James Shaw and May Wilson, and the minister was Reverend
John F. McLat (?).
The newly wed couple moved to 54 Groomsport Street in
Belfast, where they are recorded in the 1901 census, at the time which Lizzie was eight months pregnant.
In the 1911 census for Belfast, Lizzie, as she was recorded,
was noted as coming from Rafoe in County Donegal, and as being a member of the Salvation Army by way of religion. She
had had five children, of whom only three had survived, and she could read and write.
It is not yet known when Lizzie died.
CHILDREN of ELIZABETH HOLMES
and COCHRANE WATTON:
Annie Evelyn Leslie Watton
b: 11/5/1901 d: 7/10/1981
Annie was Calum's and Jamie's great great grandmother - see
Watton page.
Sarah Strane Beckwith Watton
b: 15/3/1903 d: 31/10/1989
Beatrice Watton
b: 19?? d: 19??
Connecting to Calum and Jamie
Elizabeth Holmes married Cochrane Watton in
1900.
Daughter, Annie Eveline Leslie Watton, married William McKeever Smyth between 1918 and 1922
Daughter,
Martha Jane Elisabeth Watton Smyth, married Ernest Graham in 1943
Daughter, Charlotte Harper Graham, married Colin
Paton in 1969
Son, Christopher Mark Paton, married Claire Patricia Giles in 2000
Sons, Calum Graham Paton
and Jamie Christopher Paton
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