John Hughes Holmes 003

My grandfather was born in Montgomery Co, KY on a 300 acre farm on the Red River, son of Van Ranseuler Holmes & Elizabeth Ross, grson of Ignatius Ross of Batavia, Ohio. His father died of Cholera when he was 3 or 4. He had red hair & Papa said he was part Welsh. In 1864, he crossed the Plains by Ox team with 3 children & settled in the hills of Auburn, Ca. Worked as a Teamster hauling freight from Sacramento-Nevada City, Ca to Virginia City, NV. Cleared land for his ranch & helped to build Mt Vernon school in 1870. He had a summer camp in Cisco Grove along the river & had a stroke there. He died 11 days later at his ranch Oct 27, 1905.