Friday, July 29, 2022

Murder in The Family





For the last several posts I have been focusing on the family of my Great Granduncle to some degree, George Washington Solomon. First, there was that of his daughter, Florence, who had seemed to have been merged into one, along with her husbands other wife, also named Florence.



Then there was his other daughter, Sophronia Sophia Bronnie Bessie, etc., whose constant changing of names, both first and last, made her difficult to trace.


Lastly, I had to tell the tale of the wife of the above Sophronia's son, who had married a notorious gangster can served time in prison before she had married him.


But the ladies of the family were not the only ones with an interesting story. 

Oldest son, James Benjamin Solomon was only 1 out of 2 of the families 10 children who was actually named in the 1880 census. There were several children named, with no more records of, and the same amount of children who were living and should have been named, but were not.

The family had originated in Stanly County, NC and had migrated south to Rockingham in pursuit of work in the Cotton Mills there. There is where Jimmy had been born.



On October 29, 1892, at the age of 19, James Benjamin fell in love, or at least he thought he did. He married Miss Ida Jane Crouch, age 17, daughter of  Christopher Columbus and Sarah Elizabeth Garrett Crouch of Mt. Gilead. The marriage was brief and fruitless and ended in divorce after a few short years. Divorce was much more common back then than many people think.
 
Ida would go on to marry Sephas Edgar Tudor in Richmond County in 1900, and become the mother of 5 children. She would died young in 1911 at the age of  36.



Jim Solomon would find love before her. On April 30, 1898, Jim, now 25, would marry Sarah Catherine Lee Gardner. Sarah was the daughter of Silas and Catherine Laton Lee and was 23. She had been born in Duplin County, North Carolina. For reasons unknown, at ten years prior, at just 13 years old, Sarah had married Benjamin Garder, a much older man. This marriage was also unfruitful and 5 years into the marriage, her husband had taken with fever and died, leaving her a widow at just 18.

CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte News

Charlotte, North Carolina
08 Jan 1926, Fri  •  Page 1



Sarah's father, Silas Lee,  had moved from Duplin County to the town of Stewartsville in Scotland County, a neighbor of Richmond County, and bordering the North / South Carolina line, just north of Bennettsville.   That is most likely how Jim met Sarah. The 1900 census finds Jim and Sarah living in Stewartsville, with Jim working as a farm laborer for a Mr. McKinnon. They didn't call Scotland County Scotland County for nothing.  They've been married for two years and Sarah is noted as having had zero children with zero deceased. They've yet to start a family. 







Shortly afterwards, the young couple must have moved to Stanly County, NC, as the records of their oldest son, William Crawfored Solomon, born on April 30, 1901, indicate that he was born there. By 1905, however, the family had returned to Jim's hometown of Rockingham, in Richmond County, as that is where their second son, Luther James Solomon, was born.

Name:Webster Solomon
Birth Date:2 May 1908
Death Date:1 Oct 1909
Cemetery:Scottish Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:Rockingham, Richmond County, North Carolina, United States of America
Has Bio?:N
URL:https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54393870/webster-solomon


Their third son, named Webster, was born on May 2, 1908. Tragedy would strike as this little one would live only a year. Webster would pass away on October 1, 1909, at only 17 months old. He was buried with his Great Grandmother, Tabitha Marks Solomon at the old Scottish Cemetery outside of Rockingham, where many of his relatives were or would be, buried. 


Name:James B Salomon[James B Solomon]
Age in 1910:36
Birth Date:1874[1874]
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1910:Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina, USA
Street:Short Dow Street
House Number:61
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Head
Marital Status:Married
Spouse's Name:Sarah C Salomon
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Native Tongue:English
Occupation:Slubber
Industry:Cotton Mill
Employer, Employee or Other:Wage Earner
Home Owned or Rented:Rent
Farm or House:House
Able to read:Yes
Able to Write:Yes
Years Married:12
Out of Work:N
Number of Weeks Out of Work:0
Neighbors:
Household MembersAgeRelationship
James B Salomon36Head
Sarah C Salomon36Wife
William C Salomon9Son
Luther J Salomon5Son


In 1910, the family of 4 is living in the Pee Dee Mill Village and James is working as a 'Slubber' at a Cotton Mill. The couple have been married for 12 years and are renting their home, most likely a mill house similar to the ones pictured below.  Sarah said she had given birth to 3 children, with 2 living, the third having been Webster. They are living on a road called 'Short Dow Street' and Jim's brother Billy Solomon and his family are just a few doors down. 





By this time, Cotton Mills had sprung up all over North Carolina and many families had left the farm to live in and near citiies to work in them. The mills would build little cottages, complete with stores and other amenities to accommodate their employees and this is how the mill villages were created. 



The life of a Cotton Mill family was tedious at best, the hours were long, the work was dirty and hard. Not much lent it a betterment of farm work. Everything was usually close. Merchants, barbers and fraternal organizations would spring up near the villages to take care of the workers needs, often offereing credit to tie them in. Churches would organize and build within walking distance. Schools would be built to accommodate the younger children, as most of the older ones would end up working at the mill themselves to help support the family. Recreational facilities would also form to occupy the little free time of the workers, and allow them a little release, if not relaxation. Baseball teams would form and play other towns or village teams. YMCA's would be built. Kids would be kids and look for any kind of mischief to get into, sometimes with tragic results.

Name:James Solomon
Age:49
Birth Year:abt 1871
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1920:Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina
Street:Upper Street
House Number:X
Residence Date:1920
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Head
Marital Status:Married
Spouse's Name:Sarah Solomon
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Able to Speak English:Yes
Occupation:Laborer
Industry:Cotton Mill
Employment Field:Wage or Salary
Home Owned or Rented:Rented
Able to Write:No
Neighbors:
Household MembersAgeRelationship
James Solomon49Head
Sarah Solomon45Wife
Luther Solomon15Son
Ruth Solomon8Daughter
Silas Solomon7Son
Melvin Solomon1Son

This is where we find the Solomon family in 1920. Three more children, Ruth, Silas, and Melvin have joined the family. William Crawford, the oldest son, is married and on his own, and Luther is working with his father in the mill at 15. Sarah is a housewife with a 6 month old Melvin to care for. The spacing in the children is curious. While Ruth and Silas are only a year apart, Luther is 7 years older and Melvin, 7 years younger. Sarah gave birth to her last child at 44 years old. There may have been lost children in those large gaps. The families on the mill hills usually did not have the large families known to farm families, as there was not room or money to support them. Four to six was an average number, with many far less, especially as they moved well into the 20th century. 

Mill News. The Great Southern Weekly for Textile Workers. Devoted to the Textile Industries.
82 p., ill.
Charlotte, N. C.
Mill News Print. Co.
1920.



Sometime in or around 1924, or early 1925, a Holiness Minister named John A. Holmes showed up in Rockingham, NC. He made the acquaintance of the Solomons and asked that his young son, John A. Holmes, Jr. be allowed to board with them while he attended school. Apparently, sometime during this era, too, the Preacher Holmes had developed a legal issue with a woman from the Great Falls Mill Village, as she swore out a warrant for his arrest.

CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte Observer

Charlotte, North Carolina
21 Aug 1925, Fri  •  Page 2



Jim Solomon was 52 years old in June of 1925. He supposedly had an ulcerated stomach and had to watch what he ate. On Saturday, June 20th, he had a supper consisting of fish, and the next morning, a breakfast of cucumbers and milk.





Almost immediately, he crumpled over in pain and became unable to get ready for church. A doctor was summoned and he was examined, being given morphine and other medications. The next day, the doctor was called again, yet hours later he passed away, on Monday, June 23rd.




James Benjamin Solomon was buried at the old Scottish Cemetery outside of Rockingham with his Grandmother, Tabitha, his father George, and his son Webster. But things didn't sit well within the family. His two younger brothers, George S. and William T., had the terrible feeling that something was rotten in PeeDee Village. His older boys, Crawford and Luther, were suspicious as well. They didn't like that wordy 'Preacher' being all over the place, in the middle of everything, and most especially, being all too 'comforting' to their mother.

Marriage license of John Archie Holmes and Sarah Catherine Solomon



Less than two months later, Sarah Catherine Lee Gardner Solomon took a train to Bennettsville, where she married Mr. John Archie Holmes. Sarah had received about $289 in life insurance from J.B. Solomon's policy. She had paid about $120 for his funeral expenses. Afterwards, it was revealed she had also paid $150 to the woman at Great Falls Mill Village to keep the Preacher out of legal trouble and get her to drop the charges.


This was too much of a coincidence for the surviving Solomon brothers. The coroner had ruled Jim's death as Ptomaine poisoning with an underlying cause of Chronic Gastritis. George and Billy contacted the Coronor, and hired an attorny, J. Chesley Sedberry, to have the body exhumed and a toxicology report done. There was some disagreement as to who would pay for the service.


CLIPPED FROM

The News and Observer

Raleigh, North Carolina
22 Aug 1925, Sat  •  Page 3



At first, it appeared that nothing would be done and that the original findings would stand. They had succeeded in having the body exhumed. Not being embalmed, the condition of Jim Solomon's remains were not in good shape, even after only two months.





The "Preacher"

Sarah paid the funeral expenses for J. B. Solomons burial of $120, with most of the remainder, she covered the legal fee of the "Reverend" Holmes for whatever trouble he had gotten into with the woman from Great Falls. The police met him and arrested him at the train station, but after the woman was paid $150, she dropped the charges. 







The marriage, which came just 3 weeks after Jim's death, was highly suspicous, but on its' own, was proof of nothing.

So, who was this interloper, this so called "Preacher" and the breifly widowed Sarah's new hubby? They hadn't left many clues. The most pervasive ones were that he had a young son that had boarded with the Solomons while attending school and that he, in 1925, was around 50 years old.

John A. Holmes was a fairly common name in the Carolinas and around. The newspapers yielded a few more clues.



After reading of the case of  J. B. Solomon passing away and the curious events following, a man in Toccoa, Georgia named L. B. Craft wrote a letter to the Editor of ' The Charlotte Observer', correcting the fact that John Archie Holmes, as it were, was not a Holiness Preacher. Afterwards, he was referred to as an "Exhorter" and not a minister.

To find out more about J. A. Holmes, I needed to know who L. B. Craft was and how he knew him.

Luther Blake Craft hailed from Toccoa, Stephens County, Georgia and unlike J. A. Holmes, was an actual ordained minister. He also lived a very long time.


CLIPPED FROM

The State

Columbia, South Carolina
22 Oct 2002, Tue  •  Page 14



At some point in the early 1920's, he had made the association of John A. Holmes, and apparently his impression of him was not a good one.




NameL Blake Craft
Birth Year1903
GenderMale
RaceWhite
Age in 193027
BirthplaceGeorgia
Marital StatusMarried
Relation to Head of HouseHead
Home in 1930Alpharetta, Milton, Georgia, USA
Map of HomeAlpharetta,Milton,Georgia
Street AddressNorth Main Street
Dwelling Number5
Family Number6
Home Owned or RentedRented
Home Value10
Radio SetNo
Lives on FarmNo
Age at First Marriage22
Attended SchoolNo
Able to Read and WriteYes
Father's BirthplaceGeorgia
Mother's BirthplaceGeorgia
Able to Speak EnglishYes
OccupationMinister
IndustryChurch
Class of WorkerWage or salary worker
EmploymentYes
NeighborsView others on page


There was not a great deal more that I could discover about the connection, but the location of Toccoa, Stephens County, Georgia was an important one in determining if I had the right J. A. Holmes.


Another helpful hint at determining who John A. Holmes was also came from the newspaper. In February of 1922, the Rockingham Post-Dispatach reported that J. A. Holmes had moved from Chester, South Carolina, to North Davidson Street in Charlotte, NC.


I started looking for J. A. Holmes in Chester County. I found the birth certificate of a baby boy, born in Chester County, SC whose father's name was John Archie Holmes, 40, born in Johnston County, NC and whose mother was Nellie Campbell, born in Chatham County, NC


After that, I found the marriage license in Alamance County, NC, of John Archie Holmes, 37, of Durham, son of Eli Holmes, deceased, and Mary M. Holmes, living, of Harnett County, NC and Nellie Campbell, 18, of Guilford County, NC, daughter of 'Meador' Campbell, of Alamance County and Jennie Campbell, deceased.

These folks moved around like worms in hot ashes.

With this information, I was able to nail down who John Archie Holmes actually was. His father was Eli Holmes (1849-1898), son of John H. Holmes and wife Sarah Gates Holmes of Johnston County, NC. His father was killed in the Civil War and Eli grew up in Johnston County and is buried in Harnett County.





His mother, who lived a much longer life, was Mary Margaret "Ciss" Whittington Holmes Byrd. She was born in Harnett County, and died in Durham. Ciss was the daughter of Bryant Whittington and Anne Marie Ennis Hidges Whittington.

Mary M. Whittington Holmes Byrd




John Archie Holmes was the firstborn of Eli and Mary Margarets 9 children.

1879 John Archie Holmes
1880 Joseph Edgar Holmes
1882 Suwannie "Tart" Holmes
1884 Annie Pearl Holmes
1888 Aaron Carlton Holmes
1889 Minnie F. Holmes
1892 Ethel Mahalie Holmes
1895 William Moses Holmes
1897 Mary Bertha Holmes

Doing the math, when Eli died, Ciss was left with 10 children ranging in age from 19 to 1 years old. Being the oldest, one would think Archie was probably the most needed to help support the family and that all of the older children must have had to pitch in.

Name:Archie J Holms[Archie H Holma]
Age:20
Birth Date:Jul 1879
Birthplace:North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900:Averasboro, Harnett, North Carolina
Sheet Number:18
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:334
Family Number:348
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Head
Marital Status:Single
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina, USA
Mother's Name:Mary Holms
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina, USA
Occupation:Farm Laborer
Months Not Employed:0
Can Read:Yes
Can Write:Yes
Can Speak English:Yes
House Owned or Rented:Rent
Farm or House:H
Neighbors:
Household MembersAgeRelationship
Archie J Holms20Head
Mary Holms38Mother
Annie Holms15Sister
Minnie Holms13Sister
Aaron Holms11Brother
Ethel Holms9Sister
Moses Holms4Brother
Mary Holms2Sister


So, the above is how we find the fatherless family in 1900, living in Averasboro, Harnett County, NC. Archie is the head of the house and supporting his mother and the six youngest siblings. His grandfather, J. H. Holmes, is listed on the next page, so they may very well had support from the Holmes family as well. The second son, Joseph, and oldest daughter, Suwhannie, were already out of the home.

Averasboro Cemetery and Musuem



Averasboro is an historic town in Harnett County, where a Civil War battle took place. A musuem and cemetery remain at the place. It was the closest place to a home Archie would ever know.

Joseph Edgar Holmes, who was only a year younger than Archie, became an actual, ordained Minister. He may have been Archie's inspiration for his later incarnation as the 'Exhorter".

Rev. Joseph Edgar Holmes



So, a some point between 1900 and 1910, the family moved to Durham. Or at least, the mother did, the widow Mary Margaret with her four youngest children and Aaron's wife, Laura. Laura was labeled a daughter, but Aaron Carlton Holmes, a married Street Car Conductor in this census,  had married Laura Dunnagan in 1909, and this was his wife, Laura, in the census.

Name:Mary Hames[Mary Homes]
Age in 1910:53
Birth Date:1857[1857]
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1910:Durham Ward 2, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Street:Eva Street
House Number:604
Race:White
Gender:Female
Relation to Head of House:Head
Marital Status:Widowed
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Native Tongue:English
Home Owned or Rented:Rent
Farm or House:House
Able to read:Yes
Able to Write:Yes
Neighbors:
Household MembersAgeRelationship
Mary Hames53Head
Aron Homes21Son
Laura Homes20Daughter
Ethel Homes17Daughter
Moses Homes14Son
Mary Homes13Daughter
Aaron was living in Wolf Pit, in Richmond County, NC in 1920, and this may have been the link that had brought Archie Holmes to Rockingham.


Name:Aron C Holmes
Age:31
Birth Year:abt 1889
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1920:Wolf Pit, Richmond, North Carolina
Street:Front Street
House Number:24
Residence Date:1920
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Head
Marital Status:Married
Spouse's Name:Laurah Holmes
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Able to Speak English:Yes
Occupation:Weaver
Industry:Cotton Mill
Employment Field:Wage or Salary
Home Owned or Rented:Rented
Able to read:Yes
Able to Write:Yes
Neighbors:
Household MembersAgeRelationship
Aron C Holmes31Head
Laurah Holmes31Wife
Margret Holmes6Daughter
Bernice Holmes1Son



Oldest daughter, Swannie,  married Joseph Bright Tart in 1904, and had one son, Edgar, the next year. She was widowed soon after, and never remarried. She also lived in Richmond County, NC for a spell.



CLIPPED FROM

The News and Observer

Raleigh, North Carolina
01 Dec 1955, Thu  •  Page 31



Several of John Archie's siblings died young, of T. B., after marrying and starting families. One of those was youngest brother, William Moses Holmes, who died in 1933 at 40 years old. While I can't find a photo of Archie, there is the one of his oldest younger brother, Rev. Joseph Holmes,  above, and this one, below, of Moses. He may have resembled them. 


So, J. A. Holmes had married Nellie Campbell, of Chatham County, in May of 1909 in Alamance County, NC. So where were they in 1910? They were working, nearby each other, but living apart.

Name:John A Holmes
Age in 1910:32
Birth Date:1878[1878]
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1910:Morehead, Guilford, North Carolina, USA
Street:First Street
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Boarder
Marital Status:Married
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Native Tongue:English
Occupation:Weaver
Industry:Cotton Mill
Employer, Employee or Other:Wage Earner
Able to read:Yes
Able to Write:Yes
Years Married:1
Out of Work:N
Number of Weeks Out of Work:0
Neighbors:
Household MembersAgeRelationship
John H Morgan34Head
Ida Morgan31Boarder
Ashley Shaw17Boarder
Charles Cappell22Boarder
William Sweny38Boarder
Mary Lohman21Boarder
Oscar L Barnes24Boarder
John A Holmes32Boarder

Here we find Archie, 32, living in the Morehead area of Greensboro, in Guilford County, working as a Weaver in a Cotton Mill. He is boarding with a Bergman family  in House 192 on First Street, in the Pomono Mill Village. The transcription above is incorrect, in that John and Ida Morgan were also Boarders of the Bergmans. He is not labled 'head'. Ida is just two houses down in Number 194, boarding with a McIntyre family, aged 19, married 1 year and no children born.  I wonder what the story was behind them living in separate boarding houses. It must have been cheaper to live together.




Pomona Mill Village was built around the Pomona Mill which in 1897, was a community outside of Greensboro, a separate town, It was typical of the Cotton Mills and villages that grew around them in the late 1800's, early 1900's, throughout the south. It was demolished in 2010.

John Archie and Nellie eventually found the time to live together, and below, we find them working in a cotton mill in Bessemer City in Gaston County, NC. This is the sem year his brother, Aaron was livingin Wolf Pit, Richmond County. 




Name:John A Holmes
Age:47
Birth Year:abt 1873
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1920:Bessemer City, Gaston, North Carolina
Street:Georgia Avenue
House Number:X
Residence Date:1920
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Head
Marital Status:Married
Spouse's Name:Nellie Holmes
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Able to Speak English:Yes
Occupation:Weaver
Industry:Cotton Mill
Employment Field:Wage or Salary
Home Owned or Rented:Rented
Able to read:Yes
Able to Write:Yes
Neighbors:
Household MembersAgeRelationship
John A Holmes47Head
Nellie Holmes25Wife
Ruby Holmes9Daughter
John Holmes7Son
Janette Holmes5Daughter
James Holmes4Son
Margaret Holmes1Daughter



On May 24, 1909, John Archie Holmes, of Durham, 37, son of Eli Holmes, deceased and Mary M Holmes, living, of Harnett County, NC, married Nellie Campbell of Guilford County, aged 18, daughter of Meador Campbell, living, of Alamance County, and Jenny Campbell, deceased. In 1910, they were living separate in Pomona, just outside of Greensboro and in 1920, they were living in Bessemer City and had 5 living children.


Things rapidly went downhill after that. The couple went to Danville, Virginia to obtain a divorce. Possibly because divorces were easier to obtain there, just like many North Carolina couples went to South Carolina to get married. 

The divorce was granted in January of 1922 and the marriage lasted 13 years. Archie had returned to Durham, where he lived when he married Nellie and she returned to Greensboro, where she had lived when she married him. The reason for divorce was abandonment and adultery. 1922 was the same year that it was noted in the Rockingham, Richmond County.NC newspaper on February 23, that John A. Holmes had moved from Chester SC to 1211 N. Davidson Street in Charlotte, NC. 

What about Nellie? She jumped from the frying pan into the fire. 

On March 29, 1926, four years after the divorce, she married Jesse Lee Turpin, a divorced man from Pittsylvania, Virginia. Jesse had been married to a woman named Lena Martin and had two children.

Lena divorced Jesse in 1923 under claims of Cruel treatment, abandonment and adultery.  And in 1926, he married Nellie Campbell Holmes.


CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte Observer

Charlotte, North Carolina
07 Jan 1926, Thu  •  Page 2




Back in North Carolina, John Archie Holmes and his new wie, Sarah, were on trial.


CLIPPED FROM

The News and Observer

Raleigh, North Carolina
09 Jan 1926, Sat  •  Page 1



And despite Sarah's "kindly face", they were found guilty.


CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte News

Charlotte, North Carolina
08 Jan 1926, Fri  •  Page 1



Thepair were sentenced to a minimumof 15 adn a maximum of 20 years in prison. Bial had been set at $50,000 and it was siad the pair could not raise a dollar. Sarah's family had turned their backs on her.

The following clips are all from the above article.





The facts in the case were all circumstantial, but fell so solidly into place, the jury came to a guilty verdict.







Was Sarah a gullible old woman, who had fallen under the spell and mystical words of the "Exhorter", or false prophet, who had  hidden  his many sinsbehind a veil of religion, having abandoned his own wife and children, committed adultry, and whatever unknown tresspass he had committed to the woman from Great Falls village?



CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte News

Charlotte, North Carolina
08 Jan 1926, Fri  •  Page 19





In the end, the toxicology report, that had found high concentrations of copper and arsenic in his stomach, corresponding with the clothing dye called "Paris Green" found at the home.

1930

Sarah Lee Solomon Holmes , still married, is found in the State Penitentiary in Raleigh, NC


Name:Sarah Holmes
Birth Year:abt 1877
Gender:Female
Race:White
Age in 1930:53
Birthplace:North Carolina
Marital Status:Married
Relation to Head of House:Prisoner
Home in 1930:Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, USA
Map of Home:
Street Address:West Morgan Street Continued from 4-B
Ward of City:5
Institution:N. C State Penitentiary
House Number:835
Age at First Marriage:21
Attended School:No
Able to Read and Write:Yes
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Able to Speak English:Yes

Her younger children were taken in by their older siblings,. 

Name:Melvin Solomon
Birth Year:abt 1919
Gender:Male
Race:White
Age in 1930:11
Birthplace:North Carolina
Marital Status:Single
Relation to Head of House:Brother-in-law
Home in 1930:Wolf Pit, Richmond, North Carolina, USA
Map of Home:
Street Address:5th Avenue
House Number:138
Dwelling Number:139
Family Number:141
Attended School:Yes
Able to Read and Write:Yes
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Able to Speak English:Yes
Household MembersAgeRelationship
Rufus Carter35Head
Ruth Carter20Wife
Rufus Carter4Son
Edna M Carter0Daughter
Melvin Solomon11Brother-in-law
Hattie H Moree42Cook
This is Melvin, the youngest, living with his married sister, Ruth Solomon Carter. 



Name:J A Holmes
Birth Year:abt 1878
Gender:Male
Race:White
Age in 1930:52
Birthplace:North Carolina
Marital Status:Married
Relation to Head of House:Prisoner
Home in 1930:Mattamuskeet, Hyde, North Carolina, USA
Map of Home:
Institution:North Carolina State Prison Camp
Dwelling Number:10
Family Number:10
Age at First Marriage:28
Attended School:No
Able to Read and Write:Yes
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Able to Speak English:Yes
Occupation:Laborer
Industry:Prison Farm
Class of Worker:Wage or salary worker

John A. Holmes was not sent to Raleigh near his wife, instead, he was sent east, closer to where he grew up and was found at the prison farm in Mattamuskeet, Hyde County, NC.

A typical southern prison farm view from the marshallproject.org






But what of the children he left behind?

Name:Nellie Turpin
Birth Year:abt 1893
Gender:Female
Race:White
Age in 1930:37
Birthplace:North Carolina
Marital Status:Married
Relation to Head of House:Wife
Homemaker?:Yes
Home in 1930:Danville, Danville (Independent City), Virginia, USA
Map of Home:
Street Address:Howeland Circle
Ward of City:4th
House Number:222
Dwelling Number:244
Family Number:274
Age at First Marriage:15
Attended School:No
Able to Read and Write:Yes
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Able to Speak English:Yes
Household MembersAgeRelationship
Jessie R Turpin42Head
Nellie Turpin37Wife
Ruby H Holmes18Step Daughter
Margaret Holmes12Step Daughter
Lywood Turpin16Son

Nellie Campbell, John Archie's ex-wife, was living in Danville, Virginia, where she had obtained her divorce, with her new husband, Jesse Turpin. Living with her was her oldest daughter, Ruby Holmes and her youngest daughter, Margaret Holmes. Also living with the couple was Jesse's son Lynwood, one of his two children with his frist wife, Lena.

Name:Janette Holmes
Birth Year:abt 1914
Gender:Female
Race:White
Age in 1930:16
Birthplace:North Carolina
Marital Status:Single
Home in 1930:Toccoa, Stephens, Georgia, USA
Map of Home:
Institution:Toccoa Orphanage
House Number:127
Dwelling Number:479
Family Number:512
Attended School:Yes
Able to Read and Write:Yes
Father's Birthplace:United States
Mother's Birthplace:United States
Household MembersAgeRelationship
Janette Holmes16Matron

The middle daughter of Archie and Nellie Holmes, Jeanette, was working as a matron at the Orphanage in Toccoa, Stephens County, Georgia. Why so far away? If you will recall, the one rebukative Letter to the Editor written by Rev. Luther Blake Craft. Sometime after the 1922 divorce, John A. Holmes had taken his children, or atleast the middle three, and placed them in the Toccoa City Orphange. As she aged, Janette was given a job there. 

She would remain in Toccoa and marry Henry Ervin Kessler and have two daughters. After 1940, they moved to Cobb County, Georgia, where she passed away in 2000. 

Name:James Holmes[James Holmer]
Birth Year:abt 1916
Gender:Male
Race:White
Age in 1930:14
Birthplace:North Carolina
Marital Status:Single
Relation to Head of House:Inmate
Home in 1930:Big Smith, Stephens, Georgia, USA
Map of Home:
Street Address:On Toccoa and Fairview School Road
Institution:Toccos Orphenage lines 51-73
Lives on Farm:Yes
Attended School:Yes
Able to Read and Write:Yes
Father's Birthplace:United States
Mother's Birthplace:United States
Able to Speak English:Yes
Occupation:Inmate
Industry:Farm Labor
Class of Worker:Unpaid worker, member of the family

Her younger brother, James Carson Holmes, was also a resiedent of the Toccoa Orphange, listed as farm labor, with 'inmate' just meaning a child who lived there. 


CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte Observer

Charlotte, North Carolina
14 May 1933, Sun  •  Page 17



James did not stay in Stephens County, unlike his sister. He must have joined his mother in Danville, Virginia, because he married there, on May 14, 1933 at age 17. They made their home in Durham at the time.

The marriage did not last long, as his wife remarried 5 years later, and in 1940, James used his sister Ruby Richardson as his contact for his WWII draft card.


Nellie Campbell Holmes Turpin, John Archie's first wife and the mother of his children, remained in Danville, Virginia unitl at least 1935, after which she moved in with her youngest daughter, Margaret, in Burlington, Alamance County, NC. She passed away in 1966, and her obituary gave a great deal of information on the diaspora of the family.








It's noted that she has been widowed twice, and that she had lived with her daughter, Mrs. Cole, in Burlington It mentioned Ruby (Mrs. W. S.) Richardson in Greensboro and Jeanette (Mrs. Ervin) Kesler of Atlanta, Georgia. Her two sons were both living in Maryland, John Jr. in Bladenburg and James in Chevy Chase.


Name:Sara Solomon
Age:68
Estimated Birth Year:abt 1872
Gender:Female
Race:White
Birthplace:North Carolina
Marital Status:Widowed
Relation to Head of House:Mother
Home in 1940:North-West and South Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina
Map of Home in 1940:
Street:Hannah Pickett 1
House Number:51
Inferred Residence in 1935:North-West and South Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina
Residence in 1935:North-West and South Rockingham
Sheet Number:1B
Attended School or College:No
Highest Grade Completed:Elementary school, 7th grade
Weeks Worked in 1939:0
Income:0
Income Other Sources:No
Neighbors:
Household MembersAgeRelationship
Selae Solomon27Head
Nettie Solomon24Wife
Gwendolyn F Solomon2Daughter
Sara Solomon68Mother

Sarah Catherine Lee Gardner Solomon Holmes was free by 1940. She must have gained some forgiveness from at least one of her children. She was 68, and living with her son Simon and his young family. She had returned to the name Solomon, so must have divorced John Holmes. She gave her marital staus as widowed. It's possible that she had convinced them of her innocence.


Name:Sarah C Solomon
Birth Date:1 Apr 1875
Death Date:25 Dec 1944
Cemetery:Mizpah Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:Rockingham, Richmond County, North Carolina, United States of America
Has Bio?:N
Children:Ruth Carter
URL:https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62702532/sarah-c-solomon

Sarah died on Christmas day, 1944, at the age of 72. She was solemnly laid to rest at the Mizpah Cemetery about three miles outside of Rockingham, without fanfare, without obituary, without epitaph. Only name and dates marking her existence upon the earth.

Mispah Cemetery, from Find-A-Grave



What happened inside the head of this middle-aged woman to make her want to do away with a hard-working husband, for the misleading words of a smooth-talking grifter, only to spend her last , best days in prison?

I lose John Archie Holmes after he goes to Prison. Did he die on the prison farm or live another decade or  more somewhere else?  All I know is that the obituary of his first wife, Nellie, refers to him as "late" in 1966. His children wrote him off entirely, it seems. His descendants only know that he had abandoned his family and no more. I discovered that I know more about him than they do. He's not mentioned in any of his childrens obituaries. 


















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