![]() Following this marriage, Holmes moved to his wife’s home in Thomaston and after his appointment as District Attorney divided his time between there and Portland.* After her death he married in 1837 the widow of James Swan who was the daughter of Revolutionary hero, General Henry Knox. His first wife, Sarah Brooks of Scituate, Massachusetts, whom he married in 1800, bore him all his children, two boys and two girls. He was continuously active in promoting the interests- of fellow citizens in Alfred and was instrumental in bringing all county court sittings to the town in 1833. His final public service was his appointment by President Harrison in 1841 as United States District Attorney for Maine, which position he retained until his death. īack in Maine, he resumed his law practice became a member of the Maine House of Representatives(1836-1837). Parris, he served from January 15, 1829, to Maholding the position of Chairman of the Committee on Finance (Seventeenth Congress), and member of Committee on Pensions (Twenty-first Congress). Again elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Albion K. Upon separation from Massachusetts and the admission of the State of Maine into the Union, Holmes was elected to the United States Senate from Maine and served from June 13, 1820, to March 3, 1827. He was Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State (Sixteenth Congress) and delegate to the Maine constitutional convention. The fifteen room structure was built around an enclosed court.Įlected from Massachusetts to the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Congresses, he served from March 4, 1817, to March 15, 1820, when he resigned. ![]() The mansion now known as the Senator John Holmes House was erected in 1820 in Alfred. He was one of the commissioners under the treaty of Ghent to divide the islands of Passamaquoddy Bay between the United States and Great Britain 1816. Holmes was elected to the Massachusetts General Court in 1802, 1803, and 1812, and was elected to the State Senate in 18. He was reelected the following year and from this point on his main interest turned to politics and away from the practice of law.* His political career began in 1802 when as a Federalist, he was representative from Sanford and Alfred. William Willis says this of him “He handled the weapons of wit with more skill and effect than those of severe logic, although he was not deficient in that prime quality of a sound jurist.” He was apparently an effective -courtroom advocate but was much given to scathing sarcasm which sometimes prejudiced the court against him. There was at the time much litigation over land titles in the area and young Holmes, being at first the only lawyer in the town, was handsomely retained by wealthy landowners to dispossess squatters on their land. The Maine Historic Preservation Commission notes,īeing virtually penniless and seeking fertile ground for his talents he moved to Alfred in the District of Maine in 1799. ![]() He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1799, and commenced practice in Alfred, Maine (then a District of Massachusetts) and also engaged in literary pursuits. He attended the Kingston public schools graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University), Providence, Rhode Island, in 1796. John Holmes (1773-1843) was a Representative from Massachusetts and a Senator from Maine born in Kingston, Massachusetts, March 14, 1773. Articles about Maine history, government, ecology, economy, recreation, towns, natural features, famous people, sports, with maps, photos, and videos.
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