Frederick Walter Holmes was born on 28^th Apr 1848 in Birmingham to William Holmes and Caroline (née Whateley), and christened on 29^th May 1848 in St Phillip’s, Birmingham. He died on the 5^th Oct 1935 at Nassau County, Manhattan, New York, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn as are his wife and most of his children.

Frederick emigrated to New York on the James Foster Jr, from Liverpool - New York, arriving on 9^th September 1868. His previous occupation is given as brush maker.

In 1870 he is working in Brooklyn as a pencilcase maker, married to Elizabeth Kerr  with a son William, born in May 1870. Over the next 40 years he is shown in Censuses as a pencilcase maker, also a jeweller, and in 1910 as a Manufacturer of gold and silver, as an employer. He owned Frederick W Holmes & Sons, which made gold and silver pencils, in Lower Manhattan. The business continued until Frederick junior’s death in 1955. Elizabeth died on 13/3/1922

They had eight children: -

William Kerr born May 1870 died 18.2.1929

        William is a manufacturer of gold and silver, and a pencilcase maker.

        He lived at Great Neck New York at the time of his death, and was unmarried.

Caroline Whateley born on 23^rd Jan 1872, died January 1956

        Carrie married Samuel Kellock *- marriage may have been annulled. There were no children and she never remarried.

Frederick Walter born on 21^st Aug 1873, died on 7^th Apr 1955 in Nassau County

        Frederick was also a manufacturer of gold and silver, and a pencilcase maker.

        Frederick married Frances Stephenson McCord on 19^th Jan 1911 in New York.   See Further details

Jessie Allen born on 26^th Mar 1876, died on the 7^th Nov 1946 in Nassau County. She married Henry I Moody, there were no children. Won a scholarship 1894 and gained a B Sc from Cornell University 1898.

Charlotte Elizabeth or "Lottie" born 3^rd Sep 1878. She married George Whitlock, they have one child, George Frederick. She died on 7^th Oct 1946. George Sen was vice-president of the National City Bank, and George jun was Mayor of Garden City, NY.

Marguerite Mary was born and died on 28^th Sep 1880.

George Whateley born on the 2^nd Feb 1883, died at in a train crash "The Malbone Street Wreck" in a tunnel on 1^st Nov 1918. George is a manufacturer of pencilcases in 1900, but has left after this. He married Ethel Carlisle on 4^th Feb 1908, with no children. See Further details

Mabel born on 25^th Aug 1885, died 9^th Jul 1962, she did not marry. Attended Smith College.

Many of the family are buried in the Green-Wood Cemetery

The business F W Holmes  & Sons made gold and silver pencils, pens, and one reference has been found to Holmes’s Keyring, it has been found to be at these locations:-

1890/1891 95 Cliff, and 1438 Atlantic Avenue, New York - Pencil case maker in NY directory.

1901 95 & 97 Cliff Street, corr to Frankfort St. on an envelope

1908 Still at 97 Cliff with Frederick jun, George and William all listed (The Trow (formerly Wilson’s) Copartnership and Corporation Directory of New York)

1914 Still at 97 Cliff (Directory of Directors in the City of New York)

1918 On George W Holmes attestation, F W Holmes and Sons address in unclear, seems to say 703 Near St, this could be Pearl Street, and the number is not clear.

1924 409 Pearl Street in an advert for bankrupt stock of the Dunn-Pen Company

1929 also at 409 Pearl, in a work on plastics.

1957 At 407 Pearl (Holmes & Sons, FW, gold and silver pencil!, 407 Pearl,) (Mac Rae’s Blue Book.)

It appears Frederick, having been foreman, bought an existing business in about 1888. See article about the company here. This same article shows a picture of a pen on a  patent by William K Holmes. William also patented a pencil in 1914 in Canada (no illustration).

See his patents here

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