From History of Walworth County Wisconsin, Vol. 1, by Albert Clayton Beckwith, 
publ. 1912 - Pages 723 - 724
 
RUSSELL HOLMES.  One of the best known and most progressive of the citizens of 
Genoa Junction and vicinity is the present popular and able mayor of that 
village, Russell HOLMES, a man who leads an exemplary life and while laboring 
for his own advancement never fails to discharge his duties as a public-
spirited citizen.
 
Mr. HOLMES was born in Lake county, Illinois, February 24, 1851.  He is the son 
of Thomas and Maria (RODDEL) HOLMES, both natives of Lincolnshire, England, 
where they spent their youth and were married, emigrating to America and 
settling in New York in an early day.  Thomas HOLMES was left an orphan in his 
childhood.  He finally came on to Illinois where he spent many years, dying in 
1880, his wife surviving until 1895.  Their family consisted of nine children, 
of whom, three sons and one daughter only survive, Riley, Frank and Mrs. Ida 
Louise REYNOLDS, all of Hebron, Illinois, and Russell, of this sketch.
 
During the boyhood of Russell HOLMES, the family moved across the line into 
Wisconsin, first locating in Racine county, then moved to Kenosha county, and 
in 1871 they moved to a farm in McHenry county.  The subject grew up on the 
farm and he has devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits, having begun 
farming for himself about 1879 near Hebron, Illinois, remaining there until 
March 1890, when he moved to Genoa Junction.  He began by renting a farm for 
two years, then bought a farm and there became well established.  He purchased 
a livery barn upon coming to Walworth county which he ran two years, then 
bought thirty-eight acres in the eastern part of Genoa Junction, within the 
corporate limits, and there he built a fine home on the high ground in the 
eastern edge of the village.  When the village was incorporated in 1901 he was 
elected the first mayor, and he has since been re-elected several times, in 
fact has held this office ever since with the exception of two years.  The 
office came to him unsought, which shows his high standing in this community.  
He has been a most efficient public official, doing much for the permanent good 
of the town and has done as much, if not more for its development during the 
past decade or more, than any other man.  Prior to his election as mayor of 
Genoa Junction he served two years as a member of the county board, and he has 
also been treasurer of the school board for the past seventeen years.
 
Mr. HOLMES was married in 1878 to Carrie Louise STREET, of Hebron, Illinois, 
daughter of Seldon G. and Mary STREET, and to this union one son was born, 
Rennie C., whose birth occurred on May 23, 1882.  He married Florence SIMPSON, 
of Genoa Junction, and they have one child, a daughter, named Neva Evaline.  
Rennie HOLMES and family live in a large handsome home, next to that of his 
father, and he is engaged in carpentering and building, also farms and engages 
in the poultry business.
 
The parents of Mrs. Russell HOLMES came from Orleans county, New York, to 
Illinois in the spring of 1854, and located two miles east of the village of 
Hebron, near the Wisconsin line, but there was no village when they arrived 
there.  Their house had been a wayside inn, and the railroad from Chicago, had 
not been extended as far as Walworth county.  All this country was yet in an 
undeveloped condition.  Mrs. HOLMES grew up in the house where her parents 
first settled and lived there until her marriage.  The death of her father, 
Seldon G. STREET, occurred in 1894.  Her mother is still living, making her 
home most of the time with Mr. and Mrs. HOLMES.  She is now eighty-two years 
old and is in excellent health, being remarkably well preserved for one so much 
advanced in years.
 
Mrs. HOMES has one brother and two sisters: Henry Street lives on the old home 
farm near Hebron, Illinois, and Mrs. Delia BLISS lives at Albia, Orleans 
county, New York; Mrs. E. B. GREELEY lives in Alden, Minnesota.

Submitted By:  Carol 
(carolann612@charter.net)