Holmes, Elias B.

Born: 1807-05-22 Fletcher, Vermont

Died: 1866-07-31 Brockport, New York

Holmes attended district schools and St. Albans Academy. He taught school and studied law at Pittsford, New York. He earned admittance to the bar in 1830 and started a legal practice in Brockport in 1831. Holmes engaged in agricultural pursuits, transportation, and running canal packets between Rochester and Buffalo from 1840-1855. He promoted and assisted in the construction of the Rochester & Niagara Falls Railroad and served as a director until it merged with the New York Central Railroad. In 1844, Holmes won election, as a Whig, to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1845 to 1849. When his tenure ended, Holmes returned to Brockport and engaged in agricultural pursuits.

Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1961 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1961), 1070; Gravestone, High Street Cemetery, Brockport, NY.