William Holmes (1762-1834)
Encyclopedia
William Holmes M.D., J.P., of Quebec, was Surgeon-General to the British Forces in Canada.
(founded by his mother's ancestor), Holmes was the son of William Holmes (d.1789) 'the younger' of Bray Island, Donaghmore, County Tyrone, an Anglo-Irish
officer in the British army
. His mother, Martha (1732–1805), was the daughter of Robert Stewart (1687–1764) of Gortnaglush and Strews, Minister of Carland, Co. Tyrone and "a man of considerable property"; the grandson of Lt.-Colonel Hon. Robert Stewart (1598–1662) of Irry (renamed Stuart Hall by another grandson), Co. Tyrone, ancestor of the Earls of Castle Stewart
, brother of the 2nd and 5th Barons Castle Stewart.
, and later President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
. Under the auspices of this relation Holmes entered the medical department of the British army in 1787, stating that 'as was customary in those days I paid 400 guineas
' for a commission
. As Staff Surgeon to the 5th Regiment of Foot he was immediately posted to Quebec
. From 1790 to 1791 he was in Detroit tending wounded Indians who had fought against the Americans, under Little Turtle and Blue Jacket
.
When garrisoned in Niagara-on-the-Lake
(then known as Newark), Upper Canada
, he considered settling in the province. In 1792 he was granted 1200 acres (4.9 km²) in Pickering Township, where he bought more land, and in 1796 was issued a town lot in Newark. In 1796 his regiment was transferred to Quebec and three years later he was appointed Surgeon-General (the Senior Medical Officer) to the British Forces in the Canadas, ending his plans to settle in Upper Canada
Travelling to Europe
, Holmes returned to Canada
to carry out his new duties. He established himself in civil practice at Quebec
and was associated with the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
and the Hôpital Général, serving as physician to the nuns at both hospitals. Both posts were unpaid, but they carried prestige that was valuable in building up a clientele as, no doubt, did his position of Deputy Grand Master
of the Lower Canadian Freemasons from 1805.
of Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. After her father's death she lived at the home of Edward William Gray, Sheriff of Montreal
, as his ward
. In 1788, Gray wrote to Michel Cornud of Quebec (father-in-law of Denis-Benjamin Papineau
),
Our Ward, Mary Anne, has with my consent engaged herself to marry Mr William Holmes, Surgeon to the 5th Regiment, a young man of good character and has something independent of his surgery who I think will be as good a match as ever she could expect to meet with, and if you should be of the same opinion, I request that you will send me a license (by the return of the post), as I am of opinion that the sooner business of this sort is finished the better it will be for the lady, as she seems to be rather capricious occasioned perhaps by some sort of improper attachment...
William and Mary Anne were the parents of five surviving children (1) Matilda Jane (1792–1835), married Major-General James Fogo (1787–1866) of Duchray Castle and Killorn, Stirlingshire
(2) Maria (1793–1863), married Major-General William Furneaux (1791–1862) of Swilly House, Devonshire, whose great uncle was Tobias Furneaux
(3) Sophia (1794–1867), married Arthur Luce Trelawny-Collins (1789–1820) of Ham House, Devonshire (4) William Edward Holmes (1796–1825), Surgeon of Quebec, married a first cousin of James Irvine
, Ann (1788–1865), the daughter of Lt.-Colonel James Johnston (1724–1800) J.P., formerly of Outbrecks, Orkney, then Quebec. William and Ann's son married a daughter of Bartholomew Gugy
and their daughter married Sir William Collis Meredith
(5) Theresa (1800–1888), married an Irish cousin, Captain Montgomery Cairnes (1789–1877) of Dublin, uncle of John Elliott Cairnes
.
His second marriage was in 1807, to Margaret MacNider (1764–1838), the widow of Colonel James Johnston (1724–1800) J.P. She was the daughter of William MacNider (1725–1772) of Thrane, Ayrshire
, and the sister of Mathew Macnider
. They had one daughter, Arabella (1808–1900), who married a cousin of her brother-in-law (Montgomery Cairnes), Sydney Robert Bellingham
of Montreal
and Castlebellingham
, Co. Louth.
He continued his now considerable medical practice in Quebec and in 1813 was appointed examiner of candidates for medical licences. In 1816 he became physician
to the Ursulines and President of the Quebec Board of Medical Examiners. In 1817 he was appointed a member of the Vaccine Board, and in 1821 he became its vice-president as well as being appointed a Justice of the Peace
.
In November 1816, Holmes was appointed Commissioner for the Relief of the Insane and Foundlings at Quebec. In this position he helped to secure much needed funds for additional accommodation and repairs and later for further improvements, acting as trustee to oversee the works. He attempted to introduce fresh air and exercise and to remove restraint in the treatment of the insane, as advocated by the French specialist and theorist Philippe Pinel
, but continued overcrowding in the older cells undermined such care.
Known familiarly as the “Insane Physician,” Holmes remained solely responsible for care of the insane and the only medical man on the commission for their relief, to which he was reappointed in 1830 and 1832. Holmes’s son-in-law, whose father he was friends with, Sydney Robert Bellingham
recalled Holmes in 1824,
A tall gray-headed sixty-year old gentleman with small eyes and a slight north of Ireland brogue... the old doctor wore a loose dressing-gown and slippers, and spent the greater part of his day at the Garrison Library, not a stone’s throw from his residence, where he provoked much fun amongst the officers by his free and easy costume
According to Bellingham, Holmes had been 'generous and kind to his patients', had been well liked in the religious hospitals, and had frequently 'declined payment for his advice and medicines.' He never mastered French but he maintained a successful private practice. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography summarises his career,
In his appointive positions Holmes represented the medical establishment and British military and executive authority in a period of professional and political conflict and change. Although thrown by his offices into the debates, being neither an intellectual nor an innovator he did not play a leading role. As the system of health care and the medical profession became increasingly entangled in the political struggle between the assembly and the executive branch in the Lower Canadian legislature, Holmes tended to draw apart. If he had been quick-tempered as a young man, in later years he seems to have mellowed, living quietly with his family, yet “ever-activated,” as he had earlier declared, “by the faithful discharge of [his] duties.” Prosaic in outlook, Holmes outlived his contemporaries, in many ways an 18th-century practitioner to the end.
Early life
Born at Stewartstown, County TyroneStewartstown, County Tyrone
Stewartstown is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, close to Lough Neagh and about from Cookstown, from Coalisland and from Dungannon. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 608 people.-History:...
(founded by his mother's ancestor), Holmes was the son of William Holmes (d.1789) 'the younger' of Bray Island, Donaghmore, County Tyrone, an Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
officer in the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. His mother, Martha (1732–1805), was the daughter of Robert Stewart (1687–1764) of Gortnaglush and Strews, Minister of Carland, Co. Tyrone and "a man of considerable property"; the grandson of Lt.-Colonel Hon. Robert Stewart (1598–1662) of Irry (renamed Stuart Hall by another grandson), Co. Tyrone, ancestor of the Earls of Castle Stewart
Earl Castle Stewart
Earl Castle Stewart, in the County of Tyrone, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Andrew Stuart, 1st Viscount Castle Stuart. The Stewart family descends from Sir Walter Stewart , younger son of Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, son of Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of...
, brother of the 2nd and 5th Barons Castle Stewart.
Military career
His mother's first cousin, George Stewart (grandfather of Field Marshal Sir George Stuart White), served as Surgeon-General of the British Forces in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and later President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland , is a Dublin-based medical institution, situated on St. Stephen's Green. The college is one of the five Recognised Colleges of the National University of Ireland...
. Under the auspices of this relation Holmes entered the medical department of the British army in 1787, stating that 'as was customary in those days I paid 400 guineas
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
' for a commission
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
. As Staff Surgeon to the 5th Regiment of Foot he was immediately posted to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. From 1790 to 1791 he was in Detroit tending wounded Indians who had fought against the Americans, under Little Turtle and Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket or Weyapiersenwah was a war chief of the Shawnee people, known for his militant defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country...
.
When garrisoned in Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
(then known as Newark), Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, he considered settling in the province. In 1792 he was granted 1200 acres (4.9 km²) in Pickering Township, where he bought more land, and in 1796 was issued a town lot in Newark. In 1796 his regiment was transferred to Quebec and three years later he was appointed Surgeon-General (the Senior Medical Officer) to the British Forces in the Canadas, ending his plans to settle in Upper Canada
Travelling to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Holmes returned to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to carry out his new duties. He established himself in civil practice at Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and was associated with the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
The Hotel-Dieu de Québec is a teaching hospital located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and affiliated with Université Laval's medical school. It is part of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec , a network of three teaching hospitals and several specialized institutions. Its areas of...
and the Hôpital Général, serving as physician to the nuns at both hospitals. Both posts were unpaid, but they carried prestige that was valuable in building up a clientele as, no doubt, did his position of Deputy Grand Master
Grand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....
of the Lower Canadian Freemasons from 1805.
Family
Holmes was married firstly in 1789 to Mary Anne (d.1803), the daughter and co-heiress of Samuel Jacobs (1710–1786), SeigneurSeigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
of Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. After her father's death she lived at the home of Edward William Gray, Sheriff of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, as his ward
Ward (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
. In 1788, Gray wrote to Michel Cornud of Quebec (father-in-law of Denis-Benjamin Papineau
Denis-Benjamin Papineau
Denis-Benjamin Papineau was joint premier of the Province of Canada for Canada East from 1846 to 1848. His joint premiers for Canada West during this period were William Henry Draper and Henry Sherwood....
),
Our Ward, Mary Anne, has with my consent engaged herself to marry Mr William Holmes, Surgeon to the 5th Regiment, a young man of good character and has something independent of his surgery who I think will be as good a match as ever she could expect to meet with, and if you should be of the same opinion, I request that you will send me a license (by the return of the post), as I am of opinion that the sooner business of this sort is finished the better it will be for the lady, as she seems to be rather capricious occasioned perhaps by some sort of improper attachment...
William and Mary Anne were the parents of five surviving children (1) Matilda Jane (1792–1835), married Major-General James Fogo (1787–1866) of Duchray Castle and Killorn, Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...
(2) Maria (1793–1863), married Major-General William Furneaux (1791–1862) of Swilly House, Devonshire, whose great uncle was Tobias Furneaux
Tobias Furneaux
Captain Tobias Furneaux was an English navigator and Royal Navy officer, who accompanied James Cook on his second voyage of exploration. He was the first man to circumnavigate the world in both directions....
(3) Sophia (1794–1867), married Arthur Luce Trelawny-Collins (1789–1820) of Ham House, Devonshire (4) William Edward Holmes (1796–1825), Surgeon of Quebec, married a first cousin of James Irvine
James Irvine (Quebec businessman)
Lt.-Colonel The Hon. James Irvine J.P., M.P. was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada.James Irvine was born in England in 1766, the son of Adam Irvine and Elizabeth , daughter of John Johnston , 4th laird of Outbrecks, Orkney...
, Ann (1788–1865), the daughter of Lt.-Colonel James Johnston (1724–1800) J.P., formerly of Outbrecks, Orkney, then Quebec. William and Ann's son married a daughter of Bartholomew Gugy
Bartholomew Gugy
Bartholomew Conrad Augustus Gugy was a Seigneur and Political figure in Lower Canada who played a prominent military role in the Lower Canada Rebellion.-Early life:...
and their daughter married Sir William Collis Meredith
William Collis Meredith
The Hon. Sir William Collis Meredith, Kt., Q.C., D.C.L. was Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec.-Early life:...
(5) Theresa (1800–1888), married an Irish cousin, Captain Montgomery Cairnes (1789–1877) of Dublin, uncle of John Elliott Cairnes
John Elliott Cairnes
John Elliott Cairnes was an Irish economist. He is often described as the "last of the classical economists".-Biography:...
.
His second marriage was in 1807, to Margaret MacNider (1764–1838), the widow of Colonel James Johnston (1724–1800) J.P. She was the daughter of William MacNider (1725–1772) of Thrane, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, and the sister of Mathew Macnider
Mathew Macnider
Mathew Macnider was a Scottish-born businessman, seigneur and political figure.Matthew Macnider was born in Ayrshire, the son of William MacNider of Thrane. He came to Quebec City where he established himself as a merchant. He invested in property, including the seigneuries of Bélair, Metis and...
. They had one daughter, Arabella (1808–1900), who married a cousin of her brother-in-law (Montgomery Cairnes), Sydney Robert Bellingham
Sydney Robert Bellingham
Sydney Robert Bellingham was an Irish-born businessman, lawyer, journalist and political figure in Canada East. He represented Argenteuil in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to 1878.-Birth:...
of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Castlebellingham
Castlebellingham
Castlebellingham is a village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. The village has got a lot quieter since the construction of the new M1 motorway which bypasses the village...
, Co. Louth.
Later life
Retiring on half pay from the army, Holmes became a keen farmer and owned well-kept properties along Chemin Sainte-Foy and the road to Cap-Rouge. He was an active member of the Agriculture Society, in which his farmers were prize-winners. In addition to the rural holdings, he owned several town houses, which he leased, and other property in the city of Quebec. Through his second marriage he became co-proprietor of the Dorchester Bridge.He continued his now considerable medical practice in Quebec and in 1813 was appointed examiner of candidates for medical licences. In 1816 he became physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
to the Ursulines and President of the Quebec Board of Medical Examiners. In 1817 he was appointed a member of the Vaccine Board, and in 1821 he became its vice-president as well as being appointed a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
.
In November 1816, Holmes was appointed Commissioner for the Relief of the Insane and Foundlings at Quebec. In this position he helped to secure much needed funds for additional accommodation and repairs and later for further improvements, acting as trustee to oversee the works. He attempted to introduce fresh air and exercise and to remove restraint in the treatment of the insane, as advocated by the French specialist and theorist Philippe Pinel
Philippe Pinel
Philippe Pinel was a French physician who was instrumental in the development of a more humane psychological approach to the custody and care of psychiatric patients, referred to today as moral therapy...
, but continued overcrowding in the older cells undermined such care.
Known familiarly as the “Insane Physician,” Holmes remained solely responsible for care of the insane and the only medical man on the commission for their relief, to which he was reappointed in 1830 and 1832. Holmes’s son-in-law, whose father he was friends with, Sydney Robert Bellingham
Sydney Robert Bellingham
Sydney Robert Bellingham was an Irish-born businessman, lawyer, journalist and political figure in Canada East. He represented Argenteuil in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to 1878.-Birth:...
recalled Holmes in 1824,
A tall gray-headed sixty-year old gentleman with small eyes and a slight north of Ireland brogue... the old doctor wore a loose dressing-gown and slippers, and spent the greater part of his day at the Garrison Library, not a stone’s throw from his residence, where he provoked much fun amongst the officers by his free and easy costume
According to Bellingham, Holmes had been 'generous and kind to his patients', had been well liked in the religious hospitals, and had frequently 'declined payment for his advice and medicines.' He never mastered French but he maintained a successful private practice. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography summarises his career,
In his appointive positions Holmes represented the medical establishment and British military and executive authority in a period of professional and political conflict and change. Although thrown by his offices into the debates, being neither an intellectual nor an innovator he did not play a leading role. As the system of health care and the medical profession became increasingly entangled in the political struggle between the assembly and the executive branch in the Lower Canadian legislature, Holmes tended to draw apart. If he had been quick-tempered as a young man, in later years he seems to have mellowed, living quietly with his family, yet “ever-activated,” as he had earlier declared, “by the faithful discharge of [his] duties.” Prosaic in outlook, Holmes outlived his contemporaries, in many ways an 18th-century practitioner to the end.