Part 734h – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – The Mystery of GG-Grandfather Audley Holmes – 1854 Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

Good Day,

In my search to follow the genealogy of the Holmes Family Line I have discovered an additional note in the Burial Section of the Calvary Episcopal Church, of Tamaqua, in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Record Book. The note added to the 16 December 1854 Burial Registration entry is "Murdered".

Of course this certainly piqued my interest. (See Part 733h of A Genealogy Hunt to see the actual document.)

I immediately searched for any possible news of such an event. My first thought was to conduct a Google, Google Book, and Internet Archive search using the terms "Audley Holmes, 1854, Tamaqua, Murder". No luck.

I contacted the Pottsville Free Public Library. This was not necessarily a dead end. I did find out that possible related newspaper archives are available but to date no digitization of the earlier years has been done. I was advised that The Schuylkill County Historical Society may be able to help.

In due course of my research and investigation I contacted a number of family members and descendants of this particular line to learn whether there are any more details. It has been relayed to me that during the course of years some hints of mystery may have been a part of gg-grandfather Audley Holmes' demise.

As the tale unfolds, there may have been some clandestine meetings that may have rubbed some people the wrong way. It appears that as a part of the tale, Great-Great-Grandfather Audley Holmes may have "fallen" from a bridge to his untimely death.

Stay tuned, and if you have any related details and information please feel free to contact me.

Enjoy,

Jim