US Congressman. Born in Vermont, he moved to Kansas with his family in 1855. During the Civil War he served in the Kansas State Militia Quartermaster Department, becoming a "Master of Transportation" in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and the Indian Territory and being present at the Battles of First Newtonia (September 30, 1862), Cane Hill (November 28, 1862) and Prairie Grove (December 7, 1862). He resigned in 1863, and eventually attended Yale University, graduating in 1865. Returning to Kansas to pursue mercantile endeavors, he served in the Kansas State Legislature before being elected as a Republican to represent Kansas' 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1877 until his death in office in 1883. His grandson Otis Halbert Holmes, would follow him as Republican Congressman from the state of Washington.

US Congressman. Born in Vermont, he moved to Kansas with his family in 1855. During the Civil War he served in the Kansas State Militia Quartermaster Department, becoming a "Master of Transportation" in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and the Indian Territory and being present at the Battles of First Newtonia (September 30, 1862), Cane Hill (November 28, 1862) and Prairie Grove (December 7, 1862). He resigned in 1863, and eventually attended Yale University, graduating in 1865. Returning to Kansas to pursue mercantile endeavors, he served in the Kansas State Legislature before being elected as a Republican to represent Kansas' 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1877 until his death in office in 1883. His grandson Otis Halbert Holmes, would follow him as Republican Congressman from the state of Washington.