Elias Bellows HOLMES, Congress, NY (1807-1866)

HOLMES, Elias Bellows, a Representative from New York; born in Fletcher, Vt., May 22, 1807; attended the district schools and St. Albans Academy; taught school; studied law at Pittsford, N.Y.; was admitted to the bar in 1830; moved to Brockport, N.Y., in 1831 and commenced the practice of law; engaged in agricultural pursuits and transportation; engaged in running canal packets between Rochester and Buffalo 1840-1855; one of the promoters and constructors of the Rochester & Niagara Falls Railroad and a director until it merged with the New York Central Railroad; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses (March 4, 1845-March 3, 1849); was not a candidate for renomination; resumed agricultural pursuits; died in Brockport, N.Y., July 31, 1866; interment in City Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present