William Richard Holmes

1822 - 1882  (60 years)

• Name	William Richard Holmes  [1, 2, 3]
  Birth	1822	Northern Ireland?   [2, 4]
  Marriage	05 May 1847	Templederry, Tipperary
  	Adela Louisa Zohrab,   b. abt 1825, Malta ,   d. abt Feb 1910, Hambledon, Surrey
  Occupation	bef 1877	Bosnia ; British Consul  [5]
  Post/Rank/Title	1877 -	JP  [2, 3]
  Residence	1877 -	Manor House, Kilrea   [3]
  Post/Rank/Title	13 Aug 1877	Knight  [1, 5]
  	Osborne, August 13, 1877. The Queen was this day pleased to confer the honour of Knighthood on William Richard Holmes, Esq., late Her Majesty's Consul for Bosnia. [London Gazette]
  Death	10 Jan 1882	Yewhurst, Belvedere, Kent   [2, 6, 7]
  Notes	Sir Wm. Richard Holmes, knighted 13 Aug. 1877, when descr, as "late her Majesty's Consul for Bosnia", and one of the Commissioners appointed by Lord Beaconsfield to settle the Bosnia and Herzegovina Boundary questions. [Curtis] In the spring of 1861 the sultan announced new reforms in Herzegovina, promising among other things freedom to build churches, the use of church bells and the opportunity for Christians to acquire land. Commenting on this, Consul William Holmes in Bosna-Serai writes to Ambassador Sir Henry Bulwer that those promises rarely applied. He mentions that the Serbs, the biggest community, were refused the right to build a church in Bosna-Serai. Concerning the right to buy land, he writes, "Every possible obstacle is still thrown in the way of the purchase of lands by Christians, and very often after they have succeeded in purchasing and improving land, it is no secret that on one unjust pretext or another, it has been taken from them." [Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Origin of the Myth of a Tolerant, Pluralistic Islamic Society; Address delivered by Bat Ye'or* on 31 August 1995; Symposium on the Balkan War; International Strategic Studies Association; Emperor's Clothes website, accessed 02 Jul 2010] We have to record the death of Sir William Richard Holmes, of the Manor-house, Kilrea, Co. Londonderry, formerly of the Consular Service, which occurred on Thursday, at Yewshurst, Belvedere, Kent. He was the son of the late Mr. William Holmes, of Kilrea, by his marriage with Harriet, daughter of Mr. Richard Brant, and was born in 1822. He entered the Consulate at Erzeroum in 1841. and in 1846 was appointed Vice-Consul at Samsoon, in Asia Minor, and served at Batoum, Monastir, &c. He was appointed Consul at Bosnia in 1860, acted as British delegate to the European commission for the pacification of Herzegovina in 1861, and retired in July, 1877. He was thereupon knighted by the Queen in recognition of his long services. Sir William Holmes was the author of a work, entitled "Sketches on the shore of the Caspian." He was a magistrate for the county of Londonderry, and married in 1847, Adela Louisa Zohrab, daughter of Mr. P. Zohrab, of Malta. [The Times, obituary, 21 Jan 1882]
  Person ID	I2292	Tatham | Bloxham branch, Christopher branch | Parent of spouse
  Last Modified	03 Oct 2012

  
  

  Family	Adela Louisa Zohrab,   b. abt 1825, Malta ,   d. abt Feb 1910, Hambledon, Surrey  (Age ~ 85 years)
  Marriage	05 May 1847	Templederry, Tipperary   [2, 8]
  Children	+ 1. William James Holmes,   b. abt 1863, Sarajevo, Bosnia ,   d. 06 Jun 1945, Hindhead  (Age ~ 82 years)
  Last Modified	20 Sep 2010
  Family ID	F0331	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S04] H Curtis: Notes for a Pedigree of the Tathams of Co. Durham. [S05] The Times, obituary, 21 Jan 1882. [S05] The Times, death notice, 05 Mar 1941. grandson William [S02] BMD Index, death reg Dartford, 1Q1822. age 60 [S35] London Gazette, p. 4850, 21 Aug 1877. [S02] BMD Index, death reg Dartford, 1Q1882. age 60 [S11] Newspaper, Leeds Mercury, 28 Jan 1882. death notice [S22] IGI / BVRI, LDS member .