David Holmes (1769 - 1832)

David Holmes was born at Mary Ann Furnace, near Hanover, York County, Pa. on March 10, 1769 and was raised near Winchester, VA.  Elected to the United States House of Representatives in Virginia, he served from 1797 until 1809 when he was appointed as the governor of the Mississippi Territory.  He served as the territorial governor until 1817 when Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the 20th state.  Subsequently, he was elected as Mississippi’s first governor in 1817 and would serve in that office until 1820 when he was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Walter Leake.  Holmes served in the Senate until 1825 when he was again elected as governor.  He resigned in 1826 due to poor health.¹  In 1827 Holmes returned to Winchester, VA where he remained until he passed away in 1832.  He is interred in Mount Hebron Cemetery.²

1. Conrad, D.H. “David Holmes: First Governor of Mississippi.” Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society Vol. 4., ed. Roland Dunbar, 234-257. Jackson, MS: Mississippi Historical Society, 1921. [↩]
2. ”Biographical Directory of the United States Senate.” http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000735 (14 Feb 2009). [↩]