George Frederick Holmes was born on August 2, 1820 in Straebrock, Demerara, British Guiana (now Georgetown, British Guyana). His father was Joseph Henry Herndon Holmes, judge-advocate in that colony; his mother was Mary Anne Pemberton, the daughter of Stephen and Isabella (Anderson) Pemberton. Both parents were of sturdy Northumbrian stock. When George was two years old, they took him to England to the home of his maternal grandfather, who lived with a maiden daughter, Elizabeth.
Holmes was placed at school at Sunderland in the county of Durham; and in 1836 he entered the University of Durham, where he won a prize scholarship. His studies here were abruptly broken off by reason of some indiscretion that was misunderstood by his guardians. As a result, he was sent off at seventeen to Canada, landing at Quebec, July 28, 1837.
In 1891 he was given the degree of Doctor of Civil Law by the University of Durham, England, from whose doors he had been driven by the folly of his natural guardians.
Holmes drifted to Philadelphia, Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina. In the last state he was admitted to the bar in 1842, though he never became naturalized. He was not suited to the law; his tastes were literary. "A foreigner--friendless--fundless, " as he described himself, he began to write for the Southern Literary Messenger and other periodicals, and his articles brought him in touch with many of the leading men of the South.
Holmes was called to the University of Richmond in 1845, as professor of ancient languages. In 1847 he became professor of history and political economy in the College of William and Mary, and the following year was chosen first president of the University of Mississippi. Thence he was recalled to Virginia by illness in his family. On the journey thither he met with an accident which cost him an eye and came near costing his life. His consequent prolonged absence from his post led to his resigning from the University of Mississippi. There followed nine years of life in southwest Virginia, where he farmed, wrote numerous articles, and carried on an extensive correspondence. To Auguste Comte he wrote: "I have first to work for bread for my family, then to work for books, and finally to work for leizure and independence. " Mentally this was a fruitful period, though obscure. Called to the University of Virginia in 1857, he remained there until his death forty years later. At first he was professor of history and literature; in 1882 his chair was reduced to historical science, including political economy; and in 1889 it embraced political economy and the science of society.
He published numerous textbooks--readers, spellers, grammars, and a school history of the United States. Upon his death, at the age of seventy-seven, his last word was "England. " He was buried at Sweet Springs, West Virginia, beside his wife.
Holmes went down to history as a notable educator and author. He is best remembered for his positions as a professor in Richmond college, president of the University of Mississippi, professor of history, political economy, and international law in William and Mary college, and professor of history and literature in the University of Virginia. He is also noted as the author of a series of text books that were used in southern schools, for which they were especially designed.
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Though Holmes mingled with Calhoun's group in South Carolina, and though his wife's family was one which furnished two governors of Virginia, Holmes remained detached from politics.
Holmes was a prodigy of miscellaneous knowledge, an encyclopedic scholar. In personal appearance he was tall and lank, negligent in dress, and unconventional. He was genial, but paradoxical and individualistic.
Quotes from others about the person
"He was a free trader, a believer in slavery, and an advocate of states rights. "
Homes married, about 1844, Eliza Lavalette Floyd, the daughter of John Floyd and sister of John Buchanan Floyd.
