cause and of equal political rights for both sexes, she immediately allied herself with these elements in Nebraska, and in the winter of 1881 she became a member of the first woman's suffrage convention
JENNIE FLORELLA HOLMES.
held in the State, and labored for the amendment submitted at that session of the legislature. She was chairman of the executive committee of the State Suffrage Society from 1881 to 1884. In 1884 she was elected president of the State Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which office she held for three years. She was elected delegate-at-large from Nebraska to the National Prohibition Party Convention, held in Indianapolis in 1888. In her ardent love for the cause she considered this the crowning honor of her laborious life. She was an active member of the Woman's Relief Corps, and was sent a delegate to the Woman's Relief Corps convention held in Milwaukee in 1889. She was warmly interested in educational affairs in her own little city, as well as abroad. She was made a member of the school board in 1891. Mrs. Holmes had a family of eight children, four of whom are living. She died in her home in Tecumseh, 20th March, 1892.
MARY EMILIE HOLMES.
HOLMES, Miss Mary Emilie. educator and scientist, born in Chester. Ohio, 10th April, 1850. She is the only daughter and only surviving child of Rev. Mead and Mrs. Mary D. A. Holmes. On the paternal side of Scotch-Irish and Holland descent, and on the maternal of Huguenot and New England stock, she inherited a nature active, persistent, thorough, with a special bent toward original investigation in science, literature and religion. In addition to performing efficiently the duties of a Presbyterian clergyman's wife in a large parish, her mother was for many years principal of a seminary for young ladies and gentlemen. As a child, little Mary's associations were almost entirely with those greatly her senior in years. Never remembering the time when she could not read readily, she early picked up, by listening to recitations and also to her older and only brother studying aloud at home, many things far beyond her full comprehension at the time, but which, later, proved of great value. Thus at eight years of age she was perfectly familiar with Greek, Latin and French conjugations and declensions and could parse and translate quite well. At five years she had read the entire Bible through aloud to her mother, receiving therefor, from her father, a beautiful canary. A special delight of her life has ever been to have many pets about the home, not so much to train, though they must all live peaceably together, and generally in freedom, outdoors and in, hut for psychological study. Among these were several species of squirrels, gophers, chipmunks, guinea- pigs, coons, woodchucks, cats, dogs, a bear, foxes, robins, thrushes, mocking-birds, a parrot and an eagle, with some amphibians. All these, being nicely tamed, developed many characteristics which have formed the basis of her carefully prepared zoological articles. With her fifth birthday she began the regular study of music, ever since a delight, and commenced systematically to study natural history, and to prepare a herbarium, analyzing mainly by Gray's "How Plants Grow." This collection, still existing in part, was the nucleus of what is now one of the finest and largest private herbariums in Illinois. Always encouraged to take examinations with those much older, primarily to keep her pleasantly occupied, and to try for county school certificates, at thirteen years of age she was triumphant, having won one-hundred per cent in each of the eight subjects then required. This certificate is a much-prized trophy, it eleven years of age she became organist in Sunday-school, and soon after in church, a position almost continuously held from that date. A favorite pastime for several years, commencing with her eighth year, was regularly editing, alternately
