We have several postcards of what appears to be a frequent sight on Raleigh’s Fayetteville Street: Aunt Betsey Holmes riding in her carriage. The carriage is pulled by a bull, not a horse, and so the postcards often contain puns relating to her preferred mode of transportation: “automobull“ and “horseless carriage” are the two most common. The bull’s name was Joe, and Betsey is often shown with Uncle Bill. It appears she became quite the institution – the postcard below lists her age as 93!
Does anyone know anything about Betsey (or is it Betsy) Holmes?
You will find a photograph and description of Aunt Betsy Holmes and Uncle Billy Holmes in the Alfred Mordecai Papers, University North Carolina, Chapel Hill Library:
Alfred Mordecai Papers [#4221]: Box 1, Folder 9, entire
folder, 2 versions of : “Common Plants of Medicinal
Interest on the Fort Benning Reservation. A Paper
presented…to the Garden Section of the Women’s Club
of Ft. Benning, GA 1934.–91.
Mordecai dedicated his paper to the memory of Aunt Betsy and Uncle Billy. The first 2 pages deal with Aunt Besty’s folk knowledge of local plants.
If you have other questions please feel free to contact me. Dr. Mordecai was a friend of my father in Fort benning, Georgia and he treated me for pneumonia in 1932.
Best Regards,
Pearl Bell Follett