James Holes, a pioneering farmer in Cass County, North Dakota, was born on January 29, 1845, in Warren, Pennsylvania. His parents, James and Mary Holes, were English immigrants. Educated initially on his father’s farm and later in Owego, New York, Holes worked as a government freighter before settling in Cass County on July 18, 1871. He proved the profitability of farming in North Dakota and became a respected agricultural authority. On July 20, 1887, he married Rhoda Harrison, with whom he had three children: James Harrison, Bernard Rupert, and Marguerite Virginia. Holes served as president of the American Society of Equity and as a county commissioner for nine years.
James Holes, of Fargo, North Dakota, the owner of the Pioneer farm and the pioneering farmer of Cass County, was born on January 29, 1845, in Warren, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. His parents, James and Mary Holes, were natives of Derbyshire, England, born in 1795 and 1802 respectively. They immigrated to the United States in 1832 and initially settled near Ithaca, New York. Later, they moved to Bradford County, Pennsylvania, where our subject was born.
James received his early education in a small schoolhouse on his father’s farm, and later attended the district school in Owego, New York, where his family relocated after leaving Pennsylvania. In 1868 and 1869, while working as a freighter for the government, he made several trips to the Red River Valley. On July 18, 1871, he settled in Cass County, North Dakota, where he has resided ever since. He was the first person to demonstrate that farming in North Dakota could be profitable, and he has been regarded as an authority on agricultural matters in the Red River Valley for many years.
On July 20, 1887, Mr. Holes married Miss Rhoda Harrison in Fargo. They have three children: James Harrison Holes, born on September 23, 1888; Bernard Rupert, born on December 20, 1890; and Marguerite Virginia, born on July 28, 1893. Mr. Holes currently serves as the president of the American Society of Equity and has also served as a county commissioner of Cass County for nine years.
Source
C.F. Cooper & Company, History of the Red River Valley, Past And Present: Including an Account of the Counties, Cities, Towns And Villages of the Valley From the Time of Their First Settlement And Formation, volumes 1-2; Grand Forks: Herald printing company, 1909.