Hi Ryan, Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out,
I see where you would have found the information on Moses Holmes. He is recorded in the list for Flax Growers of Ireland, 1796 - County Donegal - http://www.failteromhat.com/flax/donegal.php
Unfortunately I may have disappointing news. If you happened to be researching a family member from about the 1830’s or 1840’s, I may have been able to lean you towards taking out a short subscription to search the transcribed records within http://www.rootsireland.ie/ as they would have the best database and earliest Records available to research, in particular for Church of Ireland and Presbyterian. However because Moses Holmes had emigrated early 1800’s, I feel it’s better to be honest with you and say it possibly may not bear fruit as regards Moses our his immediate family.
As I am sure you know it is extremely difficult to research ancestors from Donegal who were born in the first part of the 19th Century, and when this presides even rootsireland records the best way forward, I would recommend would be DNA Testing. I see from previous post that you have already your DNA tested with Ancestry and Family Tree DNA, https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland/donegal/raphoe/message-board/holmes-orr-families-raphoe-taughboyne
I would recommend you upload this data to Gedmatch.com. I have put together a simple guide for transferring raw data from ancestry to gedmatch. I attached it below for you. If you haven’t done this yet, you should give it a go, it is a very good site for comparisons and also getting in contact with DNA matches.
If you do take a chance purchasing a short subscription with rootsireland, and do come across Holmes Records of interest you can cross check them with a short list I am have attached also. It is a short spreadsheet that would have the names for all Holmes families in Donegal, for the 1820’s Tithe Applotment Books and the 1850’s Griffith valuation.
The Tithe Applotment Books which was compiled in the 1820’s and 1830’s tell only the names of some of the tenants and farmers that happened to be able to afford the leasing of land at that time. The names in the Tithes Applotments are a generation before that of the follow on family names given in the 1858 Griffith Valuation which would be a more accurate record. They tell the names of all head of home of all families just like the Holmes that were leasing or owning land back in the 1850’s. If there is any Holmes family on the list that grab your attention you can follow on by checking them here - Holmes Families in Raphoe in 1858 Griffith Valuation Page 1 Page 2
If you come across a Townlands in the Parish of Raphoe that you are unsure about, you can simply check the location here - Civil Parish of Raphoe, Co. Donegal. I hope this is of some help to you, best of luck going forward
Regards, Seamus Callaghan
