From H. F. O'Beirne's 1891 book Leading Men of the Indian Territory (quoted in M. K. Garland, Chickasaw Loves and Allied Families):
"Of this illustrious law-maker, who passed away on March 24, 1872, there has been so much said, so many conflicting assertions concerning his actions and the motives thereof, that we shall avoid further criticism of the dead by simply furnishing a rough outline of his life. Born in 1829 of one of the most distinguished families among the Chickasaws, Holmes had from his childhood every advantage that wealth and refinement could bestow. At the age of twenty-three he passed a brilliant examination at Union College, Schenectady, New York, in the graduating class of 1852, and three years afterward, in 1855, drafted the Chickasaw Constitution, adopted soon afterward by his people - such an extraordinary feat that, if we consider the age of the young man and his lack of legislative experience, the work would reflect credit on the skill and wisdom of the most matured mind." [For what it's worth, the date of death given on the tombstone is 1873.]
The transcript of an interesting interview with Polly, former slave of Holmes Colbert, may be found at http://www.roark-family.org/Colberts/PollyColbert.asp
