Clement Elton Holmes was born in Short Creek, Ohio, on February 3, 1864, to Rezin Holmes and Emmeline Mansfield. His father was a farmer who owned at least $400 in real estate and $400 in personal property in 1860. He attended school in Shortcreek and eventually became a minister. He married Jessie Rachel Barricklow in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, on August 27, 1890, and they had at least two children: Maxwell, born around 1895; and Helen, born around 1903. He eventually settled in Westfield, Massachusetts, where he served as minister for the Second Congregational Church. Jessie died around 1940, and he passed away in Northampton, Massachusetts, on March 26, 1944.