 Holmes Colbert was the son of James Isaac Colbert and Sarah "Sally" McLish.His father James Isaac Colbert, the son of Maj. James Holmes Colbert, already had some remote Chickasaw blood since he was the grandson of James Logan Colbert, a Scots trader from North Carolina who settled in Chickasaw country in the mid-18th century, and of his third wife, Minta Hoye, who had a Chickasaw mother herself.Since the Chickasaw have a matrilineal system, children are considered born into their mother's clan and gain recognition in the tribe through her legacy, including any hereditary leadership positions ; the whole Colbert family was hence considered a part of the Chickasaw Nation.