John Holladay Sr. (1798 - 1862)

Born 10 Mar 1798 in Kershaw, Lancaster, Camden District, South Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine Beasley (Higgins) Holladay — married 16 Apr 1822 in Camden Dist,Kershaw,Sc

Descendants

Died 31 Dec 1862 at age 64 in Spring Creek, Tooele, Utah Territory, United States

Biography

John Holladay was a founder and namesake of the settlement of Holladay's Burg, Utah Territory, which became Holladay, Utah. He was an early pioneer in Colorado, Utah, and California.

Early Life

John Holladay Sr was born 10 March 1798 in Kershaw District, South Carolina. Some Utah descendants erroneously insist on calling him "John Daniel", though no credible evidence supports this. Historical records agree his given name was only "John". Note; Holladay's 1861 obituary in the Deseret News calls him "John Holladay" as does his original headstone now in Santaquin cemetery. John was the son of Daniel Holladay and Keziah (Terry) Holladay.^[1]

He grew to manhood in the Kershaw district area, and was married on 16 April 1822, to Catherine Beasley Higgins (daughter of Benjamin Higgins and Katherine Pickens). John and Catherine lived first in Kershaw District, South Carolina, but within a short time moved to Mosco, Marion (later Lamar) County, Alabama. NOTE: There is a conflict here--the Holladay history gives the date of their move as 1826, yet family group charts from Genealogical Library show all of the children having been born in Alabama.^[1]

John Holladay became a successful planter and owner of a large and thriving plantation in this place. A very interesting account of his plantation, life and conversion to the Mormon faith is given by Absolom Porter Dowdle, a L. D. S. missionary who baptized him and later married one of his daughters. ref name="Fam Story" />

John Holladay Baptized as a Morman

Upon the conversion and baptism of the Holladay family, John D. freed his slaves and began to plan to join the body of the Saints in Nauvoo. A number of Mormons living in Monroe County, Mississippi, and in Alabama, gathered under the direction of John Brown. They were advised not to traveI all the way north to Nauvoo and then west. Instead, they banded together under the name of the "Mississippi Company of Saints" and headed for Independence, Missouri. From this, the "Queen City of the Trails," they then struck westward along the Oregon Trail expecting to make contact with the main group of pioneers somewhere along the Platte River. ^[1]

Utah Missionary Registers

Register information ^[2] Name David H Holladay
Event Type Mission
Event Date 1871
Event Place United States
Residence Place Santaquin, , , United States
Birth Date 31 Oct 1832
Birthplace , Marion, Alabama
Baptism Date 08 Dec 1845
Father's Name John Holladay
Mother's Name Catherine B Higgins
Page 20
Volume Missionary Register v. 1
By Whom Baptized Benj Mathis
By Whom Set Apart L Snow
Date Set Apart 10 Oct 1871

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} JOHN DANIEL HOLLADAY, SR Story Written by Grace Pratt Thomas, wife of Norwood Jay Thomas, son of Norwood Washington and Chloe Agnes Hislop Thomas, and a great, great grandson of John Daniel Holladay, Sr. through his daughter Karen Happuch Holladay Bingham.
2. ↑ "Utah, Missionary Department Missionary Registers, 1860-1937," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDW-RPWJ : 26 February 2016), John Holladay in entry for David H Holladay, United States

See Also:

• John Holladay - Wikipedia