Ellis Jordan Holt (1910 - 2000)

Born 6 Feb 1910 in Phillips, Maine

Ancestors

Husband of Virginia Emma (Powell) Holt — married 9 Sep 1933 in Belfast, Maine

Descendants

Died 18 May 2000 at age 90 in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Shirley Holt [send private message]

Biography

Ellis Jordan (Sam) Holt ... ^[1]

Birth:

6 February 1910, Phillips, Maine

Marriage

Belfast Republican Journal has 9 September 1933. Town records are incorrect. First hand knowledge from their son, John Holt.

Death

Sources

• Shirley Holt, firsthand knowledge. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Shirley and others.

Marriage: Belfast Republican Journal has 9 September 1933. Town records are incorrect. First hand knowledge from their son, John Holt.

1. ↑ Entered by Shirley Holt, Sep 30, 2011

• “1910 Census” ^[2]

• ^[3]

• United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration

Year: 1940; Census Place: Calais, Washington, Maine; Roll: m-t0627-01493; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 15-15

• National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Auburn, Androscoggin, Maine; Roll: 68; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 1-6

Obituary

[1]. Ellsworth American Obituary (reposted with permission):

LAMOINE Rev. Ellis Jordan Holt of Lamoine died May 18, 2000, in Cape Elizabeth, following an extended convalescence. The youngest of the three sons of Dr. Lemuel Jordan and Shirley Rice Holt, he was born in Phillips, Feb. 6, 1910, a few months after his father’s untimely death from a hunting accident. His family then moved to Lamoine, where he spent his childhood, vacations and retirement.

Ellis was educated at Higgins Classical Institute, Charleston, and at Boston University College of Liberal Arts, where he graduated in 1931. In the 1970s, he was named a member of the Collegium of Distinguished Alumni at BU. An honors graduate of Andover Newton Theological School in 1934, he was ordained to the Christian ministry on July 2, 1934, at the First Baptist Church of Littleton, Mass.

"Sam," as he was affectionately known, served as pastor of American Baptist congregations in Littleton (1934-1936) and Pittsfield (1957-1963), Massachusetts; and Portland (1936-1938), Calais (1938-1942), Auburn (1942-1957), and Waterville (1963-1969). Always interested and active in denominational affairs, he served as the first executive minister of the newly organized American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts from 1969 until his retirement in 1975. Over the course of his 40-year career in the ministry, he held a variety of important positions in the American Baptist Convention, including chair of the committee whose work led to the denomination relocating its headquarters to Valley Forge, Pa. Of special concern to him was the work of the New England Baptist Council (NEBC) in Ocean Park. His many contributions to the various ministries of NEBC were recognized when the organization named a newly constructed multi-purpose building at its Ocean Park campus Holt Hall in his honor.

Ellis retired in 1975 to Lamoine to the home that his grandfather, Rev. William H. Rice, had constructed 100 years previously and where he and his family had vacationed throughout his career. During his retirement he was active in the Lamoine Baptist Church and the Lamoine Historical Society. His civic interests were numerous and he was well loved and respected by the townspeople of Lamoine. He especially enjoyed growing apples, pressing cider, maintaining a modest garden, photography and climbing Mt. Katahdin and the mountains of Mt. Desert Island with family and friends.

In 1933, Ellis married his college sweetheart, Virginia Emma Powell, daughter of Rev. Felix and Marion Card Powell. "Gin," to whom he was married more than 59 years, died in 1992. Five sons were born of their marriage, four of whom survive him. Survivors include Rev. Jordan Holt and wife, Sharon, of Taunton, Mass., Dr. William Holt and wife, Mary Jean, of Cape Elizabeth, C. Nicholas Holt and wife, Sandra, of San Antonio, Texas, and Rev. John Holt of Burlington, Vt. Also surviving are 14 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. His wife, Virginia, son, Richard, and brothers, Herman "Jack" Holt and Charles "Shep" Holt, predeceased him.

A memorial service will be held at the Lamoine Baptist Church on Saturday, May 27, 2000, at 2 p.m., Rev. David Henry officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Lamoine Baptist Church Memorial Fund, 24 Lamoine Beach Road, Lamoine, ME 04605. Arrangements by Conroy-Tully Funeral Home, Portland.

written by John Shepard Holt

• The Berkshire Eagle; Publication Date: 23 May 2000; Publication Place: Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/533340948/?article=73f942cd-20e3-482e-b321-0f2f39a725d5&focus=0.046176523,0.07387795,0.20520516,0.3993752&xid=3355

[2] 40th anniversary guest preacher. Littleton. MA.

[3]. Boston University Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient.

[4]. History, Court Street Baptist Church, Auburn, ME

[5]. Findagrave.com.