Alexander Richmond Holladay (September 18, 1811 – January 29, 1877) was a 19th-century politician and lawyer from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Early life and background

Born on the Prospect Hill plantation, Belmont, in

Spotsylvania County Spotsylvania County is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the July 2021 estimate, the population was 143,676. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, Spotsylvania Courthouse. History At the time ...

(now in

Mineral, Virginia Mineral is a town in Louisa County, Virginia, United States. The population was 467 at the 2010 census. History Mineral was originally known as Tolersville, but adopted its current name when it incorporated in 1902 due to the mining industry t ...

), Holladay was the son of Waller Holladay (1776–1860). He had a twin brother, Henry Addison Holladay, and they also had other brothers, Lewis Littlepage Holladay (born 1803), Albert Lewis Holladay (1805–1856), John Zachary Holladay (1806–1842) and Waller Lewis Holladay (1809–1873). Their sister Anne Elizabeth Holladay (1808–1853) married Dr W. Q. Poindexter, a nephew of

George Poindexter George Poindexter (April 19, 1779 − September 5, 1853) was an American politician, lawyer and judge from Mississippi. Born in Virginia, he moved to the Mississippi Territory in 1802. He served as United States Representative from the newly adm ...

Governor of Mississippi A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. The Holladays were also related to the diplomat and general Lewis Littlepage, who was Littlepage's half-uncle (that is, his father's half-brother). Alexander Holladay attended public schools as a child and received special training under John Lewis at the Llangollen School, Bel Air, in Spotsylvania County, then attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, where he studied law. On September 7, 1837, Holladay married Patsy Quarles Poindexter, a daughter of Judge William Green Poindexter. Their son Alexander Quarles Holladay was born on May 8, 1839.A.M. Holladay, ''The Holladay family'' (1983), p.

Career and death

Holladay was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, commencing practice in Spotsylvania,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and Louisa Counties, Virginia. From 1845 to 1847 he was a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

and held several local offices before being elected a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1848, serving from 1849 to 1853. There, Holladay was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy from 1849 to 1851. He declined reelection in 1852 and moved to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

in 1853 where he commenced practicing law. Holladay was president of the

Virginia Board of Public Works The Virginia Board of Public Works was a governmental agency which oversaw and helped finance the development of Virginia's transportation-related internal improvements during the 19th century. In that era, it was customary to invest public funds ...

from 1857 to 1861 before his death in Richmond on January 29, 1877. He was interred in the family cemetery called "Prospect Hill" in

Spotsylvania County, Virginia Spotsylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the July 2021 estimate, the population was 143,676. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse. History At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that bec ...

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holladay, Alexander 1811 births 1877 deaths People from Spotsylvania County, Virginia Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia lawyers University of Virginia School of Law alumni Politicians from Richmond, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American politicians Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia 19th-century American lawyers