Frederick Van Voorhies Holman (August 29, 1852 – July 6, 1927) was a prominent lawyer and civic leader of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Legal counsel for the

Portland Railway, Light and Power Company The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P) was a railway company and electric power utility in Portland, Oregon, United States, from 1906 until 1924.Thompson, Richard M. (2006). ''Portland's Streetcars'', pp. 57 and 99. Arcadia Publish ...

and other businesses, he was active in

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politics and in civic organizations. President of the

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preser ...

from 1908 to 1927, he was known for his biography of

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...

. A great admirer of roses, Holman helped organize the Portland Rose Society and is credited with giving Portland one of its

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

s, "Rose City". A parcel of land once owned by Holman became Holman Park, which was later merged with other parks and parcels to form Portland's

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

in 1948.

Ancestry and early life

Holman's parents were

James Duval Holman James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

and Rachel Hixson (Summers) Holman, both originally from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Holman's great-grandfather, Thomas Holman, emigrated from England to

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in 1730. His grandfather, John Holman, born in Kentucky, fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and emigrated to Oregon in 1843. His father, James Duval Holman, one of the founders of Pacific City, moved to Portland in 1857. The J.D. Holman School in Portland was named in his honor. One of eight children, Frederick Van Voorhies Holman was born in

Pacific County, Washington Pacific County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,365. Its county seat is South Bend, and its largest city is Raymond. The county was formed by the government of Oregon Territory in Februa ...

, in what was then part of the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

. He attended public and private schools in Portland and graduated from the Portland Academy and Female Seminary in 1868. He attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, from which he graduated with a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

(Ph.B) degree in 1875. After studying law, Holman was admitted in 1879 to the Oregon bar.

Career

Holman, who never married, practiced in Portland, where he specialized in corporate, real property, and

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

law and became

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

for the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company, local general counsel for H. M. Byllesby & Company, and a director of the Oregon Power Company. In addition to his legal work, he was also a writer. Among his published works were the ''Biography of Dr. John McLoughlin'', many articles for the quarterly of the

, and many articles on roses, including the pamphlet, "Roses at Portland, Oregon, and How to Grow Them". An organizer of the Portland Rose Society, he has been credited with giving Portland one of its

s, "Rose City". President of the

from 1908 to 1927, he was also president of the Oregon Bar Association in 1909–10, and a regent of the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

from 1903 to 1915. He was a member of the Portland Charter Commission and director of the

Memorial Association. (McLoughlin, chief

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

of the

Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold ...

of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

during the second quarter of the 19th century has sometimes been referred to as "The Father of Oregon"). His political affiliation was with the

, and he served as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1892 and 1904 and was an Oregon member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

from 1904 to 1908. His memberships and affiliations included the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

, the Washington Historical Society, the National Rose Society of Great Britain, the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

, and the

National Municipal League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 with a mission to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communities. The League envisions a country where the full diversity of communi ...

. In addition, he belonged to Portland organizations including the Arlington, University, Waverly Golf, and Portland Commercial clubs.

Death and legacy

Holman died in 1927 in Portland. He is buried at

Lone Fir Cemetery Lone Fir Cemetery in the southeast section of Portland, Oregon, United States is a cemetery owned and maintained by Metro, a regional government entity. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first burial was in 1846 with the ceme ...

in southeast Portland. Lone Fir is one of several pioneer cemeteries managed by

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

, the regional government of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Holman owned property in the

Tualatin Mountains The Tualatin Mountains (also known as the West Hills or Southwest Hills of Portland) are a range on the western border of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. A spur of the Northern Oregon Coast Range, they separate the Tualatin Basin of Washi ...

(West Hills) to the northwest of the city center. After the property was damaged by a

flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to tr ...

operation in 1909, Holman offered it to the city for a park if it agreed to acquire the land necessary to connect his property to nearby Macleay Park. The transaction was not completed until 12 years after his death. In 1939 his siblings, George F. and Kate Holman, gave the land to the city, and in 1948, Holman Park and several other parks and parcels of land were combined to form

. The 1892 Frederick V. Holman House in Portland's Goose Hollow neighborhood was demolished in early October 2016. It was designed by

Edgar M. Lazarus Edgar Marks Lazarus (June 6, 1868 – October 2, 1939) was an American architect who was prominent in the Portland, Oregon, area for more than 45 years. He was best known as the architect of the Vista House on Crown Point in the Columbia River G ...

References

External links

* *

Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

on the ''Oregon Historical Quarterly'': Volume 28, No. 3 (Sept. 1927) {{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Frederick Van Voorhies Burials at Lone Fir Cemetery 1852 births 1927 deaths Writers from Portland, Oregon University of California, Berkeley alumni People from Pacific County, Washington University of Oregon people Oregon lawyers Oregon Democrats 19th-century American lawyers