Jesse Holdom (1851–1930) was a prominent Chicago

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

Biography

Jesse Holdom was born in London on August 23, 1851, the son of William and Eliza (Merritt) Holdom. His Holdom ancestors had lived in the

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

neighbourhood of London for nearly three hundred years, after fleeing France during the

St. Bartholomew's Day massacre The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French War ...

. Holdom immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen, settling in Chicago in July 1868. Beginning in 1870, he

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

with

Joshua C. Knickerbocker. He was admitted to the bar of Illinois on September 13, 1873. Holdom practiced law with Knickerbocker. In 1878, Knickerbocker invited Holdom to become a partner of his firm, which was then known as Knickerbocker & Holdom. Knickerbocker retired in 1889, and Holdom continued as a solo practitioner. He was a successful lawyer, particularly in cases involving wills and title to real estate. Governor of Illinois

Joseph W. Fifer Joseph Wilson Fifer (October 28, 1840 – August 6, 1938) was the 19th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1889 to 1893. He also served as a member of the Illinois Senate from 1881 to 1883. "Private Joe" Fifer was born at Staunton, Virginia on ...

appointed Holdom as Public Guardian. In November 1898, Holdom was elected as a

of the Superior Court of Cook County. Holdom was active in the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association, serving as ISBA president 1900-1901. He was also involved in Trinity Episcopal Church, the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, and the Union League Club of Chicago. Holdom married Edith I. Foster in 1877. His first wife died in 1891. Holdom remarried in 1893, to Mabel Brady. Holdom had four children: Edith, Jessie, Martha, and Courtland. Holdom died in Chicago on July 14, 1930.

References

Josiah Seymour Currey, ''Chicago: Its History and Its Builders, A Century of Marvelous Growth'', Volume 5 (S. J. Clarke, 1912) pp. 314-315''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'', Volume 11 (J. T. White Co., 1901), p. 558A.N. Waterman, ''Historical review of Chicago and Cook county and selected biography'' (Lewis Publishing Co., 1908), pp. 581-583

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holdom, Jesse 1851 births 1930 deaths Illinois lawyers English emigrants to the United States Illinois Republicans American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Judges of the Superior Court of Cook County