congressman military politician
William Dunbar Holder was born on March 6, 1824, in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. He was the son of Richard Calloway Holder. His mother died when he was only weeks old, and the family moved first to Franklin County, Tennessee, and, in 1839, to Pontotoc, Mississippi.
William Dunbar Holder was a United States district clerk and a deputy of the United States marshal and became a successful planter, before entering the Mississippi House of Representatives as a Whig in 1853. He served one term.
When the war began, he organized the 17th Regiment of Mississippi Infantry, of which he was elected colonel. He fought at First Manassas, Leesburg, and the Seven Days, where he was wounded at Malvern Hill. He later fought at Chancellorsville and received a second, permanently disabling wound at the battle of Gettysburg. Holder saw no further military service.
In 1863, he succeeded Reuben Davis as a representative from the northeastern district of Mississippi to the Confederate House of Representatives. He served on the Elections, Medical Department, Naval Affairs, and Public Buildings Committees.
In early 1865, Holder was falsely accused of supporting Reconstruction. When the war ended, he returned to Pontotoc to farm. William was as deputy state auditor of Mississippi in 1886. From 1890 to 1896 he served as a state auditor.
Holder was a member of the Whig Party.
In June 1854, William married Catherine Theresa Bowles, by whom he had six sons and one daughter.
1837-1887
1860-1896
1863-1911
1866-1947
1869-1946
1871-1946
1874-1941
1880-1950
