William Woods HOLDEN

Background

HOLDEN, William Woods was born on November 24, 1818 in Orange County, North Carolina, United States, United States.

Education

Public school.

Career

His parents and his early life are unknown. He was truly a self-made man, who attended a field school and served as a printer’s apprentice before studying law and being admitted to the bar in Raleigh in 1841. Holden was a Baptist who later became a Methodist Episcopalian.

He married Ann Augusta Young in 1841. His second wife was Louisa Virginia Harrison. Holden, a Whig who became a Democrat in 1843, worked on the Raleigh Star and edited the Raleigh Standard until late 1864.

He was the state printer in the 1840s. In 1848, he supported the movement for free suffrage in North Carolina and used his newspaper to foment radical secessionism. Holden developed an intense desire for public office, and in 1858, he was defeated in races for both the governorship and the U.S. Senate.

In 1859, he dropped the paper as a Democratic party organ, supported Stephen Douglas for the presidency, and opposed secession. He served in the state secession convention as a unionist but voted for the “right of revolution.’’ At first Holden was a warm supporter of the war, but while he was printer for the state legislature in 1862, he became hostile toward the Confederacy. In 1864, he formed a secret unionist society in North Carolina called “the Heroes of America” and ran as a peace candidate for governor.

When the war ended, President Johnson made him provisional governor of North Carolina in late 1865. As Republican candidate for governor in 1868, he supported Negro suffrage. He was elected to office, but he was impeached in 1870 as a result of corruption during his scandal-ridden administration.

He then moved to Washington, D.C., to edit the Republican Daily Morning Chronicle. In 1872, he declined the diplomatic post of minister to Peru. From 1873 to 1881, he was postmaster of Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Autobiography of William Woods Holden,” Historical Papers of Trinity College, Ш. Raper, “William Woods Holden. A Political Biography.”.

Religion

"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.

Politics

Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.

Connections

Married second, Louisa Virginia Harrison.

Spouse:

Louisa Virginia Harrison.