Holliday, George H.

Born: 1824-08-05 Kentucky

Flourished: Macoupin County, Illinois

Alternate name: Holiday

George H. Holliday was a newspaper publisher, surveyor, county government official, and builder. Holliday emigrated with his parents to Illinois in the spring of 1836, settling in Macoupin County. After receiving his preparatory education, Holliday matriculated to McKendree College, completing his courses in 1848. In 1850, he was living with his widowed mother, Elizabeth Holliday, and farming in Macoupin County. In addition to farming, Holliday served as county surveyor, platting the village of Shipman in 1852. In April 1852, he married Cinderella Chism, with whom he had six children. In 1854, Holliday won election, as a Democrat, to the Illinois House of Representatives, serving from January to February 1855. After his term in the Illinois House, Holliday became involved in various enterprises. He purchased the Macoupin Statesman, a Whig newspaper, in 1855, transforming it into a Democratic Party organ and renaming it the Macoupin County Spectator. Holliday continued to publish the Spectator until January 1857. He also engaged in building and finance, becoming president of the Henderson Building & Loan Company. In 1858, Holliday won election as clerk of the Macoupin County Court, serving in that capacity until 1869. In 1860, he was employed as a clerk and owned real property valued at $6,000 and had a personal estate of $500. In 1865, he became of member of the city council for Carlinville, Illinois.

The Saga of Southern Illinois 21 (Summer 1994), 6-7; History of Macoupin County, Illinois (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, 1879), 50, 51, 57, 103, 227; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Macoupin County, 15 April 1852, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Franklin William Scott, Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814-1879, vol. 6 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1910), 41; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 220; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Macoupin County, IL, 187; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Macoupin County, IL, 9; List of Members of the Illinois Legislature in 1855.