Bird Holland (March 23, 1815 - April 9, 1864) was a soldier, legislator, and civil servant in Texas. He served as

Texas Secretary of State The secretary of state of Texas is one of the six members of the executive department of the State of Texas in the United States. Under the Constitution of Texas, the appointment is made by the governor of Texas, with confirmation by the Texas ...

from March 16, 1861 to November 1861. He immigrated to the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

in 1837, and by 1840 was living in Travis County.

Career

In 1846, at the beginning of the Mexican War, Holland was named Captain of the 17th Ranger Company of the 2nd Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers.
The Texas Magazine
'. Charles A. Newning; 1913 [Retrieved 27 August 2017]. p. 451–453. He only served briefly due to disability from illness at Matamoros. He was elected Assistant Secretary of the Senate during the Third Texas Legislature in 1850 and was a member of the House during the

Fifth Texas Legislature The 5th Texas Legislature met from November 7, 1853, to February 13, 1854, in its regular session. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1853. Sessions * 5th Regular session: Novem ...

, representing the counties of Jefferson and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

. He was on the Finance, Enrolled Bills, and Education committees. His dates of service were November 7, 1853 to November 5, 1855. He became Secretary of State after Texas seceded from the Union in 1861. One of his duties was to certify the results of the Texas Secession Convention. His predecessor,

E. W. Cave Eber Worthington Cave (July 14, 1831 – March 28, 1904) was a journalist, civic promoter, and politician in Texas. He was born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and began working as a printer in New Jersey. He moved to Texas in 1853 ...

, was opposed to secession and resigned. During the Civil War, Holland served as adjutant in Col.

Richard B. Hubbard Richard Bennett Hubbard Jr. (November 1, 1832July 12, 1901), occasionally referred to by the nickname Jumbo, was the 16th governor of Texas from 1876 to 1879 and United States Envoy to Japan from 1885 to 1889. He was a Confederate veteran of ...

's 22nd Texas Infantry Regiment. He was killed in action at the

Battle of Pleasant Hill The Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9, 1864, in Louisiana formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War, when Union Army, Union forces were attempting to occupy the Louisiana state capital, Shreveport, Louisiana, Shrevepo ...

in Louisiana, April 8, 1864.''Texas Cemeteries''
/ref>

Personal life

Bird Holland is believed to be the father of

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient Milton M. Holland, Texas legislator William H. Holland, and possibly up to five additional children through his relationship with an African-American slave named Matilda who was owned by his brother, plantation owner Spearman Holland. In the 1850s he purchased the freedom of William, Milton, and another brother, and sent them to a school in Ohio run by

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

s, the

Albany Manual Labor Academy Albany, derived from the Gaelic for Scotland, most commonly refers to: * Albany, New York, the capital of the State of New York and largest city of this name * Albany, Western Australia, a port city in the Great Southern region Albany may also ref ...

.Bill Harvey.
Texas Cemeteries: The Resting Places of Famous, Infamous, and Just Plain Interesting Texans
'. University of Texas Press; 1 January 2010 [Retrieved 27 August 2017]. . p. 42–44.Ronald S. Coddington.
African American Faces of the Civil War: An Album
'. JHU Press; 20 August 2012 [Retrieved 27 August 2017]. . p. 155–156.
Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience
'. Oxford University Press; 2005 [Retrieved 27 August 2017]. . p. 223. A few years later, he married Matilda Rust, daughter of William Rust. She died in 1858. They were married less than a year. They had one child, who died as an infant.Hollow Hill
/ref> About a year after his death, his body was returned to Austin, where he was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. His son William and William's mother Matilda are buried in a different part of the same cemetery. Very little is known about Bird Holland outside of official records. The Rust family had possession of some of Holland's personal papers after his death but did not preserve them. A daughter, Eliza, and a son, John, siblings of William and Milton, were included in his will.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Bird 1815 births 1864 deaths Secretaries of state of Texas Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War Members of the Texas House of Representatives Politicians killed in the American Civil War 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature Slave owners killed in the American Civil War