James Bernard Holohan (June 19, 1871 – January 31, 1947) was an American politician and former warden of the

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated area, unincorporated place ...

who served on the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

from 1909 to 1913 and from 1937 to 1941.

Early life and education

Holohan was born in

Watsonville, California Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and ...

to Richard and Catherine Lynch Holohah, both immigrants from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. When he was a teenager, both of his parents died, and he raised his three brothers and his sister while taking care of the family's ranch. In 1892, he started work as an unpaid clerk of a district school board.

Political career

In 1904, Holohan ran for

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

for the 54th district, but lost to George C. Cleveland. Four years later, in 1908, he ran for

for the 29th district, defeating fellow Democrat Hall C. Ross with a plurality of the vote. During his first term, he introduced Act 291, which adopted the

Flag of California The Bear Flag is the US state flags, official flag of the U.S. state of California. The precursor of the flag was first flown during the 1846 California Republic#Bear Flag Revolt, Bear Flag Revolt and was also known as the Bear Flag. A predec ...

. In 1912, he ran for

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, challenging incumbent Everis A. Hayes but losing in the election. He retired after his first term to be appointed as

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

of the

Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, De ...

on January 13, 1914, by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

. In 1936, after leaving his post as warden of San Quentin State Prison, he was drafted by supporters to run for State Senate again. That year, he defeated incumbent Bert B. Snyder and served for a second term. After serving the term, he retired once more in 1941.

Career as US Marshall, Sheriff and Prison Warden

On April 23, 1918, Holohan was on duty as a US Marshall in a San Francisco courtroom at the end of a lengthy trial of thirty-two persons charged with conspiracy to foment revolution in India (part of what was known as the Hindu-German conspiracy). As the jury was sent out to consider its verdict, Ram Singh and Ram Chandra (two codefendants in the trial) rose to their feet. Singh raised a revolver and fired three shots at Chandra, fatally wounding him. Holohan, who was on the other side of the courtroom, pulled his revolver and fired a single shot over the heads of the attorneys, killing Singh instantly. In 1924, Holohan retired as a US Marshal and was appointed as Sheriff of Santa Cruz County a year later, winning a full term in 1926. On September 1, 1927,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

C. C. Young appointed Holohan as the warden of the

, later being re-appointed by

James Rolph James "Sunny Jim" Rolph Jr. (August 23, 1869 – June 2, 1934) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to a single term as the 27th governor of California from January 6, 1931, until his death on June 2, 19 ...

. As warden, he oversaw 50 executions during his tenure and later led California to adopt the

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History Donatie ...

as a method of execution, replacing the

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

, while a State Senator. In 1936, four convicts broke into Holohan's home where a meeting was taking place, beating up Holohan and taking four of the board members hostage. That same year, he resigned due to ill health and the injuries sustained in the incident. He was gifted a scroll signed by more than 5,000 prisoners wishing him well.

Personal life

Holohan married Adeline V. Fraiser in 1902, with the two having a daughter, Josephine Frasier Holohan, on August 17, 1903. He died at his home in Watsonville on January 31, 1947.

References

External links

JoinCalifornia biography"Remembering "Big Jim" Holohan" by Betty Lewis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holohan, James B. 1871 births 1947 deaths Democratic Party California state senators San Quentin State Prison wardens People from Watsonville, California 20th-century members of the California State Legislature