James Sanders Holman (February 7, 1804 – December 8, 1867) was a soldier, entrepreneur, and the first mayor of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Early life

Holman was born in

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

to Isaac and Polly Anne (Wiggleworth) Holman on February, 7, 1804. When he was about 13 years old, his family moved to Lincoln County, Tennessee. He married a first cousin Martha Wilson Holaman just after he turned 18 years old. He had at least 8 children.

Career

Holman first arrived in Texas in 1834. His brother followed him to San Augustine, Texas, with several family members joining them the next year. Holman participated in the Texan Revolution, and fought in the Siege of Bexar. In 1836, the Allen brothers Augustus Chapman and John Kirby hired Holman as a real estate agent for the paper town of Houston. His signature appears on the city's earliest known map, and also on many early deeds, as he both advertised and sold Houston lots. Late in 1836, Holman organized the Texas Railroad, Navigation, and Banking Company with Augustus Chapman Allen and several others. The First Congress of 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 ...

granted the corporation a charter to construct canals and railroads, and to establish a bank after accumulating stock subscriptions of $1 million. The company, however, did not survive sustained political attacks by

Anson Jones Anson Jones (January 20, 1798 – January 9, 1858) was an American medical doctor, businessman, member of Congress, and the fourth and last president of the Republic of Texas. Early life Jones was born on January 20, 1798, in Great Barri ...

and the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...

. Holman served as clerk for

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

, and while serving in this position, he assisted in bringing an incorporation bill for Houston in the Texas Congress. On June 5, 1837, the Republic of Texas granted a municipal charter to Houston. In a three-way contest for mayor, Holman beat Francis Lubbock and Thomas J. Ward, 12-11-10. After he was elected in August 1837, her served for just three months. After a failed campaign to gain a seat in congress in 1838, he was elected as district clerk of Harris County and served from February 1839 to April 1841. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he served on the Texas State Military Board from 1864 to 1865, a body established to help the Confederacy trade with foreign powers in spite of a blockade from the Union. After the war, he supervised construction of the Houston and Texas Central Railway.

Death and legacy

Holman succumbed to yellow fever in

Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city in and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of C ...

on December 8, 1867. The city of Houston named Holman Avenue after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, James Sanders 1804 births 1867 deaths Mayors of Houston People from Harrison County, Kentucky People from San Augustine, Texas Republic of Texas politicians Confederate States of America diplomats American businesspeople