Major Randall Holden Jr. (April 1660 – 13 September 1726) was a colonial Rhode Island politician.

Early life

Holden was born in April 1660 in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

in the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...

. He was the son of Frances ( Dungan) Holden (1632–1696) and

Randall Holden Randall Holden (1692) was an early inhabitant of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one of the original founders of Portsmouth, and one of the co-founders of the town of Warwick. He came to New England from Salisbury, Wilts ...

, co-founder of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

who was one of the signers of the

Portsmouth Compact The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638 that established the settlement of Portsmouth, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island. History The document was written and signed by a group of Christian dissidents who we ...

. His younger brother, Charles Holden, married Catherine Greene (a daughter of Deputy Governor John Greene Jr.), and his younger sister, Susannah Holden, married Benjamin Greene (son of Thomas Greene and grandson of John Greene, an early settler of the

who was one of the 12 original proprietors of Providence and a co-founder of the town of

Career

Holden was a member of the House of Deputies (precursor to Representatives) for Warwick in 1696, 1699, 1700, 1704, 1714 to 1715, and in 1721. From October 1714 to May 1715, he served as Speaker of the House of Deputies. He was Assistant of the Rhode Island Colony (essentially the

Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the Assembly) from 1705 to 1713 and from 1715 to 1725. In 1706, he was appointed Major for the Main and was a member of the commission that determined the border with

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Personal life

On 27 January 1686/7, Holden was married to Bethiah Waterman (1664–1742), a daughter of Nathaniel Waterman and Susanna ( Carder) Waterman. Her grandfather, Richard Waterman, was one of the original proprietors of

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * John Holden (1687–1749) * Wait Holden (b. 1690), who died young. * Susanna Holden (1692–1745), who died unmarried. * Randall Holden III (1694–1766), who married Rose Wickes, daughter of John Wickes and Sarah ( Gorton) Wickes (granddaughter of

Samuel Gorton Samuel Gorton (1593–1677) was an early settler and civic leader of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and President of the towns of Providence and Warwick. He had strong religious beliefs which differed from Puritan theol ...

) in 1724. * Wait Holden (1696–), who married her cousin William Holden in 1721. * Mary Holden (1699–1738), who married Capt. Thomas Rice. * Frances Holden (1701–1732), who married Capt. John Low, son of Anthony Low and Mary ( Arnold) Low. Holden died in Warwick on 13 September 1726.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Randall 1660 births 1726 deaths American people of English descent People from Warwick, Rhode Island People from colonial Rhode Island Speakers of the Rhode Island House of Deputies