Governor Tho
as M. Holt
Member of flic Ixvsf -known textile manu¬
facturing family in tlie state, lie also gave
!\'ortli Carolina an excellent business ad¬
ministration while chief executive.
EDWIN M. HOLT was a pio¬
neer founder of the textile
industry, as he built the origi¬
nal Alamance Cotton Mill, the first
ever built in that county, but he
lived long enough to see it expand
into an industrial empire. More¬
over, he left seven sons, all of
whom entered the same line of
industry, and “lengthened their
cords and strengthened their
stakes.” Each of these sons became
the fathers of a numerous progeny,
nearly all of whom also became
textile magnates, until the Holts
became so numerous that what had
been but an empire became a tex¬
tile dynasty. There were so many
cotton mills with which the Holts
were associated they were hard
pressed to find fitting names for
them!
Edwin M. Holt, the pioneer, was
the father of seven sons — Alfred
A., Governor Thomas M.. James
Henry, Alexander. William Edwin,
Lynn Banks and Lawrence S.
Three of these sons were old
enough to serve as officers in the
Confderate army. James H. Holt
served as Captain and as Com¬
mandant of the old Military Acad¬
emy at Fayetteville. After the war
he entered the service of the tex¬
tile industry, erected several large
mills, and became the father of six
sons, all of whom in their turn be¬
came textile magnates.
William E. Holt also entered the
Confederate service, but was or¬
dered detached so that he might
serve the government in the manu¬
facture of the cotton cloth so badly
needed as a vital part of supplies
for the army. After the war he also
built a number of textile mills, and
his sons followed in his train. He
was also interested largely in sev¬
eral insurance companies, banks,
and other large business enter¬
prises; and was a director in the
North Carolina Railroad.
Lynn Banks Holt served as a
Lieutenant in the Confederate
army, was wounded and was cap¬
tured. He built a number of cotton
mills; was interested in several
banks and other important business
THE STATE. January 31. 1948
By R. C. LAWRENCE
enterprises and was also a director
in the North Carolina Railroad.
His numerous descendants have
followed him in the same line of
business activity.
Lawrence S. Holt likewise built
cotton mills, and together with his
father and brothers he organized
the Commercial National Bank of
Charlotte. He also was a director of
the North Carolina Railroad and of
the Durham and Southern Rail¬
road. His sons have followed their
father and have been connected
with the textile industry. Lawrence
Holt was the first textile employer
in the South to pay his employees
their wages in cash, as other mills
paid them off either by orders up¬
on their commissary, or in other
ways.
Governor Thomas M. Holt ren¬
dered his State an outstanding
quality of service. He entered the
University in 1849, where he num¬
bered among his associates Zebu-
Ion B. Vance, Alfred M. Waddell.
Thomas Settle, Thomas C. Fuller,
and R. H. Battle — all of these be¬
ing names to conjure with in Caro¬
lina.
The Governor began life as an
associate of his father in conduct¬
ing the operations of the old Ala¬
mance Cotton Mills, and he did not
begin his public service until 1876
when the Democratic party re¬
deemed the State, and when his
schoolmate. Zebulon B. Vance, once
more became Governor. At that
time Holt was elected as State Sen¬
ator. Later he represented Ala¬
mance several terms in the House
of Representatives, and in 1884 was
elected as Speaker of that body.
Four years later he was elected
as Lieutenant Governor on the tick¬
et headed by Daniel G. Fowle, and
upon the death of Governor Fowle,
he of course succeeded to the gov¬
ernorship. During his legislative ca¬
reer he played an important part
in legislation which has meant so
much to the life of our State.
When he was in the Senate, the
system of county government was
remodeled in its entirety, as the
former system had been established
by the regime of the carpetbaggers
and in no way represented popular
rule. He was also an earnest sup¬
porter and advocate of the building
of the Western North Carolina
Railroad, the line from Salisbury
to Asheville; and the Cape Fear
and Yadkin Valley, the line which
ran from Wilmington to Mount
Airy. He was one of the pioneer
supporters of the establishment of
a State Department of Agriculture,
and was a supporter of the policies
of Col. Leonidas L. Polk, when he
became the first head of that de¬
partment.
Great Believer in Education
At a later period he labored long
and earnestly for the establishment
of what is now State College at
Raleigh, and the Woman’s College
at Greensboro, as well as for the
establishment of a state-owned col¬
lege for Negroes at Greensboro. He
was one of the earliest advocates
of the establishment of the School
for the Deaf at Morganton. He was
a consistent advocate of increased
appropriations both for the com¬
mon schools and for our institu¬
tions of higher education.
Perhaps his greatest single
service was connected with the
compromise of the state debt. A
part of the debt was secured by
a pledge and lien upon the state’s
stock in the North Carolina Rail¬
road. Suit had been brought in
the Federal Court to foreclose this
lien, and it now seemed that the
state would lose this valuable as¬
set, as every effort at a compro¬
mise settlement had failed. In this
condition of affairs, Governor Holt,
with a few of his close business
associates, went North and suc¬
ceeding in effecting a settlement
with the creditors and in saving
this most valuable property.
Governor Holt gave what I may
term the ablest business adminis¬
tration which it had enjoyed up
to that time, for he was an out-
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