William Sanford Holman was born in Fayette County, Kentucky, on 1816 April 12, a son of Isaac (1775-1835) and Anne Wigglesworth (1783-1841) Holman. A veteran of the War of 1812 and an attorney, Isaac Holman served as a Kentucky legislator and Tennessee state senator.
Sanford Holman moved with his family to Lincoln County, Tennessee, around 1818. A shortage of money and a resulting credit crisis in that state in 1834 prompted the Holman family to move to San Augustine County, Texas, in three groups between 1834 October and 1835 March. The family soon became prominent in the area, with Sanford’s brother, William W. (1806-1873), representing San Augustine in the first Congress of the Republic of Texas. Another brother, James Saunders Holman (1804-1867), served as the first mayor of Houston after it was incorporated in 1837.
Sanford Holman served in the Texan army during the Texas Revolution and was a member of Captain William Kimbro's "San Augustine Company" at the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1842 September, President Sam Houston appointed Holman as Customs Collector for the San Augustine District. Owing the government more than $2,600, he was removed from office by 1843 July.
Sanford Holman married Clementine Cartwright (1819-1847) in San Augustine on 1838 January 14. The couple had two children, Annie (1839-1923), who married Richard Fendall Slaughter (1829-1904), and William Sanford, Jr.
Sanford Holman died in San Augustine on 1843 December 23. His brother William W. Holman and his widow Clementine were named administrators of his estate the following month.
Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Dixon, Sam Houston, and Louis Wiltz Kemp.
Holman, Dixon W. "James Sanders Holman."
Holman, Dixon W. "William W. Holman."
Ingmire, Frances Terry, compiler.
Noble, Harry P., Jr.
San Augustine Public Library.
The collection contains legal documents recording land transactions and claims against the Sanford Holman estate.
No restrictions. The collection is open for research.
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[Identification of item], Sanford Holman Papers, 1839-1845, Doc 6176, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Gift of Kevin R. Young, 1979 July and 1980 January.
Processed by Warren Stricker, 1996 July.
Finding aid edited by Tom D'Amore, 2011 January.
Finding aid edited and encoded by Caitlin Donnelly, 2011 January.