Ben Holladay.
Benjamin Holladay—or, as he always signd his name, "Ben Holladay," dropping the last two syllables—was born in Kentucky in 1826, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His parents were tillers of the soil, and young Ben was brought up to the same pursuit. Quite early in his life his parents went to Missouri, but did not live long thereafter; hence the young man was thrown out upon the world to shift for himself. He was a likely young fellow and had the quality of making friends wherever he went, and was recognized as an indefatigable "rustler," abuunding in animal spirits, and pushing with great vigor any enterprise which he undertook to promote. He was married when about twenty years old, and settled down in Boonville, Mo., it is believed, and opened a little country store. Through the influence of friends he secured the appointment of postmaster by President Polk, and thus managed to "get on" fairly well until about 1847, when his home, including his store—his family lived in rooms over the store—was destroyed by fire, throwing him penniless upon the world with a wife and two children. The late John C. Bell, an honored Oregon pioneer of 1850, was a business man of the same town at that time, and started out at once after the calamity, and very quickly secured $500.00 and offered it to Mr. Holladay, in order to aid him to supply the necessities of life. This he refused point blank, saying: "I'm no blankety-blank pauper." Mr. Bell urged him most strongly to take the proffered sum, on account of his wife and children: that they were in distress, and that the amount tendered was not given because he was looked upon as a pauper, but as an evidence of the esteem in which he was held by his neighbors. But he refused the money in spite of everything.
Not long after this event he managed to secure contracts, through the influence of Mr. Bell, who was well known both in Kentucky and Missouri, to supply the Government with beef. In this way Mr. Holladay accumulated money at a rapid rate, and when the great Overland Stage Line, which was originated by Mr. William H. Russell, of New York, about 1859-1860, and carried on for a year or so by Messrs. Russell Majors & Waddell, failed in the year 1862, he, as chief creditor, took possession of the line. Mr. Holladay improved and extended it, until it reached Salt Lake City, a distance of twelve hundred and fifty miles from Atchison, its starting point. The total mileage of Mr. Holaday's stage lines, including all branches, was two thousand seven hundred and sixty miles. It required six thousand horses and two hundred and fifty Concord coaches, besides a small army of men, to handle the business. For carrying the mails throughout the region traversed by his stages, Mr. Holladay received $650,000.00 per year. In addition to this, Mr. Holladay had steamship lines up and down the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Alaska, and had many trusty lieutenants to transact his business. In 1865 he was a resident of New York City and was reputed by good authorities there to be worth easily $5,000,000.00
Mr. Holladay died at St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland, Or., July 8, 1887, and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery on July 11. His second wife and two children survived him.
—GEO. H. HIMES.
