MSS 764 William C. Holgate Papers

              MSS 764
William C. Holgate Papers
1 / 2 cubic foot
Standard inventory
Collection Synopsis
Provenance: The Ohio H i s t o r i c a l Society acquired the William C.
Holgate Papers as a g i f t of Mrs. Holgate Harley, Defiance, Ohio,
in 1939. ~ a r j o r i eJ . Myers processed the c o l l e c t i o n in April 1 9 8 2 .
Property r i g h t s : The Ohio H i s t o r i c a l Society owns the property
r i g h t s t o t h i s c o l l e c t i o n .
Copyrights: Copyrights have - not been dedicated t o t h e public.
Consideration of the requirements of copyright is the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
of t h e author and publisher.
Access: This c o l l e c t i o n is open under the r u l e s and regulations of
the Ohio H i s t o r i c a l Society.
C i t a t i o n : Researchers a r e requested t o c i t e c o l l e c t i o n name, collec-t
i o n number, and the Ohio H i s t o r i c a l Socity in a l l footnote and
bibliographic references.
Biographical sketch: William Curtis Holgate, son of C u r t i s and
Alvira Prentice Holgate, was born on November 23, 1814, i n Burlington,
Vermont. He traveled t o Ohio with h i s f a t h e r in May 1835, and
became a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1838.
Holgate was appointed t o various l e g a l p o s i t i o n s in Williams County
but gained n o t o r i e t y when he successfully defended h i s p e t i t i o n f o r
t h e c r e a t i o n of Defiance County ( 1845). He continued t o support
Defiance County by helping finance r a i l r o a d s , turnpikes, and other
town improvements. In 1864, Holgate and Horace Sessions advanced
money t o the Defiance Female Seminary which secured its deed and kept
the school open. He married Mary Hoelrich ( d. 1865) i n 1851; they
had two c h i l d r e n , W. C u r t i s and Fannie Maud. Holgate was a member
of the Presbyterian Church, helped organize the Defiance County Agri-c
u l t u r a l Society, and served on many c i v i c organizations. He died
in 1888.
Sources: History of Defiance County ( Warner, Beers, & Co., 1883:
Chicago), p. 239- 242; Louis A. Simonis, Maumee River, 1835 ( The
Defiance County Historical Society, 1 9 7 9 : Defiance, OH.)
Scope and content: The William C. Holgate papers date from 1846 t o
1888 and occupy one- half cubic foot. The papers c o n s i s t of postal
cards and account books which h i g h l i g h t Holgate's various business
and personal a c t i v i t i e s .
The Holgate p o s t a l cards date from 1875 t o 1888 and include cards of
William C. and h i s son W. Curtis Holgate. The postal cards of
William Holgate concern business t r a n s a c t i o n s primarily l e g a l , prop-e
r t y , timber, and public works ( d i t c h e s ) ; f i n a n c i a l accounting for
b i l l s , bank statements, and taxes; personal a f f a i r s including book
purchases, meeting notices, and family a c t i v i t i e s ; and general
communications such as advertisements, appointments, and acknowledg-ments.
Included are many cardg r e l a t i n g ' e o the e s t a t e of Horace
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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