Fredonia Ellsworth Holloway (1867-1920)

Portrait from the History of the Republican Party of Indiana, 1899.

   For today's post, we visit Evansville, Indiana, and one of that city's more oddly named residents--Fredonia Ellsworth Holloway. Mr. Holloway is truly obscure, so much so that a date of death or place of death originally couldn't be found for him. Since discovering his name several months ago (courtesy of an Indiana Legislative roster from 1895), little else has been found regarding his life, although I do get a chuckle out of the fact that his odd first name is also the name of a small town here in this author's home county of Chautauqua, New York.

  Born in Martin County, Indiana on March 23, 1867, Fredonia E. Holloway was the son of the Rev. James B. Holloway and Eleanor Jackman, who had immigrated to Indiana from Ohio some years previously. Research is also inconclusive as to why Holloway received the unusual first name "Fredonia",  as the Holloway family has no connection to the town of Fredonia, New York mentioned in the opening of this article. "Fred" Holloway, as some sources list him, attended school in Martin County and later enrolled at Ft. Worth University in Indiana.

   Following the completion of his education, Hollway began to pursue a career in law, studying in various law offices from 1884 to 1885. He returned to his studies soon a short while later and later became engaged in newspaper work, serving as a reporter on the staff of the Ft. Worth Gazette. In 1888 Holloway journeyed to California where he began attending the University of California. He eventually encountered money troubles and was forced to leave his studies behind, and in 1891 relocated to Chicago where he engaged in real estate. That same year he married Ms. Adelaide Ruth Compton, and it is unknown at this time if any children were born to them.

   Fredonia Holloway relocated to Evansville, Indiana around the time of his marriage and reestablished his interest in journalism, becoming involved with the Evansville Evening Standard and the Evansville Journal. Holloway also began taking an active interest in local politics, winning election as a Republican to the Indiana State House of Representatives in November 1894. 

  Officially taking his seat at the start of the 1895 term, Holloway represented Vanderburgh County during his service, which extended until 1897, and a roster from the session in which he served has been posted below. One should also note that Holloway was one of the youngest legislators in Indiana during the 1895-1897 session, being elected at the age of 27. He was remarked by the History of the Republican Party of Indiana as having an "ability in debate" and "his sound common sense and a few bursts of genuine eloquence on the floor of the house sufficed to attract him very general attention."

From the Indiana legislative composite portrait of 1895-96.

  After leaving the legislature, Holloway took part in a speaking tour of Indiana, stumping for numerous Republican candidates seeking office that year. He was a delegate to the Indiana Republican Convention of 1896-97 and was elected as President of the Indiana State League of Republican Clubs in February of 1898.

  Holloway's later life is also of note, as it is a complete about-face from his earlier political pursuits. In the early 1900s, Holloway left Indiana for Seattle, Washington to practice law. Around 1909 Holloway had a spiritual calling of some sort, and enrolled at the Moody Bible College. He would be ordained as a Congregational minister shortly thereafter and would remove to Pueblo, Colorado, remaining here until 1912. Holloway relocated to Ohio around 1913 and became a minister in the towns of Plymouth and Newark. Holloway returned to Colorado in 1914 to accept a pastor-ship in Denver, remaining here until 1918, when he went overseas to England to serve as a chaplain in a Red Cross Hospital in London. 

  The Congregational Yearbook Volume 43 notes that Holloway returned stateside in 1919, accepting a pastorate at the Pilgrim Mission Church in San Francisco. His stay in California was relatively short, as he succumbed to the effects of Bright's disease on August 15, 1920. Holloway was only 53 years old at the time of his death and was survived by his wife Adelaide, whose birth and death dates are unknown. A burial location for Fredonia E. Holloway is also unknown at this time, and it is presumed that he was interred somewhere in the San Francisco vicinity. 

From Moody's Bible Insitute Monthly, September 1920.