This very numerous family was planted in New England by Richard Holden, born in England, settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1634. The family were prominent in the settlement of Ipswich, Watertown and Shirley, Massachusetts, and were possessed of a goodly share of the common lands. The family spread rapidly and were soon settlers of New York state. A branch settled in Ulster county, New York, and another in Chemung county. It is from the latter family that Clarence Edgar Holden descends.
(I) The first settler in Chemung county, New York, of this name, was Josiah Holden, died in Aurora, Illinois. He married and had a son William and a daughter Mary.
(II) William, son of Josiah Holden, the Chemung county ancestor, was born November, 1840, in Chemung county, New York, near the city of Elmira. He was a lad of thirteen when his father died. His education was obtained in the public schools of Aurora, Illinois, and while still young went to Chicago, Illinois, where he attended school for a time. He was still very young when he was indentured to a bank for a term of years. He served faithfully until the outbreak of the civil war, when he left the bank without notice and enlisted in a Detroit regiment. He made an enviable record as a soldier, serving throughout the war and participating in the battles of Fort Donaldson, Shiloh, Vicksburg and Chickamauga, besides innumerable skirmishes and minor engagements. He served in the Army of the Tennessee under the different commanders of the army, including the entire connection of General Grant with that army, and later under General Thomas. After the war he returned to New York state, and settled in Ripley, where he engaged in carpenter work until his death, May 25, 1890. He married, December 12, 1867, Cordelia, daughter of Lewis and Polly (Baker) Cole. Children:
- Clarence Edgar, see forward;
- Charles Arthur, born March 1, 1873.
(III) Captain Clarence Edgar Holden, eldest son of William and Cordelia (Cole) Holden, was born at Ripley, Chautauqua county, New York, July 28, 1869. He was educated in the common and high schools of North East, Pennsylvania, and Oswego, New York. In 1889 he located in Whitehall, New York, where he entered the employ of the Lake Champlain Transportation Company, engaged in lake and canal transportation. He passed through all grades of promotion until he reached his present position of president of the company in 1904. He has proved an efficient and energetic official, worthily filling all positions. He is greatly interested in the State National Guard, in which he enlisted in 1900 and served as captain of Company I, Second Regiment of Infantry until his resignation, November 1, 1910. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a highly-regarded citizen of Whitehall. In political matters he is a Republican. He married, November 10, 1890, Eva M., daughter of Charles and Margaret (Hardinger) Baker, of Ripley, New York. Children:
- Margaret Delia, born December 23, 1891, married William H. Murray, and resides in Scranton, Pennsylvania;
- Harriet Helen, November 8, 1903.