Judge Jesse Lynch Holman Sr.
Birth: 24 Oct 1784 Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky, USA
Death: 28 Mar 1842 (aged 57) Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana, USA
Burial: River View Cemetery, Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana, USA
Plot: Section J, lot # 11 & 14, Gr 1, Bk B, pg 411, permit # 2044
Memorial #: 14893287
Bio: Indiana Supreme Court Justice, Religious Figure. He received notoriety for being a pioneer of the Territory of Indiana. His father was killed by Indians while surveying land leaving him, as a very young child, and his widowed mother in the frontier. After attending local schools, he studied law under Henry Clay in Lexington, Kentucky. He had a private law practice in Carollton, Kentucky, where he married Elizabeth Masterson. He moved to Indiana Territory after 1810 and was appointed prosecuting attorney of Dearborn County, Indiana by Governor William Henry Harrison in 1811. He built "Varaestau," the family's two-story, Greek Revival style brick and frame dwelling on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River, and it was known as "Holeman Hill." The estate was willed to his oldest daughter, Emerine Holman Hamilton, and son-in-law, Allan. In 2004, the Indiana Landmarks and Historical Preservation received this 116-acre property from a private source and it has been fully restored. In 1973 the home was placed on the National Register of Historical Places. In 1814 he represented the county in the territorial legislature, was president of the legislative council, and in the same year, was appointed by Governor Posey to the position of Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit of the territory. On the admission of the State of Indiana to the Union, he was appointed by Governor Jonathon Jennings to be one of three Supreme Court Judges for Indiana, serving on the bench for fourteen years. Within the first year of serving on the supreme court, he overturned a lower court's ruling in the Lasselle v. State case. His decision was "The framers of our constitution intended a total and entire prohibition of slavery in this State; and we can conceive of no form of words in which that intention could have been more clearly stated." This meant no slaves in the State of Indiana. He and his son had been part of writing the Indiana constitution. He was known to purchase slaves, bring them to Indiana, and legally free them. In 1831 he was defeated as a candidate for the office of United States Senator by one vote to John Tipton. In 1834 he was appointed by President Andrew Jackson as judge for the district of Indiana, holding that office until his death. He made blueprints for the city of Aurora. Being a teacher for a short period, in 1808 he published a novel dealing with the lack of an education, "The Prisoner of Niagra." Having a long-time interest in education, he served as superintendent for Dearborn County schools from 1832 to 1834. Besides being part of the founding of the University of Indiana in 1820, he was active in founding in 1834 the Baptist Manual Labor Institute, which is now Franklin College, a private liberal arts college. In 1834 he became an ordained minister in the Baptist Church, serving on various committees including the Indiana Baptist Convention. He wrote the lyrics to two Christian hymns, "Ho! All Ye Sons of Sin and Woe" and "Lord, in Thy Presence Here We Meet." His son, William Steel Holman, served in the United States Congress for many years. After "Veraestau" was no longer owned by the Holman family, which was in the early 1930s, his and other family members' remains were moved from their original grave sites at "Veraestau" to the Holman family plot at River View Cemetery. His biography, "Jesse Lynch Holman: Pioneer Hoosier" by I. George Blake was published in 1940 and is still available.
Family Members
Spouse
Elizabeth Masterson Holman 1786-1847
Children
Emerine Jane Holman Hamilton 1810-1889
Sarah Eleanor Holman 1813-1813
Eliza Ann Holman Foulk 1814-1845
Richard Henry Holman 1817-1841
Lucy Mildred Holman Curtis 1819-1912
William Steel Holman 1822-1897
Mary Ann Holman Stratton 1824-1903
Eleanor Masterson Holman 1827-1828
Jesse Lynch Holman 1830-1883
Created by: Pete Nocks (46823011)
Added: 11 Jul 2006
URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14893287/jesse-lynch-holman
Citation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14893287/jesse-lynch-holman: accessed 03 September 2022), memorial page for Judge Jesse Lynch Holman Sr. (24 Oct 1784–28 Mar 1842), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14893287, citing River View Cemetery, Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana, USA; Maintained by Pete Nocks (contributor 46823011) .
