The Supreme Court of West Virginia. to test the extent of Judge Green's abstrac tion, pointed to a spot on the floor as a mat ter of great interest, but still continued the discussion; he finally got on the floor and was followed by Judge Green. Judge Snyder then crawled under the bed and was closely followed by Judge Green, the discussion still continuing. Finally as Judge Green crawled out from the other side of the bed he ex losopher, claimed as" did I have Archimedes, found it, Ithe have ancient found phi. it," referring to the point in the cause, and not to what was supposed to have been lost on the floor. On the 27th day of April, 1831, Judge Holt was born in Parkersburg, Virginia. He was the son of Jonathan and Eliza Holt (Wil son). The family of Judge Holt came from England in colonial days, and settled in the neighborhood of Norfolk, Virginia, where his grandfather John Holt was born, and who in 1794 moved to and settled in the Monongahela Valley. Judge Holt's ancestors on the mother's side came from New England and the north of burg, Ireland, and below settling there at on Fort the Pitt, Ohionow River, Pittsat the close of the Revolution. His father was a man of great natural ability and was edu cated as a physician and afterwards in the law, in both of which professions, so long as he followed them, he succeeded. From him the judge inherited many of his best quali ties, and to him he bore a very marked re semblance. He was educated in the common and se lect schools of the day and by private tutors; afterwards was a student at Rector College for two years. From there he went to the University of Virginia where he attended two sessions, the session of 1849—50 and that of 1850-51. The method of teaching in the University of Virginia is by different schools, a diploma being issued in each sep arate school. During the first year at the University of Virginia Judge Holt received diplomas in five different schools; at the end
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of the second year in four other different schools, a record that has been unsurpassed by none, and equalled by few. After graduating at the University he taught for two years and then studied law with Ben jamin W. Byrne, after which he began the practice at Sutton, in Braxton County, and in this and adjoining counties he practised law for many years. He,duringthe Rebellion, joined the South, and in 1862 was captured and confined in prison at Camp Chase, where he remained for about one year. After being liberated he joined what is known as " Jenkins's Brigade," then at Salem, Virginia, afterward commanded by General McCausland, where he served un til April, 1865. He was a man above medium size, had a large head and a broad, projecting forehead, and was of a studious and thoughtful turn of mind. Both the imaginative and practical were predominant qualities in his charac ter; from the one he was able to foresee the future material development of the natural resources of our State; by reason of the other he invested largely in mineral and tim ber lands from which he acquired a compe tence. At Sutton, in Braxton County, he married Mary A., daughter of John Byrne. In the Constitutional Convention of 1872 he was a member, and was on the committees on judiciary and land titles, and discharged the duties with fidelity and marked ability. In 1872 he was elected judge of the Cir cuit Court and served in this capacity in two different circuits for sixteen years, declining re-election. From 1874 up until January 7, 1898, the time of his death, his home was in Lewisburg, Greenbriar County. He gave atten tion to his large landed interests and to other enterprises in which he was engaged. November 8, 1890, he was appointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court for the unexpired term of Judge Adam C. Snyder, and in 1892, that being the date of the next
