THOMAS HOLDER

Sacramento County

Biographies

THOMAS HOLDER

THOMAS HOLDER, proprietor of the City Hotel, Sacramento, is a native of England, born at Bath, Somersetshire, on the 28th day of August, 1832, his parents being John and Ann (Challenger) Holder. The name originates from the Tower Holders of London (time of the great fire of 1666). Thomas Holder was reared and educated at Bath, and served two years at the confectionery business. He then went to London, where he was for four years under the noted Sawyer, of the Reform Club. He then went to Australia, under engagement with the Melbourne Club, of Melbourne, where he was given charge, though only twenty years of age. In the meantime his father, who was on his way to Australia, went down with the George Tayleur in the Irish Channel, and our subject went back to England to take his mother to Australia. He took her to Geelong, Victoria, where he opened a large confectionery establishment. There his mother died. He closed out the business, and accepted a commission to travel in the interests of the Government. During his service in this capacity he had some adventures which he will never forget. He started with the ill-fated Burke and Wills’ scientific expeditions in 1860, to explore the continent of Australia in a line from its southern to its northern borders. When they arrived at the Barcoo, on Cooper Creek, a depot was formed, and Mr. Holder and others were left there, while Robert O’Hara Burke, William John Wills (of the Melbourne Observatory) and two others, named Gray and King, proceeded on across the desert, leaving the rest, on the 16th of December, taking a horse and six camels. They accomplished their task, and started back. Gray died on the way, on the 16th of April. Five days later the others reached the Barcoo. But as misfortune would have it, they had been given up for lost by Mr. Holder, and those with him, who had taken their departure only a few hours before the three reached there. They wandered about; Burke and Wills died of starvation, and King fell in with some friendly blacks, with whom he was found by a relief expedition. On another occasion Mr. Holder had a terrible experience on the west coast of New Zealand. With a party of sixty he was landed at Bruce’s Bay by the ship William Misken, for the purpose of exploring and prospecting. There is a promontory there, running well out into the sea, and this was supposed to be the end of the gold diggings. They met with disaster in many respects. Most of them started to return by land, but that way there were nine snow rivers to cross. A whale boat had been left them, and Mr. Holder and eight others took the boat, and four out of that number manned it. They ran out of provisions and water, and were eight days and nine nights at sea in the open boat, when they were finally picked up by the steamer “Claude Hamilton,” off Cape Foulweather, and taken to Nelson. Mr. Holder then engaged in trading between Nelson and Okitiki. He was so engaged for about five months when he went to Melbourne, and was then called to Sydney to take the position of manager of the Australian Club. He held that position for six years, and gave it up to take the Pier Hotel at Manley Beach, nine miles from Sydney. When he closed there he left Australia with the intention of visiting England with his wife and family, but arriving at San Francisco concluded to remain there. He opened the City Bouffe on Kearny street, one of the greatest oyster-houses and restaurants of the day. He next went to Portland, Oregon, and opened the Maison Dore, but afterward returned to San Francisco, and opened the large London and Glasgow pie establishment, wholesale and retail, on Valencia street, where he himself sold as high as 1,000 pies on the street per night. He next leased the Neptune Gardens, Alameda, from the railroad company, and conducted them one season. Following this, in 1886, he came to Sacramento, and opened the City Hotel and had it ready for the accommodation of fair visitors, a big undertaking, for the small amount of time he had. His great experience as a caterer gives him an immense advantage in the operation of a hotel, and he has built up the trade of his house from nothing to its present large proportions. Mr. Holder was married in Australia, April 11, 1871, to Miss Minnie Shay, a native of Australia. They have had eight children, of whom four are living, viz: Thomas Percival, Ernest John, Ellen Louise, and William Oscar. Mr. Holder is an enterprising man, and in his business has made a name for himself in more than one country. He has had an eventful life, and one well worth the writing.

Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.

Davis, Hon. Win. J., An Illustrated History of Sacramento County, California. Pages 721-722. Lewis Publishing Company. 1890.