"Portrait & Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Chicago:
Chapman Publishing Company, 1903. p. 1495.
 
SAMUEL DOKE HOLT

     The conditions prevalent in Oregon in the early days, though bespeaking
desolation, loneliness and danger, were such as to finely develop the character
of the men who became pioneers. Empty-handed they came into the wilderness and
began the upbuilding of a primitive civilization, courage, honesty and
earnestness of purpose becoming the foundation of this western commonwealth;
advancing steadily with the march of progress unhindered by tradition of pioneer
days; working patiently and perseveringly toward a common end. It is not a
matter of wonder that the present generation pauses to look upon the record of
such lives as those which gave to Oregon the strength and purpose of manhood, in
both youth and maturity, holding in grateful remembrance the pioneers of the
state.
     Occupying a prominent place among the pioneers is the name of Samuel Doke
Holt, who but recently passed from the scenes of his lifelong labors. He came to
Oregon in 1852 and settled in Lane county, where he was identified with
agricultural and stock interests for many years, becoming a power financially
and exerting a wide and lasting influence by the example of a Christian
character, by which he is so well remembered today. He was born in east
Tennessee, near Greenville, the son of Barrett Holt. The father was born near
Richmond, Va., and on attaining manhood removed to Tennessee and thence to
Missouri. The boyhood of Samuel D. Holt was spent upon a mountainous farm in
Tennessee, but when fifteen years old he settled in Andrew county, Mo., where he
entered the quartermaster's department of the United States army and served
throughout the Mexican war and for about a year prior thereto. In the summer of
1848 he drove eight yoke of oxen, assisting in the building of Fort Kearney on
the Platte river. After the close of the war he decided to try his fortunes in
the west, and accordingly crossed the plains with ox-teams, in August of the
same year commencing mining operations on the middle fork of the American river.
This sojourn in California proved profitable, and on his return to Missouri in
January, 1851, via the Isthmus of Panama, he purchased a farm and decided to
remain content in the middle west. The following year, however, he outfitted
with three wagons and a number of loose stock and again crossed the plains, his
destination being the great northwest. He was accompanied by his two brothers,
Benjamin and James E., the former of whom died in Harrisburg, Ore., in 1900,
while the latter, after many years' identification with this state, became a
resident of San Jose, Cal., where he now resides.
     Mr. Holt arrived in Oregon August 29, 1852, and immediately took up a
donation claim of one hundred and sixty, acres in the neighborhood of West
Point, Lane county, and engaged in farming and stock-raising. He met with the
success which follows earnest effort and practical application of knowledge, and
before the passage of many years he was numbered among the representative
citizens of his community. In partnership with his brother, James E., be became
the owner of about three thousand acres of land, which was devoted to an
extensive cultivation of cattle and sheep. After many years a large part of this
land was disposed of and the partnership of the brothers dissolved. At this time
Mr. Holt owned about six hundred acres of land, known as the Joe Smith donation
claim, located three miles north of Coburg. About twenty years prior to his
death he removed to Eugene, from which city he superintended the management of
his agricultural interests.
     The marriage of Mr. Holt united him with a native daughter of the west,
Miss Angeline Wilkins, who was born near West Point, Lane county, in 1849. The
ceremony was performed March 10, 1868, at the home of her father, Mitchell
Wilkins, a pioneer of 1847. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Holt, namely:
Aileen, who died at the age of six months, and Linna. The latter, after
graduating from the Eugene high school, attended the University of Oregon, from
which institution she was graduated in 1891. She married Albert Gaylord, of
Pasadena, Cal. in which city her death occurred in 1898.
     With the death of Mr. Holt, which occurred July 19, 1901, there passed away
one of the truly worthy men of Eugene. Not alone eminent in the practical
demonstration of his financial ability, but occupying a place high in the esteem
of his fellow-men. Mr. Holt attracted to himself that regard which is the
portion of one of his moral worth. No man stood higher in Eugene and no man more
deserved the esteem and confidence of his associates. A Christian beyond the
mere naming, he belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, having been
converted when a mere lad at a camp meeting near his old home in Greenville,
Tenn. In the face of many temptations incident to the wandering life he led and
the trials and dangers of his pioneer venture, he remained true to his
profession of faith. In the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of this city, of
which his wife is also a member, he served for many years on the official board,
and was one of the strong lights of the congregation, an evidence of the love
which he bore those who labored for the cause being manifested in his bequest of
$1,000 to be used by the board of ministerial relief. In his political
convictions Mr. Holt was a Democrat, though he was never radical in his ideas or
professions. In his fraternal relations he was identified with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, while his wife belongs to the Native Daughters of Eugene.
Generous to a fault, broad-minded and public-spirited. Mr. Holt always
contributed to every enterprise which came within his reach, having been
particularly interested in the success of the University of Oregon. Both he and
his brother James gave liberally to that institution, as much as $1,500 at a
time going to increase the financial standing of this college. In addition to
the many acts which the world could witness, Mr. Holt lived an earnest, forceful
life, whose influence will outlast the passage of time and effectually insure
him a place in the hearts of the younger generation.

     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in October 2012 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.