Ben Holladay
American businessman (1819–1887) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Benjamin Holladay (October 14, 1819 – July 8, 1887)[1] was an American transportation businessman responsible for creating the Overland Stage to California during the height of the 1849 California Gold Rush. He created a stagecoach empire and is known in history as the "Stagecoach King".
Ben Holladay | |
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Born | Benjamin Holladay (1819-10-14)October 14, 1819 |
Died | July 8, 1887(1887-07-08) (aged 67) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Spouses | Notley Ann Calvert
(m. 1839; died 1873)Lydia Esther Campbell
(m. 1849) |
A native of Kentucky, he also was hired as a private courier to General Alexander Doniphan of Missouri. Doniphan refused point-blank to carry out orders to kill the Mormons during the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. Through Holladay's friendship with Brigham Young, Holladay established a profitable freighting contract to Salt Lake City.[citation needed] His transportation empire later included steamships and railroads in Oregon.