Ora Holman Helped Hunt Down John Wilkes Booth, Turns 91-This Day In Norwood History-May 30, 1922

Civil War Veteran Ora Holman Marks 91 Years

At 183 Walpole Street lived one of Norwood’s most remarkable residents — Ora Holman, the town’s oldest surviving Civil War veteran, who had just celebrated his 91st birthday. His long life spanned from the era of horse‑drawn wagons to the modern age, and his personal history connected Norwood directly to some of the most dramatic moments in the nation’s past.

Holman enlisted as a young man in the 2nd New Hampshire Cavalry, a regiment that saw hard service in the final years of the Civil War. He later became an active member of Norwood’s George K. Bird Post, G.A.R., and had previously served as commander of the Charlestown Post, reflecting decades of involvement in veterans’ affairs and community life.

One of the most striking episodes of his service came in April 1865. Holman was among the cavalrymen ordered out on a forced night ride — a 100‑mile pursuit conducted before the troopers even knew their mission. Only later did they learn they had been sent to join the massive manhunt for John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. The memory of that ride, undertaken in darkness and uncertainty, remained vivid to him more than half a century later.

Beyond his wartime service, Holman was also known as one of the oldest living teamsters in Boston. In his working years he hauled heavy loads throughout the city, including nearly all the cement used in constructing the old Boston Theatre, a landmark of its era. His reputation as a dependable teamster was well‑established long before motor trucks replaced horse‑drawn carts.

Holman’s home life was equally notable. He was part of four generations living under one roof, a rarity even in his time. He resided with his son, Thomas F. Holman, while in the adjoining part of the house lived his grandson, Thomas O. Holman, and his great‑grandson, Thomas F. Holman II. The continuity of the family name — four Thomases across four generations — was a point of pride and a living testament to the family’s deep Norwood roots.

As he entered his ninety‑first year, Ora Holman stood as a living bridge between eras: a cavalryman who had ridden through the night at the end of the Civil War, a Boston teamster from the age of cobblestones and draft horses, and a patriarch whose family spanned nearly a century of Norwood history. His life story offered the town a rare and tangible link to the nation’s past.

30 May 1922, Tue The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts)

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