Jacob W. Holt

Who is Jacob W. Holt?

Jacob W. Holt, was an early to mid 19th century carpenter and builder-architect of Warrenton, North Carolina. Some twenty or more buildings are known to have been built by him or are attributed to him and his workshop by local tradition or their distinctive style. Some of his work includes among others Long Grass Plantation, Eureka near Baskerville, Virginia, Shadow Lawn at Chase City, Virginia, buildings at Peace College, and the John Watson House and possibly the house known as Annefield in Charlotte County, Virginia.

Jacob W. Holt was born March 30, 1811 in Prince Edward County, Virginia to David Holt and Elizabeth McGehee of Prince Edward County, Virginia. By the time Jacob was in his middle teens, both parents had died, leaving him and his three siblings in the care of their uncle John MeGehee. It is thought that Jacob and his brother Thomas apprenticed with area carpenter William A. Howard during this time. In 1838, Jacob married Aurelia Phillips, and two years later, was documented as controlling the largest non-farming cadre of laborers in the county, with nineteen free men and twenty nine male slaves.