Hart Benton Holton

Hart Benton Holton (October 13, 1835 – January 4, 1907) was an American politician from Maryland. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives and as a member of the Maryland Senate.

Early life Hart Benton Holton was born on October 13, 1835, near Elkton, Maryland, to Mary (née Alexander) and John Holton. His father emigrated from Ireland and his mother emigrated from Scotland. He attended common schools, including Blair High School in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He also attended Hopewell Academy of Chester, Pennsylvania.

Career Holton moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1857 and taught school in Alberton, Maryland, from 1857 to 1873. He was also affiliated with the cotton manufacturing industry and mills in Alberton and was employed by James S. Gary.

Holton was a Republican. During the Civil War, he advocated for the Union cause. He served as a Unconditional Union member of the Maryland Senate, representing Howard County, from 1862 to 1867. He advocated for the passage of the charter of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad and the State Agricultural Association. He later moved to Woodlawn, Maryland in 1873, where he engaged in the raising of blooded horses. He was elected from the fifth district of Maryland as a Republican to the Forty-eighth Congress, and served from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885. In 1883, he ran as the Republican nominee for the governorship of Maryland, but lost to Robert Milligan McLane. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1884 to the Forty-ninth Congress and retired from public life, at which point he took up an interest in raising horses.

Personal life Holton married Pamelia A. Gary, daughter of James S. Gary and sister of Postmaster General James Albert Gary, on August 27, 1861. In 1876, he purchased his Meadows home on Dogwood Road near Woodlawn. He purchased the stallion Orange Blossom for and took care of it on his property. He later purchased the stallion Bradstreet. He was a member of the Gentlemen's Driving Club and served as a judge at club races.

Holton died of a heart ailment at his Meadows home in Woodlawn on January 4, 1907. He was interred in Loudon Park Cemetery of Baltimore, Maryland.