George Holt (cotton-broker)

George Holt's father, Oliver, had moved from Halifax after impressing the owner of Town Mill in Rochdale with his work ethic and skills as a woollen dyer.

[1][4][5] Durning was a wealthy Liverpool wine and spirit merchant,[6] and through the marriage, George Holt became part of a group of influential Unitarian business people.

[1] Holt and his family worshipped at Renshaw Street Unitarian Chapel, which has been described as "the meeting house for a tightly knit network of Unitarian ship owners and merchants who frequently formed alliances by marriage, met socially, invested in one another's ventures, shared or exchanged practical skills, embarked on philanthropic (especially educational) schemes, and engaged fully in the politics of reform".

[1] In addition, he had a long-term involvement with the city's docks and water committees[7] and was president of the newly formed Liverpool Cotton Brokers' Association in 1842.

The youngest son, Robert Durning Holt, worked in his father's cotton-broking business and became Mayor of Liverpool,[8] while another, Oliver, died in childhood.