William H. Holland (politician)

He was born into slavery in Marshall, Texas in 1841, the child of Captain Bird Holland and a slave named Matilda.

At some time during the 1850s, his father purchased his freedom along with his two brothers and sent them to attend the Albany Manual Labor University, an abolitionist-run school in Athens County, Ohio.

[1] This college, despite its name, had a rigorous academic curriculum, but students earned part of their tuition by learning a trade.

After the war ended, he returned to Texas where he taught school and became active in the Republican Party.

He later submitted a memorandum to the Texas legislature leading to the establishment of a school, the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute for Colored Youth; he was appointed by the governor as its first Superintendent.