HOLT, George W. (1812-1877) and Elizabeth (c. 1815-after 1880)

Described by James White in 1849 as “a man who has stood like a pillar in all the truth since 1843, and a powerful preacher of the truth,” George W. Holt was first mentioned as a Sabbathkeeper in 1848. During the 1850s and early 1860s Holt preached widely and effectively in New England and the Midwest.1EGWLM 847.2

George Holt was close to Ellen and James White during the early years, traveling and preaching with them on many occasions. Nevertheless, he seemed to have become increasingly estranged from the Whites. Ellen White wrote of several vision-based messages of reproof that she conveyed to Holt regarding his “ungovernable” family members who “were a source of trouble and vexation everywhere they lived” and who undercut Holt's influence as an evangelist. However, “instead of receiving” the vision “and acting on the light God had given him, his feelings rebelled against it … [and] he did not reform.” A crisis came in 1858 when Holt began actively to “stir up wrong feelings” among the believers in Ohio, saying that “he believed the visions, but that … [Ellen White] was influenced by others in writing them.” Although he wrote a confession, published in the Review in 1861, Holt did not engage in public ministry during the last 14 years of his life.1EGWLM 847.3

See: Obituary: “Geo. W. Holt,” Review, Feb. 21, 1878, p. 63; James White to “Brother Bowles,” Oct. 17, 1849; James White to “My Dear Brother,” July 2, 1848; search term “Holt” in Words of the Pioneers; Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Early Years, pp. 434-437; Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pp. 234-235; Ms 8, 1863 (May); G. W. Holt, “From Bro. Holt,” Review, May 14, 1861, p. 207.1EGWLM 847.4