John Holt (1721 – January 30, 1784) was a Colonial American newspaper publisher and the Mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia.
John Holt was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1721, his parents being David and Margaret Dibnall Holt. He married Elizabeth Hunter, the daughter of an associate, and had at least two children: Elizabeth, born on April 19, 1746, and John, born in July 1748.
For business purposes, Holt built a "new store" in Williamsburg on Duke of Gloucester Street in about 1745. He later sold the store in 1754 to William Waters, who owned the store adjacent to his. Six years later, Waters sold it Holt's younger brother William.
He was elected mayor of Williamsburg on November 30, 1752, and served for one term, from 1753 to 1754. After his term as mayor was up, he moved to New York City. Shortly thereafter, he became postmaster of New Haven, Connecticut.
On January 1, 1755, James Parker and John Holt published the first newspaper in Connecticut, called The Connecticut Gazette.
In 1760, he moved back to New York City, and was associated with the newspaper The New York Gazette. He died in New York City in 1784 and was buried in the church yard of St. Paul's Chapel, where his grave is still visible.
His son John Hunter Holt was a newspaper publisher in Virginia.
Holt's daughter Elizabeth (d. 1797) married Eleazer Oswald (1755–1795) who was Holt's apprentice in New York. Oswald became an American officer during the American Revolutionary War and later a publisher and journalist. Their eldest son John Holt Oswald (1777–1810) became an international merchant and was survived by three children. Another son William Hunter Oswald (b. 1787) married Sarah Stamper Hall (b. 1792) and also took up a career in international trade. He was alive and traveling in Italy in 1814 but his date of death is not known.[1]
| Preceded by John Blair, Jr. |
Mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia 1752—1753 |
Succeeded by George Gilmer |