From "Holy Day" to "Holladay"

I found this little piece of HISTORY while searching on "RootsWeb" and thought you might be as interested and astonished as I was! This Captain John Marshal Holladay is 8 generations back from Gordon Worth Holladay...it appears that he was the one to changed the "i" to an "a" in the surname.

When I read through his individual summary there was this great note that I'm posting here. Enjoy!!!
-Iz

Name: John Marshall Holladay (Holliday)
Prefix: Captain
Sex: M
Birth: 20 Apr 1676 in Of London, Middlesex, England
Christening: 26 Apr 1676 Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England
Death: 4 Nov 1742 in St George Parish, Spotsy, Spotsylvania, Virginia
Burial: Nov 1742 On Plantation, Bellefonte, Virginia


Note:
The name HOLLADAY was adopted by people who lived in CLANS on the SCOTTISH border. AT the beginning of the 9th century this clan crossed the IRISH Channel and re-conquered from the Saxons the greater part of their original possessions
in the south of Scotland (now district of Galloway, Dumbrieshire, and Peebles).
The ROMANS had expelled their forefathers from that territory. When these people settled on the borders of their kingdom, others had settled across from them---and they began harrassing and petty warfare, which continued long after the area had become one. TRADITION affirms that "HOLY DAY" became the WAR CRY of these people and their chief. Each time a HOLY DAY came it was spent ravaging the enemies country. They were plunderers. The chieftan who first assumed the HOLYDAY surname had his castle, or strong tower, near the source of the River Annandale.
HOLLADAY has been SPELLED MANY WAYS---8 different ones listed over the years in that area. This area was very wooded and the wolf, wild boar, and deer were hunted there.
In 1191 AD King Richard of England joined the Crusades. He called for 5,000 men from Scotland--and of the 5,000--1,000 were from Annadale, and almost all Hollidays. When this ill fated monarch was in captivity, the Earl of Huntington returned to England with what was left of the British force. The Hallidays (veterans) dispersed into many areas, so the name became common in many places.
JOHN HALLIDAY of London had 2 sons----John and Thomas
THOMAS came to Jamestown VA in 1660. He lived in VA and Maryland.
JOHN, his second son, changed his surname to HOLLADAY when he located in SPOTSYLVANIA, VA in 1702. He was Captain of the Virginia Rangers in his county. His plantation was called Bellefonte (from a spring near his dwelling). They were not wealthy, but were
in comfortable circumstances, always honest and respectable. His son, DANIEL HOLLADAY married and left Virginia. He settled in S. Carolina. His son, JOHN DANIEL HOLLADAY, married Katherine Beeseley HIGGINS and moved to Marion County Alabama, where they reared 10 children. He owned
a large plantation, had a number of slaves, and grew corn, cotton, and tobacco.
He embraced the gospel, sold his plantation, freed his slaves and moved his. family to Utah. The winter of 1846-47 they spent at Pueblo, COLORADO. They came as far as Laramie, WYOMING a year AHEAD of the UTAH PIONEERS, went down to Colorado. They joined a company known as the MISSISSIPPI SAINTS, and retraced their steps to the NORTHERN TRAIL (Laramie?) in the spring of 1847, and followed the original band of Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley the latter part of July. JOHN DANIEL HOLLADAY and KATHERINE BEESELY HIGGINS were sealed in the ENDOWMENT HOUSE by Brigham Young in April 1851.
On Helen Ivy HOLLADAY'S lines----we have an illustrious ancestor
JOSEPH LAZARUS MATTHEWS. He was a SCOUT for Brigham Young, along with Porter Rockwell. He is on the MORMON MONUMENT, "This is the Place" in
east Salt Lake. Joseph Lazarus Matthews was in charge of the 14th GROUP for Brigham Young.
Just briefly will mention 3 stories that are told about him concerning Brigham Young. They are:
Antelope through field glasses
Leaving barricade down on a circle encampment ? Living the United Order
His wife was Rhoda CARROLL --- and she was called "Fat Grandma", and everyone loved her. Joseph Lazarus also had a couple bursts of temper passed down about him but he had SPUNK,to scythe least, and he was VERY TRUSTED by Brigham Young. He was sent to colonize in Southern Utah, in San Bernadine Calif, and lastly at 70 years was sent to Arizona where he helped colonize in the Gila Valley.. Matthewsville (just west of Pima) was named for him. He died not long afterwards.
We have MORE COMPLETE histories of these people, but time being short, we decided to just give you a smattering of your heritage in the wide open spaces of the ARIZONA TERRITORY. We have much to be proud of...on both the McEuen and Holladay lines. They were courageous, brave people, with the necessary abilities and talents to FORGE AHEAD into the wilderness with the HARDEST type of work, and NOT ONLY SURVIVE, but to flourish ....