THOMAS HOLMAN

Thomas Holman was born November 26, 1793, at New Haven, Connecticut. He was educated at the Cherry Valley Medical School in New York, and in the summer of 1819 attended the Cornwall Foreign Mission School.

On September 26, 1819, Dr. Holman married Lucia Ruggles at Brookfield, Connecticut. Less than a month after the wedding Dr. and Mrs. Holman sailed from Boston on October 23 in the brig, "Thaddeus", as a member of the Pioneer Missionary Company bound for Hawaii. After a voyage of 164 days, they anchored at Kailua, Hawaii, on April 4, 1820.

The Holmans and the Rev. and Mrs. Asa Thurston were stationed at Kailua. In July the Holmans moved to Maui, without the consent of the members of the Missionary Company, in search of a healthier climate for Mrs. Holman. After a stay of less than a month on Maui, Dr. Holman, accompanied by his wife, was called to Honolulu to treat the sick captain and ailing crew of the "St. Martins".

Friction and dissension between the doctor and the Rev. Hiram Bingham, which began aboard the "Thaddeus", gradually assumed such proportions that it led to the excommunication of Dr. Holman from the church (in Hawaii) and the suspension of church privileges in Mrs. Holman's case, some six months after their arrival in the Islands. Dr. Holman, however, continued to practice and to treat missionary families.

On October 11, 1820, the Holmans sailed for Kauai. The missionaries there did not seem to share Rev. Bingham's sentiments and were only too happy to have the services of the one available physician in the Islands. The Holman's first baby, a daughter, Lucia Kamamalu, was born on Kauai on March 2, 1821.

Returning to Honolulu, Dr. Holman postponed his departure many times in answer to urgent calls for his services. During his 18 months of practice in Hawaii, the doctor lost only four cases, none of which were among the missionary families. Finally, on October 10, 1821, the Holmans sailed on the "Mentor", bound for Boston by way of Macao, China. If Dr. Holman had the honor of being the first missionary doctor, Mrs. Holman had the distinction of being the first American lady to circumnavigate the globe. They arrived in Boston on May 15, 1822.

The Holmans settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Two sons. Thomas Spencer (1823) and Eli Ruggles (1825), were born after their return to New England.

On March 20, 1826, Dr. Holman died at Bridgeport at the age of 32.

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