Holley, Myron, 1779-1841

Myron Holley (April 29, 1779 – March 4, 1841) was an American politician who played a major role in the creation of the Erie Canal. In 1816, he was appointed to the five-person Erie Canal Commission, which had the task of organizing and supervising the canal's construction. As one of two full-time and salaried members of the commission, he was its treasurer and the supervisor for the construction of the canal's main route. An opponent of slavery, Holley was an early supporter of the strategy of abolishing it through political action rather than "moral suasion". In 1839, he began publishing an abolitionist newspaper called the Rochester Freeman. In 1840 he was one of the founders of the abolitionist Liberty Party, a minor party that pressured the major parties to address the issue of slavery. Holley supported the anti-Masonic movement, publishing two weekly newspapers focusing on that cause. He assisted the creation of Wayne County, New York, from portions of neighboring counties. In Rochester, New York, he built the Old Stone Warehouse, which still stands. He helped to establish the First Unitarian Church of Rochester by preaching sermons for it at a time when the young congregation could not support a paid minister.