Representative Cornelius Holland

Cornelius Holland was the name of two notable historical figures, one a seventeenth‑century English politician associated with the regicide of King Charles I of England, and the other a nineteenth‑century American public official who served as a United States Representative from Maine. Though separated by nearly two centuries and operating in different political systems, each played a role in the governmental and constitutional struggles of his time.

The earlier Cornelius Holland (1599–c. 1671) emerged in England during the turbulent years leading up to and encompassing the English Civil War. Born in 1599, he rose from relatively obscure origins to become involved in parliamentary politics at a time when tensions between the monarchy and Parliament were intensifying. As conflict deepened in the 1640s, Holland aligned himself with the parliamentary cause against King Charles I, participating in the political and military struggle that culminated in the king’s defeat. His prominence grew as Parliament and the army moved toward a more radical settlement that would ultimately challenge the very institution of monarchy.

Holland’s most historically consequential role came during the proceedings that led to the trial and execution of Charles I. He was closely associated with the group of parliamentarians and army officers who supported bringing the king to trial, and he became identified as one of the “regicides” of Charles I of England. The term “regicide” in this context refers to those who were directly involved in, or held responsible for, the decision and legal process that resulted in the king’s execution on January 30, 1649. In the republican regime that followed, Holland continued to be active in public affairs, benefiting from the new political order that had displaced the Stuart monarchy. With the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, however, those linked to the regicide faced severe retribution. Holland was among those condemned for his role, and he spent his remaining years under the shadow of this association. He is believed to have died around 1671, his later life marked by the reversal of fortunes that accompanied the restoration of royal authority.

The second Cornelius Holland (1783–1870), a United States Representative from Maine, was born in the early years of the American republic and came of age as the new nation was consolidating its institutions. Born in 1783, he grew up in the post‑Revolutionary era, when questions of federal power, state sovereignty, and regional development were central to American political life. Holland established himself in public affairs in what was then the District of Maine, part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at a time when residents of the region were increasingly advocating for separate statehood. His early career likely included local and state service that positioned him to participate in the political reorganization that followed Maine’s admission to the Union.

When Maine achieved statehood in 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise, Holland was among those who moved into the emerging political leadership of the new state. As a United States Representative from Maine, he served in the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., representing the interests of a largely rural, maritime, and frontier population. His tenure in Congress placed him amid debates over internal improvements, commercial policy, and the balance between free and slave states that defined national politics in the antebellum period. In this role, Holland contributed to the legislative work of the House during a formative period for both Maine and the Union, helping to articulate the concerns of a new state adjusting to its place in the federal system.

After his period of congressional service, Cornelius Holland of Maine continued to be identified with public life in his home state, reflecting the common nineteenth‑century pattern of alternating between national and local responsibilities. He lived through the dramatic expansion of the United States, the rise of new political parties, and the mounting sectional tensions that would eventually lead to the Civil War. Holland died in 1870, having witnessed the transformation of the country from a fragile young republic into a continental nation, and he is remembered in the historical record for his service as a United States Representative from Maine.