John Holding was the son of William Holding (1818) and Alice Alker and was born in Blackrod in 1845. In 1851 he was living at Bottoms, Blackrod. In 1861 he was living in Dove Lane, Hindley, and working as a coal miner’s drawer. He married Isabella around 1870 and, in 1871, was working as a coal miner and living in Cale Lane, Aspull. By 1881 he had moved to Westhoughton and, still a miner, lived at 50 Dicconson Lane for at least the next twenty years. He died in the Bolton RD in 1905, aged 59.

Sources
• 1. 1851 Census. Bottoms, Blackrod. John Holding. Son. Age 6. Born Blackrod. • 2. 1861 Census. Dove Lane, Hindley. John Holding. Son. Age 16. Coal Miner’s Drawer. Born Blackrod. • 3. 1871 Census. Cale Lane, Aspull. John Holding. Head. Age 25. Coal Miner. Born Blackrod. • 4. 1901 Census. 36 DIcconson Lane, Westhoughton. John Holding. Head. Age 63. Born Adlington. • 5. 1881 Census. 50 Dicconson Lane, Westhoughton. John Holding. Head. Age 39. Coal Miner. Born Aspull. • 6. 1891 Census. 50 Dicconson Lane, Westhoughton. John Holding. Head. Age 48. Coal Miner. Born Blackrod. • 7. Death Registers. Holding, John. Mar. 1905. Bolton. 8c. 274. Age 59.