From humble beginnings as a Quaker, to his later roles as sheriff, judge, politician, justice of the peace and even a gold rusher, squatter, bigamist and horse thief, George M. Holaday navigated intricate paths of ambition and controversy.

A Quaker by birth, George seemed destined to follow the Friend's faith, but the Quaker life did not suit his restless spirit. When he was disowned from the Friend's Church, he and his wife left to start new lives in Iowa Territory in 1840. In Iowa, the land was wide open for bold spirits like George, but Iowa wasn't enough to contain him. His insatiable wanderlust drove him west. His life was a saga of land purchases, saloons and chasing golden dreams that exacted a heavy toll on the family he left behind. George left a lasting legacy in Iowa, Arizona, and California through his influential roles and positions of power, but at a steep price. No one understood the agonizing toll of his choices more than his wife and children. Their story is inextricably linked with his. This true story uncovers the hidden history that the textbooks missed. George M. Holaday was nearly the first, if not the first Holaday in Iowa Territory. The same can be said for Ezekiel Hollingsworth, his wife's father, of the Hollingsworth surname. Between them, there are thousands of descendants. This is the first of two in the series, "The Holadays." The second in the series, "Echoes of Ambition," is the biography of George's granddaughter Elizabeth Murray Shepherd and her equally enthralling life. Release date is expected to be fall of 2024. Paper and hardback editions to be released late June 2024.