Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Grant Holliday was shot and killed as he attempted to serve a warrant on two brothers. He and two deputized civilians located the brothers outside of the Jackson city limits and informed them they were under arrest.
The two suspects approached the deputies in a threatening manner, and Deputy Holliday raised his shotgun in defense. One of the brothers and Deputy Holliday exchanged shots, and Deputy Holliday was fatally wounded.
One of the suspects was also wounded, and both were taken into custody. Charges against the wounded 19-year-old suspect were dismissed, although evidence and investigations then and years later proved that he was the killer. A few days before Deputy Holliday was killed, the suspect had been released from prison after serving most of a 5-year sentence for killing a young boy after a fight at a turkey shoot at Lost Creek on January 3, 1900. During the same incident, he shot and killed his cousin but was acquitted of the murder. In 1909, he shot and killed a man in Breathitt County. On November 10, 1910, he shot and killed Wesley Turner, a Breathitt County Jailer. Four days later, it was mistakenly reported that he had been shot and killed by a posse. Twice in 1911, he was reported to have been captured in Williamstown, West Virginia, and later in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Both times, it was discovered they had the wrong man. On May 26, 1915, Governor James B. McCreary added $250 to his reward, bringing the total to more than $ 1,000. The last known information about him, "Kentucky Bad Man," was in a Kentucky newspaper dated June 5, 1916, which reported he had killed another man in Breathitt County.
The other brother was tried, but the result is not known.
Deputy Holliday had served only a few weeks. He was survived by his wife and three children. He was preceded in death by a daughter.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KY-877FF94A- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Holliday served with the Breathitt County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Jackson community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Holliday.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Ulysses Grant Holliday is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In KY, 755 of 983 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 76.8% of this state's fallen. That is 22.6 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Breathitt County Sheriff's Office, 9 of 10 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 90% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ulysses Grant Holliday's cause is highlighted.
How Ulysses Grant Holliday Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Ulysses Grant Holliday is highlighted in Dec.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths.
Others Who Wore This Badge
9 officers from Breathitt County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
