Portrait of Mary Holliday and Cyrus Kurtz Holliday of Topeka, Kansas Territory. Cyrus came to Kansas Territory from Meadville, Pennsylvania, as an agent for the New England Emigrant Aid Company. He was the first president of the Topeka Town Association, and was involved in founding and settling Topeka. Holliday was very active in territorial political activities, including the Topeka movement, and he was a delegate to the Topeka Constitutional Convention, as well as served as president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.