Halliday is a version of the family name Holliday and is from Scotland and Northern England. It derives from a day of religious festivals - a holy day - but why it became a family name is unclear. There is a One-Name study for Halliday that explores this further.
The name is well established in the Halifax area and there are some well known families and businesses bearing the name. Some researchers estimate that a branch of the family arrived in Halifax in the early 1600s having driven cattle from Dundee to Wakefield. They discovered clay deposits at Batehayne in Northowram and at Pule Hill (near where the dry ski slope is at Ploughcroft) and began a pottery business. They later established a pottery business at Howcans on the slope above Holmfield between Boothtown and Queensbury. I can't find any link with that family of Hallidays however.
Our earliest Halliday is Ann Halliday who had an illegitimate son Richard Halliday. There is some doubt here as some researchers have Richard down as the son of a Luke and Mary (nee Goodall) Halliday. I can't find evidence of this. When Richard himself married, he certainly gave house space to Luke and Mary's son (also a Luke) so there was some connection. Richard sadly took his own life eventually but that's another story.
Richard and his wife, Jane Oldfield, had several children with most, predictably, involved in the textiles industry including our ancestor John Halliday. John did diversify in later life and was a publican. He had The Railway Hotel in Ovenden, which is on the corner of Nursery Lane and Ovenden Road. He was landlord from about 1894 until 1910. The pub served beer from the Brear and Brown Brewery at that time.
Albert Halliday was another that worked in the textile industry until later in life. It was during the First World War that Albert went, with his family, from Halifax to Richmond in North Yorkshire. There, he was a manager for the Y.M.C.A. on Gallowgate Hill. They provided catering and other support for the servicemen at the barracks there known as "The Depot". Albert's son, my granddad, Lawrence Halliday, met his wife, Mabel Wray, while the family were living in Richmond.
The family subsequently returned to Halifax, possibly for employment reasons, but always retained ties and affection for Richmondshire.