Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume III, Part 77

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 986

USA > Massachusetts > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume III > Part 77

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

(VIII) William Horace, second son and fifth child of Horace J. and Lydia (Sherwin) Chapin, was born in Springfield, Massachu- setts, September 11, 1855. He was educated in the public schools of Springfield, Massa- chusetts, and at the age of fifteen went to Galesburg, Illinois, with his parents, remain- ing there until 1876, when he entered the Massasoit House as a clerk and remained in that capacity until 1886, when he leased the property and finally purchased it. Mr. Chapin is a member of Springfield Lodge, F. and A. M., Nayasset Club and Automobile Club. He married (first) June 20, 1889, Fannie Lee Stebbins, daughter of John B. Stebbins, of Springfield, Massachusetts ; she died April 19, 1890. One child, Frances Anna, born March 13, 1890. He married (second) November 8, 1809, Grace F. Ordway. One son, Samuel B. Chapin, born August 27, 1900.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Chapin are members of Christ Episcopal Church.

(For preceding generations see Samuel Chapin 1).

(III) John, third son of Japhet and Abilenah (Cooley) Chapin, CHAPIN was born May 14, 1674, died June 1, 1759. Intentions of marriage with Sarah Bridgman, of Northampton, were pub-

lished January 24, 1702. She died May 21, 1756, aged seventy-five years. Their children were: Sarah, Jemima, John, Miriam, Phineas, Stephen, Asahel and Eleazer.

(IV) Phineas, second son of John and Sar- ah (Bridgman) Chapin, was born September 23, 1715, died October II, 1788. He was evi- dently a man of means, as he was the owner of negroes, as witness: 1755, November 10, Pompey, a negro and Betty, a negro (servants of Phineas Chapin) were joined in marriage, says the town record. He married, February I, 1739, Bethia Chapin, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Colton) Chapin (see Chapin III). She died May 1, 1793, aged seventy- five. Their children were: Bethia, Phares, Phineas, Asenath, John and Silas.

(V) Captain Phineas (2), second son of Phineas (I) and Bethia (Chapin) Chapin, was born in Springfield, March 1, 1748, died March 2, 1821. He was a man of energy, ac- tivity and influence, and considerably engaged in public business. He resided on Chicopee street, near where the Connecticut River rail- road crosses that street. He married Sabrina, daughter of George Wright, of Springfield. She died April 4, 1813. They had twelve chil- dren : Sophronia, Asenath, Sabrina, Dormer, Bethia, Bridgman, Ulrica, Zelotes, Hannah, Phineas, Avaline and Otway.

(VI) Dormer, eldest son of Captain Phin- eas (2) and Sabrina (Wright) Chapin, was born in Springfield, February 25, 1781. He was a farmer, and resided on what was called the Meadow road between Chicopee street and Willimansett. In town affairs he took a some- what active part, and held the offices of sur- veyor of highways, selectman, and so on. He married, October 2, 1803, Lucretia Smith, daughter of Philip Smith. She died October 13, 1828. The twelve children of this union were : Delia, Neuman, Lucretia, Dolphin Dor- mer, Avaline, Bethia, Lucas B., Samuel M., Caroline, Pametia, Artemas W. and Flavel P.

(VII) Dolphin Dormer, second son of Dor- mer and Lucretia (Smith) Chapin, was born in Springfield, September 13, 1810. He was a farmer, and resided in Granby. He married Achsah Ferrey, daughter of Amos Ferrey, of Granby. Eight children were born of this marriage.

(VIII) Dr. Delia Lucretia, daughter of Dolphin Dormer and Aclisa (Ferrey ) Chapin, was born in Granby, June 18, 1854. She at- tended the common and high schools of Gran- by, prepared for college, and entered Mt. Hol- voke College in 1872, graduating in 1876. Af- ter teaching in the common schools at South

I773

MASSACHUSETTS.

Hadley Falls and in the high school at North- ampton, she entered upon the study of medi- cine. She matriculated at the University of Michigan, from which she took the degree of M. D. in 1890. Immediately returning to Massachusetts, she engaged in the practice of medicine in Springfield, where she has since been active. She was a member of the staff of the Toledo Hospital, Toledo, Ohio, where she paid special attention to the study of nervous diseases. She is a member of Springfield Academy of Medicine, Hampden County Med- ical Society, Massachusetts State Medical So- ciety, and the American Medical Association.

This surname was Anglicized

MERRILL from the French name de Merle. Merle signifies a black-

bird. Its original bearer is said to have de- rived it from the figure of a blackbird dis- played at his door. The ancient seat of the de Merles of France was at Place de Dombes Avergne. The English Merrills are for the most part descended from a follower of Wil- liam the Conqueror. Their coat-of-arms is thus described: "Or, a barrulet between three peacocks erased proper." Crest : "a peacock's head erased proper." The immigrant ancestor of the Merrils of Massachusetts, New Hamp- shire and Maine was Nathaniel Merrill, who settled in Newbury, Massachusetts, about the year 1635, and died there in 1655. He came from Salisbury, England.

(I) Nathan Merrill, a descendant of Na- thaniel Merrill, of Newbury, was residing in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1736, but as his birth is not to be found in the records of that town he was probably born elsewhere. A care- ful examination of all available records fails to disclose the names of his parents, therefore his line of descent from the Newbury settler could not be ascertained. The Christian name of his wife was Mary and she survived him, marrying for her second husband a Mr. Jones and moving to Kennebec county, Maine. Na- than and Mary Merrill had one son and per- haps other children.

(II) Nathan (2), son of Nathan (I) Mer- rill, was born in Concord, January 21, 1763. In 1780, when a youth of seventeen years, he enlisted for service in the revolutionary war, served six months, participating in the North River campaign, and was detailed to do guard duty at the execution of Major Andre. Au- gust 29, 1782, he re-enlisted and served a simi- lar length of time in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1786 he purchased a tract

of wild land in that part of Amherst, New Hampshire, which was afterward set off as the town of Milford, and settling there perma- nently in 1788 cleared a farm which is still known as the Merrill homestead. This prop- erty is now owned by his grandson, Calvin Merrill. Nathan Merrill died in Milford, March 13, 1846. He was a Jeffersonian Dem- ocrat and a strong anti-slavery advocate. Jan- uary 21, 1788, he was married in Bedford, Massachusetts, by the Rev. Joseph Penniman, to Susanna Bacon, his first wife. She was born in Bedford, January 28, 1765, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Lane) Bacon, of that town. She was a descendant of Michael Ba- con, who was in Bedford as early as 1676, and the Bacon family was one of the most promi- nent in that locality. Elizabeth Lane was a daughter of Job Lane. Mrs. Susanna Merrill died in Milford, September 26, 1831, and on December 25 of the following year Nathan Merrill married for his second wife Mrs. Mary Spaulding, nee Flinn, widow of Isaac Spaulding and a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Pearson) Flinn. She was born in Milford, July 25, 1779, and died in Wilton, New Hamp- shire, February 24, 1856. The children of Nathan Merrill, all of his first union, were: I. Nathan, who will be again referred to. 2. Su- san, born June 17, 1791, died April 16, 1868; married Henry Gray, son of Timothy and Ruth ( Burnham) Gray, of Wilton. 3. Asa, January 17, 1794. 4. Joshua, March 7, 1802, was for many years a successful teacher in the public schools of Lowell, Massachusetts; was engaged in the book business in that city ; died November 9, 1880.

(III) Nathan (3), son of Nathan (2) Mer- rill, was born in Milford, October 5, 1788. His boyhood and youth were practically spent in the wilderness, as that section of Amherst in which his father had located was but sparsely settled, and he therefore became well adapted to the life of a pioneer. During the war of 1812-15 he served as a lieutenant and did gar- rison duty about Portsmouth. About the year 1814 he settled in New Boston, New Hamp- shire, and is said to have built the first dwell- ing house in that town. He was a prosperous farmer and frequently drove to Boston, Mas- sachusetts, on business. While returning from the latter city on February 28, 1847, he per- ished in a terrible blizzard, when within a short distance of his home, and his frozen body was found on the highway just over the Mount Vernon line. November 2, 1811, he was mar- ried in Boston to Rebecca Foster, daughter of

iv-

1774

MASSACHUSETTS.

Jonathan and Dorothy (Jenkins) Foster, of Ashby, Massachusetts. Children: Leonard Willey, mentioned below; Nathan F., Susan, Rebecca and others.

(IV) Leonard Willey, son of Nathan (3) Merrill, was born in New Boston, November 12, 1820, died there February 28, 1908. His preliminary studies in the district school were supplemented with a course at the Clinton Grove Seminary in Weare, New Hampshire, and in addition to obtaining a good education he acquired an excellent agricultural training by assisting his father in carrying on the home- stead farm. In 1842 he was for a short time engaged in driving a milk wagon from Quincy, Massachusetts, to Boston, and he subsequent- ly went to Florida, where he spent five years with a corps of engineers who were conduct- ing some important surveying operations in that state. He also was employed as a pilot on Pensacola Bay. Returning to New Boston he turned his attention to the lumbering industry, which he followed successfully in connection with farming, and he resided there for the remainder of his life. Politically he acted with the Republican party from the time of its formation, but was never desirous of holding public office, although his natural ability and sterling integrity made him especially eligible to the civil service. In his religious belief he was a Baptist. On May 1, 1851, he married Sarah Elizabeth Brown, born in Lyne, New Hampshire, December 31, 1832, daughter of Samuel and Ruth (Snow) Brown, of that town, who is still living. She is the mother of six children: I. Louisa Rebecca, born Febru- ary 24, 1853. 2. George Nathan, mentioned in the succeeding paragraph. 3. Helen Au- gusta. 4. Henry Samuel, May 10, 1863. 5. Charles Asa, April 28, 1865. 6. Nellie Flor- ence, January 23, 1872.

(V) George Nathan, son of Leonard Wil- ley Merrill, was born in New Boston, June 10, 1855. He was graduated from the McCollum Institute, Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, in 1876, and entering Colby University, Water- ville, Maine, the following year, he took his bachelor's degree in 1881. Having given at- tention during the last year in college to civil engineering he accepted, immediately after gradnating, a responsible position upon the engincering staff of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad, and proceeding to Iowa was placed in charge of important miscellan- cous work covering seven hundred and seven- ty-five miles of road. During the year 1884 he was occupied in work extending over the con-

tinental divide between Denver and Middle Park, and a portion of that year he devoted to the surveying and also to the construction engineering of the diagonal road running southwest from Des Moines to Creston, Iowa, and for a short period during 1885 he was em- ployed by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad. Leaving the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Company he entered the service of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern railway as constructing engineer. He next located a line of road westward from Battle Island for the Chicago, Burlington and Northern Company, and a year later became chief engineer of the Chicago, St. Louis and Nashville line. He subsequently constructed for the same company a line from Savannah, Illinois, to St. Paul, Minnesota, and later as- sisted in constructing a railway line running westward from Topeka for the Chicago, Kan- sas and Nebraska Company, also designing and building bridges through the Wabaunsee Valley. In December, 1887, he was suddenly summoned to New Boston by the severe ill- ness of his father, and resuming his work the following spring he completed the construc- tion of the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska line to Colorado Springs. In 1888-89 he superin- tended the work of connecting the Central New England and Western railroad with the Poughkeepsie bridge and after completing that operation he was for a time engaged in con- structing a line through the Cumberland Mountains for the Louisville and Nashville railway. In 1890 he settled in Springfield and is still residing in that city devoting his time to general civil engineering as well as the lo- cating and constructing of steam and electric railways. In addition to several steam roads he has surveyed during the past nineteen years some forty electric roads, among the most im- portant of which are a freight line through Fall River, the laying out of which necessi- tated some unusually complex and intricate en- gineering ; the preliminary survey for an ele- vated road in Boston ; lines from Haverhill to Lawrence and Lowell ; and an electric railway to the summit of Tom, in the surveying of which he was not only called upon to provide for an unusually deep foundation, but was re- quired to devise an entirely new system of con- struction. He is also the official engineer at Forest Park, Springfield, and the other public reservations, and has furnished plans for sew- ers and aqueducts in other states. Mr. Mer- rill is a member of the American and the Bos- ton societies of Civil Engineers. He is a thir-

Seo. A. Menill

1775

· MASSACHUSETTS.

ty-second degree Mason, and a member of the following Masonic bodies : Roswell Lee Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Morning Star Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Spring- field Council, Royal and Select Masters; Springfield Commandery, Knights Templar ; the Massachusetts Consistory ; and Melha Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine. He is a past master of Hampden Commandery, Knights of Malta; has attained a similar rank in the Patrons of Husbandry, and affiliates with Miles Morgan Lodge, An- cient Order of United Workmen, and Knights of Pythias. He is actively interested in relig- ious work, having formerly been a deacon of the Highland Baptist Church; was for some time treasurer of the Park Avenue Memorial Baptist Church and is at the present time serving on one of its important business com- mittees. On March 10, 1886, Mr. Merrill was married in Springfield to Sarah Frances Cleaves, his first wife. His second wife, whom he married July 10, 1907, was Lulu Loleta Spiller, of Beverly, Massachusetts.

HOLT The family of this name derives its cognomen from a holt or grove at or near which a remote Eng- lish ancestor dwelt. The progenitor of the American branch of the family was a pioneer settler in two towns, and a man of influence among his associates. There is a tradition that the dwellings of Nicholas Holt, the first settler, is one which still stands on Holt's Hill, sometimes called Prospect Hill, in Andover. The descendants of the emigrant progenitor in Andover have been noticeable for their at- tention to learning. The Holt family in that town included four college graduates prior to 1800. The family in this country in all its branches is very large, and includes many names of considerable influence in the town of Andover and elsewhere.

(I) Nicholas Holt was a passenger on the ship "James," of London, William Corper, master, which sailed from the port of South- ampton, England, about April 6, 1635, and arrived at Boston, in New England, on June 3 following, after a voyage of thirty-eight days. The names of forty-three male per- sons are found as passengers on the ship's roll, "besides the wives and children of Dy- vers of them." Among the former occurs the name of Nicholas Holte, of Romsey (county of Hants), England, "tanner." He was un- doubtedly accompanied by his family, which consisted of a wife and at least one child. He

proceeded the same year to Newbury, where he was one of the first settlers, and resided there for a period of ten years. There he re- ceived his proportionate share of the lands al- lotted to each proprietor. In 1637 his name appears as one of the ten persons who in or- der to vote to prevent the re-election of Sir Henry Vane to the office of governor, and to strengthen the friends of Governor Win- throp, went from Newbury to Cambridge on foot, forty miles, and qualified themselves to vote by taking the freeman's oath May 17, 1637. This defeat was a severe blow to the pride of Sir Henry Vane.

April 19, 1638, Nicholas Holt was chosen one of the surveyors of the highways "for one whole yeere & till new be chosen." Feb- ruary 24, 1637, it was "agreed that Wm. Moody, James Browne, Nic. Holt, ffrancis Plummer, Na Noyse shall lay out all the gen- erall fences in the towne that are to be made, as likewise tenn rod between man & man, for garden plotts, this to be done by the 5th of March on the penalty of 5 s apiece." In the month of June, 1638, all the able bodied men of Newbury were enrolled and formed into four companies under the command of John Pike, Nicholas Holt, John Baker, and Ed- mund Greenleafe. They were required "to bring their arms compleat one Sabbath day in a month and the lecture day following." and "stand sentinell at the doores all the time of the publick meeting."

The first church records of Newbury prior to 1674 are lost, and consequently the name of Nicholas Holt is not found, but it appears in the following order of the town records: "Jan. 18, 1638. It is ordered that Richard Knight, James Brown & Nicholas Holt shall gather up the first payment of the meeting house rate and the towne within one fourteen- night on the penalty of 6s 8d a piece." In 1644 Nicholas Holt was one of the ten original set- tlers who removed their families from New- bury and accompanied their pastor, the Rev. John Woodbridge, to "Cochichawicke," now Andover. On a leaf in the town records con- taining the list of householders in order as they came to the town his name is sixth. He was one of the ten male members including the pastor elect who composed the church at the ordination of Mr. John Woodbridge, Oc- tober 24, 1645. May 26. 1647, he was ap- pointed in connection with Sergeant Marshall "to lay out the highway from Reading to An- dover, and with Lieut. Sprague and Sergeant Marshall to view the river (Epswich river)

1776

MASSACHUSETTS.

and make return to the court of the necessity and charge of a bridge and make return to the next session of this court." At a general court held May 2, 1652, he was appointed with Cap- tain Johnson of Woburn, and Thomas Dan- forth of Cambridge, "to lay the bounds of An- dover," and May 18, 1653, he was appointed with Captain Richard Walker and Lieutenant Thomas Marshall to lay out the highway be- twixt Andover and Reading and at the same term of Court, September 10, 1655, the com- mittee made a report of said survey.

Nicholas Holt lived to a good old age and died at Andover, January 30, 1685, aged one hundred and four years, says the record, but Coffin, with more probability, says eighty- three. In his early life he carried on the busi- ness of manufacturer of woodenware. A few years before his death, in distributing his prop- erty among his children, he styles himself "dish turner". The word "tanner" on the roll of the ship "James" is probably an error of the recording official who mistook the word turner for tanner. There is no doubt but that the same motives that actuated the other early settlers of New England in leaving their pleas- ant homes in England and emigrating to this country, had their due influence on him. That he was a religious man is made evident by the fact that he was one of the original members of the Andover church, and by his forsaking his native home in England, to encounter the privations and difficulties of the wilderness in order that he might enjoy the privilege of wor- shipping God according to the convictions of his own mind and his understanding of God's word. While honestly and conscientiously dis- charging his duties in this regard, he took an active part in public affairs of the town, and his appointment on important committees in laying out roads and other improvements indi- cates that his services were valuable and ap- preciated.

Nicholas Holt was married in England, a few years before he came to Massachusetts. The name of his wife was Elizabeth Short, of whom nothing more is known than that she (lied at Andover, November 9, 1656. He mar- ried (second) June 20, 1658, Hannah, widow of Daniel Rolfe, and daughter of Humphrey Bradstreet. She died June 20, 1665, at An- clover, and he married (third) May 21, 1666, Widow Martha Preston, who died March 21, 1703, aged eighty years. He had by his first wife four sons and four daughters ; by his sec- ond wife one son and one daughter. Ilis chil- dren, born in Newbury, were: Elizabeth, Mary,

Samuel, Andy; and in Andover, Henry, Ni- cholas, James, John and Priscilla.

(II) Nicholas (2), sixth child of Nicholas (I) and Elizabeth Holt, was born in Andover, in 1647, died there October 8, 1715. Septem- ber 9, 1684, his father deeded to him "one -- third of the farm whereon he now dwells," and several other parcels, also the dwelling- house "with ye cellar room & Leantowe". He married Mary, daughter of Robert Russell, whose ancestry is traced herein, and she died April 1, 1717. Children: Nicholas, Thomas, Abigail, Sarah, James, Robert, Abiel, Deborah, Joshua, (of whom hereafter) and Daniel.

(III) Captain Joshua, ninth child of Nicho- las (2) and Mary (Russell) Holt, was born in Andover in 1703, died in Windham, Con- necticut. He removed there in 1725. He mar -- ried his cousin Keturah, daughter of Henry and Samuel Holt. She died at Windham, Oc- tober 2, 1781. Children : Dinah, Joshua, (of whom hereafter) ; Keturah and Phebe.

(IV) Joshua (2), only son of Captain Josh- ua (I) and Keturah (Holt) Holt, was born in Windham, March 19, 1728, died there July 5, 1791, from being overcome by the heat. He- was remarkable for his averdupois, tipping the beam at over four hundred. He married Mary, daughter of Paul and Elizabeth (Grey) Ab bot, who was born March 3, 1728, died August 10, 1769. A second union was contracted with the relict Susanna Derby, of Canterbury, Con- necticut. Children by first marriage: Dinah, Mary, Uriah (of whom hereafter), Lemuel, Keturah, Sarah, Hannah and Dorcas. Chil-

dren by Hannalı : Samuel, Oliver and Zilpha.

(V) Uriah, eldest son of Joshua (2) and Mary ( Abbot ) Holt, was born March 23, 1754. He lived in Ashford and West Springfield,. Massachusetts. He married Margaret Mason, born August 15, 1754. Children : Sarah, Pol- ly. Clarissa, Betsy, Rodney (of whom here- after ), John and Polly.

(VI) Rodney, eldest son of Uriah and Mar- garet ( Mason) Holt, was born in West Springfield, July 18, 1788, died in Springfield, September 25, 1862. He married Chloe, daughter of Peletiah Foster, of Barkhamp- stead, Connecticut. Children : Frederick, Clara, Albert (of whom hereafter ), Jolin R., Martha and Jane A.

(VII) Albert, second son of Rodney and Chloe ( Foster ) Holt, was born in Springfield, April 16, 1831. He received a rudimentary education in the district school, supplemented by four terms at Wilbraham Academy. Hle worked on his father's farm summers and

1777

MASSACHUSETTS.

taught school winters until he was twenty-one. having taught in Chicopee, Springfield, Long- meadow, Cleveland, Ohio. He was employed one year at the Massasoit house and three years by S. C. Bemis. In 1858 he engaged with the Boston & Albany railroad, then the Western railroad, as assistant paymaster, and in the same year was promoted to be paymas- ter, holding the position until 1901, when he resigned to be succeeded by his son. He is a member of the Winthrop Club, and attends the Methodist Trinity Church. He was one of the old volunteer firemen, was assistant of Ni- agra company and afterward clerk for the Ocean hose company and is now a member of the Veteran Firemen's Association. He is a Democrat, and has been prominent in the coun- cils of his party. He has served in the city government as councilman, and a member of the board of aldermen. He protested strongly against the city acquiring the Ludlow water system. Mr. Holt is one of the old-time rail- road men of whom few remain, who saw the rise and fall of the Boston & Albany as a rail- road system, and in all this he took a leading part. He was a co-worker with Chester W. Chapin, James A. Rumrill and Charles O. Russell, of whom he was an intimate friend, and of these he is the only one now remaining. He married, April 20, 1859, Adeline S., daugh- ter of Solomon C. Warner. She was born Au- gust 23, 1835, in Springfield, and attended the old high, also the Wilbraham Academy. She taught school until her marriage in 1859. She is a member of the Mercy Warren Chapter, Daughters of American Revolution, and ac- tively interested in the same; also the Union Relief Association. They have one child liv- ing. Warner Rodney, born August 17, 1860, graduate of the Springfield high school; he then entered Second National Bank, and later was assistant to his father in paymaster's of- fice of the Boston & Albany railroad, and re- mained as such until 1901, when he succeeded his father upon the latter's retirement. He married Mary E., daughter of Frank H. Rat- cliffe, of Boston, Massachusetts; they have one son, Arthur Ratcliffe Holt, born December 20. 1895.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume III, Part 77

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 986

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 986