USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Holland > History of the town of Holland, Massachusetts > Part 13
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
(12)
178
THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
God and the only rule of faith and practice to which rule as a professing people we ought to subject ourselves.
We believe that God created man holy and innocent and entered into a covenant of life with him but man did not con- tinue to fulfill his part of the covenant but transgressed and broke the same for which reason he became a meet subject for punishment denounced by God against disobedience and as he stood a federal head for his posterity, so in him we all fell and have our natures depraved through and by the apostasy of man.
We believe that God in his infinite wisdom and merey did appoint and send his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person in the Trinity, very and essential God, to take upon him the human nature and so in the body to undergo the punishment due to sin and all this was done of free grace that man might live through and by the vicarious suffering of the Son of God, who, we believe, hath satisfied divine justice which must otherwise have been satisfied in the punishment of man. We believe that faith and repentance are necessary to a participation of the blessings and benefits pur- chased by Christ.
We believe the supernatural agency of the Holy Ghost necessary to sanctify and apply the benefits of Christ's death. We believe man is justified by the righteousness of Christ alone. We believe the sacraments of the New Testament, Bap- tism and the Lord's Supper, that they ought continually to be observed and come up to as they are the seals of the cove- nant of grace.
We believe that Jesus Christ who was once offered on earth to put away sin shall again appear to judge the world. We believe there shall be a resurrection both of saints and sinners and that all shall be gathered before the tribunal of God to receive their final and decisive sentence according to the deeds done here in the body."
Here are the fundamentals of our evangelical faith to- day. The wording might be objected to, but in the essentials of our faith, how far have we drifted from them as stated here ? The following is the Covenant which they adopted.
179
THE CHURCHES OF HOLLAND
THE COVENANT.
"We, whose names are hereunto subscribed being ealled of God into a church state of the gospel, in the first place do confess ourselves unworthy to be so highly honored of the Lord and ad- mire the rich free grace of him who triumphs over so great un- worthiness and then with humble reliance on the aids of grace therein promised to them that in a sense of their inability to do any good thing and do wait on him for all.
We now thankfully lay hold of his eovenant and would de those things that would please him. We declare our serious belief of the Christian religion as contained in the sacred writ- ings of the Old and New Testaments heartily resolving to con- form ourselves unto the rules of this holy religion as long as we live. We give up ourselves to the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and avouch him to be our God and Father and Leader, and receive Him as our portion forever. We give up ourselves also to the blessed Jesus who is the Lord Jehovah and adhere to Him the head of His people in the covenant of grace and rely upon him as our prophet, priest and King to bring us unto eternal blessedness. We aeknowledge our ever- lasting and indispensable obligations to glorify God in all the duties of a sober and religious life and very particularly in the duty of the church state as a body of people, associated in obedience to him in all the ordinances of the gospel and we therefore depend for his gracious assistance for our faithful dis- charge of the duties incumbent on us. We desire and intend and, with reliance on his promised grace, we engage to walk together as the church of Christ in the faith and order of the gospel so far as we shall have the same revealed unto us, con- stantly attending the publie worship of God, the sacraments of the New Testament, the discipline of his kingdom and all His holy institutions in communion with one another watchfully, avoiding sinful stumbling blocks and contentions as a people whom the Lord hath bound up together in the bundle of life. At the same time we do also present our offspring to the Lord, promising with his help to do our part in the method of a re- ligious education that they may be the Lord's. And this we do flying to the blood of the everlasting covenant for the pardon of
180
THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
our many errors and praying that the glorious Lord who is the great Shepherd would prosper and strengthen us for every good work to do His will working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight to whom be glory forever and ever,-Amen."
We give below a list of the subscribers to this covenant as they appear on the records. They had been copied from older records.
Rev. Ezra Reeve, pastor
Hannah Cram
*Dea. Humphrey Cram
Martha Dunkley
Dea. Moses Lyon
Hannah May
Robert Dunkley
Abigail Foster
Isaac Foster
Prudence Webber
Robert Jennings
Elizabeth Webber
Nehemiah May
Elizabeth Bishop
Trenance Webber
Hannah Webber
Daniel Thompson
Submit Smith
Joseph Bacon
Anna Bishop
Edward Webber
Margaret Rosebrooks
Nathaniel Bradley
Catharine Bishop
Dea. James Frizell
Mary Frizell
Silas Smith
Sarah Dodge
Henry Webber
Lois Smith Allmena Wallis
James Hovey
Rachel Wallis
John Collis
Keziah Ballard
Thomas Wallis
Mary Ormsbee
Jonathan Wallis
Mary Bradley
Dea. Sherebiah Ballard
Joseph Ormsbee
Alfledy Janes Elizabeth Foster
Oliver Wales
Lydia Bond
Isaac Foster Jr.
Mrs. Phillips
Thomas Bond
Mrs. Beals
Joseph Phillips
Sarah Partridge
Asa Partridge
Rachel Partridge
William Gardner and wife
Deborah Coy
Benjamin Ward and wife
Wife of Mr. Nutting
Elizabeth Wales
Jacob Webber and wife
*See list of deacons with date of election. Dea. Cram and Dea. Lyon were chosen to that office January 16, 1766.
Solomon Hovey
181
THE CHURCHES OF HOLLAND
William Leach and wife Elizabeth Moulton
John Burroughs and wife
William Bishop
Eliphalet Janes
Sylvia Cheney
Arthur McNeal and wife
Sybil How
These parties owned the covenant and had children bap- tized. Thus the new church with the foregoing church inem- bers and supporters started on its work. It is of interest to note what part of these came from the mother church in Brim- field. We, therefore, give a list of names gleaned from Rev. Jason Morse's "Annals of Brimfield Church." We think those given were Holland people but some of them never iden- tified themselves with Holland Church. Those who did are marked. It should be borne in mind that Wales and Holland were then called South Brimfield.
Items of interest gathered from Rev. Jason Morse's An- nals of Brimfield Church."
1724 by letter Joseph Blodgett Died 1783
1724 by letter Sarah, wife of Jos. B. Died 1735
1752 by prof Joseph Blodgett Jr. Died 1775
1752 by prof Hannah, wife of Jos. B., Jr.
1752 by prof Robert Dunklee Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766
1752 by prof Sarah, wife of R. D. Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766 1752 by prof -, wife of Jno. Bishop Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766
1752 by prof -, wife of Jno.
1752 by prof -, wife of Tren-
Webber Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766 nance Webber Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766
1752 by prof Ebenezer Bishop Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766 1755 by prof -- , wife of Benj. Blodgett Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766
1756 by prof Ann Bishop Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766
Andrew Webber
Benjamin Beal
Mr. Fisk and wife
182
THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
1757 by prof -, wife of Henry Webber Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766 1758 by prof Isaac Forster (Foster)
Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766
1758 by prof wife of Isaac Foster Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766 1760 by prof --- , wife of Moses Lyon Dism. to So. Brimfield 1766
1766 by prof Jacob How
1766 by prof -, wife of Jacob
How
1768 by prof Abner Blodgett
1768 by prof Elizabeth, wife of A. B.
Died 1761
1785 by prof John Brown
Dism. to Holland 1793
1785 by letter Levina, wife of Jno. B.
Dism. to Holland 1793
1789 by prof -, wife of Wm .
Webber
1798 by letter David Bugbee
1798 by letter Anna, wife of D. B.
1799 by prof Daniel Blodgett
Died 1823 aged 58
1799 by prof Betty, wife of Dan'l B.
1831 by prof Marcia (Goodale) Web- ber Dism. to Holland 1840
Worthy of note also are the additions made to the church roll in those early years of the church life. We find the fol- lowing entries :
1781 Aug. 1
Hannah Bruce
Jonathan Blanchard Sarah Blanchard Nov. 5, 1781
Sybil Bruce Aug. 29
Alfred Lyon
Mr. Weatherbee
Lydia Lyon
John Perrin
William Wallis
Millicent Perrin Oct. 29
Irena Anderson Dec. 2 John Rosebrooks
Thankful Wallis
Mary Lyon
Saralı Rosebrooks
Sybil Crawford Dec. 23
Persis Rosebrooks
Peggy Reeve
183
THE CHURCHES OF HOLLAND
Dec. 30 David Wallis
1782 Feb. 3
John Wallis
John Ballard
Lucy Janes
Joseph Marsh and wife Dec. 9, 1792
Feb. 24
*Joseph Glazier Jan. 20, 1793
Sarah Towne April 4
May 18, 1794
James Frizell
Mrs. Jas. Frizell
Ruth Webber
John Brown and wife, Lavina Sept. 7, 1794
May 4
Hannah Thompson
James Gibbs
Mrs. Webber
Asa Dana and wife
Mary Tiffany
Joseph Bruce Joseph Smalledge Jan. 14, 1795
Elizabeth Crawford
July 7
Prudence Webber
Aug. 4
Jonathan Belknap
James Wheeler and wife, Thankful May 30, 1802
Lydia Rosebrooks
Jan. 26, 1783
Mr. Davison
Lucy Wallis, wife of Alanson Wallis March 10, 1893
Nov. 23
Lucena Rosebrooks
Rufus May
Aug. 31, 1806
Eunice May
Martha Goodell Nov. 30, 1806
March 6, 1785
Lucy Bishop
Jabez Goodell
Sept. 4
Apr. 8, 1810
Amasa De Wolf
David White
Oct. 30
Sept. 2, 1810
Asa Fisk and wife
Willard Pike and wife
*Became first pastor of the Baptist Church.
June 11, 1786 Silas Barnes Dec. 3 Prudence Coats Sept. 28, 1787
David Anderson
Elizabeth Blodgett
Samuel Webber Jr.
Lucy Pierce Aug. 31, 1794
June 2
Sarah Webber wife of Reuben Webber Oct. 1, 1797
Olive Belknap Dec. 8
184
THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
July 17, 1816
Jerusha Lynn
Mrs. Moses Clark
Oct. 26, 1817
May 18, 1817
Simon Janes
Ezra Webber
Elizabeth Brown
Keziah Webber
Hannah Frizell
James A. Lynn
Mary Reeve
The names up to this point are members gathered in by the first pastor, Rev. Ezra Reeve, so far as the records show. The total is 158, averaging almost three for every year of his labor which is a splendid record considering the field of his labor. He was a man of broad sympathies as is shown by his power to subdue opposition. He held his people together as long as he lived. No movement to divide the church was sue- eessful until he was too ill and infirm to attend to his pastoral duties. He must have known of the efforts of some to form a Baptist church. The question had been agitated for years as the town records abundantly show, but Mr. Reeve's tact had delayed its consummation. He was fond of a joke and made himself very companionable. "He served as chaplain of the Brimfield militia for a long series of years," says the his- torian of Brimfield. Many now remember him and his wig as he appeared for duty and for dinner. The story is told, per- haps apocraphal, that one hot morning in summer, one of his parishioners, not very pious in habit, went up on Rattlesnake Mountain after a load of wood. While loading, he was bitten by one of those reptiles which at that time infested the moun- tain. Knowing the dangerous nature of such a bite he took the horse and drove post haste for home. Arriving there, he informed his wife of what had happened and begged her to get the minister there as soon as possible, as well as the doctor. Mr. Reeve hastened to the bedside of his parishioner to find him much agitated over the misfortune and lamenting his errors and long-continued indifference to his spiritual eondi- tion. The pastor while regretting his sinful life, hoped it was
185
THE CHURCHES OF HOLLAND
not too late, wicked as he was, for him to secure forgiveness, holding out hope that the doctor might do something to arrest the progress of the venom in his system when he should come. The man was soothed in mind by these ministrations and Mr. Reeve returned home after receiving assurances that if the sufferer were allowed to live, his spiritual condition should be of the first importance. The next Sunday morning in his pas- toral prayer Mr. Reeve, while lamenting his own weakness in getting men to see their lost condition, thanked the Lord for snakes, and prayed that more might be sent until the ungodly were all in the fold. This is a modern instance illustrating the power of snake-venom to inspire faith, and if, as unbe- lievers sometimes jocosely remark, that "Adam and Eve were snaked out of Eden," this might be called snaking them in. The man recovered; but how lasting was the experience upon his moral and spiritual life, available history doth not reveal.
July 11, 1806. At a meeting of the church after looking up to God for his blessing and direction and aid, the following question was proposed by the Moderator:
"Whether the church has a just right according to the sacred scriptures to require a public confession of any person for any sin he or she may have committed before they belonged to the church. After deliberating on the question for some time, it was unanimously agreed the church has no such right, so far as it appeared to them from the sacred word, and that when a person appeared in their judgment to have those qualifications which the sacred scriptures make necessary the omission of such public confession should be no bar in the way.
In this case the members were interrogated singly and the unanimous voice was, the church has no right to require such public confession.
Attest-Ezra Reeve, Moderator."
It is probable that the examination of candidates and the questions asked, suggested the need of such a meeting.
186
THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
The town records reveal how regularly the salary, sixty pounds of Mr. Reeve was voted at town meeting. Church affairs and town affairs are all recorded together. Church and state were not separate then. The ministerial tax was a part of the annual tax levy. In some cases for reason it might be voted "to sink" (not colleet) the minister's tax for that year for a given party, possibly due to some misfortune the party had suffered. Not long after the new district was in- corporated it was deemed advisable to appoint an agent to de- fend the district against a lawsuit by the Baptists on account of paying a ministerial tax when they had no use of the church building and for an allotment of sabbaths of it to their own use. The matter was adjusted without the formation of an- other church organization. It was due to Mr. Reeve's taet and ability that put it off so long as well as to the efforts of Dr. Thomas Wallis, agent. Six pounds, two shillings and nine penee were then paid, and eighteen shillings for the agent's work.
As long as Mr. Reeve lived the parsonage was the house where Mr. Silas Fletcher now lives, but the house has been remodelled to some extent. In fact, that homestead was part of the compensation for settling as pastor of the church. With the church on the hill above the house on west side of the road to Dr. Dean's (now Wm. Lilley's) it was quite conve- nient for the pastor. But when the church was moved onto the plain in 1793, where now is the town common, occupied by the beautiful grove, it must have been a task for his de- clining years to get to church and back, besides preaching and especially so the last ten years of his life. He must have viewed the change with reluctance but no word of opposition or expostulation is on record. The prime mover in that enter- prise was Col. Alfred Lyon, who made the offer of a gift of land abundant for church site, horse sheds, training field, ete.,
187
THE CHURCHES OF HOLLAND
etc., for he was a military man, and was anxious to seeure a better field for that purpose than the old common was.
We have seen how the building was erected in 1764, amid a storm of opposition. This building was rectangular as re- gards its ground plan, with roof of usual form and without steeple or bell and probably never was painted. A post for notices stood in front of it. That such a building should soon get out of repair is not surprising.
In 1787, we find the following votes :-
"Voted to build pulpit, deacons' seats, pews and body seats below the breast work, and two seats round the 'gallerys' and re- pair 'flowars' and windows." Abel Allen, John Polley and Capt. Alfred Lyon were the committee to get the work done. It is evident that the building was in a condition that made repairs urgent for in 1788 an article was in the town warrant about re- pairing the church but no action was taken.
In 1790, a vote was obtained awarding to Abel Allen a contract to repair the church. The price stipulated was the pew ground and forty pounds. It is manifest that opposition to this plan arose, so strongly as to defeat any effort at re- pairs.
An effort was made to have the meeting house built on Moses Lyon's plain, in 1764. But it was felt that if it were tried to place it there, so far east, it would defeat the purpose of having a church east of the mountains. This opposition took form in the project to remove the meeting house on to the plain, and a meeting was called for March 5, 1792, at the meeting house, when it was :-
(3) Voted not to remove the meeting house.
(4) Voted not to build a new meeting house.
(5) Voted to finish the meeting house outside and in, where it now stands.
(6) Voted and contracted with Maj. Alfred Lyon to fur- nish said meeting house outside and in for the sum of two hund- red ninety-nine pounds. Abel Allen and Dea. David Wallis were his bondsmen. What became of the contract with Abel
188
THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
Allen made by virtue of a vote of pew ground and forty pounds in 1790 we are not informed, but presume that vote was re- scinded. We find also the following vote :
"Voted that Maj. Alfred Lyon be allowed what 'indif- ferent' judicial workmen judge it is more 'caust' to build the pews than to build the seats agreeable to the obligation."
"Voted to have two seats each side of the broad alley below, and two seats round in the 'gallerays', the rest to be pews as is now agreed on."
At a meeting held June 18, 1792, at the meeting house, Asa Dana being moderator, the following vote is recorded.
"Voted libertye to Col. Alfred Lyon to remove the meeting house on to the plain at or near a board stake set up for the purpose of placing said meeting house at, if removed, on the following conditions, viz: That the said Alfred Lyon first give and secure to the district of Holland a sufficiency of land on or about the plain for all conveniences of roads to set said meeting house, training field and all other accommodations necessary about or for a meeting house, the aforesaid privileges to be layed out by the selectmen as they think best and most convenient for the district; and likewise that Col. Alfred Lyon is to remove the meeting on to said plain at his own risk and expenses and to finish of said meeting house when removed by the same time and in the same manner and for the same sum as he is obliged to do by his obligations in the place where it now stands. And on his promising to fulfill the above conditions, voted and recon- sidered that vote that was passed to finish the meeting house where it now stands.
At a meeting held Aug. 28, 1792, at the house of Samuel E. Bond, Asa Dana being moderator, the following vote was passed :-
Voted to adjourn the meeting on to the plain for half an hour. Met according to adjournment.
Voted to remove the meeting house about ten rods south- west from the board stake, there to be set up and finshed as the district hath agreed with Col. Alfred Lyon.
189
THE CHURCHES OF HOLLAND
At a meeting held April 5, 1793, it was voted that the "old sash" be retained if good as new, and allowance be made to town by Col. Alfred Lyon.
A committee was chosen to place horse sheds for the new church site. The following men composing the committee :- Joseph Bruce, Gershom Rosebrooks, Dea. David Wallis, Rin- aldo Webber, and Ephraim Bond. Oct. 2, 1794, voted to have the horse sheds stand as far north as the north end of the meeting house, and as far east as the west side, of the meeting house and forty feet from the meeting house.
We also find the following interesting vote :-
"Voted to 'except' (accept) of the meeting house on the following conditions, viz: That the outside of said meeting house be 'maid' good 'ass' soon as the season will admit, and the 'brest work,' 'pillers' and Pulpit to be 'coulloured' a good 'han- some' 'pee' green 'dun' workmanlike in the course of the next summer by said Col. Alfred Lyon. Joseph Bruce and Abel Allen promise to the town (district) that they as securityes for said Lyon will see that all the above work should be 'dun' by the times 'perfixt' for the town (district) as above said."
The site where it stood before removal, was above where Silas Fletcher now lives on the west side of the road near a large pine tree at the top of the hill. Col. Lyon put it on the plain in what is now the common where the grove is. The outline of building may still be traced. Both sites should be marked by a stone. The one on the hill bearing date, 1764- 1793. The one on the common bearing date 1793-1839. From 1835 to 1839 it stood but was not used.
Mr. Dwight E. Webber declares that he was told in his boyhood that Col. Alfred Lyon cut the church into two parts and then moved each part separately. He also avers that when set up on the plain, it was a plain barnlike structure on the outside, without steeple or bell. He also asserts that he re- members when it was taken down and sold at auction to suit purchasers. One man hitched a yoke of oxen to a corner post
190
THE HISTORY OF HOLLAND, MASS.
and tore the post away, bringing much of it down with a 1 crash. Some pieces of this building were saved as souvenirs.
We now find that the "Baptis" are about to bring a "law- sute" against the town to recover damage on account of min- ister tax. Proposals are "maid" by Jno. Smalledge, but are not stated.
THE COMMON.
It will be seen that it was through the church that Hol- land had its gift of a common, 1793. When the old church was torn down in 1839, there was scarcely a bush or tree on it. They must have begun to grow soon after, for in 1864 we find a vote to cut all pine trees on the common. Mrs. Kinney, however, tradition says, had the foresight to know their value and interceded in their behalf so effectually that the vote was reconsidered. Harry E. Back, Esq., in his address, Old Home Day, 1912, declared, "that it was Mrs. Kinney's efforts that saved the trees on the common which now make the beautiful grove which is the pride of the town." The deed is recorded at Springfield. Bk. 41, page 140. Deed was drawn Aug. 30, 1792, and received and recorded April 14, 1802.
Col. Alfred Lyon gave the district a deed of land on which the church was placed. It covered more ground than is now held by the town as a common, because of an exchange made with Capt. Benjamin Church. The description makes it a triangle.
We can almost see Col. Lyon putting his militia men through the evolution teaching them the maneuvers employed in the military drill of those days and probably the drilling was specially rigid and persistent in the years immediately following, for we find a vote, May 9, 1796, recorded as fol- lows: "Voted to "except" (accept) of the treaty between the United States of America and Great Britain." King George III must have slept soundly that night when the news arrived.
191
THE CHURCHES OF HOLLAND
The treaty referred to here was probably what was known as "Jay's treaty." The special meeting at which the above vote was taken was called, "To hear the circular letters and act thereon as the district think best when met." Perhaps these circular letters were sent out to ascertain what the public opinion was concerning Jay's treaty, as opposition to it was very bitter. If so, the vote was a very appropriate one. But just imagine such a thing now! Was it a sort of referendum ?
The district had some difficulty in getting a settlement with Col. Lyon for moving the church. We are of the opinion that settlement satisfactory to both parties was not accom- plished. Reference to it is repeatedly met. Col. Lyon's orig- inal contract was for two hundred and ninety-nine pounds. It may be interesting to our readers to see at this juncture a list of the men who, it may be inferred, paid the bill, as well as for other reasons, but perhaps not all of it that year.
List of taxpayers of Holland for year 1793.
Abel Allen
Amasa DeWolf
David Anderson
Calvin Eaton
Alfred Allen
James Frizell
Joseph Bruce John Belknap
William Frizell
David Fay
William Belknap
Michael Foster
Daniel Belknap
Daniel Foster
Elijah Belknap
Ichabod Goodell
Benj. Beal
Widow Mary Graham
John Blodgett
Widow Mary Graham 2d Moses Graham
John Brown Epraim Bond Jonathan Ballard
Calvin Glazier
Robert Henry
Perez Bradford Charles Brown Stephen Child Asa Dana John Dexter Leonard Dexter
Darius Hind
Samuel Hail (Hale)
Timothy Johnson
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.