USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Royalston > Reflections on Royalston, Worcester County, Massachusetts, U.S.A > Part 33
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(4.) Lucy Wetherell Raymond, born in 1830.
(5.) Frank S. Raymond, born in 1837, died in 1885.
4. Joseph Raymond, 4th child of Stephen and Rhoda (Estabrook) Raymond, born in 1801, was clerk in the Gregory store about 5 years; in partnership with Ar- temas Lee in a store in Baldwinville 14 years, and with Joseph Estabrook in Roy- alston 6 years; served the Town as Town Clerk 3 years, Selectman 9 years, Asses- sor 3 years, and Representative 2 years. He was a Director of the Millers River Bank at Athol from its organization, and was a shrewd financier, and was regarded as an authority on financial matters. He gave the memorial tablets in the town hall, and $250 to help the starting of the public library. He married Elizabeth Kendall in 1830; she died in 1887, and he died in 1893. They had 4 children:
(1.) Anna Elizabeth Raymond, born in 1832; married John L. Choate in 1860; they had 3 children; she died in 1923, Mr. Choate having died previously.
(2.) Joseph Estabrook Raymond, born in 1834; married Charlotte Louise Mar- shall, of Fitchburg, in 1861; they had 1 child, Martha Frances Raymond, born in 1871. Mr. Raymond died in Fitchburg, in 1909.
(3.) Alfred Dwight Raymond, born in 1838. His father "settled" him on the old Hutchinson farm, about half a mile northwesterly from the Common, which he carried on for the remainder of his life. He served the Town as Selectman 3 years, Assessor 11 years, on the School Committee 9 years, and as Trustee of the Public Library for 10 years. He was an admirer of fine live stock, and much interested in the work of the Worcester Northwest Agricultural Society, and served as its principal official for several years. He married Martha Genette Willis (see page 215) in 1861; she died in 1868, and Alfred Dwight Raymond died in 1896. They had 3 children:
Alfred Joseph Raymond, 1st child of Alfred Dwight and Martha Genette (Wil- lis) Raymond, was born in 1862, and succeeded his father on the farm. In 1898 he removed to Athol and purchased a window-sash and blind business, which he con- tinued successfully for many years. He became prominent in Athol affairs, serving on the School Committee many years and in other important positions. He married Josephine Smith in 1890, and they had 2 children: Laurence J. Raymond, who mar- ried and resided in Boston, and Evelyn S. Raymond, who married Frank Pardee, of Boston, in 1925.
Caroline Willis Raymond, born in 1865; Mary Elizabeth Raymond, born in 1866. These daughters of Alfred Dwight and Martha Genette (Willis) Raymond received college education, and sojourned in foreign lands; they have resided in Cleveland, Ohio, and have retained the old home of their grandparents on Royalston Common as a summer residence.
(4.) William Henry Harrison Raymond, born in 1842, died in 1847.
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THE HOLMAN FAMILY.
The history of the Holman family in Royalston, as it has been given out by previous historians, is somewhat confusing. The Memorial, which did not attempt to give family histories, but only to point out names and locations of settlers pre- vious to 1800, had this story:
"Lieut. Edward Holman, from Sutton, settled nearly midway between Tarrant Cutler and Silas Jones. The cellar hole, on the west side of the road, marks the place of this sturdy old settler. He descended from a Welshman, who, with two brothers, all 'impressed seamen,' obtained a furlough from their ship to visit our shores, but never took the trouble to report themselves again to the captain. This may account for the gallantry of their race in our Revolution. Col. Holman, a Sut- ton man, commanded one of our regiments,-our settler was a kinsman and served as lieutenant under him,-and tradition in the family saith that the British used to say they had 'as lief see the devil a-coming as Col. Holman on his gray mare.' The lieutenant came here with 9 children, of whom both sons and daughters had large families in town."
The Memorial had previously stated that John Holman, son of Edward, had once owned the farm adjoining the Frye farm on the east.
The Crane book has this: "John Holman, son of Abraham, was born in Bolton, about 1765. He settled in Royalston, then Gerry, where he bought land in 1790, of John Bridge, and another lot in 1793, of his brothers, Nathaniel and Jonathan, off the farm they bought of Israel Greenleaf."
Mr. Caswell, after mentioning John Holman, in part after Crane's way, and giving a story of a few of his descendants through his son Seth, quoted the above story from the Memorial, and then quoted from the History of Chesterfield, N. H., something about probable sons of Edward Holman of Royalston, some of whom removed to that town.
The History of Sutton (see page 163) gives a sketch of the Holman family, which agrees with the Memorial story, and also has a sketch of the Col. Jonathan Holman referred to, who was a valiant soldier in the Revolution, and gives this ad- ditional story of his prowess with his remarkable horse:
"The colonel used to make occasional visits to his boys in Maine, and he always rode on the saddle, and his rule was to ride 70 miles a day. He had a powerful, high-spirited horse, which he called his war horse. It was never broke to the har- ness, and could be managed by no one but himself, and by him only under the sad- dle. He happened to be in Boston, on his way to Maine, when the news of peace arrived. An express was started to carry the news to Portland, and as that city lay in his route, he joined the express and left at the same time. He did not stop to change horses nor to look back, but rode straight on, and arrived in Portland some time before the express, and first proclaimed to the citizens of Portland the news of peace and independence. The colonel often boasted of this feat, as well he might." (The reader may understand that this took place before the advent of the steam railroad, so that the "express" which the colonel outrode must have been a horse-power affair, like his own conveyance.)
The History of Sutton, through its very concise and orderly genealogical record, with help from the Memorial, the Vital Records, and graveyard inscriptions, plus a little personal knowledge, enables me to give a better and more connected story of the Holman family in Royalston than has ever before been printed, although it is far from being a complete record.
It appears that the Lieut. Edward Holman who came to Royalston from Sutton was a cousin of the Col. Jonathan Holman of Revolutionary fame,-whose exploits have just been set forth. This Edward Holman married, 1st, Rebecca Gale, in 1754; 2nd, Sarah Kenney, in 1763. They had 9 children, probably all born before the family came to Royalston, but perhaps not all born in Sutton:
1. Lucy Holman, born in 1761.
2. Lydia Holman, born in 1763; married John Beal, in 1789.
3. John Holman, born Feb. 17, 1765; married 1st, Sally -; 2nd, Mrs. Mary Bacheller, in 1808. He bought from Nathan Reed the place on which Reed settled, in the northeasterly part of Royalston, and settled his son, John Holman, Jr., upon it, who lived there until his death, in 1859; his heirs sold the place, about
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1864, to Marcus Hobbs, by which name the location of the place will be recognized by people living in 1925. John Holman served the Town as Selectman for 4 years, and also on the School Committee. He died in 1843. He had at least 6 children:
(1.) John Holman, Jr., son of John and Sally Holman, was born in 1791; mar- ried Eliza Estey, of Warwick, in 1824; followed his father on the place afterwards known as the Marcus Hobbs place, and died there in 1859. He had 6 children:
Elizabeth Gay Holman, born in 1825. Abigail Elvira Holman, born in 1830.
Sarah Fields Holman, born in 1827. Lucy Maria Holman, born in 1833.
Cyrus Augustus Holman, born in 1828. Emily Whitney Holman, born in 1837.
(2.) Seth Holman, son of John and Sally, was born in 1793; he probably built the sawmill and gristmill on the Lawrence, about a mile northeasterly from the Common, since known as the Partridge and afterwards the Newton & Davis mill, (as told on pages 62 and 63,) and operated the mills and farm there until a few years before his death; he took over the furniture factory established by Joseph Sawyer, and he and his sons operated it for several years (as told on pages 74-77). He was one of the deacons of the First Congregational Church during the last 10 years of his life. He died in 1860. He married Eunice R. Parks (Peirks), in 1821, and she died in 1889. They had 7 children:
[1.] - Holman, born in 1821; died in 1821.
[2.] - Holman, born in 1822; died in 1822.
[3.] Dana Parks Holman, born in 1824; died in 1840.
[4.] George W. Holman, born in 1825; employed at his father's mill as team- ster and sawyer in early life; managed the furniture factory for 5 years; in furni- ture business in Boston for several years; in 1857 removed to Wisconsin and became a contractor in building railroads and bridges; returned to the east and made his home in Fitchburg, where he became a builder and contractor, and erected many of the best buildings in the city, and had charge of trust estates; served as Superin- tendent of Streets, Water Commissioner, in the Common Council, as Alderman, and in other responsible positions; he was a thoroughly practical man, whose advice and services were in constant demand. During the latter part of his life he spent some of the winters in the south, and acquired interests in property there, and it was there that his life ended, in 1907. In 1853 he married Delia E. Mirick, daughter of Ephraim and Lucinda (Newton) Mirick, of Princeton; Lucinda Newton was a mem- ber of the Newton family of Royalston, and in giving the list of her children in the story of the Newton family on page 234, I assumed that as the historian of Prince- ton, in giving the list of the children, had placed Delia between a brother born in 1820 and a sister born in 1821, Delia was probably a twin of one of them; but I have found a cemetery record which gives the year of her birth as 1828; she died in 1891. George W. and Delia E. (Mirick) Holman had 2 children: Mary E., born in 1863 and died in 1871; and George M., married, resided in Fitchburg, and was for many years a teacher in a commercial college in Boston.
[5.] Seth Newell Holman, born in 1828; employed at his father's mill and the furniture factory; following the death of his father he continued the furniture business, but the business gradually declined, and sometime around 1864 the build- ings and machinery were removed to North Orange, where Mr. Holman had acquired interests; he was also connected with the pail and tub manufacturing business at Howeville, in the edge of Fitzwilliam, in partnership with his brother, George W. Holman, and his cousin, Stephen H. Heywood. Afterwards he removed to Spokane, Wash., where he resided until his death, in 1921. He married, 1st, Sarah Putnam Pierce Bragg, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Snow) Bragg, in 1857; she died in 1859; he married, 2nd, Amarilla Richardson, of Westminster, Vt., in 1865; the mar- riage ceremony was performed by Rev. Francis J. Fairbanks, at that time pastor of a church in Westminster, and afterwards pastor of two churches in Royalston for more than 27 years; and Mr. Holman and his wife sent him from Spokane a portion of wedding cake on the occasion of their golden wedding in 1915. They had a daughter, Grace. Mrs. Holman died in 1924.
[6.] Nelson F. Holman, date of birth not available; he became a colporteur, selling and distributing religious books and tracts; in later life lived with his brother at Spokane, and probably died there.
[7.] Mary E. Holman, born in 1835; died in 1849.
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(3.) Cyrus Holman, son of John and Sally, was born in 1800, married Lydia Hale in 1824, and was killed by accident in 1828, while repairing a building at the place afterwards occupied by Luke Beals and then by Silas Bacheller.
(4.) Sally Holman, daughter of John and Sally, born in 1802, died in 1818.
(5.) Willard Holman, son of John and Sally, no date of birth available, but it was probably as early as 1805, as he. married Hannah Brown in 1831; they had a child who died Jan. 3, 1832, at the age of 14 days, and the mother died 27 days later, at the age of 25 years. Willard Holman must have married again, although I find no record of it, for there is a record of the birth of Sophia Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Willard and Elizabeth, Dec. 8, 1844. The geographical position of Willard Holman cannot be definitely stated. That he was a farmer seems to be shown by the record in my father's old account book of considerable sales of grain to him (as to other farmers) from the Seth Holman grist-mill, in 1842-46 (see pages 69-72). Another account bears record of the payment of house rent to him for the family domicile in the big house at the foot of the Common, early in 1848, at the time when the author of these Reflections began his earthly career there (see page 83). I remember that I was told that Willard Holman at one time owned all the terri- tory from the lower end of the Common over to the Seth Holman mill place; and it is not improbable that his home was for several years in the big house at the foot of the Common which was built by Capt. William Raymond (see pages 53 and 235), and owned and occupied by Ashbel Goddard, presumably following Holman.
(6.) Fields Holman, son of John and Sally; born 1807, died in 1847.
4. Edward Holman, 4th child of Lieut. Edward, born in 1766; probably re- moved to Chesterfield, N. H., about 1794, and from there to Keene in 1812.
5. Joshua Holman, son of Lieut. Edward, born in 1768.
6. Smith Holman, born in 1770.
7. Noah Holman, born in 1771; probably died in Orange.
8. Stephen Holman, born in 1774, was one of the sons of Lieut. Edward Hol- man who lived in Royalston long enough to have the births of 7 children recorded:
(1.) Sidney Holman, born in 1800; became a clergyman; married Myra Fisher, of Templeton, in 1833, and they had 5 children.
(2.) Harvey Holman, born in 1801; married Rosilla Bartlett, in 1826; both died in 1833; they had 3 children who lived to maturity:
[1.] Charles Augustus Holman, born in 1830; he was for many years engaged it the local express business between Boston and Cambridge, where he resided; later he was railroad express messenger on trains between Boston and Greenfield; and in the latter part of his life he was a member of the firm of Holman, Frye & Co., of Boston, manufacturers of counters and show cases and contractors for bank and office furnishings and outfittings. He married Lucy B. Pierce, in 1852; he died in 1890, and his wife died a few years later; they had a son, George Henry, born in 1855, and died in 1867.
[2.] Luke Henry Holman, twin, born in 1833; died at St. Louis, in 1857, from the result of a railroad accident.
[3.] John Harvey Holman, twin of his brother, Luke Henry, born in 1833. As the father of these twins died about 5 months before they were born, and their mother 3 months after, they, and their brother, born 3 years earlier, were cared for in their childhood by relatives, and some or all of them to some extent at the old Bartlett homestead; and perhaps it was through relatives that they all later had homes in Boston. John Harvey Holman was probably employed in the furniture business in Boston, and he went from Boston to St. Louis, where he was exten- sively engaged in that line; he died there in 1892. He married Margaret they had 3 daughters, born in 1865, 1868 and 1869.
(3.) Lucretia Holman, 3rd child of Stephen Holman, born in 1803; married Alphonse Heywood, in 1824.
(4.) Lysander Holman, born in 1805.
(5.) Melissa Holman, born in 1807; married Timothy Cragin, in 1831.
(6.) Harriet Holman, born in 1809; married Solyman Heywood, in 1829; they had 5 children.
(7.) Stephen Holman, son of Stephen, and grandson of Lieut. Edward Holman, was born in 1820; graduated from Williams College in 1839 or 1840; taught schools
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in several towns, and was principal of Fitchburg Academy from 1843 to 1848; he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Fitchburg for a short time. He then entered into business, and acquired large interests in cotton, paper and machinery manufacturing, and in the Bell telephone company. Throughout his life he kept up on the subjects which he studied in college; at the age of 90 he gave a reading in German of Schiller's plays. He made a trip to Europe in his 92nd year, returning 5 days before his death. He married Henrietta A. Richard- son, of Fitchburg, in 1853; she died in 1894; Mr. Holman died in 1912. They had a daughter, who married William E. Plummer, and resided at Swampscott, and a son, Charles Richardson Holman.
9. Sarah Holman, 9th child of Lieut. Edward Holman, born in 1776.
THE HEYWOOD FAMILY.
Silas Heywood settled on a farm at the north part of the town, adjoining the New Hampshire line, about 1780; he married Hannah Goddard, of Shrewsbury; they probably had quite a large family of children, which was decimated by the loss of 5 within a few weeks, in 1795 (see page 159). Silas Heywood was succeeded on the farm by his son, Silas Heywood, Jr., who sold to his brother, Benjamin, who, after other changes in his holdings, removed to Fitzwilliam, where he died.
Whether Solyman Heywood was directly in the line of descent from Silas Hey- wood is not apparent. He occupied a farm in the northeasterly part of Royalston that had previously been occupied by Jacob Hale, at the end of a road; previous to 1870, probably, he sold that place to George S. Chadwick, and removed to the John Frye place, on Frye hill, at the Center, which was a part of the farm that was taken up by John Frye, an early settler. Mr. Heywood married Harriet Holman, daughter of Stephen Holman, son of Lieut. Edward Holman, in 1829. Solyman Heywood was born in 1805, and died in 1885; his wife was born in 1809, and died in 1898; they had 5 children:
1. Sidney Holman Heywood, born in 1831; died in 1833.
2. Stephen Holman Heywood, born in 1833; after he arrived at the age of 21 years he was employed at a wooden-ware manufactory in Winchendon for 6 years; then was in partnership with Seth N. and George W. Holman in a similar business at Howeville for 10 years; afterwards he shipped dairy and poultry products from Michigan and Pennsylvania for several years, and then he established at Troy, Pa., the first creamery in that section, which he operated for 20 years; and then retired from business. He was never married, and died in 1915.
3. Mary Jane Heywood, born in 1837; died in 1857.
4. Sidney Solyman Heywood, born in 1839; he served 3 years in the Civil War, during which he was wounded 3 times; afterwards he resided in Holyoke, Mass., and in New York City, and then for many years at Jackson, Mich., where he was prominently identified with the business interests of the city, and president of the Eldred Milling Co. He was twice married, and had 5 children; he died in 1911.
5. Harriet Elizabeth Heywood, born in 1841; married Joseph P. Estabrook, in 1880, and they resided at Arlington, Mass., where Mr. Estabrook died in 1925.
THE WHITNEY FAMILY.
Amos Whitney was probably born in Rindge, N. H., where his father lived and died; Amos lived for a time in Leominster, and about 1812 he bought from Abel Downe the farm in the northeasterly part of Royalston, adjoining the place occu- pied by several generations of the Holman family, which was his home until his death, in 1874, at the age of 86 years; he married Sophia Harris, of Fitchburg, who died in 1877, at the age of 90 years. They had 5 children:
1. Mary Ann Whitney, born in 1812; in 1847, she married Benjamin Wheeler, of Bolton, according to the record, but he was born in the west part of Royalston, and probably lived there after his marriage until the house on his place was burned. After the railroad was opened through South Royalston, George Whitney held the position of "depot master" or station agent, but resided at the Center and carried the mail there, for many years, and Benjamin Wheeler was in charge at the station
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and attended to the business there until about 1870; he died in 1884. Benjamin and Mary Ann (Whitney) Wheeler had 3 children, 2 of whom died in infancy, and Levi Whitney Wheeler, born in 1848, who married Martha M. Cutter, and they had 5 children; he died in 1922.
2. Sophia Whitney, born in 1815; married Reuben Browning, of Holden, in 1836, and died in 1865; they had a child, Marion Browning, born in 1840, married Rogers, and died in 1899.
3. George Whitney, son of Amos and Sophia (Harris) Whitney, was born in 1817. In his early manhood he was a driver of the big freighting teams which transported products and merchandise between Boston and Royalston, and it is told that he also drove stage-coaches, carrying passengers and mails. When the Vermont and Massachusetts railroad was opened, changing transportation largely from the highways to the rails, he became station agent at the Royalston station, at South Royalston, and also carried the mails between South Royalston and the Center, always residing at the Center. These matters have been referred to in detail on pages 95 and 96. And on pages 66 and 139 mention has been made of his connection with the sawmill and chair manufactory-at South Royalston. On pages 87 and 98 something has been told of his connection with the effort to establish an extensive wood-working plant at the Center. In 1858, with other parties, he suc- ceeded to the ownership and management of the woolen mill at South Royalston, which was his principal business interest for the remainder of his life; the story of it is told at pages 137-138, and need not be duplicated here.
Residence of Col. George Whitney, 1873.
He was connected with military af- fairs, and attained the rank of colonel of a regiment of Massachusetts infan- try; this position he resigned, however, at the opening of the Civil War, in 1861, so that he never participated in that for which he had prepared.
He served the Town as Selectman and Assessor in 1856; probably he might have been again called to fill those and other town offices, if his business and other interests had not required so much of his time and attention.
He served in political offices, in the interests of the districts of which Roy- alston was a part, as follows: Representative in the State Legislature in 1859 and in 1893; State Senator in 1863 and 1864; and member of the Governor's Council for 5 years, from 1873 to 1877. As Senator he acquired the title of "Honorable," and as Councillor that of "Colonel" again, as the Council on some occasions acts as a sort of body guard or military escort to the Governor, in which each member is ranked as colonel, and wears uniform and accouterments of that position. He was a director of the Millers River National Bank, at Athol, for about 30 years.
The residence of Col. Whitney, shown in the little picture, was located at 58C on the Common, on our map of the Center village, on page 52. Somehow I have acquired the opinion that the house was occupied by George F. Miller before it became the home of Col. Whitney, and that perhaps it was built by Mr. Miller, as mentioned on page 55. But that does not seem to provide continuous homes for both families, as Col. Whitney was married in 1842 and had 3 children born before Mr. Miller and his wife and 5 children removed to Westfield, in 1851, or later.
Col. George Whitney married Eliza Jane Simpson, of Boston, in 1842, and they had 4 children; she died Dec. 31, 1884. Col. Whitney married, 2nd, Mary Evelyn Carter, Aug. 21, 1890. He died Dec. 26, 1897.
The 4 children of Col. George Whitney and his 1st wife, Eliza Jane (Simpson) Whitney, were as follows:
(1.) Sophia Elizabeth Whitney, born May 2, 1844; died July 15, 1844.
(2.) Charles Whitney, born Dec. 28, 1845; died Sept. 17, 1861.
(3.) Mary Elizabeth Whitney, born Oct. 11, 1847; died Oct. 27, 1865.
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(4.) George Ellis Whitney, born Jan. 30, 1864. After a course of commercial education in Boston, at the age of 18 he began work in connection with his father's woolen mill at South Royalston (see page 138); he became superintendent of the mill when the business was incorporated as the George Whitney Woolen Company, in 1890; the mill was destroyed by fire, in 1892, and the business was carried on at what had been known as the McTaggart mill at West Fitchburg; but in 1893 or 1894 a mill was bought at Enfield, N. H., and the business was removed there; then a building was erected at South Royalston and business was resumed there; and after the death of Col. Whitney, in 1897, George Ellis Whitney, who had been manager of all its mills, became president and treasurer of the company. In 1908 both the Enfield and the South Royalston mills were sold to the American Woolen Company and became links in its great chain of mills; Mr. Whitney became asso- ciated with the company, and was in charge of its mills at Enfield and Lebanon, N. H., and at Winooski, Vt., residing at Enfield; afterwards he removed to Bur- lington, Vt., and gave his attention entirely to the Winooski mills, which employed some 2,000 people.
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