The history of Holden, Massachusetts. 1684-1894, Part 15

Author: Estes, David Foster, 1851-; Damon, Samuel Chenery, 1815-1885. cn
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Worcester, Mass., Press of C. F. Lawrence
Number of Pages: 575


USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Holden > The history of Holden, Massachusetts. 1684-1894 > Part 15


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).


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Howe, Amasa A .- Company C, Thirty-fourth Regiment. Enlisted July 29th, 1862. Died in prison at Florence, S. C, November 25th, 1864.


Howe, Hiram -Company B, Third Battalion ; Company G, Thirty first Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861; re- enlisted December 20th, 1861.


180


HISTORY OF HOLDEN.


Hubbard, Calvin - Company G, Thirty-sixth Regiment. Enlisted August 17th, 1862. Died in Libby Prison, Richmond, Va, February 26th, 1863.


Hubbard, John F .- Company B, Third Battalion ; Sergeant, Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861; re-enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Hubbard, Lyman A .- Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Hubbard, Martin -Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. En- listed September 30th, 1862.


Hubbard, Myron E .- Company E, Twenty-first Regiment. Enlisted August 15th, 1861.


Hubbard, Stephen N .- Wagoner, Company G, Thirty-sixth Regiment. Enlisted August 12th, 1862.


Humphrey, Henry H .- Company C, Thirty-sixth Regiment. Enlisted August 27th, 1862.


Johnson, George T .- Company C, Thirty-fourth Regiment. Enlisted January 5th, 1862. Died in hospital, Phila- delphia, Pa., January 4th, 1865.


Kelton, Ira J .- Sergeant, Company B, Third Battalion ; Cap- tain, Company C, Twenty first Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted October 3d, 1861. Fell mortally wounded at Chantilly, Va., September Ist, 1862; died at Georgetown, D. C., September 19th, I862.


Kennan, Myron J .- Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. En- listed September 30th, 1862.


Kennan, Silas F .- Company H, Thirty-first Regiment. En- listed November 10th, 1861.


Keyes, Lyman E .- Company C, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted September 13th, 1861. Killed June 3d, 1864. Knowlton, Charles H .- Company A, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted September 14th, 1861.


Knowlton, Franklin A .- Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Knox, Henry F .- Company A, Twenty-fifth Regiment. En- listed September 16th, 1861.


181


MILITARY AFFAIRS.


Knox, Walter D .- Company A, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted September 16th, 1861.


Ladd, Henry C .- Company B, Third Battalion ; Company -, Fifty first Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861; re- enlisted


Levally, Godfrey - Company E, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted October 12th, 1861.


Lincoln, Albert A .- Corporal, Company B, Fifty-first Regi- ment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Logan, John M .- Company C, Twenty-fifth Regiment .. En- listed April 7th, 1862.


Lovell, Lewis -Company K, Fourth Cavalry. Enlisted August 9th, 1864.


Lowell, Henry H .- Company F, Forty-second Regiment. Enlisted July 15th, 1864. Died at Alexandria, Va., October 5th, 1864.


Lowell, William J .- Company H, Twenty-seventh Regiment. Enlisted August 15th, 1862.


Lumazette, Francis - Company B, Third Battalion ; Company G, Twenty-first Regiment ; Company K, Thirty-sixth Regiment ; Company B, Fifty-sixth Regiment. En- listed April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted August 15th, 1861; re-enlisted January Ist, 1864. Died of wounds Au- gust 13th, 1864.


McDonald, John A .- Captain, Company H, Twenty-eighth Regiment. Enlisted October 8th, 1861, transferred July 26th, 1863, to Veteran Reserve Corps. McGrath, James, Jr .- Company B, Fifty-first Regiment ; Com- pany F, Forty-second Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862 ; re-enlisted July 15th, 1864.


Martin, Joseph -- Company G, Twenty-fifth Regiment. En .. listed October 6th, 1861.


May, John E .- Company B, Fifty-seventh Regiment. En - listed January 4th, 1864.


Mayo, John S .- Company K, Twenty-fifth Regiment. En- listed September 21st, 1861.


.


182


HISTORY OF HOLDEN.


Merrifield, Frank H .- Company D, Fifteenth Regiment ; Company G, Twentieth Regiment. Enlisted March 5th, 1862, transferred July 27th, 1864. Moore, Charles S .- Company B, Third Battalion ; Company H, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted October 18th, 1861.


Moore, Franklin - Company A, First Provisional Guards. Enlisted July 13th, 1863.


Moore, Harlan P .- Sergeant, Company K, Thirty-sixth Regi- ment. Enlisted July 28th, 1862. Died at Camp Nel- son, Ky., March Ist, 1864.


Moses, Samuel A .- Company B, Third Battalion. Enlisted April 19th, 1861.


Murphy, Michael- Nineteenth Regiment, unassigned. En- listed July 31st, 1863.


Newell, George W .- Company D, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted April 7th, 1862. Died of wounds at Fort Schuyler, New York Harbor, July 24th, 1864.


Newell, Hiram P .- Sergeant, Company B, Third Battalion. Enlisted April 19th, 1861.


Newell, Phineas R .- Lieutenant, Company B, Third Battalion ; Lieutenant, Company F, Forty-second Regiment. En- listed April 11th, 1861 ; re-enlisted July 15th, 1864. Nichols, William H .- Musician, Twenty-first Regiment. Enlisted August 23d, 1861.


O'Brien, William - Bugler, Company K, Fourth Cavalry. Enlisted August 8th, 1864.


Paddock, Charles F .- Company B, Fifty seventh Regiment. Enlisted January 4th, 1864.


Paine, Seth H .- Company G, Twenty-first Regiment. En. listed August 13th, 1861.


Panton, Maxie - Company B, Third Battalion ; Company F, Twenty-first Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted August 15th, 1861.


Parker, Edward -Company D, Twenty-fifth Regiment. En- listed September 27th, 1862; re-enlisted February, 1864.


183


MILITARY AFFAIRS.


Parker, Edwin S .- Company A, Ninth Regiment ; Company A, Thirty-second Regiment. Enlisted July 13th, 1863 ; transferred June 9th, 1864.


Parker, William - Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Parmenter, Rodney A .- Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Paul, Charles - Company A, Fifty-seventh Regiment. En- listed January 4th, 1864; transferred to Veteran Re- serve Corps.


Perry, Cyrus M .- Chaplain, Twenty-fourth New York Cavalry. Enlisted April 3d, 1865.


Perry, William C .- Company C, Thirty-fourth Regiment. En- listed July 29th, 1862. Died at Fort Lyon, Alexandria, Va., October 2Ist, 1862.


Pierce, Oliver - Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Piper, Alfred - Company B, Third Battalion ; Company E, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted September 10th, 1861.


Pratt, Edwin F .- Company B, Third Battalion; Company K, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted September 17th, 1861.


Preston, Samuel - Company B, Third Battalion ; Company K, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted September 17th, 1861.


Putnam, Willard R .- Company A, First Cavalry. Enlisted January 5th, 1864.


Riley, Michael - Company G, Twenty fifth Regiment. Enlisted March 5th, 1864. Killed at Drury's Bluff, May 16th, I 864.


Rivers, Edward - Company C, Thirty-fourth Regiment ; Com- pany A, Twenty-fourth Regiment. Enlisted December 15th, 1863 ; transferred June 14th, 1865.


Rivers, Peter - Company I, Fourth Cavalry. Enlisted August 9th, 1864.


184


HISTORY OF HOLDEN.


Robinson, Albert B .- Surgeon, Tenth Regiment ; Surgeon, Forty-second Regiment. Enlisted August 9th, 1862 ; re-enlisted July 15th, 1864.


Robinson, Thomas -Company G, Twenty-first Regiment ; Company K, Thirty-sixth Regiment ; Company E, Fifty- sixth Regiment. Enlisted August 23d, 1861 ; re-en- listed, January Ist, 1864.


Rogers, Emory - Corporal, Company B, Third Battalion ; Lieutenant, Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. En- listed April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Rogers, Winslow B .- Musician, Company G, Thirty-sixth Regiment. Enlisted August 12th, 1862. Died at Vicksburg, Miss., July 25th, 1863.


Santon, Oliver - Company E, Twenty-first Regiment. En- listed August 15th, 1861.


Savage, George E .- Musician, Company B, Fifty-first Regi- ment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Savage, John B .-- Company B, Third Battalion ; Company A, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted April 19th, 1861 ; re enlisted September 12th, 1861. Died in prison at Belle Isle, Va., March Ist, 1864.


Sargent, Ephraim H .- Company C, Thirty-fourth Regiment ; Company A, Twenty-fourth Regiment. Enlisted De- cember 14th, 1863 ; transferred June 14th, 1865.


Sawyer, Alphonso B .- Company B, Third Battalion. Enlisted April 19th, 1861.


Seaver, George H .- Company C, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted January 11th, 1865.


Seaver, Roswell R .- Company A, Fifty-seventh Regiment ; Company C, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted January 4th, 1864 ; re-enlisted January 11th, 1865.


Short, John - Company E, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted October 12th, 1861.


Smith, Artemas C .- Company -, First Battalion ; Sergeant, Company G, Second Cavalry. Enlisted --; re-en- listed


185


MILITARY AFFAIRS.


Smith, David - Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Smith, George A .- Company B, Third Battalion. Enlisted April 19th, 1861.


Smith, Herbert J .- Company B, Third Battalion. Enlisted April 19th, 1861.


Smith, Thoret - Company G, Thirty-sixth Regiment. Enlisted August 4th, 1862.


Stearns, Ezra J .- Company C, Thirty-fourth Regiment. En- listed December 7th, 1863.


Steele, Charles H .- Company F, Second Regiment. Enlisted May 25th, 1861.


Steele, George W .- Company K, Fourth Cavalry. Enlisted August 8th, 1864.


Thurston, George T .- Company B, Fifty-seventh Regiment. Enlisted January 14th, 1864. Died of wounds at Washington, D. C., June 3d, 1864.


Thurston, Lyman F .- Company G, Twenty-first Regiment ; Company K, Thirty-sixth Regiment; Company B, Fifty-sixth Regiment. Enlisted August 23d, 1861; re-enlisted January Ist, 1864.


Truesdell, Horace L .- Company B, Fifty-first Regiment ; Company I, Fourth Cavalry. Enlisted September 30th, 1862 ; re-enlisted August 9th, 1864. Died of wounds, April 15th, 1865. Truesdell Lucius New York Cavalry. Enlisted February 12th, 1862.


Tucker, Alfred S .- Company A, Thirty-sixth Regiment. En- listed August 6th, 1862. Died at Salisbury, N. C., February 6th, 1865.


Turner, George H,- Company F, Forty-second Regiment. Enlisted July 15th, 1864.


Williams, Count DeLeon - Company F, Twenty-second Regi- ment. Enlisted August 10th, 1861.


Winn, Cyrus D .- Company B, Fifty-first Regiment. En- listed September 30th, 1862.


186


HISTORY OF HOLDEN.


Winn, James W .- Company B, Fifty-first Regiment ; Com. pany F, Forty-second Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862 ; re-enlisted July 14th, 1864.


Wright, Frank - Sergeant, Company A, Twenty-fifth Regi- ment. Enlisted January 19th, 1864.


A list is given in the Report of the Selectmen for 1864,1 of those who had enlisted between October, 1863, and February, 1864. Most of the names appear in the above list, but of the following it has not been possible, after diligent inquiry, to learn anything beyond the fact stated above :


Charles Badew, Franklin H. Tolman,


Latham Burt, John W. Winch.


Robert Clark,


The following is a list of such residents of Holden, before or since the war, as are known to have served in putting down the Rebellion :


Aldrich, Frank A .- Company H, First Rhode Island Light Artillery.


Allen, Dwight D .- Sergeant, Company H, Fifty-seventh Regi- ment. Enlisted June iIth, 1864. . Killed July 30th, 1864, at Petersburg, Va.


Allen, James H .- Company E, First Vermont. Enlisted May 2d, 1861.


Armington, Alonzo C .- Company C, Third Vermont. Killed at the battle of Savage Station, June 29th, 1862.


Armington, Henry C .- Company K, Ninth Maine. Killed before Petersburg, July 30th, 1864.


Ball, Oscar C .- Sergeant, Company F, First Missouri Engi- neers. Enlisted September 23d, 1861.


Bates, Ira D .- Principal Musician, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted September 12th, 1861.


! " To make known to all the patriotism of our citizens in answering the demands of our government, we give the names of those who have volun- teered and entered the service of our country since October last." Selectmen of Holden in their report for the year ending February 22d, 1864.


187


MILITARY AFFAIRS.


Bennett, Austin C .- Company- F, Fourth Regiment Heavy Artillery. Enlisted August 9th, 1864.


Berry, Joseph - Company B, First Regiment Heavy Artillery, Enlisted December 15th, 1863.


Betterley, Edward S .- Company A, Fifteenth Regiment ;


Twentieth Regiment. Enlisted. August 2d, 1861; transferred July 27th, 1864.


Bixby, Jacob W .- Company C, Twenty-sixth Regiment. En- listed August 12th, 1862.


Bracewell, Joseph - Company B, Twenty-seventh Regiment. Enlisted August 28th, 1862.


Chaffee, G. Edwin - Company I, Fifty-third Regiment ; Com- pany E, Forty-second Regiment. Enlisted September 6th, 1862; re enlisted July 22d, 1864.


Chaffin, Harry W .-- Company K, Ninth Regiment, United States Volunteers.


Chaffin, Willard - First Battery, Light Artillery ; Ninth Bat- tery, Light Artillery. Enlisted August 28th, 1861 ; re- enlisted December 24th, 1865 ; transferred March 12th, 1865.


Clark, Simeon C .- Acting Third Assistant Engineer, United States Navy; on S. S. Vixen. Enlisted November 20th, 1862.


Clark, Thaddeus S .- Tenth unattached Company, Heavy Ar- tillery ; transferred to United States Navy, serving on S. S. Princeton and Monitor Tunxis. Enlisted August 5th, 1863.


Cole, Stephen T .- Company B, Twelfth Regiment ; Company E, Fourth Cavalry. Enlisted May 15th, 1861 ; re-en- listed January 4th, 1864.


Comstock, Albert M .- Musician, Company B, Seventy-second New York. Enlisted May 28th, 1861.


Cooley, Marius S .- Company G, Second Regiment. Enlisted August 14th, 1862 ; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps.


Creed, Isaac - Company K, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted April 7th, 1862.


188


HISTORY OF HOLDEN.


Davis, Alden G .- Company B, Twenty-third New York. En- listed June 1st, 1863.


Dean, Paul I .- Company D, Fourth Regiment Heavy Artil lery. Enlisted August 17th, 1864.


Dockham, Daniel - Company G, Twelfth New Hampshire. Enlisted March 29th, 1864.


Dunker, George.


Durdeen, Smith - Company F, Fifth Regiment. Enlisted May 28th, 1864.


Gardner, Andrew J .- Company C, Fourth Rhode Island. En- listed September 9th, 1861.


Geer, Roman J .- Corporal, Company K, Seventh Connecticut. Enlisted September 12th, 1861.


Graham, George S .- Company D, Fifty-third Regiment. En- listed September 2d, 1862.


Harrington, Dennis - Company E, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted June 3d, 1862.


Hill, William - Corporal, Company A, Second Vermont. Enlisted July - 1863.


Howe, Church- Sergeant, Company G, Sixth Regiment ; Cap- tain, Company K, Fifteenth Regiment; brevetted Major ; Senior Aide-de-Camp to Major-General Sedgwick. En- listed April 16th, 1861.


Jordan, William A .- Company C, Eighty-eighth Illinois. En- listed August 10th, 1862.


Kendall, Herbert I.


Kilburn, William W .- Lieutenant. Killed at the battle of


Williamsburg.


Ladd, George H .- Corporal, Company F, Forty-second Regi- ment. Enlisted July 11th, 1864.


Lamb, Edward P .- Company B, Third Battalion ; Corporal, Company F, Eighteenth Wisconsin. Enlisted April 19th, 1861 ; re-enlisted February 5th, 1862.


Lane, Benjamin H .- Company H, One Hundred and Forty- ninth Pennsylvania. Enlisted August 26th, 1862.


189


MILITARY AFFAIRS.


Leslie, Charles H .- Company C, Thirty-fifth Regiment ; Cor- poral, Company C, Twenty-ninth Regiment. Enlisted August 11th, 1864; transferred June 9th, 1865. Loring, Silas H .- Company A, Fifty-first Regiment. En-


listed September 3d, 1862.


McCabe, John M .- Company B, Second Regiment. Enlisted May 11th, 1861. McCarty, Edward.


Mellsop, James-Company D, Fifty-first Regiment. En- listed September 30th, 1862.


Merriam, Horace- Company C, Twenty-fifth Regiment. En- listed October 10th, 1861.


Moore, Marcus- Company F, Fifty-first Regiment. Enlisted October 14th, 1862.


Moore, Thomas- Company I, Tenth Rhode Island. Enlisted May 26th, 1862.


Moran, Thomas- Company D, Thirty-fourth Regiment. En- listed 1865.


Morse, Horace B .- Corporal, Company I, Thirty-ninth Regi- ment. Enlisted August 4th, 1862.


Murphy, James- Company K, Third United States Infantry. Enlisted July 2d, 1861.


Nado, Michael- - - New York Cavalry. Enlisted February 12th, 1862.


Newton, Nahum.


Paddock, John D.1


Padelford, John W .- Company K, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted September 16th, 1861.


Parker, Warren C .- Company D, Fifty-seventh Regiment. Enlisted January 4th, 1864.


Parmenter, Cyrus T .- Company K, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted September 16th, 1861.


Parmenter, Henry H .- Company G, Eighteenth Regiment. Enlisted October 3d, 1861 ; died in hospital at Sharps- burg, Va., November 4th, 1862, from wounds received at the battle of Antietam.


1 Served in a South Carolina Regiment.


190


HISTORY OF HOLDEN.


Parmenter, Joshua R .- Company K, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted September 16th, 1861.


Parmenter, William A .- Company E, Fifty-second Regiment. Enlisted October 11th, 1862.


Partridge, Daniel W .- Company G, Thirty-sixth Regiment. Enlisted August 7th, 1862.


Peacock, James- Company D, Fifteenth Regiment ; Lieuten- ant, Company D, Fifty-seventh Regiment. Enlisted July 12th, 1861 ; re-enlisted April 9th, 1864.


Putman, Austin-Company A, Thirty-fourth Regiment. En- listed July 22d, 1862.


Rood, James T .- Assistant Surgeon, Twenty-eighth Regiment. Enlisted August 11th, 1862.


Sault, Julius - Company A, First Vermont Cavalry. Enlisted December 5th, 1861.


Sawyer, John G .- Company -, First Regiment Heavy Artil- Jery. Enlisted August 14th, 1862.


Schofield, John E .- Company D, Fifty-first Regiment. En- listed October 14th, 1862.


Skiff, Austin E .- Sergeant, Company F, Fifty-seventh Illi- nois. Enlisted October 17th, 1861.


Spaulding, J. Calvin - Sergeant, Company F, Twenty-fifth Regiment. Enlisted September 16th, 1861.


Streeter, Edwin H .- Corporal, Company I, Ninth New Hamp- shire. Enlisted August 4th, 1862.


Strong, Luther W .- Company C, Fifty-first Regiment ; Ser- geant, Company D, Fourth Regiment Heavy Artillery. Enlisted August 20th, 1862 ; re-enlisted August 25th, 1864


Thompson, William - Seventy-ninth New York. Enlisted March Ist, 1865.


Truchon, Charles. L .- Sergeant, Company E, Forty-second Regiment. Enlisted September 30th, 1862.


Turner, Charles F .- Company F, Thirty-seventh Regiment. Enlisted August Ist, 1862.


Tuttle, Fred H.


191


MILITARY AFFAIRS.


Verry, Herbert W .- Company A, Twenty-third Regiment. Enlisted January 3d, 1864.


Whitney, Jonas L .- Company A, Twenty-third Regiment. Enlisted September 20th, 1861.


Whittemore, Hezekiah P .- Corporal, Company E, Fourth Cavalry. Enlisted January 5th, 1864.


Woodbury, Robert - Company B, Frontier Cavalry. Enlisted December 3Ist, 1864.


A post of the GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC was organized in January, 1869, with seven charter members, which has been designated as Theron E. Hall Post, No. 77. Seventy-three . comrades have in all been mustered into the ranks of this Post. It has disbursed considerable sums in aid to needy members, and has performed a public service of still greater value as an object lesson of patriotic purpose and service. Its members have thus not only perpetuated loyal memories, but have also inspired loyal devotion to the flag and the country.


The Commanders of the Post have been : Samuel W. Arm- ington, January to July, 1869 ; Emory Rogers, July to Decem- ber, 1869; Phineas R. Newell, 1870; John G. Schofield, 1871; Isaac Damon, 1872; Alfred Chaffin, 1873-4 ; Joseph H. Glea- son, 1875-6; Hiram P. Newell, 1877-9 ; Joseph H. Gleason, · 1880-1; Isaac Damon, 1882-3; George S. Graham, 1884-7 ; Thaddeus S. Clark, 1888-90 ; Gustavus Holden, 1891-2.


Memorial Day has been regularly observed by the Post, usu- ally with public exercises in which the public generally have joined. . For some years past an appropriation has been made from the town treasury to aid in defraying the expenses of the celebration. Addresses have been given on these occasions as follows: 1869, Major Theron E. Hall; 1871, Colonel Joseph A. Titus, of Worcester ; 1872, Rev. A. J. Rich, of North Brookfield ; 1873, Mr. Frank M. Sprague, of Worcester ; 1876, Samuel C. Damon, D. D .; 1877, Rev. Henry M. Rogers ; 1878, Rev. Amos B. Kendig, of Worcester ; 1879, Rev. Joseph F. Lovering, of Worcester ; 1880, Rev. Isaac S. Hamblin ; 188I, Mr. Alonzo K. Learned ; 1882, Hon. Theodore C. Bates,


192


HISTORY OF HOLDEN.


of North Brookfield ; 1883, Mr. William C. Whiting ; 1884, Captain Alonzo A. White, of Worcester ; 1885, Hon. Carleton C. Coffin, of Boston ; 1886, Rev. Sullivan L. Holman, of Provi- dence ; 1887, William A. Gile, Esq., of Worcester; 1888, Rev. David F. Estes ; 1889, Rev. Melvin J. Allen ; 1890, Rev. Charles H. Pendleton, of Worcester ; 1891, General Augustus B. R. Sprague, of Worcester ; 1892, Rev. Benjamin H. Lane.


CHAPTER XI.


FACILITIES OF COMMUNICATION.


ROADS. - TURNPIKE. - HOTELS. - RAILROADS. - TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE. - POST-OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS.


LONG with schools, roads have always demanded and received constant attention and liberal provision from the Town of Holden. The four public high- ways, which were ordered by the Proprietors, have been almost yearly increased, both in number and extent, until the entire town is veined with a network of roads, which, on the whole, very well accommodate the people of the town, and as a rule, are kept in excellent condition. The yearly cost of the maintenance of highways is at present fully two thousand dollars, which is expended under the control of a board of three Highway Commissioners. The highway tax was allowed to be worked out till 1861 ; since then it has been payable in money.


The Sixth Incorporated Turnpike of Massachusetts formerly traversed the town, passing through the Center. The charter for this road was granted June 2Ist, 1799, and was relinquished August IIth, 1828. It extended from Shrewsbury to Amherst, being forty-three miles, one hundred and twelve rods in length, was constructed in a single summer, and cost about thirty thousand dollars. The old toll-house used to stand a little west of the Center, near where the house of Deacon George S. God- dard now stands. In the olden time the route through Holden was a great thoroughfare of travel to and from Boston, for northwestern Massachusetts and the neigboring districts of


194


HISTORY OF HOLDEN.


New Hampshire and Vermont. If the tavern books of Land. lord Paul Davis and the Abbotts had not, unfortunately, been destroyed, they could tell a story that would surprise many to- day as to the extent of the traffic which then passed through our borders, and the distance which some of the tavern guests must travel to reach their homes again.


The first house of public entertainment in town was kept by John Child, near the Bullard place. For forty years, during the latter part of the last century and the earlier part of the pres- ent century, " Landlord Paul Davis " kept tavern in a building long since removed, on the summit of the hill overlooking Eagleville. The most famous hostelry in Holden was, how- ever, "the old Abbott Tavern." This famous building was erected in 1763, and was occupied as a Tavern more than a hundred years. The house was kept by Abbotts of three. successive generations, and was all this time in the hands of the family, except for two years, when it was leased to Samuel Davis. It has been said, " It is no exaggeration to state that Abbott's Hotel was known from the Pacific to the At- lantic Ocean." The house was first kept by John Abbott, from whom it passed to his son, Captain Lemuel Abbott. His son, Major Chenery Abbott, in turn succeeded him in the management of the hotel. Though a score of years have passed since the aged landlord closed his doors on the last departing guest, there are still many who remember the pecu- liar flavor of the beer which he brewed, and the rare quality of the flip which he prepared in a way of his own, and many others still kindly remember the abounding humor of Holden's last great landlord.


In 1875, Amasa Howe opened as a hotel, under the name of the Central House, the large brick dwelling at the corner of the common, built by Lemuel Davis. He was succeeded in the managment by Lewis F. Hubbard, John M. Welch, Charles W. Foote and others, and, finally, by James C. Allen, who now occupies the building as a private residence.


A hotel was opened many years ago at Eagleville by John P. Maynard. Among others, Ethan Davis and Peter S. Winn


CENTER. LOOKING EAST FROM THE COMMON.


195


FACILITIES OF COMMUNICATION.


managed it at different times, but it has not been found possi- ble to secure anything like a correct list of the proprietors in former years. For some time previous to 1865 it was con- trolled by Dustin Hall. In that year he sold to Edward F. Witt. The real estate has since been owned in turn by Martin V. B. Jefferson, Edward F. Merrick and Lyman G. Petts. The hotel has at different times been in charge of George Wright, Myron Kennan, Elijah Kennan, Sparrow Crosby, Alfred J. Kirby, Calvin Underwood, A. A. Whitney, W. Muzzey and Lyman G. Petts, the latter at four several times. When purchased by Mr. Petts the name was changed from the " Brick City Hotel " to the "Eagleville Hotel."


To Colonel Jarvis Abbott, Holden is under great and pe- culiar obligations. In his old age tree-planting became · almost a mania with him, and to this fact we owe the well- grown shade trees which now adorn both the common and the old cemetery, and much more of the foliage which so beauti- fully embowers the village. It were indeed by no means to be regretted, if the sound sense of all our citizens tended as much to village improvement and the general advantage, as did the failing powers of Colonel Abbott.




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