USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Holden > The history of Holden, Massachusetts. 1684-1894 > Part 2
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" The dividing line between North and South Worcester was drawn during the year 1683 or 84. For a period of more than thirty years subsequent to this division, but meagre records have been preserved relating to the North half of Worcester. ' For a time', observes Lincoln, in his History of Worcester, ' we lose sight of the town and its inhabitants. From 1686 to 1713 no record is preserved on the proprietary book of any transactions. Neither history nor tradition informs us of the labors, dangers and sufferings of the earlier planters. General Gookin, the early and faithful friend of the plantation, was called to the rewards of a long life, characterized by fervent piety, enlightened benevolence, incorruptible integrity, and the practice of every manly virtue, in March, 1687'.3 Captain Adam Winthrop was appointed to the office which had been so
quantity of land which would have been comprehended in a tract eight miles square. . As stated in the original plan, the north and south lines were 1920 rods each; the east line 3815; the west 3760." Lincoln's History of Worcester, p. 160.
1 Lincoln's History of Worcester, p. 30. 2 Ibid., p. 30. 3 Ibid., p. 33.
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ably filled by the untiring exertions of the much lamented Gookin. The Winthrop family of Boston owned extensive tracts of land in North and South Worcester.
" I can find no records which lead me to conclude that any settlements were made in Worcester North half previously to 1722. The solitude of the wilderness had remained unbroken, unless the occasional report of a huntsman's gun, or the shrill whoop of the Indian, echoing among the hills, aroused the timid deer or hungry wolf. Tradition reports that numbers of each species remained in this vicinity, long after the first settlers had made their homes in the wilderness. History as well as tradition describes an Indian path leading from Lancaster to Hadley, which passed through the north part of this town, near the farm now owned by Samuel W. Hubbard. Traces of this path I am told are still to be seen.
" One century had now elapsed, since the Pilgrims disem- barked from the Mayflower, upon the shores of New England. It had been a century of labors, hardships, perils and wars, to the first settlers of the country. During this period, the colo- nies were continually increasing in population and importance. Every year witnessed new settlements in the wilderness. Hardy adventurers were carrying to the westward the outposts of civilization. The town of Worcester was incorporated June 14th, 1722.1 In the month of October following, the pro- prietors of ' common and undivided lands' in the town of Worcester voted, 'that a Committee of five men be Chosen, to provide a surveyor forthwith to measure the meadows in in the North half part of the Township of Worcester' .? Al- though this vote was not then carried into execution, in consequence of certain troubles in South Worcester, yet I deem it worthy of special notice, because from this date - the last Wednesday of October, 1722, - authentic records of this township have been carefully preserved.
" An incident occurred about this period - spring of 1723- which led, as I suppose, to the forming of the first settlement
1 Lincoln's History of Worcester, p. 50. 2 Proprietors' Books, vol. I, p. I.
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in this town. Mr. Jonas Rice, a citizen of South Worcester, had discovered limestone upon the farm now known by the name of the 'Bullard Farm'. At a meeting of the proprietors, in March, 1723, a vote was passed granting 'Encouragement to the first finder of Lime Stones and Undertaker of Burning . Lime for supplying the Town'. A committee was appointed to agree with Mr. Rice to burn lime upon the following con- ditions, viz :
" I. That the above sd undertaker [Mr. Rice], to have a pattent for 50 acres of Land to be alotted him, to Digg stones in for seven years and that he hath Liberty to Cut wood for the burning of Lime in any of the Common Land belonging to the proprietors, and that Every body Else be forbidd Digging Lime Stones, or Cutting Wood until the end of sd term.
"2. That the Town be allowed two pence per Bushell for all Merchantable Lime .
"3. That All the Inhabitants of the Town that may have Occasion, for their own Use in building to be used in the Town Shall Give Twelve pence per Bushell for it and no more.
"6. That the Undertaker be Oblig'd to goe upon the busieness with all speed and also to Supply the Inhabitants with Lime for their own Use when they want it as soon as may be with any Conveniency and that they be preferred before Any Other persons belonging to Other Towns."1
" The lot of land, known upon the early records of the town as the Lime Lot, was sold, in the year 1759, to Mr. Anthony Clark .? The avails form part of the present school fund of the town. A settlement was made in the immediate neighborhood of the lime lot, which is supposed to be the FIRST SETTLEMENT in Holden. The remains of the lime kilns still appear about sixty rods south of Timothy Parker's house. That part of the town subsequently set off to form West Boylston, was very early settled by the Lovells.
" The records of the proprietors of the common and undi- vided lands in North and South Worcester, indicate that
1 Proprietors' Books, vol. 1, pp. 3, 4. 2 Town Records, vol. I, p. 120.
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vigorous exertions were made on their part to promote the rapid settlement of this portion of the township. They caused two surveys to be made, one in the autumn of 1723 and the other in the spring of 1724. The land having been thus surveyed, was divided into lots containing respectively sixty acres and one hundred acres, called first and second divisions. Those owning land in South Worcester were entitled to tracts of land in North Worcester agreeably to the following rules, viz. : A land-holder of forty acres in the South part was entitled to sixty acres of the first division and one hundred acres of the second division, 'and so proportionable to bigger and lesser lotts'. I would remark that persons were left to the choice of particular tracts, having first cast lots for priority of choice. The individual drawing No. I was allowed to pitch first in that division which contained sixty-acre lots, but last in the other division which contained one hundred-acre lots. The above tracts of land were all to be laid out 'Square or a Long Square '.1
" No proprietor was more active and efficient in promoting the welfare of North Worcester, at this early period, than Colonel Adam Winthrop of Boston. As a mark of grateful respect to this gentleman for his good services, the proprietors passed the following vote :- ' Coll. Adam Winthrop, for his good services Done for the Town of Worcester shall have the first pitch in the North half part of Worcester." For years subsequent to this event the interests of North Worcester profited by his wise counsels and judicious plans. He emphat- ically may be called a FATHER to the town.
"Near four thousand acres of land in North Worcester, were transferred from company stock to private individuals. Many of the proprietors of lands living in Boston and vicinity, their meetings were frequently held in that city. To facilitate settlements and raise the value of landed property, the proprie- tors appointed a committee to lay out four public roads, six rods wide, from the center of North Worcester, in such ways
1 Proprietors' Books, vol. I, p. 6. 2 Ibid., vol. I, p. 7.
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as would be most serviceable to the said half part and the towns adjoining.1 The center of the township was then supposed to be about fifty or sixty rods north from the spot occupied by the house in which we are now assembled. These public roads were laid out previously to any portion of the township becoming the private property of individuals.
" From the consultation of ancient records, or inquiries among the most aged inhabitants, I have not been able to decide upon the precise years when settlements were made in different parts of the town. The number of inhabitants as early as 1733, was sufficient in their opinion to render desir- able the the establishment of public worship. In November of that year, James Thompson, who lived beyond the Warner Farm,2 associated with sixteen others, petitioned the proprie- tors, praying that the land might be taxed to defray the expense which would arise from building a meeting-house and supporting a minister.3 This attempt was not successful, but Thompson and his fellow townsmen did not relax their efforts. The right of petition, that most reasonable of all rights, they continued to exercise, until their desires were fully gratified, when they obtained, in the year 1736, a vote from the proprie- tors to erect a house for public worship : '50 feet long ; 40 wide; and 22 between the joynts'. At the same meeting of the proprietors, December, 1736, it was also voted that the meeting-house should be erected 'about 65 rods southward from the place where four roads meet'. Capt. Benjamin Flagg, Lieut. Simon Davis, and Lieut. Joseph Hubbard, were appointed a committee to select the proper spot, 'which shall be found most accommodable there forr to be fixed & staked out '.4
" The question may have arisen in the minds of some of this audience, what was the character of the preaching in those early times? A vote recorded on the 29th page, vol. I. of the Proprietors' Books, furnishes a most satisfactory answer.
1 Proprietors' Books, vol. I, p. 6. [2 Now, 1892, owned and occupied by Ira B. Maynard. ] 3 Proprietors' Books, vol. I. p. 27. 4 Ibid., vol. I, p. 29.
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December 29, 1736: ' Voted, That provision be made for supporting an orthodox ministerr to preach the Gospel in said north half fer three years next to come.'
"To defray the expenses which would necessarily arise from carrying the above votes into execution, a tax of 4d. per acre for the first year, 3d. per acre for the second year, and 2d. for the following year, was assessed upon all lands lying within the North half of Worcester.1
" Reasons sufficiently strong induced the inhabitants of North Worcester to take proper measures for obtaining a separate act of incorporation, during the winter of 1739 and 1740. The 9th of January, 1740, has for a long period been the date assigned for the incorporation of the town. Without doubt, this date is too early by one year. The error probably arose from the practice then prevalent in the colonies and throughout Europe, of commencing the year on the 25th of March instead of the Ist of January. This practice went into disuse in the year 1752, by Act of Parliament ; when New Style was adopted in the place of Old Style.
"A few events, worthy of notice, which took place previously to the Act of Incorporation being granted, I will proceed to narrate. At a general meeting of the citizens of North and South Worcester, held March 3d, 1740, it was voted, that the North half part of the township be set off a distinct and sepa- rate town, if an act to that effect could be obtained from the General Court.2 On the 13th of May following, a petition, signed by twenty-five citizens of North Worcester, was forwarded to the General Court, praying to be set off a separate and distinct town. This petition was not granted. At the next meeting of the General Court - November of the same year - another petition was presented ; and the petition- ers were successful in obtaining An Act of Incorporation. The act passed the General Court, January 2d, and was signed by His Excellency, Governor Belcher, January 9th, 1741, and in the 14th year of the reign of George II.
' Proprietors' Books, vol. I, p. 30. 2 Worcester Town Records.
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" When this act had passed the General Court, the North half of Worcester became a distinct and separate town, 'by the name of Holden, with all the powers, privileges and immunities which the inhabitants of other towns in this province do or by right ought to enjoy '.
" The elevated character and beneficent, exertions of the gentlemen in honor of whom this town received its name, merit, on the present occasion, a respectful and grateful notice.
"The Hon. Samuel Holden was a merchant of London. By his talents, integrity, and great capacity in mercantile affairs, he raised himself to a seat in Parliament, and became a leading Director of the Bank of England. At the time of his death, June 13th, 1740, his estate was valued at £80,000 sterling. .Unfeigned piety and abounding charities added lustre and power to the other excellencies of his character. He was acknowledged to be at the head of the Dissenters in Great Britain, which circumstance probably induced him to direct his benevolent efforts to the colonies of New England. For more than forty years he was a correspondent of Dr. Benjamin Coleman of Boston, who preached a sermon on the occasion of his death being announced in this country. This sermon hav- ing been preached before the General Court of the Colony, an Order was passed, containing these words : 6 be a Committee to return the Thanks of this Court to the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Colman, for his sermon preach'd this Day (Septem- ber 4th, 1740), before the Court, on Occasion of the death of the Hon. Samuel Holden, Esq., an eminent Friend and Bene- factor to this Province.' Mr. Holden furnished abundant proof of his desire to promote the cause of evangelical piety in this country. Dr. Coleman received from him thirty-nine sets of Baxter's practical works in four massive folios, to be distributed among the churches of New England. The sum of his chari- ties, at different times, amounted to £4,847. After his death, his widow and daughters emulated his noble example in the cause of benevolence. Holden Chapel, at Cambridge, was built by their generous donations. Numerous theological works were presented by them to the first Pastor of the church in Holden
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and to his successors. I would conclude this notice of Mr. Holden by two short extracts from his letters. Alluding in one to the death of his only son, he remarks, ' I have had one son, and it pleased God early to take him from me; my com- fort in the loss of him and my dear mother, was, that I had in each, one attachment less to earth, one argument more for heaven'. On another occasion he writes, 'I hope my treas- ure is in heaven, and would to God my heart were more there. Abstract from God and futurity, I would not accept of an eternity here in any other circumstances whatever '.
" By an order of the General Court, issued March 26th, 1741, John Bigelow, a principal inhabitant of Holden, was authorized to assemble the legal voters, at some convenient place, for the choice of town officers. The citizens assembled in obedience to that order on the 4th of May. The records of that meeting have already been rehearsed. Another meet- ing was legally called, after the expiration of two weeks, for the transaction of town affairs. Six votes are recorded on the town books as having been passed upon that occassion. To the honor of the citizens of Holden legally assembled in that meeting, the vote which was first passed deserves to be written in letters of gold : 'VOTED TO HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED IN TOWN'. The following two relate to the same subject. The fourth vote deserves to be recorded in characters of nearly equal brilliancy with the first : "VOTED TO HAVE A WRITING AND READING SCHOOL'. A public pound was the object of the fifth vote. Then followed the last vote passed upon the occasion, which related to a tax of £50 to be raised, ' to defray the charge of preaching and schooling'.1
" One hundred years have passed, and, to the honor of our ancestors and their children, let the fact be published to the world, that the spirit which animated the citizens of Holden on that day still burns in the bosoms of their descendants. Good schools and good preaching have always received a liberal support from the inhabitants of this town.
1 Town Records, vol. I, p. 3.
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" During the year 1741, a school of three months was main- tained, commencing the Ist of September. No church, as yet, had been organized, or pastor settled. The town, by a unani- mous vote, July 19th, 1472, invited the Rev. Joseph Davis to enter upon the work of the gospel ministry in town. A salary of £180 (old tenor, $154 33) was voted to be annually paid to him, and the sum of £400 (old tenor, $343) as a settlement donation. From the reply of Mr. Davis we learn the manner in which the settlement money was to be paid. After expressing his acceptance of the salary proposed, he proceeds to say :
" As to Settlement I accept the same as follows (1) I take the Lands in Said Holden Given to the first Settled Minister, 1 viz. one Hundred Acers of upland in Two pieces, each containing Fifty Acers and Four Acers of Meadow (So Called) at the Some of Two Hundred and fifteen pounds old Tener as apprised by order of the Town with the proprietors Concurrence, in part of my Settle- ment money (2) I depend on receiveing from the Town or pro- priety the Remaining Some of one hundred and Eaighty five pounds Money (old Tener value) as Soon as the Same cane be Collected."2
" The interesting exercises of Mr. Davis' ordination were performed December 22d, 1742. Four of the neighboring churches were represented by their pastors and delegates, viz. : Lancaster, Worcester, Shrewsbury, and Rutland. A church was regularly organized the same day, consisting of fourteen members. All were males. Nine were admitted by letter from other churches, and five upon profession.3
" The leading aims of the first settlers of Holden were now accomplished. They desired, for years, ' to be set off a distinct and separate town'; that desire was now fully gratified. To have the gospel ministry established in their midst, was the object of their most strenuous efforts and ardent prayers. Those efforts were now crowned with success, and those prayers literally answered. The records which have been
1 Proprietors' Books, vol. I, p. 15: 2 Town Records, vol. I, p. 9.
3 Church Records, vol. 1, pp. 27, 28.
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preserved of that period most clearly indicate great harmony and peace among the citizens of Holden.
" We must now begin to trace the influence of commotions and wars in the Old World, in their effects upon the Colonies of the New, if a correct picture be exhibited of the most retired settlement in the wilderness.
"In 1744 England declared war against France. , The colonists warmly espoused the cause of their fatherland. For a period of more than twenty-five years, previous to this date, the French had been actively employed in rendering more secure their possessions in North America. To protect their navigation and fisheries, they had built the town of Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia. Vast sums of money had there been expended. Forts had been erected and batteries planted. 'This place was deemed so strong and impregnable as to be called the Dunkirk of America.' Gov. Shirley of Massachusetts projected a plan for the reduction of this stronghold. The Province of Massachusetts was called upon to furnish more than three thousand men for this enter- prise. Every town responded to the summons. We have the strongest circumstantial evidence that Holden furnished its quota of soldiers. Many of the muster rolls of the forces then raised having been destroyed, I am unable to rehearse the names of soldiers drafted from Holden. The enterprise was most successfully executed. The labors and dangers encoun- tered by the colonists of New England, are well nigh incred- ible. When the news of this event reached Europe, 'the enterprise, patriotism, and firmness of the colonists were justly extolled'.1
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"In tracing the history of Holden, we are approaching the close of that generation, who may be called THE FIRST SETTLERS OF HOLDEN. With the most intense interest must our minds linger around this period of our history. The men of that day had difficulties and trials to overcome such as meet the first settlers in every new country. To clear the forests,
1 Annals of America, by Abiel Holmes, D, D., 2d ed., vol, 2, p, 28,
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erect houses, make roads, build bridges, maintain schools, and support the gospel ministry, were objects most cheerfully per- formed by our worthy ancestors. Barely to live was not the whole of life with them ; it was their determination to live as honest men, good neighbors, honorable citizens, and accountable to God. From no source of information have I gathered facts which would lead to the conclusion, that the first settlers of Holden were inferior to that generation of men whose settle- ment in New England forms so important an epoch in history, and whose fame knows no other limits than the whole civilized world. It is not till 1753 that I discover any public misde- meanor to have been committed by a citizen of Holden, when two boys were fined one pound, seven shillings, for breaking glass in the meeting-house.1
" A large proportion of the families first settling in Holden, could trace their ancestry back to the earlier settlers of New England. Many came from Concord, some from Lexington, and others from Watertown, Medfield and other towns in the eastern part of the Province. Through one of these families, His Excellency, the present Governor of Massachusetts, [Hon. John Davis] traces the line of his ancestors. I refer to the family of Mr. Simon Davis, moderator of the first town meeting. He was also chosen, at the same meeting, chairman of the board of Selectmen and Grand-juryman. During his life he sustained the most important offices in the power of his fellow townsmen to bestow, and died, February 16th, 1763, at the advanced age of eighty years.
" The charge of excessive vanity has, again and again, been cast upon the people of New England, for speaking in terms which betray warm admiration for the character of their ances tors. Those who would reproach us being the judges, there is acknowledged truth in the quaintly expressed sentiment of an old writer : 'The Lord sifted the kingdoms of Europe to obtain
1 Town Records, May 22, 1753. "Voted one pound seven shillings Now in the Treasurers hand, that he Recd of Isaac Lealand and Joseph Bush for their Shooting at the Meeting House be for mending the Glass and other Breaches in sd Meeting House,"
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good seed wherewith to plant the sterile fields of New England.' (I quote from memory.)
" Allusion has already been made to the fact that wars among the nations of Europe affected the welfare of the American Colonies. The war known in history by the name of French and Indian War' furnishes melancholy evidence for the truth of this statement. 'The military records of those wars," writes Governor Everett, 'as far as the Province of Massachu- setts is concerned are still in existence. The original muster rolls are preserved in the State House at Boston. They prove that the people of Massachusetts, between the years 1755 and 1763, performed an amount of military service, probably never exacted of any other people, living under a goverment professing to be free. Not a village in Massachusetts, but sent its sons to lay their bones in the West Indies, in Nova Scotia, and the Canadian wilderness. Judge Minot states, that in the year 1757, one third part of the effective men of Massachusetts were in some way or other, in the field, and that the taxes imposed on real property in Boston, amounted to two thirds of the income.'2
" I have examined many of the old muster rolls and other records relating to this war, now safely deposited in our State archives. From those papers I have copied the names of such persons as engaged in the French and Indian war who were drafted from Holden : William Fisher, Richard Flagg, Samuel Boyd and Peter Nutten, enlisted into the company of Capt.
[] Gov. William Stoughton, Election Sermon, April 29th, 1668, p. 19. "God sifted a whole Nation that he might send choice Grain over into this Wilderness." Compare Longfellow, "Miles Standish,"
" God had sifted three kingdoms to find the wheat for the planting.
Then had sifted the wheat, as the living seed of a nation ;
So say the chronicles old, and such is the faith of the people."]
[2 " The military efforts of the colonies had indeed, from the first, been remarkable. It was calculated, near the commencement of the last century, that every fifth man in Massachusetts, capable of bearing arms, had been engaged in the service at one time. . .. The regiments of New England and New York, in this war, fought on Lake Ontario and Lake George, at Quebec, in Nova Scotia, in Martinico, Porto Bello and at the Havana.', Everett's Orations and Speeches, 7th ed., vol. 1, pp. 391, 392.]
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Benj. Flagg of Worcester, to strengthen the forces stationed at Lake George. Henry Rice, Job Harris, Samuel Estabrook, John Murphy, Jedediah Estabrook (son of Samuel Estabrook), Samuel Hubbard, Jr., Samuel Bigelow, John Woodward, Samuel Thompson, and Ebenezer Fletcher, enlisted into the company of Capt. John Chandler, for the invasion of Canada. In an expedition to Crown Point, the following persons served under Capt. Fletcher of Rutland, viz .: Ebenezer Fletcher, Ist Lieut., Ebenezer Fletcher, Jr., 2d Lieut., Samuel Estabrook and son, Job Harris, Samuel Hubbard and John Murphy, Privates. There can be no doubt, that many other soldiers from Holden engaged in this war, whose names cannot now be given, because until within a few years, no pains were taken to preserve the muster rolls of those early wars.
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