USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Holden > The history of Holden, Massachusetts. 1684-1894 > Part 6
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1
GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE DAVIS FAMILY.1
DOLOR DAVIS, (Immigrated, 1634-died 1673.)
Simon, 1636-1713.
Samuel,
James, 1668-1727.
(Lieut.) Simon, 1683-1763.
Thomas, 1704-1786.
Simon,
Israel, 1717-1791.
(Rev.) Joseph, 1721-1773.
1713-1754. 1
(Capt.) James, 1734-1821.
Isaac, 1749-1827.
Paul, 1747-1835.
Elnathan, 1761-1804.
Ethan, 1766-1813.
Phineas, 1772-1834.
John2 1787-1854.
Paul,
1779-1863.
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Isaac,
Bancroft, 1822.
Avery. 1820.
Thomas Jones, 1794-1857.
Dennis, 1796-1863.
(Rev.) Elnathan, 1807-1881.
Ethan,
1812-1888.
(Dr.) David, 1802-1857.
1799-1883.
1 This Table is intentionally incomplete, its object being merely to show the relations of the various generations and of the different branches of the family. 2 " Honest John Davis," Governor of Massachusetts, 1834-5, 1841-3; Representative in Congress 1825-1834 ; U. S. Senator 1835-1841, 1845-1853.
CHAPTER V.
ANOTHER HALF-CENTURY.
SENTIMENT FOR FREEDOM. - THE HOLDEN RIFLES. - DEPAR- TURE AND RETURN. - HOLDEN'S QUOTAS. - MEMORIAL HALL. - THE TABLETS. - WAR EXPENSES. - RAILROADS. - TOWN HALL. - FINANCES. - THE POOR FARM ASSOCIA- TION. - CELEBRATIONS. - THE CYCLONE. - CHANGES.
HEN commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of his settlement in town, Dr. Paine said, "This long and harmonious connection is the more remarkable, in consideration of the great general commotion and excitement which have existed through this entire period. There has not been a moment for these thirty years, but the moral and political elements have been in active, and often angry and antagonistic disturbance. . Of course we
have felt the agitating influence."1 The first half of the period to be reviewed in this chapter was indeed a time of political storm and stress. We may say, however, that the sentiment and action of the great majority of the people of Holden tended constantly and consistently toward the progress and triumph of freedom. Here was ever to be found " the love of Man and Liberty ". A single example will illustrate the stead- ily prevailing feeling of the people. In 1854, a petition against the Douglas Nebraska Bill was circulated in town for signa-
A Sermon, preached to the Congregational Church and Society in Holden, October 25th, 1863; the Sunday following the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Settlement of their Pastor, Rev. William P. Paine, D. D., p. 17.
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HISTORY OF HOLDEN.
tures, and then forwarded to Mr. DeWitt, the Representa- tive from this district, to be presented to Congress. It was reported at the time, (a rare if not unique record), that only one man refused to sign it, and he only because he had "some doubts " on the subject.1 But neither the correctness nor the unanimity of sentiment in Holden could avert the coming storm.
When the storm at last broke in war, Holden was among the first towns in all the land to respond to the public call. Inter- est in military affairs had for a long time been very slight in this quiet community, but in 1857 a military company was organized under the name of "The Holden Rifles," forming a part of the State milita, at first, Company I of the Tenth Regi- ment, then Company B of the Third Battalion. The call of President Lincoln for seventy five thousand men was received by Governor Andrew, April 15th, 1861. On the 20th, Major (afterwards Major General) Devens commanding the Third Battalion received orders to report at once at Washington with his three companies. At five o'clock in the afternoon of that same day, the Holden Rifles stood with full ranks in the streets of Worcester, awaiting the order to march, and that night they were on their way to the endangered capital. That evening the citizens of the town met in legal meeting (the warn- ing having been posted, on account of the exigency, only four days), and "Voted to raise Fifteen hundred dollars for the benefit of the members of the Rifle Company and their fami- lies if need be, to be expended under the direction
of the Selectmen." The next day the women of Holden, instead of going to church, assembled in the Town Hall, and, from nine o'clock in the morning till sunset, worked for the benefit of the soldiers then speeding southward. After three months service, the longest term for which the militia could be ordered out of the Commonwealth, the Rifles returned with unbroken ranks, reaching home August 3d. By vote of the town they received a public welcome. A thousand people
1 Worcester Spy, March 15th, 1854,
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ANOTHER HALF-CENTURY.
were awaiting their arrival. The citizens, under Joab S. Holt as marshal, escorted the returning soldiers to the common, where a collation had been prepared under the trees. After- wards, Rev. Lester Williams presiding, Dr. Paine offered prayer, and Clark W. Gleason, as toastmaster, called out Rev. Merrill Richardson, Theron E. Hall, Martin V. B. Jefferson, Cyrus Chenery, Capt. Joseph H. Gleason and Ethan Davis.
For four years call followed call for troops, but Holden proved itself fully equal to all demands. One hundred and sixty different men went from Holden and for Holden, and by re-enlistments the number of soldiers credited to Holden reached two hundred and four. Of these no less than one hundred and twenty-seven enlisted for three years, seventeen for one year, twenty-nine for nine months, and thirty-one for three months, thus making a surplus of four beyond all demands that had been made. Twelve were commissioned officers, one colonel, one surgeon, one chaplain, one brevet major, four captains and four Lieutenants. Holden soldiers served in twenty-three regimental and other organizations from this state. The women of this town were not less lacking in devotion and service, but labored constantly and untiringly for the good of the " Boys in Blue," sending liberal contribu- tions through the Sanitary and Christian Commissions.
After the close of the war, surviving veterans and friends of the soldiers organized a Soldiers' Monument Association. In various ways funds were for several years accumulated, until they amounted to $1,100. When the Town Hall was rebuilt in 1876, the sum of five hundred dollars was paid toward the expense of the alterations with the privilege of placing suitable tablets in the Hall to commemorate the services of the soldiers who fell in the war. This was done at a cost of six hundred dollars in addition, and accordingly the upper hall is commonly and properly called "Memorial Hall." On each side of the platform are two tablets of white marble, set as panels in a heavy frame of darker marble, which is trimmed with granite and upon which are chiseled appropriate designs,
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Liberty's
2IST REGT.
CAPT. IRA J. KELTON, DIED OF WOUNDS Sept. 24, 1862.
GEORGE T. BIGELOW, Killed Sept. 17, 1862.
ALBERT CREED, DIED OF WOUNDS May 2, 1862.
JOHN FEARING, DIED OF WOUNDS Aug. 3, 1864.
25TH REGT.
EDWARD CLARK, Died Sept. 18, 1863. .
CHARLES GIBBS, Died Sept. 13, 1864.
JAMES W. GOODNOW, DIED IN PRISON Sept. 23, 1864.
JAMES W. HALEY, Died Feb. 22, 1864.
25TH REGT.
LYMAN E. KEYES, Killed June 3, 1864.
GEORGE W. NEWELL, DIED OF WOUNDS July 24, 1864.
MICHAEL RILEY, Killed May 16, 1864.
JOHN B. SAVAGE, DIED IN PRISON 4 Mar. 1, 1864.
34TH REGT.
AMASA A. HOWE, DIED IN PRISON Nov. 25, 1864.
JOHN R. HOUGHTON, Died Dec, 11, 1862.
GEORGE T. JOHNSON, Died Jan. 4, 1865.
WILLIAM C. PERRY, Died Oct. 21, 1862.
Sacrifice.
36TH REGT.
LEVI CHAMBERLAIN, Killed May 12, 1864.
CALVIN HUBBARD, DIED IN PRISON Feb. 26, 1863.
SERGT. HARLAN P. MOORE, Died Mar. 1, 1864.
WINSLOW B. ROGERS, Died July 25, 1863.
ALFRED S. TUCKER, DIED IN PRISON Feb. 6, 1865.
HENRY M. HOLT, Died Nov. 14, 1862.
56TH REGT. FRANK LUMAZETTE, DIED OF WOUNDS Aug. 13, 1864.
57TH REGT.
H. ERSKINE BLACK, Died Feb. 22, 1865.
57TH REGT.
URIAH BASSETT, Killed Aug. 19, 1864.
ELISHA C. DAVENPORT, Killed May 6, 1864.
HENRY M. FALES, Killed May 6, 1864.
JOHN HANDLEY, Killed May 6, 1864.
GEORGE THURSTON, DIED OF WOUNDS June 3, 1864.
4TH CAVALRY.
HORACE L. TRUESDELL, DIED OF WOUNDS Apr. 15, 1865.
ERECTED BY THE HOLDEN SOLDIERS' MONUMENT ASSOCIATION. MDCCCLXXVI.
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HISTORY OF HOLDEN.
These four tablets bear the names of thirty soldiers, who gave their lives for their country. Thus, whether legally sum- moned and transacting the business of the town, or gathered for instruction or amusement, as well as when observing Memorial Day, the memorial of their fallen heroes is contin- ually before the citizens, a constant incentive to noble deeds of patriotic self sacrifice.
The war entailed everywhere heavy expenses. The town of Holden paid for state aid to the families of soldiers during the war, which was afterwards reimbursed by the Commonwealth : in 1871, $577.71; in 1862, $2,293.11; in 1863, $2,781.30; in 1864, $2,546.70, and in 1865, $1,800, making the total amount thus expended, $9,998.82.1 This, as has been said, was repaid. The expenditures of the town which were not repaid were even larger. The various items for military expenditures from 1861 to 1865 amount to a no less sum than $11,752.33.
As early as 1847, preliminary surveys were made for a rail- road from the west into Worcester, passing through the western part of the town and down the valley of Tatnuck brook. But all this and other later schemes from various directions for many years came to nought. In 1869, the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad was chartered. In order to secure the building of this road through the central village, with the advan- tages resulting to other parts of the town from this course, Holden took stock to the extent of five per cent. of its valua- tion, amounting to $44,800. The road was immediately built, being opened for passenger traffic, September 4th, 1871. Later it was extended from its junction with the Worcester and Nashua Railroad to the Union Station in Worcester, and also northward to Winchendon. The railroad facilities thus secured were important, not to say indispensable, to the development or even the continuance of the prosperity of the town. Unfor- tunately, however, the road was financially weak, and after a time absolutely crippled. In an annual report of the Directors (1874), they said : " The road was started, and has been run thus
1 A History of Massachusetts in the Civil War, by William Schouler, Bos- ton, 1876, vol 2, p. 656,
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ANOTHER HALF-CENTURY.
far, under great disadvantages as compared with other roads terminating in Worcester. It has been built without adequate subscriptions to the stock, and was thus obliged to pay interest in advance of income, and was also unable to provide sufficient land for terminal accomodations before the value had risen in consequence of its construction." In 1876, the early train to Worcester, the promise of which had been a chief inducement held out to this town to secure its subscription, was withdrawn, and, in spite of the protests of the town, it was not restored till 1883, when its restoration was ordered by the State Board of Railroad Commissioners. The withdrawal of this important train was a serious detriment to the interests of the town, which, in the judgment of not a few thoughtful observers, it has not even yet wholly outlived, and which the permanent restoration of the train did not make good. The stock, which, according to the sanguine representations of the projectors of the road, and the expectations of many citizens, was to become within a very few years a dividend-paying investment, was held, without receiving any income therefrom, until 1885, when it was exchanged for stock in the Fitchburg Railroad, which had become the lessee of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad, at the rate of ten shares of the latter for one of the former. The Fitchburg stock was soon sold at the rate of $125 per share.
The Massachusetts Central Railroad, extending from Boston to Northampton, passes through Holden. The town gave no aid to the building of this road. It was finally opened for traffic late in 1886. The Boston and. Maine Railroad has leased it, and it is managed as a part of the system of railroads controlled by that corporation. It furnishes valuable facilities and communications to the whole northern part of the town.
The rebuilding of the town house has already been men- tioned. In 1876, it was decided to thoroughly repair the building, which had stood with little done to it since its erection in 1836. It was enlarged by the addition of twenty six feet to its length, and the whole edifice was completely remodeled. Plans for the alterations were furnished by James E. Fuller of
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HISTORY OF HOLDEN.
Worcester. The Committee in charge of the work were Ethan Davis, William Howe; Gates Chapman, Alfred Chaffin and William H. Walker. The work was done under contract by Waldo E. Austin, and the total cost; aside from the Memorial Tablets, was $4,292.42. The town has thus provided for its public uses an exceedingly comfortable and tasteful as well as convenient hall.
For the last few years difficult financial problems have faced the town and taxed the wisdom of its administrators. The great charges imposed on the town treasury by the Rebellion ; the debt incurred to secure the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad ; the rebuilding of the Town Hall; the purchase of the school-houses from the districts bythe town in 1869, at a cost of $8,762; the building, rebuilding and repairing of school-houses ; and large highway expenses, for building impor- tant and costly new roads as well as keeping up the old, all this has been a severe strain on the finances of a town, the valuation of which has never much exceeded a million dollars. The net debt of the town reached its maximun in 1877, when the liabilities of the town were reported to be $64,357.17, and the available means, $3,589.51, leaving a net indebtness of $60,767.66, and $4.186.89 was reported as having been paid the same year as interest. This debt was steadily though not rapidly decreased. In 1886, notes amounting to $40,000 and bearing interest, $25,000 at five and one-half per cent. and $15,000 at seven per cent., were taken up. A loan of $34,000 was made at four per cent. and from the sale of the railroad stock, taxation and other sources, the rest of the indebtedness was paid off. The sum of $2,000 is now annually paid on this loan, and it is expected that in 1905 the whole indebtedness will be removed.
Until 1889, the town poor had been cared for in the usual way upon the farm by a superintendent. The number of pau- pers cared for on the farm had been steadily lessening, so that the cost of support had relatively, if not absolutely, increased. In view of these facts, citizens of Holden took the initiative in in seeking a better system. As the result of free discussion,
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ANOTHER HALF-CENTURY.
Holden, Hubbardston, Princeton and Paxton associated them- selves for the joint care of their paupers. This association leased of the town of Holden its Poor Farm, and has supported the paupers of the several towns at a greatly lessened relative cost.
There have not been many public celebrations in town of especial note. Independence Day was celebrated in 1842 by a Temperance picnic ; in 1855 by a public demonstration, a pro- cession, an oration by Mr. Homer B. Sprague and a dinner at which six hundred sat down, followed by toasts and speech- making ; in 1871 by an excursion on the railroad which had not yet been opened for traffic ; and in 1875 by a general picnic with fireworks in the evening. The various events of the civil war had constant echoes among the people of Holden. Thus the report of the surrender of Lee's army was welcomed Friday evening, April 7th, 1865, with the ringing of bells, the firing of cannon and a general illumination. On the following Sunday, Dr. Paine preached from the text, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen." On the succeeding Friday there was a repetition of the salutes and illumination, and also a public meeting with addresses in both the afternoon and the evening. Imme- diately, however, as all over the land, joy was turned to public lamentation by the news of the assassination of President Lincoln. Memorial Day has been regularly observed under the management of the local Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. There have been frequent courses of lectures under the auspices of the Soldiers' Memorial Association, the Library Association and the High School. For a quarter of a century town fairs were held each October with few exceptions.
The most remarkable event of the half century was the Cyclone of 1871. About half past four on Sunday afternoon, June IIth, a violent wind, accompanied by thunder and light- ning, swept a path of destruction through the town. The storm was seen nearly a mile away. It was described as looking like a whirling funnel-shaped column of dust, filled with the limbs of trees and other wreckage, which were continually shooting up in the middle, and as steadily falling
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HISTORY OF HOLDEN.
in a stream at the side. Its course was traced from Spencer, through Paxton, Holden and West Boylston into Boylston, where its power seemed spent. It mowed a swath about ten rods wide, in which large pine trees were snapped off like pipe-stems. Coming over the hill from Paxton, it first struck the place of Lewis Martin, who was in his house together with his family, including five small children. The house and barn were completely destroyed, and the inmates were scattered. An infant was found in the cellar in a barrel surrounded with bricks. The whole family escaped, however, with nothing more serious than bruises. From here the tornado swept through the woods, across the pond, over the hill down into the village of Holden. It first shattered the barn of Samuel Griffin, and partially or completely unroofed the houses of Hastings Newell, Marius S. Cooly and Samuel Fiske. The houses and barns of Anson Lakin, Michael McLaughlin and Mrs. Ira Broad, lying next, were wrecked, as was also the house of S. D. Hubbard, in part, and his carpenter shop completely. In this shop Charles E. Burnett was caught and held beneath the timbers of the ruin, but fortunately escaped with a broken arm and severe cuts and bruises. The house of Ebenezer R. Par- ker was entirely destroyed. The house was taken up by the wind, moved about its width and dropped a heap of peices. Both Mr. and Mrs. Parker were injured, the arm of the latter being dislocated. Other damage was done to various buildings in its course, the chimneys of the Roman Catholic church were thrown down, and the belfry of the Baptist church was severely wrenched, and even a stone wall in the path of the cyclone was overturned. A horse was found in a neighboring garden, still tied to the plank to which he had been fastened in the stable, but without a bruise or a mark upon him. The whole ruin in the village was wrought within the space of two min- utes. The pecuniary damage in Holden was estimated at the time as amounting to twelve or fifteen thousand dollars. While the ruin and loss was thus serious, it is to be noted that, had the cyclone swerved but a few rods to the south, it would have wrought a far more costly work of destruction,
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ANOTHER HALF-CENTURY.
and would almost certainly have left death as well as destruc- tion in its path.
Whoever looks backward over this half-century readily sees that no similar period in the history of the town has brought such changes as the last. Holden has shared the progress of the times. The railroad, the telegraph and the telephone have come. There have been equal changes within the town. The processes and products of agriculture have been very greatly modified by the introduction of machinery and the com- petition of the great west. Manufacturing has been extensively developed. The ideas and habits of the people in respect to travel, mail, books, music, household furniture and many other things of greater and lesser importance have been com- pletely transformed. There has been a constant outflow of the native-born population to the cities and the west, and an even greater inflow from elsewhere, so that the town as a whole, especially in its villages, shows a decided growth. What Dr. Paine said of the period from 1833 to 1873, may be asserted with quite as striking truth of the period from 1841 to 1892. " Forty years ago [1833] railroading was in its in- fancy, and had done little to develop and stimulate business. There were not many centers of trade and industry, or of population, except in a few cities on the seaboard. Agricul- ture was the chief employment in rural districts ; and having little Western competition, was profitable and generally satis- factory. There being little to invite young men and women to leave the localities of their nativity, they remained at or near their early homes. Seldom did the precious old home- stead go out of the family, but descended from father to son for generations, and besides, those were days of larger families than are now usually found in our native American homes. The result of this state of things was a country population in almost every place, at least holding its own and in most local- ities increasing. Such essentially was the state of things in this place at the commencement of my pastorate. There was not then a foreigner in town. Probably there are not now more than twenty-five dwelling houses (cer-
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HISTORY OF HOLDEN.
tainly less than thirty) in the entire town, occupied by those, or their descendants, who inhabited them at the time of my settlement. The family name has gone from them, and not a few have changed ownership many times. This is a marvelous change compared with the preceding periods of same length. It would doubtless more nearly accord with the facts, to reverse the ratio, and say that less than thirty dwellings, during any preceding forty years, went out of the family and lost the family name. But let it by no means be understood that all changes, which have occurred, should be put to the account of loss. Many of them have materially swelled the column of' gain. This is doubtless true to a greater extent here than in many places where the percentage of change has been the same as ours."1
1 A Memorial Discourse by Rev. William Paine, D. D., on the Fortieth Anniversary of his pastoral connection with the Congregational Church in Holden, October 24th, 1873, pp. 10, II.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SESQUICENTENNIAL.
PRELIMINARY MEETINGS. - COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS. - APPROPRIATION. - INVITATIONS. - MARSHALS. - DECORA- TIONS. - MUSIC. - SALUTE. - THE DAY. - EXERCISES AT THE CHURCH. -- ADDRESS OF WELCOME. - HYMN. - POEM. -CHILDREN'S CELEBRATION. - DINNER. - SENTIMENTS. - RESPONSES BY MESSRS. WALKER, HARRINGTON, PINKER- TON, FORBES, DAVIS, AND OTHERS.
HE first public agitation of the matter of celebrating the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Holden, occurred at a meeting of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Club, April 8th, 1891, when the question of such a celebration was made the subject of formal discussion for the afternoon session. As all who took part in the discussion favored a celebration, a committee of ten was chosen, with power, if though best, to call a general meeting of citizens. Such a call was at once issued, and a general meeting of citizens was convened in Memorial Hall, on the evening of April 18th. This meeting requested the Selectmen to call a town meeting at the earliest possible day to take formal action in reference to a celebration. A legal meeting of the town was held April 29th, when it was voted to celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, and a committee of arrange- ments, consisting of the Selectmen and ten other citizens, was appointed. As finally constituted, the committee consisted of
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HISTORY OF HOLDEN.
Messrs. Stillman F. Morse, Albert A. Metcalf, Emory Rogers, Henry W. Warren, Thomas Hennessy, David F. Estes, Israel M. Ball, William Howe, William D. Chenery, Waldo E. Austin, Charles E. Parker, George S. Graham and Gustavus S. Holden.
The committee of arrangements chose the first day of July as the date of the celebration, and recommended that the town appropriate the sum of three hundred dollars for the expenses of the anniversary. It was found necessary to secure a special act of authorization from the legislature for such appropriation. As soon as authorized, the town appropriated the sum named. About forty persons were specially invited to become the guests of the town on the occasion, and a general invitation was sent to all former residents and friends, whose addresses could be obtained.
The Marshal of the day was Edward W. Merrick, aided by the following Assistant Marshals ; J. Frank Wood, Edward Fairbanks, Charles A. Dawson, Frank Parker, Charles T. Travis, Benjamin M. Chamberlin, William J. Prendergast and James H. Allen. Floral decorations for the Congregational church were arranged by the ladies of that congregation, for Memorial Hall by ladies of the Baptist congregation, and for the dining tent by ladies of the Roman Catholic parish. Music for the day was furnished by the Worcester Brass Band. At noon, a salute of one hundred and fifty guns was fired by Battery B, of Worcester, the cost of which (more than two hundred dollars) was defrayed by a popular subscription.
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