Holland and Its Neighbors

• Editorial: Arcadia Publishing
• Año: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781439615829
• Categoría: History
• Categoría: North American History

Holland and Its Neighbors offers a glimpse of bygone times in a rural area of northeastern Vermont along the Canadian border. Holland is typical of many rural small towns. Its neighboring Canadian towns and Norton, Derby, Morgan, and Charleston, Vermont, have familial, geographical, and historical connections that give the area a unique and cohesive culture. Mills and lumber-related businesses were established early, and as land was cleared, farming also became an important way of life. Holland and Its Neighbors includes photographs of loggers and mill workers, while images of horse-drawn equipment and horse-powered machinery illustrate hard work and long hours on hardscrabble farms. Interesting community characters such as Big Jack, peddler Jabez, fortuneteller Marie, hermit Scotty, and Haw Tabor are also pictured.

One

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP

In the beginning, before the town of Holland was chartered, the land was considered part of the Hampshire Grants and went by the name of Elysiana. It was also included in the 3,000 square miles known as Phillip’s Grant—land that Phillip, an Abenaki chief, transferred in 1796 to the Eastern Company land speculators and that chiefs at Odanak sold again to the Bedel Company in 1798. To ensure Vermont’s independence from New York and New Hampshire during the period of 1779–1781, Gov. Thomas Chittenden rapidly granted vacant lands. Timothy Andrus (Andrews) and associates received a charter for the town of Holland’s 23,040 acres in October 1779. It was not until 1800 that the first settler arrived, due to unsurveyed boundaries and unpaid granting fees. None of the original grantees ever lived within the town.

The first permanent settler to arrive was Joseph Cowell, who came from Connecticut and settled on what is now Mead Hill. Second to arrive was the Edmond Elliott family. Eber Robinson, a lawyer of sorts, was third to arrive. The first town meeting was held in March 1805; at that time, there were 210 acres of improved land and 17 houses. By 1824, 654 acres had been improved and 29 houses erected. From 1810 to the 1820s, most of the families with familiar names arrived, such as Willey, Goodenough, Hinman, Ferrin, Moon, Wilkins, Hatch, Worth, Wilcox, Pinney, Rumery, Mead, Davis, and Watson, many with descendants still living in town.

THE LOT DIVISION GRANTEES MAP. This is a true copy of the original land grant map taken from Crafts Book of Plans and copied out in 1910.

THE BEER’S ATLAS MAP. The Holland Township map appears in Beer’s Atlas, published in 1879.

A CURRENT MAP. This 2001 map of Holland was taken from The Northern Cartographic Vermont Road Map and Guide, printed in South Burlington.

RURAL LIFE. A picture is worth a thousand words, and this one says it all.

AT THE YARD. Logging was one of Holland’s most important industries. A good team of horses is worth its keep when skidding logs to the yard, where men with peavies prepare a load for the mills.

LUMBER AND SLABS. After a hard day’s work at the mill, the teams and wagons transport their loads of lumber and slabs.

A HAY LOAD. There was an art to forking loose hay onto a wagon or truck. For many farmers, lots of practice and a good arm gave them an edge. This farmer at the Musgrove farm on Gore Road has certainly earned bragging rights with his load.

HON. SIDNEY FLETCHER. Born in Holland in 1832, Sidney Fletcher was the son of Joseph and Lucinda (Robinson) Fletcher. He attended school in Holland and Charleston and at Derby Academy. After teaching for four years, he went away for further education. Fletcher came back to the Valley Road farm, marrying Harriet Lang in 1858. Serving as Holland’s town clerk for 43 years, he was also a state representative, an assistant judge of Orleans County in 1880, and a state senator in 1884.

H. A. W. TABOR. Horace Austin Warner Tabor, nicknamed “Haw,” was born in Holland in 1830 to Cornelius and Sarah (Ferrin) Tabor. He left while in his 20s to seek his fortune and, after several moves, ended up in Colorado, where he became known as “the Silver King.” He was a farmer, miner, and merchant and served as Colorado lieutenant governor (1874–1884) and U.S. senator (1882–83). Due to falling silver prices, a divorce, generous giving, and political contributions, his vast fortune was lost. He died in 1899. (Reg and Evelyn Page.)

REV. ISSAC BLAKE. Born in Derby in 1804 to Samuel and Sarah (Atkins) Blake, Isaac married Azubah Caswell Aldrich in 1826 and resided in Holland while a pastor at the Evangelical Advent Church. In 1861, he enlisted in Company B, 8th Vermont Infantry, when he was 58 years old. Not much of a shooter, he enrolled as a fifer. Fifer Blake soon became Father Blake, as chaplain to the 3rd Louisiana U.S. Colored Troops. After the war, he resumed pastoring and died at age 80. Reverend Issac is buried beside his wife at the Mead Hill Cemetery.

PEDDLER JABEZ. Jabez George lived in Island Pond but, as a peddler, was a frequent visitor to Holland, Morgan, Charleston, and surrounding towns. Traveling on foot with his large suitcase in hand, he mainly sold tinware and jewelry. At one time, he eventually acquired a horse and wagon but soon lost it. Here, he leaves George and Myrtie Rumery’s porch after a visit.

A HOLLAND FARMSTEAD. Farming became an important industry in the town of Holland, second only to logging and its related practices. This structure is typical...