William Holland, Longmeadow's First Stone Carver

When people ask what the oldest gravestone in the Longmeadow Cemetery is, the answer is the stone for Mary Drake Colton. She died in 1682 and was buried first in in Springfield, though her stone was moved to Longmeadow in the late 1840s or early 1850s (See History Note 3/2/2020). However, when people ask which stone marks the first burial in Longmeadow's burying ground, we direct them to the stone for Experience Hale (d. 1719), carved by William Holland, Longmeadow's first known stone carver. He is also credited with carving her husband, Thomas', gravestone after his death in 1750.

Gravestone for Experience Hale carved by William Holland

So who was William Holland? We have found his work as a stone carver from New Haven to north of Springfield. He was a prolific gravestone carver, who was also known to work stone for buildings. Since the 1950s researchers interested in gravestone carvers have tried to put together the story of William Holland. So far a definite date and place of birth for Mr. Holland have not been established. Prior to the 1750s he was working as a stone carver in Connecticut and in the early 1750s may have been married and had two children in Durham, Connecticut. By the 1750s he was in Longmeadow and owned land in what is now East Longmeadow in the midst of the quarry areas.

Mr. Holland appears to have been a very busy stone carver in Longmeadow. Based on carving design and distinctive lettering form, we attribute 35 Longmeadow gravestones to William Holland. It is believed that he also carved an 18th century mile marker on Longmeadow Street. Being the first resident gravestone carver, Holland found business carving stones for persons who had died prior to his arrival in town as well as for those who passed during his time in town. He is almost certainly responsible for training several young men in Longmeadow in the art of gravestone carving - William Stebbins, Ezra Stebbins, Jonathan Burt and Elijah Burt.

The important stone marking Experience Hale's grave is missing its top and has an imperfect repair. It marks the final resting spot of a 42 year old woman who died eight days after delivering her seventth child. Her son, Hezekiah, died four months later and is interred in the same grave. Experience's death left her husband Thomas with five sons and two daughters --the oldest aged 13. Thomas remarried, and upon his death in 1750 in his 78th year, he was laid to rest next to his first wife.

The plan for the burying ground was laid out in 1702/3 but as of 1718 the Town was still planning to fence and clear the land. Thus the first burials in Longmeadow would have occurred after 1718. Many of Longmeadow's deceased citizens buried in the first decades of the 18th century in Longmeadow were buried without a permanent marker or buried in unmarked graves. It wasn't until decades after her death that Experience Hale received her permanent marker, a memorial erected by several of those young children she left behind. They had grown into men who wanted to honor their parents.

We are fortunate that documentation survives in the form of a receipt at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum archives in Springfield concerning the payment for the gravestones of Experience and Thomas Hale, paid for by their children.

“Agreed With Mr Jonathan Hale and his Brother John for twenty Eight Pounds Old Tenor for two pair of Grave Stone for their Parents to be Compleatly finished and I acknowledge Received in Cash-of Mr Thos Hale one Dollar of Mr Jonathan Hale forty seven & Six pence of Mr. John Hale one Dollar of Mr Noah Hale half a Dollar and the rest I will take in any Specie at the Market price Received of Mr John Hale by bil one & Sixpence Lawful Money"_________ Received pr Wm Holland Attast Aaron Colton Feb: 21st

This documentation tells us several things. The gravestones for both Experience and Thomas were carved at the same time in 1757 by the gravestone carver William Holland more than 37 years after Experience died and more than 6 years after Thomas died. It also spells out which sons will be paying what amounts towards these monuments.

Thomas Hale's gravestone, carved by William Holland

Another example of William Holland's work

Jonathan Hale's ledger

Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum, Springfield

detailing many references to "fetching a load of stone

from the Quarrey" for William Holland

One of the last gravestone's that William Holland carved

in Longmeadow includes a message to future visitors:

"Here, Reader, mark/ (Perhaps now in the Prime)

The Stealing Steps/ of never-Standing Time"

After 1760, Mr. Holland apparently left Longmeadow. By that time the gravestone carvers that he had trained were busy and fairly accomplished. We do not know what becomes of William Holland, but we do know that he was paid for a grand gravestone in Durham, Connecticut in 1761.

William Holland attributed stone in Durham, CT

Submitted by Dr. Al McKee, Longmeadow Historical Society, President/ Longmeadow Cemetery Association Vice-President

(with contributions by Betsy McKee)

Originally published October 7, 2021

"Instantly Killed by a Bull" The Death of Young Gaius Bliss

Have you ever noticed this gravestone in the Longmeadow Cemetery? While not common, causes of death were sometimes included on gravestones in the 18th and 19th centuries. The largest number of these seem to be for accidental deaths--perhaps meant as a cautionary tale.

"In memory of Gaius son of Mr Gaius and Mrs Eunice Bliss who was instantly killed by a Bull Nov 16, 1814 aged 15"

In 1814, 15 year old Gaius Bliss was "instantly killed by a bull." While horses were used for farm work as well as transportation, oxen were critical for much farm work. They were less selective about what they ate, they needed less gear for control and they were very smart. Typical training could take up to four years, and the animals could learn dozens of commands. According to an issue of Old Sturbridge Visitor, (Summer 2011), oxen start out as a male bull calf, and once neutered they are called steers. They earn the title of oxen when they have been trained to obey commands such as: haw (turn left), gee (turn right), or whoa--we all know what that one means!

In spite of their intelligence, they are large animals, weighing in at nearly a ton when fully grown. We don't know exactly what happened to young Gaius, and the fact that his stone says "bull" and not oxen might suggest a different beast, but the process of yoking or unyoking oxen was inherently dangerous, as these animals have large horns. Another gravestone with a similar story in Warren, MA states that 14 year old Joseph Kar "who was killed June 30th 1770 by onyoking a pair of Oxen." Young boys were often given the responsibility of training a team of oxen.

Young Gaius' unexpected and tragic death was a reminder to all of his family and neighbors of the fragility of life and that tomorrow was promised to no one. A journal belonging to his cousin Hannah Bliss, also of Longmeadow, is now in the collections of the MA Historical Society archives. She mentions the incident in her journal:

"Novem 17 Thurs

Have this morning heard of the death of Cousin Gaius Bliss he was killed by a bull surprising was his death to me O may this solemn dispensation of thy holy providence be the means of preparing of us all for our own great and last change."

A similar fate in Warren, MA 1770

1390 Longmeadow Street, Home of Gaius Bliss

Betsy and Al McKee have made a study of gravestones, with a special interest in causes of death found on gravestones. Their photo collection of gravestones numbers more than 30,000.

Contributed by Betsy McKee, Board Member, Longmeadow Historical Society

Originally published December 3, 2020

Can you spell Silhouette?

Silhouette, like daguerreotype, is a word I always pause over when writing. No surprise that both terms were named after Frenchmen—Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767) and Louis Daguerre (1787-1851). My high school French is not quite up to the task!

The reason for the recent exploration into French terms and the creation of images is a recent donation to the Historical Society. A gentleman who grew up in Longmeadow, but has since moved to the Midwest, contacted us about a framed series of silhouettes. The five women were the traditional black paper silhouettes about 3 inches tall. It was apparent that they were of a variety of ages, from young woman to elderly, and all from the “Chapin” family, according to the donor. The donor, now elderly, thought that the silhouettes, that hung in the family home on Chandler Avenue for decades, should come home. He sent along a photo, and they looked interesting. Then, when questioned about specific identification, the tantalizing response— “there’s some writing on the back.” Oh boy!

A few days later, the carefully packed box appeared, and the 5 profiles were first seen. Then, I flipped over the frame to read the back—each lady is described with name, spouse, home town, and some with dates of birth and death. The one exception was “Aunt King.” Two of the women had relationship information like “my great grandmother” and “my great, great grandmother.” There were Chapins in the mix, but the oldest lady was identified as “Mary Williams Chapin, daughter of John and Anne Williams, and granddaughter of Rev. Stephen Williams, first pastor of Longmeadow Congregational Church.” Bingo! That’s a great Longmeadow connection! The writer of the information helpfully added his or her own initials---“E.G.C.”

While Chapin is a fairly common name in the area, it’s not especially common in Longmeadow. Not that we don’t have an abundance of names starting with “C”—you can’t throw a stick in our cemetery without hitting a Colton, Coomes, or Cooley! Since the donor’s mother’s maiden name was Burt, I started there. Many hours, searches, notes, trees, and pulled hair later—I have extensive family trees created for Burts, Williams, Chapins, Cady’s, and Davis, but have yet to find anyone with the initials “E. G. C.!”

I did take a break to look into Monsieur Silhouette. He was not an artist, but was the French Minister of Finance under Louis XVth in 1759. He had the ill luck of trying to save money during the Seven Years’ War. His budget-cutting measures were criticized as overly cheap, and “a la Silhouette” became a derogatory term for cheap. What we now call silhouettes were already common, inexpensive ways to create a likeness if you couldn’t afford the more expensive painting. They became highly popular in the United States from about 1790 to 1840. Here the artists who created silhouettes were called “profilists” or “scissorgraphists.” Say that three times fast! They were usually cut from a lightweight black cardboard and mounted on a light background. The talented artists could create them very quickly—sometimes in as little as three minutes! The Longmeadow Historical Society is fortunate to have other silhouettes, including a set complete with its negative—the paper it was cut out of.

Portraits are not the only places that we see silhouettes—they are common in everyday life as signs, ads, and even coins.

So, the research continues—I am determined to discover who “E. G. C.” is—wish me luck! And we thank our generous donor for thinking of us.

-Contributed by Betsy McKee, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member