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

Tales from the Cemetery

Longmeadow Cemetery

We have often admired the skillfully carved gravestones in the Longmeadow Cemetery. Most made from locally quarried redstone (or brownstone), a particularly fine-grained sandstone, they have withstood the years of weathering. Evocative symbolism, old-fashioned names and archaic spellings fascinate, as do the familiar verses: “Death is a debt to nature due, which I have pay'd and so must you,” and the not so familiar verses from poets popular at the time like this one, "The Age of Man is but A Span/His days on Earth A few/At Death he must Embrace the Dust/And Bid this World Adieu." The rows of small stones remind us of the devastation of childhood illnesses now prevented by vaccinations, and the impressive table stones tell us of the social and financial standing of the town’s prominent citizens.

At Death he must/ Embrace the Dust/ And bid his world Adieu"

Have you ever wondered about the more mundane details of death in the 18th and 19th centuries—what were people buried in, what did they wear, and who buried them? What happened in the winter when the ground was frozen? Where did they get the verses and poems carved on the stones? Who paid for the gravestones, and what if the deceased couldn’t afford one? The Longmeadow Historical Society has been conducting research to try to learn more about some of the less fortunate citizens of the town. Records are relatively easier to find about the famous, the prominent, and the wealthy; but if you were female, black, poor or sickly, it is much harder to find a lasting record of your life. We have uncovered records detailing the care of the poor, including paying for a recently deceased’s final preparations. Walter White most often was mentioned for constructing the coffins. Others were credited with weaving the shroud.

Walter Coomes' ledger: "to paying Simion Newel (Simeon Newell) for grave stones for Aurelia B. Coomes" and "to paying Gorge Rennals (George Reynolds) for coffin"

A fortuitous find at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum at the Springfield Quadrangle shed more light on the nitty-gritty job of burial. This find, a ledger belonging to Walter Coomes (1766-1842), covered the time period of 1821-1842. Coomes was the local gravedigger for Longmeadow, and he made note of over a hundred burials he performed during those two decades. Costing between $.75 and $2.50, and often free for children, he was a busy man. An intriguing fact emerged from this ledger--of the nearly 150 notations of burials, only about 60% of those deceased currently have a stone in the cemetery (or in nearby East Longmeadow cemeteries). What does this mean? It may be a clue to how many people didn't have a permanent marker, or perhaps some of these markers no longer exist. The Longmeadow Cemetery Association has conducted Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scans of the older portions of the cemetery. These scans did reveal evidence of burials in areas without gravestone markers. Much more research needs to be done.

Gravestone for Naomi Woolworth and her son, Joseph

who died on the same day in 1760.

She at age 39 in 1760 and he at 6 days old

Contributed by Betsy McKee, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

Originally published September 30, 2021

The Pistol

One of the most intriguing objects in the Longmeadow Historical Society collection is an ancient pistol. Measuring almost two feet long, with a flintlock mechanism, it is a formidable weapon.

The pistol as displayed along with other Williams family relics

Storrs House Museum, Longmeadow, MA

The story attached to the gun was that it was passed down through the generations from John Williams (1664-1729). John Williams, father to Longmeadow's first pastor Stephen Williams, was the minister in the town of Deerfield, some 40 miles north of Longmeadow. Some of you may be familiar with the story of the famous raid on Deerfield on February 29, 1704, when some French and their native allies attacked the outpost town of Deerfield in the middle of a wintry night. (For more about this event, see Captors and Captives: The 1704 French and Indian Raid on Deerfield by Kevin Sweeney and Evan Haefeli).

Reverend John Williams 1664-1729

During that fight, the Deerfield citizens fought back fiercely. John Williams purportedly attempted to fire his pistol at the attackers in defense of his household, but the gun misfired. The legend goes on that had he been successful at killing or wounding any of the attackers, that retaliation would have been severe. Because his attempt had failed, he was captured and force-marched to Canada, along with 111 other townsfolk. Later released or "redeemed," John Williams eventually returned to Deerfield with most of the surviving members of his family. (See John Demos' book The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America).

John Demos book, cover art by Walter Ford

The theory is that the gun, now a treasured family heirloom, was passed down through Williams descendants, finally ending up in the possession of Sarah Storrs, the last Storrs/Williams family member to live in the Storrs House. Tucked away in a soft padded sock for safekeeping, the gun slipped out of memory--of most.

John Williams' probate inventory "A Gun one of the Queen's Arms"

Curious about the legend--was the gun really that old? Could it really have belonged to John Williams? Would the enemy really have returned this valuable firearm to a captive upon his release? We turned to the experts for answers. We are lucky to have the Springfield Armory National Historic Site in our backyards. Park Ranger Alex MacKenzie was consulted, and he visited the Storrs House Museum to examine the gun. Observing all appropriate safety and curatorial protocols, and wearing cotton gloves, he removed the flintlock to examine and photograph the interior. He concluded that the gun could truly be a 17th century weapon, but he wanted to get an even more expert opinion. He sent detailed photographs and the description to colleagues in England. Their conclusions? The gun was likely made in England circa 1640, and was re-stocked with American wood sometime later in the 17th century, but before the 1704 raid.

Wow! While we can't validate the story of the miss-firing incident during the 1704 raid, we do feel fairly confident that the gun could truly have belonged to John Williams. With the manufacture date of 1640, it certainly had an owner before John Williams! Come and see this wonderful object, along with other 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st century objects at the Storrs House Museum.

-Contributed by Betsy McKee, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

September 23, 2021