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Windham County Connecticut
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WINDHAM COUNTY RECORDS |
GEORGE MASON HOLT BIOGRAPHY AS RECORDED IN: COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
TOLLAND AND WINDHAM COUNTIES BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS AND OF MANY PUBLISHER: J.H.BEERS & CO., CHICAGO; 1903 P. 982 GEORGE MASON HOLT, owner and operator of one of the most highly cultivated estates of Hampton, Windham county, known as the Elm Dale farm, is also one of the leading citizens of the town. James Holt, father of George Mason
Holt, was born Feb. 17, 1786, in Hampton, and in early manhood learned
the trades of tanner and shoemaker, and followed them for many years.
Later in life he abandoned the former pursuit and followed farming
during the summers and worked in his shoe shop during the winters.
He occupied several rented farms in Hampton at various times and
finally purchased a farm of Charles I. Grosvenor, the same one now
occupied by his son, and there Mr. Holt passed his last years. He
was an extensive farmer and also dealt largely in live stock, driving
many head of stock thirty-six miles to market in Providence, R.I.
In almost any line of business Mr. Holt would have been a successful
man, for he possessed rugged health and great industry combined with
business sagacity which enabled him Abigail (Ashley) Holt, the mother of
George Mason Holt, was born March 1, 1790, daughter of Samuel Ashley,
a farmer of Hampton, and her death took place Oct. 24, 1873. The
children born to James and Abigail (Ashley) Holt were as follows:
Mary Ann, born Aug. 25, 1810, who married Joseph F. Holmes, a bookkeeper,
and resided for many years in Providence, R.I., but died in Hampton,
April 17, 1880; Sylvester G., born Nov. 1, 1812, a farmer in Hampton,
who married Eliza Ann Curtis (who died May 3, 1887), and died June
24, 1898; James H., born April 21, 1815, deceased Aug. 4, 1842; Lucy
Maria, June 12, 1817, who died at the age of twenty years; Angelina
A., May 2, 1820, residing in Hampton; Cornelia A., June 7, 1826,
who died April 17, 1901, in Hampton, unmarried; George Mason, Jan.
2, 1829; and Charles, George Mason Holt was born in
the house that stood on the site of his present residence. His
education was acquired in the district schools and until he was
eighteen years of age he employed himself in farm work. At that
age he went to Plainfield, Conn., to learn the carpenter trade,
apprenticing himself for two years to Gardner Rouse; for his first
years labor he was given
a salary of $40, and $60 for the second year. He remained with Mr.
Rouse for three months longer and then went into the employ of Samuel
Underwood, a contractor of Pomfret, and was made overseer of a number
of carpenters who were employed by Mr. Underwood. Later he filled
a similar position for Mr. Samuel Truesdale where he had charge of
a large force. Mr. Holt remained with both these employers for several
years and worked through Connecticut and Rhode Island at various
places. Still later he was foreman for George A. Bodge, a large contractor
and builder in On Nov. 1, 1854, in Hampton, Mr. Holt was married to Miss Abby C. Dorrance, born April 18, 1829, in West Woodstock, Conn., daughter of Deacon Alexander and Mary Lucretia (Fox) Dorrance, the former of whom was born Feb. 15, 1796, and died Sept. 11, 1870. The latter was born in 1801 and was instantly killed Sept. 9, 1849, by being thrown from a wagon. Mrs. Holt is a descendant of Rev. Samuel Dorrance, who graduated at the University of Glasgow in 1709, and became the first pastor of the first church in Voluntown, Conn. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Holt, namely: Helen C., Aug. 10, 1855, widow of George L. Cleveland, who was born Oct. 29, 1835, and who died Jan. 18, 1888; Mary Louisa, April 18, 1859, who married William P. Spaulding, a farmer in Pomfret, and has one child, Helen Holt, born Aug. 25, 1894; and Frank H., born Jan. 15, 1865, who died March 18, 1865. In politics Mr. Holt is a staunch Republican,
and has held many of the local town offices. For a number of years
he has served on the board of Reproduced by: Linda D. Pingel great-great granddaughter of Cyrus White of Rockville, Ct. |
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