| Notes |
NICHOLAS & ELIZABETH (SHORT) HOLT, his first wife, came on the JAMES, to Dorchester in 1635. He was deposed on Feb. 11, 1671 and gave his age as 63 yrs. making his birth year 1608. Savage gives his age at death as 83, which makes his birth year 1602.
He was a tanner by trade and an original settler of Newbury where historic accounts refer to Holt's Neck and Holt's Rock. On Sept. 1, 1635, he witnessed a legal paper. He was made a freeman of Mass. on May 17, 1637 and was chosen as town surveyor on April 19, 1638.
The family next removed to Andover around 1644 and was an original settler in the southern part of the town known as "Holt Hill". His name is on a list of the Church of Andover, organized Oct. 24, 1641, as sixth of the first ten members who were freeholders. In 1647, he was one of the persons appointed to lay out the road from Reading to Andover.
He married second Hannah (Bradstreet) Rolfe, daughter of Humphrey Bradstreet and widow of Daniel Rolfe in June of 1658. She died June 20, 1665 and he married third on May 21, 1666, Martha, widow of Roger Preston. In 1680 he conveyed 20 acres of upland to his son-in-law, Roger Marks. The name, Nicholas Holt, was on the list of the ten original members of the Church of Andover, organized October 24, 1645.
The James passenger list shows Nicholas Holt, tanner of Romsey, Hampshire.450
He moved immediately to Newbury, as one of the first settlers there. In 1637 his name appears as one of the ten persons who in order to prevent the relection of Sir Henry Vane to the office of governor, and to strengthen the friends of Governor Winthrop, went from Newbury to Cambridge on foot, forty miles, and qualified themselves to vote by taking the freeman's oath May 17, 1637. He was also part of the team that divided Nebury into lots, and served as a commander of militia forces in 1638.
In 1644 Nicholas Holt was one of the ten original settlers who removed their families from Newbury and accompanied their pastor, the Rev. John Woodbridge, to "Chochichawicke," now Andover. On a leaf in the town records containing the list of householders in order as they came to the town his name is sixth. He was one of the ten male members, including the pastor elect, who composed the church at the ordination of Mr. John Woodbridge, October 24,1645. He was later on several committees charged with setting the boundaries of Andover and laying out a highway to Reading.
Nicholas married three times while his children were young - he first had 9 children with Elizabeth, then married widow Hannah, who had two young children and they had two children together. Then he married widow Martha, who also had two young children.38
The "tanner" on the ships roll is probably a mis-understood "turner" - he manufactured woodenware, and when distributing property to his children before his death, he called himself a "dish-turner." (Cutter, William Richard. New England Families Genealogical and Memorial: Third Series, Volume IV. 1915. Reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., inc., 1996. Quoted at http://www.family2remember.com/bios/nholt1602.htm)- Nicholas, married Elizabeth Short in 1624 in England. He married, secondly at Ipswich, 20 June 1658, Hannah, widow of Daniel Rolfe; she died 20 June 1665. Nicholas then married widow Martha Preston 21 May 1666.
NOTES and HISTORY of the HOLTS......
It is said by antiquarians and students of the origin and signification of surnames that the family name Holt is derived from "a holt, or grove," at or near which dwelt some remote English ancestor. The progenitor of the American branch of the family was a pioneer settler in two towns and a man of influence among his associates.
There is a tradition that the dwelling of NICHOLAS HOLT, the immigrant, is one which still stands on Holt's Hill, sometimes called Prospect Hill, in Andover, Massachusetts. The descendants of the immigrant in Andover have been noticeable for their attention to learning. The HOLT family in that town included four college graduates previous to 1800. The family in this country in all its branches is very large and includes many names of considerable prominence in the town of Andover and elsewhere.
NICHOLAS HOLT came from Romsey, England, in the ship "James, " William Cooper, master, sailing 06 April, and landing in Boston 03 June 1635, after a voyage of forty-eight days. The names of forty-three male persons are found as passengers on the ship's roll, "besides the wives and children of Dyvers of them." Among the former occurs the name of Nicholas Holte, of Romsey (county of Hants), England, "Tanner." Undoubtedly he was accompanied by a wife and at least one child.
He was one of the first settlers at Newbury and Andover, Massachusetts. At Newbury he was husbandman, proprietor and town officer. and resided there some ten years. He made a long journey with others to take the freeman's oath 17 May 1637, and vote against Sir Harry Vane.
On 19 April 1638, Nicholas Holt was chosen one of the surveyors of highways "for one whole yeare & till new be chosen." 24 February 1637, it was agreed that "William Moody, James Browne, Nicholas Holt, Francis Plummer, Na Noyse, shall lay out all the general fences in the towne, that are to be made, as likewise tenn rod between man & man for garden plotts this is to be done by the 5th of March on the penalty of 5s apiece."In June 1638, all the able-bodied men of Newbury were enrolled and formed into four companies under the command of John Pike, Nicholas Holt, John Baker and Edmund Greenleafe. They were required to "bring their arms complete on Sabbath day in a month and the lecture day following," and "stand sentinel at the doors all the time of the public meeting."
He was a tanner as well as a farmer. He removed to Andover in 1644. He sold his Newbury land November 14, 1652. He is called a plate-turner (woodworker) in some records.
The first church records of Newbury prior to 1674 are lost, and consequently the name of Nicholas Holt is not found, but it appears in the following order of the town record: "Jan. 18, 1638. It is ordered that Richard Knight, James Brown & Nicholas Holt shall gather up the first payment of the meeting house rate, & the town within one fourteennight on the penalty of 6s 8d apiece." In 1644
Nicholas Holt was one of the ten original settlers who removed their families from Newbury and accompanied their pastor, the Rev. John Woodbridge, to "Chochichawicke," now Andover. On a leaf in the town records containing the list of householders in order as they came to the town his name is sixth. He was one of the ten male members, including the pastorelect, who composed the church at the ordination of Mr. John Woodbridge, October 24, 1645.
On May 26, 1647, he was appointed in connection with Sergeant Marshall "to lay out the highway between Reading and Andover, and with Lieut. Sprague and Sergeant Marshall to view the river (Ipswich River) and make return to the court of the necessity and charge of a bridge and make return to the next session of this court." At a general court held May 2, 1652, he was appointed with Captain Johnson, of Woburn, and Thomas Danforth, of Cambridge, "to lay the bounds of Andover," and May 18, 1653, he was appointed with Captain Richard Walker and Lieutenant Thomas Marshall to lay out the highway betwixt Andover and Reading and at the same term of court, September 20, 1655, the committee made a report of said survey.
Nicholas Holt died at Andover, January 30, 1685, aged one hundred and four years, says the record, but Coffin, with more probability, says eighty-three.
In his early, life he carried on the business of manufacturer of woodenware. A few years before his death, in distributing his property among his children, he styles himself "dish-turner." The word "tanner" on the roll of the ship "James" is probably an error of the recording official who mistook the word turner for tanner.
There exists an original document that is one large sheet of pale blue paper faintly lined in a slightly darker blue. The paper is folded to form four pages which read like you would read a book.
Pages 1 - 3 are in a very elaborate hand [Except for a line which starts, "There was a daughter..." which appears to be inserted in another hand].
Page 4 is in a different hand altogether and many assume it may have been added later.
Comparing the contents to Daniel S. Darrie’s "Genealogical History of the Holt Family in the United States: more particularly Descendants of Nicholas Holt." shows numerous differences.
No one seems to know who authorized this document or what sources were used in creating it.
It is known that it has been in the family for at least 100 years, having been passed down to one Jacob Lyman Greene of Hartford, who died in 1905. His secretary at the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, of which he was President, made a transcription of the document about 1895 along with other documents related to genealogical research that Jacob Greene had commissioned.
Transcription of a document in the possession of Stanley E. Malcolm of Marlborough, CT (Stan@Performance-Vision.com).
The following is the transcript......................GENEALOGY of the HOLTS.
Nicholas Holt was born in England
Sir Thomas Holt ***
Children of Sir Thomas Holt
Sir John Holt born in England
Roland ****
There was also a daughter whose name is not known.
Nicholas Holt chose a trade and Thomas his brother chose the profession of law.
Nicholas learned the Tanner trade in Romsey,. England whence he emigrated to American in 1635 and resided in Newbury, Massachusetts. In 1645 he removed to Andover, Massachusetts where he died in 1685 aged 85 years.
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Abt 1608 - 1685 (77 years)
Set As Default Person 
[1, 2, 3, 4] 
