Holyoke Family Genealogy - Person Sheet
Holyoke Family Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameWilliam Edward HOLYOKE Sr. 
62, M
62, MBirth20 Apr 1787, Brewer, Penobscot, ME
Death21 Jan 1851, Galesburg, Knox, IL
BurialHope Cemetery; Galesburg, Knox, IL
FatherJohn HOLYOKE , M (1743-1807)
MotherElizabeth TREAT , F (1747-1830)
Spouses
1Lucy GREENLEAF 63, F
63, FBirth2 Dec 1793, Marrietta, Washington, OH
Death3 Sep 1870, Wataga, Sparta, Knox, IL
BurialHope Cemetery; Galesburg, Knox, IL
FatherSamuel GREENLEAF , M (-~1835)
MotherMiriam PILLSBURY , F (-~1843)
Marriage18 May 1817, , Washington, OH
ChildrenElizabeth Treat , F (~1818-1909)
Joseph Murphy , M (1819-1896)
William Edward , M (1821-1903)
Samuel Greenleaf , M (1824-~1912)
George T , M (~1830-~1895)
Lucy , F (~1828-~1828)
Sarah L , F (~1832-)
Lucy , F (~1835-)
Notes for William Edward HOLYOKE Sr.
• Some records indicate that William was born in Salem, MA.
• Some records lists his birth year as “1789”
• There are records that list a William HOLYOKE residing in Marietta, Washington, OH in 1820, followed by Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH in 1830.
• William was in business in Cincinnati when he met Mr. Isaac Mills and heard plans to establish a college (Knox College) at Galesburg, Knox, IL. William went by river to Peoria and then rode to where they were already “staking out” the new town and college.
• William Holyoke, one of the first three elders of the Sixth Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati, later became a leading abolitionist. His name often appears associated with that of John Melindy in religious and reform activities.
• William and family, including an adopted daughter moved to Galesburg on May 22, 1837, where William again established his business as a wagon/carriage maker and a wheelwright. According to the another account William moved his family in the autumn of 1836.
• There are records that on March 4, 1839 a William HOLYOKE purchased 4,000 acres in Illinois for $360.
• A William HOLYOKE is also listed in the book “They Broke the Prairie,” Charles Scribner’s Son, New York, 1937. A James HOLYOKE was also listed in this book, which could be James Eugene HOLYOKE, the son of Samuel Greenleaf HOLYOKE.
• It has been reported that William had served as a Trustee of Knox College and to have become “one of the most militant abolitionists in the community.” … a number of teachers whose influence, through their pupils and the example of their respective schools, was far reaching: Joseph Emerson (Pioneer for advanced education for women), Emma Willard (Emma Willard School), Zilpah Grant (Ipswich Female Seminary), Catharine Beecher (Hartford Female Seminary), and Mary Lyon (Mt. Holyoke College) and William Holyoke (Knox College) formulated an accepted plan of female education of that period.
• William is on one of the earliest comprehensive list of abolitionists in Illinois; 235 persons from seventeen communities in ten counties of the state; a record of those who signed the call for a convention at Upper Alton on October 26, 1837.
• His Galesburg home is said to have been a “station on the Underground Railroad” similar to his uncle’s house in Brewer, Penobscot, ME.
• As an abolitionist (like his father), William founded Knox County Anti-slavery Society and presided over meetings in 1838. In 1841, Illinois Anti-Slavery Society; William Holyoke, a Knox College trustee, is elected president; another Knox College trustee, Matthew Chambers, is treasurer.
• In the 1840 and 1850 the are records of a William HOLYOKE residing in Knox County, IL.
• “James Monroe Armstrong, at the age of sixteen, commenced learning the coach making trade in the establishment of William HOLYOKE, then located on the present site of the National Theatre, on Sycamore street.” Cincinnati, OH. I suspect this is the business mentioned in the first bulleted item above.
• In 1846, William Holyoke was pastor of Farmington Congregational Church and a Knox trustee.
• Some records indicate William died in 1854.
• Added to the Board of Knox College, Galesburg, Knox, IL
• William voted for James G. Birney, candidate for President on the Liberty ticket
[S:149], [S:112], [S:40], [S:142], [S:9], [S:149], [S:159], [S:9], [S:149], [S:109], [S:51]
• Some records lists his birth year as “1789”
• There are records that list a William HOLYOKE residing in Marietta, Washington, OH in 1820, followed by Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH in 1830.
• William was in business in Cincinnati when he met Mr. Isaac Mills and heard plans to establish a college (Knox College) at Galesburg, Knox, IL. William went by river to Peoria and then rode to where they were already “staking out” the new town and college.
• William Holyoke, one of the first three elders of the Sixth Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati, later became a leading abolitionist. His name often appears associated with that of John Melindy in religious and reform activities.
• William and family, including an adopted daughter moved to Galesburg on May 22, 1837, where William again established his business as a wagon/carriage maker and a wheelwright. According to the another account William moved his family in the autumn of 1836.
• There are records that on March 4, 1839 a William HOLYOKE purchased 4,000 acres in Illinois for $360.
• A William HOLYOKE is also listed in the book “They Broke the Prairie,” Charles Scribner’s Son, New York, 1937. A James HOLYOKE was also listed in this book, which could be James Eugene HOLYOKE, the son of Samuel Greenleaf HOLYOKE.
• It has been reported that William had served as a Trustee of Knox College and to have become “one of the most militant abolitionists in the community.” … a number of teachers whose influence, through their pupils and the example of their respective schools, was far reaching: Joseph Emerson (Pioneer for advanced education for women), Emma Willard (Emma Willard School), Zilpah Grant (Ipswich Female Seminary), Catharine Beecher (Hartford Female Seminary), and Mary Lyon (Mt. Holyoke College) and William Holyoke (Knox College) formulated an accepted plan of female education of that period.
• William is on one of the earliest comprehensive list of abolitionists in Illinois; 235 persons from seventeen communities in ten counties of the state; a record of those who signed the call for a convention at Upper Alton on October 26, 1837.
• His Galesburg home is said to have been a “station on the Underground Railroad” similar to his uncle’s house in Brewer, Penobscot, ME.
• As an abolitionist (like his father), William founded Knox County Anti-slavery Society and presided over meetings in 1838. In 1841, Illinois Anti-Slavery Society; William Holyoke, a Knox College trustee, is elected president; another Knox College trustee, Matthew Chambers, is treasurer.
• In the 1840 and 1850 the are records of a William HOLYOKE residing in Knox County, IL.
• “James Monroe Armstrong, at the age of sixteen, commenced learning the coach making trade in the establishment of William HOLYOKE, then located on the present site of the National Theatre, on Sycamore street.” Cincinnati, OH. I suspect this is the business mentioned in the first bulleted item above.
• In 1846, William Holyoke was pastor of Farmington Congregational Church and a Knox trustee.
• Some records indicate William died in 1854.
• Added to the Board of Knox College, Galesburg, Knox, IL
• William voted for James G. Birney, candidate for President on the Liberty ticket
[S:149], [S:112], [S:40], [S:142], [S:9], [S:149], [S:159], [S:9], [S:149], [S:109], [S:51]