• Birthdate may actually be her baptismal date and not her birthdate.

• First name has also been recorded as “Eliza” and "Edith."

• Some records list her place of birth as “Woodham, Essex, England” or even “Harwich, Tendring District, Essex, England”

• Some records her marriage date to Robert DAY as “abt 1637 or as late as 1648” and her marriage place as in Harford, Hartford, CT.

• Her date of death has also been recorded as “14 Oct 1688”

• “Robert and Mary Day came in 1634 from Ipswich on a “borg” called the Elizabeth.”
• They settled in what’s now called Cambridge, then called Newton, MA.
• They lived next to Nathaniel and Martha Ely.
• Robert and Nathaniel Ely became freeman in May 1635 by the General Court of Boston.
• In about 1636, Robert & Mary, with Nathaniel and Martha move to Hartford, CT.[S:32]

• Came to Massachusetts Bay in 1634 (based on grant of land in Cambridge on 4 August 1634).

• First settled in Cambridge then moved to Hartford, CT in 1636.

• First name has also been recorded as “Eliezur” and for some records as “Alezur“

• Some records indicate his birth year as “1617,” however that was the year he was Christened (May 4, 1617, London Parish of St. Lawrence Jewry) 42

• At about age 4, his family moved from London back to Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England … Edward’s & Prudence’s home town.

• At about age 19, he traveled to the colonies with his father, with the rest of the family following about a year later. They first settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, although some records state they settled first in Rumney Marsh, which today is the City of Chelsea, MA.

• In 1640, Elizur joined the settlement / colony at Agawan - Massachusett Bay Colony (today that’s Springfield, Hampden, MA). That same year, Elizur would marry his “Boss’s Daughter," Mary Pynchon … their marriage being the first in this small community. … Mary is the daughter of William Pynchon, the founder of Springfield, Hampden, MA.

•The Holyoke and Pynchon family appeared to have been close friends, dating back to the family’s days in England, possibly 2 or 3 generations.

• In 1642, Springfield decreed a second division of planting ground for the community. Single persons were to have 8 rods in breadth (English measurement of 16.5 linear feet per rod; roughly a square plot of land), married persons received 10 rods in breadth, and larger families to have 12 rods. Elizur received 10 rods just off Chestnut Street.

• In 1643, Elizur acquired the John Burr and John Cable parcels. Both Burr & Cable became discouraged with the Springfield settlement and moved to Fairfield. Other desirable lots were given to Holyoke by his father-in-law, one being between what is now Worthington and Bridge Streets.

• In 1646, Elizur was one of the Selectmen (town officer) for Springfield. He served for one year.

• In 1647, Elizur was the second largest land owner in Springfield, at 125 acres, behind his father-in-law William Pynchon, who had 237 acres.

• After William Pynchon’s problems with the General Court of Boston … he was accused of heresy for a religious book he wrote … William retreated to England. William appointed son-in-law Henry Smith to be his successor, however, Henry chose to follow William back to England. So, William’s son John Pynchon and his son-in-law Elizur Holyoke took control of Springfield about 1652.

• In 1652/53 Elizur was appointed Commissioner to govern the town of Springfield ... that said, other records say Elizur Holyoke, John Pynchon, and Samuel Chapin were appointed magistrates to “together” govern civil matters and criminal trails for Springfield

• In 1660, after the founding of the communities of Hadley and Northampton, a question arose regarding the exact boarders of Springfield. The General Court of Springfield sent out Elizur Holyoke and Rowland Thomas to survey the lands north of Springfield. According to stories, this is when Holyoke and Thomas came across and “christened” two mountains (hills really) near Hockanum. Mount Holyoke, a hill north of Springfield on the east bank of the Connecticut River and on the west side, Mount Thomas (currently called Mount Tom). When Captains Rowland Thomas and Elizur Holyoke were exploring the territory, various tribes of American Indians still came to the Great Falls in search of shad to smoke for winter use and clay for the replenishment of pottery.

• In 1661, Holyoke was chosen as Springfield's Deputy to the General Court.

• In 1662, he was appointed Associate County Judge - a recorder of all courts.

• In 1663, he made the rank of Captain in the militia, he was a Selectman and Deputy to the General Court.

• In 1675, the Elizur’s house was destroyed during a raid by Indians lead by Wequogan.

• During the King Philip War, Capt. Elizur Holyoke was in command of the successful defense of Springfield until his death in 1676. By one account, his death was “… not due directly to any injury. “ However, there are other accounts that say he was killed by the Wampanoags Indians on 5 Feb 1676.

• Elizur and Mary’s graves were originally located in Springfield’s ‘Old Burying Grounds,’ but were later removed by Dr. J. C. Pynchon. The remains were then re-interred in 1849 to the Pynchon family lot in a new Springfield Cemetery.

Some facts …

• Elizur is the uncle of Thomas Putnam and the great uncle of Ann Putnam of the Salem witch trials.

• He is the grandfather of Edward Holyoke, the 9th President of Harvard College.

• Mt. Holyoke Women’s College (one of the original Seven Sisters College) in South Hadley, is actually named after the nearby Mount Holyoke and not directly after Elizur Holyoke who named the mountain.

• The City of Holyoke, on the other hand, has various stories as to how it got its name:

1. It was named after Elizur Holyoke … Henry Morris, the president of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society stated at the 1877 Annual Meeting that “No monument has ever been erected in any cemetery or burial ground of this city to commemorate the services or to the death of Elizur Holyoke, ... But the noble mountain that marks our northern horizon bears his honored name, and with the flourishing city that has sprung up of late years near its base, ought ever to keep alive in the memories of our people the fact that such a man once lived here ...” , or

2. The city was simply named after the mountain, or

3. Some sources state Holyoke’s city founders were seeking a “respectable name” for their new town and Holyoke (sounded religious) fit their requirements.

I tend to think (#1), Henry Morris reference, is probably correct given it was recorded at about the time the City of Holyoke was incorporated.



[S:9], [S:32], [S:90],[S:192], [S:247]