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United States were confiscated, either legally or illegally. The following letter to Joseph Bouchette in 1817 is presumptive evidence that Asa Porter took possession of part of the lands in New Hampshire:
5 Newbury, Feb. 23, 1817. r.
.At the request of Mr Peter Ma} hew I have attended partially to an enquiry into the situation of the land formerly belonging to Samuel Holland in the Townships of Iopsham anl Corinth in the State of Vermont. I am of opinion that the heirs of S. Holland have no claim to any land in those Towns; in consequence of a Release from Holland to Porter of the mortgage at the time the bond of £250.00 was g1Ven still I think the sum in the bond is recoverable as it res nects land in New Hampshire I haVe examined the records in Grafton County and find sundry deeds to Holland, but find no deed from him. I find a Power of Attorney from S. Holland to his son, I suppose, and from him to .Asa Porter in consequence of which Porter deeded to a certain Zebedee Bulry Lands in Rumsey and rec d ninety pounr‘ s, a copy of which deed Mr. MaV'her shew me. Ido not find any other lands deeded by P01 t1 r as I'Iolland’ 51 1ttorneV' to any other person I take it, Porter is liable to Holland 5 Heirs for that sum
It will be necess arv in order to ace rtain what lands now belongr to Holland, to examine the records of Collection Sales to see whether the lands have been sold for taxes, whether thos. sales were legal, which I have not time to do on account of the haste Mr. Mayhew1s now in, a; it will take perhaps a month at least to examine the records in order to ascertain sltisfactorV' informa- tion on the subject. This I will attend to if required and give such information as can be obtained from the examination.
I am, Sir, with due Respect yours Respectfully
Joseph Bonchette, Esqr. ISAAC BAYI.EY.
In M'aple Leaves, 1863, Sir Alas. McPherson Le Moine, published an inter- esting article with the caption “The Holland Tree,” which in part was as follows:
It has often been stated that the L'hiei glory of meec consisted in being surrounded on all sides by mag Wnifitent I ountrV' seats, which 111 the Summer Season, as it were, one ircle tl 1L‘ brow of the old city like a Chaplet of flowers; those VVho, on a sunny lune morning, haV'e wandered through the shady groves of 8110111 e1 \Vood, \V oodfield, alarehmount, 1en1norc, Kilmarnock and fifty other odd old 11Ia( es, rendered V'Otal by the Voices of 1111'ri11ds of winged cIior isters and VV 1th the sparkling VV"ateis of the great river at their feet, are not like 1' to pain: a'V this staten1::.nt
Amongst these beautiful rural 1"e111ats few are better known than lIoII1111dIar.m the family mansion of SurV'eV'or (ieneral IIoIIand, who purchased it about the V' 111'171V’.I) Four Vears preV 1011sIV it had been the headquarters of General Mon‘1;:o11ierV, who those it as his residence during the siege of ()llCIx)’. This fine property runnin1Y back as In as Mount Hermon Cc neter and extending from the St I ouis or (Irande .-\Ilee road, opposite Spe'nter \Vood, doan to the St. FoV' Road, which it Lrosses, is bounded to the \orth by I 1me du 1:,ap (11 St. I‘oV' heights. For those who may be curious to know its ori1- naI extent to an L-ijvhth of an inch, I ma“ 1]: iote from Major Holland’s title-deed, wherein it is stated to comprise “in superficies. French 111eas11 two hundred and six arpents, one perch seven feet eight inches and four eighthrs of an in . from which description one would infer the Major had surveyed his domain with great 111innteness or that he must haVe been Lonsid(r11blV of a sticl' ler for teriiIoriaI rights. What would his shades now think (ould theV be made (01:111. zant of the f11'1 t, that that very e hateau garden, VV'Ihir: 1 he possessed and bequeathed to his sons in the year IRIII), has been taken possession of for 111i‘1:t:11ry purposes by the Imperial authorities, and held to this day by them, without any como- ensation, it is said, being tendered? Major .Jamuel lloIIand had distihr/uished himself as an ofticL r under General Wolfe, in the Plains of Abraham, liV ed at HoII and house many Ve:1rs, as was custo- '11'1rV in those days, in affluence, and at last paid the common debt to nature. The original “Holland House" stood a little behind the present mansion.
The Major after having rprov ided for his wife, Mar) Josephte Rolet, bequeathed his property to Frederick IIrehm, ,ohn Irederick, Charlotte, Susan and Georg1 1.- Holland, his children.
The last will and codial ofS.IIoll11nd was executed before His VO' 'er ahd Colleague N. P. at Quebec, and bear (late 11th and 25th December 1800. The Chateau St. Louis property is therein thus described ”U11 grand en1plac'-1nent proche Ie Chateau St. Louis, (lonné ct accordé an dit Sieur Testateur, cultive actuellement e11 jardin.”