History of Shirley, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts United States of America

Our database does not include an historic photo for Shirley, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts, do you have one you would like to contribute? Contact Us!

Biographies:

Sarah Carter Edgarton Mayo, author, was born in Shirley, Mass., March 17, 1819. She was educated in the district schools of Shirley and at Westford academy, Mass., and began to write for publication in 1835, contributing to the Ladies' Repository, Universalist and other papers. She established in 1840, and edited, 1840-48, the Rose of Sharon, a religious annual, and also edited The Ladies' Repository, 1840-48. She was married, July 28, 1846, to the Rev. Amory Dwight Mayo . She edited The Poems of Mrs. Julia W. Scott, with a memoir (1840), and is the author of: The Palfreys (1840); Ellen Clifford (1842); The Flower Vase (1845); Spring Flowers (1846); The Floral Fortune Teller (1847); Fables of Flora (1848). She died in Gloucester, Mass., July 9, 1848.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Oliver Holden, singer, was born in Shirley, Mass., Sept. 18, 1765; son of Nehemiah and Elizabeth (Stevens) Mitchell Holden. His mother was a niece of the Earl of Carberry. He was trained as a carpenter, removed to Charlestown and became a dealer in real estate in 1787. He was a pleasing singer and a member of the choir of the church of the Rev. Jedediah Morse, of Charlestown. When Washington visited Boston in 1789, Oliver Holden was selected to gather and train a choir for the occasion, and the "Independent Musical Society" sang with great effect the "Ode to Washington." he represented Charlestown in the general court of Massachusetts in 1818 and for several subsequent years, and was justice of the peace. He gathered his compositions, and in 1792 published America's Harmony. In 1793 he published The Union Harmony or Universal Collection of Sacred Music, in two volumes. He is the author of Confidera, Paradise, Coronation, and other popular psalm tunes. The masterpiece of his compositions is Coronation, which first appeared in the Union Harmony, and during the civil war it was frequently sung as a battle hymn. It was written as a p?an of praise on the birth of his first child, a daughter. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery company of Boston, 1794-1844, and frequently conducted the music on public occasions. His tomb is in the old burying-ground, Charlestown, Mass., and is marked with a tablet placed by his granddaughter. A memorial tablet is placed in the Shirley church. He died in Charlestown, Mass., Sept. 4, 1844.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor