The Judge Samuel Holten House (circa 1670) is a historic house located at 171 Holten Street,

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...

. It is currently owned by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

, and open by appointment. The colonial site first belonged to Richard Ingersoll (died 1644). In 1670 his wife left the land to her second husband upon her death, and thence to his daughter Sarah, whose second husband Joseph Holten deeded the lot (and perhaps also the house) to his son Benjamin Holten. Benjamin died in 1689, and his will records both the land and a house. Given this background, it is believed that Benjamin Holten built the house circa 1670 in a typical "one-room" layout. Multiple additions were made over the centuries. The house is historically interesting as the home of Sarah Holten, who in 1692 gave testimony against

Rebecca Nurse Rebecca Nurse (February 13, 1621 – July 19, 1692) was a woman who was accused of witchcraft and executed by hanging in New England during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. She was fully exonerated fewer than twenty years later. She was the wif ...

which led to her death in the

Salem Witch Trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, it was the home of Judge

Samuel Holten Samuel Holten (June 9, 1738 – January 2, 1816) was an American Founding Father, physician, jurist, and politician from Danvers, Massachusetts. Holten represented the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a delegate to the Continental Congress, wh ...

, a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were t ...

who served in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

, including as its president pro tempore, was a signer of the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...

, and who was an early member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

(March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795). The house was acquired by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1921, and has been extensively restored. File:Judge Samuel Holten House - Danvers, Massachusetts.JPG, West elevation. File:Judge Samuel Holten House - south elevation.jpg, Judge Samuel Holten House, south elevation. File:Judge Samuel Holten House - first floor plan.jpg, Judge Samuel Holten House, first floor.

References

* ''The Salem Evening News'', Friday, February 25, 1921. {{coord, 42, 33, 39.14, N, 70, 57, 31.16, W, display=title Houses completed in the 17th century Holten House Museums in Danvers, Massachusetts Houses in Danvers, Massachusetts 1670 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony Homes of United States Founding Fathers

See also

References