Family:Whitney, Hezekiah (1705-1790)

Hezekiah⁴ Whitney (Joseph³, John², Henry¹), child of Joseph³ and Hannah (Hoyt) Whitney,^[1] was born 10 Apr 1705, Norwalk, CT,^[2] and died 30 Apr 1790, Norwalk, CT, in the 86th year of his age.^[3]

He married, 3 Jan 1732/3, Norwalk, CT, Margaret Harris^[4], by Rev. Moses Dickinson, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Brockway) Harris.^[5] She was born about 1710-1711, according to her tombstone, Colchester, CT,^[6] and died 31 Jul 1795, Norwalk, CT, in the 85th year of her age.^[7]

Phoenix says the following:^[8]

Two gravestones, in St. Paul's Churchyard, Norwalk, commemorate them in the following inscriptions:

In Memory of HEZEKIAH WHITNEY, who departed this life April 30th 1790 in the 86th year of his age.

In Memory of MARGARET WHITNEY Relict of Hezekiah Whitney who departed this life July 31st 1795 in the 85th year of her age.

Gale Ion Harris reported:

The land records reviewed in the present study show that William was still "of Colchester" when he acknowledged by his mark at Fairfield, Connecticut, a deed to Hezekiah Whitney, a previously unrecognized 'son-in-law,' of Norwalk, Connecticut (Col- [p. 234] chester Deeds 7:531).

MARGARET HARRIS [daughter of William² and Elizabeth (BROCKWAY) HARRIS], b. ca. 1711, d. Norwalk, Conn., 31 July 1795 in her 85th y. She m. there, "on or about" 3 Jan. 1732/3, HEZEKIAH⁴ WHITNEY (Edwin Hall, The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Conn. [Norwalk, 1847], hereafter Hall's Norwalk Recs., 217). Hezekiah, b. there, 10 April 1705, and d. there, 30 April 1790, was son of Joseph³ Whitney (John², Henry¹) and Hannah (Hoyt) (S. Whitney Phoenix, The Whitney Family of Connecticut . . ., 3 vols. [New York, 1878], hereafter Whitney Fam., 1:22: inscriptions from their gravestones in St. Paul's churchyard in Norwalk). On 8 Dec. 1762, "William Harris of Colchester" gave his "son-in-law Hezekiah Whitne of Norwalk" 48 acres in Colchester adjoining "John Skinners land"; the 87-year-old William Harris acknowledged that day at Fairfield (Colchester Deeds 7:531). Hezekiah was the "first elected vestryman of St. Paul's Parish" (Charles M. Selleck, Norwalk [Norwalk, 1896], 291 n.).^[9]

Children of Hezekiah⁴ and Margaret (Harris) Whitney, all born Norwalk, CT:

i.	Betty5 Whitney, b. 24 Jan 1733/4, Norwalk, CT;[10] said, by doubtful tradition, to have married James Beatty.[11]
ii.	Abigail Whitney, b. 14 May 1735, Norwalk, CT;[12] was mentioned in her father's will, 17 March 1785.[13]
iii.	Ruth Whitney, b. 3 Jan 1736/7, Norwalk, CT;[14] was named in her father's will, 17 March 1785.[15]
iv.	Jeremiah Whitney, b. 17 Mar 1739/40, Norwalk, CT;[16] probably died in early life, as his name is not found in his father's will of 17 March 1785.[17]
v.	Hezekiah Whitney, b. say 1743, Norwalk, CT;[18] m. Sarah Taylor.
vi.	Hannah Whitney, b. Norwalk, CT; no mention of her has been found, except in her father's will, 17 March 1785.[19]
vii.	Peggy Whitney, b. Norwalk, CT; bapt. 19 June 1751, by the Episcopal minister of Stamford, as Margaret; m. 25 Jan 1775, Norwalk, CT, James Beatty. Her name occurs in her father's will, 17 March 1785, and her husband was one of the executors named in it.[20]
viii.	Sarah Whitney, b. about 1755, Norwalk, CT; m. 25 Nov 1772, Norwalk, CT, Jesse Bedient. They settled in Norwalk, and there died, without children; he, 1 March 1821, aged 76 years; she, 15 Feb 1824, aged 69 years; and were buried in Town-Hill Cemetery.[21]

References

1.{{note}1}} Stephen Whitney Phoenix, The Whitney family of Connecticut, and its affiliations; being an attempt to trace the descendants, as well in the female as the male lines, of Henry Whitney, from 1649 to 1878; to which is prefixed some account of the Whitneys of England. (New York : Priv. Print. [Bradford Press] 1878), p. 22.

2.^  "Whitney, Hezekiah, s. Joseph, b. 10 Apr 1705," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR4:2.

3.^  Phoenix, loc. cit.

4.^  "Whitney, Hezekiah, m. Margaret Harris, on or about 3 Jan 1732/3, by Moses Dickinson," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR4:12,\.

5.^  Gale Ion Harris, "William² and Elizabeth (Brockway) Harris of Lyme and Colchester, Connecticut [:] With Notes on Their Seven Daughters," TAG, vol. 70 (1995), pp. 233-239.

6.^  Date calculated from age at death.

7.^  Phoenix, loc. cit.

8.^  Ibid.

9.^  Harris, loc. cit.

10.^  "Whitney, Bette, d. Hezekiah & Margret, b. 24 Jan 1733/4," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR4:12.

11.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 44.

12.^  "Whitney, Abigail, d. Hezekiah & Margret, b. 14 May 1735," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR4:12.

13.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 44.

14.^  "Whitney, Ruth, d. Hezekiah & Margret, b. 3 Jan 1736/7," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR4:12.

15.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 44.

16.^  "Whitney, Jeremiah, s. Hez[ekiah] & Margaret, b. 17 Mar 1739/40," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR4:12.

17.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 44.

18.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 45.

19.^  Phoenix, Ibid.

20.^  Phoenix, Ibid.

21.^  Phoenix, Ibid.

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Copyright © 2007, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group