Family:Whitney, Benjamin (1679-1718)

Benjamin³ Whitney (Jonathan², John¹), son of Jonathan² and Lydia (Jones) Whitney,^[1] was born 6 Jan 1678[/9], Watertown, MA,^[2] and died 29 Aug 1718, Sherborn, MA, in his 40th year.^[3]

He married 24 Oct 1700, Sherborn, MA, Mercy Travis,^[4] daughter of James and Mercy (Pierce) Travis.^[5] She was born say about 1680.^[6] Her death date and place are unknown. She "of Sherborn" married secondly, 16 Jul 1719, Sudbury, MA, (Lt.) Thomas Frink,^[7] as his second wife. He was born 25 May 1674, Stonington, CT, son of John and Grace (Stephens) Frink, and died 14 Nov 1739, Sudbury, MA.^[8]

He was called either "Cornet Benjamin Whitney" or "Benjamin Whitney, Jr." to distinguish him from his uncle Benjamin² Whitney.

On 21 Dec 1702 he was mentioned as a son in the will of his father.^[9]

"In 1712 Benjamin WHITNEY and others petition to Gov. DUDLEY, from Sherborn, for leave to form a cavalry company. His estate was valued at £712."^[10]

Will 4 Feb 1713/4, of Benjamin Whitne of Sherburn, husbandman

• wife Mercy Witne
• cousin James Whittne, son of my brother John Whittne & Mary his wife
• uncle Benjamin Whittne
• brother Jonath Whittne
• brother Josiah Whittne
• brother Joseph Whittne
• brother-in-law Major Adams
• brother-in-law Cornelius Fisher
• Marcy and Elizabeth Whitne, daus. of John Whittne my brother
• Benjamin Fisher, son of Cornelius Fisher
• Silvanus Whittne, son of Joseph Whittne
• widow named executrix

Witn: Benoni Lerned, Robert Danel, Daniel Rider.^[11]

On 11 Apr 1718, the guardianship of Abigail Whitney, aged nine years, daughter of Josiah Whitney of Wrentham, deceased, was granted to her uncle Benjamin Whitney of Sherborn.^[12]

His will was proved 25 Sep 1718. Inv. taken 21 Oct 1718, of Benjamin Whitney of Sherborn. Presented by Mrs. Mercy Whitney, widow, relict, and administratrix. Taken by Samuel Bullard, Wm. Rider, and Edmond Gookin.^[13]

Administration account, 31 May 1721, by Marcy Frinck, executrix of her late husband, Benjamin Whitney late of Sherborn.

Benjamin³ and Mercy (Travis) Whitney had no children.

Thomas and Mercy (Travis)(Whitney) Frink had no children.

References

1.^  His parentage is proven by his birth record, his mention as a son in the will of his father, and his own will which mentions numerous relatives.

2.^  "Benjamin Whitny, s. Jonathan & Lidia Whitny, b. 6 Jan 1678," according to Watertown Records, Comprising the First and Second Book of Town Proceedings, with the Land Grants and Possessions. Also, the Proprietors' Book, and the First Book of and Supplement of Births, Deaths, and Marriages(Watertown, MA: Historical Society, 1894), vol. 1, p. 44.

3.^  "Benjamin [Whitney], Cornet, [died] Aug. 29, 1718 (in his 40th y., G.R.1)," according to Thomas W. Baldwin, ed., Vital Records of Sherborn, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Boston, MA: 1911), p. 227.

4.^  "Benjamin [Whitney] Jr.and Mercy Trevis, [married] Oct. 24, 1700," according to Sherborn Vital Records, pp. 180-181.

5.^  "She was b. Feb. 8, 1668, the daughter of James and Mercy (PIERCE) TRAVIS, b. in Gloucester. The father the same year moved to Brookfield, where he resided until his return to Essex Co., where he d. 1717," according to Frederick Clifton Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635 (Chicago, IL: The Author, 1895), p. 24.

6.^  The date 8 Feb 1667/8 which is given by Pierce is actually the date of birth of Elizabeth, daughter of James and Mercy, who is no doubt a sister. The date of somewhere near 1680 is more reasonable given the age of her husband.

7.^  "Mercy [Whitney] and Thomas Frink of Sudbury, [married] July 16, 1719. In Sudbury," according to Sherborn Vital Records, pp. 180-181. Also, "Mercy [Whitney] of Sherburn [Sherborn, M.R.] and Thomas Frink, [married] July 16, 1719" according to Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1903), p. 285. Also see Frederick W. Bailey, ed., Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800 (1897-1914), 3 vols.

8.^  Sudbury Vital Records.

9.^  Middlesex County, MA, Probate Files, #24690.

10.^  Pierce, loc. cit.

11.^  Middlesex County, MA, Probate Files, #24605.

12.^  Henry Austin Whitney, "The Descendants of John and Elinor Whitney, of Watertown, Mass.," NEHGR, vol. XI (1857), p. 121.

13.^  Middlesex County, MA, Probate Files, #24605.

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Copyright © 2006, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group