Family:Whitney, Ruth (1645-1718)

Ruth³ Whitney (John², John¹), daughter of John² and Ruth (Reynolds) Whitney, was born 15 Mar 1645 [1644/5], Watertown, MA,^[1] and died Sep 1718.^[2]

Ruth married firstly, 20 Jun 1664, Watertown, MA, John Shattuck, son of William and Susanna (-----) Shattuck;^[3]. He was born 11 Feb 1646/7, Watertown, MA.^[4] He died 14 Sep 1675, Watertown, MA, drowned passing Charlestown ferry.^[5]

She married secondly, 6 Mar 1676/7, Watertown, MA, Enoch Lawrence, son of John and Elizabeth (?Kettleborough?) Lawrence.^[6] He was born 5 Mar 1648/9, Watertown, MA.^[7] He died 28 Sep 1744, Groton, MA, aged about 95 years.^[8]

John Shattuck's inventory was taken 5 Oct 1675, Watertown, MA, amounting to £42 2s.^[9]

Savage says John Shattuck was in Capt. Beers' company at (the) Squakeag fight (at present Northfield, MA) in King Philip's War, was one of the only 16 survivors, and drowned ten days later (14 Sept) while crossing on the Charlestown Ferry.^[10]

Enoch Lawrence was a soldier in Capt. Nicholas Paige's company during King Philip's War, for which he credited for £2 on 3 Sep 1675.^[11]

"Enos" Lawrence was a soldier in King Philip's War from Watertown, for which he credited 8s. 9d. on 24 Aug 1676.^[12]

Enoch Lawrence was one of the garrison in the West Regiment for Middlesex, for Groton, on 17 Mar 1691/2.^[13]

Enoch Lawrence was wounded in a fight with the Indians 27 Jul 1694, which almost wholly prevented him from manual labor.^[14]

Enoch Lawrence was taxed in the amount of 11 shillings 28 Oct 1701, Groton, MA.^[15]

Children of John and Ruth³ (Whitney) Shattuck all born Watertown, MA:

i.	John Shattuck, b. 4 Jun 1666;[16] m. Mary Blood.
ii.	Ruth Shattuck, b. 24 Jan 1667/8;[17] b. 24 Jun 1668. Currently nothing further beyond her birth is known.[18]
iii.	William Shattuck, b. 11 Sep 1670;[19] m. Hannah Underwood.
iv.	Samuel Shattuck, b. 1673; m. Elizabeth Blood.

Children of Enoch and Ruth³ (Whitney) Lawrence:

i.	Nathaniel Lawrence, b. 21 Feb 1677/8, Watertown, MA;[20] m. Anna Scripture.
ii.	Daniel Lawrence, b. 7 Mar 1681, Groton, MA;[21] m.(1) Sarah -----; m.(2) Hannah Jewell; m.(3) Sarah Williams.
iii.	Zechariah Lawrence, b. 16 Jul 1683, Groton, MA;[22] m.(1) Abigail Parker; m.(2) Lucy -----.
iv.	Jeremiah Lawrence, b. 1 May 1686, Groton, MA;[23] d. 28 Sep 1783, Groton, MA.

References

1.^  "Ruth Whetny, d. John & Ruth Whetny, b. 15 1m 1645," 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), p. 12.

2.^  I have not seen a credible reference for this date, although it has been reported.

3.^  "John Shattuck & Ruth Whetny, m. 20 Jun 1664," according to Watertown Records, p. 26. Also Henry Bond, Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, Including Waltham and Weston; to Which is Appended the Early History of the Town. With Illustrations, Maps, and Notes (Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Company, 1855), p. 643; James Savage, Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, vol. IV, pp. 61-62; and Frederick Clifton Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney (Chicago, IL: 1895), p. 22.

4.^  Bond, loc. cit.; Savage, loc. cit.; and Pierce, loc. cit.

5.^  Bond, loc. cit.; Savage, loc. cit.; and Pierce, loc. cit.

6.^  Bond, loc. cit.; Savage, op. cit., vol. III, p. 61; and Pierce, loc. cit.

7.^  Bond, loc. cit.; Savage, op. cit., vol. III, p. 61; and Pierce, loc. cit.

8.^  Bond, loc. cit.; Savage, op. cit., vol. III, p. 61; and Pierce, loc. cit.

9.^  Bond, loc. cit.

10.^  Savage, op. cit., vol. III, p. 61; and Pierce, loc. cit.

11.^  George M. Bodge, "Soldiers in King Philip's War," NEHGR, vol. XXXVII (1883), p. 285.

12.^  George M. Bodge, "Soldiers in King Philip's War," NEHGR, vol. XLIII (1889), p. 278.

13.^  Isaac W. Hammond, "Garrison of the West Regiment of Middlesex, 1692," NEHGR, vol. XLIII (1889), p. 374.

14.^  Pierce, loc. cit.

15.^  Samuel A. Green, "Groton Documents," NEHGR, vol. XLI (1887), p. 263.

16.^  Bond, op. cit., p. 427.

17.^  ibid.

18.^  The allegation that she married Jonathan Farnsworth cannot be sustained on chronological grounds. This seems to first have been alleged by Moses F. Farnsworth, The Farnsworth Memorial (1897). Neither Bond nor Savage gave any further history for Ruth Shattuck.

19.^  Bond, op. cit., p. 427.

20.^  Bond, op. cit., p. 822.

21.^  "Daniel [Lawrance], s. Enosh and Ruth, [born] Mar. 7, 1681," according to Vital Records of Groton, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1926-1927); also Bond, op. cit., p. 822.

22.^  "Zechariah [Lawrance], s. Enos and Ruth, [born] 16: 5: 1683," according to Vital Records of Groton, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1926-1927); also Bond, op. cit., p. 822.

23.^  "Jeremiah [Lawrance], s. Enoch and Ruth, [born] May 1, 1686," according to Vital Records of Groton, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1926-1927); also Bond, op. cit., p. 822.

Additional references not examined:

• Genealogy of the Family of John Lawrence, by Rev. John Lawrence, 1869.
• The Groton Register, by Elinor Skeate, 1993.
• History of the Town of Groton, by Caleb Butler, 1848.

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Copyright © 1999, 2006, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group