Family:Whitney, Hezekiah (1767-1839)

Dea. Hezekiah⁶ Whitney (Timothy⁵, Jonas⁴, Moses³, Richard², John¹), son of Timothy⁵ and Alice (Whitney) Whitney.^[1] was born 14 Oct 1767, Petersham, MA,^[2] and died 25 Oct 1839, Otis, MA, aged 73 or 74 years.

He "of Loudon" married 15 Sep 1790, Sandisfield, MA, Mehitable Haven "of Sandisfield". She probably was a daughter of Nathan and Tabitha (Sumner) Haven of Sandisfield, MA, since Daniel's mother was named Mehitable, and Tabitha's father was named William.

He was a farmer all his life and resided in the east part of Otis, MA. He chronicles the following: "One Sunday, 11 Jul 1819, God visited us with lightning and thunder and destroyed the south part of the house and preserved our lives in the north end of the house." The house was struck by lightning while the family was at prayer one warm Sabbath evening. A curious fact was that every room in the house was damaged but the one occupied by the family at the time. No one was hurt, although his daughter, Julia, was struck to the floor, as she stood near a window. The house is yet standing, I think. He married his wife against the wishes of his father, but he was soon reconciled. "Mehitable was a very handsome girl and remarkably smart." He was a very patient, gentle man, was a deacon in the Presbyterian church. He resided Otis, MA.

Children of Hezekiah⁶ and Mehitable (Haven) Whitney:

i.	Julia Whitney, b. 26 May 1791, Otis, MA; d. 6 Aug 1856, New Boston, MA; m. Jesse Williams; resided Sandisfield, MA. A son, Orville, is a physician.
ii.	Paul7 Whitney, b. 18 Jan 1793, Otis, MA; m.(1) Rebecca Desire Freeman; m.(2) Mrs. Harriett (Wheeler) Roberts.
iii.	Lucy Whitney, b. 22 Nov 1794, Otis, MA; m. David J. Chatfield.
iv.	Sally Whitney, b. 11 Nov 1796, Otis, MA; m. ("of Otis" int. 18 Nov 1816, Becket, MA), John Bowen,[3] as his first wife. After her death he married Juliette.
v.	Hezekiah Whitney, b. 29 May 1799, Otis, MA; d. Buffalo, NY, unmarried.
vi.	Haven Whitney, b. 20 Mar 1802 (twin), Otis, MA; d. 21 Mar 1802, Otis, MA.
vii.	Mehitable Whitney, b. 20 Mar 1802 (twin), Otis, MA; d. 10 Mar 1803, Otis, MA.
viii.	Juliette Whitney, b. 4 Sep 1803, Otis, MA; m. ca. 1821, John Bowen as his second wife.
ix.	Mehitable Havens Whitney, b. 13 Jul 1804, Otis, MA; m. ----- Galpin. Had 2 sons. Mehitable Whitney, daughter of Hezekiah Whitney, was a small, frail woman, waist measure when a girl less than eighteen inches; her whole figure well proportioned. Yet this frail, little woman, once in winter when the deep snow made stout men wait before braving it, found the supply of fuel almost gone and her father too ill to go for any. She donned her father's coat and trousers, boots and mittens, yoked the oxen, and with shovel to help clear away the snow, went into the woods alone, cut down, drew home, and cut for the fire wood enough to last till her father was well again.
x.	Tabitha Sumner Whitney, b. 20 May 1806, Otis, MA; m. 18 Sep 1828, Amenia, NY, John Bowen as his third wife.
xi.	William Haven Whitney, b. 12 Mar 1809, Otis, MA; d. 14 Sep 1809, Otis, MA.
xii.	Hannah Clark Whitney, b. 18 Jul 1811, Otis, MA; m. Isaac Wadsworth Snow; resided Otis.

Census

• 1800, Loudon, Berkshire Co., MA: Hezekiah Whitney, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 16-25, 2 males 0-9, 1 female 26-44, and 3 female 0-9.

References

• All data imported from Frederick Clifton Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635, (Chicago: 1895), pp. 170-171.

1.^  His parentage is proven by his birth record.

2.^  "Hezekiah [Whitney], s. Timothy and Alice, [born] Oct. 14, 1767," according to Franklin P. Rice, ed., Vital Records of Petersham, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester: The Systematic History Fund, 1904), p. 54.

3.^  "Sally [Whitney] of Otis, and John Bowen, int. Nov. 18, 1816," according to Becket, Massachusetts, Vital Records.

---

Copyright © 2006, the Whitney Research Group