User talk:Rlward

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Old Messages through 30 Sep 2011

Daniel Whitney Update II

Robert, It’s been a month since my last update and I’ll try to keep this one brief as I’m leaving on vacation tomorrow for 10 days.. I’ve heard back from 2 of the 8 local historians; one had nothing and the other didn’t have anything new on Daniel’s parents, but had some useful info on his descendants. I’ve developed a couple of good leads on Arvilla Marsh’s parents and continue to pursue that as well. I also mailed my DNA test kit into Family Tree on the 10th to determine if I’m even related to any of the Whitney’s here. I suspect it will be another month before I receive my bible record from the DAR so I can add references. I still have pages to add for some of the children’s children.

As you know, it was very traditional to name children after their parents, grandparents and even siblings of the parents. I thought that line of reasoning may lead me to some additional “families of interest”. Daniel’s eldest son was Clark Marshall Whitney. I looked atl the Clark’s and Marhsall’s from the era, but didn’t find any of interest. Next I looked at the Calvin’s by given name. I guess Calvin wasn’t a popular name as there are only 25 others listed if I counted correctly. I did find one family of interest and have been looking into them further. Not many census records, but we don’t know when this Daniel died and it doesn’t appear that Vashni had children. Maybe Calvin and George died before they started the more complete census records in 1850 and they were never heads of household. It’s also interesting that this Daniel married a Marsh as well; probably just a coincidence.

While digging around, I’ve found some records for other Whitney’s outside of the scope of my family. Is it ok to add those to their family pages provided I have references?

Brad

Re: Daniel Update IIa

Robert,

Thanks for response. I think there is a cousin connection. My leading candidate for Arvilla Marsh’s father based upon census records for the area is Moses Marsh. I traced Eunice (Marsh) Whitney back to the vital records of Douglas, MA and Eunice had 12 siblings. I almost fell out of my chair, but one of them is Moses Marsh. I don’t why I was surprised; I have many examples of siblings removing to the same location at different dates in my tree. A couple of my Daniel’s sons did that and one of Arvilla’s younger brothers followed the brothers as well.

Thinking back to the 1800 census, do you think there is a chance that the census taker could have made a mistake with Samuel, and that in fact the name might be Daniel? The census record doesn’t match this Daniel’s family perfectly, but it’s very close and my experience is that that’s not unusual.

Brad

Daniel Whitney Update IIb

No question there are a number of Moses Marsh’s during this era. Moses, son of Ebenezer was born 8 Sep 1775 in Douglas, MA. The Moses in Keene, NH appears to be too old to the same person. The 1800 census indicates that Ebenezer is still in Douglas with his wife and youngest son. The best match I found for Moses in 1800 is in Canaan, NY. In a search, I found no other Marsh’s in that area in 1790 & 1810. In 1810, there is a M. Moses in Oneida County, NY. There is a Moses Marsh in Hounsfield, Jefferson, NY in 1820 & 1825 and in Rossie, St. Lawrence, NY in 1830. Vashni Whitney, son of Daniel is also located in Rossie in 1830 and only 4 lines separate Vashni & Moses on the census.

I looked at Chesterfield, NH as well and see that there are some Marsh’s there as well. Were you looking at something specific that I overlooked?

Brad

Daniel Whitney Update IIc

Last note, I promise!

I agree Samuel/Daniel is only remote speculation without further evidence. I suspect Daniel Sr. may have been somewhat of a free spirit if he is Daniel's father. He was born in Natick, married in Douglas, lived in Chesterfield, NH and possible Oneida, NY. I'll have to search for landownership records, but his son Vashni doesn't appear of have owned any in the 1850 & 1860 census. Eunice was born in 1761 and in my Daniel's 1840 census, there is a female 80-89 living with his family. Eunice would be 79 at the time if she was still living. Perhaps the person responding to the census rounded off her age at 80 or maybe it's just a boarder. Probably too old to be Arvilla's mother.

Brad

Daniel Whitney Update III

Robert,

I continue digging as the weather hasn’t been cooperating during my vacation. I’m not very comfortable with Daniel as I haven’t been able to find a supporting census records. As a result, I went back to square one and made a list of all of the unknown Whitney’s in the area of Jefferson & Oneida counties from the 1800-1830 censuses. Samuel Whitney popped up again in the area in 1820 so I decided to look more closely at the 1810 census. This is what I found:

• 1800, Westmoreland, Oneida Co., NY: Samuel Whitney, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 10-15, 2 males 0-9, 1 female 26-44, 1 female 10-15.
• 1810, Watertown, Jefferson Co., NY: Sam. Whittlesey, 1 male over 45, 1 male 16-25, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 0-9, 1 female 26-44, 1 female 16-25, 1 female 10-15.
• 1820, Henderson, Jefferson Co., NY: Samuel Whitney, 1 male over 45, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 0-9, 1 female 26-44.
• 1830: not found

Whittlesey is a real name, but not very common. I did a search for Samuel Whittlesey’s in 1800, 1810 & 1820. I found 3, 3 & 5 for each of the years respectively. By close examination of the census data, I have a high level of confidence that none of them are the same individual in the 1810 record above. I reviewed multiple pages of the 1810 Watertown census and the census taker really struggled spelling names. The unknown Samuel Whitney in Halfmoon, NY also aligns with the Samuel 1800 census.

If the census data above is correct, it can be deduced that Samuel would have been born 1756-1765. In reviewing the Samuel’s by name, I came up with these potential matches, with the first probably being the best:

• Samuel Whitney (1756-?)
• Samuel Whitney (1766-?)
• Whitney, Samuel (s1757-?), of Needham, MA
• Whitney, Samuel Kellogg (1761-?), of Norwalk, CT

Do you think the above census data is credible? What are your thoughts on the potential matches above? Did I overlook any other Samuels?

I am going to take a break from my Whitney research until I receive my DNA test results.

Brad

Wills & Probate

Robert,

I still have much to learn about doing genealogy research, but here's a basic question for you. How would I go about trying to find a copy of a will in the State of NY (searching for potential father's of Daniel) between 1800 & 1850?

Brad

End of the Road

Thank you Robert for your time and comments. I agree that there is no evidence to indicate that anyone I have mentioned in our exchanges is Daniel’s father, they were merely candidates. I am starting to accept the fact that I may never learn who Daniel’s father was or whether if he even was a Whitney. For all I know, he may have changed his name when he was a young man. I think I have come to a dead end with the research I can do and that if I wish to pursue it further, a local professional genealogist may be order.

Thank you again.

Brad

Additional Whitney Data

Robert, Please let me know if you’re tired of hearing from me, but I’ve continued to do some digging into some of the individuals we’ve previously discussed. I haven’t found any new solid evidence that’s links my Daniel to potential parents, but have a few things I’d like to review with you.

I dug further into Daniel’s sons Calvin and George. I did a nationwide search for all unknown Calvin Whitneys in 1810-1850. This confirmed that Calvin was not a common given name in the Whitney family during this period as there are only 3 known individuals and 2 unknown individuals. The unknowns were born considerably after the Calvin in question and ruled out as possibilities. This leads me to believe Calvin died relatively young, prior to being identified as a head of household in the census records. Would you agree and if so, how should this be indicated in Daniel’s family group?

I followed the same process for George, but limited it to 1810-1840 due to the sheer volume of George Whitneys listed in 1850. Two candidates surfaced in my search. The first was located in Huron & Erie Co., OH. I did locate burial information for this individual at his last know location. Based upon this information, I eliminated him as a candidate. I searched the Whitneys by Given Name for a potential match, but found none. Should I create a page for this individual since I do have some factual information about him?

The second candidate was located in Jefferson Co., NY. I located the following census records for this person:

• 1820, Henderson, Jefferson Co., NY: George W Whitney, 2 males 26-44, 2 males 0-9, 1 female 26-44, 2 females 0-9. (No evidence, merely speculation, but the second male could be his brother Vashni as he was not found in the 1820 census.)

• 1830, not found.

• 1840, Henderson, Jefferson Co., NY: George W Whitney, 1 male 60-69, 1 male 10-14, 1 female 50-59, 1 female 5-9, 1 female 0-4. (I suspect the male 60-69 may actually be 50-59)

• 1850, not found.

Based upon the extensive search I’ve done, I believe this to be Daniel’s son George. Would you agree and if so, should I create a page for him and add these census records? I haven’t found other records yet, but continue to search.

One additional piece of circumstantial information about Daniel; his brother Mason lived in Herkimer Co., NY and 1800, only about 15 miles from Deerfield where my Daniel was born.

By the way, Family Tree DNA didn't receive my test kit so I'm awaiting another to send them a new sample.

Brad

Re: Additional Whitney Data

Robert,

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. I will follow your suggestions, but probably won't get to input the info until next week as I'm going to try to finish inputting my family pages this weekend. I also received my bible record from the DAR. Reviewing other bible records, there doesn't appear to be a standardized format. I will input it as it appears in the record I received. Please feel free to edit it as required. I noticed there are some errors in the record, but I will enter it as is and add it as a reference to the family pages as appropriate.

I haven't been entering "categories" for my family pages, but see that you have; thank you. Some require the creation of new category pages. Would you prefer I enter what I can and leave the creation of new pages to you or leave the whole process up to you?

Brad

Deleting Family Page

Robert, I probably shouldn't have created this page: Family:Whitney, Clara (1861-1925). How do I delete it?

Brad

References for Gershom Whitney 1729-1791 to second wife, Bathsheba

I am a current DAR member researching Gershom Whitney (1729-1791 app) to add him as a supplemental patriot ancestor. His first wife was Sarah Wood--your ancestor. My problem is the verification of his second marriage to Bathsheba Jackson Whitney Leets, and the link to Gershom and Bathsehba's last daughter, Mercy Whitney. As a direct descendent, I am complete in linking references up to and including Mercy Whitey (1780-1851) and her husband, Amos Ball. However, the link from Mercy Whitney to parents Gershom Whitney and the second wife, Bathsheba, is alluding me. If Bathsheba was born 16 Nov 1738, amd Mercy was born in 1780, both parents, Gershom and Bathsheba, would have been rather old, not impossible, but suspicious. Where do you suggest I write to obtain copies of a marriage certificate for Bathsheba and Gershom and where should I write for a birth record that links Mercy to her parents? If you are avaible to hire as a genealogist to gather these things, I would like to know your rates.

Nira Horeis [email protected] (using this email may be better than responding on the forum) DAR member

Mattie Whitney

Thank you for the information on Mattie . I was wondering if you know of any siblings of her's? our family only knows of one - a brother by the name of Eli or Elijah.

John Whitney (c1826-?)

Yes, I did understand the explanation and I apologize for the error. I also found John in the 1865 MA State Census in Waltham but I'll just add that to the family page. I plan on making John his own page soon. I'd love to find out who his first wife was!

John Dudley Whitney (1804-1874) 1860 Federal Census

Hi Robert, I took another look at a scanned image of this census on ancestry.com and in my opinion Alanisa S. could be read as Almira S., a known daughter in this family who would have been about the same age. Would you mind taking a look and telling me what you think?

Thanks, Crystal

Mary Whitney Norcross

I agree. I have this record flagged as a possibility as well. I also found a death record for Mary Norcross in 1885 in Watertown that lists her parents as John and Elizabeth. In addition, I have a cemetery plot map of Woodlawn Cemetery in Acton that shows that Allen Norcross bought the plot next to John and Elizabeth. According to the cemetery department, though, there isn't anyone buried there. Thanks!!

George Whitney

Robert,

I’ve taken a break from my Whitney research pending my DNA test results later this month and working on my wife’s family. Sometimes a break helps you see things you may have previously overlooked.

I was cleaning-up/deleting some temporary family trees I created on Ancestry.com and decided to take one last look at the tree I had created for George Whitney of Ohio. In doing a final record search, the birth record for George Whitney, son of Daniel was listed. It then dawned on me that there may be a link. I had determined the birth and death dates for George of Ohio from his headstone. The DOB of 11 Jan 1783 was exactly 2 years prior to the birth of George, son of Daniel. The census records indicate that George of Ohio was born in New Hampshire as well. A search of birth records in NH 1780-1790 only yielded one George Whitney; George, son of Daniel. I now believe that the birth date year on the headstone of George of Ohio is incorrect and that he is in fact the son of Daniel. Your thoughts? If you agree, I’ll start working on cleaning up the mess I created.

While I continue to wait I’m my DNA results, I’m going to contact the county historians for Jefferson, Oneida and St. Lawrence counties to see if they can located a will/probate records for either Daniel or Samuel Whitney prior to 1840 that may provide a link to my Daniel.

Brad - my talk

Re: George Whitney

Robert,

I guess I need some clarification of your response; "I would agree that George of Ohio and George, son of Daniel, are very likely to be the same person." Are you saying the are one in the same or are you saying that George of Ohio is Daniel's son?

At this point, I have no clue how George of Henderson fits and with as little as we know about him, I'm not sure if he warrants a family page.

Brad - my talk

George Whitney(s) Changes Complete

Robert,

I'm not sure either one of us really understood what the other was trying to say (smile), but I've completed the changes I had in mind. Please let me know if you disagree.

George of Ohio

George of Henderson, NY

I forgot to say; you're welcome! I hope what I'm doing for the other branches is helpful.

Brad - my talk

Joshua Whitney page updated

Robert, I updated Joshua's family page (1757-1797 Belchertown, MA) with his children and cited sources. His oldest son, William (Norwich, VT), is currently listed under Elija (Canaan, CT). In my research I could never find any reference of Elija and Chloe having a son named William or a daughter named Anna. So those two need to be removed, but I wasn't sure if I should try to do that. My next step is to update Benjamin's page (Willington, CT and Belchertown, MA). Joshua is his son. I have the probate records for Benjamin as well (Joshua was the executor). Also, there are a number of other Whitney's that I came across that are listed in various records from Hampshire Co. and Belchertown. I have not been able to make any connections for these people. If you would like I can email you my transcriptions of these records to see if you are able to "connect the dots". Thanks, Doug