Family:Whitney, Nathaniel (1749-1829)
Capt. Nathaniel6 Whitney (Samuel5, Nathaniel4, Nathaniel3, John2, John1), born Shrewsbury, 30 May 1749; married 21 Jan 1771, Mary Houghton of Lancaster, born June 1751; died Sept 27, 1844.
Capt. Nathaniel Whitney, when a young man, 20 years of age, with his brother Samuel Jr., on invitation of Colorado. William Williams, visited Marlboro, Vermont, for the first time, in Nov 1769. He returned to his home in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, in a few weeks, where he remained until the following March, when in company with his father and brother Samuel, he returned to Marlboro. The father left the two boys and returned with he sleigh and horses to Shrewsbury. That spring, on land in the easterly part of the town, they made their first attempt at making maple sugar and were very successful in the enterprise. The same spring these two brothers purchased of Charles Phelps, esq., of New Marlboro, in the county of Cumberland, and Province of New York, for £55 land near that of Governor Wentworth, and Samuel West. Capt. Whitney erected a log camp in the woods and began clearing his new farm. In this camp he spent the two following summers, ambitious and laborious in his new field of labor. At his request Mrs. Colorado. Williams cooked for him a week's provision at a time and he returned to his camp and spent the week in hard work upon it. His principal living was pork and peas and beans with a comfortable supply of bread, and occasionally with the additional luxury of trout and wild game. For his bread he brought the meal upon his back from Brattleboro, Coleraine or Greenfield, distances from 10 to 20 miles away. Upon these premises he erected the first framed dwelling in the town, which he occupied for a few years and then disposed of for Continental paper money, which depreciated in value, by which he suffered an almost total loss of his sale. In this impoverished condition he began anew by purchasing of Charles Phelps 472 1/2 acres of land, the deed of which is dated 28 Mar 1777. He sold part of the land to his brother Eliphalet and purchased other adjoining of Perez Stockwell, 12 Jun 1777. He again became a prosperous farmer and was an influential and much esteemed citizen. In the adventures of Cap't Whitney, as one of the early settlers of Marlboro, there are numerous incidents not wholly devoid of interest and which would justify an extended notice in the town history. On one occasion he killed a bear which when dressed weighed 466 pounds, one of the largest, if not the largest ever killed in Vermont. Cap't Whitney was a staunch Whig, and took a decided stand in favor of the American Revolution. On hearing of the battle of Lexington which occurred April 19, 1775, Cap't Whitney and Cap't Jonathon Warren shouldered their muskets and hastened forward to offer their services as volunteers in defense of the colonies. He reached Bennington on the eve of the battle Aug. 16, 1777, and was placed as a guard over a captured enemy. At the close of the campaign he returned to his family and his farm, a laborious citizen, taking a lively interest in the growth and prosperity of the town and in the spiritual advance of the Congregational church of which for many years he was a worthy member. He reared a large family of children, whose voices in the church choir will long be remembered. He died 4 Jun 1829; resided Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and Marlboro, Vermont.
Children of Nathaniel6 Whitney:
i. Solomon7 Whitney, born Mar.7, 1781;married Lucy Lyman and Mrs. Sybil (Armes) Goudenow. ii. Nathaniel Whitney, born 15 Sep 1771, in S.; died Dec 1, 1771, in S. iii. Charlotte Whitney, b 4 Apr 1785; married 1806, Eli Higley; res Whitingham. He died 4 May 1845. She married 2d, Jabez Smith of Whilmington. iv. Zilpha Whitney, born 8 Jun 1789; married Elisha Putnam, of Buckland, Massachusetts. He was born 18 May 1786; died Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, 24 Dec 1859. v. Luther Whitney, born 2 Oct 1777; married Jerusha -----. vi. Molly Whitney, born Mar 1776; died Sept. 1783. vii. Dolly Whitney, born 29 Jul 1774; married 1789, Henry Sawtell. viii. Chloe Whitney, born 4 May 1783; died 12 Sep 1803. ix. Rhode Whitney, born 9 Jul 1787; married William Merrill, resided Burlington. She died 1848. x. Molly Whitney, born 10 Sep 1772; died 10 Dec 1774, in Marlboro. Her remains were the first interred in the graveyard in the woods in Marlboro. xi. Nathaniel Whitney, born 24 May 1779; married Sally Stewart and Mrs. Lucy (Houghton) Hatch. xii. Betsey Whitney, born 22 Aug 1791; married Asa Jacobs, of Guilford. xiii. Clark Whitney, born 8 Apr 1794; died 13 Feb 1814.
References
1. 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. 135-136.
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