Archive:Holman Research Reports, Part 2
Archives > Archive:Extracts > Holman Research Reports, Part 2
Holman, Winifred Lovering, "Whitney Line," typescript, Winifred Lovering Holman Papers, NEHGS Library, Boston, MA, call number Mss A H63.
Ms. Holman was a highly-regarded professional genealogist for many years. These two items seem to be research reports compiled for clients.
JOHN WHITNEY, the founder of one of the large families of that name in America, was an early settler of Watertown. Recent investigation proved that he was baptised in St. Margaret's, Westminster, 20 July 1592, the son of Thomas Whitney and Mary Bray, who were married there, 12 May 1583. The parentage of Thomas Whitney has not been proven, the pedigrees given in support of his ancestry being erroneous. He was of Lambeth Marsh when he married. Both Westminster and Lambeth Marsh were early parishes in what is now London. John Whitney lived in several parishes and his marriage has not been discovered. The baptisms of several of his children are found in the records of the parish of St. Mary Aldermary, London, and it is interesting to note that they do not quite correspond with the ages as given in the emigration list. This is explained by the fact that the clerk recording the ages may have guessed at them or some friend may have reported them, ages were not exact in these days.
THOMAS1 WHITNEY, birth unknown but about 1560, married in St. Margaret' s Westminster, Mary Bray, daughter of John Bray. She was buried in St. Margaret's, 25 Sept. 1629 and he was buried there, 14 Apr. 1637. Administration on his estate was granted to his sons Francis and Robert Whitney on the 22 May 1637. His son John being then in New England did not serve as he would have done if he had been in England. That John Whtiney was the son of Thomas is proven by documents in the records of the Company of Merchant-Taylors, one of the historic Guilds of England, to which he had been apprenticed and to which later his younger brother Robert Whitney was apprenticed.
Children of Thomas and Mary (Bray) Whitney, baptised in St. Margaret' s, Westminster, London, England.
i. Margaret2, bapt. 18 Oct. 1584, d. 12 Jan. 1604-5, Isleworth. ii. Thomas, bapt. 25 July 1587, bur. 19 Aug. 1587. iii. Henry, bapt. 25 Nov. 1588, bur. 4 Jan. 1588-9. iv. Arnway, bapt. 2 Feb. 1589-90, bur. 4 Jan, 1591. v. John, bapt. 20 July 1592. vi. Nowell, bapt. 30 Oct. 1594, bur. 28 Feb. 1596-7. vii. Francis, bapt. 27 Jan. 1598-9, bur. Aug. 1643, Westminster. viii. Mary, bapt. 2 Aug. 1600, bur. 8 Aug. 1600. ix. Robert, bapt. 10 Nov. 1605, buried, 3 Apr. 1662, St. Peter's, Cornhill, London.
JOHN2 WHITNEY (Thomas1), baptised in St. Margaret's Westminster, London, 20 July 1592, died in Watertown, Mass., 1 June 1673, aged eighty-one years. He married first about 1618, Elinor or Ellen -----, who died in Watertown, 11 Mar 1659. He married secondly in Watertown, 29 Sept. 1659, Judith -----, widow of Robert Clement of Haverhill who died before him.
John Whitney with his family sailed for New England in the "Elizabeth and Ann," Roger Cooper, master, embarking at Ipswich, England, in Apr. 1635. Their names and ages appear in the shipping list as follows:--
John Whitney, aged 35; wife Ellen, aged 30; sons, John aged 11; Richard, aged 9; Nathaniel, aged 8; Thomas, aged 6; and Jonathan, aged 1 year.
As has been noted before these ages are not correctly given but are younger than were correct.
John Whitney was admitted a Freeman of Watertown, 3 Mar. 1635-6. He served as a selectman several years between 1636 and 1655, was Town Clerk in 1655 and Constable in 1641. He left the following will:--
" John Whitney Senior of Watertown, in ye County of Middlesex: being perfect and sound in memory and understanding, blessed be God for itt doe declare this to bo my last will and testament . . . .
2ly I give to my son John Whitney: my meadow called beever-brook meadow with ye upland yt doth apertaine thereto: and a yoake of oxen: or nine pounds ten shillings: and ten acres of my land called devedend land and a trunke and one paire of sheets and one paire of pillow bears and two pewter dishes a great one and a small one: and the bed whereon I lie with all ye furniture thereunto belonging
3ly I give unto my son Richard Whitney: ten acres of my land called devedend and two cowes and a great sea chest.
4ly I give unto my son Thomas Whitney ten acres of my land called devedend and two cowes and a sad colored sute namely a pair of breeches and a close coate and a pewter dish.
5ly I give unto my son Jonathan Whitney: one iron kettle and a great brass skillet.
6ly I give unto my son Joshua Whitney: twenty acres of my land called devedend: and a cubard and a little table and a cheste and a kettle and a warming pan and a skillet
7ly I give unto my son Benjamin Whitney: the old mare if she live
8ly My will is yt what of my estate be left over after all is paid out as abovesd namely of my movables yt it be equally divided between my executors and I doe nominate and apoynt my well beloved son John Whitney and Joshua Whitney: to be my executors to this my will and testament and doe desire my loving frind William Bond, Senior: to see yt this my will be performed according to ye true intent of it an aforesaid and doe set to my hand this 3rd of Aprill 1673
his
John X Whitney Senior "
mark
Proved, 17 June 1673.
The will is endorsed "This is tbe last and third will of John Whitney."
The small bequest to his son Benjamin is explained by the giving of John to Benjamin a few years earlier of his homestead, John wishing Benjamin to come back from Maine and live with him. Benjamin sold his rights in it with his father's consent. The inventory shows that the old mare was still living when John Whitney died.
Children:
i. Mary3, bapt. 23 May 1619, Isleworth, buried 15 Feb. 1626, St. Mary Adlermary's. ii. John, bapt. 14 Sep. 1621, Isleworth; m. Ruth Reynolds, dau. ot Robert. iii. Richard, bapt. Jan. 1623-4, Isleworth; m. Martha Coldam. iv. Nathaniel, b. abt. 1625, died young. v. Thomas, bapt. 10 Dec. 1627, St. Mary Aldermary's, "sonn of John Whitne, dwelling in Bowe lanne." vi. Mary, bapt. 29 Dec 1629, St. Mary Aldermary's, dau. "of John Whitney, taylore, dwelling in Bowe lanne." vii. Jonathan, b. about 1633; m. Lydia Jones. viii. Joshua, b. 15 Feb. 1635-6, Watertown; m. Lydia ----- and Mary -----. ix. Caleb, b. 12 July 1640, died young. x. Benjamin, b. 6 June 1643; m. Jane ----- and Mary Poor.
BENJAMIN3 WHITNEY (John2, Thomas1), born in Watertown, Mass., 6 June 1643, died in Sherborn, Mass., 26 Mar. 1723. He married first about 1668, Jane ------, who died in Sherborn, 11 Nov. 1690. He married secondly, 11 Apr. 1695, Mary Poor of Marlborough.
Benjamin Whitney went to York, Me., before he was of age, appearing as a witness there in 1662, to an agreement of John Doves. In 1667-8, he was at Cocheco, Me., near Dover. Later in that year his father desired him to return to Watertown and look after him and hence deeded him his homestead, 5 Apr. 1670. With his wife Jane he evidently acceded to his father's wishes but after he received the homestead, he was not satisfied and a year later, with his wife Jane, he sold the homestead to his brother Joshua, his father consenting. It is probable that Jane belonged in York or Dover and perhaps she was not happy away from her kindred. For the next fifteen years they lived in York. Unfortunately the early York records are burned so the births of the children there can not be obtained. In 1685, Benjamin and Jane Whitney sold to Jonathan Sayward land in York consisting of a piece granted by the town to Benjamin in 1674 and another in 1680. He then went with his family to Sherborn, Mass., where he lived on land leased from Harvard College. In 1718 he received a legacy of 10s. from his nephew Benjamin, son of his brother Jonathan Whitney.
No will or administration of his has been found.
Children:
i. Jane4, b. 29 Sept. 1669, Watertown, Mass.; m. 4 Jan. 1693-4, Jonathan Morse. ii. Timothy, b. York about 1673, in 1703, a soldier in York. iii. John, b. about 1676; m. Letty Ford. iv. Benjamin, b. about 1678; m. Esther Marverick. v. Nathaniel, b. 14 Apr. 1680; m. Sarah Ford. vi. Jonathan, b. about 1681-2; m. Susanna. vii. Joshua, b. 21 Sept. 1687, Sherborn; m. Hannah Rockwood.
By second wife, Mary Poor,
JOSHUA4 WHITNEY (Benjamin3, John2, Thomas1) , born in Sherborn, Mass., 2l Sept. 1687, death unknown, but after 1 May 1750. He married in Medfield, Mass., 28 Nov. 1709, Hannah Rockwood who died after 1 May 1750.
Joshua Whitney according to the Whitney Genealogy had another wife Phebe whom he married about 1738. A careful examination of the records prove that Phebe was the wife of his son Joshua who died before his father.
Joshua Whitney lived for a few years after his marrige in Medfield and then moved to Mendon and settled in that part of the town that later became Uxbridge. The deeds following prove that he lived after his son died but no clue has been found in either Suffolk or Worcester Co., registries of land or probate as to where he went with his wife Hannah in 1750. He was a shoemaker or cordwainer in early life.
"Edmund Rawson of Mendon in the County of Suffolk . . . gentleman . . . for . . . one Hundred and twenty pounds . . . paid by Joshua Whitney of said Mendon, cordwainer , . . Have Sold . . . unto . . . the said Joshua Whitney . . . a Certain Tract of Land in said Mendon," . . . 11 May 1726 . Elizabeth Rawson released her dower. Witnessed by Robt. Taft, jr., John Rawson. (Worcester Co., Deeds, 5:384.) Not recorded until after Worcester Co. was established in 1732.
Joshua Whitney of Mendon, cordwainer, sells to Joseph Damon of Reading, blacksmith, land in Mendon, 20 Apr. 1726, Hannah Whitney, wife of Joshua, released her dower. Joshua and Hannah Whitney acknowledge the deed, 7 Apr. 1740. (Ibid. 12:410.)
"Joshua Kibby and Edward Kibby, both of Medway . . . Housewrights . . . for . . . Fifty pounds, paid by Joshua Whitney of Uxbridge . . . Have . . . sold . . . the said Joshua Whitney a Certain Peice of Land Lying in a place known by the name of New Sherburn lying Westward of and adjacent to Uxbridge aforesaid and was laid out to our Honoured Father Joshua Kibby now Deceased" . . . bounds, Joseph Whitney, Samuel Morse, etc. 14 Sept. 1743. Witnessed by William Grant, Joseph Marshall. (Ibid. 22:237.)
Joshua Whitney of Uxbridge, husbandman, for £120 0s. 7d. sold to Benjamin Titus, land in Douglas District, west of Uxbridge, laid out to Joshua Kibby, etc., 2 July 1746. (Ibid. 22:242.)
Joshua Whitney of Uxbridge . . . for . . . Two Hundred Thirty five pounds . . . paid by Joseph Dammon of Uxbridge . . . Blacksmith . . . sells . . . all that tract of land or farm whereon I Now Dwell Lying in Uxbridge aforesaid with all the buildings thereon . . . one hundred acres . . . We the said Joshua Whitney and Hannah Whitney" etc., signed 1 May 1750.
Joshua Whitney
her
Hana: H Whitney
mark
Witnesses
Benjamin Jones
John Harwood
James Jeith."Mr Joshua Whitney and Hannah Whitney" acknowledged the deed, 1 May 1750. (Ibid. 28:546.)
This is the last mention of Joshua and Hannah in the Worcester Co., Records. Then Joshua was about sixty-three so was probably still an active man. They had a daughter who lived in Medfield and one in Medway, but the records of those towns do not show that they lived with them. Apparently they had only two sons, Joshua, jr., who died before his father, and Ezekiel who lived in Uxbridge and who also died a comparatively young man.
Their recorded children follow. They may have had others between Joshua and Ezekiel and Ezekiel and Bethia, but the Mendon records which are poor do not show them. If the records of all the Whitneys in Middlesex and Worcester Counties were examined more would probably be found but the family is very large and the indices very poor so it would take much time to do it.
Children, the first two born in Medfield, the rest in Mendon, Mass.:
i. Hannah5, b. 12 Oct. 1710; m. Abraham Daniels of Medfield. ii. Joshua, b. "after 27 Nov. 1712", (Medfield Record); m. Phebe ------. iii. Ezekiel, b. 29 Aug. 1716; m. (Int. 3 Mar. 1743, Uxbridge) Jenet Patterson. They had (1) Susanna, bapt. 13 Oct. 1745; (2) Jennet, bapt. 12 Oct. 1746, died young; (3) Margett, bapt. 11 Sept. 1748, died young; (4) Jennet, bapt. 10 Sept. 1749; (5) Margaret, bapt. 18 Aug. 1751. iv. Bethia, b. 29 Sept. 1720, died young. v. Bethia, b. 24 Feb. 1726-7, d. 22 July 1822, aged 95; m. Thomas Jones of Medway. vi. Mary, b. 27 Oct. 1732.
JOSHUA5 WHITNEY (Joshua4, Benjamin3, John2, Thomas1), born in Medfield, "after Nov. 27" 1712, died in Uxbridge, probably in the Fall of 1750. He married about 1737-8, Phebe who died after 1768. She married secondly, in Medway, 18 July 1751, Caleb Partridge who died 20 Feb. 1755, Medfield, aged about 29 (sic) called "husband of Phebe" in the record. She married thirdly in Medway, being called "the widow Phebe Partridge", 7 July 1755, Joseph Ankers of Boston, and fourthly, in Medfield, ("Phebe Anchor, widow") 13 July 1763, Henry Hucker or Hooker of Medfield. She is supposed by some authorities to be that "widow of Henry Hooker" who died in Sturbridge, 21 Apr. 1795, aged 85, but Henry Hooker of Sturbridge married 12 July 1770, Molly Edmunds. If he was indentical with Henry Hucker, of Medfield, then Phebe died between 1768 and 1770.
There is nothing to be gleaned from the records of the life history of this Joshua Whitney, Jr., but the settlement of his estate and that of Phebe's second husband Caleb Partridge clear up the tangle in the Whitney Genealogy. The account of the estate of Joshua Whitney shows that he had a posthumous child, evidently Jabez, born Jan. 1750, and hence he must have deceased before that date. It is also evident that the estate was not administered until some months after he died and strangely enough some of the papers are filed in Worcester Co., where if he died in Uxbridge they properly belong and some in Suffolk Co. The widow had removed to Suffolk Co. in going to Medway but the probate of Joshua belonged in Worcester County.
Worcester Co. papers, (Docket 64965)
Estate of Joshua Whitney of Uxbridge.
"Honorabel sir I am sensibel that I am uncabel to take Administration on ye Small Estate which my Late Husband Joshua Whitney late of uxbridge Died seized of and I Humbly Request If it may be pleasing to your Houour that mr Josiah Taft may be put an Administrator on ye said Estate which will Greatly oblige me and my poor fatherless Children as In Duty Bound shall ever pray
uxbridge August ye 18th 1750
her
Phebe X Whitney
mark
Josiah Taft was bonded with Daniel Taft and Benoni Benson, he of Uxbridge, Gentleman, and they of Mendon, as administrator of the estate of Joshua Whitney, late of Uxbridge, aforesaid, labourer deceased, 22 Aug. 1750.
Inventory of Personal estate filed, amounting to £50 2s. 4d., on 21 Aug. 1750. The account of Josiah Taft was approved Feb. 1753.
He prayed for allowance as follows £50 2s. 4d. "item To ye Widow of ye Decd for charges of lying in £ s d with a posthumous child ---------------------------------------------------1- 6- 8 pd Capt Keith 2/7 The cost 4/ per moving ye family & Goods to my house 0- 3- 4 To Carrying ye family to menway & 4 pounds --------------------------------0- 5- 0 To Dr Dyett 3/4 pd Ezl Wood jr 1/3 ---------------------------------------0-14- 7 pd Peter Gardiner 14/8 pd Left. White 2/7 -------------------------------0-17- 3 pd ye Appriser 6/ pd Joshua Whitney 8/ ----------------------------------0-14- 8 pd in ye offece 9/8 -------------------------------------------------------0- 9- 8 ------------- 4- 7- 1 I also pray for allowance of a Debt due from Jed Hobbins 24l old Ten. Note Decd but if pd to be accounted for 3- 4- 0 ------------- 7-11- 1
I ask nothing for my Trouble ------------- 42-12- 7 To framing allowing & Recording this act & a Copy 0- 8- 7 ------------- Remain 42- 4- O The Widows Thirds 14- 1- 4 ------------- remain 28- 2- 8 I also pray allowance out of sd Sum for what I paid Samll Garnson for a poor Weekly Child he took being 3lb old tener & ye full of ye sd Childs portion 4- ------------- 24- 2- 8
The following papers are found in Suffolk County Registry.
21 Aug. 1750 Joshua Whitney late of Uxbridge deceased. His widows thirds, 14--1--4. and also aloud the Widow for Moveing 1--6--8 And also the Widow her charges of Lying in after his decease , 1-6--8. An account of what the widow has Received of Capt Josiah Taft Admr of the Deceased above menshoned Estate
Uxbridge October the 12 1750 Was paid as apairs By her Request In old Tenor 71--7--0 Another Recet Oct the 13 1750 6--0--0 Apr. 15 1751 then Receved 34--6--3 Sept. 5 1751 6--4--6 Sept. 5 1751 then received in Lawful Money 2--6--3
Whe the Subscribers assnt to the truth above Ritten
Lydia Taft, Solomon Wood, John Melendy.
(Josiah Taft died in 1757 and Lydia, his wife, was his executor. It is probable that this paper was filed to clear Taft's estate from any claim by Phebe. In an item in Lydia' accounting in Worcester County is "pd to heirs of Joshua Whitney for whom said Josiah was administrator")
From the above account we find tbat Phebe removed to Medway after the death of her husband. That he must have died before Jan. 6, 1750; that Josiah Taft took her to his own home for a time with her children and that one of her children was taken by Samuel Garnson or(really Garnsey). This evidently was the next to the youngest child John Whitney, for later his "master Garnsey" forbids his marriage. It seems probable that Josiah Taft was some connection of hers but his will does not show it. One also learns from the probate papers that there must have been seven children for £4 is called the full of the child's portion that went to Garnsey and would indicate a division of the remainder of £28 2s 6d into seven shares of £4 each, of which the eldest son would receive two shares.
Phebe's second husband only lived three years and some months after their marriage, she had no children by him so his estate went to his brothers and sisters excepting her thirds.
The papers are in Suffolk County, Medway being in that county then. (Docket 11011.) 25 June 1756, Leonard Fisher and James Boyden of Medway and W. Frink of Wrentham appointed by the Court to value the estate of Caleb Partridge late of Medway, deceased, in the possession of his widow since his death.
Phebe Partridge was bonded 4 Apr. 1755, with Lemuel Ellis and Henry Daniels for her administration on the estate of Caleb Partridge of Medway.
She filed an account in which she claimed to have paid
"Paid to the Hairs viz 5 of them Ebenezer Partridge 5--10--0 Joseph Grant 5--10--0 Hannah Fisher 5--10--0 Joshua Partridge 11--18--6 Samuel Partridge 5--10--0 brothers & Sisters of the Deceased Caleb Partridge."
Phebe petitions the Court dating the petition at Medway, "march ye 10 1756." She states that she has paid the above and thinks she is entitled to residue, claims that they have "stripped her" and considers she is entitled to what is left considering the "Long Troble I have had with his aged parant in his Long Confindment."
Her dower was set off to her as follows:
" Set to Phebe Ancre who was Widow to said deceased In his late Dwelling House the Easterly Lower room the celer under and the chamber over it. With Privilege with other Heirs of the fore doore entry & Stairway,"etc. valued at £16. part of the barn real estate etc. value in full £109--10--7--1/ This paper was signed by Jeremiah Daniell, John Metcalf, Nathaniel Clark Henry Daniel Seth Partridge, 19 Apr. 1756. The widow, John Metcalf, with Samuel Partridge and Joshua Partridge, two of the heirs, assent.
She filed her second account 24 May 1756. It appears there is due to her first husbands child £3--5--11 received by Caleb Partridge of Josiah Taft which ye Judge Allowed admr to keep in her hands there being no Guardian for ye Child.
In an account filed 9 July 1756 is this item
Amount to what the decd recd for acct of the adminx youngest Child out of her (sic should be his) Fathers Estate.
This paper is also filed as proof.
"And by me Josiah Taft to Caleb Partridge and his Wife Phebe Partridge as She was Widdo to the Estate of Joshua Whitne jur Late of Uxbridge Desest tbe sume of five Pounds one penne & two farthings Lawful Money as I was Administrater to sd Estate as it apears by thare resates & orders thre pounds five Shillings one penny & three farthings of the said mony being for ye youngest Childs portion
Uxbridge
January ye 16 1756
Josiah Taft administrator"
There is no record of Joseph Ankers death and no administration in Suffolk Co. As the name seems unknown it is possible that he was an immigrant and that what property he left Phebe received. They had one child but there is no further record of her. When Ankers died is not known but before July 1763 for Phebe was a widow and married to Henry Hucker in that month. Before marriage they drew up the following agreement:--
"We Henry Hucker of Medfield . . . Tayler and phebe anchor Now living in said Medfield intending together in a short time do mutually agree concerning our Goods & Estates . . . as followeth . . . the said Henry Hucker in consideration that the said Phebe Anchor doth quit all claim to anything of his personal estate except what is here mentioned to be given her in case she shall outlive him) doth also quit all claim to her household goods or indoor Moveables in case he eball outlive her, and doth give her a little Iron pot and a pair of hand Irons at his decease to be for her use and dispose forever and doth also promise and grant unto her the use benefit & improvement of all his real Estate from the time of his decease for & during the whole term of her natural life, And also that all her money that shall be remaining & not spent at his Decease shall return to her for her use & dispose forever & in case her decease shall be before his, then said money shall be delivered to her heirs, & further he the said Henry Hucker doth hereby promise that if after his marriage to said phebe abchor he shall have occasion to spend any of the money that was hers before Marriage for his own particular use & comfort that so much of said money as he shall so spend shall be paid to her or her heirs at his decease or soon after out of his estate . . . twentyseventh day of July . . . one Thousand seven hundred & sixty three The said Henry Hucker doth give to said Phebe Anchor a cow at his decease in case he shall then have one. This before signing.
Henry Hucker his mark & seal, Phebe Anchor her mark & seal.
(Suffolk Co. Deeds, 111:155.)
This is the last found of Phebe excepting that in 1768 she forbade her son' s marriage.
In 1758, the brothers and sisters of Caleb Partridge sold to the oldest brother Joshua Partridge their rights in the estate of Caleb, subject to the widow's dower. In 1760 Joshua sells the land to Anson Turner of Framingham, and they all quit their rights to that part of the estate set off to Phebe Ankers as her share as widow of Caleb. (Suffolk Deeds, 98:120, 128:1 & 2.)
Children; born in Uxbridge, Mass.; excepting the last.
i. Joshua6, b. 27 Feb. 1738-9; m. 27 Oct. 1765, Jemima Clark, had Joshua7 born 25 Jan. 1769, Medfield and more in Medway. ii. Joseph, b. 21 Mar. 1739-40, living 1765. iii. Benjamin, b. l4 Mar. 1742-3. iv. Phebe, b. 25 July 1745, bapt. 3 Sept. 1744 (probably b. 1744 not 1745); m. 20 May 1765 Isaac Kibby. vi. Hannah, b. 4 Feb. 1746; (her m. Nathaniel Whitney). vii. John, b. 7 May 1749, recorded in Medway but evidently born In Uxbridge; m. Mary Corey. viii. Jabez, posthumous, b. 8 Jan. 1750, d. 30 Jan. 1825 aged V4, Hinsdale; m. 20 Oct. 1771, Experience Fairbanks, born 19 Apr. 1755 , Medway, d. 19 Nov. 1805, aged 51, Hinsdale, daughter of Jonas and Experince (Leland) Fairbanks. Removed to Peru and settled in that part of the town that was later set off as Hinsdale.
By Joseph Ankers, Phebe had
ix. Molly Ankers, b. 8 May 1756.
(To these children the Whitney Genealogy adds a Nathaniel and Isaac and makes them all children of Joshua Whitney Sr., as well as the ones rightfully his.) The receipts to Lydia Taft, Ex. of Josiah Taft were signed at Uxbridge by Benjamin Whitney (18 Mar 1764, £5 13s. 3d.), Joseph Whitney (19 Apr 1764, £5 4s. 10 1/4d.), Joshua Whitney (5 Dec 1761, £3 18s. 5d., and also 6 Nov 1765, £1 8s 8 3/4d.), Nathaniel & Hannah Whitney (30 Sep 1765, £5 13s. 5d.), Isaac & Phebe Kibbey (30 Aug 1765, £5 12s. 10d.), & Lydia Taft, admx. (Docket 7945.)
JOHN6 WHITNEY (Joshua5, Joshua4, Benjamin3, John2, Thomas1), born in Uxbridge, Mass., 7 May 1749, recorded in Medway where he,"son of widow Whitney" was baptised 7 July 1751, died in Pomfret, Chatauqua Co ., N.Y., 21 Jan. 1824. He married in Newton, Mass., 16 Feb. 1768, Molly Cory (or Cary) of Natick, born 25 July 1751, died after the 3 Jan. 1838, probably in Erie Co. Pa.
John Whitney was evidently the "weekly child" taken by Samuel Garnsey who may have been a relative, since Garnsey took him when he was only a few years old. Since he is the only one of the children who was baptised it seems possible that this was because he was in Garnsey' s family and they were church members in Medway. He was evidently a member of Garnsey's family in 1768 for the record of intention of marriage in Medway, 5 Dec. 1767 of "John Whitney and Mille Carey" shows that "The Banns between John Whitney & Molly Carey is forbidden by his Master Gransey & Mother." John and Molly were published also in Natick where he is called "of Medway, and their marriage in Newton is also recorded in Natick where he is called"a transient person", and she "Molly Cary" while in the record in Newton she is called Molly "Corey". It is probable that her name was Corey as there is a Cory family in Natick and no Cary family there. A William Corey of Weston and Esther Frost of Watertown were married 1 Aug. 1744 and a Molly, daughter of William and Esther Cary was bapt. in Natick 1 May 1748. This was evidently not the Molly who gave her age as 86 years on the 26 July last, in Nov. 1837, but it is possible that she was also a daughter of William and Esther, the first Molly having died.
However despite the opposition of master and mother, John and Molly were married. They seem to have led a rather drifting life for they had their first child in Holliston, another in Dedham and a third some where else. They undoubtedly had other children whom they did not have recorded. At the time of the Revolution they were back again in Medway, where John and his younger brother Jabez both served.
John Whitney's Service. Receipt given to Capt. Moses Adams, dated Medway, 29 July 1779, signed by said Whitney, for £300 paid him by said Adams, in behalf of the committee for hiring soldiers for "hire in part" to serve in the Continental Army for the term or nine months; also descriptive list, dated Monday, 24 July 1779, of men raised by the town of Medway to serve in the Continental Army for the term or nine months, agreable to the resolve of 9 June 1779, as returned by Moses Adams to Maj. Stephen Badlam, Superintendant for Suffolk Co., by order of tho Selectmen; age 29 yrs., Sature, 5 ft., 6 in., (also given 5 ft., 8 in.,) complexion, light, (also given sandy); also, list of men returned as received of Major Stephen Badlam, Superintendant for Suffolk Co., by Justin Ely, Commisioner at Springfield; also, list of men returned as received of Justin Ely, Commissioner, by Lieut. Reuben Lilly at Springfield. (Mass. Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War, vol. xvii, p. 229.)
John Whitney also served in 1776. John Whitney, private, Capt. Josian Fuller's co., Col. Wheelock's regt., service, 14 days: company marched from Medway to Warwick, R.I., on the Alarm of 8 Dec. 1776. (Ibid. p. 228.)
After the War was over, John and his brother Jabez went to Peru where both were living in 1790. John had then in his family, one male above sixteen himself, two under sixteen and three females, so apparently he had two sons and two daughters then living. In 1790, his daughter Hannah married Gideon Richmond of Fort Dayton, N.Y., now the town of Herkimer, Herkimer Co., and evidently went there to live. Whether John went to Herkimer or not but he evidently removed shortly after to New York and in 1818 was living in Pomfret, then in Chatauqua Co., N.Y., where he died a few years later. Molly and her son John Whitney removed after the father's death to Erie Co., Pa., where they were living in 1838.
Both John and Molly drew a pension for his services in the War. The papers filed in support of his claim (W. 4615) at Washington gives the following sworn statement:
John Whitney, Mass. Enlisted at Medway about Aug 6, 1779, in company commanded by Lt. Deane, in Col. Smith's Regt., and Glovers Brigade. Served nine months.
Applied for pension, 11 May 1818m in Chatauqua Co., N.Y., aged sixty-eight years. Edward Kibbe* of Naples, Ontario Co., testified to Whitney's service in said Company. (*Edward Kibbe was very probably nephew, since his elder sister Phebe, married Isaac Kibbe.)
In 1820: His family consisted of himself aged 70 and his wife.
3 Nov. 1837, Erie Co., Pa. Molly Whitney "aged 86 years on 25th of July last", widow of John Whitney who died 2l Jan. 1824 at Pomfret, Chatauqua Co., N.Y., applied for a pension. Had lived in Erie Co., since her husband's death. She was married at Natick, Mass., in February 1769 and had resided with her son John since her husband's death. John Whitney, son of John and Molly Whitney aged fifty-three testified that he had lived with his parents until 1808 when he married, and his parents then lived with him until his father's death.
Benjamin Brownell testified. Had been well acquainted with the widow Molly Whitney for the past six or seven years.
9 Nov. 1837, Lorain Co., Ohio, Hannah Richman, aged sixty-eight years last Sept., the daughter of John and Molly Whitney, testified; She had lived with her parents until her marriage in 1790.
3 Jan. 1838. Molly Whitney aged eightyseven, still living in Erie Co., Pa.
In this record Molly states that she was married in 1769 and Hannah's statement would make her born in the same year. The records give both events as occurring in 1768, and give the marriage as occuring in Newton, not in Natick.
Children, so far as known:
i. Hannah, b. 3 Sept. l768, Holliston; m. Gideon Richmond. ii. Sally, b. 11 July 1773, "Deadham", recorded in Peru Mass. (Sarah Whitney, m. Henry Bass, Int. 27 Dec. 1794, Peru.) Her record was probably given in when her marriage was recorded or the intention of it. There is no record in Dedham. iii. A son, born perhaps between 1773 and 1784. A ----- Whitney was published to marry Comfort Curtis, in Peru, 2 Apr. 1793. If the other son, he would be b. abt 1771. iv. John, b. 1784, aged 53 in 1837.
HANNAH7 WHITNEY (John6, Joshua5, Joshua4, Benjamin3, John2, Thomas1), born in Holliston, Mass., 3 Sept. 1768, according to Holliston Records, and in Sept. 1769, according to her statement, was living in Lorain Co., Ohio in 1837. She married in Peru, Mass., being published there, 13 Aug. 1790, Gideon Richmond of "Fort Daton ".
After her marriage Hannah evidently lived in Fort Dayton (as the town of Herkimer, N.Y., was called for some years after the Revolution), later removing to Ohio where she was living in the town of Columbia, in 1830. The family of Gideon Richmond appears in that town in the Census of 1830, with one male and one female between fifty and sixty, and one male between 10 and 15 in his family. Evidently his older sons were married and in homes of their own. His son Amos was living in tho same town, with one male and one female between 30 and 40, one female between 15-20, one male between 10-15, 2 males between 5-10, and one female under 5 in his family. In 1840 Gideon does not appear in Columbia or in Loraine Co., at all, but a Truman Richmond is living there in Black River, while in 1850, Truman is living in Columbia and an Alfred is in Columbia, born in Ohio, who was aged 29, with a wife Abbie, aged 30, born in New York and two children, Bryan aged 4 and Jeremiah-H., aged 2, born in Ohio.
So far research has failed to show where Gideon and Hannah went to from Columbia.
Children: said to have been,
i. Amos, b. between 1790 and 1800, probably about 1792. ii. John, b perhaps about 1794. iii. Henry Gideon, b. 1796, New York; m. Eliza Cubberly or Coverly. iv. Hiram (Could he have been born as late as 1815 or was the male between 10-15 a grandchild.) v. Rebecca.
Copyright © 2002, 2006, The Whitney Research Group
