Archive:The Descendants of John Whitney, page 27
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The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635, by Frederick Clifton Pierce (Chicago: 1895)
Transcribed by the Whitney Research Group, 1999.
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| WHITNEY GENEALOGY. | 27 |
The early records of York, Me., were destroyed by the Indians in the memorable massacre of 1692, and there are now no records of this ancient town, which was originally called Agamenticus, from a mountain in the northern part of the town. In 1632 the inhabitants signed articles of submission to Massachusetts and at that time there were no persons by the name of WHITNEY residing there. The first record I can find of Benjamin in Maine is in 1662-6-8 he witnessed at York an agreement of John DOVES, He was at Cocheco, Me., near Dover, in 1667-8. April 13, 1674. The selectmen of York laid out 10 acres of upland to Benjamin. His father desired that he should return to Watertown and settle with him on the homestead during his lifetime, promising him his house and barn and all his land about home if Benjamin would do so. This property consisted of about 17 acres, bounded by land of John SHERMAN, William BOND and Martin UNDERWOOD, which promise John confirmed by deed April 15, 1670. Benjamin and Jane, March 9, 1671, with the consent of their father John, sold to his brother Joshua for £40 his right in his father's estate ("the mansion house of John WHITNEY") obtained as above stated. As will be seen by this Benjamin did not then return to Watertown, but continued to reside in York. In 1685 Benjamin and Jane WHITNEY, of York, sell to Jonathan SAYWOOD for £10 and 14s, "a certain tract and parcel of land which I have improved, possessed and have builded a small tenant upon ----- these several years," which was granted by the town of York in 1680, and ten other acres granted by the town of York in 1674, as stated above. It is probable that his wife died about this time and soon after, leaving his young children with relatives of his wife, he returned to Watertown and soon located in Sherborn, near the Natick town line. He married his second wife in Marlboro in 1695 and lived on land belonging to Harvard College, which he leased of Gov. DANFORTH. In 1718 [NOTE] he received a legacy of 10s, per annum from his nephew, Benjamin, son of his brother Jonathan. He d. in 1723 [NOTE], res. York and Cocheco, Me., and Sherborn, Mass. 63. i. JANE, b. Watertown, Sept. 29, 1669, m. at Sherborn, Jan. 4, 1693, Jonathan MORSE, b. July 11, 1667. 64. ii. TIMOTHY, b. in York, Me. In 1703 he was a member of the com- pany in York raised for the defense against the Indians, com- manded by Capt. PREBLE. 65. iii. JOHN, b. in York abt. 1678; m. Letty FORD [NOTE]. 66. iv. NATHANIEL, b. York, Apr. 14, 1680; m. Sarah FORD. 67. v. JONATHAN, b. in 1681; m. Susanna WHITNEY [NOTE]. 68. vi. BENJAMIN, b. -----; m. Mrs. Esther MAVERICK. 69. vii. JOSHUA, b. Sept. 21, 1687; m. Hannah ROCKWOOD. 70. viii. MARK, b. abt. 1700; m. Tabitha MELLEN. 71. ix. ISAAC, b.-----; m. Elizabeth BRIDGES. 11. JOHN WHITNEY (John, John), b. Watertown Sept. 17, 1643; m. in 1669 [NOTE] Eliza- beth HARRIS, b. Nov. 9, 1644; dau. of Robert. She owned the Covenant at Roxbury, Mar. 30, 1671 [NOTE]. John WHITNEY was made freeman in May 1684 [NOTE]. The name of John WHITNEY appears in the list of members of the Second church in Roxbury when gathered by "ye Rev. Nehemiah WALTER, Nov. 2, 1712." and doubtless he had previously been a member of the first church in Roxbury. His houselot, containing nine acres, was situated in that part of Roxbury called Jamaica Plain, and lying on the right as you pass up Pond street to the south part of Brookline, which town was called Muddy River until the year 1705. He was a soldier in King Philip's war in 1676, from Roxbury, and owned Cov- enant at Roxbury in Feb., 1684. "Next to Gov. BERNARD's estate, on the right as you go up Pond street in Rox- bury, was the WHITNEY estate of nine acres. A handsome stone mansion of the Elizabethan style, the residence of Mrs. Abel ADAMS, stands on the elevated plain at the rear of the lot. The WHITNEY house, which stood about a quarter of a mile this side of the Brookline line, disappeared about a centruy ago, and on the removal of the family the property was purchased by the CHILDS family, whose premises it joined. In the rear of the spot where the old house stood, the ground slopes grad- ually downward for several rods to a narrow strip of meadow, through which runs a pleasant little brook. Beyond the meadow the ground rises abruptly to an eleva- ted many feet highter than the front of the lot, and still rises gradually, forming a slope of considerable dimensions, and extending westerly to Brookline. West of the brook is a fine grove of forest trees. The name of John, the grandson of John WHITNEY, the first settler, appears in the list of members of the Second Church when gathered in 1712." [Hist. of Roxbury.]
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