Archive:Which Sarah Whitney m. Benjamin Wilson

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Which Sarah Whitney Married 1747 Rev. Benjamin Wilson?

by [User:Rlward|Robert L. Ward]]

On 23 Oct 1997, Jeanne Muse wrote:

I believe there is an error in our database (per Whitney #12). Review our current entry for:

Sarah Whitney (dau. of John Whitney & Rebeckah Whitney), b. 5 Feb 1726/1727, Harvard, MA, d. 17 May 1771 in Townsend, Mass; m. Benjamin Wilson 26 Nov 1747 in Groton.

I do not believe this Sarah married Benjamin Wilson.

My records show that Sarah Whitney (dau. of CORNELIUS Whitney and Sarah Shepperd) b. 8 Jan 1731/32; d. 17 May 1771; m. 26 Nov 1747 Benjamin Wilson (son of John Wilson & Elizabeth Foster) b. 18 Sep 1715 in Billerica, Mass; d. 1 Jun 1774 in Townsend, Mass. 1 child of this union in my database: Oliver Wilson b. 27 Mar 1749, Townsend, Mass; d. 27 Nov 1812; m. Sarah Heywood (they had 11 children).

Documentation I have recorded is:

Birth - NEHG Register Vol 11 p225; Bond p644

Birth & Marriage - NEHG Register Vol 103 p297

I quote here from Vol 103 p297 under the heading "Baptisms and Funeral Services by Rev. Obed Wilson"

"Obed was the grandson of Benjamin Wilson and Sarah Whitney. Benjamin, born in Billerica, Mass., 18 Sept. 1715, died in Townsend, Mass., 1 Jun 1774. Sarah was born 8 Jan. 1731, died 17 May 1771, daughter of Cornelius Whitney and Sarah Shepperd of Groton, Mass., descendant of the first Whitney child born in America."

The "first Whitney child born in America" was Joshua, son of John & Elinor of Watertown.

Of course, it is possible that 2 separate Sarah Whitney women married 2 separate Benjamin Wilson men -- but it is unlikely that they were married on the very same day in the same town. It is also very unlikely that the two women died on the exact same date in the same town -- so her death date is incorrect.

I suggest that our database be changed ... unless, of course, someone else has other documentation to prove otherwise.

Then on 24 Oct 1997, Jan Whitaker wrote:

Congratulations for finding that entry, as one that is questionable. When I connected these two people, Sarah dau of John and Rebeckah Whitney of Shirley, and Benjamin Wilson of Townsend, I did so with these factors in mind.

Location: John and Rebeckah lived in a house one mile or more from the Townsend line on the north, and the Groton line on the east. Shirley became a district of Groton on 29 Nov.1752. In 1747, Groton would have been the home parish of John and Rebeckah's daughter Sarah, and she could have been a near neighbor to the Wilson's in Townsend.

Onomastics: The children of Sarah Whitney and Benjamin Wilson as recorded in the Vital Records of Townsend, Massachusetts, (pub. by NEHGS, 1992), page 212: BEULAH, b.24 Feb. 1753; REBECAH, b. 31 Mar. 1757; JOSEPH, b. 22 Sep. 1759; JOHN, b. 16 Oct. 1761; SARAH, b. 23 Sep. 1764; MARY, b. 11 Oct. 1766; RUBIN, b. 4 June 1769. I did not find an OLIVER in the Townsend VR's. Page 227: LUCY, daughter of Beniaman (sic) and Sarah Wilson, deceased 12 Oct. 1752. Her birth is not recorded in Townsend, so I surmised that she was born at Sarah's family home, in Shirley, with her mother in attendance, or she died at birth. Her birth is not recorded in Shirley, either.

BEULAH is the name of John and Rebeckah's other daughter (only sister of Sarah) who died in 1763. I haven't come across any other Beulah in my transcribing Whitneys, in that era in Mass., that I can recall. ... Rebecah and John are obvious connections. John's wife Rebeckah Whitney is recorded almost without exception with the "ah" ending. Does Rev. Obed Wilson give the same list of children as above? Benjamin Wilson married second, Bathsheba Patts (both of Townsend) on 20 Aug. 1772. Bathsheba appears to be the same Bathsheba Wood of Townsend who married John Patts of Townsend, 7 Nov. 1761 and apparently widowed. Does that appear in Rev. Obed's records?

I live next to Groton and would like to go and view the record there, in Townsend and Billerica. I probably can do that someday next week, just to satisfy my mind that this Rev. Obed got it right (being the wife of a minister, and sister to two, I know they are fallible!). One would suppose that a grandson's word was reliable but "to err is human", and I would want to know if he had "family Bible records" or he was relying on his memory (especially at an old age). I also give alot of weight to anything NEHGS publishes, but I have seen them return to correct material later, when proven to be in error. So I hope you will hesitate to change this entry until I or someone else has an opportunity to investigate further. Would appreciate all comments on this issue.

Then on 26 Oct 1997, Jan Whitaker added:

Here's some family confusion, and another Whitney connection to this issue! I found this surfing Gendex last night and consulted my VR's, as well. Cornelius' sister Alice Whitney married Nathaniel Woods of Groton. [I beg to differ on this! See Joshua -- RLW] They had a daughter Bathsheba Woods b. in Oxford, MA, 1702. Bathsheba Woods married Collins Moore from Sudbury, and they produced Bathsheba Moore, b. 10 Feb. 1731/32 in Oxford, MA. Bathsheba Moore married first, Ephraim Woods, 1750/51 in Oxford, MA; married second, John Petts (Patts in Townsend VR's) 7 Nov.1761 in Townsend, MA; married third, Benjamin Wilson 20 Aug.1772, Townsend, MA. So, if I am reading this correctly, (and Cornelius'daughter Sarah married Benjamin Wilson) [and Nathaniel WOODS's wife was a WHITNEY], then when Sarah died, her husband married her first cousin once removed.

Another gem I found was that there was another Beulah Whitney, daughter of Joshua (Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John) Whitney and Mehitable Wilson, b. 1745 and married John Ball. Does anyone know if this Beulah is possibly related to either Sarah daughter of Cornelius or Benjamin Wilson?

Next, on 9 Feb 1998, Jan Whitaker continued:

Last Oct. a question was posed by Jean Muse regarding some information I submitted to the most recent Gedcom. She had a valid basis for disputing my belief that Benjamin Wilson married Sarah Whitney d/o John and Rebeckah in Groton MA 26 Nov 1747. She had documentation from NEHG Register, and F.C.Pierce stating that the wife of Benjamin Wilson, named Sarah Whitney was the d/o Cornelius Whitney and Sarah Shepard.

I have researched the vital records of all families involved,in the towns of MA surrounding birthplaces and marriages mentioned(which would allow for the ever changing boundaries of the early settlements and towns). I also consulted "Wilsons From New England" Vol. J, Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn Massachusetts, by Ken Stevens. My conclusion is that the best available evidence supports Jean's contention that Sarah d/o Cornelius Whitney was the wife of Benjamin Wilson, and not Sarah d/o John Whitney.

Ken Stevens states (regarding his sources) "There is no previously published record of this (Wilson) family. However, we have been fortunate in locating several compilations which provide extensive details regarding specific family lines, some of which are brought down to present times. Most of these manuscripts are based upon events which were known to the compiler, or upon information obtained by the correspondence with family members. Unfortunately this type of material is difficult to confirm from presently available records."

I found that a number of vital records were absent and that there are some very curious circumstances/coincidences, which leave questions in my mind.

Benjamin was the 12th of 13 children, fifth and youngest son. He left Billerica for Groton, likely for lack of resources to support him at home. His older brother Joseph, preceded him in Groton,and was "one of the earliest settlers in that part of Groton which in 1753 was to become Shirley. As early as 1729 he held the deed to a ten acre right in the northern part of the town, just west of the great Holden grant. He was in Shirley as early as 1731 and by 1734 had built a dwelling house on his lot. Obadiah Sawtell, whose son(Hezekiah) had married Joseph (and Benjamin's)sister Joanna, owned the adjoining lot."

What is remarkable about this information is that John and Rebeckah Whitney came to THAT same part of Groton as above described, ca 1743. John was the leader of the cause to separate from Groton and to form the town of Shirley. Joseph Wilson signed that petition to the General Court. John Whitney, Joseph Wilson, Obadiah, Hezekiah and Joanna (Wilson) Sawtelle all lived right next to each other and next to the boundary with Townsend. I am fortunate to live not far away and have driven through this area. One thing I was unable to pursue was locating Benjamin Wilson's property in Townsend. I have a strong feeling that it was near to the Shirley boundary. By coincidence, the front page of the local paper today has an article from Townsend asking for volunteers to help move all its delicate historical documents from its present location to a temporary one, to prepare for renovation of the town hall. That is where I would have gone to look further for the location of Benjamin's property.

John Whitney Jr. married first, Hannah Sawtell in 1759 and then upon her death, married Elizabeth Sawtell. Hezekiah and Joanna(Wilson) Sawtell had a daughter Hannah,b. 1730 and a daughter Elizabeth, b.1739. It appears likely that we have another connection between the Wilson and John & Rebeckah Whitney family here. If anyone would like to pursue that, I welcome help here. Stevens gives his source for Sawtells as:"Genalogy of American Families, mss." at NEHGS, Boston.

In regard to naming patterns, I was able to connect several of the children (those recorded in Townsend's VR's ) with one or both families of Benjamin Wilson and Sarah Whitney d/o Cornelius, with the exception of Lucy and Reuben and Beulah. These three do not appear in either families [one exception is Beulah, granddaughter of James Wilson (James, John) some distant in relationship and locale from this family), BUT---Sarah d/o of John had only one sister and her name was Beulah!

Benjamin Wilson was married three times. First to Ruth Bush of Groton, 18 Sep 1738. They had four children: Ruth b. 14 Jan 1738/9; Benjamin b. 26 Dec 1740; Elizabeth (Betsey), b. 3 Feb 1742, died 1743; Susan b. 26 Oct 1744, "probably died young, her mother died nine days after her birth". So Benjamin was left with a daughter 6, son 4 and an infant daughter, but it is curious that he did not remarry until three years later, and his bride was only 15 years and 5 months old.[Sarah d/o John Whitney would have been 20 then]

Stevens source for the next marriage is F. C. Pierce, "The Descendants of John Whitney". Benjamin married Sarah Whitney on 26 Nov.1747, making his wife the stepmother of his daughter only 6 years younger! It was soon after this marriage that Benjamin moved to Townsend. Although Stevens states that all the births of their children are recorded at Townsend, I was unable to find the first two: Oliver b 27 Mar 1749 and Ephraim b. ca 1750. The remaining children are recorded there as:Lucy b. ca 1752; Beulah b. 24 Feb 1753; Rebecca, b. 31 Mar 1756; Joseph b. 22 Sep 1759; John b. 16 Oct 1761; Sarah b. 23 Sep 1764; Mary b. 11 Oct 1766; Reuben b. 4 July 1769. When Sarah died 17 May 1771, Benjamin wrote a grieving letter to sons Oliver and Ephraim, then in he Winslow area of Maine, telling them of the hardship endured by their motherless younger brothers and sisters. Benjamin married third, Bathsheba Patts of Townshend, 20 Aug 1772. (I gave info on her previously).

Finally, I had encountered Rev Obed Wilson's "record-keeping" in the Bingham, ME area previous to this encounter with the NEHGS documentation. I believe him to be the family source of the information passed down, concerning his father, grandparents and ancestry. I had not viewed his records as reliable, until I recently found a source that gives him some valuable support. Strangely, it is the book by S. H. Whitney [Seth Harding] " The Kennebec Valley" page 104-106! I still have a problem with the fact that the birth of his own father, Oliver Wilson, apparent eldest child/son of Benjamin and Sarah is not recorded in Townsend or in any of the adjoining communities. Frank Wilson claims [in the NEHGS source] that Oliver was born in Townsend, but I could not locate it. Stevens states that his birth is recorded in Townsend, and his source for all the descendents of Benjamin and Sarah is "the five volume manuscript compiled by the late Margaret Alice Wilson (Jop-153) of Chicago which, after her death was typed and deposited with the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana." I'm not in a location convenient to that source.

One more coincidence,there was another Wilson family in Townsend, of Scotch origin, having emigrated from Northern Ireland ca 1740. They had two sons born in Townsend, James ca 1741 & Daniel in 1745. I did not find any names that could have been misplaced or confused with Benjamin's family.

This is lengthy, and I apologize for not breaking it up for transmission. I am not proficient in sending attachments and am very, very short on time to go further. Please know that I have alot more information on Benjamin Wilson's ancestry and family and also the same for Sarah d/o Cornelius and wife. If anyone wishes to have that material, I would take names and provide it sometime in the next few months when I can find the time. Thanks for your patience and congratulations to Jean Muse who caught this mistake of mine..I had a good time doing this as it led me back to my former home town, Bedford, into the part of Maine where my ancestors settled, and finally, I discovered that I had a Wilson connection myself, and right here in Westford! I would, of course, welcome any comments, corrections or suggestions for further research on this subject.

Then on 11 June 1998, James R. Wilson wrote:

Sarah (Whitney) Wilson (or Willson) is my ggggggrandmother. b. Jan. 8, 1731 Groton, MA, d. May 17, 1771 Townsend, MA, m. Nov. 26, 1747 Groton, MA to Benjamin Wilson (or Willson). She is the daughter of Cornelius and Sarah (Shepperd) Whitney.

On 13 June 1998, I responded:

I beg to differ. I am convinced that she was daughter instead of John and Rebecca (WHITNEY) WHITNEY, b. 5 Feb 1726 (Lancaster VRs) or 1727 (Harvard VRs). Have you any sources supporting your version?

On 13 June 1998, James R. Wilson rejoined:

My information comes from "The Wilson (Willson) Family Genealogy" by Sloan J. Wilson. Sloan credits his work as being "Compiled from data collected by my Aunt Margaret Alice Wilson, Frank H. Wilson, Milton Frankenfield and the author." 1972. It seems most of the research was done in the 1930's and '40s. While I have my own copy of this document it was prepared for presentation to The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Sloan was a Member of the society, National No. 63913. Louisiana State No. 753.

Using info in this document I have built a genealogy data base on the Wilson family (too bad they didn't have computers when Sloan and Margaret were working on their information). This document does have a section on the Whitney family.

Unfortunately, I do not feel I can prove or verify my info without seeing some original document (birth certificate, or official records, etc.) myself. So I have to put some trust somewhere. Uncle Sloan and Great Aunt Margaret are no longer with us to ask questions of. Sloan does cite as a few of the references for the family of Benjamin and Sarah (Whitney) Wilson the following:

1. The Town Clerk's Records, Townsend, Mass., birth records of the children of Benjamin and Sarah (Whitney) Wilson.

2. Groton Historical Series, Church Record of Dr. Samuel A. Greene, recording the marriage of Benjamin and Sarah (Whitney) Wilson.

8. Vital Statistics of Groton, Mass. by Dr. Samuel Greene.

I didn't list all of the references, only those that seem to be most likely were where Margaret obtained her info re the family of Benjamin and Sarah.

I am open to entertaining the idea that Sarah was the daughter of John and Rebecca, although my information does not support that idea. A quick look in the Whitney section of my document did not turn up a Rebecca Whitney. I must say, I haven't processed the Whitney info I have to the extent I have processed the Wilson data. So, tell me more, I am curious.

On 13 June 1998, I continued:

The tender age of Sarah, daughter of Cornelius and Sarah (SHEPHERD) WHITNEY, who was only 15 at the date of marriage, compared to the age of Benjamin WILSON, who was 32, made me question this identification. While the name Sarah was very common in the WHITNEY clan, we can restrict our attention to those who lived in or near Groton. Among those, there is one whose age is much more suitable for Benjamin WILSON, namely the Sarah WHITNEY, daughter of John-4 WHITNEY (Isaiah-3, Thomas-2, John-1) and Rebecca-4 WHITNEY (probably Moses-3, Richard-2, John-1). They were married 20 May 1724, Lancaster, MA. Their children were born in Harvard and Lancaster, including Sarah, b. 5 Feb 1726/7 in Lancaster or Harvard (it is recorded in both places). She had a brother Abner, who removed to Lunenburg, MA; a sister Beulah, who d. unmarried in Shirley, MA; a brother Ezra, who lived in Lunenburg, Shirley, then Chester, VT, Rockingham, VT, and Athens, VT; and a brother John, Jr., who m. Hannah SAWTELL in Groton, and lived in Groton and Shirley, MA, and Rockingham, VT. Apparently the father died not too long after the last child was born in 1734, and the widow Rebecca survived until 27 Jul 1780, when she died in Harvard, MA. No probate for either of their estates has been found yet. Similarly, no probate for the estate of Cornelius-3 WHITNEY (Joshua-2, John-1) had been found yet. Deeds of Worcester and Middlesex Counties, MA, have not yet been examined.

In summary, there is no proof I have found that either of the Sarah WHITNEY ladies married Benjamin WILSON. Based solely on age, I think your book has it wrong, but I can't prove it (yet!).

I would be very interested in obtaining a list of the children with birth dates and places for Benjamin and Sarah (WHITNEY) WILSON. I suppose they were born in Townsend. Perhaps we can infer something from their names versus the names of the brothers and sisters of the two Sarahs.

On 14 June 1998, James R. Wilson replied:

You bring up a good point about the ages of the two girls. Unless I have done my figuring wrong, Sarah, daughter of Cornelius and Sarah (Shepherd) Whitney, was 16 yrs 10 mos. old at the time of the marriage---almost 17. I don't know whether marriages at that age were common during that time---seems they been fairly common all through the ages. I have included a list of the children of Benjamin and Sarah (Whitney) Wilson and birth info that I have for them. Benjamin had a family (3 children) with his first wife and married a third time about a year after Sarah died.

Husband: Wilson, Benjamin Born: 18 September 1715, MA Billerica Died: 1 June 1774, MA Townsend Father: Wilson, **John 3rd (1673-) Mother: Foster, Elizabeth (1673-) Married: 26 November 1747, MA Groton Wife: Whitney, Sarah Born: 8 January 1731, MA Groton Died: 17 May 1771, MA Townsend Child: Wilson, Oliver Born: 27 April 1749, MA Groton Spouses: Heywood, Sarah (?-) Child: Wilson, Ephraim Spouses: Spencer, Mrs. Eunice (?-) Child: Wilson, Lucy Died: 12 October 1752, MA Townsend Child: Wilson, Beulah Born: 24 February 1753, MA Beulah Spouses: Sloan, James (?-) Child: Wilson, Rebecca Born: 31 March 1756, MA Townsend Spouses: Sloan, Israel (?-) Child: Wilson, Joseph Born: 22 September 1759, MA Townsend Child: Wilson, John Born: 16 October 1761, MA Townsend Died: 30 June 1842, ME Emden Spouses: Low, Catherine M. (1762-1833) Child: Wilson, Sarah Born: 23 September 1764, MA Townsend Child: Wilson, Mary Born: 11 October 1766, MA Townsend Child: Wilson, Rubin Born: 4 June 1769, MA Townsend

On 14 June 1998, I then wrote again:

Since she was born on 8 Jan 1731/2 in Groton, she was aged 15 years and 10 months old (see Groton Vital Records). If you are unfamiliar with the old practice of double-dating, as in this example of 1731/2, I recommend looking up "Calendar" in a large encyclopedia. It was common practice to use such dates in colonial times, before the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752. It means 1731 in "Old Style" (when the first day of the new year was 25 March), or 1732 in "New Style" (when the first day of the new year was 1 January). It only applies to dates between 1 January and 24 March before the change.

The marriage of such a young girl to a widower twice her age would have been extremely unusual, and would require a good deal of substantive proof to be accepted by most authorities.

The Cornelius WHITNEY family can be found at:

 http://www.whitneygen.org/families/johnw/john57.html#id10088

The John WHITNEY family can be found at:

 http://www.whitneygen.org/families/johnw/john39.html#id10260

Since there were children named John and Rebecca, for her putative parents, and the very unusual Beulah, for a sister, and no Cornelius, it seems that the evidence of names is strongly in favor of my theory versus your book's theory. Of course this is not proof!

By the way, there is a rather recent (last 10-15 years) series of books being published on the various WILSON families. That might contain additional information useful to you. Which is your immigrant WILSON ancestor?

On 14 June 1998, James R. Wilson responded:

I do agree that the points you have brought up in support of your theory---names and the young age, do lean in favor of your theory. John is a common name in the Wilson line and Rebecca has appeared as well---including Benjamin Wilson's younger sister. I have not checked the names of the children of various Whitney family members to make comparisons---would especially be interesting to see where Cornelius shows up. The question I ponder now is, what info did Margaret Alice Wilson have that she put the younger Sarah Whitney with Benjamin. Perhaps someday I will be able to find out. She donated her manuscripts to the Newberry Library in Chicago and gave some to some relatives.

I would be very interested in any books published on the WILSON families. John b. 1631 England came over from England to join the Plymouth Colony (see chart below). This WILSON family is of most interest to me. I find little info that I don't already have and find that I more info than I come across on my searches on the web. I get a sense that other than Sloan J. Wilson and Margaret Alice Wilson, others have not worked on this family---and it seems no one is currently focusing on this family.

Wilson, James Robin (1951-) Wilson, Charles William (1916-) b. St. Joseph, MO | Wilson, Jacob Resor (1884-1950) b. Atchison, KS d.Wichita, KS | | Wilson, Jacob (Anthony) (1856-1942)b.North Madison, IN d.Leavenworth,KS | | | Wilson, Jacob Resor (1826-1895)b.Cincinnati, OH d. Evansville, IN | | | | Wilson, Joseph (1789-1867)b.Concord, ME d.Columbia, OH | | | | | Wilson, John (1761-1842) b. Townsend, MA d. Embden, ME | | | | | | Wilson, Benjamin (1715-1774) b.Billerica, MA d.Townsend, MA | | | | | | | Wilson, **John 3rd (1673-) b. Woburn, MA | | | | | | | | Wilson, *John 2nd (c1650-) b.England | | | | | | | | | Wilson, John (1631-1687)b.England | | | | | | | | | | Wilson, Roger (1588-) b.England | | | | | | | | | | Fuller, Mary (?-) | | | | | | | | | James, Hannah (?-) | | | | | | | | Unknown, Johanna (Joanna) (?-) | | | | | | | Foster, Elizabeth (1673-) | | | | | | Whitney, Sarah (1731-1771) | | | | | Low, Catherine M. (1762-1833) | | | | Resor, Elizabeth (1793-1878) | | | Messick, Nancy (1828-1877) | | Byrnes, Annie Elizabeth (1855-1926) | Cherrie, Estella (1883-1959) Stephenson, Frances Preshia (1919-1997)

Then on 15 June 1998, I replied:

You should consult the following:

Stevens, Ken, Wilsons from New England..A Genealogical Record of Some Descendants from our Colonial Ancestors. Volume "J": Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn, Massachusetts (1991), 790 pp.

If you are a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, you can borrow it by mail from their library.

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Copyright © 1999, 2006, Robert L. Ward and The Whitney Research Group