Archive:Which Widow Sarah Whitney d. 1746
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Which Widow Sarah WHITNEY Died in 1746 in Weston?
The vital records of Weston, Massachusetts, p. 80, show the death of Sarah WHITNEY, widow of Nathaniel, on 7 May 1746, aged 88 years. Who was she?
Her age at death implies that she was born about 1658. Due to her age, her husband must have been Nathaniel3 WHITNEY (John2, John1), b. 1 Feb 1646[/7], Watertown (p. 12), whose death is recorded in Weston (p. 80), on 7 Jan 1732/3, aged 90 years. The marriage of Nathaniel3 WHITNEY and Sarah HAGAR was on 12 Mar 1673[/4] in Watertown (p. 37). Many authors have assumed that this is the widow Sarah WHITNEY who died in 1746.
Sarah HAGAR, daughter of William and Mary (BEMIS) HAGAR, was born 3 Sep 1651, Watertown. This clearly disagrees with the age at death of the above widow Sarah WHITNEY. Furthermore, there is an additional record pertinent to this problem: the death of "Sarah, wife of Nathaniel WHITNEY, Sen.," __ ___ 1722,Weston (p. 386). Again, this can only be Nathaniel3 WHITNEY, since the record calls him "Sen.", and furthermore no other Nathaniel WHITNEY of Weston had a wife named Sarah. This earlier death record must pertain to Sarah (HAGAR) WHITNEY. Then who does the later death record apply to?
It must be that Nathaniel3 WHITNEY had two wives, both named Sarah. First he married Sarah HAGAR, born 3 Sep 1651, who died in 1722. Then he married some other woman named Sarah, born about 1658, who died 7 May 1746, aged 88 years. Unfortunately, no record of this second marriage has been found, and no clue to her identity has yet appeared.
Copyright © 1999, 2006, Robert L. Ward and The Whitney Research Group
