Family:Whitney, Ezekiel (1741-1806)

Ezekiel⁵ Whitney (John⁴, Benjamin³, John², John¹), son of John⁴ and Susan (-----) Whitney , was baptized 12 Apr 1741, Watertown, MA,^[1] and died between 8 Apr 1805 and 3 Mar 1806, Watertown, MA.^[2]

He "of Watertown" married, 6 Dec 1763, Watertown, MA, Katherine Draper^[3] "of Roxbury", daughter of Thomas and Relief (Hyde) Draper. She was born 29 Nov 1745, Roxbury, MA, and died after 16 May 1806. She was also known as Catherine Draper.

The Watertown VR supplement shows the following entry: p. 105: 2 Jun 1793, Kathy, wf of Ezekiel Whitney, Jr., o.c. The latter means "owned the covenant." This was six years before Ezekiel Jr. married Catherine Anson in 1799, and Junior was married to Ruth Gilbert on that date. It "could" be a later entry and Catherine Anson could have been the one to whom this record refers, but was Kathy Whitney by the time the entry was made in the record. On the other hand, the "Jr." could be the problem, and if so, then this woman, a Kathy, wife of an Ezekiel, could well be the subject of the entry.

History of Paris, Maine, by David Livermore: Ezekiel Whitney became a grantee in the right of his uncle David Whitney, who was born to John (sic - should be Benjamin-3) and Abigail (Hagar) Whitney, June 16, 1697, and who had died prior to 1745. Ezekiel was the son of John and Susan Whitney, and was baptized April 12, 1741. He married April 13, 1768, Catherine Draper of Roxbury, and lived in Watertown. [David Whitney and John Whitney were among the sixty original grantees of this community - same source, earlier].

Pierce says the following:^[4]

Ezekiel became one of the grantees of land at Paris, Me., in the right of his uncle Ensign David. He was a cordwainer by trade. Served in the Rev. war in Capt. BARNARD's Watertown company.

He left a will dated 8 Jan 1801, Watertown, Middlesex, MA: four sons Ezekiel (Jr.), Francis, Amasa, and Aaron Whitney; Christopher Columbus Whitney, son to my late daughter Catherine Whitney, under 21; wife Catherine Whitney, executrix; witnesses Amos Bond, Abigail Bond, and Hannah Bond. He was a cordwainer in 1805 Watertown, Middlesex, MA.

On 8 Apr 1805, Watertown, MA, a petition was made by Nathaniel R. Whitney, Thomas Clark, Charles Bond, Edmund Fowle, and Josiah Learned, selectmen of Watertown, that a guardian be appointed for Ezekiel Whitney due to excessive drinking. On 3 Mar 1806, Watertown, MA, his widow renounced executorship. On 16 May 1806, Cambridge, MA, Catherine, widow of Ezekiel Whitney, cordwainer, petitioned for setoff of dower.

Children of Ezekiel⁵ and Katherine (Draper) Whitney, all born Watertown, MA:

i.	Ezekiel6 Whitney, Jr., b. 13 Apr 1768;[5] m.(1) Ruth Gilbert; m.(2) Catharine Anson.
ii.	Francis Whitney, b. 23 Apr 1771;[6] m. Mary Marshall.
iii.	Amasa Whitney, b. 4 May 1774;[7] m. Abigail Blunden.,
iv.	Catherine Whitney, b. 4 Mar 1777;[8] d. 24 Aug 1797, Watertown, MA, "unfortunately found Deade in the well";[9] unmarried. She was also known as Catey Whitney. Child: i. Christopher Columbus7 Whitney, b. 13 Sep 1795; m. Betsey Putnam.
v.	Aaron Whitney, b. 20 Jun 1780;[10] m. Hannah Abbott.

Census

• 1790, Watertown, Middlesex Co., MA: Ezek^l Whitney, 1 male over 16, 1 male 0-15, and 2 females.
• 1800, Watertown, Middlesex Co., MA: Ezek^l Whitney, 1 male over 45, 1 male 16-25, 1 male 0-9, and 1 female over 45.
• 1810, the widow could be the older female in the household of her son Aaron.

References

1.^  "12 Apr 1741, Ezekiel, s. of John Whitney, bapt." according to Watertown Records, Comprising the Fourth Book of Town Proceedings and the Second Book of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, from 1738 to 1822 (Watertown, MA: Historical Society, c1903), volume 3, page 146.

2.^ 

3.^  "Ezekiel Whitney of Watertown & Katharine Draper of Roxbury, m. 6 Dec 1763," according to Watertown Vital Records, volume 3, page 151. Also, "Ezekiel [Whitney], of Watertown, and Katherine Draper, at Watertown, [married] Dec. 6, 1763," according to Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1925-1926).

4.^  Frederick C. Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635 (Chicago, IL: The Author, 1895), p. 74.

5.^  "Ezekiel Whitney, s. Ezekiel & Katharine Whitney, b. 13 Apr 1768," according to Watertown Vital Records, volume 3, page 176.

6.^  "Francis Whitney, s. Ezekiel & Katharine Whitney, b. 23 Sep 1771," according to Watertown Vital Records, volume 3, page 176.

7.^  "Amafa Whitney, s. Ezekiel & Katharine Whitney, b. 4 May 1774," according to Watertown Vital Records, volume 3, page 176.

8.^  "Catey Whitney, d. Ezekiel & Katharine Whitney, b. 4 Mar 1777," according to Watertown Vital Records, volume 3, page 176.

9.^  Scott Andrew Bartley, "Watertown, Massachusetts, Marriages, Deaths, and Other Events, 1797-1837," NEHGR 165 (2011), 200.

10.^  "Aaron Whitney, s. Ezekiel & Katharine Whitney, b. 20 Jun 1780," according to Watertown Vital Records, volume 3, page 176.

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