Family:Whitney, John (1643-1727)
John3 Whitney (John2, John1), son of John2 and Ruth (Reynolds) Whitney,[1] was born 16 Sep 1643, Watertown, MA,[2] and died 4 Mar 1726/27, Roxbury, MA,[3], aged 83 years; his estate was probated 13 Mar 1726/27, Roxbury, MA; will proved.
John married, 4 Mar 1668, Roxbury, MA,[4] Elizabeth Harris, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Boughey) Harris.[5] She was born 9 Nov 1644, Roxbury, MA.[6] She was baptized 8 Aug 1647. (Brookline), MA. "3.2m.71 Elizabeth Whitney daughter to Robt. Harris ... owned the covenant."[7] She died after Sep 1718, when she was mentioned in her husband's will.
On 20 Apr 1658 he was mentioned in his grandfather Robert Reynold's will, Boston, MA: "...to my fowre daughters Children, that is to say, my dau. Ruth Whitney and to her Eldest sonne ...."[8].
On 26 Nov 1668 he witnessed the will of Edward Bugby, Roxbury, MA, along with Robert Harris, John Bridge, and Nathaniell Bruer.[9]
On 24 Aug 1676, the Town of Roxbury was credited with 18s. for the service of John Whitney in King Philip's War.[10]
On 30 Mar 1684, John Whitney was received into full communion with the church in Roxbury.[11]
On 7 May 1684, "Jno Whitney" of Roxbury was made a freeman.[12]
On 23 Dec 1692, Ruth Whitney, relict widow of John Whitney late of Watertown, John Whitney, and Benjamin Whitney, as principals, and Munning Sawin and Joseph Whitney of Watertown as sureties, posted administration bond at Watertown; Ruth Whitney made her mark "RW", John Whitney signed, Benjamin Whitney made his mark "B". On 12 Mar 1692/93 an agreement was made at Watertown, MA, between Ruth Whitney, widow of John Whitney, late of Watertown, decd., and John Whitney, Nathanll. Whitney, Samuel Whitney, Joseph Whitney, and Benjamin Whitney, sons of said John Whitney, decd., also Enoch Lawrence, Daniel Herrington, and Daniel Warren his sons-in-law, and Mary and Hannah his daughters unmarried, concerning the settlement of his estate; that the said John Whitney decd. left at his death an imperfect will signifying how he wanted his estate disposed after his death, they all have agreed that with alterations, the will should be the rule of the division of the estate. The daughters were each to receive £10 from John Whitney and £10 from Benjamin Whitney within 10 years of the widow's decease, and they relinquish interest in the orchard, but instead they would be paid within 10 years from this date; sons Nathaniel, Samuel, and Joseph Whitney were each to pay 50s to each of their sisters within five years of the widow's decease, but instead they would be paid within 5 years from this date; lands were to be given to the sons without the entail specified in the will; signed by Benjamin Whitney, Phillip Shattuck (attorney to Enoch Lawrence), Daniel Herington and Sary his wife, John Whitney, Nathanael Whitney, Joseph Whitney; mark made by Ruth Whitney and Mary Whitney. On 13 Mar 1692/93, Watertown, MA, Ruth Whitney, widow of Jno. Whitney; John Whitney; Joseph Whitney; Nathanll. Whitney; Benjamin Whitney; Phillip Shattuck, attorney to Enoch Lawrence and Ruth his wife; Mary Whitney; Danll. Herrington and Sarah his wife; and Hannah Whitney; agreed to all the articles and agreements settling the estate. On 27 Apr 1695, Watertown, MA; joint receipt given to John Whitney and Benjamin Whitney for their share of the estate of their father, signed by John Whitney, Benjamin Whitney (by mark), Joseph Whitney, William Shattuck in behalf of Phillip Shattuck, Marey Whitney (by mark), Daniel Herington, and Hannah Whitney (by mark); witnessed by Saml. Gookin, William Shattuck, and Pelatiah Whittemore; acknowledged by all the signers 6 May 1695.[13]
On 26 Apr 1695, John Whitney was granted Lot 112, 35 acres, in Woodstock, Connecticut, by the town of Roxbury.[14]
On 14 Jan 1702/3, John and Elizabeth Whitney gave a receipt for a legacy from her father Robert Harris, to be paid two years after his decease.[15]
"The name of John W[hitney] appears in the list of members of the 2d chh. in Roxbury, when gathered by 'ye Rev. Nehemiah Walter, Nov. 2d, 1712,' and, doubtless, he had previously been a member of the first chh. in Roxbury."[16]
On 29 Sep 1715 John Witney was granted Lot 30, 43-3/4 acres, in Woodstock, Connecticut, 2nd division, by the town of Roxbury.[17]
He left a will in Sep 1718, Roxbury, MA; named heirs of daughter Elizabeth, daughter Ruth Adams, son Timothy, and son Daniel; son John and daughter Sarah are not mentioned.[18]
"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 St. to the south part of Brookline, which town was called Muddy River until the year 1705.
"Whitney's lot extended back from the street, westerly, to the line separating Roxbury from Brookline. The late Major Benjamin Weld of Roxbury, who died in 1852, being then in his 86th year, told me, a short time before his decease, that he well remembered the Whitney house to have been standing in his boyhood. The old tabernacle has, probably, been among the things that were, from 75 to 80 years. Within the last 14 years, two hollows, marking the places of the cellar and well have been visible; but the plough has since passed over, and obliterated all marks of them. The dwelling-house of Robert Harris stood about six rods over the line into Brookline; and the two houses--Harris's and Whitney's--were about 1/4 of a mile apart, following the road that leads into Brookline. In the rear of the spot where the old Whitney mansion stood, the ground descends on a gradual slope 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 elevation many feet higher than the front of the lot; and still rises, gradually, forming a slope of considerable dimensions, and extending westerly to its boundary on Brookline. All that part of the lot lying west of the brook is covered with a fine grove of forest trees. On the removal of the Whitneys, the property came, by purchase, into the possession of the Child Family, whose premises it joined, and was by them retained until about four years since, when Mr. Stephen Child of Boston, lately deceased, sold the lot to Mr. Abel Adams. On the elevated plain in the rearward portion of his lot, Mr. Adams has erected a magnificent stone edifice, in the Elizabethan style of architecture, which fairly out-gables Hawthorne's Pynchon house. [Hist. of Roxbury][19]
"JOHN, Roxbury, prob[ably] eldest s[on] of John the sec[ond] of Watertown, by w[ife] Eliz[abeth], eldest d[aughter] of Robert Harris, m[arried] 1669, had Elia[abeth] b[orn] 9 Sept. 1670; John, 1 Apr. 1672; Ruth, 31 Aug. 1674; Timothy, 16 Apr. 1678; Daniel, 3 Dec. 1681; and Sarah, 2 or 7 Aug. 1684, d[ied] under 5 y[ea]rs; was freem[an] 1684, and d[ied] 4 Mar. 1727. His will of Sept. 1718, was pro[bated] nine days aft[er] his d[eath]."[20]
He was a tailor by trade. His will was made in Sept., 1718; proved Mar. 13, 1726-7; mentions his wife Elizabeth."[21]
Children of John3 and Elizabeth (Harris) Whitney all born Roxbury, MA:
i. Elizabeth4 Whitney, b. 9 Sep 1670;[22] baptized 21 May 1671, Roxbury, MA;[23] on 10 May 1685, "Elizabeth Whitney ... received to take hold on o covenant";[24] d. before Sep 1718; her heirs are mentioned in her father's will, but who those heirs might be is currently unknown. ii. John Whitney, b. 1 Apr 1672;[25] baptized 2 Sep 1672, Roxbury, MA;[26] d. young, not named in father's will; d. 1690 in the ill-fated expedition to Canada, serving under Capt. Andrew Gardner.[27] iii. Ruth Whitney, b. 31 Aug 1674,[28], baptized 6 Sep 1674, Roxbury, MA;[29] m. Joseph Adams. iv. Timothy Whitney, b. 16 Apr 1678;[30] m. Margaret Bacon. v. Daniel Whitney, b. 5 Dec 1681 [sic],[31] baptized 4 Dec 1681 [sic], Roxbury, MA;[32] m. Susanna Curtis. vi. Sarah Whitney, b. 7 Aug 1684,[33] baptized 10 Aug 1684, Roxbury, MA;[34] d. 4 Jul 1689, Roxbury, MA.[35]
References
1.^ His parentage is proven by his birth record and his mention in the probate of his father's estate.
2.^ "John the son of John & Ruth Whitney borne 16 (7) 1643," according to Watertown Records, Comprising the First and Second Book of Town Proceedings, with the Land Grants and Possessions. Also, the Proprietors' Book, and the First Book of and Supplement of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Watertown, MA: Historical Society, 1894), p. 10.
3.^ "John [Whitney], [died] Mar. 4, 1726-7, a. 83 y.," according to Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1925-1926), p. 667.
4.^ The marriage date of 4 Mar 1668/9 has been seen, but no source for it has yet been found. Certainly it is not found in any vital records.
5.^ Harris, Dr. L. M., "A Branch of the Whitney Family," NEHGR, vol. XII (1858), p. 215. Also, when she owned the covenant at the Roxbury Church on 30 Apr 1671, she was called daughter of Robert Harris.
7.^ A report of the Record Commissioners containing the Roxbury Land and Church Records, 2nd edition, (Boston, MA: Rockwell and Churchill, 1884), p. 90.
8.^ William B. Trask, "Abstracts of Early Wills", NEHGR, vol. IX, (1855), pp. 137-138.
9.^ William B. Trask, "Abstracts from the Earliest Wills on Record and on the Files in the County of Suffolk, Mass.", NEHGR, vol. XIX (1865), p. 164.
10.^ George M. Bodge, "Soldiers in King Philip's War", NEHGR, vol. XLIII (1889), p. 272.
11.^ "M1 d.30, 1684, John Whitney ... received to full communion," according to A report of the Record Commissioners containing the Roxbury Land and Church Records, 2nd edition, (Boston, MA: Rockwell and Churchill, 1884), p. 96.
12.^ Lucius R. Paige, "List of Freemen.", NEHGR, vol. III, (1849), p. 345.
13.^ Middlesex County, Massachusetts, probate file #24,681.
14.^ Roxbury Land and Church Records, p. 55.
15.^ Harris, Dr. L. M., "A Branch of the Whitney Family," NEHGR, vol. XII (1858), p. 215.
16.^ Frederick Clifton Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635, (Chicago: 1895), p. 27.
17.^ Roxbury Land and Church Records, p. 58.
18.^ Henry Austin Whitney, "The Descendants of John and Elinor Whitney, of Watertown, Mass.," NEHGR, vol. XI (1857), p. 117.
20.^ Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of First Settlers of New England showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: 1860-1862; repr. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1965), vol. IV, p. 530.
22.^ "Elisebeth [Whitny], d. John, [born] Sept. 9, 1670," according to Roxbury Vital Records, pp. 371-373.
23.^ "21 d. 3 m. 1671 - Elisabeth, d. John Whitney, baptized," according to Roxbury Land and Church Records, p. 130.
24.^ "M3 d.10, 1685, Elizabeth Whitney ... received to take hold on o covenant," ibid., p. 98.
25.^ "John [Whitny], s. John, [born] Apr. 1, 1672," according to Roxbury Vital Records, pp. 371-373.
26.^ "2 d. 7 m. 1672 - John, s. John Whitney, baptized," according to ibid., p. 132.
27.^ Theodore F. Jones, "Roster of the Expedition of 1690 to Canada," NEHGR, vol. XCIX (1945), p. 309.
28.^ "Ruth [Whitney], d. John, [born] Aug. 31, 1674," according to Roxbury Vital Records, pp. 371-373.
29.^ "6 d. 7 m. 1674 - Ruth, d. John Whitney, baptized," according to ibid., p. 136.
30.^ "Timothy [Whitney], s. John and Elisabeth, [born] Apr. 16, 1678" according to Roxbury Vital Records, pp. 371-373.
31.^ "Daniel [Whitney], s. John and Elisabeth, [born] Dec. 5, 1681," according to Roxbury Vital Records, pp. 371-373.
32.^ "4 d. 10 m. 1681 - Daniel, s. John Whitny, baptized," according to ibid., p. 136.
33.^ "Sarah [Whitney], d. John and Elizabeth, [born] Aug. 7, 1684," according to Roxbury Vital Records, pp. 371-373.
34.^ "10 d. 6 m. 1684 - Sarah, d. John Whitney, baptized.," according to ibid., p. 136.
34.^ "Sarah [Whitney], [died] July 4, 1689," according to Roxbury Vital Records, pp. 666-667.
Copyright © 1999, 2006 Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group
