Family:Whitney, John (b1645-b1720)
John2 Whitney (Henry1), son of Henry1 and ----- (-----) Whitney,[1] was born before 1645,[2] and died before 11 Oct 1720, Norwalk, CT.[3]
He married, 17 Mar 1674/5, Norwalk, CT, Elizabeth Smith,[4] daughter of Richard Smith.[5] She was born say 1655,[6] and died after 3 Apr 1741.[7]
Phoenix says the following:[8]
- John Whitney was probably born before his father went to Southold, as the fact that he was of full age before 20 Jan. 1665-66, is indicated by the following vote:
- At a Towne meting held the 20th of Jan. 1665, granted vnto John Whitne the sonne of Henry Whitney . . . . . oinse unto his father's home lott extending from the . . . . Brow of the hill lying by the hi . . weigh Leading to the . . . . 2 Rodds . . . cartpath by the sayd Falls.
- He settled, with his father, in Norwalk; followed his business, of
[Signature] John Whitne Sener millwright and miller; succeeded him in the possession of the mill and homestead; and there married, 17 March 1674-5,
- Elizabeth Smith, dau. of Richard Smith.
- At a towne meting desember 27th 1677. At ye aforesayd meting it was voted and agreed on between the towne and the miller, John Whitne, that the towns men are to carry their corne to the mill vpon the third and sixt dayes of the weak, comonly called Tuesday & Fryday, which days he is to Attend to grinde in & if the sayd John can clere the mill of the corne that is brought in the aforesayd two days, or before, then the Rest of the dayes of ye week he may take to atend his own ocations, but if he cannot clere the mill of the corne sesonably brought in, he must clere it beore he leaues.
- He built a fulling-mill at Norwalk, which he gave, 14 Ap. 1707, to his son John Whitney, with needful conveniences of land and water,
- to Injoye use and improve, so long as there shall be a grist or corne mill maintained by the sd John Whittney, Senr., or his heirs for to grind the Inhabitants corne, According to his covenant with the sayt Towne and noe longer. This I do Grant unto my sayd sonn so long as he or his heires shall se cause to maintaine a fulling Mill there where it now standeth and no Longer; provided allso that in case the sayd John Whitney sone of sayd John Whitney, senior, shall marry, and he Decease, and leave a widow, she shall Inioy the privilledges above mentioned so long as she shall remain his widow, & noe longer, and then to return to his Eldest Brother surviving; and in case he shall Refuse, then the next surviving, and so successively to all the Brethren of the sayd John Whittney, Junior.
- He sold to his son, John Whitney, 8 July 1712, in consideration of a bond to pay certain sums of money, the grist-mill, and land belonging thereto, taking, 9 July 1712, a life-lease of the premises. His son reconveyed the whole property, three days before his death; and a month later, the father secured the fulling-mill to the widow during the minority of he son, with remainder to him. He finally sold the grist-mill, 20 May 1713, to his son Joseph Whitney, for which Joseph was to pay his father's debts, give him one half of all grain that should be received for toll at the mill during the father's life, if demanded; "and, after ye decease of ye said John Whitne, to maintain his mother, Elizabeth Whitne (if she survive) Honourably During her natural life, if she Remaine ye sd John Whitne's widdow," and within four years after John Whitney's death, pay to his heirs £50 "in Provision pay at price currant equivalent to two thirds of said sum in money."
- He probably died, at Norwalk, in 1720, as his son-in-law, Joseph Keeler, was appointed administrator of his estate, 11 Oct 1720. His widow was a member of the First Congregational Church in Norwalk in 1725, and was living as late as 3 Ap. 1741, when her son Joseph Whitney, in a codicil to his will, provided for her future support; but the date of he death is not known.
Children of John2 and Elizabeth (Smith) Whitney:
i. John3 Whitney, b. 12 Mar 1676/7, Norwalk, CT;[9] m. Elizabeth Finch. ii. Joseph Whitney, b. 1 March 1678[/9], Norwalk, CT;[10] m. Hannah Hoyt. iii. Henry Whitney, b. 21 Feb. 1680[/1], Norwalk, CT;[11] m. Elizabeth Olmstead. iv. Elizabeth Whitney, b. ca. 1684, Norwalk, CT; m. Joseph Keeler. v. Richard Whitney, b. 18 Apr 1687, Norwalk, CT;[12] m. Hannah Darling. vi. Anne Whitney, b. ca. 1691, Norwalk, CT; m. Matthew St. John. vii. Eleanor Whitney, b. 27 Jan. 1693, O.S.; 6 Feb. 1694, N.S., Norwalk, CT; m. Jonathan Fairchild. viii. Nathan Whitney, b. say 1695, Norwalk, CT; m. Sarah Platt. ix. Sarah Whitney, b. say 1697, Norwalk, CT; m. Samuel Smith. x. Josiah Whitney, b. say 1700, Norwalk, CT; m. Eunice Hanford.
The statement made by Phoenix that there was a son Samuel Whitney of Stratford, CT, who married Anne Laborie, is false, as he was the son of Nathaniel3 Whitney of Weston, MA, as proven by the latter's probate records.
References
1.^ He is mentioned in his father's will.
2.^ He was of age on 20 Jan 1665/6, when he was granted land.
3.^ Administration on his estate was granted on that date.
4.^ "Whitney, John, m. Elissabeth Smith, d. Richard, 19 Mar 1674/5," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR1:52.
5.^ Her father's name is given in her marriage record.
6.^ A guess based on the ages of her husband and children.
7.^ She was mentioned in a codicil to her son Joseph's will on that date.
8.^ Stephen Whitney Phoenix, The Whitney family of Connecticut, and its affiliations; being an attempt to trace the descendants, as well in the female as the male lines, of Henry Whitney, from 1649 to 1878; to which is prefixed some account of the Whitneys of England. (New York : Priv. Print. [Bradford Press] 1878), pp. 11-12.
9.^ "Whitney, John, s. John, b. 12 Mar 1676/7," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR1:112.
10.^ "Whitney, Joseph, s. John, b. 1 Mar 1678," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR1:112.
11.^ "Whitney, Henry, s. John, b. 21 Feb 1680," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR1:112.
12.^ "Whitney, Richard, s. John, b. 18 Apr 1687, m. Hannah Darling, formerly w. of John, of Fairfield, 7 Apr 1709," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR4:1.
Copyright © 2007, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group
