Family:Whitney, Naphtali (1751-?)
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Naphtali5 Whitney (Abel4, Nathaniel3, Benjamin2, John1), son of Abel4 and Mary (Cane) Whitney, was born 10 Feb 1751, York, ME.[1]
Marriage intentions were published 22 Mar 1777, Gorham, ME, for him and Mary Stone "of Scarboro".[2]
Nepthalim was a Revolutionary War soldier:
History of Gorham, Maine, page 121:
- Enlisted in 31st Regiment of Foot, Continental Army, Massachusetts Line, commanded by Col. Edmund Phinney in Capt. Hart Williams' Co. on May 22, 1775.
Massachusetts Revolutionary Soldiers, Volume 16, page 1038:
- Whetney, Nephthalim, Falmouth. Capt. Hart Williams's Co., Col. Edmind Phinney's regt.; order for bounty coat dated Camp at Cambridge, Fort No. 2, Oct 26, 1775.
History of Gorham, Maine, page 132:
- Gorham men who enlisted into the Continental establishment for 3 years out of parts of the 3rd Cumberland Co. Regiment (Mass. Archives, Vol. 27, p. 34)
He settled in Washington Co., Maine after his military service:
Downeast Ancestry, Volume 2, #1, page 21:
- Naphthali listed in land grant in Jonesport area, Washington Co., in 1788 of 100 acres.
1790 US Census, Washington Co., Maine T-498 Roll #1 Printed, Plantation #22: Naphtahlim Whitney, male 16+, living as single person
He is not found in any subsequent U.S. census. No record has been found of the birth of any children or the death of his wife, if indeed he married Mary Stone.
From John Preston, Historian, of Roque Bluffs, Washington Co. ME:
- Nephthalim Whitney was one of the squatters before 1784 who purchased land from the proprietors of Plantation #22 that is now in the town of Roque Bluffs. That he was on the land prior to 1784 is not indicated in his later deed but is indicated in a statement of sales by #22 proprietors. Nepp Point is a modern spelling for his parcel of land. It’s almost always found in old town material as Nep’s (I have seen Nip’s). The spelling is apparently from the deed-that has Nepthelum. Nep’s deed is found in Washington County Deeds Book 3 Page 88. It does indicate he was on the land prior to 1784 (I have him identified as a squatter from a Jones sale statement). Deed is dated 10 Sept. 1792. I would expect 100 acres for $5 but would have to check the deed. Volume 1 Page 380 (an earlier volume apparently due to when it was recorded) dated 20 May 1794. It’s a judgment against Nep for 18 Pounds 8 Shillings 4 Pence + costs. It was the result of a suit by Nathaniel Tracy of Newbury, Essex County [Newbury, MA today}. Poor Nep was to be taken to jail in Machias. His land and buildings were appraised and I assumed sold. Likely this accounts for his disappearance.
- Nep had two full time neighbors who settled after 1784 but well before 1800 as well as John Donavan who was using the island and/or nearby coves. The records for John Donovan are pretty slim but he was involved in shipping. John Tenny, who lived near Nep, was lost at sea about 1804 (by a much later account). I continue to think Nep was involved in shipping lumber from the Jonesboro mills to the Boston market.
Children of Nepthalim5 and Mary (Stone) Whitney, if any, unknown.
Notes
In the King James Version of the Bible (Genesis 30:4-8), the spelling of his given name is "Naphtali", son of Jacob by Bilhah (Rachel's servant). In the Douay Text, it is "Nephthali". In the Septuagint, it is "Nephthalim".
Ken Whitney, in his post titled Ephraim Whitney m. Polly Crocker, surmises that Ephraim Whitney may have been a son of Naphtali and Mary (Stone) Whitney.
Census
- 1790: Plantation W. of Machias, Washington Co., ME: Napthm Whitney, 1 male over 16.
References
- Whitney, Kenneth L., The Ancestors and Descendants of Ebenezer Whitney and Dorcas Drury Parlin (Silver Spring, MD: The author, 2003).
- McLellan, Hugh Davis, comp. & ed. by Lewis, Katharine B., The History of Gorham, Maine, (Portland, ME: Smith & Sale, Printers, 1903); reprint (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1992).
1.^ "Naphthali Whitney born Febr. 10th 1750/51," according to Lester MacKenzie Bragdon and John E. Frost, Vital Records of York, Maine, prior to 1892 (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 1992).
2.^ "Nephthalim [Whitney], with Mary Stone, of Scarboro, [intentions] Mar. 22, 1777," according to Marquis Fayette King, comp., Publishments, marriages, births and deaths from the earlier records of Gorham, Maine (Portland, ME: Maine Genealogical Society, 1897).
Copyright © 2010, 2011, Kenneth L. Whitney and the Whitney Research Group.
