Family:Whitney, Nathaniel (1680-c1768)
Nathaniel3 Whitney (Benjamin2, John1), son of Benjamin2 and Jane (-----) Whitney,[1] was born 14 Apr 1680, York, ME,[2] and died about 1768, Gorham, ME.[3]
He married, about 1705, probably York, ME, Sarah Ford, daughter of John and Joanna (Andrews)(Searle) Ford.[4] She was born about 1685, probablly in Kittery, ME,[5] but her date and place of death are unknown. Her sister Lettes (Letty) Ford m. Nathaniel's brother John.
"In 1703 he was a member of the military company of York, commanded by Capt. PREBLE, for defense against the Indians." His brothers John and Timothy were in the same company.
"In 1708 Nathaniel WHITNEY, weaver, of Kittery, bought of Johnson HARMON and Mary, his wife, a certain piece of salt marsh and thatch ground in York, commonly known as the Sunken Marsh.
"Nov, 1715, Nathaniel WHITNEY, of York, weaver, and wife, Sarah, sell for four score pounds to Joseph HARRIS 1/2 the tract of land known as the Sunken Marsh, having sold the other 1/2 to John STAGPOLE, and all housings, timber, etc.
"In 1717 Natahniel WHITNEY purchased 20 acres of land of John RACKLIFT and a small orchard on the southeast side of York river, and northwest side of Rogers Cave, in York, for 20 pounds. This land joined that of John Whitney."[6]
"Nathaniel, weaver, born at York 14 Apr. 1680, of Kittery bought in York 1708, York grant 1713, 'late of York' bought there 1717, deposition in May 1731 about the land John Ford lived on. List 279 [The final division of lands in York]."[7]
"He lived in York, Kittery and Gorham; died in Gorham. He was a weaver in Kittery, but also purchased land in York, including twenty acres of John Rockleft for twenty pounds."[8]
On 5 Aug 1719, the inventory of the estate of Timothy Hodgdon, late of York, deceased, was returned by Abraham Preble, Nathaniel Whitney and Joshua Lassell, at £50.[9]
The will of Joseph Dyer, of Biddeford, dated 14 Dec 1763, bequeaths "five acres of salt marsh at Little River, which I bought of Nathaniel Whitney in partnership with Samuel Haley." Dyer's inventory also included 25 acres purchased of Nathaniel Whitney, valued at £40. Additionally, he owned "19 acres purchased of Nathaniel Whitney, south of Little River Marshes, with 1/2 of a barn in partnership with Samuel Haley and adjoining to the said land ... and 8 acres purchased of Nathaniel Whitney called Leightons Neck ... All, York, 9 July 1764." Holt's will dated 12 Apr 1758 had been witnessed by Samuel Sewall, Nathaniel Whitney, Daniel Merritt. When the will was probated on 6 Jun 1774, it was stated that "Whitney died some years since."[10]
Either he or his son of the same name, but more probably he, "yeoman, of Gorhamtown," was co-adminstrator of the will of his son Abel Whitney, along with Abel's widow Mary, on 1 Oct 1759. The adminstrators' account was submitted at York, 6 Oct 1760.[11]
"Nathaniel Whitney was living in York as late as 1760. His estate was settled in 1768, by his son Amos."[12]
Children of Nathaniel3 and Sarah (Ford) Whitney were:
i. Nathan4 Whitney, b. 10 Jan 1706/7, York, Maine;[13] m.(1) Lydia Young; m.(2) Elizabeth (Bailey) Melcher. ii. Nathaniel Whitney, b. 12 Dec 1709, York, Maine;[14] m. Hannah Day. iii. Abel Whitney, b. 23 Jul 1712, York, Maine;[15] m. Mary Cane. iv. Sarah Whitney, b. 8 Nov 1714, York, Maine;[16] m.(1) Jeremiah Simpson; m.(2) John Larrabee. v. John Whitney, b. 27 Nov 1716, Sherborn, MA;[17] m.(1) Jerusha Knowles; m.(2) Margaret Coffin; m.(3) Hephzibah (Adams) Adams. vi. Lydia Whitney; b. say 1718; d. 14 Jan 1719/20, York, Maine[18] vii. Isaac Whitney, b. 9 Mar 1720/21, York, Maine;[19] m.(1) Sarah Crosby; m.(2) Hannah (Lombard) Paine; m.(3) Mary Walker. viii. Amos Whitney, b. 5 Mar 1723/24, York, Maine;[20] m.(1) Sarah Payne; m.(2) Hannah (Blake) Johnson. ix. Lydia Whitney; b. 22 Jul 1726, York, Maine;[21] d. 23 Mar 1727/28, York, ME, at age 1.[22] x. Joanna Whitney; b. 13 Mar 1729/30, York, Maine[23] She renewed her baptismal covenant on 7 Sep 1766, Kittery, Maine[24]
References
1.^ His parentage is inferred from his association with brothers Timothy and John, and the fact that his father Benjamin was the only Whitney old enough who was in Maine early.
2.^ "Nathaniel Whitney the father of these was born in York to [blank] Whitney by his Wife April. 14 1680," according to Lester MacKenzie Bragdon and John E. Frost, Vital Records of York, Maine, prior to 1892 (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 1992), p. 465.
3.^ His estate was settled in 1768, so he probably died in that year.
4.^ "Nathll Whitnies Children Borne in York his wifes Maden Name Sarah foord the dafter of John foord of Kittery," according to York Vital Records, p. 465. The date is an estimate based on the birth of their oldest child.
5.^ The date is an estimate based on the age of her husband and the birth of her oldest child. The place is the residence of her father at that time.
6.^ Frederick C. Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635 (Chicago, IL: The Author, 1895), p. 37.
7.^ Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby, and Walter Goodwin Davis, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1996), page 750.
8.^ George B. Sedgeley, Micah Whitney, Revolutionary Soldier and His Twelve Children Settled Early in Philips, Maine; Jacob and Joseph Whitney Came to Phillips 1792; Salmon Whitney Appeared in Letter E Plantation 1810 (Farmington, Maine: The Knowlton & McLeary Co., Printers, 1943).
9.^ John Eldridge Frost, Maine Probate Abstracts Volume 1 1687 - 1775 (Camden Maine: Picton Press, 1991), [Page 84, York County Volume 3].
10.^ Frost, op. cit., [Page 568, York County Volume 11], [Page 575, York County Volume 11], [Page 580-581, York County Volume 11], [Page 716, York County Volume 12].
11.^ Frost, op. cit., [Page 493, York County Volume 10], [Page 512, York County Volume 10].
12.^ Hugh Davis McLellan, comp. & ed. by Katharine B. Lewis, The History of Gorham, Maine, (Portland, Maine: Smith & Sale, Printers, 1903); reprint (Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1992), p. 827.
13.^ "Nathan Whitney [s. Nathll. and Sarah (Foord)] Borne Janr: 10: 1706/7," according to York Vital Records, p. 465.
14.^ "Nathaniel Whittny [s. Nathll. and Sarah (Foord)] Borne Decm ye: 12: 1709," according to York Vital Records, p. 465.
15.^ "Able Whittny [s. Nathll. and Sarah (Foord)] borne July ye: 23: 1712," according to York Vital Records, p. 465.
16.^ "Sarah Whitney [d. Nathll. and Sarah (Foord)] born Nov: 8. 1714," according to York Vital Records, p. 465.
17.^ "John [Whitney], s. of Nathaniel and Sarah, Nov. 27, 1716," according to Thomas W. Baldwin, ed., Vital Records of Sherborn, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Boston, MA: 1911), pp. 92-94.
18.^ "Lydia, d. Nathaniel & Sarah Whitney, d. 14 J-- 1720," according to York Vital Records, p. 390.
19.^ "Isaac Whitney [s. Nathll. and Sarah (Foord)] born March 9th. 1720/21," according to York Vital Records, p. 465.
20.^ "Amos Whitney [s. Nathll. and Sarah (Foord)] born March. 5th. 1723/4," according to York Vital Records, p. 465.
21.^ "Lydia Whitney [s. Nathll. and Sarah (Foord)] born July. 22d 1726," according to York Vital Records, p. 465.
22.^ "Lydia, d. Nathaniel & Sarah Whitney, d. 23 Mar 1727/8, ae --," according to York Vital Records, p. 391.
23.^ "Joanna Whitney [s. Nathll. and Sarah (Foord)] born March 13. 1729/30," according to York Vital Records, p. 465.
24.^ Robert J. Dunkle, and Valerie Ruocco, "Parish Records of The First Church and Society of Kittery, Maine, 1714 to 1791," NEHGR, Volume 151 (1997), p. 450.
Copyright © 2006, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group
