Family:Whitney, Otis (1781-1857)
Otis7 Whitney (Aaron6, Nathan5, Nathan4, Thomas3, Thomas2, John1), son of Aaron6 and ----- (-----) Whitney, was born 24 May 1781, Conway, MA, and died 14 Nov 1857, Williston, VT.
He married, 3 or 4 Mar 1805, Waterbury, VT, Sarah Edmunds,[1] daughter of Joseph and Rosamund (Barton) Edmunds. She was born 7 Apr 1782, and died 1 Sep 1868.
From the homes of New England have gone forth a multitude of men and women who have shaped the thought and activities of all the mighty West. In one of these homes in Conway, MA, Otis Whitney was born in 1781. In 1803 he moved to Waterbury, VT, and there in March, 1805, was married to Sarah Edmunds, daughter of Joseph and Rosamund (Barton) Edmunds. Joseph Edmunds had been a privateersman during the Revolutionary war, and his many stories of adventure had a strong fascination for the boys and young men of his acquaintance. The father of Joseph Edmunds had been a Quaker preacher, and had transmitted to his son a noble strain of independence. Rosamond Barton, wife of Joseph Edmunds, was one of the Rhode Island Bartons, and was related to the Bartons of Revolutionary fame, hence in the veins of Sarah Edmunds, wife of Otis Whitney, there pulsated a pure and strong love of justice and liberty for every human being, and of that religion of the spirit that rises above the narrow technicalities of creeds. And, personally she was a woman of strong mental and moral qualities.
Otis Whitney was a descendant of a sturdy family that before his day, and since, has produced many able farmers, mechanics and merchants; many brilliant clergy-men, lawyers and statesmen. Otis was a man of clear head and practical turn. His efficiency provided his family with the comforts usually found in a well-to-do New England home. He was a farmer, and his children were born and grew up amid the freedom, the independence, the intelligence and industry that then characterized the rural population of New England. Both he and his wife were member of the Baptist church, in which faith they lived honorable lives and met peaceful deaths. He resided Williston, VT.
Children of Otis7 and Sarah (Edmunds) Whitney:
i. Laura8 Whitney, b. 17 Mar 1806; d. 27 Oct 1875; m. 4 Mar or 21 Oct 1824, Williston, VT, Hiram Sanford.[2] One of Laura's children is Mrs. Amelia Fay, of Granville, OH. ii. Charles Whitney, b. 1 Feb 1808; d. 2 Aug 1824. iii. Leonard Whitney, b. 23 Oct 1812; m. Ann J. Harwood. iv. Amelia Whitney, b. 6 May 1814; d. 9 Aug 1846, Williston, VT; m. William Henry French; res. Williston, VT. a. Lucian Whitney French, b. -----; res. Williston, VT.
v. Edmund Whitney, b. 5 Nov 1818; m.(1) Esther Flagg; m.(2) Mary Elizabeth Seaton. vi. Lucian Whitney, b. 11 Jul 1822; d. 8 May 1823.
Census
- 1810, Waterbury, Chittenden Co., VT: Otis Whitney, 1 male 26-45, 1 male under 10, 1 female 26-45, 1 female under 10.
- 1820, Williston, Chittenden Co., VT: Otis Whitney, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 10-15, 2 males 0-9, 2 females 26-44, 1 female 10-15, and 2 females 0-9; 1 foreigner not naturalized, and 1 engaged in agriculture.
- 1830, Williston, Chittenden Co., VT: Otis Whitney, 1 male 30-39, 1 male 20-29, 1 male 15-19, 1 male 10-14, 1 female 40-49, and 1 female 15-19.
- 1840, Williston, Chittenden Co., VT: Otis Whitney, 1 male 50-59, 1 male 20-29, 1 female 50-59, and 1 female 20-29; 2 engaged in agriculture.
- 1850, Williston, Chittenden Co., VT:
146 179 Otis Whitney 68 M - Farmer $5000 Massachusetts Sarah " 67 F - Rhode Island
- 1860, widow Sarah not found.
References
- All data imported from Frederick Clifton Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635, (Chicago: 1895), pp. 340-341.
1.^ Vermont, Vital Records Index, Marriages.
2.^ Vermont, Vital Records Index, Marriages.
Copyright © 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group.
