Family:Whitney, Lemuel (1743-1813)

Dea. Lemuel⁶ Whitney (Joshua⁵, Nathaniel⁴, Nathaniel³, John², John¹), son of Joshua⁵ and Mehitable (Wilson) Whitney,^[1] was born 5 Jan 1742, Spencer, MA,^[2] and died 18 Feb 1813, Springfield, VT.

He married in 1769, Thankful Griffeth. She was born 1745, Plymouth, MA, and died 1818.

He lived successively in Spencer, MA, Tolland, CT, and Springfield, VT.

He and all his brothers and all his brothers-in-law were in he Revolutionary army, but perhaps his chief help to the country was in the manufacture of saltpetre, which was made into gunpowder. This he made, both in Massachusetts and Connecticut, from earth dug from under old buildings. He was both a farmer and a carpenter, and after he went to Vermont he engaged in the manufacture of brick, of rope and of chairs. He was a man of strong faith and religious character and much interested in the Congregational church in S., of which he was the first deacon. The church rates then were mostly paid in wheat and cattle, and Mr. W. used to redeem these with money received from his manufactures and send them to Boston receiving money again, an almost unknown article to the average farmer in the new state then. I suppose the amount he received would seem small to the modern farmer, but it was comfort, if not wealth, then. He died Feb 1, 1813, of epidemic pneumonia. He was a man of large frame and great endurance. It is said that he once walked from Springfield, Vermont, to Spencer, Massachusetts, a distance of 80 miles, in a day. His wife was small, fair, with auburn hair, a shrewd, capable woman and a notable housewife. She was of Welch descent. He resided Leicester, MA, Tolland, CT, and Springfield, VT.

Children of Lemuel⁶ and Thankful (Griffeth) Whitney:

i.	John7 Whitney, b. 20 Oct 1774; m. Elizabeth Safford.
ii.	Cyrus Whitney, b. 20 Sep 1770; m. Ruth Mayo.
iii.	Benjamin Whitney, b. 1774; m. Betsey Bragg.
iv.	Lemuel Whitney, b. 3 Jan 1779; m. Ellen Kimball.
v.	Sally Whitney, b. 29 Sep 1780; m. Springfield, Daniel Safford. Sally Whitney moved with her husband to Essex County, NY, about 1818, and settled on an extensive farm one mile west of Whallonsburg. She was a woman beloved by all who knew her; an exemplary Christian, and a member of the Presbyterian church. Ch.: Parmelia H., b. 11 Dec 1808; d. 11 Sep 1811; Whitney, b. 19 Jul 1806; m. Ruth Mather, resided Whallonsburg, NY; Henrietta M., b. 24 Jan 1810; d. 14 Sep 1883, unmarried; Thankful R., b. 22 Jun 1813; m. Orrin Reynolds, d. Essex, New York, 20 Sep 1870, son W. A., resided Whallonsburg; Lydia L., b. 17 Sep 1815; d. 6 Feb 1878, unmarried; Daniel Henry, b. 22 Dec 1817; d. 29 Sep 1831; William E., b. 27 May 1820; d. 28 Apr 1826.
vi.	Elijah Whitney, b. 3 Jul 1788; m. Susannah Oaks and Susan James.
vii.	Joseph Whitney, b. 21 Feb 1786; m. Orinda Stafford.

Notes

When I was typing the info for #765 Dea. Lemuel Whitney, I noticed a conflict in his death date -- Feb. 1 and 18 Feb 1813. Also there is a conflict in his res.: Spencer, Massachusetts, Tolland, Connecticut ,and Springfield, Vermont-- Leicester, Massachusetts, Tolland, Connecticut, and Springfield, Vermont - Transcriber

Census

• 1791, Springfield, Windsor Co., VT: Lemuel Whitney, 4 males over 16, 3 males 0-15, and 3 females.

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. 138-139.

1.^  His parentage is proven by his birth record.

2.^  "Lemuel [Whitney], s. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] Jan. 5, 1742," according to Franklin P. Rice, ed., Vital Records of Spencer, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, Massachusetts: The Systematic History Fund, 1909).

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