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Subject: [GENMASSACHUSETTS] Ancestors in England of John Whitney ofWatertown, Mass.
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 21:55:13 EDT
This transcription with the full transcription of the Whitney family of
Watertownl, Mass. sent on request
to me, personally. - Janice Farnsworth
Subject: WHITNEY.
Source: Genealogical & Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the
State of
Massachusetts by William Richard Cutter, William Frederick Adams
MASSACHUSETTS.
p.1
The surname Whitney was originally a place name. The parish from which the
family
takes its name is located in County Hereford, England, upon the extreme
western
border, adjoining Wales and is traversed by the lovely Wye river. The name
of the
place doubtless comes from the appearance of the river, meaning in Saxon,
white
water, from hecit, white, and ey, water. The coat of arms of the Whitney
family
of Whitney is: Azure, a cross chequy or and gules. Crest: A bull's head
couped
sable, armed argent, the points gules.
The English ancestry of John Whitney, the immigrant who settled at Watertown,
Massachusetts, has been established by Henry Melville and presented in an
exquisi-
tely printed and illustrated volume. Very few Amerian families have their
English
genealogy in such well authenticated and satisfactory form. An abstract of
the
English ancestry is given below.
(I) Turstin, "the Fleming," otherwise known as Turstin de Wigmore, probably
also
as Turstin, son of Rolf, and Turstin "the White," was a follower of William
the
Conqueror. He was mentioned in the Domesday book as an extensive land holder
in
herefordshire and the Marches of Wales. He married Agnes, daughter of Alured
de
Merleberge, a Norman baron of Ewias Castle, in the Marches of Wales.
(II) Eustace, son of Turstin, was a benefactor of the monastery of St.
Peter, in
Gloucester, England. He or one of his immediate descendants took the surname
De
Whitney from Whitney on the Wye, in the Marches of Wales, where his principal
castle was located. The estate comprised over two thousand acres, and
remained
in the family until 1893, when it was sold, there being no member of the
family
to hold it. The castle has entirely disappeared, but it is believed to be in
ruins
under the Wye, which has in the course of years changed its path. The castle
was
probably built on an artificial mound, surrounded by a moat fed by the
river, which
gradually undermined the castle, which was at last disintegrated.
(III) Sir Robert de Whitney, a direct descendant of Eustace, was living in
1242
and was mentioned in the "Testa de Nevill." Three or four intervening
generations
cannot be stated with certainty.
(IV) Sir Eustace de Whitney, son of Sir Robert, gave deed to the monastery
of St.
Peter in 1280, referring to and confirming the deed of his ancestors above
ment-
ioned. He was Lord of Pencombe, Little Cowarn and Whitney in 1281; was
granted
free warren by Edward I in 1284; summoned to wars beyond the seas in 1297;
tenant
of part of the manor of Huntington in 1299; in Scotch war in 1301. He was
possibly
grandson instead of son of Sir Robert.
(V) Sir Eustace de Whitney, son of Sir Eustace, was knighted by Edward I in
1306
and was a member of Parliament for Herefordshire in 1313 and 1352.
(VI) Sir Robert de Whitney, son of Sir Eusatce, was one of two hundred
gentlemen
who went to Milan in the retinue of the Duke of Clarence on occasion of the
latter's marriage in 1368. He was a member of parliament for Herefordshire
in 1377,
1379 and 1380 and Sheriff in 1377.
(VII) Sir Robert Whitney, son of Sir Robert, was sent abroad to negotiate
treaty
with the Count of Flanders in 1388; a member of Parliament for Herefordshire
in
1391. He was sent to France to deliver the castle and town of Cherbourg to
the
King of Navarre in 1393; was knight marshal in the Court of Richard II; sent
on
King's business with his brother and most of his relatives, at the battle of
Pilleth, 1402.
(VIII) Sir Robert Whitney, son of Sir Robert, was granted the castle of
Clifford
and lordship of Clifford and Glasbury by Henry IV in 1404, on account of the
services of his father. He was Sheriff of Herfordshire 1416-1422. He fought
in
the French war under Henry V, and was Captain of the castle and town of Vire
in
1420. He was named as one of the five knights in Hereforshire in 1433, and
died
March 12, 1441.
p.2
(IX) Sir Eustace de Whitney, son of Sir Robert, was born in 1411. He was head
of a commission sent to Wales by Henry VI in 1455 and was a member of
parliament
for Herefordshire in 1468. He married Jenett Russell; he m. (2) Jane
Clifford.
(X) Robert Whitney, son of Sir Eustace (9) was probably a knight and was an
active
participant in the War of the Roses, and was attainted as a Yorkist in 1459.
He
was probably at the battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461. He was the subject
of a
poem by Lewis Glyn Cothi, on the occasion of his marriage to Alice, the
great-
granddaughter of Sir David Gam. He married first, Alice daughter of Thomas
Vaughan; second, Constance Touchett, who was the mother of his sons. She was
decended from William the Conqueror, through the second wife of Edward I,
King
of England.
(XI) James Whitney, son of Robert, was appointed receiver of Newport, part
of the
estate of the Duke of Buckingham, confiscated by Henry VII in 1522. He
married
Blanche, daughter and an heir of Simon Milbourne.
(XII) Robert Whitney, son of James Whitney was of Icomb and in charge of
other
consfiscated estates. He was Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1527, 1528, 1529 and
1530. He was nominated Knight of the Bath by Henry VIII at the coronation of
Anne
Boleyn in 1531; was granted part of income of monastery of Brewern in 1535;
furn-
ished forty men to put down the rebellion in 1536. He was named to attend
upon
the King's person. He died in 1541, and his Will was proved June 11, 1541. He
married Margaret Wye.
(XIII) Sir Robert Whitney, son of Robert, was knighted in October, 1553. He
was
summoned before the Privy Council in 1555 and 1559. He was a member of
Parliament
for Herefordshire in 1559, and died August 5, 1567. He married Sybil
Baskerville,
a descendant of William the Conqueror through the first wife of Edward I.
(XIV) Robert Whitney son of Sir Robert, was mentioned in the Will of his
father,
and also in an inquisition taken after the latter's death. He married
Elizabeth,
daughter of Morgan Guillims, or Duglim.
(XV) Thomas Whitney, son of Robert, was of Westminster, Gentleman. He was
buried
at St. Margaret's, April 14, 1637. He married Mary, the daughter of John
Bray of
Westminster; she was buried at St. Margaret's September 25, 1629. Children:
1. John Whitney, the American emigrant, settled at Watertown, Massachusetts.
2. Nicholas Whitney.
3. William Whitney.
4. Richard Whitney
5. Margaret Whitney.
6. Anne Whitney.
End.
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth
This file together with John Whitney, Bond's Watertown - sent on request to
me personally.
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