Family:Whitney, Robert de (b1210-a1242)

Robert de Whitney, parentage unknown, was born before 1224 (and perhaps much earlier), perhaps at Whitney, Herefordshire,^[1] and died after 1242. He was probably a 4th or 5th generation descendant of Eustace.^[2]

Nothing is known of his wife.

He was of Whitney, etc., Knight. Living in 1242. Mentioned in the "Testa de Nevill."^[3]

He was listed in that section of the "Testa de Nevill" or "Liber Feodorum" (PRO E 164/5-6) known as the "Scutage of Gascony" (PRO E 198/2/21-27). Scutage refers to a payment made by those who held land in return for military service, but who were unable or unwilling to perform it. King Henry III was at this time raising funds and men for his ill-fated campaign to recover lands in Gascony that had been lost during the reign of his father.

In the reign of Henry III. Pencombe was stated to consist of fifteen hides of land, one moiety of which was held by John de Whytene, of Robert Tregoz, and the other moiety by Thomas de Hemeganes, of Robert de Whytene, by military service, and both of the honour of Ewias: --

"In Pencombe continentur 15 hideae, und Johannes de Whytene, tenet medietatem de Roberto Tregoz, de honore de Ewias, de veteri feoffamento, per serv. militare, et Thomas de Hemegane alteram medietatem, de Roberto de Whytene, et idem Robertus de eodem, &c., ut supra."^[4]

Possible children of Robert and ----- (-----) de Whitney:

i.	Eustace de Whitney,[5] b. say 1256.[6]

References

1.^  He was listed in the Scutage of Gascony of 1242 as having held a portion of Pencombe, and was therefore at least of the minimum age to own property. Although the location of his birth is complete supposition, he was listed as "de Whytene".

2.^  Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896), p. 15.

3.^  Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896), p. 42.

4.^  Henry Austin Whitney, The First Known Use of Whitney as a Surname: Its Probable Signification, and Other Data (Boston, MA: Henry Austin Whitney, 1875), p. viii.

5.^  Supposition. Robert appears to have been succeeded by Eustace. Although theorized that they were father and son, it is possible that they were related in other ways, such as grandfather and grandson, uncle and nephew, etc.

6.^  Supposition.

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