Family:Whitney, Joshua (1713-1786)

Joshua⁵ Whitney (Nathaniel⁴, Nathaniel³, John², John¹), son of Nathaniel⁴ and Mercy (Robinson) Whitney, was born after 26 Apr 1713, Weston, MA, calculated from age at baptism; baptized 25 Apr 1714, Weston, MA, aged -- months,^[1] and died 25 Jun 1786, Stockbridge, MA,^[2] bur. Norwich Hill Cemetery, Stockbridge, MA.

Joshua married, 21 May 1739, Spencer, MA, or 21 May 1740, Leicester, MA, Mehitable Wilson,^[3] daughter of Deacon James and Mehitable (-----) Wilson. She was born circa 1719, possibly Leicester, MA, and died 1 May 1785, Stockbridge, MA. She was buried 3 Apr 1785, Spencer, MA.^[4]

Pierce says the following:^[5]

JOSHUA WHITNEY, b. Watertown, Mass., Mar. 25, bap. Apr. 25, 1714; m. May 21, 1739, in Spencer, Mass., Mehitable WILSON, of Spencer, dau. of Dea. James and Mehitable. She d. May 1, 1785. Joshua WHITNEY in 1746 resided in that part of Leicester afterwards incorporated as Spencer. He purchased land of Dea. James WILSON, Sr., whose dau. he married. WILSON came from Lexington to Leicester in 1714, and to Spencer in 1730. He was a prominent citizen, often promoted to offices of trust and honor, and was deacon in Rev. Mr. FISK's church. Joshua moved to Stockbridge in 1758. In seating the meeting house in 1771 the residents were given seats according to the value of their estates. Of the sixty-eight families Joshua WHITNEY was the twenty-seventh. He is interred in the old Norwich Hill burying ground, and his stone reads:

In Memory of

Mr. Joshua WHITNEY
He died 25 June
A. D. 1786
In the 70.
year if his age.
Death is a debt to nature due,
Which I have paid, and so must you.
Weep not for me, dry up your tears.

I must lie here till Christ appears.

He d. in 1785; res. Leicester, Spencer, and Stockbridge, Mass.

Children of Joshua⁵ and Mehitable (Wilson) Whitney:

i.	Phineas6 Whitney, b. 24 Jun 1740, Spencer, MA;[6] m. Sarah Harrington.
ii.	Lemuel Whitney, b. 5 Jan 1742, Spencer, MA;[7] m. Thankful Griffith.
iii.	Beulah Whitney, b. 3 Jun 1745, Spencer, MA;[8] m. 14 Apr 1765, Spencer, MA, John Ball.[9]
iv.	Elisha Whitney, b. 8 Jan 1747, Spencer, MA;[10] m. Esther Clark.
v.	Mary Whitney, bapt. 13 May 1750, Spencer, MA.[11]
vi.	John Whitney, b. 4 May 1751, Spencer, MA;[12] m. Rachel Hiscock.
vii.	Sibbeleh Whitney, b. 26 Jun 1754, Spencer, MA.[13] It was probably she bapt. 10 Feb 1754, Spencer, MA.[14]
viii.	Mehitable Whitney, b. 17 Jul 1756, Spencer, MA;[15] m. 23 Feb 1775, Leicester, MA, Obadiah Newton.[16]
ix.	Joshua Whitney, b. 11 Nov 1758, Spencer, MA;[17] m.(1) Esther Prouty; m.(2) Electa Sawtell.
x.	Susannah Whitney, b. 15 Aug 1762, Spencer, MA;[18] m. (int. 12 Oct 1783, Westfield, MA[19]) 5 Feb 1784, Spencer, MA, William Hiscock "of Westfield".[20]
ix.	Molly Whitney, b. 19 Oct 1766; bapt. 17 May 1772, Spencer, MA;[21] m. 10 May 1789, Dudley, MA, Jonathan Upham "of Thompson".[22]

References

1.^  "Joshua [Whitney], s. Nathaniel Jr. and Mercy, bap. Apr. 25, 1714, a. _m.," according to Mary Frances Peirce, Town of Weston. Births, Deaths and Marriages, 1707-1850. 1703--Gravestones--1900. Church Records, 1709-1825. Appendix and Addenda, Cent Society, Gleanings from the Town Files, Bits of Genealogy, Error, Indexes, &c. (Boston, MA: McIncloe Bros., Printers, 1901), page 390.

2.^ 

3.^  "Joshua [Whitney] and Mehitabil Willson, [married] May 21, 1740," according to Franklin P. Rice, ed., Vital Records of Leicester, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1903).

4.^  "_____ [Whitney], w. Joshua, [died] bur. 3 Apr 1785," 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).

5.^  Frederick C. Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635 (Chicago, IL: The Author, 1895), p. 70.

6.^  "Phinehas [Whitney], s. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] June 24, 1740," according to Spencer Vital Records.

7.^  "Lemuel [Whitney], s. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] Jan. 5, 1742," according to Spencer Vital Records.

8.^  "Beulah [Whitney], d. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] June 3, 1745," according to Spencer Vital Records.

9.^  "Beulah [Whitney] and John Ball, [married] April 14, 1765," according to Spencer Vital Records.

10.^  "Elisha [Whitney], s. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] Jan. 8, 1747," according to Spencer Vital Records.

11.^  "Mary [Whitney], d. Joshua, bap. May 13, 1750. Church Record," according to Spencer Vital Records.

12.^  "John [Whitney], s. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] May 4, 1751," according to Spencer Vital Records.

13.^  "Sibbileh [Whitney], d. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] Jan. 26, 1754," according to Spencer Vital Records.

14.^  "_____ [Whitney], d. _____, bap. Feb. 10, 1754. Church Record," according to Spencer Vital Records.

15.^  "Mehitable [Whitney], d. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] July 17, 1756," according to Spencer Vital Records.

16.^  "Mehitable [Whitney] and Obadiah Newton, [married] Feb. 23, 1775," according to Leicester Vital Records.

17.^  "Joshua [Whitney], s. Joshua and Mehitable, [born] Nov. 11, 1758," according to Spencer Vital Records.

18.^  "Susannah [Whitney], d. Joshua and Mehetabel, [born] Aug. 15, 1762," according to Spencer Vital Records.

19.^  "Susanna, and William Hiscock, 12 Oct 1783," according to Holbrook, Jay Mack, Massachusetts Vital Records, Westfield, Holbrook Research Institute, Oxford, MA, 1987. This was apparently the intentions of marriage, not the marriage record itself.

20.^  "Susanna [Whitney] and William Hiscock of Westfield, [married] Feb. 5, 1784," according to Spencer Vital Records.

21.^  "Molly [Whitney], d. Joshua, bap. May 17, 1772. Church Record," according to Spencer Vital Records.

22.^  "Molly [Whitney] [Molley in int.] and Jonathan Upham of Thompson, [married] May 10, 1789," according to Franklin P. Rice, ed., Vital Records of Dudley, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1908). Also, "Polly [Whitney], m. Jonathan UPHAM, 19 May 1789," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Thompson 1:361.

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