Family:Whitney, Stephen (1754-1830)

Stephen⁵ Whitney (Abraham⁴, Joseph³, John², Henry¹), son of Abraham⁴ and Anne (Plumb) Whitney, was born 20 Jan 1754, Norwalk, CT,^[1] and died 25 Sep 1830, Kent, CT, in his 74th year.

He married, date and place unknown, Esther Jarvis, daughter of John and Catharine (Raymond) Jarvis. She was born 4 Sep 1759, Norwalk, CT, and died 10 Aug 1840, Poundridge, NY, aged 80 years 11 months 6 days.

Phoenix says the following:

Stephen Whitney, b. at Norwalk, Conn., 20 Jan. 1754, not 1756, as Hall says; married Esther Jarvis, who was born in Norwalk, 4 Sept. 1759, dau. of John and Catharine (Raymond) Jarvis. He was a tailor, and settled in Kent, Conn., where he died, 25 Sept. 1830, "in 74th year" according to his gravestone in the Flanders burying-ground, but really in his 77th year. Persons who remember him say that he and his wife lived apart, and that, although he was a pleasant, accommodating neighbor, his children did not live with him; and he was cared for by strangers in his last days, after living alone and keeping his own house for many years. He first bought land in Kent 8 Feb. 1791, had a good property, and was a dealer to a considerable extent in land, and three days before his death, sold to his nurse, Betsey Dickerson, for $200, the house in which he lived. Dower was assigned to his widow, Esther Whitney, 25 Oct. 1830, and deeds show that she lived in Poundridge, Westchester County, N.Y., 15 Oct. 1832, though she was of New Canaan, Conn., 29 May of the same year. She died at Poundridge, 10 Aug. 1840, aged 80 years, 11 months, and 6 days, and was buried in St. Mark's Cemetery, in New Canaan. His grandson, Barzillai Watson Lockwood, says that he served in the Revolutionary War.

Children of Stephen⁵ and Esther (Jarvis) Whitney:

i.	Lucretia6 Whitney, b. 6 Aug 1783, Kent, CT; m. Elias Lockwood.
ii.	Betsey Esther Whitney, b. 26 Feb 1789, Kent, CT; m. 19 May 1811, James Harvey Taylor, a teacher, born in Warren, Conn., 6 Feb. 1781, son of David and Jerusha Taylor. They lived in various places, Warren, Conn., New York City, and Poundridge, NY, in the last of which she died, without children, 18 June 1836, and was buried in St. Mark's Cemetery, New Canaan, Conn. He afterward moved to Meridian, Cayuga Co., NY, where he died, 22 Aug. 1861, and was buried.
iii.	James Whitney, b. 20 Mar 1793, Kent, CT; m. Margaret Lewis.

Census

• 1790, Kent, Litchfield Co., CT: Stephen Whitney, 2 male over 16 and 4 females.
• 1800, Kent, Litchfield Co., CT: Stephen Whitney, 1 male over 45 and 1 female 16-25.
• 1810, Kent, Litchfield Co., CT: Whitney, Stephen, 1 male over 45 and 1 female 16-25.
• 1820: Esther may be the female over 45 in this family: 1820, Pound Ridge, Westchester Co., NY: James Witney, 1 male 26-44, 2 males 0-9, 1 female over 45, and 1 female 16-25; 1 engaged in manufacture or trades. Stephen may be the male over 45 in the family of son-in-law Elias Lockwood, New Canaan, Fairfield Co., NY, since Elias was only 41 at the time.
• 1830, Kent, Litchfield Co., CT: Stephn Whitney, 1 male 70-79. Esther may be the female 70-79 in this family: 1830, Pound Ridge, Westchester Co., NY: James Whitney, 1 male 30-39 and 1 female 70-79.
• Esther may be the female 80-89 in this family: 1840, Poundridge, Westchester Co., NY: James Whitney, 1 male 40-49, 1 female 80-89, and 1 female 15-19; 1 engaged in agriculture.

References

• All data imported from Stephen Whitney Phoenix, The Whitney family of Connecticut, and its affiliations; being an attempt to trace the descendants, as well in the female as the male lines, of Henry Whitney, from 1649 to 1878; to which is prefixed some account of the Whitneys of England. (New York : Priv. Print. [Bradford Press] 1878), p. 53 and pp. 155-156.

1.^  "Stephen [Whitney], s. Abraham & Ann, b. 20 Jan 1754," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Norwalk LR18:47.

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Copyright © 2007, 2011, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group.