A Maine Family's History - Smith / Glidden Surnames

Whittier

Whittier, Witcher, Whiteheare, Whityeare, Whitteer, etc.

Richard WHITTIER born ENG, of Sarum, Salisbury, Wilts

Spouse: Mary ROLFE born 7/16/1582 Whiteparish ENG, sister of John Rolfe

Children: Thomas born circa 1620, removed to NE; Richard; John

Thomas WHITTIER born circa 1620 Salisbury ENG died 11/18/1696 Haverhill MA, gr gr grandfather of John Greenleaf Whittier

Spouse: Ruth GREEN born 1626 Whiltshire ENG

Children: Mary born 10/9/1647 married 9/21/1666 Benjamin Page; John born 12/23/1649 married 1/14/1685 Mary Hoyt; Ruth born 11/6/1651 married 4/20/1675 Joseph True; Thomas born 1/12/1653-4 died 10/17/1728 no children; Susannah born 3/27/1656 married 7/15/1674 Jacob Morrill; Nathaniel born 8/11/1658 married Mrs. Mary Osgood & Mrs. Mary Ring ; Hannah born 9/10/1660 married 5/30/1683 Edward Young; Richard 6/27/1663 died 3/5/1724 no children; Elizabeth born 11/21/1666 married 6/22/1699 James Sanders Jr; Joseph born 5/8/1669 married 5/24/1694 Mary Peasley

Susannah WHITTIER born 3/27/1656 Haverhill MA

Spouse: Jacob MORRILL born 8/24/1649 Salisbury MA

Children: Ezekiel born 9/29/1675 Salisbury MA; Aaron

Pioneers of MA: Whittier, Whitehair, Whiteyeare, Whityear, Whitaker, Abraham (Whitaker, generally) carpenter, Salem, taxed as a res of Marblehead 1637; one of the parties to a law-suit 1637; rem to Manchester. He deposed in 1666 ae about 40 years. He made an oral will 6 (6) prob 26 (9) 1674; beq to son Edward one half the land; the other half to wife for the bringing up of the children he had by her; 5 shillings apiece to the two ch of the first wife; 5 H debt due to son John above his share of the est., to be paid him when 21 years of age. The son Edward, of Beverly, sold his share of the land 2 (11) 1674.

Descendants of Chase Whitcher of Warren, N.H. Thomas Whittier the boy of sixteen lived with the Rolfes probably with John who settled in Salisbury until the time of his marriage sometime in 1646 when he was about twenty four years of age. It is a tradition in the family that as a young man he was of gigantic size weighing more than three hundred pounds before he reached the age of twenty one and that he was also possessed of proportionate physical and muscular strength. From facts obtained from the early records it is certain that he possessed both moral and physical courage in a high degree. He received his grant of land and settled at first on attaining his majority or previously in Salisbury on land which is now within the limits of the town of Amesbury and bordering on the Powow river, a tributary of the Merrimac. Included in the grant which he received was a hill which still bears his name. He lived in Salisbury until early in 1649, serving the town in various offices of trust, and was sent as a deputy from the town to the General Court .He lived for a few months in that year across the river in Newbury but some time in that same year 1649 must have taken up his residence in Haverhill about ten miles up the river from his former home as the Haverhill records show that his eldest son John was born in that town December 23 1649. He lived in Haverhill the remainder of his life where all his children were born except his eldest daughter Mary born Oct 9 1647 in Salisbury. That Pickard's statement that he went to Haverhill in 1 647 is incorrect is evidenced by the fact that he was given liberty by Salisbury to make three barrels of tar in that town early in 1649. Chase in his history of Haverhill states that he went from Newbury to Haverhill about 1650 but as already noted his son John was born in Haverhill in December 1649 .He settled some mile or more away from the Merrimac in the eastern part of the town upon the bank of a small stream now known as Country Brook but then as East Meadow Brook. In his first house which was built of logs and which was situated about a mile southeast of the one he built later all but the eldest of his ten children were born. His five sons all possessed the stalwart proportions of their father each of them being more than six feet in height. He lived in this log house with his large family until he was about sixty six years of age when he began to hew the oaken timbers for a new dwelling selecting the site upon the banks of a pretty riverlet running along the base of what is known as Job's Hill. His new and commodious house which has sheltered generation after generation of his descendants and which still standing has acquired fame as the birthplace of his great great grandson John Greenleaf Whittier was erected in 1688 89 and was occupied by Thomas Whittier until his death Nov 28 1696 and by his widow until her death in July 1710. The spot is a picturesque one but has always been isolated. Here in the northeast corner of the town and only three miles from the city with its 30,000 inhabitants was such seclusion from the outside world that from the time of the erection of the Whittier house to the present no neighbor's roof has been in sight. The scene of Snowbound is laid here and in this idyl of New England life the poet says, referring to the isolation of the home, "No social smoke Curled over woods of snow hung oak." In his life of the poet, Whittier Pickard gives a description of the surroundings of the pioneer Thomas and also some insight into the life and character of one who was no ordinary man in the world and times in which he lived. He says Haverhill was first settled in 1640 and was for seventy years a frontier town an unbroken wilderness stretching to the north for more than a hundred miles. During the first forty years of the settlement there was no trouble from the Indians who fished in the lakes and hunted among the mountains of New Hampshire but during the next thirty years they were frequently hostile and Haverhill suffered all the horrors that accompany savage warfare. When these hostilities began in 1676, Thomas Whittier had been living in his log house on East Meadow Brook for nearly thirty years receiving frequent visits from the Indians whose respect and friendship he won by the fearlessness and justice he displayed in his dealings with them .When friendly intercourse with the pioneers was broken and the savages began to make their forays upon this exposed settlement several houses in the town were fitted up as garrisons, and we find that in 1675 Thomas Whittier was one of a committee appointed to select the houses that should be fortified as places of refuge. But though many of his townspeople were killed or carried into captivity he never availed himself of this shelter for himself or his family, and it is the tradition that he did not even bar his doors at night. His frame house now standing was built in the midst of the Indian troubles and he had occupied it several years before the principal massacres the records of which make the bloodiest pages in the annals of Haverhill. The Hannah Dustin affair occurred in 1697 a year after the death of the pioneer. The Dustins lived in the western part of the town remote from the Whittiers and nearly all the tragic events of these troublous times in Haverhill were beyond the limits of the East Parish. But the Indians in their war paint occasionally passed up the Country Brook and the evening firelight in the Whittier kitchen would reveal a savage face at the window. But this household was never harmed. Thomas Whittier was a contemporary of George Fox and appears to have had much respect for the doctrines of the new Society of Friends. In 1652 he was among the petitioners to the General Court for the pardon of Robert Pike who had been heavily fined for speaking against the order prohibiting the Quakers Joseph Peasley and Thomas Macy from exhorting on the Lord's Day. The meetings of the Quakers had been held in their own dwelling houses. A petition against this order had been signed by many of the residents of Haverhill and when it was presented in the General Court a committee of that body was appointed to wait upon the petitioners and command them to withdraw it or suffer the consequences. Some of them did retract when thus called upon but two of the sixteen who refused were Thomas Whittier and Christopher Hussey both of them ancestors of the poet. The only punishment they received was withdrawal for some years of their rights as freemen. The disability in the case of Whittier was removed in May 1666 when he took the oath of citizenship. The franchise at this time was granted only to those who were named as worthy by the General Court. He not only had the right to vote but was an office holder and man of mark in Salisbury and Newbury for many years previous to his residence in Haverhill and had also been a member of the General Court and there can be little doubt that the delay in conferring upon him the full rights of citizenship in the last named town was due to doubts respecting his orthodoxy. It may be that his interest in the doctrines of the new sect carried him beyond the point of desiring for its preachers fair play and freedom of utterance but there is no evidence that he joined the Society of Friends. Indeed we find him in his later years acting upon the ecclesiastical committees of the church then dominant in the colony. His capacity for civic usefulness was recognized for years before the right to vote was conferred upon him In laying out roadsm fixing the bounds of the plantationm and in other ways his engineering skill was drawn upon. When he came to Haverhill from Newbury in 1647m it was considered of sufficient importance to note in the town records the fact that he brought with him a hive of bees that had been willed to him by his uncle Henry Rolfe. This incident seems emblematic of the industry and thrift which have so largely characterized his posterity and it has furnished a device which has been woven by some members of the family into the Whittier monogram .CHILDREN OF THOMAS AND RUTH GREEN WHITTIER 2 I Mary b Salisbury Oct 9 1647 m Haverhill Sept 21 1666 Benjamin Page; 3 II John b Haverhill Dec 23 1649 m Jan 14 1685 6 Mary Hoyt; 4 III Ruth b Haverhill Nov 6 1651 m Salisbury Apr 20 1675 Joseph True; 5 IV Thomas b Haverhill Jan 12 1653 4 resided in Haverhill d Haverhill Oct 17 1728 no children; 6 V Susanna b Haverhill March 27 1656 m July 15 1674 Jacob Morrill ; 7 VI Nathaniel b Haverhill Aug 14 1658; 8 VII Hannah b Haverhill Sept 10 1660 m May 30 1683 Edward Young of Haverhill; 9 VIII Richard b Haverhill June 27 1663 resided Haverhill d March 5 1724 5 no children; 10 IX Elizabeth b Haverhill Nov 21 1666 in June 22 1699 James Sanders Jr of Haverhill; 11 X Joseph b Haverhill May 8 1669 m May 24 1694 Mary Peasley

The History of Haverhill MA: A garrison was ordered to be kept in the northerly part of the town in the house of one Saunders which stood on land now owned by Capt Richard Stuart. It was the custom for the nearest neighbors to sleep in the garrison at nightm but Thomas Whittierm a member the Society of Friends who lived nearly oppositem refused to shelter himself and family beneath it, His own house was unguarded no palisades surrounded itm and he carried with him no weapon of war, When urged by his friends to fly to the garrison for safety or prepare himself with the means of defencem he refused to comply with their desires for he depended more upon the weapons of his faith than on those of steel The Indians frequently visited him and the family often heard them whispering beneath the windows and saw them put their copper faces to the glass to take a view of the apartments. Friend Whittier however treated them civilly and they ever retired without otherwise molesting him.

Genealogical & Personal Memories - Cutter; ANCESTRY Thomas Whittier of Salisbury and Haverhill Massachusetts born about 1620 or 1622 died at Haverhill November 28 1696 married Ruth Green alias Rolfe who died his widow July 1710. He was of Haverhill in 1647. Among those who came with him to this country were his uncles John and Henry Rolfe and a distant relative Ruth Green whom he afterwards married and whose name appears in every subsequent generation. Children i Mary born October 9 1647 died July 29 1698 married September 21 1666 Benjamin Page of Haverhill, 2 John born December 23 1649 married January 14 1685 6 Mary Hoyt of Haverhill, 3 Ruth born November 6 1651 died December 1619 married April 20 1675 Joseph True of Salisbury, 4 Thomas born January 12 1653 4 died October 17 1728, 5 Susanna born March 27 1656 died February 15 1726 7 married July 15 1674 Jacob Morrill of Salisbury, 6 Nathaniel born August 11 1658 died July 18 1722 married first August 26 1685 Mrs Mary Osgood who died May II 1705 married second June 1710 widow Mary Ring who died July 19 1742, 7 Hannah born September 10 1760 married May 30 1683 Edward Young, 8 Richard born June 27 1663 died March 3 1725 6, 9 Elizabeth born November 21 1666 married June 22 1699 James Sanders Jr of Amesbury Massachusetts, 10 Joseph born May 8 1669

Essex Institute Historical Collections: Thomas1 Whittier of Salisbury and Haverhill, born about 1620 22 m Ruth Green not Rolfe and left many descendants. He was apparently younger than 1 John and 2 Abraham but he was not the son of either. Recent researches in England Gen Reg 1912 p 251 prove that he was the son of Richard Whittier of Sarum Salisbury Wilts and his wife Mary Rolfe sister of John Rolfe. Thomas Whittier was therefore the nephew of John Rolfe of Salisbury and Newbury with whom he came to this country as his servant. Three generations of the descendants of Thomas Whittier are given in The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury. Elizabeth and Abraham Whittier in the third and fourth lines of the note on p 358 of that work should be Whittaker.

The New England Historical & Genealogical Register: The Rolfe family is of great antiquity in Wiltshire. At a manor court at Urchfont held 7 May 10 Richard II [1387] in a list of twenty five tenants that delivered oaks from Coukwod, appears William Rolfe, credited with one trunk [Wilts Notes and Queries vol 4 p 450] Downton Whiteparish, Plaitford, Landford, Redlinche, Wellow etc are close together in the extreme southeastern corner of Wiltshire and about eight to ten miles southeast of Salisbury. With only the data now at hand all the persons in the foregoing wills and register entries cannot be grouped together but it is certain that Henry Rolfe baptized in 1585 and John Rolfe baptized in 1589 sons of John Rolfe of Whiteparish, the testator of 1 624 5, were the brothers who settled in New England about 1 638, and it is also certain that their sister Mary Rolfe, wife of Richard Whittier of Sarum or Salisbury England, was the mother of Thomas Whittier who was born about 1620, came to New England in 1638 with his uncle John Rolfe, and became the progenitor of the Whittiers of America. It is evident that it was Henry Rolfe born in 1585 and not John Rolfe as erroneously recorded in the Whiteparish registers who married in 1621 a kinswoman Honor Rolfe, the latter was apparently the daughter of Richard Rolfe of Downton the testator of 1598 by his wife Agnes Rolfem daughter of the widow Alice Rolfe the testator of 1604, This Agnes Rolfe married secondly John Rice, Thomas Rolfe the testator of 1629 and Henry Rolfe whose estate was administered in 1617 were probably brothers of this Agnes Rolfe. It is clear that the mother of Richard Rolfe the testator of 1598 married secondly William Sanders perhaps this Richard Rolfe was son of the Richard Rolfe whose estate was administered in 1567 the latter being son of Henry Rolfe the testator of 1558. The following tentative pedigree shows the connections as suggested above
WHITTIER. The Will of JOHN WHITEHEARE of Landford co Wilts 22 December 1571. To our lady church of Sarum 4d. To my parish church of Land ford 12d. To Roberte Whiteheare my son a cow and a bullockm and he shall have the lease of my house that I now dwell in after the decease of my wife Edithe. To my daughter Margery a cow and a bullock. To my sons John and William a cow each. To Henry Whytehear my kinsman a coat. All the residue of my goods to my wife Edith sole executrix. Overseer Richard Emery and to him 20d. Witnesses William Markes parson and Henry Ireland. Proved 22 January 1571 2 by the executrix named in the person of Robert Whitehear Archdeaconry of Sarum vol 5 fo 139.
The Will of HENRY WHTTEAR of Landford the unworthy servant of the Lord 10 March 1583 4. To the parish church of Landford 12d. To my two younger sons John and William 20s each which shall remain in the hands of my son Richard Whytear until they shall be of the age of eighteen If either die before such age reversion to the survivor and if both die reversion to the rest of my children where most need shall be. To my daughter Phillis Whitear 20s to remain in the hands of my son Henry to her use until eighteen. To my daughter Agnes Whytyear 20s, and my son Henry to deliver to her a sheet or 4s as she shall desire. To my son in law John Parker's three children John, Jerome, and Christian 5s equally divided to remain in the hands of my son Henry until they be of discretion to use it for themselves. To daughter Jone Parker 2s. To son Richard Whityeare's two children John and Joane 6s 8d equally divided to remain in the hands of their father until their years of discretion. If either die reversion to the survivor and if both die reversion to their father and mother. To my children John, William and Phillis a chest each, and my son Henry to deliver to them 40s each when they reach the age of twenty years according to a bond. My son Richard hath in his custody toward the discharge thereof 48s, my son Henry hath 44s, and I give toward the sum 3s 4d which John Barnes of Brooke oweth me and 3s 3d which Richard Downing oweth me. The residue of my goods except what is included in my deed of gift to my son Henry to my two sons Richard and Henry. Witnesses William Hotchkyn clerk, William Stokes, and William Hussye. Proved 22 August 1584 by Henry Whytear son of the testator. Archdeaconry of Sarum vol 6 fo 125.
Administration on the estate of JOHN WHITEAE of Pensworth in the parish of Downton was granted to Henry Whitear of Landford brother of the deceased 27 September 1593. Bond dated 26 September 1593 .Henry Whitear of Landford co Wilts husbandman brother of John Whitear, deceased late of Pensworth in the Parish of Downton co Wilts, and William Heath of Landford bound in 20 marks for the said Henry to administer the estate of the said John Whitear to pay his debts and to pay to Richard Whitear, William Whitear, Agnes Morrys als Whitear, and Fyllice Whitear such portion of goods of the said John Whitear their said brother as the Archdeacon of Sarum shall direct. [Signed] "his mark" [?Henry Whitear's] and Wyllyam Heath. Archdeaconry of Sarum 1593 Original Administration Act and Bond.
The Will of JOHN WHITTYER of Whiteparish County Wiltes husbandman 14 October 1601. My body to be buried in the churchyard of Whiteparish. To the Cathedral Church of Sarnm 6d. To the parish church of Whiteparish 12d. To the poor people of Whiteparish 13s 4d. To my sister Margery and her two sons 6s 8d each. To Robert Ireland my cutting knife. The residue of my goods unbeqneathed to my brother William Whittyer and Thomas Brexton, executors. Overseers John Hurst and Andrew Smith. Witnesses John Hurst, Andrew Smith, and Thomas Harvest vicar. Proved 22 October 1601 by the executors in the person of John Hurst their agent. Inventory taken 21 October 1601 by John Hurst, Andrew Smith, and Thomas Kent. 21 6s Od exhibited 22 October 1601 by Thomas Brexton one of the executors Archdeaconry of Sarum 1601. Original Will and Inventory
The Will of WILLIAM WHTTEER of Whitepishe co Wiltes, wheler, 9 June 1603 .To be buried in the churchyard of Whiteparish. To my parish church aforesaid 2s. To the Cathedral Church of Sarum 6d. To Wyllyam son of Thomas Brexstone 10. To my servant Jone Morrys a brass pot. To Steven Whitteer a cloak and 12d. To all my godchildren 4d each To John Brexstone and Jane Brexstone, a lamb each To Robert Soper's wife, 12d To Margarett my daughter with reversion at her death to William son of Thomas Brexstone. The residue of my goods and chattels to my daughters Margaret Whyteer and Alis Brexstone whom I make my sole executors. Signed Wyllyam Whitteer m'cke. Overseers Thomas Hurst and Rychard Hurst. Witnesses Thomas Phillips als Harvest vicar and Thomas Brexstone. Proved 7 September 1603 by Margeret Whyteer and Alice Brexstone executors in the person of Thomas Brexstone, husband of the latter. Inventory taken 5 August 1603 by Markes Hurst, Robert Sellwinge, and Hewe Tailor. £52 13s 0d exhibited by Margaret Whyteer the other executor 7 September 1603. Bond dated 7 September 1603. Margaret Whiteer of Whiteparish in co Wiltes spinster and Thomas Braxston of the same, butcher, bound in 100. Signed Margaret Whiteer seal, a lion rampant, and Thomas Braxston Witness Ri Greene Archdeaconry of Sarum 1603. Original Will Inventory and Bond.
The Will of AGNES WHITETEARE of Lanford 6 January 1607 8. To the Trinity Church of Winton 6d. To daughter Joane Jewell the lease of my greatest tenement in Lanford. To John Jewell, my son in law, all my household stuff in his house, and I acquit him of all reckonings between us. To John Jewell the younger, Edmund Jewell and Henry Jewell two yoke of oxen equally divided. To John Jewell, Edward [sic] Jewell, Henry Jewell, Alice Jewell, Joane Jewell and Elizabeth Jewell, children of my son in law John Jewell, seven kine and four bulls. To Thomas Hillary a cow to help him bring up his children. To Thomas Buries children 40s. To Jeffery Burte 40s. The residue of my goods moveable and unmoveable to Joane Jewell, the younger. sole executrix. Overseers my friends in Christ John Rolph of Westwellow and John Lush of Lanford and to them 8s 4d each. Witnesses Thomas Hillary, Margerye Whitehead, John Rolph, and Katherine Whiteyeare. Archdeaconry of Sarum vol 8 fo 7.
The Will of MARGARETT WHITIKR of Whiteparish co Wilts spinster 30 April 1630. To be buried in the churchyard of Whiteparish. To [ ] of Whiteparish 20s. To Thomas Braxstone my brother in law 20s and to his now wife 12d. To Jacob, J[ ]ld, and Anne children of my said brother in law by his now wife 2s each and to his son Symon by the same wife 5s. To William Hilgroue the lower stall of bees to Littlefeild's way and to his sons Peter and John 12d each. To Richard Phill the widow Phill's son 12d. To Thomas Turner of Whiteparish clerk a tall of bees. Executors William Brextone and Thomas Brextone my sister Alice's sons Overseers. Thomas Foxe and William Rofe of White parish .Signed Margaret Whiteer mark. Witnesses Thomas Turner and William Hilgroue Proved 25 September 1630 by the executors named. Inventory taken by Thomas Foxe, Thomas Broxston, and Gawen Talbott 22 September 1630. £85 14s 5d exhibited by Thomas Broxston 25 September 1630. Archdeaconry of Sarum 1630. Original Will and Inventory Much injured by damp.
Bond dated 18 October 1637. Catherine Whityeere of East Tytherly co Southampton widow administrator of the estate of John Whityeere late of Whiteparish co Wilts, husbandman. Witnesses Thomas Griffinch, Fran Robertds. Signed Catherine Whityeere. Inventory taken 12 June 1637 by Mathias Freeman and John Cottwell £3 4s 2d exhibited 18 October 1637 by Catherine the relict and administrator. Archdeaconry of Sarum 1637 Original Inventory and Bond.