George Wightman

1632 - 1722  (89 years)

• Name	George Wightman
  Birth	4 Nov 1632	England   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Death	Between 25 Jan 1722 and 1 Feb 1722	Quidnesset, Rhode Island   [1]
  Person ID	I36851	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others
  Last Modified	8 Nov 2021

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Updyke,   b. Bef 27 Jul 1644   d. Between 25 Dec 1712 and 25 Apr 1716, Quidnesset, Rhode Island (Age > 68 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1663	Kings Province, later called Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island   [1]
  Children	+ 1. John Wightman,   b. 16 Apr 1674, North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island d. Abt Apr 1750, Exeter, Washington, Rhode Island (Age 75 years) + 2. Rev. Valentine Wightman,   b. 16 Apr 1681, North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island d. 7 Jun 1747, Groton, New London, Connecticut (Age 66 years)
  Family ID	F21658	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Jan 2024

  
  

• Notes

  He was a tailor, educated and literate. His birth date comes from a family Bible which was still extant in 1939. A family tradition has it that he was a son of a John Wightman, himself a son of Edward Wightman who was executed at Lichfield, Staffordshire on 11 April 1612, the last person to be burned at the stake for heresy in England. Unlike many such family traditions, this is not obviously ridiculous, merely lacking in evidence. Mary Ross Whitman's 1939 George Wightman of Quidnessett, R.I. provides, in Appendix III to that work, a thorough and fairminded survey of what is and is not known. George Wightman of Quidnessett, R.I. (1632-1721/2) and Descendants: Waitman, Weightman, Whiteman, Whitman, Whytman, Wightman, Wyghtman by Mary Ross Whitman (Chicago, 1939) is, in general, an exemplary work of self-published genealogy, built on carefully-gathered and thoughtfully-assessed evidence and written with prudence and grace. It has been our primary source for the Wightman line from this George down to Monroe Alphonso (or Alphonzo Monroe) Wightman (1848-1910). It can be read for free at HathiTree: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005781039 -- or read or downloaded at familysearch.org: https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/532437-redirection -- or for free at Archive.org, checkout renewable ever hour pending availability: https://archive.org/details/georgewightmanof00whit/page/n5/mode/2up -- or behind the ancestry.com paywall: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/15260/ From George Wightman of Quidnessett, R.I. (1632-1721/2) and Descendants (citation details below): It is assumed that he came more or less directly to Newport; but no ship's list or other record giving the port of his departure from England or fixing the place or date of his arrival in America has been found. It seems probable, considering the above recorded equipment which he brought with him, that he was no stripling when he came. Besides he was a tailor, and one would suppose that his apprenticeship was served in England prior to his departure for a new land. A Valentine Wightman (Whitman), undoubtedly an older brother, was already here in 1653, the date of his first child's birth in Providence. Assuming that Valentine married in Rhode Island about 1652, it is fair to suppose that he had been known in the community for a few years previous. Furthermore Valentine's activities as an Indian interpreter recorded as early as 1654 suggest his arrival possibly by 1648 or earlier, and as George in 1648 would be but a lad of sixteen years, it is not likely that they came together. It seems altogether probable that George came between 1653, the year of his legal majority, and some years previous to 1663, the assumed date of his marriage.

  
  

• Sources

  [S6074] George Wightman of Quidnessett, R.I. (1632-1721/2) and Descendants: Waitman, Weightman, Whiteman, Whitman, Whytman, Wightman, Wyghtman by Mary Ross Whitman. Chicago, 1939.