Francis Whitmore

Notes:

A miller, he emigrated 1635 with his first wife and their children on the Defense. His English origins are unknown.

Also known as Francis Wetmore.

From The Whitmore Genealogy (1907), pp. 13-14:

"Francis came to this country probably during the 1630’s, and had established his residence at Cambridge prior to 1648, as about this time he married, at that place, Isabel Parke. Brooks, in his history of Medford, tells us he owned property in Cambridge near the Plains, Charlestown near the Menetomie River, near Dendruck Meadows; also in Medford and Lexington. His house stood on the dividing line between Lexington and Cambridge, and is mentioned in the Act of division. His name, with that of his wife, appears on a petition in favor of an old woman charged with being a witch, so he can hardly have been of the extreme Puritan party, though a member of the church. Francis served in King Philip’s war; was Selectman and Constable in 1668 and 1682. In his will he makes provision for the education of his ch., thus early evidencing that regard for edu. that is so marked a family trait."

For what it's worth, Francis probably did not arrive in the 1630s, or he'd be covered in Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration series.

Francis married Isabel Parke before 1649. Isabel (daughter of Richard Parke and Margery) was born about 1628 in England; died on 31 Mar 1665 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Francis married Hannah Harris on 8 Feb 1674 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. Hannah (daughter of William Harris and Edith) was born about 1652 in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts; died after Aug 1722. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 22 Feb 1739, Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Notes:

"John Whitmore was one of the early settlers at Medford, at least at the period when the records commence. [...] He was in service, under Major Swayne, against the Indians at Saco; and his wife petitioned the General Court that her husband might be returned to her and her three infant children. The fall after his return, he was engaged in purchasing lands and building a house." [Record of the Descendants of Francis Whitmore of Cambridge, Massachusetts]

John married Rachel Eliot between 1677 and 1678. Rachel (daughter of Francis Eliot and Mary Saunders) was born about 1643; died on 20 Mar 1723 in Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts; was buried in Salem Street Burying Ground, Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Rebecca Rolfe on 3 Jun 1724 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Rebecca (daughter of John Rolfe and Mary Scullard) was born on 9 Feb 1662 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts; died on 23 Nov 1751 in Middlesex County, Massachusetts; was buried in Old Burying Ground, Arlington, Middlesex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Abigail married Samuel Wilcox on 9 May 1683 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. Samuel (son of John Wilcox, Jr. and Katherine Stoughton) was born on 9 Nov 1658 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; died on 16 Mar 1714 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Francis married Mary Cornwall on 30 May 1698. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joseph married Mary Warner on 16 May 1709 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. Mary (daughter of Seth Warner and Mary Ward) was born in Dec 1687 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; died on 2 May 1722 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

"He was at first a housewright, but afterwards went into business with his brother. He owned much property in Medford; and his oldest son, John, having removed to Bedford, he resided there chiefly in his old age, and was so liberal a benefactor to the church as to be mentioned with gratitude on the records. His daughters all left issue; and one of them, Susanna, left descendants, now living in Lexington, by the name of Chandler, who still preserve some relics of their ancestor. The family of Lane, when it emigrated from England, left property there, the rents of which were paid to the heirs, John Whitmore's descendants included, until within fifty years, when the heirs, being numerous, sold the estate, and divided it." [Record of the Descendants of Francis Whitmore of Cambridge, Massachusetts]

John married Mary Lane in 1706. Mary (daughter of Col. John Lane and Susanna Whipple) was born on 15 May 1686; died on 27 Mar 1783. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Samuel married Esther Bushnell on 14 May 1707. Esther (daughter of William Bushnell and Rebecca) was born on 2 Nov 1683 in Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut; died on 18 Mar 1724. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ebenezer married Thankful Eggleston on 19 Jul 1744. Thankful died on 3 Aug 1787 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 25 Dec 1715, Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut

Family/Spouse: Seth Wetmore. Seth (son of Izrahia Wetmore and Rachel Stow) was born on 18 Nov 1700 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; died on 10 Apr 1778 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; was buried in Washington Street Cemetery, Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

"Francis W. was engaged in business in Medford; but his too generous method of dealing embarrassed his affairs; and having, with Rev. Mr. Stone, purchased a township on the Kennebec, he removed thither with his oldest son, Stephen. He was engaged in shipping masts for the royal navy, an occupation which gave much offense to the squatters on the crown lands." [Record of the Descendants of Francis Whitmore of Cambridge, Massachusetts]

Francis married Mary Hall on 1 Jan 1739. Mary (daughter of Lt. Stephen Hall and Elizabeth Fowle) was born about 1712; died on 20 Oct 1791. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

John and Hannah Wilcox were second cousins, both being great-grandchildren of John Wilcox and Katherine Stoughton.

John married Hannah Wilcox on 6 Jul 1738 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. Hannah (daughter of Samuel Wilcox and Hannah Sage) was born on 24 Dec 1718 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; died on 13 Nov 1807 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; was buried in Old Westfield Cemetery, Westfield, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Noadiah married Persis Hubbard about 1800. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1744, Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut

Seth married Mary Wright on 14 Nov 1768. Mary (daughter of William Wright and Lucy Downing) was born on 1 Nov 1745 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; died on 24 Dec 1790 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; was buried in Washington Street Cemetery, Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

"He was a pilot and was drowned in the Kennebec river through the treachery of another pilot, who saw him fall back in his boat and sailed away, leaving him without assistance. This man acknowledged it on his death bed." [Alice C. Ayres, "The Whitmores of Medford," citation details below.]

John married Huldah Crooker on 12 Apr 1781. Huldah (daughter of Isaiah Crooker and Hannah Harding) was born on 8 May 1762 in Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine; died on 19 Feb 1812 in Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Revolutionary War soldier. Two months in Capt. Blake's company, Col. Wadsworth's regiment, Connecticut militia. Six months in Capt. Churchill's company, Col. Sage's regiment, stationed at Governor's Island until the British took New York City; thereafter in Harlem and New Rochelle until discharged. Enlisted 1779 in Capt. Alley's company, Col. Sage's regiment, where he served three weeks at New Haven doing guard duty when it was supposed that the English were about to land.

Comfort married Patty Banks on 12 May 1803 in Lempster, Sullivan, New Hampshire. Patty (daughter of John Banks and Hannah Pelton) was born on 4 Aug 1784 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut; died on 5 Jun 1839 in Lempster, Sullivan, New Hampshire; was buried in East Lempster Cemetery, Lempster, Sullivan, New Hampshire. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Samuel married Elizabeth Warner on 19 May 1804. Elizabeth (daughter of William Warner and Hope Phillips) was born on 22 Dec 1779; died on 22 May 1849 in New York, New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Rhoda Woodward on 30 Jan 1805 in Bath, Sagadahoc, Maine. Rhoda (daughter of William Woodward and Mehitable Beal) was born on 11 Apr 1783 in Georgetown, Sagadahoc, Maine; died on 6 Jan 1815. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Betsy Dunham Howe on 8 Apr 1835 in Newport, Sullivan, New Hampshire. Betsy (daughter of Eli Howe and Sally Dunham) was born on 24 Aug 1811 in Newport, Sullivan, New Hampshire; died on 4 Oct 1891 in Geneva, Van Buren, Michigan; was buried in Lakeview Cemetery, South Haven, Van Buren, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 31 Aug 1812
• Alternate death: 28 Mar 1885

Samuel married Sarah Taylor Boerum on 12 Jul 1848 in Old Point Comfort, Virginia. Sarah (daughter of William Boerum and Emily Browne) was born in 1820; died on 21 Mar 1899 in Radnor, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; was buried on 8 Apr 1900 in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings, New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Of the firm of Lombard & Whitmore, merchants.

"Charles Octavius, after the death of his father, went to the West Indies and lived in Barbadoes with his uncle, Isaiah C. Whitmore. He returned to New England and resided in Boston from 1825 to his death in 1885. In 1826 he formed a partnership with Israel Lombard, which continued until 1855. He retired from active business in 1872, remaining President of the Market Bank from 1860 to 1885, and holding different offices in the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Agricultural Club, and kindred societies. From 1852 to 1862 his summers were passed in Lexington, where he had an estate which he devoted to experiments in the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and landscape gardening. He was Vestryman and Warden of Emmanuel Church, Boston, for many years. He spent the last years of his life in the enjoyment of his large library, collection of pictures, and the society of his family and friends. He was a man of active mind, quick wit, and excellent memory, combined with honesty, integrity, and absolute fearlessness." [The Whitmore Genealogy]

Charles married Lovice Ayres on 22 Dec 1830 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. Lovice (daughter of John Ayres and Rebecca Lombard) was born on 3 Aug 1805 in Provincetown, Barnstable, Massachusetts; died on 27 Sep 1849 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Orion married Emma Janette Fellows on 1 Jan 1879 in Sandstone, Jackson, Michigan. Emma (daughter of John Abiel Fellows and Janette Laura Emery) was born on 13 Jul 1855 in Sandstone, Jackson, Michigan; died on 6 Apr 1934 in Evanston, Cook, Illinois; was buried in Lakeview Cemetery, Ludington, Mason, Michigan. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to "vanboerum2", he was an art and coin collector.

The Army and Navy Journal report of his wedding to Annette Wetmore describes him as "of the 9th N.G.S.N.Y., and formerly of the 6th U.S. Cavalry [...] Major Wetmore has a large acquaintance in the Army, having served as an officer of the 6th U.S. Cavalry from 1872 to 1876, and since maintained pleasant associations with his former comrades."

William married Annette Wetmore on 12 Apr 1882 in Grace Church, New York, New York, and was divorced in Apr 1892. Annette (daughter of David Wetmore and Caroline E. Bixby) was born in Feb 1862 in New York, New York; died on 5 Feb 1962; was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, Westchester, New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The web site of the Boston Public Library includes brief biographies of many former library trustees, including William Henry Whitmore, trustee from 1885 to 1888:

"Born 1836 in Dorchester; died 1900 in Boston. Merchant, politician, genealogist, antiquarian. A descendant of Francis Whitmore who settled in Cambridge, MA, in 1648, William H. Whitmore attended both Boston Latin and English High Schools before entering his family’s firm of commission merchants. While traveling to such places as India and Madagascar during his 25 years as a merchant, he studied law and painting. Elected to the Boston Common Council in 1874, Mr. Whitmore spent much of his energy promoting the preservation and publication of local records and concurrently served on the Boston Board of Record Commissioners. He became a city registrar in 1892 and supervised the publication of local and vital records in several multiple volume sets. Throughout his activities in Boston, Mr. Whitmore frequently contributed writings to the New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, the Nation, and the Massachusetts Historical Society, as well as published genealogies and histories of New England towns and families. While he supported the need to find expanded quarters for the growing public library, Trustee Whitmore disagreed on constructing a new building and eventually resigned his trusteeship because of its cost."

From Wikipedia:

"About 1868 he was one of the patentees of a machine for making sugar cubes, and in 1882 he patented one for making hyposulphite of soda. His 'Ancestral Tablets' (Boston, 1868) was an invention for genealogists, being a set of pages cut and arranged to admit the insertion of a pedigree in a condensed form."

William married Frances Theres Walling "Fanny" Maynard on 11 Jun 1884 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. Frances (daughter of Edward Flint Maynard and Francis Maria Russell Curow) was born on 23 Jul 1849 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died on 18 Nov 1911 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts; was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1891, Michigan

Notes:

Her marriage to Frank Leroy Heck ended in divorce, and yet they are buried next to one another at Forest Hill Cemetery in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

Ada married Frank LeRoy Heck on 20 Aug 1918 in Ludington, Mason, Michigan, and was divorced. Frank (son of David Peter Heck and Isabelle "Belle" Huffman) was born on 28 Feb 1890 in Oblong, Crawford, Illinois; died on 5 Dec 1963 in Skokie, Cook, Illinois; was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Wisconsin Rapids, Wood, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ada married Henry L. Talbot on 8 Dec 1944 in Cook County, Illinois. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]