Tag: Whitney

Nancy J. Whitney (March 1843 – 27 October 1906)

On By NancyIn Ancestor ProfileLeave a comment

Nancy J. Whitney was born in March 1843 in Ohio, the daughter of John P. Whitney and a mother whose identity remains unresolved in the surviving records and has been discussed in earlier research.¹ She spent her early childhood in Clinton Township, Wayne County, Ohio, where she appeared in the 1850 census with her father and her younger sisters Mary Belle and Lucretia.²

By the end of the 1850s the family had moved to Saginaw County, Michigan. Nancy’s mother died about 1859, and the 1860 census captures the family in a changed arrangement. Seventeen-year-old Nancy was living in East Saginaw in the household of Loton Eastman, where she was employed as a servant, while her father and youngest sister were enumerated elsewhere.³

Marriage and the Early Years

On 25 March 1866 Nancy married Martin V. Lacy in Taymouth Township, Saginaw County.⁴ Their first child, Emma, was born later that year, followed by Alice in 1869 at Montrose in neighboring Genesee County.⁵ The 1870 census shows the young family there, part of the movement of Saginaw Valley residents between the river towns and the farming communities that supplied them.⁶

By the mid-1870s they had returned to the Saginaw Valley for good. Their younger children, Mary Belle and William Henry, were born in Michigan, and by 1880 the family was established in Kawkawlin Township, Bay County.⁷

A Long Residence in Kawkawlin

From 1880 through 1900 the censuses place Nancy and Martin in the same township, reflecting decades of continuity in one community.⁸ The 1900 census records Nancy as the mother of five children, three of whom were living, and gives her birth as March 1843 in Ohio.¹

Land and Legal Standing

Bay County land records show Nancy as more than a farmer’s wife in the census columns. A deed transferred property from Martin V. Lacy to Nancy in her own name, and she later appears as the mortgagor on a mortgage of that land. Other mortgages were executed jointly by Martin and Nancy as husband and wife.⁹ These entries place her directly in the legal and financial record of the township and demonstrate her recognized interest in the family’s property.

Losses

In 1897 Nancy’s eldest daughter, Emma, died in Bay County.¹⁰ Seven years later, on 8 August 1904, Martin died in Garfield Township.¹¹ After nearly four decades of marriage, Nancy entered widowhood in the community where she had spent most of her adult life.

Death in Virginia

Nancy died on 27 October 1906 in Charles City, Virginia.¹² The record gives the date and place but does not explain her presence there. Her life had been centered for many years in the Saginaw Valley, where she had worked, married, raised her children, and held property in her own name.

Sources

  1. 1900 U.S. census, Bay County, Michigan, Kawkawlin Township, Martin V. Lacy household; Nancy J. Lacy, birth March 1843, Ohio.
  2. 1850 U.S. census, Wayne County, Ohio, Clinton Township, John P. Whitney household.
  3. 1860 U.S. census, Saginaw County, Michigan, East Saginaw, Loton Eastman household, Nancy Whitney, servant; John P. Whitney in a separate household with daughter Sabria.
  4. Saginaw County, Michigan, marriage records, Martin V. Lacy and Nancy J. Whitney, 25 March 1866.
  5. Michigan birth records, Emma Lacy (1866); Alice Lacy, 1 June 1869, Montrose, Genesee County.
  6. 1870 U.S. census, Genesee County, Michigan, Montrose, Martin V. Lacy household.
  7. Michigan birth records, Mary Belle Lacy (1875) and William Henry Lacy (1878); 1880 U.S. census, Bay County, Michigan, Kawkawlin Township.
  8. Michigan state census, 1884 and 1894, Bay County, Kawkawlin Township; 1900 U.S. census, Bay County, Michigan, Kawkawlin Township.
  9. Bay County, Michigan, Register of Deeds, index to deeds (Martin V. Lacy to Nancy J. Lacy) and index to mortgages (Nancy J. Lacy; Martin V. Lacy and wife). mgt Martin to Nancy Nancy lacy mortgage 2 Nancy Lacy Mortgage2 Martin Lacy & wife mortgage Nancy Lacy Mortgager
  10. Michigan death records, Emma Lacy, 1897, Bay County.
  11. Michigan death records, Martin V. Lacy, 8 August 1904, Garfield Township, Bay County.
  12. Virginia death record, Nancy J. Lacy, 27 October 1906, Charles City.

Untangling Three Men Named Matthias Whitney of Killingly

On By NancyIn Critical Thinking, RecordsLeave a comment

The trail began with a brief entry in the American Genealogical-Biographical Index pointing to Revolutionary War rolls for a Matthias Whitney of Connecticut. At first it seemed possible that the record might belong to Matthias Whitney born in 1747, a known resident of Killingly. But once the probate files were examined, it became clear that the real issue was not whether “Matthias Whitney” had service — it was determining which Matthias the record described.

Two probate files — one in 1776 and another in 1800 — proved that more than one man of that name lived in Killingly. A later Revolutionary War pension deposition then introduced a third. When the records are placed in chronological and geographic context, the identities separate cleanly.

Matthias Whitney (1720–1776)

Matthias Whitney, born 26 May 1720 in Groton, Massachusetts, son of Cornelius and Sarah (Shepard) Whitney, removed to Killingly, Connecticut, where he married Alice Robbins and raised his family.

His estate was probated in the Plainfield probate district in 1776. The file explicitly treats him as deceased and names his widow Alice and their children, including Jonathan.¹ This record fixes the end of his life in Killingly and establishes the first generation of the family there.

Because he was dead by June 1776, no later Revolutionary War record or nineteenth-century deposition can belong to him.

Matthias Whitney (1747–1800)

The second man was his son, Matthias Whitney, born in Killingly on 22 February 1747.

He died in 1800, and his estate was settled in the Plainfield probate district. The distribution is especially valuable because it preserves the birth order of the children:

the widow (not named)
George Whitney, eldest son
Sarah Whitney, eldest daughter
Martha Palmer, second daughter to the deceased
Aaron Whitney, second son
Selah Whitney, fourth daughter
Achsah Whitney, fifth daughter²

This is not simply a list of heirs — it is a ranked family structure.

Separate guardianship records dated October 1800 identify the younger children and give their ages:

Aaron Whitney, aged 12
Selah Whitney, aged 16
Achsah Whitney, aged 9³⁻⁵

These guardianships confirm that the Matthias who died in 1800 left minor children whose legal affairs were handled immediately in the Plainfield probate district. That evidence places his death in Connecticut and shows that his family remained there.

It also directly contradicts the long-repeated statement that this Matthias removed to Hancock, Massachusetts, and later to New York. If he had done so, his estate and his minor children would not be under the jurisdiction of the Plainfield probate court in 1800.

In addition, minor probate records exist for the children, including Aaron, further reinforcing that this family group belongs to the man who died in Connecticut.⁶

The Third Matthias: The Nephew/Cousin

The third man appears in an unexpected place — a deposition in the Revolutionary War pension file of Noah Day dated 1832.

In that statement, Matthias Whitney testified that he:

was born in Killingly, Connecticut
later removed to Hancock, Massachusetts
and afterward moved to New York⁷

This single paragraph explains the migration that Pierce associated with the wrong man.

This Matthias cannot be the 1720 Matthias, who was dead in 1776.
He cannot be the 1747 Matthias, who died in 1800.

He is instead the son of Joshua Whitney — the nephew of the elder Matthias and the cousin of Matthias (1747–1800).

Once he is placed correctly in the family, the geographical pattern makes sense. The deposition confirms that the man who went to Hancock and then to New York was a different Matthias — not the one whose estate was probated in Connecticut in 1800.

Pierce Revisited

Frederick Clifton Pierce correctly showed that multiple men named Matthias Whitney existed in this generation. However, on page 59 he assigned the Hancock, Massachusetts and New York residence to Matthias (1747–1800).⁸

The deposition demonstrates that this migration belongs to the nephew/cousin instead.

In that sense, Pierce preserved an important clue — the movement to Hancock and New York — but attached it to the wrong individual. The probate and guardianship records allow that clue to be reassigned to the correct Matthias.

Conclusion

The records resolve into three distinct men:

Matthias Whitney (1720–1776), the father, who died in Killingly and whose 1776 probate names his widow Alice and their children.¹

Matthias Whitney (1747–1800), the son, who died in Connecticut; his estate was divided among his widow and children in a clearly ordered distribution, and whose minor children — Aaron (12), Selah (16), and Achsah (9) — were placed under guardianship in October 1800.²⁻⁵

Matthias Whitney, the nephew/cousin, born in Killingly, later of Hancock, Massachusetts, and ultimately of New York, who gave a deposition in 1832 and is the best candidate for the Revolutionary War references that began this investigation.⁷

What first appeared to be a single confusing identity becomes, when the records are read together, three separate and well-documented lives.

Sources

  1. Plainfield (Connecticut) Probate District, estate of Matthias Whitney, 1776.
  2. Plainfield (Connecticut) Probate District, estate distribution of Matthias Whitney, 1800.
  3. Plainfield (Connecticut) Probate District, guardianship of Aaron Whitney, October 1800; aged 12.
  4. Plainfield (Connecticut) Probate District, guardianship of Selah Whitney, October 1800; aged 16.
  5. Plainfield (Connecticut) Probate District, guardianship of Achsah Whitney, October 1800; aged 9.
  6. Plainfield (Connecticut) Probate District, minor probate for Aaron Whitney, son of Matthias Whitney, 1800.
  7. Revolutionary War pension file of Noah Day, deposition of Matthias Whitney, 1832; states he was born in Killingly, removed to Hancock, Massachusetts, and later to New York.
  8. Frederick Clifton Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635 (Chicago: Press of W. B. Conkey Company, 1895), 59.

Matthias Whitney (1720–bef. 4 June 1776) of Groton, Massachusetts, and Killingly, Connecticut

On By NancyIn Ancestor ProfileLeave a comment

Matthias Whitney, born 26 May 1720 in Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, was the son of Cornelius Whitney and Sarah Shepard.¹ As a young man he removed with his family to Killingly in Windham County, Connecticut, where he spent the remainder of his life and raised a large family.

He married Alice Robbins about 1743, and their children were recorded in the Killingly vital records: Mary (1743), Asa (1744/5), Matthias (1747), Cornelius (1749), Joshua (1751), Alice (1753), Samuel (1757), John (1759), Jonathan (1761), and David (1764).² These entries place the family firmly in Killingly throughout the mid-eighteenth century and establish the structure later confirmed in probate.

A Life in Killingly

Matthias appears in the records of Killingly during the period when the town was expanding and new religious societies were forming. He and his family were associated with the Separate (New Light) congregation at Breakneck Hill, where the baptisms of his children Matthias and Joshua were recorded in the 1740s.³ This affiliation places him among the dissenting families of the town who sought relief from the established Congregational parish.

Land and probate records show that he was an established resident and householder by mid-century. Like many men of his generation in northeastern Connecticut, his life was rooted in family, church, and local community rather than in long-distance migration.

The Probate That Defines the Family

The most important record for Matthias Whitney is the administration of his estate in the Windham District Probate Court.

On 4 June 1776, the court began proceedings for the estate of “Matthias Whitney late of Killingly deceased,” proving that he had died shortly before that date.⁴

The subsequent distribution, ordered in February 1777, names:

  • his widow Alice Whitney, and
  • his children Asa (eldest son), Matthias (second son), Joshua, Samuel, John, Jonathan, and David, together with his daughters Mary and Alice.⁵

Two sons, Matthias and Cornelius, were noted as having already received their portions during their father’s lifetime.⁶

This single document:

  • fixes the time of his death,
  • confirms the identity of his wife,
  • establishes the full list of his surviving children,
  • and preserves their birth order.

It is the record that anchors the entire Whitney family in Killingly.

Death in the Opening Year of the Revolution

Because the estate was opened in June 1776, Matthias died during the first phase of the Revolutionary War, at about fifty-six years of age.

This timing is significant.

Men of his generation who rendered extended military service in Connecticut generally appear in later payrolls, class lists, or pension-related records. Matthias does not. His death in 1776 explains that absence and distinguishes him from younger men of the same name who lived into the post-war period.

Separating Three Men of the Same Name

The Killingly records include three contemporaneous men named Matthias Whitney:

  1. Matthias Whitney (1720–1776) — the subject of this sketch
  2. Matthias Whitney (1747–1800) — his son
  3. Matthias Whitney (1757–1851) — his nephew, son of Joshua Whitney

The probate of 1776 belongs to the elder Matthias and identifies his children, including the younger Matthias. The nephew, born in 1757, lived into the nineteenth century and appears in later records, including Revolutionary War–era testimony for another pension applicant.

Distinguishing these three men is essential in evaluating military and migration records for the Whitney family of Killingly.

Conclusion

Matthias Whitney lived the life of a mid-eighteenth-century New England householder: born in Groton, established in Killingly, active in the Separate church, the father of a large family, and deceased as the American Revolution began.

His 1776 probate not only defines his death and family but also provides the key to separating multiple men of the same name in the same community. Through that record, his identity and place in the Whitney family are securely established.

Sources

  1. Groton, Massachusetts, vital records, birth of Matthias Whitney, 26 May 1720.
  2. Killingly, Connecticut, vital records (Barbour Collection), births of children of Matthias and Alice Whitney.
  3. Breakneck Hill Separate Church records, Killingly, baptisms of children of Matthias Whitney.
  4. Windham District Probate Court (Plainfield), estate of Matthias Whitney, administration begun 4 June 1776.
  5. Ibid., distribution to widow and children, February 1777.
  6. Ibid., notation of advancements to sons Matthias and Cornelius.

Jonathan Whitney (1761–1832): Sorting Out the Revolutionary War Question

On By NancyIn Ancestor Profile, Mis-attributed service, Revolutionary WarLeave a comment

For some time, Jonathan Whitney has appeared in various places as a Revolutionary War soldier. The references seemed promising: an entry in the American Genealogical-Biographical Index pointing to Connecticut service records and a 1790 census placement that aligned with his known residence.

The difficulty, as so often in eighteenth-century New England research, is that the name is not unique. The question is not whether a Jonathan Whitney served, but whether the Jonathan Whitney who was born in 1761 and died in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, was one of them.

Establishing the Identity of Jonathan Whitney

Jonathan Whitney was born in 1761, the son of Matthias Whitney of Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut. He married Olive Cady in Killingly in November 1784.¹ This places him in that town as a young adult at the close of the Revolutionary War period and provides the starting point for his own household.

Ancestry.com. Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: 2013.
Original data:Connecticut. Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut.

The 1790 census for Killingly includes “Whitney, Jona” in the same cluster as Matthias Whitney and Asa Whitney. The household consists of one male aged sixteen or over, three males under sixteen, and four females, a structure consistent with Jonathan’s known family at that date.²

1790 Census Killingly, Connecticut
1790 Census for Killingly, Connecticut. Solid red arrow is Jonathan Whitney. Hollow red arrows are known relatives.

His will, written in Luzerne County on 9 December 1830 and proved 15 April 1832, names his wife Olive and his children: Ransom, Charles, the heirs of Asa Whitney, Walter, Frank, Horace, Martha (late wife of Marsh Lake), and Lucina.³ This record connects the Connecticut resident to the Pennsylvania man and fixes his identity at the end of his life.

Taken together, these records identify a single individual who was in Killingly in the 1780s, head of his own household there in 1790, and later a resident of Luzerne County.

The AGBI References

The American Genealogical-Biographical Index entry for Jonathan Whitney directs the researcher to two Connecticut sources:

  • Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States: Connecticut
  • Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution⁴

As an index, AGBI does not distinguish between men of the same name. Each reference must be examined and compared with the known details of Jonathan’s life.

The Connecticut Service Records

One of the cited service entries places a Jonathan Whitney in Canaan, in Litchfield County.⁵ Jonathan of Killingly is not known to have had any connection to that town, and the Whitney families there form a separate group.

The second reference is to a Jonathan Whitney who served as a captain.⁶ A man born in 1761 would have been fourteen at the beginning of the war and in his early twenties at its close. He does not fit the age or the community standing expected of a Revolutionary War officer, and no other record places him in that role.

Both entries therefore refer to other men of the same name.

The Pension Question

If Jonathan had later qualified for a federal pension, there would be a corresponding file or index entry. He does not appear in the Revolutionary War pension indexes, and his estate papers contain no reference to pension payments, arrears, or certificates.⁷

Age and Military Eligibility

Jonathan’s age during the war is central to the question:

YearAge
177514
178019
178322

He reached military age only in the final years of the conflict. Any service would have been short-term local duty in the Killingly militia, and no record has been found that can be attributed to him.

Conclusion

The Jonathan Whitney who was born in Killingly in 1761 and died in Luzerne County in 1832 can be identified in the 1790 census and in his Luzerne County will. The Revolutionary War service records cited in AGBI belong to other men of the same name, and there is no pension or other military record that can be connected to him.

Sources

  1. Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630–1920, vol. 093 (Putnam), entry for Jonathan Whitney and Olive Cady, marriage, Nov. 1784; citing Killingly church records.
  2. United States. Bureau of the Census, Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790: Connecticut (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1908), 144, Killingly, Windham County, “Whitney, Jona”; digital image, HathiTrust, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31210012158174&seq=152.
  3. Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Will Book, Jonathan Whitney, will written 9 December 1830, proved 15 April 1832.
  4. Fremont Rider, American Genealogical-Biographical Index, vol. 197 (Middletown, Conn.: Godfrey Memorial Library), entry for Jonathan Whitney.
  5. Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution (Hartford: Adjutant General’s Office, 1889), 230, entry for Jonathan Whitney of Canaan.
  6. Ibid., 485, entry for Jonathan Whitney, captain.
  7. U.S. Revolutionary War pension and bounty-land warrant application files; search for Jonathan Whitney yielded no file corresponding to the man of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

The Case of John Whitney’s Wife

On By NancyIn Brick Wall, DNA, Land recordsLeave a comment

Back in 2018 I wrote about finding my second great-grandmother, Nancy J. Whitney, in the 1850 census and the immediate question that followed:

Who was her mother?

At the time, the census seemed to offer a straightforward answer. With the addition of DNA and Ancestry’s ThruLines®, I expected that question to finally be settled.

It wasn’t.

Instead, the combination of census records, a single marriage record, and a series of land transactions has created one of the most instructive conflicts in my research—and a perfect example of why no single source should ever stand alone.

What ThruLines Does — and Does Not — Tell Me

ThruLines confirms my descent from John Whitney.

It does not identify a wife for him.
It does not suggest a mother for Nancy.
It does not offer a second pathway through another marriage or through a different set of descendants.

In this case, ThruLines is doing exactly what it is designed to do—it is confirming a line. It is not resolving a documentary conflict.

And that silence is important.

The 1850 Census: A Household with Two Adult Women

The 1850 census for Wayne County, Ohio, shows the household of John Whitney as:

  • John Whitney, 28
  • Hannah, 24
  • Nancy, 7
  • Mary Belle, 5
  • Lucretia, 3
  • Susannah Robison, 26¹

The census does not state relationships in 1850. Any identification of a spouse is based on the common pattern of enumeration, not on an explicit statement.

What is clear is that Hannah and Susannah are two separate individuals. They have different given names, different ages, and Susannah is listed with the surname Robison rather than Whitney.

Whatever their roles in the household, they are not the same person.

The Marriage Record That Complicates Everything

There is one—and only one—marriage record for John Whitney in Wayne County:

John Whitney to Susannah Robison, 18 August 1842.²

Nancy’s 1843 birth fits this marriage perfectly.

If this were the only record, the conclusion would be simple.

But it isn’t.

The Deeds: A Legally Identified Wife Named Hannah

In a deed, a wife is not named casually. She appears because she must relinquish her right of dower, and she is often examined separately to confirm that she is acting of her own free will.

John appears with Hannah as his wife in multiple land transactions:

On 4 September 1844 (recorded 13 June 1845), John Whitney and Hannah his wife sold land in Wayne County.³

On 13 September 1853, John P. Whitney and Hannah his wife conveyed land to Cornelius Paugh.⁴

On 18 February 1854, John P. Whitney and Hannah his wife conveyed land to Israel Layton.⁵

These are not isolated references. They establish a legally recognized wife named Hannah over a period of at least ten years.

By 17 December 1862, when John sold land again in Wayne County, no wife was named.⁶

Hannah was no longer living—or no longer his legal spouse—by that date.

Establishing That This Is the Correct John Whitney

John’s father, Charles Whitney, died in 1836. His mother, Tamer (Pierce) Whitney, remarried Phillip Yarnell on 31 March 1840 in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio.⁷

So when John P. Whitney appears in the June Term 1851 partition case with the Yarnell heirs, it confirms that these land and court records belong to the correct man.⁸

In the October Term 1851 case of Rinear Beall vs. John Whitney, the summons was served by leaving a copy at John’s residence “with his wife,” again placing him in a marital relationship at that time.⁹

The Negative Search

If the answer were in the usual places, this would not be a problem.

I have searched for:

  • a divorce record for John Whitney
  • a death record for Hannah Whitney
  • a death record for Susannah Robison or Susannah Whitney
  • any additional marriage for John Whitney

I have also looked for records that might name Nancy’s mother:

  • guardianships for John’s children
  • deeds involving his children
  • death records for Nancy and her sisters

None of them identify a mother.

Could the Marriage Record Be Wrong?

One possible explanation is that the 1842 marriage record misidentifies the bride as Susannah rather than Hannah.

However, the record clearly names Susannah, there is a separate woman of that name in the 1850 household, and there is currently no record connecting Hannah to the Robison family.

That makes this a hypothesis—not a conclusion.

One Conflict, One Conclusion

Taken together, the records establish five things:

John Whitney is Nancy’s father.
He married Susannah Robison in 1842.
He had a legally identified wife named Hannah from at least 1844 to 1854.
Hannah and Susannah were two different women in the 1850 household.
The land and court records all belong to the same John Whitney.

What they do not establish is which woman was the mother of Nancy, Mary Belle, and Lucretia.

ThruLines does not resolve that conflict. The census does not resolve that conflict. The marriage record does not resolve that conflict.

So the only evidence-based conclusion is the same one I reached years ago—now with far better documentation:

The identity of Nancy J. Whitney’s mother remains unproven.

Footnotes

  1. 1850 U.S. census, Wayne County, Ohio, population schedule, John Whitney household.
  2. Wayne County, Ohio, marriage record, John Whitney and Susannah Robison, 18 August 1842.
  3. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed Book, John Whitney and Hannah his wife to Youngs & Augustus Case, 4 September 1844 (recorded 13 June 1845).
  4. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed Book, John P. Whitney and Hannah his wife to Cornelius Paugh, 13 September 1853.
  5. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed Book, John P. Whitney and Hannah his wife to Israel Layton, 18 February 1854.
  6. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed Book, John P. Whitney to Jonathan Potts, 17 December 1862.
  7. Wayne County, Ohio, marriage record, Phillip Yarnell and Tamer Whitney, 31 March 1840.
  8. Wayne County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, partition case, June Term 1851, naming John P. Whitney and Yarnell heirs.
  9. Wayne County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, Rinear Beall vs. John Whitney, October Term 1851.

John Whitney Through Land and Court Records

On By NancyIn Ancestor ProfileLeave a comment

Vital records are wonderful when they exist, but for many people in the early and mid-nineteenth century they are missing or were never created. In those cases, we are left to reconstruct a life from the records that document a person’s economic activity, legal standing, and family connections.

John Whitney of Wayne County, Ohio, and later Saginaw County, Michigan, is one of those men.

He was the son of Charles Whitney, who died in Wayne County in 1836. A few years later his mother, Tamer (Pierce) Whitney, remarried Phillip Yarnell on 31 March 1840 in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio.¹ That remarriage becomes critical in identifying John in later records, because when John P. Whitney appears in the June Term 1851 partition case with the Yarnell heirs, it ties the adult man directly to his mother’s second marriage and distinguishes him from any other contemporary John Whitney in the county.²

Early Land Transactions

By the late 1840s John was participating in land transactions in his own name. On 19 August 1848 he purchased land in Wayne County, indicating that he had reached adulthood and was established enough in the community to engage in real property transactions.³

There is one—and only one—marriage record for a John Whitney in Wayne County during this period: John Whitney to Susannah Robison on 18 August 1842.⁴ That record fits the birth of his oldest known child the following year. As discussed in a separate post, later records consistently name a wife called Hannah, creating a conflict that remains unresolved. For the purpose of following John’s life, what matters here is that by mid-century he was a married man and the head of a household.

A Wife Named Hannah

The land records provide the clearest view of John’s economic life and identify the woman who was legally his wife for at least a decade.

On 4 September 1844, recorded 13 June 1845, John Whitney and Hannah his wife sold land in Wayne County.⁵ On 13 September 1853, John P. Whitney and Hannah his wife conveyed land to Cornelius Paugh.⁶ On 18 February 1854, John P. Whitney and Hannah his wife conveyed land to Israel Layton.⁷ In each case Hannah was required to relinquish her right of dower and was examined separately, confirming her legal identity as John’s spouse.

By 17 December 1862, when John sold land again in Wayne County, no wife was named, indicating that by that date he was either widowed or no longer legally married.⁸

The 1850 Household and the 1851 Lawsuit

In 1850 John’s household included three daughters—Nancy, Mary Belle, and Lucretia—all under the age of ten.⁹ This places him firmly in the role of a young father in mid-century Ohio.

A small but vivid glimpse of his daily life appears in the October Term 1851 case of Rinear Beall vs. John Whitney. The summons was served by leaving a copy at John’s residence “with his wife,” confirming that he maintained a fixed home and was still living in Wayne County at that time.¹⁰

Migration to Michigan

By 1860 John had left Ohio and was living in Saginaw County, Michigan, in the household of his siblings. This is a classic example of cluster migration, in which family members move together and re-establish themselves in a new location.

Even after relocating, he retained legal ties to Wayne County until the 1862 sale of his remaining land.⁸ That transaction marks the end of his economic presence in the place where he had grown up.

Following the Records

There is still no located death record for John. No probate file has yet been found for him. The identity of the mother of his children remains unresolved, and the absence of a divorce record or death record for either Susannah or Hannah leaves that question open.

What the surviving records do provide is a way to follow him through his life: a boy in a widowed household after 1836, a young man buying and selling land, a husband whose wife repeatedly appeared beside him in legal transactions, a father of three small daughters, a defendant in a county lawsuit, a migrant moving west with his siblings, and finally a man closing out his last piece of property in the county where he came of age.

The story is not finished, but the outline of his life is now visible.

Sources

  1. Wayne County, Ohio, Marriage Record, Phillip Yarnell and Tamer Whitney, 31 March 1840.
  2. Wayne County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, Partition Record, June Term 1851.
  3. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed, John Whitney purchase, 19 August 1848.
  4. Wayne County, Ohio, Marriage Record, John Whitney and Susannah Robison, 18 August 1842.
  5. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed Book, John Whitney and Hannah his wife to Youngs and Augustus Case, 4 September 1844, recorded 13 June 1845.
  6. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed Book, John P. Whitney and Hannah his wife to Cornelius Paugh, 13 September 1853.
  7. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed Book, John P. Whitney and Hannah his wife to Israel Layton, 18 February 1854.
  8. Wayne County, Ohio, Deed Book, John P. Whitney to Jonathan Potts, 17 December 1862.
  9. 1850 U.S. Census, Wayne County, Ohio, population schedule, John Whitney household.
  10. Wayne County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, Rinear Beall vs. John Whitney, October Term 1851.

Nancy J Whitney’s mother?

On By NancyIn Ancestor ProfileLeave a comment

Researching family history can be challenging. Records were destroyed in various natural disasters, records were not kept at all, people changed their names, etc. One source that genealogists tend to like is the census. Why? Because starting in 1850, everyone in the household was enumerated – not just the head of the household. Generally, the enumeration went like this: name of head of household (usually this is the male), then the head of household’s spouse (usually his wife), then their children in descent from oldest to youngest then typically anyone else living in the household (borders, parents, in-laws, etc). Now it’s true, that this wasn’t always the case, but in general, that’s the principle. It’s also true that for the 1850, 1860 and 1870 census you can’t say for any certainty about the relationships of the people in the household because it’s not spelled out that way. Starting in 1880, the relationships were added to the census.

So, imagine for a moment my excitement to find my 2nd great-grandmother Nancy J. Whitney in the 1850 census.

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There she is, age 7 years old (which corresponds with other census records for her age) – the oldest of 3 children. It would appear from this enumeration that she is living with her parents – John Whitney (which is also independently confirmed) and probably Hannah. Hannah is 4 years younger than John – which isn’t unheard of for a husband and wife. Hannah would have been 17 when Nancy was born – again, not unheard of – it’s certainly possible. The last person in the household is Susan Robinson – age 26. This would seem to indicate that Susan is a border – even possibly a sibling to either John or Hannah.

Here’s the rub – neither Hannah nor Susan appear in later censuses with John and Nancy. In fact, this is the only instance that I have of Hannah. I do find a marriage record for John and Susannah Robinson in 1842 (hmmm… Nancy is born in 1843 – coincidence?).

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Since the 1850 census is for Wayne County and this marriage record is also for Wayne County – it stands to reason that these are the same people. So why 8 years after John and Susannah get married, they are enumerated in the same household – but she is listed with her maiden name and appears to not be married to him and John appears to be married to a Hannah?

I have not been able to find a divorce for John and Susannah. I have not found a marriage for John and Hannah. I have not been able to find a death for John, Susannah or Hannah.

So, who is Nancy’s mother?