Holbrook line: John Whittemore 1662-1702

We have four men named John Whittemore in our line, one right after the other.  This post is about John Whittemore, the son of John and Mary Upham Whittemore, and grandson of Thomas (the immigrant) and Hannah Chawkley Whittemore.  He was born in Charlestown, Suffolk County, in what was then the Massachusetts Bay Colony, about 1662, based on court testimony he gave in 1674.  His father was a wheelwright, and since John had seven brothers and sisters, this was a family that had some struggles economically.

John senior held several town posts, including that of constable, hog reeve, fence viewer, and surveyor of highways.  There is some confusion about the John who held the constable post in 1692.  Some say this was John senior, and some say it was this John.  It's barely possible that this John was the John who was a fence viewer in 1683.  No suffixes were given for any of the men so it's hard to know for sure.  These were all minor posts, but the men seem to have stayed out of trouble for the most part.  They were probably solid citizens but just not noteworthy. He was admitted to full communion in the church in Charlestown in 1687, and he sat on several juries.  Though he wasn't a prominent citizen, he was respectable and appears to have been accepted in what could be a rough town, at times. 

John became a turner by trade.  We don't know exactly what he made.  One suggestion is that he made axles for wagons, which would have complemented his father's work.  His father gave John a house 4 years before he died, which may or may not indicate that the two men were close.  It may be that this was John senior's way of acknowledging that this John, as the senior surviving son, was entitled to an early gift, perhaps anticipating there could be a problem with the estate.  

This deed was recorded about 1688, which was shortly after John's second marriage.  John first married Elizabeth Annable, daughter of John and Anna Whipple Annable, in 1684.  They had one child together, the third John Whittemore in our line,  and Elizabeth died about 18 months later, in 1686.  The timing is such that it may have been related to another child birth, but perhaps there was another cause for her death.  John married Sarah Hall in 1688 and they had eleven children together. John III and two of John and Sarah's children were the only ones to survive to 40 years of age.  

John was just 40 years old when he died, without a will.  His estate was valued at 154.5.11, but his debts amounted to almost 177 pounds, so the estate was insolvent.  Sarah would have been given her widow's thirds so that she could raise up her children, the last, Josiah, being born after his father's death.  She would have had her hands full and it's noted that John junior and Josiah were close, although they were 40 years apart in age and half brothers rather than full brothers.  The inventory combines his wearing apparel, arms, and books into one category, but these were valued at 18 pounds so it's possible the library was fairly extensive.  (It's also possible that he was a clothes horse, or that he had expensive armaments). The inventory also includes 63 barrels of cider, if I'm reading it correctly, and a few apples.  He had quite a number of farm animals, including 65 sheep and 42 lambs, and 13 cows, 6 calves, 2 yearlings, and a bull, plus oxen, and swine.  He clearly was intent on providing well for his family.  

We don't know the cause of death, but there was a smallpox epidemic in 1702 in and around Boston that killed over 300 people.  One source says he died in Cambridge, where he may have gone for treatment or hospitalization, such as it was.  This is speculation, but whatever killed him, it was sudden enough that he didn't prepare a will.  

I'd like to know more about John, including what military service he may have had, and the particulars of his occupation.  Of course, I'd like to know more about the books he owned, and I'd like to know what his dreams were for his family.  And most of all, I'd like him to know that we remember him.

The line of descent is:

John Whittemore-Elizabeth Annable

John Whittemore-Elizabeth Lloyd

John Whittemore-Lydia Clough

Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow

Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants