Holbrook line: John Whittemore 1714-1778

I love it when history rises up and smacks me in the face!  With John Whittemore, we have a first hand seat to view some real history-some that he was a part of and some he would have observed.  What an exciting life he led!  

John is the third in a line of John Whittemores, and had cousins and uncles with the same name, so it would have been quite difficult for me to pick out which was our John of this generation.  However, there's a long and well researched history of the Whittemore family in America which was published in The Register in the early 1950s, and some of the information I'd found was confirmed by that article.  Also, some was refuted, as it belonged to another John Whittemore.  

John was the son of John and Elizabeth Lloyd Whittemore, and was born in Boston. Massachusetts on May 8, 1714.  His father was a mariner and when he could no longer do that work, became an innkeeper in Boston.  He was successful and had a comfortable estate, of which John inherited 100 pounds and one fourth of the "moveables" (personal property).  His father specifically stated that none of the sons were to inherit the liquors, which were left to his daughter, either because the Whittemore men liked their liquor, or possibly because he wanted to leave his daughter a means of support.  

John married Lydia Clough, the daughter of Benjamin and Faith Hart Clough, on June 3, 1742, six years before his father's death.  They were married by Reverend Joshua Gee, who was the pastor of the Old North Church (the Congregationalist church, not the more famous Anglican one) at Boston.  The couple had three children before Lydia died in 1750.  I'm not sure who took care of the children when John went off to war. 

 He was a matross (a gunner's assistant) with the rank of private and served in the French and Indian war.  One statement I found stated that he was on the "Crown Point expedition", but the dates for that were in 1755 and again in 1758-59, whereas the dates for John's service that I have are for May 1-November 29, 1756, 30 weeks and 3 days, with 18 days allowed for travel time.  Clearly, he went some place and served through a summer and fall campaign.  My best guess, barring further documentation, would be that he was at Fort Edward, because his commander was there.  He may well have been on other patrols in the area, and would have, as did all soldiers of the time, suffered a great deal to keep America out of the hands of the French.  

When John returned to Boston, he married again, sometime after 1757, but the name of his wife is not known.  She was younger than he was, because the couple had one child, Sarah, together.  

After that, John mostly vanishes from the records.  There are hints that the couple may have gone to Charlestown, which was John's family's home, and some trees state that he died there.  Others say he died in Boston.  The date seems to be undetermined, but it was likely in early 1778.  I've not found a will or probate, or even a death record.

I don't think he was living in Charlestown in 1778, because that town was burned to the ground during the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, and was not rebuilt until after the war.  If he had been in Charlestown, he may have gone to Boston after the British evacuated it in 1776, but Boston had such good records that I can't explain the lack of a death record for him there.

This is one ancestor who actually witnessed the early part of the Revolution.  He could have been in the crowd at the Boston Massacre, although most of those men were younger.  He may have been aware of the Boston Tea Party before it occurred, and would probably have cheered as news came that it had happened.  He would have seen the Redcoats take over Boston and march through his streets, perhaps even barracked near his residence.  Is it too much to think that he may have known some of the more prominent Boston patriots, maybe even Paul Revere?    

I wish I knew more of John-his occupation, his church (was he a member of the Old North Church?), and more of his military experience.  But I'm thrilled to know this much, and to wonder if it was a tiny bit of one of his genes that has always sparked my interest in history, particularly in Boston during the 1770's.  

The line of descent is:

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