The family of Thomas Whittemore 1593-1661

 This post will start a series of seven posts about my ancestors in the Whittemore family.  Actually, I've written about each of them previously (use the search bar at the bottom of the post to find them) but these will concentrate more on the children of each of my ancestors.  Today's subject is Thomas Whittemore, baptized January 6, 1593 in Hitchin, Herefordshire, England, and died in 1691 in Malden, Massachusetts.  

Sometimes I learn more about an ancestor when I'm going back to look at his children, and this is one of those cases. Thomas was married three times, as it turns out.  His first wife is not yet known.  There was a daughter, Sarah, born to this marriage, who lived just a matter of days.  

His second wife was Sarah Deardes, whom he married in 1623,  the daughter of John and Mary Harflitt Dardes.  There were at least two children born to this marriage.  Mary was born in 1624 and married "Onliker" Jackson.  I have seen that first name transcribed as "Oulifer", which makes me wonder if it's an Oliver Jackson we're looking for.  I have not found a record that this couple had children.

The second child was a son, Thomas, born in 1626.  As far as I can tell now, he did not come to New England with his father, and there are records that he was still in England in 1660.  I have not located any further marriage, children, or death records for him.  However, it appears to me that he is not the Thomas Wetmore who died in Middleton, Connecticut in 1681.  The dates don't work for the known information about this Connecticut Wetmore.  I would love to find records for him in England, as we may have distant cousins there, too.

Sarah died in 1628, and in 1632 Thomas married Hannah Chawkley, the daughter of John and Frances Deardes Chalkley.  I have not worked out the relationship between Sarah, Thomas's second wife, and Frances, Thomas's third mother in law, but this was a small, not densely populated area (Hitchin, still) so there was likely some sort of family tie.  Thomas and Hannah had ten children together, the first four born in England. 

Daniel was the first born, in 1633.  He married Mary Mellins, the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Barrett Mellen.  (Note:  I am using the spellings as I find them, so be sure to check both ways, if you are doing further research.)  Their children are Daniel, John, Thomas, Mary, Nathaniel, James, and Pelatiah.  Daniel died in 1683.

Next was a son who lived for only a short time, John.

Nathaniel was born in 1636.  He married Mary Knower, the daughter of George and Elizabeth Kendall Knower.  Their children are Mary and Nathaniel.  Nathaniel died in 1671, only 35 years old.  

Next born was John, in 1638.  He first married Mary Upham, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Slade Upham.  Their children are John, Thomas, Joseph, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Joel, and a second Joel.  Mary died in 1677, and later that year, John married Mary Miller, the daughter of John and Lydia (maiden name unknown) Miller.  Their children are Mary, Pelatiah, Amos, Elizabeth, Daniel, Rebecca, Hannah, and a second Daniel.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.

Benjamin was born in 1640, in Massachsuetts.  (Mother Hannah must have had a fun time bringing four little ones to New England, probably while pregnant with Benjamin!) He married Elizabeth Bucknam, the daughter of William and Sarah Knower Bucknam.  Their children are Hannah, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Benjamin, and Benjamin.  (Quite probably the first two Benjamin's died young.)  Benjamin died in 1726.

Elizabeth was born in 1643.  She is said to have married Hopestill Foster, but this may be a mis-reading of Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700.  I think the verdict on Elizabeth is out, and it's possible that she died young.  I'd love to know her story.

Thomas (the second one, because one was still in England) was born in 1645.  He married Elizabeth Pierce, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Cole Pierce.  They had at least one child, Joseph.  Their may have been a second child, Hannah, but that seems inconclusive as of now.  Elizabeth Pierce Whittemore then married Hopestill Foster (see the confusion mentioned in the above paragraph) and later yet married Nathaniel Pierce, having four children with each man.  Thomas, sadly died in 1670, aged about 25.

Samuel was the next born, in 1647.  He married Hannah Rice, possibly the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Uggs Rix.  Their children are Samuel, Hannah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary, Abigail, Susanna, Thomas, and Samuel again.  

Pelatiah was born in 1650 and lived until 1679. He or she (sites differ as to gender, though Pelatiah is generally a masculine name) did not marry and I haven't found a record of any children.

Abraham was born in 1653 and died in 1691.  He also is not known to have married, although I have seen that some attribute a son, William, to him.  

So Thomas was the father of thirteen children, ten of them with Hannah Chawkley.  Thomas and Hannah had at least 30 grandchildren, although some died young.  These offspring fought in the wars and were good citizens of the Massachusetts Bay colony.  We can be proud of them.