The family of Josiah Whittemore 1749-1814

 Josiah Whittemore is one of our family's heroes, because he was part of the Massachusetts militia, and fought in the Revolutionary War.  He must have been a remarkable man, because he also fathered at least fourteen children.  It's time to take a quick look at his family, as we imagine them sitting around a dinner table (probably in shifts, as the family grew) and perhaps at family devotions together.  

Josiah is the son of John and Lydia Clough Whittemore, and was born in 1749 in Boston, Massachusetts.  He had left the Boston area by the time he married Lucy Snow in Lancaster on August 9, 1773.  The two would have been in the early years of their marriage when Josiah left for the war.  Lucy is the daughter of William and Elizabeth Stevens Snow, born in 1748 and died in 1794.  Together, Josiah and Lucy had at least 10 children.  After Lucy died, Josiah married Martha Parkhurst, the daughter of Nathaniel and Eunice Harrington Parkhurst.  She was born in 1764 and when her first husband, John Rider or Ryder, died in 1794 she had at least one son from that marriage.  I have seen it said that she had 14 children from her first marriage but I've located only one, and the statement may have originally read that she raised 14 children.  Josiah and Martha had at least four children together.

Most of Josiah and Lucy's children ended up in or near Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, for reasons I haven't yet discovered.  (There were older Whittemores there also, and perhaps the New Hampshire branches were able to offer employment to the young men and women of the family.  Perhaps there was some sort of family discord.  It would be interesting to know the rest of the story...)

The first son born to Josiah and Lucy was William, born in 1774 and died in 1848.  He married Molly Locke, the daughter of William and Rebecca Barrett Locke.  Their children are Sophronia, Harriet, Albert, William, Gilman, Barrett, Mary, Rebecca, another William, and Otis.  

Next was John, born in 1775 and died in 1855.  He married Hannah Stone, the daughter of Samuel and Anna Stacy Stone.  Their children are Dexter, Joel, Danvers, John, Lucy, and Laura.  

Salmon was the nest son, born in 1778 and died in 1826.  He married Lydia Wheeler, the daughter of Hezekiah and Mary Wood Wheeler.  Their children are Mary, Sally, Abigail, Lydia, Cyrus, Elijah, Abigail, and George.  (This couple was married in Royalston, Massachusetts, but moved to New Hampshire.)

Mary was the couple's first daughter, born in 1780 and died in 1810.  She married Caleb Sweetser, the son of Michael and Mary Pool Sweeter.  Their children are Lucy, Thomas, Hannah, Betsey, Mary and Eliza.

A second daughter, Lucy, was born in 1783 and died in 1804.  As far as I have been able to learn, she did not marry, nor did she have children.  As all of the children mentioned so far, she died in New Hampshire.

The next son is an outlier, Josiah.  He was born in 1784 and died in 1870 in South Hartford, Washington County, New York.  He married Betsey Foster, the daughter of Jude and (probably) Lydia Foster.  There are indications that Lydia may have been a Goodenow but I haven't proven that yet.  Josiah and Betsey's children are Josiah, John Dexter, John Foster, Martha, and Mary Elizabeth.  I will write more of this family in my next post.

Levi was born in 1786 and died in 1847 in Troy, New Hampshire.  He married Mary "Polly" Blodgett, the daughter of Jonathan and Susanna Tenney Blodgett.  Their children are Mary Ann, Maria, Levi, Luther, Roancy, John, Susan, Caroline, Sarah and Cyrus.   

The next son was named Cephas.  He was born in 1787 and died in 1790.  

Otis was born in 1789 and died in 1828, although I have no definite date nor location for him.  He is said to have married Mary Ann Smith, although, again, I can find no marriage record nor a location.  Their children are Lucy, Mary Ann, and Otis.  

Josiah and Lucy's last child was Betsey, born in 1793 and died in 1881, probably in Michigan.  She married William Farrar, the son of Daniel and Lucena Joslin Farrar.  Their children are William, Lucy, Danvers, Lorenzo, Daniel, Hannah, John, George, Charles, James, Harriet, Ann, Samuel, Calvin, and Thomas, for a total of 15 children.  

And with that, Lucy died, of "nervous fever".  Lucy was the grandmother of 62, although of course many were born after her death in 1794.  Josiah married Martha Parkhurst Rider the following year, at least partly because he needed someone to help raise the children, who in 1795 would have ranged in age from 2 years old to 19.  

Josiah and Martha had four children together:

Cephas was born in 1797 and died in Charleston, South Carolina in 1877.  He married, in Boston, Massachusetts, Lydia Smith, the daughter of Alexander and Hepzibah Hobbs Smith.  (I have as of yet not been able to connect Mary Ann Smith, who married Otis Whittemore, to Lydia Smith, who married Cephas.) Their children are Lydia, John, Lyman, and Mary Jane.  It would be interesting to know more about Cephas' life, especially during the Civil War.  Why did he go to South Carolina, and when? I can locate him in 1860 as a farmer there, but can't find him in the 1850 census.  

Zenas was born in 1798 and died in 1872 in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  He was a soap and candle maker.  He had three wives.  Louisa Phillips, the daughter of Blaney and Chloe Murdock Phillips, was the mother of William, Martha, Eliza, Mary, Zenas, Josiah, and Zenas again.  (Shall we rejoice that finally Josiah had a namesake grandson?)  His second wife was Sophia Penniman (various spellings), daughter of Bethuel and Sophia Churchill Penniman.  Their son was Charles.  Lastly, he married Mary Tobey, the daughteer of Elisha and Phebe Jenney Tobey.  Their children included Martha, May, and Ella.  

The only daughter of Josiah and Martha was Martha, born in 1800 and died in 1848 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She married William H Manchester, the son of William and Susan Howland Manchester.  Their children are Mary, Martha, Thomas, William, and Susan.

Josiah and Martha's last child was Sylanus, who was born in August of 1803 and died less than two months later.  

Josiah and Martha had 20 grandchildren, so adding that to the grandchildren of Josiah and Lucy, Josiah had at least 82 grandchildren.  I can't imagine getting that kind of happy news 82 times!  Whatever the reasons that the family didn't stay close geographically, this was a large family and it's fun to think that the siblings and cousins may have visited each other, from Michigan to South Carolina to New York and New Hampshire.