Family:Whitney, Eliakim (1718-c1811)

Eliakim⁴ Whitney (Nathan³, John², Henry¹), son of Nathan³ and Sarah (Platt) Whitney,^[1] was born 13 Nov 1718, Ridgefield, CT,^[2] and died about 1811, Malta, N. Y.^[3]

He married firstly, 10 May 1744, Stamford, CT, Mary Beachgood, "by ye worshipfull Samll Hait, Esquier, one of his majesties Justices of ye peace for ye County of Fairfield,"^[4] daughter of John and Hannah Beachgood.^[5] She was born 18 Nov 1721, Stamford, CT,^[6] and died 7 Oct 1773, Darien, CT, age 51 yrs.^[7]

He married secondly, 15 Jan 1775, Stamford, CT, Mary (Selleck) Gorham "of Stamford",^[8] daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (DeMille) Selleck.^[9] She was born 13 July 1727, Stamford, CT,^[10], and died 13 July 1827, Ball Town, Albany County, NY. She had married firstly, 23 Aug 1748, Stamford, CT, Shubael Gorham (1727-b1771).^[11]

Phoenix said the following:^[12]

... a tanner, currier, and shoemaker; .... They owned the covenant in the Congregational Church at Middlesex, now Darien, Conn., 30 June 1745. His ear-mark, "a slit in ye near ear, and a half-penny under the same," was recorded at Stamford, 29 May 1760. It is possible that she died at Stamford; for Eliakim Whitney, "of Stamford," married (2d), 15 Jan. 1775, in the P. E. Church, Mary Choram or Gorum, of Stamford. They probably left Stamford at the close of the Revolutionary war; and deeds show that he lived at Saratoga, N. Y., in 1785 and 1786. He afterward lived in Milton, or Malta, N. Y., (perhaps in each), where his son Samuel went to see him in Oct. 1810, at which date he was called 93 years old, though only 92. He died about 1811 or 1812, in Malta, and was buried there.

Children of Eliakim⁴ and Mary (Beachgood) Whitney:

i.	Ann5 Whitney, b. 25 Mar 1745, Stamford, CT;[13] bapt. 30 Jun 1745, Darien, CT. Tradition says: "Some time during the Revolutionary War, Nancy Whitney, sister of Samuel Whitney, married James White, and settled in Malta, N.Y., where she died, aged 70 or 75 years."[14]
ii.	John Whitney, b. 28 Jul 1746, Stamford, CT;[15] bapt. 24 Aug 1746, Darien, CT; m. Esther -----.
iii.	Mary Whitney, b. 27 Feb 1750, Stamford, CT;[16] bapt. 15 Apr 1750, Stamford, CT;[17] m. Nathaniel Gorham.
iv.	Abigail Whitney, b. date unknown, Stamford, CT; bapt. 22 Mar 1752, Darien, CT.[18]
v.	Lydia Whitney, b. 21 Oct 1753, Stamford, CT.[19] Tradition asserts that "she married, about the close of the Revolutionary War, with James McConnell (also written Connell and McCorner); settled in Saratoga, N.Y.; and dwelt there till about 1806, or 1807, when she was thrown from a sleigh, and so injured as to cause her death soon afterward."[20]
vi.	Joseph Whitney, b. date unknown, Stamford, CT; bapt. 24 Jun 1761, Stamford, CT. Tradition says that he had several sons, who went to sea with him, and that they were all lost at one time.[21]
vii.	Samuel Whitney, b. 21 Apr 1761, Stamford, CT;[22] m. Elizabeth Wright.

Eliakim⁴ and Mary (Selleck)(Gorham) Whitney had no children.

Census

• 1790, Stillwater, Albany Co., NY: Eliakim Whitney, 2 males over 16 and 2 females.
• 1800: not found.
• 1810: not found.

References

1.^  Stephen Whitney Phoenix, The Whitney family of Connecticut, and its affiliations; being an attempt to trace the descendants, as well in the female as the male lines, of Henry Whitney, from 1649 to 1878; to which is prefixed some account of the Whitneys of England. (New York : Priv. Print. [Bradford Press] 1878), p. 38.

2.^  "Eliakim [Whitney], s. Nathan & Sarah, b. 13 Nov [1718]," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Ridgefield LR1:2.

3.^  Phoenix, loc. cit.

4.^  "Eliakim [Whitney], m. Mary Backgood*, 10 May 1744, by Sam[ue]ll Hoit, J.P. (* "Beachgood")," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Stamford 1:61.

5.^  Phoenix, loc. cit.

6.^  Ibid.

7.^  Noroton River Cemetery, Darien, CT.

8.^  Elizabeth Pearson White, John Howland of the Mayflower (Rockport, ME: Picton Press), vol. 1, p. 561.

9.^  Ibid.

10.^  Ibid.

11.^  Ibid.

12.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 38.

13.^  "Ann [Whitney], d. Eliakim & Mary, b. 25 Mar 1745," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Stamford 1:83.

14.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 109.

15.^  "John [Whitney], s. Eliakim & Mary, b. 28 Jul 1746," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Stamford 1:83.

16.^  "Mary [Whitney], d. Eliakim & Mary, b. 27 Feb 1750/1," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Stamford 1:96.

17.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 109.

18.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 110.

19.^  "Lydia [Whitney], d. Eliakim & Mary, b. 21 Oct 1753," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records.

20.^  Phoenix, op. cit., p. 110.

21.^  Ibid..

22.^  "Samuel [Whitney], s. Eliakim & Mary, b. 21 Apr 1761," according to Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Stamford 1:142-3.

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Copyright © 2007, 2011, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group