Family:Whitney, Sherwood (1767-1848)
Sherwood6 Whitney (Silas5, Samuel4, Richard3, John2, Henry1), son of Silas5 and Esther (Sherwood) Whitney, was born 22 Sep 1767, Fairfield, CT, and died 28 Feb 1848, Fairfield, VT, aged 80 years.
He married, 1 Dec 1787, Ridgefield, CT, Abigail Lobdell,[1] daughter of Ebenezer and Eunice (-----) Lobdell. She was born 30 Jul 1770, and died 23 Jun 1851, Fairfield, VT, in her 80th year.
Phoenix says the following:
- He lived in Umpewaug, in the west part of Reading, Conn., about half a mile east of the Danbury and Norwalk Railway, and about a mile south of West Reading Station, where he bought eleven acres of land, 5 Ap. 1788, of Elijah Burr, for £18. He also bought of Aaron Barlow, 22 Dec. 1788, for £75, fourteen acres of land in Reading, which he sold, 13 Feb. 1790, for £45, to Josiah Stebbins and Esther his wife, who were his step-father and mother. The first piece, he sold, 27 Jan. 1802, to his half-sister, Mary Couch, wife of Thomas Couch, Jr., of Reading, and then called himself, "of Fairfield, State of Vermont." It is uncertain when he went to Vermont, as the land-records of Fairfield, Vt., seem to show that he was there, 24 Sept 1789, 14 Ap. 1792, 2 Ap. 1795, and 12 Sept 1803, while old residents of Reading, Conn., distinctly remember him as living in Reading about 1795 to 1800. It seems most likely that, after living for some time in Vermont, he returned to Reading, and lived there for a few years. He died in Fairfield, Vt., 28 Feb. 1848, aged 80 years; and his wife died in the same place, 23 June 1851, in her 80th year. They were buried about two and a half miles south from the centre of the town. He was of a delicate constitution, quiet and gentle in appearance, of a studious habit, with a mind well stored by constant reading. One of his granddaughters says that she "scarcely remembers him otherwise than sitting in his easy chair, poring over a book or newspaper," and that, in his later years, "he seldom left the house, except, occasionally, to go to the Episcopal Church, of which he and my grandmother were exemplary members."
Children of Sherwood6 and Abigail (Lobdell) Whitney:
i. Esther7 Whitney, b. 29 Sep 1788, Redding, CT; d. 6 Jun 1870, Fairfield, VT; m. Jan 1809, Fairfield, VT, Joseph Soule. ii. Silas Whitney, b. 7 aug 1791, Fairfield, VT; d. aged about 8 years. iii. Clarissa Whitney, killed, when young, by the kick of a horse. iv. Harriet Whitney, b. 22 Nov 1795, Redding, CT, or Fairfield, VT; d. 6 Jan 1842, Fairfield, VT; m.(1) 7 Apr 1820, Salmon Soule, 2nd. v. Eunice Whitney, b. 3 May 1800, Redding, CT, or Fairfield, VT; d. 3 Jan 1840, Fairfield, VT; m. 1 Mar 1818, Fairfield, VT, Anson Buck, as his first wife.
Census
- 1791, Fairfield, Chittenden Co., VT: Sherad Whitney, 1 male over 16 and 2 females.
- 1800, Fairfield, Franklin Co., VT: Sherwood "Whiting", 1 male 26-44, 1 male 0-9, 1 female 26-44, 1 female 10-15, and 1 female 0-9.
- 1810, Fairfield, Franklin Co., VT: Sherwood Whitney, 1 male 26-45, 1 female 26-45, 2 females 10-16.
- 1820, Fairfield, Franklin Co., VT: Sherwood Whitney, 1 male over 45 and 1 female over 45; 1 engaged in agriculture.
- 1830, Fairfield, Franklin Co., VT: Sherwood Whitney, 1 male 60-69, 1 male 20-29, and 1 female 50-59.
- 1840, Fairfield, Franklin Co., VT: Sherwood Whitney, 1 male 70-79 and 1 female 70-79.
- 1850, Fairfield, Franklin Co., VT:
84 85 Rensalair R. Sherman 31 F - Physician $750 Vt. [sic] Clarissa W. 31 F - Vt. Frederick W. 1 M - Vt. Abigail Whitney 79 F - Conn. Elizabeth P. Sherman 2 F - Vt.
Clarissa was Abigail's granddaughter, daughter of Joseph and Esther (Whitney) Soule.
References
- All data imported from 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), pp. 246-247 and pp. 670-671.
1.^ "Sherwood [Whitney], m. Abigail LOBDELL, 9 Mar 1788," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Ridgefield 1:157.
Copyright © 2007, 2009, 2011, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group.
