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Katharine (Gorsuch) Whitby (bef. 1633 - 1663)

Katharine "Catherine, Ruth, Kath" Whitby formerly Gorsuch
Born before in Walkern, Hertfordshire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Wife of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Wife of — married [date unknown] in Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Died after age 30 in Warwick, Middlesex, Colony of Virginiamap
Profile last modified | Created 16 Jun 2014
This page has been accessed 971 times.
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Katharine (Gorsuch) Whitby was a Virginia colonist.

Contents

Biography

Katharine Gorsuch AKA Ruth, Kath, Katherine, Catherine

Note: There was no daughter, Ruth; this was a mis-reading of the name, "Kath."[1]

  1. Katherine Whitty as cited from a petition in Lancaster, Virginia Court, 1 April 1657.
  2. In a letter from Governor Francis Lovelace of New York to Governor Berkeley of Virginia, 6 December 1669, requesting the latter's interest in behalf of Will Whitbey, a son of Lovelace's niece, Mrs. Ruth Gorsuch.


Birth, Baptism, Parentage

Katharine ("Katheren") was baptized November 26, 1633 at Walkern Parish, Hertfordshire, England.[2] [1] She was the eldest daughter of John Gorsuch and Anne Lovelace.[1]

Marriages

Katherine married twice.

  • Katharine married, as her 1st, to William Whitby in Virginia.[1] This is proved by the Court appointment of her as her brothers' guardian as Katheryn Whitby.
  • Katharine married, as her 2nd, to Howell Powell.[1]

J. H. P., author of an article in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, points out with convincing proofs that the names should have been Katherine Whitby and Kath Gorsuch. J. H. P. establishes that these are the same person, Katherine Gorsuch, daughter of Rev. John Gorsuch and Anne Lovelace. John and Anne Gorsuch did not have a daughter Ruth, but did have a daughter Katherine who married William Whitby. The mispelling or misinterpretation of the names led to an incorrect conclusion. For a more detailed examination of the author's evidence for this error, see the article cited here.[3]

Children of Katherine and William Whitby

Children of Katharine and William (Pg 90):[1]

  1. William
  2. Elizabeth

1657 Katherine Guardian of Younger Brothers Richard, Robert and Charles

After the death of her parents, Katharine was made guardian of her three younger brothers:

April 1st, 1657, At this Court personally appearing Richard, Robert & Charles Gorsuch, sonnes & Coheirs of John Gorsuch, professor of Divinity, dec'd, did by their petition presented to this Court noiate (?) that their sister Katheryn Whitby, widd. their guardian for such estate as doth any ways belong to them in Englande. The Court taking the question into consideration did accordingly admitt & approve of the s'd Katheryn guardian according to the request of petitioners. At this Court personally appearing Richard, Robert & Charles Gorsuch sonnes & Coheirs of John Gorsuch, professor in Divinity, dec'd, did by their petition presented to this court noiate (?) that Francis Morrison Esqr their guardian for such estate as doth any ways belong to them in Virginia, craving this court to admit thereof, of such request this Court taking consideration did admitt & approve of the s'd Coll. Francis Morrison according to the request of the petitioners. (Lancaster County Records Vol. 1656-LXVI p. 7)[1]

Returned to England

After marrying for the second time in Virginia, Katharine returned to England before about 1659.[1]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 J. H. P., "The Gorsuch and Lovelace Families" The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan., 1916), pp. 81-93, Virginia Historical Society, JSTOR.org accessed February 16, 2015
  2. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NR4L-YFX : 20 September 2020), Katherine Gorsuch, 1633.
  3. "The Gorsuch and Lovelace Families," by J. H. P., Baltimore, Md.; The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 24, pages 82-93


Acknowledgments

  • Gorsuch-196 was created by Jason Panick through the import of Panick Family Tree 2.ged on Dec 2, 2014.




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Comments: 4

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Gorsuch-196 and Gorsuch-171 appear to represent the same person because: wife of William Whitby.
Gorsuch-598 and Gorsuch-171 appear to represent the same person because: wife of William Whitby.
Gorsuch-400 and Gorsuch-171 appear to represent the same person because: Same details but the husband William Whitby has a birth date too early. Both orphan profiles. There is also another Ruth Gorsuch with another William Whitby at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gorsuch-196
posted by Lynn Drasdo
Gorsuch-174 and Gorsuch-171 appear to represent the same person because: Seems the mis-reading of a will in which was written "Kath" for Katherine was read as "Ruth" was the reason for the creation of this daughter, Ruth, who never existed. Therefore, we probably should merge her into her correct name, Katherine (which includes the alternate names, just in case someone tried to re-create her). Thanks!
posted by Cynthia (Billups) B

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