William Whittaker
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William Whittaker (1750 - 1830)

William Whittaker
Born in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 3 Aug 1774 in Princeton, Worcester, MAmap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 79 in Princeton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 22 Feb 2010
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Biography

1776 Project
Drummer William Whittaker served with 18th Massachusetts Bay Provincial Regiment (1775), Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Daughters of the American Revolution
William Whittaker is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A124379.

William Whittaker was born on July 28, 1750 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts. His parents were Samuel Whittaker and Tabitha Davis. [1] [2]

He married Lydia Howe on August 03, 1774. [3]

Together they had 12 children, all born in Princeton:[3]

  1. William Whitteker, b. 1775.
  2. Lydia Whitteker, b. 1777.
  3. Catherine Whitteker, b. 1778.
  4. John Whitteker, b. 1780.
  5. Luther Whitteker, b. 1782.
  6. Aaron Whitteker, b. 1784.
  7. Levi Whitteker, b. 1786.
  8. Mary Whitteker, b. 1788.
  9. Aaron Whitteker, b. 1790.
  10. Catherine Whitteker, b. 1792.
  11. Thomas Whitteker, b. 1795.
  12. Charles Whitteker, b. 1799.

William Whittaker served in the American Revolutionary war; being called out on the first alarm of April 19, 1775. He was a drummer in Capt. Boaz Moore's Company of Col. Ephraim Doolittle's Regiment. He served only 9 days, then returning home. Support for this will be found in the book "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors In the War of the Revolution" on Page 24. [4] [5] [6][7] [8]

Most likely he thought better of it because he was newly married and had an infant son who had just been born in January of 1775, my (Christophel_D'Errico-1) Great Great Great Grandfather, William Whitteker. He sent his apprentice, Eli Stearns, to take his place, according Bond. [9]

I believe William Whittaker may have been apprenticed out, himself, early in life, as were some of his brothers and sisters. His father, Samuel Whittaker, having been supported by the town upon two occasions during his life. I find it particularly striking that he never named any of his children after his father, Samuel, or mother, Tabitha. Poor children were apprenticed out by the towns rather early.....around eight years of age. It helped the towns to take care of the poor; but, I fear it did not do much to foster a relationship with the children's natural parents.

At any rate, William seems to have overcome this stigma; and, learned some lessons from it. All of his sons were very enterprising and hardworking individuals. The ones who later moved to Western Virginia all operated at least two; and, sometimes more, businesses. He taught all of them to be farmers; and carpenters, according to the diary of his son, William Whitteker.

William is identified in land records as being a "housewright" or builder of houses. He bought up many pieces of property in Princeton, possibly to build houses and then sell. His sons who moved to Western Virginia all did this same thing in addition to whatever other businesses they were operating. According to "History of Princeton, Civil and Ecclesiastical" by Jeremiah Lyford Hanaford, pages 102 & 103, he planned and built the new church building of the First Congregational Church sometime in 1795 or 1796.

William died on July 22, 1830 in Princeton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. [3]

Sources

  1. Vital Records of Bedford, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850
  2. Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Vital Records of Princeton, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849
  4. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War
  5. United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783
  6. DAR
  7. Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 2021-09-15), "Record of Whittaker, William", Ancestor # A124379.
  8. Massachusetts, Revolutionary War, Index Cards to Muster Rolls, 1775-1783
  9. Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts
  • "Massachusetts, Revolutionary War, Index Cards to Muster Rolls, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2RH-C9Y7 : 17 March 2018), William Whitaker, 19 Apr 1775; citing Military Service, Princeton, Princeton, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,048,636.
  • "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch
    • (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4GL-WD4 : 10 November 2020), William Whitaker, 25 Jul 1750; citing Birth, Bedford, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007010700.
    • (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4GG-7FX : 10 November 2020), William Whiteker, 28 Jul 1750; citing Birth, Bedford, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007010700.
  • "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKL-BNK : accessed 17 September 2021), William Whiteker, Princeton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; citing p. 479, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 4; FHL microfilm 568,144.
  • "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHR9-7TZ : accessed 17 September 2021), William Whiteker, Princeton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; citing p. 518, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 16; FHL microfilm 205,617.
  • "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHG9-97B : accessed 17 September 2021), William Whitteker, Princeton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; citing p. 104, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 54; FHL microfilm 193,742.
  • "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG2M-B137 : 1 March 2021), William Whitaker, 19 Apr 1775; citing Military Service, , Citing various published state rosters, United States; FHL microfilm 101711096.




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with William:

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