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This person was created through the import of Consolidated Coningsby.GED on 11 March 2011. The following data was included in the gedcom. You may wish to edit it for readability.
John was born in 1727. He passed away in 1826.
John was a baggage master or quartermaster for General Braddock in the King's Service and fought in 1750-1751. He was a Captain in the British army at that time. Because of the Indian Wars, John insisted his neighbors become familiar with arms, which was against the Quaker belief. They held a Church trial and John refused to bow to his elders and give up his arms or the training of his neighbors; so he was dismissed from the Quaker Meeting. His wife refused to go against her husband and she too was dismissed. She was not a Quaker when she died in 1768.
During this time, John allegedly lent money to the Crown of England with the ensuing claim of a Whitaker fortune in England which descendants as late as 1900 were still trying to claim without success.
After Dinah's death, JOHN married ANN PYLE, daughter of Job Pyle, about 1770. They had nine sons. There are forty years difference in age between John's oldest and youngest children. He named his seventh child by his first wife, JOHN, and his first son by his second wife, JOHN A, JR. This has created much confusion in tracing family records.
In the Revolutionary War, John served as a private in a company of Rangers guarding the frontier. He served under Captains Flanagan and Anderson in the 3rd Battalion, Pennsylvania Troops, 1778-1783. John sold his 1500 plus acres prior to the Revolution and maintained only 4 acres that held his Brewery Malt House and distillery. He gave up his status as Captain in the British Service and became a private for the Colonies around the same time.
A reference in the DAR Lineage Book, Volume 58, page 68 states he was captured and escaped from a prison ship "which was made possible, as he was a powerful man.
His name is recorded in a miscellaneous list of soldiers from Bedford County (John Whitaker) . He is listed as a private in Capt John Boyd's Company, Bedford County, PA (John Whitair) . He is also found in a listing of depreciation pay for the Bedford County Militia on the Continental Line (John Whiteker). Original sources will have to be reviewed to determine which is correct.
Sometime before his death in 1826 he was reunited with the Quakers, as he is buried in the West Caln Burial Ground next to the Quaker meeting house, Chester Co, PA.
1790 federal census for Chester County, Pennsylvania East Caln Twsp Pg56 Ln12 Whitaker, Pheneas 2M>16, 5M<16, 1F>16
THE WHITAKER FORTUNE One of the hopes of any amateur genealogist is to discover a lost family fortune out there for the taking. Most of us come from a long line of poor people and the family fortune is an endearing fantasy. In the case of the WHITAKER family, there was indeed a fortune awaiting the person with the proper documentation. Mary (BOYD) DEMPSEY, a granddaughter of Hannah (WHITAKER) BOYD, gave this account.
"The only Whitaker I heard was Capt. John Whitaker, back 2 or 3 generations, and he was a ship's captain. He had sailing vessels, and they sailed from England around the low point of Africa to China. He traded his goods from England for things that were made in China. The English product was probably leather, might have been silver, woolen goods from Scotland, and no doubt tallow and lard. In return, he brought back silks and jewelry and metal goods and spices. There might have been sugar, and if there was coffee over there, no doubt he brought some. He was successful with this business, and we were told that he came to Virginia and had a large home there - possibly a plantation. He was a British sympathizer during the Revolution and he put his money in the Bank of London, because he did not think the crazy Americans were going to get any place with their rebellion. In return, the patriots of America resented him, and someone set fire to his house; but he escaped with his Bible and a few personal things. I do not know how much his family had, but they did then live in a cabin, and he is supposed to have had a tavern - Capt. Johnny's Tavern. It wasn't long till the patriots came along and burned his cabin; and at that time his Bible, which contained the certificate of deposit for the Bank of London was burned up also. Now in order to make sure that this was not a fable, when my brother was in England, he went to the Bank of London and told them he had come out of plain curiosity. He told them his name was Philip Alexander Boyd and his grandmother was Hannah Whitaker and he wished to know about the Whitaker estate. They said, 'Yes. We can show you the records'. They showed him the record and said, 'All you need is the Certificate of deposit'. And Philip said, 'Yes. I know the answer to that. I know this is a fact, and I am satisfied.'"
An article that appeared in the February 4, 1898 New Paris Mirror lends additional credibility to the legend. The story states: "Several months ago, our townsman, Henry Whitaker, noticed an advertisement in a Richmond paper by Wm. G. Whitaker of Panamia, Nebraska, asking for information in regards to the descendants of one John Whitaker, who died near Philadelphia, about the time of the French and Indian War, prior to the Revolution. Mr. Whitaker knowing himself to be one of them, answered the advertisement and last week the gentleman from Nebraska, who is a U B minister, and an intelligent, refined and cultured man, was here. It transpires, as stated, that John Whitaker left a large estate, which was loaned on bonds, which have since been lost, and the fortune, which has steadily accumulated during more than a century, now amounts to more than a hundred millions of dollars. Mr. Wm. G. Whitaker has been at work for two or three years accumulating the evidence necessary to secure it for their rightful heirs and the chain of proof required nearly complete. He has already made one trip to England, where he conferred with the officials of the Bank of England, where he received the information that such a fortune was indeed held in trust there for the Whitaker heirs and only awaited the necessary proofs to be surrendered to them. He expects to have the evidence complete by Spring, when he will again go to England to institute the final proceedings, and is confident of success. According to the number of heirs known and the estimated value of the estate, the shares of each will not be less than 0.00. Besides Henry Whitaker, Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Mellie Smith, Mrs. W. V. Whitley, and Mrs. Peters are among those here who will participate in the good fortune, if it really comes. That Mr. Wm. G. Whitaker is not an impostor working on the credulity of confiding people, is evidenced by the fact that he asks no contribution of money to pay expenses, being well to do himself, and is pushing the matter with his own means. He also carries plenty of documentary evidence to the truth of what he says, and altogether there really seems to be a fair probability that a few millions of English money may ere long come into the hands of some worthy New Paris people, and we congratulate them on their prospects."
Whether the money was distributed or is still in the Bank of England is now unknown. Another interesting and possibly related item was found in papers in the possession of Lois Conaroe of Richmond, IN. A family tree of the descendants of Joshua Whitaker states above the block for John Whitaker (who married Dinah Lewis), " This is the man left the money." It is not known if this is related to the same fortune. So the mystery remains.
Name: John A. Whitaker Sr. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Born 1727 East Caln, Chester County, Pennsylvania. [2] [4] [5] [7] [8] [11] [12]
Died 1826 Wagontown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States of America. [13] [2] [5] [7] [12]
Buried 1826 West Caln Meeting Cem, Wagontown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States of America. [12]
Residence
1790 East Caln, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. [10]
1800 Uwchlan, Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. [9]
1786 East Caln, Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. [9]
1768 West Caln, Chester, Pennsylvania. [6]
Marriage 16 NOV 1748. Chester Co, PA. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
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