Valentine (Wightman) Whitman Sr. (1627 - 1701)

Born 1627 in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Unknown) Whitman — married 12 Dec 1651 in Providence, Rhode Island

Descendants

Died 26 Jan 1701 at about age 74 in Providence, Rhode Island

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Loren Fay [send private message], Stephen Schauer [send private message], and DS Tracy [send private message]

Biography

It is possible his father was John Whitman (1602-1692)

"Valentine Whitman (aka Wightman) was of the land gentry and was born 1628 at Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, died January 26, 1701 in Providence, Rhode Island.

He married Mary ____ by 16 Nov 1652 (the birth of daughter Mary) His wife was not Mary Aldrich born June 16, 1637 at Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, d/o George Aldrich. Mary Aldrich was still single in 1683 by the will of George Aldrich.^[1]

Mary Whitman died on May 31, 1718 at Providence, Rhode Island.

Valentine Whitman was in America by 1648, six years before his father came with his other four brothers in 1654 to Newport, Rhode Island. Although the original spelling of the family surname is “Wightman” for some unknown reason he retained the spelling of “Whitman” as his surname. He was an Indian interpreter and could speak the language fluently which was put to good use in dealing with the early settlers and the Indians.^[2] At the time of the burning of Providence by the Wampanoag during King Philip's War, the Indians expressed a preference to speak with interpreter Valentine Whitman rather than Roger Williams.^[3]

Children of Valentine Whitman and Mary ______:

1. Mary Whitman born 16 November 1652 in Providence, Rhode Island, died 27 April 1720 in Providence, Rhode Island; married John Inman

2. Elizabeth Whitman born 3 July 1653 in Providence, Rhode Island, died 19 November 1727, Providence Rhode Island; never married

3. Susanna Whitman born 28 February 1658 in Providence, Rhode Island, died 1734 Providence, Rhode Island; married James Ballou on 20 July 1683

4. Deborah Whitman born 1659 in Providence, Rhode Island, died about 1735 Providence, Rhode Island; married Joseph Smith

5. Alice Whitman born 1661 in Providence, Rhode Island, died date unknown

6. Hannah Whitman born 1663 in Providence, Rhode Island died 7 August 1752 Providence, Rhode Island; unmarried

7. Ester Whitman born 1665 in Providence, Rhode Island, died 31 August 1748 in Providence, Rhode Island; married John Steere

8. Grace Whitman born 1666 in Providence, Rhode Island, died 1748 Providence, Rhode Island; married James Greene on 23 May 1716

9. Valentine Whitman, Jr. born 25 August 1668 in Providence, Rhode Island, died 26 August 1750 Providence, Rhode Island; married Sarah Bartlett on 12 December 1694

Valentine Whitman ... He passed away in 1701. ^[4] Valentine Wightman (generally spelled on Providence Records as Whitman) settled first in Warwick, where he was made a freeman, 18th May, 1658, but afterwards removed to Providence and represented that town in the General Court in 1675. His wife was Mary ____, her maiden name not being known. His will of January 13th, 1700, mentions all his children. Children:

Esther Whitman 1665 Providence, RI

Mary Whitman 11/16/1652 Providence, RI

Elizabeth Whitman 07/03/1653 Providence, RI

Susanna Whitman 02/28/1658 Providence, RI

Deborah Whitman 1660 Providence, RI

Alice Whitman 1661 Providence, RI

Hannah Whitman 1664 Providence, RI

Grace Whitman 1666 Providence, RI

Valentine Whitman 08/25/1668 Providence, RI

Research Notes

Baptisms in Lowick, Northamptonshire:
A baptism record has been found for a Valentine Wightman son of "Joh." Wightman on 1 Feb 1623 in Lowick, Northamptonshire, England,^[5] The location is a bit surprising as we have expected his birth to be in Burton-upon-Trent, although no source has yet been found to support Valentine’s birth in Burton-upon-Trent or elsewhere in Staffordshire. It is possible that this record may represent movement of Valentine’s family from Burton-upon-Trent toward London. The abbreviation "Joh." is routinely used in this record group for the name "Johannes" (Latin recording for John). At that time it was the practice to record religious records in Latin, or at least as the recording clerk understood Latin (much variation).
It is particularly of note that among the childen baptized to John Wightman at Lowick is a George Wightman on 4 Nov 1632,^[6] very likely the same brother of Valentine who migrated to Rhode Island and settled in Quidnessett. The date of George's baptism matches the birth date in George's bible, adding further support to this group of baptisms being that of our John Wightman family.
This Lowick should not to be confused with another Lowick in Northumberland.
The web links included in the source references cited here are for records on the Ancestry site because unable to find this record group on any free access sites.
See also Research Notes in profile of John Wightman containing information on children of John Wightman.
This biography previously contained a statement without source that "some sources" claim Valentine was born in Providence (which did not exist at that time); no such sources have been located.

Arrival in New England:
Though "the U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s" lists immigration date as 1636, which would have made him 9 years of age, a note in the citation states "This is what other Ancestry members have added to this record... Arrival Year, 1636, Added additional data not found on the record. Submitted by: kwhunter52 on 5/11/2016."

Note some sources claim Valentine was born in Providence, Rhode Island.

Sources

1. ↑ Aldrich, Alvin James. The George Aldrich genealogy, 1605-1971: an attempt to trace, in both the male and the female lines, the posterity of George Aldrich, who came from Derbyshire, County Derby, England in the year 1631 to Dorchester, Colony of Massachusetts 1971, pp. 31-32, 36. https://gengophers.com/book.html#/book/15059?page=1&score=6
2. ↑ Valentine Whitman - Findagrave memorial (unsourced) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92189582/valentine-whitman
3. ↑ Bowen, Richard LeBaron. Early Rehoboth, Documented Historical Studies of Families and Events in This Plymouth Colony Township, Volume 3, pp. 9-11. https://archive.org/details/earlyrehobothdoc03bowe/page/9/mode/1up
4. ↑ Entered by Loren Fay, Mar 18, 2013
5. ↑ Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812, Lowick Parish Registers 1542-1794 (image 22 of 109) https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/9067951:9198?ssrc=pt&tid=35595008&pid=19963780474 (Ancestry)
6. ↑ Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812, Lowick Parish Registers 1542-1794 (image 24 of 109) https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/9068746:9198?ssrc=pt&tid=35595008&pid=18833590182

• http://www.wightmanfamily.com/immigrant.html
• Roberts, Gary Boyd; Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.
• Genealogies of Rhode Island Families
• Vital Records of Rhode, Island, 1636-1850. (Online database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002
• Austin, John Osborne. The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island (1887)
• Space:Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700|Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700]]
• Tepper, Michael. (1977). Passengers to America: A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists from the New England Historical & Genealogical Register. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. p. 471.
• http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=6809235
• Find A Grave Memorial# 92189582. Created by: Thomas Palmer.
• Whitman, Mary Ross George Wightman of Quidnessett, R.I. (Edwards Brothers, Inc., Chicago, 1939). Page 411-412.

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import. Whitman-2090 was created by Brandy Saxton through the import of BrandyDirectAncestors.ged on Sep 1, 2014. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included. It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.