Sometimes it is hard to keep track of all the names, dates, and places, making genealogies and family trees very boring and tedious to read and follow. This is what I want to avoid. Therefore, I am going to put forth the complete White family lineage in a way that will aid the reader to follow along in the easiest way possible. I will use only the male names for now, since males are the carriers of the surnames.
Father and Son, born in Europe, died in the New World (Massachusetts):
1. William White
2. Resolved White
Father and Son, born in Massachusetts, and died in Massachusetts:
3. Josiah White, Sr.
4. Josiah White, Jr.
Father and Son, born in Massachusetts, but died in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada:
5. Caleb White, Sr.
6. Caleb White, Jr.
So there; see how easy it is to follow: one William, one Resolved, two Josiahs, and two Calebs, and this is more or less it for the White surname. All of them are direct ancestors of ours. Please note that the "Sr." and "Jr." designation are strictly to aid in identification, given the same names having passed down from father to son.
William White
We know little about William White except that he was a passenger on the Mayflower, that he did sign the Mayflower Compact, that he did die February 21, 1621, that he was married to a Susanna, and he had two children named Resolved and Peregrine. He may have been born around 1590 in England. He probably did live in Leiden, Holland, as a refugee Pilgrim. We are unsure as to his wife's maiden name. It may not have been Fuller. It could have been Tilly, or some other name. But her first name was Susanna. He was our 9th great grandfather.
Resolved White (1615-1687)
William White
We know little about William White except that he was a passenger on the Mayflower, that he did sign the Mayflower Compact, that he did die February 21, 1621, that he was married to a Susanna, and he had two children named Resolved and Peregrine. He may have been born around 1590 in England. He probably did live in Leiden, Holland, as a refugee Pilgrim. We are unsure as to his wife's maiden name. It may not have been Fuller. It could have been Tilly, or some other name. But her first name was Susanna. He was our 9th great grandfather.
Resolved White (1615-1687)
Born 1615, Leiden, Holland, he arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 at the age of 5. He was raised by his mother, Susannah White-Winslow, and step father, Edward Winslow. He was a land owner, like his stepfather, and it seems married wealthy, a Judith Vassall in 1640. Later on, he travelled with his wife and some of their children to Barbados to help in the settling of her father's estate there. But this was only for a short trip. Resolved also served in the military during King Philip's War of 1676.* He married a second time after Judith passed away in 1670. Of the eight children Resolved and Judith had, the seventh one was named Josiah - born in 1654, in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Josiah White (Sr) (1654-1710)
Josiah lived in various places in the Plymouth colony, but made his way to Salem which was the principle town in the Massachusetts Bay colony (the abode of the Puritans). There he married Remember Read (1657-1721). He was a house-carpenter, but did own some 6 acres of land. He died in Boxford, Plymouth. Remember and Josiah had 5 children. It seems the oldest one was named Josiah, so we will designate him as Josiah, Jr. Even though the documentation of the White family descendants is fairly well done for up to 5 or even 6 generations down from the Mayflower families, sometimes there are some discrepancies, e.g., whether or not Josiah, Jr. was the oldest child in this family. But this is irrelevant overall. Josiah White, Sr., was our 7th great grandfather.
Josiah White (Jr) (1680-1764)
He was born in Salem Massachusetts, and he and his family probably were living there during the time of the infamous Salem witch trials in the 1690s. I did carefully check to see if any our ancestors were involved in these witch trials in any capacity - either as the accused, accusers, jury members, or anything else. They were not, thankfully.
*As a side note, Josiah's grandfather, Resolved White, was declared a "freeman" in Salem the year that Josiah, Jr. was born - 1680. What this title "freeman" meant, in the context with Resolved at this time, was that he was accepted into the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a trusted citizen with privileges of voting in local elections, etc. Given some historical realities, perhaps the award of this title is of dubious distinction, given the nature of this colony under the complete control by the Puritans.
Josiah moved completely away from his family's usual romping grounds in the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, and settled near the town of Sutton, in the Worchester area of Massachusetts - fairly far inland to the west and south. He became, what we would now call, a farmer, but in those days one was either a husbandman or a yeoman.
At first, Josiah, Jr., was called a husbandman, which is in contrast to the other term in use of "yeoman," meant that he actually worked the land with his own hands, and probably the land was not completely paid off. Later on, Josiah, Jr., was called a yeoman, which would mean perhaps he owned his land outright, and probably hired help to work the land. In other words, Josiah became a prosperous farmer in Sutton.
Josiah, Jr. married Mary Taylor (1708-1767) in 1737. Considering the coming drama that I will be commenting on regarding their children, I am going to mention their 3 children by name: Mary, born 1741, Josiah, born 1745, and Caleb, born 1747. Yes, their third child Caleb White, was our 5th great grandfather.
He was born in Salem Massachusetts, and he and his family probably were living there during the time of the infamous Salem witch trials in the 1690s. I did carefully check to see if any our ancestors were involved in these witch trials in any capacity - either as the accused, accusers, jury members, or anything else. They were not, thankfully.
*As a side note, Josiah's grandfather, Resolved White, was declared a "freeman" in Salem the year that Josiah, Jr. was born - 1680. What this title "freeman" meant, in the context with Resolved at this time, was that he was accepted into the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a trusted citizen with privileges of voting in local elections, etc. Given some historical realities, perhaps the award of this title is of dubious distinction, given the nature of this colony under the complete control by the Puritans.
Josiah moved completely away from his family's usual romping grounds in the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, and settled near the town of Sutton, in the Worchester area of Massachusetts - fairly far inland to the west and south. He became, what we would now call, a farmer, but in those days one was either a husbandman or a yeoman.
At first, Josiah, Jr., was called a husbandman, which is in contrast to the other term in use of "yeoman," meant that he actually worked the land with his own hands, and probably the land was not completely paid off. Later on, Josiah, Jr., was called a yeoman, which would mean perhaps he owned his land outright, and probably hired help to work the land. In other words, Josiah became a prosperous farmer in Sutton.
Josiah, Jr. married Mary Taylor (1708-1767) in 1737. Considering the coming drama that I will be commenting on regarding their children, I am going to mention their 3 children by name: Mary, born 1741, Josiah, born 1745, and Caleb, born 1747. Yes, their third child Caleb White, was our 5th great grandfather.
Caleb White (1747-1830)
Caleb was born in Sutton Massachusetts, and was buried in Stanstead, Quebec (Lower Canada.) He was the link as to how the White family came to Canada. But in my studies of our family tree, he has become a controversial figure.
While living in Sutton, Massachusetts, his father passed away. His father, was Josiah White (Jr.), and in his will he passed on all of his estate to Caleb, but he also charged Caleb and his sister, Mary, to be guardians of their brother Josiah. Their brother, Josiah, in modern day terms, was intellectually challenged and needed to be supported as he was incapable of looking after himself. This was therefore a legal requirement of both Caleb and Mary to look after their brother.
Prior to Josiah (Jr)'s passing, he had already given Mary, his eldest child, almost half of his estate, which comprised mostly land. Now Mary had already married a Thomas Parker in 1761. Therefore, in essence, Thomas Parker controlled Mary's land/wealth. Thomas and Mary had many children, as apparently was the custom in those days.
Caleb married a Rebecca Marsh in 1767. Rebecca's grandfather had been the original founder of the Sutton settlement, years before, so she had come from an old family from the area. Caleb and Rebecca started their own family soon after their marriage.
Then in 1781, there was a charge brought against Caleb. The Selectmen of Sutton (these were the administrators of the municipality) asked for a an appointment of a guardian for Caleb White, since he seemed nom compos mentis (out of his mind). The town did not want to have to support Caleb and his family, as well as his "idiot" brother, since his father had left him a "considerable estate."
Six years later, in 1787, Caleb's brother-in-law, Thomas Parker, complained about Caleb to the Selectmen of Sutton. He complained that Caleb White had left the state after having disposed of his estate. Parker added that he and Mary had done more of their share in supporting the "idiot" brother Josiah, of Mary and Caleb, and he asked the Selectmen to appoint a guardian for Josiah.
Who knows what the true story really was. Did Caleb shirk his duties and responsibilities in caring for Josiah? Was Caleb showing signs of being out of his mind in 1781, in context with not caring for his brother Josiah? Whatever was the case, Caleb White did sell off his estate and moved his family to Marlow, New Hampshire, some time around 1785. He was the first White in our lineage, to move out of Massachusetts.
Caleb and Rebecca had 5 children: Sally, Chloe, Caleb, Hosea, and Dexter. All were born in Sutton, MA, except perhaps for Dexter, who may have been born in Marlow, NH. Rebecca died in 1785 in Marlow, according to Caleb, Sr., as per the inscription on the tombstone at the Griffin Hill Cemetery. I have asked the Marlow NH historical society to verify that Rebecca was buried in Marlow, but have not heard from them yet. It is doubtful that her body was exhumed from a cemetery in Marlow, and brought up to Griffin to be buried, 20 years later. But one never knows. The two older daughters, Sally and Chloe, must have remained in Sutton. Their whereabouts etc., can not be traced through the records available to us. The three sons, obviously, came to Marlow NH and were part of the Marlow Settlement in Stanstead in the early 1800s.
Caleb remarried in 1794 to a Lucy Howard, in Marlow, NH. She, of course, had no connection with the Thomas Howard who brought the Howard name from Ireland by immigrating to Stanstead in the early 1820s, and that is another story.
Caleb was born in Sutton Massachusetts, and was buried in Stanstead, Quebec (Lower Canada.) He was the link as to how the White family came to Canada. But in my studies of our family tree, he has become a controversial figure.
While living in Sutton, Massachusetts, his father passed away. His father, was Josiah White (Jr.), and in his will he passed on all of his estate to Caleb, but he also charged Caleb and his sister, Mary, to be guardians of their brother Josiah. Their brother, Josiah, in modern day terms, was intellectually challenged and needed to be supported as he was incapable of looking after himself. This was therefore a legal requirement of both Caleb and Mary to look after their brother.
Prior to Josiah (Jr)'s passing, he had already given Mary, his eldest child, almost half of his estate, which comprised mostly land. Now Mary had already married a Thomas Parker in 1761. Therefore, in essence, Thomas Parker controlled Mary's land/wealth. Thomas and Mary had many children, as apparently was the custom in those days.
Caleb married a Rebecca Marsh in 1767. Rebecca's grandfather had been the original founder of the Sutton settlement, years before, so she had come from an old family from the area. Caleb and Rebecca started their own family soon after their marriage.
Then in 1781, there was a charge brought against Caleb. The Selectmen of Sutton (these were the administrators of the municipality) asked for a an appointment of a guardian for Caleb White, since he seemed nom compos mentis (out of his mind). The town did not want to have to support Caleb and his family, as well as his "idiot" brother, since his father had left him a "considerable estate."
Six years later, in 1787, Caleb's brother-in-law, Thomas Parker, complained about Caleb to the Selectmen of Sutton. He complained that Caleb White had left the state after having disposed of his estate. Parker added that he and Mary had done more of their share in supporting the "idiot" brother Josiah, of Mary and Caleb, and he asked the Selectmen to appoint a guardian for Josiah.
Who knows what the true story really was. Did Caleb shirk his duties and responsibilities in caring for Josiah? Was Caleb showing signs of being out of his mind in 1781, in context with not caring for his brother Josiah? Whatever was the case, Caleb White did sell off his estate and moved his family to Marlow, New Hampshire, some time around 1785. He was the first White in our lineage, to move out of Massachusetts.
Caleb and Rebecca had 5 children: Sally, Chloe, Caleb, Hosea, and Dexter. All were born in Sutton, MA, except perhaps for Dexter, who may have been born in Marlow, NH. Rebecca died in 1785 in Marlow, according to Caleb, Sr., as per the inscription on the tombstone at the Griffin Hill Cemetery. I have asked the Marlow NH historical society to verify that Rebecca was buried in Marlow, but have not heard from them yet. It is doubtful that her body was exhumed from a cemetery in Marlow, and brought up to Griffin to be buried, 20 years later. But one never knows. The two older daughters, Sally and Chloe, must have remained in Sutton. Their whereabouts etc., can not be traced through the records available to us. The three sons, obviously, came to Marlow NH and were part of the Marlow Settlement in Stanstead in the early 1800s.
Caleb remarried in 1794 to a Lucy Howard, in Marlow, NH. She, of course, had no connection with the Thomas Howard who brought the Howard name from Ireland by immigrating to Stanstead in the early 1820s, and that is another story.
Thank you for the summary, James. I descend from Hosea White (Caleb and Rebecca Marsh White's son). It has been difficult to verify her death and burial in Marlow...if you make some headway, I would love to know!
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