Henry Whitson
THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO
HENRY WHITSON
AND HIS DESCENDANTS

by Henry's 7th great-grandson, Jim Kuethe
 

Moses Whitson, born 1840, was the 4th great-grandson of Henry Whitson. He
is seen here with his family


 







HENRY WHITSON was one of the founders of the Town of Hempstead on Long Island, New York circa 1643. A great deal is known about him after this date but nothing is known about him before his appearence in Hempstead. His place and date of birth in the British Isles remain to be discovered. Henry Whitson's name appears on no known passenger list.

Henry Whitson married Rebecca Foster, daughter of Christopher and Frances (Stevens) Foster. Christopher Foster was also a founder of Hempstead and before that, a founder of Lynn, Massachusetts.

Henry and Rebecca had a son, Thomas, who was born. July 20, 1652. In 1653, war broke out between the English and the Dutch; Hempstead was in disputed territory. Henry, Rebecca and one year old Thomas moved to Huntington, L.I. where they acquired land and built their home. As far as is known, Thomas was the only child born to Henry and Rebecca.

It was the custom of the day for a father to arrange an apprenticeship for his son when the son was between 10 and 14 years of age. Thomas Powell of Huntington took Thomas Whitson as his apprentice. When Henry Whitson died in 1669, Thomas Powell became the guardian of 17 year old Thomas Whitson. Later, Thomas Powell became a devout Quaker and so did Thomas Whitson. Many of the descendents of Thomas Whitson were, and are today, Quakers.

Thomas Whitson married Martha Jones, daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Estes) Jones. (Catherine was the widow of Henry Scudder at the time of her marriage to Thomas Jones.) Thomas and Martha had 4 sons and 4 daughters. Hundreds of Whitsons living today are descendents of one or another of their 4 sons:

Thomas Whitson b. 2 mo 5, 1689 d. 1760/61 m. 3 mo (May) 9, 1716 Deborah Feake b. 5 mo (Jul), 1695/6 dau. of John and Elizabeth (Prior) Feake. The marriage of Thomas and Deborah was recorded by the Westbury Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends. After Deborah's death, Thomas m. 2nd. (circa 1739) Elizabeth Abbott dau. of James and Martha Abbott. Thomas and Deborah had six children. Thomas and Elizabeth had one child.

John Whitson b. 19 Feb 1697 d. 23 Dec. 1778 m. 1722/23 Esther Seaman b. 9 Mo (Nov) 8, 1701 d. 7-6-1759 dau. of Nathaniel and Rachel (Willis) Seaman. John and Esther had two children.

David Whitson b. 7 Mo (Sept) 11, 1701 m. 1731 Clement Powell b. 12 Mo (Feb) 27, 1709/10 d. 5 Mo (July) 31, 1751 dau. of John and Margaret (Hallock) Powell. David and Clement had six children.

Henry Whitson b. 4 Mo 21, 1705 d. 1790 m.1739 Hannah Powell b. 7 Mo (Sept) 18, 1707 dau. of Thomas and Mary (Willets) Powell. Henry and Hannah had five children.
 


To exchange HENRY WHITSON FAMILY information,

e-mail: Jim Kuethe

See the first 5 generations of Henry Whitson descendants...Henry Whitson Index

Jim's page on America OnLine
 
 
 

JIM KUETHE'S PAGE ....last updated 11mo 04, 1999