Josiah Witter

From Josiah Witter/Elizabeth Wheeler

“Josiah Witter, the son of William Witter and Hannah Churchman was probably born at Swampscott, near Lynn, Massachusetts, where his birth is recorded, in 1638.  He married Elizabeth Wheeler, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Wheeler 25 Feb 1661/2 at Lynn Essex, Massachusetts.[1]

Elizabeth was born 1648 in Lynn, Essex Co, Massachusetts.  Josiah and Elizabeth had three children, Elizabeth born 15 Mar 1662/3 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, Mary born 20 Feb 1665 in Lynn, and Ebenezer born 25 Mar 1668 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut.

William Witter’s will was dated August 6, 1657. In it he bequeathed to his wife, Annis, half of his estate, and to his son, Josiah, the other half. Of his daughter, he says: “Hannah shall have a yew and lamb this time twelf mounth.” He died two years after making his will, in 1659.

Josiah, his mother, wife, and child moved from Lynn, Massachusetts to Stonington Connecticut between the years 1665-1666.  He was listed in the census of February 2, 1668 in Stonington with 43 other early inhabitants. He purchased large tracts of land as stated on August 15, 1667 at a town meeting at Stonington: “it was voted that Goodman WITTER shall have four score acres of land where it may be found and to take it according to order.” He built a dwelling house situated a short distance from the residence of his father-in-law, Thomas Wheeler, where he resided for the remainder of his life and where the rest of his children were born. The house was situated in what is now North Stonington. He was a Deputy to the General Court in Connecticut from 1667 to 1670-1. On April 12, 1670, Thomas Park of New London sold to Josiah Witter of Stonington one hundred acres of land which had been granted to the said Park by the town of Stonington.

He was a Deputy to the General Court in Connecticut from 1667 to 1670-1.”

During this time his first wife Elizabeth, died 5 Aug 1672 and Josiah married 2nd Sarah, daughter of Elder John Crandall of Rhode Island, date not known.   Their children were John born 11 Mar 1677/8, Sarah born 7 Feb 1679/80, Hannah born 17 Mar 1680/81, Abigail born 14 Aug 1684.  All of these children were born in Stonington.

Josiah died before 1690.

Sources:

• William Richard Cutter, 'Genealogical & Family Histories of the State of Conneticut, vol. 3 (originally pulished NY 1911).
• 'Genealogical Dictionary of the Early Settlers of New England', James Savage 1860-1862.
• 'One Hundred & Sixty Allied Families', John O. Austin 1893, pg. 276.
• HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF STONINGTON, county of New London, Connecticut, from its first settlement in 1649 to 1900, by Richard Anson Wheeler, New London, CT, 1900, p. 636, 638, 686-87

  ---

• 'Swamp Yankee', by James Allyn, pg. 36

comments

I do not have any reference to the three Button children.

Everything else agrees with my data except for the duplications.

Ethel Johanna Myers

Soon after his second marriage (to Sarah) he bought a large tract of land in the center of Stonington; now the south part of North Stonington, where he lived for the rest of his life.

GEDCOM Source

The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Lynn, Massachusetts The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Lynn Massachusetts, <i></i> (n.d.), ; digital images, <i></i> (https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16 : accessed . Lynn, <i></i>, . Lynn, The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Massachusetts. <i></i>. . Digital images. <i></i>. https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16 : . The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Lynn, Massachusetts
by Witter, Harold John, 1938-

Publication date 1991 Topics Witter family, Witter, William, ca. 1584-1659 Publisher Baltimore : Gateway Press : Book orders, H.J. Witter Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; bostonpubliclibrary; americana; openlibraries Digitizing sponsor Boston Public Library Contributor Boston Public Library Language English Includes bibliographical references and indexes Notes

No title page found. Text on page 26 printed too deep in the gutter to capture. Bookplateleaf 0004 Call number 39999065743302 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II Identifier descendantsofwil00witt Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t52f90r8d Lccn 91070084 Ocr ABBYY FineReader 8.0 Openlibrary_edition OL25418678M Openlibrary_work OL4134018W Page-progression lr Pages 1194 Ppi 400 Republisher_date 20121101134004 Republisher_operator associate-alex-johnson@archive.org Scandate 20121031190334 https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16 https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16 172 Author The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Lynn, Massachusetts Role Title SubTitle Edition PubPlace Publisher PubDate NewFormat Creator WebsiteTitle URL https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16

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AccessType AccessDate Page Annotation

GEDCOM Source

The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Lynn, Massachusetts The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Lynn Massachusetts, <i></i> (n.d.), ; digital images, <i></i> (https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16 : accessed . Lynn, <i></i>, . Lynn, The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Massachusetts. <i></i>. . Digital images. <i></i>. https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16 : . The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Lynn, Massachusetts
by Witter, Harold John, 1938-

Publication date 1991 Topics Witter family, Witter, William, ca. 1584-1659 Publisher Baltimore : Gateway Press : Book orders, H.J. Witter Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; bostonpubliclibrary; americana; openlibraries Digitizing sponsor Boston Public Library Contributor Boston Public Library Language English Includes bibliographical references and indexes Notes

No title page found. Text on page 26 printed too deep in the gutter to capture. Bookplateleaf 0004 Call number 39999065743302 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II Identifier descendantsofwil00witt Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t52f90r8d Lccn 91070084 Ocr ABBYY FineReader 8.0 Openlibrary_edition OL25418678M Openlibrary_work OL4134018W Page-progression lr Pages 1194 Ppi 400 Republisher_date 20121101134004 Republisher_operator associate-alex-johnson@archive.org Scandate 20121031190334 https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16 https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16 172 Author The descendants of William Witter and Hannah Churchman of Lynn, Massachusetts Role Title SubTitle Edition PubPlace Publisher PubDate NewFormat Creator WebsiteTitle URL https://archive.org/details/descendantsofwil00witt/page/16

GEDCOM Source

AccessType AccessDate Page Annotation

GEDCOM Source

Witter genealogy : descendants of William Witter of Swampscott, Massachusetts, 1639-1659 , <I></i> (n.d.), ; digital images, <i></i> (: accessed . , <I></i>, . . <I></i>. . Digital images. <i></i>. : . Witter genealogy : descendants of William Witter of Swampscott, Massachusetts, 1639-1659
by Washburn, Georgia Cooper; Washburn, Mabel Thacher Rosemary, ed; Witter, Samuel, 1752-1789

Publication date 1929 Topics Witter family, Loveland family Publisher New York : The National historical company Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; bostonpubliclibrary; americana Digitizing sponsor Boston Public Library Contributor Boston Public Library Language English https://archive.org/details/wittergenealogyd00wash/page/n11 https://archive.org/details/wittergenealogyd00wash/page/n11 172 Author Role Title SubTitle Edition PubPlace Publisher PubDate NewFormat Creator WebsiteTitle URL

GEDCOM Source

AccessType AccessDate Page Annotation

GEDCOM Source

Witter genealogy : descendants of William Witter of Swampscott, Massachusetts, 1639-1659 , <I></i> (n.d.), ; digital images, <i></i> (: accessed . , <I></i>, . . <I></i>. . Digital images. <i></i>. : . Witter genealogy : descendants of William Witter of Swampscott, Massachusetts, 1639-1659
by Washburn, Georgia Cooper; Washburn, Mabel Thacher Rosemary, ed; Witter, Samuel, 1752-1789

Publication date 1929 Topics Witter family, Loveland family Publisher New York : The National historical company Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; bostonpubliclibrary; americana Digitizing sponsor Boston Public Library Contributor Boston Public Library Language English https://archive.org/details/wittergenealogyd00wash/page/n11 https://archive.org/details/wittergenealogyd00wash/page/n11 172 Author Role Title SubTitle Edition PubPlace Publisher PubDate NewFormat Creator WebsiteTitle URL

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GEDCOM Note

160 Allied Families, page 75. Son of William and Annie Witter.

Swamp Yankee, by James Allyn, page 36. Soon after his marriage in 1662, he bought a large tract of land in the center of Stonington; now the south part of North Stonington, where he lived for the rest of his life.

One Hundred & Sixty Allied Families, page 276. Married 2nd Sarah Crandall daughter of John.

Genealogical and Family History of CT: "He settled at Stonington, CT, soon after his marriage. He bought large tracts of land and built a house near Thomas Wheeler's, where all his children were born. His house was at what is now North Stonington near the place lately owned (1911) by James T. Brown." Lists his second marriage and children.

Daughters of Am. Colonists Lineage Books, Vol. 10: Josiah Witter (1638-90).Deputy to the General Court from Stonington, 1667-71. Married 1662. Vol.15 reports most of the above and adds he was an original landowner in Stonington,1667.

Gen. Dictionary of 1st Settlers of N.E., Vol. 4: Josiah Witter, married Feb. 25, 1662.

N.E. Marriages Prior to 1700: Lived 1638-1690; married (1) Feb. 25, 1661/62 Elizabeth Wheeler; (2) Sarah Crandall, after Aug. 5, 1672, implying Elizabeth died that date, since it lists a 1672 death date for her. Josiah and Elizabeth resided in Lynn after marriage.

Boston Evening Transcript: Married 25 Feb, 1662, Lynn, Mass.; died before the end of 1689.

History of Stonington indicates he was born in Lynn area of Essex County and came to Stonington soon after marriage. He bought land near the residence of Thomas Wheeler, his father-in-law. Lived there the rest of his life, and all his children were born there.

Genealogies of Connecticut Families: "Died at Stonington About Middle aged."
C.M. Babcock: Josiah Witter's name was on a 15 Nov. 1670 register of the inhabitants of Stonington, CT, on the Pawcatuck River. De Forest: Josiah, probably born in 1640; died perhaps in 1685, but certainly before 1690, at Stonington. Married (1) 25 Feb. 1662, Elizabeth Wheeler; (2) Sarah Crandall.

160 Families: Josiah Witter, died before 1691; married (1) 25 Feb. 1662 Elizabeth Wheeler, (2) Sarah Crandall, daughter of John Crandall. Virkus: Josiah Witter (probably 1640-1685); married (2) Sarah Crandall. NEHGR: Josias (sic) Witter married Elizabeth Wheeler 25 Feb. 1662. They had Elizabeth, born 15 March 1663, and Mary, born 20 Feb. 1665 (Lynn, MA, records).

Harold J. Witter: Josiah Witter, born in 1638 in Swampscott, Mass., or in England; died Stonington, Conn., probably in 1685. Married Elizabeth Wheeler 25 Feb. 1662, at Lynn. Josiah, his mother, wife and child moved from Lynn to Stonington between 1662 and 1666. Listed in the 2 Feb. 1666 census of Stonington. He purchased 80 acres in what is now North Stonington and near the residence of his father-in-law, Thomas Wheeler. On 12 April 1670 he bought 100 acres from Thomas Park (Parke) of New London, land Park(e) had been granted by the town of Stonington. He also owned large tracts of land on which the town of Hopkinton, R.I., was founded. [This may be land that came to him through his second wife, Sarah Crandall, whose father was among the original purchasers of land comprising Westerly, from which Hopkinton was formed.

Witter Family: Josiah Witter, 1638-1685.

From Lawrence Bentley: (Source: WITTER GENEALOGY Georgia Cooper Washburn 1929, Pg. 15 & 19, #2 Josiah Witter, b 1638, Probably Swampscott, died 1690; Married Elizabeth Wheeler, Feb. 25, 1662.) was born 1638 in Swampscott, Essex, Massachusetts, and died 1690 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut. He married (1) ELIZABETH WHEELER (Source: WHEELER FAMILY IN AMERICA, -Descendants of Thomas Wheeler--Stonington, CT Inez E. Coolby-Brayton, 1934, Pg. 290, #3902 Elizabeth Wheeler, b. 1648, d. Aug. 5, 1672; married Josiah Witter, Dec. 25, 1661.) February 25, 1661/62 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts (Source: HISTORY OF STONINGTON, CONNECTICUT Richard Anson Wheeler 1900, Pg. 686, "Josiah Witter (No. 2) m. 1st, Elizabeth (No. 3), daughter of Thomas & Mary Wheeler, in Lynn, MA, Feb. 25, 1662."), daughter of THOMAS WHEELER and MARY BECKLEY. She was born 1648 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, and died August 05, 1672 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut. He married (2) SARAH CRANDALL (Source: WITTER GENEALOGY Georgia Cooper Washburn 1929, Pg. 20, "second wife , Sarah, daughter of Rev. John Crandall.) Aft. 1672, daughter of JOHN CRANDALL. Notes for JOSIAH WITTER: From Pg. 19 WITTER GENEALOGY On April 12, 1670, Thomas Park of New London, sold to "Josiah Witter of Stonington" one hundred acres of land which had been granted to the said Park by the town of Stonington. It is said that Josiah Witter's first house in Stonington was a little north of the modern residence of Colonel James Brown. (This would be in North Stonington) More About JOSIAH WITTER: Note 1: 1638, Birth is recorded in 1638 at Swampscott, near Lynn. However, old record by Samuel Witter states that Josiah came on the ship with his father. Note 2: Witter Genealogy, Pg. 19 confirms marriage information given in HISTORY OF STONINGTON Note 3: February 26, 1665/66, Mentioned as being in Stonington in Thomas Minor Diary Will: November 24, 1685, Will indexed in Salem, MA on this date Marriage: February 25, 1661/62, Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts (Source: HISTORY OF STONINGTON, CONNECTICUT Richard Anson Wheeler 1900, Pg. 686, "Josiah Witter (No. 2) m. 1st, Elizabeth (No. 3), daughter of Thomas & Mary Wheeler, in Lynn, MA, Feb. 25, 1662.") More About JOSIAH WITTER and SARAH CRANDALL: Marriage: Aft. 1672

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Notes for JOSIAH WITTER:

160 Allied Families, page 75.

Son of William and Annie Witter.

Swamp Yankee, by James Allyn, page 36.

Soon after his marriage in 1662, he bought a large tract of land in the center of Stonington; now the south part of North Stonington, where he lived for the rest of his life.

One Hundred & Sixty Allied Families, page 276.

Married 2nd Sarah Crandall daughter of John.

Feb 28 1643. He was presented at the Court at Salem, for his conduct regarding infant baptism, he regarding it as a sinful rite.

Aug 5 1659. Will. Ex., wife Annis. Witnesses, Robert Driver and Wm. Hacker. He mentions his son Josiah and daughter Hannah Burdett, wife of Robert Burdett. (His son, Josiah, went to Stonington, CT.)

Nov 15 1659. Inventory, 132 pounds, 11 s.

Sources: Genealogical and Family History of the State of CT, v3; Daughters of American Colonists Lineage Books, Vols. 10 & 15; New England Marriages Prior to 1700; Genealogical Dictionary of the 1st Settlers of New England, v4; Boston Evening Transcript; History of Stonington, CT; Genealogies of Connecticut Families; Probate Records of Essex County, MA; C. Merton Babcock; Babcock and Allied Families by Louis E. de Forest; Virkus; 160 Allied Families; NEHGR, v5, p343; Harold John Witter; Witter Family History.

Genealogical and Family History of CT:

"He settled at Stonington, CT, soon after his marriage. He bought large tracts of land and built a house near Thomas Wheeler's, where all his

children were born. His house was at what is now North Stonington near the place lately owned (1911) by James T. Brown." Lists his second marriage and children.

Daughters of Am. Colonists Lineage Books, Vol. 10: Josiah Witter (1638-90).

Deputy to the General Court from Stonington, 1667-71. Married 1662. Vol.15 reports most of the above and adds he was an original landowner in Stonington, 1667.

Gen. Dictionary of 1st Settlers of N.E., Vol. 4: Josiah Witter, married Feb. 25, 1662.

N.E. Marriages Prior to 1700: Lived 1638-1690; married (1) Feb. 25, 1661/62

Elizabeth Wheeler; (2) Sarah Crandall, after Aug. 5, 1672, implying Elizabeth died that date, since it lists a 1672 death date for her. Josiah and Elizabeth resided in Lynn after marriage.

Boston Evening Transcript: Married 25 Feb, 1662, Lynn, Mass.; died before the end of 1689.

History of Stonington indicates he was born in Lynn area of Essex County and came to Stonington soon after marriage. He bought land near the residence of Thomas Wheeler, his father-in-law. Lived there the rest of his life, and all his children were born there.

Genealogies of Connecticut Families: "Died at Stonington About Middle aged."

C.M. Babcock: Josiah Witter's name was on a 15 Nov. 1670 register of the

inhabitants of Stonington, CT, on the Pawcatuck River.

De Forest: Josiah, probably born in 1640; died perhaps in 1685, but certainly before 1690, at Stonington. Married (1) 25 Feb. 1662, Elizabeth Wheeler; (2) Sarah Crandall.

160 Families: Josiah Witter, died before 1691; married (1) 25 Feb. 1662 Elizabeth Wheeler, (2) Sarah Crandall, daughter of John Crandall.

Virkus: Josiah Witter (probably 1640-1685); married (2) Sarah Crandall.

NEHGR: Josias (sic) Witter married Elizabeth Wheeler 25 Feb. 1662. They had Elizabeth, born 15 March 1663, and Mary, born 20 Feb. 1665 (Lynn, MA, records).

Harold J. Witter: Josiah Witter, born in 1638 in Swampscott, Mass., or in England; died Stonington, Conn., probably in 1685. Married Elizabeth Wheeler 25 Feb. 1662, at Lynn. Josiah, his mother, wife and child moved from Lynn to Stonington between 1662 and 1666. Listed in the 2 Feb. 1666 census of Stonington. He purchased 80 acres in what is now North Stonington and near the residence of his father-in-law, Thomas Wheeler. On 12 April 1670 he bought 100 acres from Thomas Park (Parke) of New London, land Park(e) had been granted by the town of Stonington. He also owned large tracts of land on which the town of Hopkinton, R.I., was founded. [This may be land that came to him through his second wife, Sarah Crandall, whose father was among the original purchasers of land comprising Westerly, from which Hopkinton was formed.] Witter Family: Josiah Witter, 1638-1685.

Source: Tom Melton (Melton@cox.net)
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Winget: Shows 1638 Swampscott-1690 Stonington, Ancestral File #: 25JR-MH