Katherine Frye

John Wightman was born ca. January 1598/99 in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England1,2, and died 1669 in Rhode Island Colony3. He was the son of Edward Wightman and Frances Darbye. He married a woman whose name is not known, but was born ca. 1601 in England, and died Bef. 1654 in England.

John Wightman, the immigrant, with four of his five sons, his wife having died in England, reached Newport in Rhode Island in 1654. They made their way to Richard Smith's trading post at Wickford in the Narrangansett country, where Valentine Wightman, eldest son of John, had been employed for six years as an interpreter to the Indians. He was also a member of the General Assembly. All of the Wightmans apparently arrived in the New World with considerable wealth, so it would seem that it was not for material gain that they came to Rhode Island. The time of their immigration was during the Cromwell Protectorate, and perhaps the disturbed condition of political and religious affairs in England had something to do with leaving England.

John Wightman married Katharine Frye on October 25, 1627 at Burton, Dorset, England. She was born 1601 in Burton, Dorset, England and died Newport, Newport Co. Rhode Island in 1654
Children:

1. Valentine Wightman aka Whitman born 1628 at Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England; died January 26, 1701, Providence, Rhode Island, he married Mary Aldrich 6 October 1652, daughter of George Aldrich and Catherine Seald

2. Daniel Wightman born 1629 at Burton-Upon-Trent, England. He settled in Newport, Rhode Island and joined the Second Baptist Church where he was an Assistant Pastor

3. Abraham Wightman born 1630 at Burton-Upon-Trent, England

4. John Wightman born in 1631 at Burton-Upon-Trent, England

5. George Wightman born 4 November 1632 at Burton-Upon-Trent, England, died January 1722/23, he married Elizabeth Updike. He purchased a farm from Richard Smith.