Family History, Whittlesey Chart 1100 Robert Whittlesey/Whittlesee and Bridget ???

In Colne, Huntingdonshire a William WHITTLESEY was Churchwarden in 1671-1672, a Richard WHITTLESEY was Churchwarden in 1674-1675 and a Robert WHITTLESEY in 1680-1681. Were these from the previous generation to this Robert? There was a Robert WHITTLESEY burial on the 10th October 1820 at St John the Baptist, Woodhurst, Huntingdonshire. He was a husband and a Labourer (findmypast web site) THE WHITTLESEYS We have collected much information about people with the name WHITTLESEY, but at present the family groups are very isolated. Our earliest reference is to the marriage of a John WHYRRLESEY to Elizabeth AMBROSE in Bluntisham on the 22nd June 1553. Despite the fact that we have many details for our own WHITTLESEY family in Woodhurst, and for a considerable number of WHITTLESEYs in Bluntisham, and more particularly in Colne, there are several extremely long gaps between the different family groups. At the same time, we have still not been able to trace the baptism of our earliest Robert. Therefore, we have not made the links which would move our line further back in time. After the early marriage mentioned above, nearly a century later, in 1641 seven WHITELESAYEs are listed on the Protestation Return. Greffen, John, Richerd, Symore and two Williams in Colne, and a Roberd in Bluntisham and Earith. At this time one of the Williams had the office of Constable. In 1664 seven members of the WHITTLESEY family are once more listed in Colne, this time in the Hearth Tax return. John and Robert were shown with two hearths each, while Richard, Griffin, another John, Ann (a widow) and Simon all had one. Two years later only three WHITTLESEYs were listed, John with two hearths and Robert and another John with one. Three members of this particular family group were Churchwardens in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, William from May 1671-1672, Richard from May 1674 to 1675 and Robert from May 1680 to 1681. We have been able to create families for several of the names listed, but we still have to link marriages with particular individuals to take us forward another generation. There was a Robert in Woodhurst whose wife Sarah was buried there in 1691. It appears that he could have married again in 1717 as a widower to a Sarah CHADWICK who was herself a widow. If this is the same Robert his marriage may have only lasted three years as a Robert WHITTLESEY was buried in Woodhurst in 1720. Then there was a Robert who married an Ann CHAMBERTON in Bluntisham in 1727. Could this be a first marriage for our earliest Robert, with the Robert mentioned previously being his father? There is no Robert WHITTLESEY/Bridget marriage on the Huntingdon Index so where did this Robert marry? Use of the name Robert continues through the generations with a Robert WHITTLESEY marrying Catherine ANGEL in 1729. This couple had eight children, of whom six probably survived into adulthood, although at present marriages have been found for only three of them. Their youngest daughter, Elizabeth, was the one to marry William WHEATON in 1761. The Robert WHITTLESEY, who was the father of "our" Elizabeth, died in 1765 and the details in his Will suggest that by that time he had become a relatively wealthy man. With the property he left to his family he was surely one of the more important men in the village of Woodhurst. We are most interested in finding more information about Robert’s other children. He left £5 to his grandson Robert. This Robert must have been born before 1765 to be mentioned in the Will, but who was his father? We have the marriage for Robert’s son William. He married Mary PEAKES in 1760. We think William and his wife could have become involved with the Bluntisham Baptist Church. If so, William, then earning his living as a bricklayer in Somersham, became a member in December 1786. His wife, Mary’s membership was dated the 9th May 1787, and she was baptised on the 1st June 1791. At that time she was acting as chapel cleaner and caretaker and they could have been living in Bluntisham. On the 16th October 1810 there was a burial of a Mary WHITTLESEY, wife of William, a labourer. Was this the same Mary? Also in the Bluntisham Baptist registers there is a reference both to a John WHITTLESEY of Pidley, a labourer, who joined the church on the 13th July 1788 but left to go to Needingworth Church in February 1790, and to a Robert. This last reference is in connection with the burial on the 15th November 1824 of Elizabeth WHITTLESEY, the "wife of Robert". Could these three, William, John and Robert, be the brothers of "our" Elizabeth? We do have information, from both America and Australia, which would suggest that descendants of this family were living in March in the early years of the nineteenth century. In 1813 a William WHITTLESEY, married an Elizabeth WHEATEN. This William earned his living as a bricklayer in March, as did many other men with the same name who could perhaps also be members of this same WHITTLESEY family. We are particularly interested in this family because, if we are unable to find the link between WHEATONs in America, and our own, we may be able to claim a relationship through the WHITTLESEYs instead!

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	married
1 ROBERT WHITTLESEY/ WHITTLESEE baptised ???? buried (see notes)		2 BRIDGET ??? baptised

This is a Chart for Robert Whittlesey/Whittlesee and Bridget ???