Captain Job Harrington, II

Notes:

He is mentioned as Job Herrington, Jr., in the Exeter town records dated 10 April 1750, in an item regarding jury selection.

Job married Rebecca Carr 18 Mar 1748/49, West Greenwich, RI. Rebecca (daughter of Caleb CARR and Sarah RICHMOND) was born 29 May 1732, Jamestown, RI; died 15 Apr 1828, West Greenwich, RI; was buried , Harrington Lot, Division St. & Hopkins Hill Rd., West Greenwich, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

They were married by Samuel Hopkins, Justice. The groom was identified as Job, Jr. of Exeter.

1. Alice Harrington was born 22 Feb 1750/51, West Greenwich, RI.
2. Whitman Harrington was born 8 Oct 1753, West Greenwich, Kent Co., RI.
3. Sarah Harrington was born 28 Jul 1754, West Greenwich, RI; died 4 May 1857; was buried , Briggs Lot, Thompson Rd., Coventry, RI.
4. Job Harrington, III was born 18 Dec 1758, West Greenwich, Kent Co., RI; died 3 Jun 1840; was buried , Job Harrington Lot, Division St., West Greenwich, RI.
5. Mary Harrington was born Abt 1760.
6. Benjamin Harrington was born Abt 1765.
7. Carr Harrington was born 17 May 1771, West Greenwich, RI; died 4 Aug 1859, East Greenwich, RI; was buried , Harrington Lot, Division St. & Hopkins Hill Rd., West Greenwich, RI.

Notes:

Job's name is spelled as Job Herrington in the Exeter town records. He is mentioned in the records many times, such as during the years 1743, 1745, 1746, 1758, 1762, 1767, and 1772. He is called Capt. Job. Herrington at least once. His son is referred to as Job Herrington, Jr.

His will, dated 16 Nov 1775 at Exeter, RI, identifies him as aged, and a yeoman. Some genealogies give his birth date as 16 Oct 1701, in Kingstown, RI. This may be accurate, but needs verification.

I have made an assumption that the same Job Herrington/Harrington married Lydia Fones, Alice Wightman/Whitman, and Elizabeth (unknown). This is a reasonable assumption because Lydia, who married Job Herrington, died very young. Also, one of Job's daughters was named Lydia, and it was customary to name a child after a deceased spouse. I don't know whether any one of the children was born to the first wife, but it seems unlikely, since Lydia Wilcox is mentioned as a granddaughter in the will of John Wightman, and also Job, Jr. had a son named Whitman. Consequently, I have estimated the children's birth years as if they all were born of Alice & Elizabeth. (needs more research)

Job's ancestral line may come from James Hearnden/Herrington, b.c.1592, who came to America from England. However, a notation in an Arnold manuscript says, "Job Harrington from England settled in Exeter, RI; he had a son Job and grandson Whitman Harrington." An alternative view has this Job's parents as Job b.1683 & Martha (Weeden) Harrington; the father Job was supposedly the third son of Joseph & Sarah Harrington; and Joseph was a son of Benjamin b.c.1618, d.1687, a "religious refugee" who came to RI from MA, and who married Elizabeth White, d/o of William & Elizabeth White of Boston. This Benjamin had 6 sons, including Joseph; the 4th son was John, known as "John of Scituate," who lived near Bennett Hill in Scituate, RI. (see James N. Arnold's manuscript notebooks titled "Family Notes" at the Knight Memorial Library, Elmwood Ave., Providence, RI)

Job married Alice Wightman 8 Jun 1722, Kingstowne, RI. Alice (daughter of John Wightman and Jane Bentley) was born 16 Oct 1702; died Abt 1729. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

1722, June 8: Alice, a daughter of John and Jane Bentley) Wightman married Job Harrington.
"Contributions to the History of the Whiteman or Wightman Family" by James Pierce Root; II:371 from "Genealogies of Rhode Island Families: from Rhode Island Periodicals" Indexed by Robert and Catherine Barnes; The Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc.; Baltimore, Maryland; 1983 (974.5 RI/Genealogies SCGS)

John married Jane Bentley 6 Jan 1700/01, North Kingstown, RI. Jane (daughter of William Bentley and Sarah Unknown) was born Abt 1687; died 29 Jun 1729. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Jane is called Jane Whitman in the will of her father William Bentley. It was proved in 1720 at North Kingstown, RI.

Notes:

George came to America sometime between 1653 and 1663. His older brother, Valentine, was already here in Providence, where his first child was born in 1653. Their grandfather Edward had been burned at the stake in England for his faith, so they came here for religious freedom, as many RI families did.

The area called Quidnessett was defined in 1659 by agreement with Indian sachem Kachanaquant; its boundaries were the Potomomut River (now Hunt's River) on the north, the Indian road or Pequot Path (now Post Road) on the west, Richard Smith's land (Wickford area) on the south, and Narragansett Bay on the east, totalling about 6x3 miles.

In 1660 the Atherton Company, a group of land speculators from MA Bay Colony and CT, was ordered by the Assembly to open up the Quidnessett tract to purchase by private individuals. Valentine Wightman, George's brother, procured an area of 100-plus acres bordering the bay. This land soon became the property of his brother George, and was handed down intact through 6 generations and known for over 200 years as the Wightman homestead in Quidnessett. George later acquired more land, totalling about 2000 acres.

For a fascinating history of the Wightman family, see: http://www.concentric.net/~Ssbray/wightman.htm

George married Elizabeth Updyke Abt 1663, Cocumscussuc, Kingstowne, RI. Elizabeth (daughter of Gysbert Updyke and Catherine Smith) was born Abt 27 Jul 1644, New Amsterdam, America; died Between 25 Dec 1712 and 26 Apr 1716, Quidnessett, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

William's will, proved 1720 in North Kingstown, mentions his wife Sarah; sons William (eldest), James, Thomas, & Benjamin; and dtr Jane Wightman. The inventory of his estate was taken 11 Jul 1720.

William married Sarah Unknown Abt 1675. Sarah was born Abt 1650; died 28 Dec 1731. [Group Sheet]