Freelove Whitford

Freelove married John Shearman Abt 1758. John (son of Eber Shearman and Martha Remington) was born 30 Oct 1711, North Kingstown, RI; died 1790, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

1. Remington Shearman
2. Elizabeth Shearman was born Abt 1773, North Kingstown, RI; died Aft 1850.

Notes:

There is uncertainty as to the identity and birth dates of some of Joseph's children, other than Lydia. Their names have been partially or totally burned off the original records at North Kingstown, so various genealogies show different names.

Joseph married Sarah Wightman Between 1722 and 1723, North Kingstown, RI. Sarah (daughter of John Wightman and Jane Bentley) was born 23 Jan 1703/04. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Alden Beaman's "RI Genealogical Register," Vol. 1, No. 3 shows Pasco as the younger brother, being born in 1674; he gives the year of birth for Nicholas as 1670. Town historian Martha R. McPartland, in the book "The History Of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, 1677-1960, with Related Genealogy," p. 270, states that the wife of Pasco, Jr. was Mary Stafford. It is known that she married a Mr. Whitford.

Pasco — Lydia Bly. Lydia was born 1679, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

See will of Daniel Bly dated 28 Jan 1723/24 which mentions a daughter Lydia.

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:

Paraphrased summary of information for Pasco Whitford:
Family tradition says that Pasco was born about 1640 in England. Details of this family tradition were written down by William Whitford of Addison, VT (son of Peleg, Pasco, Nicholas, Pasco). He states that Pasco and his two sons, Pasco Jr. and Nicholas, came to Rhode Island from the West Indies, having been driven out of that location by the French during the naval warfare between England and France. They fled to Rhode Island, settling first in Portsmouth, then in East and West Greenwich (see William Whitford's "Narrative of the Whitford Family" in the Vermont Historical Society Collection). William Whitford reports that Pasco is said to have come from Bedfordshire, England, because of a record of his paying taxes there in 1680. However, according to Austin's "Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island," he was taxed in Newport, RI, in 1680. Another possibility, stated in a letter dated 3 June 1911 from George N. Whitford to Walter John Coates, is that Pasco may have been from Truro, Cornwall, England, since Whitfords have been numerous there for the last 400 years. There was also an old Cornish family of the surname Pascoe, who were plentiful in that area. Possibly the maiden name of Pasco Whitford's mother or grandmother was Pascoe, although the LDS Family History Library records of marriages prior to 1640 in Cornwall do not show any matches between a Pascoe and a Whitford. During the 1690 proceedings of the General Assembly of the colony of Rhode Island, presided over by Governor Henry Bull, Mr. Pasco Whitford (among others) was voted a freeman of the colony (see p.270, Records of the Colony of Rhode Island, compiled by John Russell Bartlett, Vol.3, Providence, RI). Pasco was living in East Greenwich at that time. On 13 April 1697 he is recorded as a witness on a deed from Samuel Eldred, Sr. to his son John in Kings Town. Pasco is also mentioned in a will dated 1682, of Charles Martin of East Greenwich (see History of East Greenwich, 1960, by M. R. McPartland, pp. 25-28 for a deciphering of this will). However, some of these references to Pasco Whitford may actually be about his son, also named Pasco Whitford.

Ref: Marcel Beaudet [mbeaudet@tampabay.rr.com]

All that being said, J. R. Cole, in his "History of Washington and Kent Counties" pub. by W. W. Preston & Co. in 1889, states on p. 1343 that "the family is said to be of Welsh descent," and, "Nicholas Whitford came from Wales."

According to Alden Beaman's "RI Genealogical Register," Vol. 1 No. 3, Pasco's gravestone with the inscription PW 1690 is in the East Greenwich Historical Cemetery #29, near Tarbox Corners. It is actually in West Greenwich #29, located in the woods near Tarbox Corners, off Carrs Pond Rd. His gravestone has been photographed and will be posted at our family website.

His name is written variously as Pasque, Paskee, Pasco, and Paskeo. How was it really pronounced and written?

An online source for Whitford family tree information is Craig Rice's data:
http://www.gencircles.com/users/craigjrice/1 (or do a google search for "Ancestors and Cousins of Craig Rice")
But beware -- his information is not all accurate. It is just a possible source of connections for research.

Pasco — Mary STANTON. Mary was born Abt 1650. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

It is not certain that her name was Mary Stanton.

It is possible that Mary was a descendant of, or relative of, Robert Stanton, our ancestor through the Tibbetts line (Henry Tibbetts was married to Sarah Stanton). Some online genealogies show Pasco's wife as a daughter of Robert & Avis, but I have not seen any documentation of this.

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]