Nicholas Whitford

Notes:

Arnold's transcriptions of East Greenwich marriages shows a Nicholas Whitford marrying Ruth Shippee, 29 Sept 1764. Is this the one? Probably. He likely married second to Elizabeth Potter. Compare their wills. It is unclear whether they each had a daughter Elizabeth, or whether there was only one. His will mentions his wife Elizabeth; sons Ezekiel, Nicholas, & John; and daughters Eleanor Rice, Hannah blanchard, Mary Weaver, Ruth Harrington, Elizabeth Whitford, Sally Greene, & Olive Whitford.

Nicholas married Ruth Shippee 29 Sep 1764, East Greenwich, RI. Ruth (daughter of Stephen Shippee and Mary Slocum) was born 22 May 1744; died 12 Apr 1777, Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I am using both James N., Arnold's "Vital Record of Rhode Island" and Craig Rice's online data to match this marriage entry in Arnold's "Vital Record of RI" with this particular Nicholas. They were married by Sylvester Sweet, Justice.

1. Ezekiel Whitford was born 5 Nov 1764, Coventry, RI.
2. Eleanor Whitford was born 23 Aug 1766, Coventry, RI.
3. Hannah Whitford was born 5 May 1768.
4. Mary Whitford was born 22 Jan 1770.
5. Elizabeth Whitford was born 27 Jun 1772.
6. Nicholas Whitford was born 25 Sep 1774; died 6 Dec 1859.
7. Ruth Whitford was born 22 Sep 1776; died Bef 19 Jun 1817.

Nicholas married Elizabeth Potter Aft 1777. Elizabeth died 1826. [Group Sheet]

1. John Whitford was born Abt 1781.
2. Sally Whitford was born Abt 1784.
3. Olive Whitford was born Abt 1787.

Notes:

James N. Arnold's transcriptions of East Greenwich marriages shows an Ezekiel Whitford, son of Ezekiel deceased, marrying Mary Hill, of Thomas, on 9 March 1755. That Ezekiel could possibly be a son of this one who died in 1754. However, Craig Rice shows him as son of Ezekiel Whitford and Mary Stafford.

Ezekiel — Ellen Spencer. Ellen (daughter of William Spencer) died Bef 1754. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Craig Rice shows two wives for Ezekiel: Mary Spencer and Ellen Spencer, with Ellen being the mother of Nicholas, as shown in Arnold's "Vital Record of RI." However, I am wondering if they are sisters, both daughters of William Spencer, or if they are one and the same -- Mary Ellen Spencer. Need to check on this. Ezekiel's will, dated 5 April 1754, mentions his wife Mary and his father-in-law William Spencer.

Notes:

It is believed that Nicholas lived in Portsmouth, West Greenwich, and North Kingstown, RI. He was reportedly a weaver by occupation. His name is found in several legal documents:
On 13 March 1683 he received a legacy of a loom from Orpheus Pomeroy of Portsmouth.
On 21 January 1697 he bought land in East Greenwich from David Shippee for 6 pounds.
On 29 November 1703 he sold a house and 30 acres of land in East Greenwich to William Underwood for 15 pounds (witnessed by John and Elizabeth Pearse and John Heath, Vol. 3 p. 96).
On 3 February 1709/10 he was granted a "quarter right" in the vacant lands of Narragansett, apportioned by the 13 original proprietors as per Act of the RI Assembly (Narra. Hist. Reg., Vol.3, p. 3); this land comprised the present town of West Greenwich.
On 14 August 1721 he and his wife, Mary, mortgaged 25 1/2 acres and a house, for 30 pounds.
On 12 March 1733 he deeded his son Pasco 20 acres.
On 7 November 1733 the mortgage of 1721 was discharged.

In his will, dated 3 December 1743, proved 28 March 1748 W. G., Nicholas mentions:
his eldest son, Pasco, second son Robert, son David, youngest son Ezekiel, eldest daughter Catherine Peckham, and daughters Dinah Weaver, Mary Greene, Ruth Summers, grandsons Jonathan Hill and Thomas Jackwaise, and great-grandson Henry Jackwaise son of granddaughter Elizabeth Jackwaise.

(for additional info see Carl Stone's notes [Dutton family] at Rootsweb's Worldconnect)

Nicholas — Mary CARR. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

It is known that Nicholas's wife was Mary. It is believed she was Mary Carr because some of the male given names of Nicholas's sons and grandsons are names found among male relatives of Mary Carr, possibly indicating that they were named after these relatives. Alden Beaman says she was Mary Casey, born ca. 1674.

If she was Mary Carr, born about 1676-1678, her parents may have been Caleb and Phillip/Phillis Carr, and her paternal grandparents were Robert and Elizabeth Carr. These are our ancestors through the Carr/Kerr line.

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.