Individual Details
Robert Whitney
(Abt 1474 - )
==Background==Henry MelvilleHenry Melville, ''The Ancestry of John Whitney, Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts: the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended'' (New York, 1896) citation from Ward and Doyle below. cited several Visitations to prove the ancestry of John Whitney of Watertown, Massachusetts. His conclusions have been largely, but not altogether, confirmed by modern researchers. Where they disagree is with the parents of Robert, father of Thomas. This Robert married Elizabeth verch Morgan ap William, and all agree that the lineage is correct to here.
Robert's parents, however, pose a problem, in that Melville's solution is found to be impossible by biology. Fortunately, further research, especially into wills and court documents, has clarified this problem to a likely, though not entirely proven, solution.Robert Leigh Ward and Tim Doyle, ''The Whitney Lineage of John Whitney of Watertown, Massachusetts'', The American Genealogist Vol. 81, No.4(May 2007):249-262.
== Biography ==:Following the research of Robert Leigh Ward and Tim Doyle, Robert was born about 1474.
:So far, no wife has been uncovered for this Robert. The main proof of Robert's son as Robert, wife of Elizabeth verch Morgan ap William, is in the tax records below. Not yet proven, but likely.
:In the 1540s, Robert, with his sons Robert and Eustace, paid taxes in Herefordshire.M.A.Faraday, ed.,''Herefordshire Taxes in the Reign of Henry VIII'', Woolhope Natrualists' Field Club (Herefordshire, 2005), 153, 256, 270, 369-70. citation from Ward and Doyle.
:A chancery suit in May 1659 gives more family details, in that Robert's sons, Nicholas and Richard, brought suits against Sir Robert of Whitney for land disbursed by Sir Robert's father, Robert.''Whitney vs. Whitney'' 1558-79, Hereford, C3 186/32 (especially Part 4), Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Pleadings, Series II, Elizabeth I to Interregnum, The National Archives, London. citation from Ward and Doyle. This suit serves two pruposes. First, it shows a close connection of the Whitneys of Castelton to the Whitneys of Whitney, as the senior Whitney of Whitney line was holding documents which belonged to land held by the Whitney of Castelton line. Second, it proves the name of this Robert Whitney as Robert, father of Robert Whitney of Castleton, father of Thomas, Richard and Nicholas.
:The final piece in the chain of evidence, so far, is the will of Sir James Whitney of Whitney, son of Robert Whitney and Sibyl Baskerville, in 1587. Sir James designates a succession of inheritance for his properties, which, when analyzed, points toward the Robert Whitney of this profile as a younger brother of James Whitney (d. 1500, great-grandfather of the testator), and so a younger son of Robert Whitney (d. 1494) and Elizabeth Vaughan.
:Taken together, the evidence is suggestive that this Robert Whitney was a son of Robert Whitney and Elizabeth Vaughan. However, it cannot be considered proven. The relationships and descents are not spelled out in the 1587 will of James Whitney, and it would mean he was leaving a remainder interest in his estates to 3rd cousins once removed (his great-grandfather's- brother's - grandsons) - not a very close relationship. Richardson in his ''Royal Ancestry'' did not include this line, though he had other descents from Robert Whitney and Elizabeth Vaughan.
== Sources ==
Robert's parents, however, pose a problem, in that Melville's solution is found to be impossible by biology. Fortunately, further research, especially into wills and court documents, has clarified this problem to a likely, though not entirely proven, solution.Robert Leigh Ward and Tim Doyle, ''The Whitney Lineage of John Whitney of Watertown, Massachusetts'', The American Genealogist Vol. 81, No.4(May 2007):249-262.
== Biography ==:Following the research of Robert Leigh Ward and Tim Doyle, Robert was born about 1474.
:So far, no wife has been uncovered for this Robert. The main proof of Robert's son as Robert, wife of Elizabeth verch Morgan ap William, is in the tax records below. Not yet proven, but likely.
:In the 1540s, Robert, with his sons Robert and Eustace, paid taxes in Herefordshire.M.A.Faraday, ed.,''Herefordshire Taxes in the Reign of Henry VIII'', Woolhope Natrualists' Field Club (Herefordshire, 2005), 153, 256, 270, 369-70. citation from Ward and Doyle.
:A chancery suit in May 1659 gives more family details, in that Robert's sons, Nicholas and Richard, brought suits against Sir Robert of Whitney for land disbursed by Sir Robert's father, Robert.''Whitney vs. Whitney'' 1558-79, Hereford, C3 186/32 (especially Part 4), Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Pleadings, Series II, Elizabeth I to Interregnum, The National Archives, London. citation from Ward and Doyle. This suit serves two pruposes. First, it shows a close connection of the Whitneys of Castelton to the Whitneys of Whitney, as the senior Whitney of Whitney line was holding documents which belonged to land held by the Whitney of Castelton line. Second, it proves the name of this Robert Whitney as Robert, father of Robert Whitney of Castleton, father of Thomas, Richard and Nicholas.
:The final piece in the chain of evidence, so far, is the will of Sir James Whitney of Whitney, son of Robert Whitney and Sibyl Baskerville, in 1587. Sir James designates a succession of inheritance for his properties, which, when analyzed, points toward the Robert Whitney of this profile as a younger brother of James Whitney (d. 1500, great-grandfather of the testator), and so a younger son of Robert Whitney (d. 1494) and Elizabeth Vaughan.
:Taken together, the evidence is suggestive that this Robert Whitney was a son of Robert Whitney and Elizabeth Vaughan. However, it cannot be considered proven. The relationships and descents are not spelled out in the 1587 will of James Whitney, and it would mean he was leaving a remainder interest in his estates to 3rd cousins once removed (his great-grandfather's- brother's - grandsons) - not a very close relationship. Richardson in his ''Royal Ancestry'' did not include this line, though he had other descents from Robert Whitney and Elizabeth Vaughan.
== Sources ==
Events
| Birth | Abt 1474 | Castleton, Clifford, Hereford, England | |||
| Reference No | 19851086 | ||||
| Reference No | 21530021 | ||||
| Reference No | 60 |
Families
| Father | Robert Whitney (1440 - 1494) |
| Mother | Elizabeth Vaughan (1452 - ) |
| Sibling | James Whitney (1466 - 1500) |
| Sibling | Ellen Whitney (1470 - ) |