Surname Saturday: WHITAKER of Haverhill, MA

With Halloween approaching and the Salem trials a hot topic I decided to dig out one line with a Salem connection. The Whitakers are my husband's paternal grandmother's family. Before migrating west to Kansas before the Civil War they were firmly settled in New England for generations. The earliest Whitakers settled in Haverhill, MA and were there during the witchcraft hysteria of 1692. I've found no evidence these individuals were involved in the Salem trials, though surnames from associated families appear in the records as both accused and accusers.

      Descendants of Abraham WHITAKER

      1-Abraham WHITAKER, son of Abraham WHITAKER, was born in 1626 in
         England and died on 5 May 1701 in Haverhill, Essex, MA at age 75. 

        Abraham married Elizabeth SIMONDS, daughter of William SIMONDS and 

        Elizabeth WIFE OF WILLIAM SIMONDS, on 19 Mar 1655 in Haverhill, Essex, 

        MA. Elizabeth was born in 1635 and died on 5 Nov 1683 in Haverhill, 

        Essex, MA at age 48. They had ten children: Abraham, William, Isaac, 

        Hannah, Jacob, Hannah, Elizabeth, Henry, Hannah, and Jonathan.

           2-Abraham WHITICKER Jr. was born on 28 Feb 1656 in Haverhill, Essex, 

             MA and died after 1733. 

             Abraham married Hannah BEANE on 6 Apr 1682 in Haverhill, Essex, MA. 

             Hannah was born in 1659 in Exeter, Rockingham, NH and died on 18 Jul 

             1691 in Haverhill, Essex, MA at age 32. They had five children: 

             Abraham, John, Jacob, Hannah, and Hannah.

                3-Abraham WHITICKER was born on 20 May 1683 in Haverhill, 

                  Essex, MA and died on 5 May 1691 in Haverhill, Essex, MA at 

                  age 7. 

                3-John WHITICKER was born on 1 May 1685 in Haverhill, Essex, 

                  MA. 

                3-Jacob WHITICKER was born on 22 Apr 1687 in Haverhill, Essex, 

                  MA and died on 29 May 1687 in Haverhill, Essex, MA. 

                3-Hannah WHITICKER was born on 21 Apr 1688 in Haverhill, Essex, 

                  MA and died on 29 Oct 1693 in Haverhill, Essex, MA at age 5. 

                3-Hannah WHITICKER was born in May 1690 in Haverhill, Essex, 

                  MA. 

             Abraham next married Sarah TRASK, daughter of Henry TRASK and Mary 

             SOUTHWICK, on 7 Sep 1694 in Lynn, Essex, MA. Sarah was born in 

             Salem, MA and died on 8 Feb 1704 in Haverhill, Essex, MA. They had 

             two children: Jonathan and Anna.

                3-Jonathan WHITAKER was born on 7 Aug 1696 in Haverhill, Essex, 

                  MA and died on 3 Jul 1786 in Stafford, , CT at age 89. 

                  Jonathan married Abigail LAMBERT, daughter of John LAMBERT and 

                  Unknown, on 5 Nov 1718. Abigail was born in 1693, died on 13 

                  Jul 1790 in Stafford, Tolland, CT at age 97, and was buried in 

                  Old Stafford Street Cemetery, Stafford, Tolland, CT. They had 

                  seven children: Abigail, Sarah, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Abraham, 

                  Henry, and Ann.

                     

                3-Anna WHITAKER was born on 20 Aug 1698 in Haverhill, Essex, 

                  MA. 

             Abraham next married Huldah CORLISS on 27 Dec 1704 in Haverhill, 

             Essex, MA. Huldah was born on 18 Nov 1661 in Haverhill, Essex, MA 

             and died in Haverhill, Essex, MA.

           2-William WHITAKER was born on 21 Sep 1658 in Haverhill, Essex, MA 

             and died in 1723 in MA at age 65. 

             William married Sarah EMERSON on 15 Jan 1684 in Haverhill, Essex, 

             MA. Sarah was born in 1665 in Haverhill, Essex, MA and died in 1702 

             in Haverhill, Essex, MA at age 37.

             William next married Mary CORLY on 23 Jan 1703 in Haverhill, Essex, 

             MA. 

           2-Isaac WHITAKER was born on 30 Jul 1661 in Haverhill, Essex, MA. 

           2-Hannah WHITAKER was born on 15 Apr 1664 in Haverhill, Essex, MA 

             and died on 30 Jul 1664. 

           2-Jacob WHITAKER was born on 26 May 1665 in Haverhill, Essex, MA and 

             died in 1742 at age 77. 

             Jacob married Mary WEBSTER in 1693. Mary was born in 1670 and died 

             in 1763 at age 93.

           2-Hannah WHITAKER was born in Sep 1668 in Haverhill, Essex, MA and 

             died in Sep 1668. 

           2-Elizabeth WHITAKER was born on 26 Jan 1669 in Haverhill, Essex, 

             MA. 

           2-Henry WHITAKER was born on 24 Sep 1672 in Haverhill, Essex, MA. 

           2-Hannah WHITAKER was born on 19 Mar 1675 in Haverhill, Essex, MA. 

           2-Jonathan WHITAKER was born on 27 Aug 1679 in Haverhill, Essex, MA. 

              

Wordless Wednesday: Uncle Vasil's Family

A portrait of my great-uncle Vasil's family taken in 1965 at their mother's funeral. Vasil died in 1957. His youngest brother Mikola (who had no shoes) is seated 3rd from the left.  

Vasil Popp Family, Photograph, 11 April 1965. Digital Image.  Privately held by Nolichucky Roots [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], 1992.

Amanuensis Monday: Philip Mulkey Will, written 1876

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

Will of Philip Mulkey, Proven Oct 1^st 1883,

            I, Phillip Mulkey do make and published my last Will and Testament hereby revoking and making void all former wills by me at any former time made.

First, I direct that my funeral expenses and my just debts be paid as Soon after my death as possible out of any money that I may die possessed, or may first come into the hands of my executors.

Secondly, I will to my daughter Sarah Furgerson one Dollar, -

Thirdly, I will to my Son Isaac Mulkey one Dollar;

Fourthly I will to my Son James Mulkey one Dollar;

Fifthly I will to my Daughter Rachel McAdams, one Dollar;

Sixth I will to my Daughter Ann Eliza Bayles one dollar.

Seventh, I will to my Daughter Elizabeth Mulkey one dollar,

Eight, I will and direct that my wife Mary Jane Mulkey have my farm on which, I am now living during natural lifetime or as long as she remains my widow after her death (or in the event she should Marry again) then my afore Said farm and all the right and title is to vest in my daughter Ida M Mulkey;

Ninthly I direct that all my personal property of every description go to my wife, and daughter in the same way and Conditions, that my farm is willed.

Lastly I hereby nominate and appoint James H. Walker and D. M. Sheffey, Executors of this my last Will and Testament.

                        This June the 5^th 1876,

Witnessed by

J.J. Carroll,                                                                                    Philip Mulkey

C.M. Merell,

Source: Hawkins County (TN) Will Book 1, pp. 555-556. 

-------------

Notes - Mulkey family researchers from the families of James and Rachel have referred to Philip Mulkey disinheriting them because of their Union loyalties during the Civil War and have pointed to this will as evidence. While not discounting that there was family tension over the War, I do not see this will as evidence of such. Rather, it seems a standard will leaving property to support minor children. 

There is the possibility that Philip deprived them of money their maternal grandmother Sarah Hunt Duncan had intended them to have. In 1852, shortly before moving from Washington County, TN to Macoupin County, IL, she deeded 128 acres of land to Philip with the stipulation that he give $200 to his children when they come of age. I have not found the record yet of how he disposed of the land, nor have I seen any deeds that would support or contradict his executing Sarah Duncan's wishes.

Once upon a time or why Uncle Vasil firebombed the church

This is the first in an occasional series examining some family stories I’ve been told over the years. This is my favorite.

The setting is a Carpathian mountain village known today as Berezovo in the Ukraine. The time frame is in the early 20^th century, most likely shortly before World War I.

My great-uncle Vasil was the eldest of my great-grandparents’ eleven children and the father of ten himself. His mother, Maria Tegze, had the money in the family. She was tightfisted with her children, but generous to the priest in Berezovo.

Vasil was married with a growing family while his youngest brothers and sisters were still at home. He went to his mother and complained that his younger brother Mikula didn't even have shoes that fit and that his own children were growing rapidly. She was giving too much to the Church when her own family needed help.

When Maria sent him packing he went to the priest to complain. The priest, not surprisingly, felt his mother was perfectly entitled to give him money, and didn't seem too concerned about the shoes. Vasil came back later, firebombed the church, and the priest left town - quickly. No one knew whether the children got new shoes.

Where to begin? First, let me say that I believe the basic elements of the story are true. I didn’t always, but I do now.

The story was told to us with considerable relish in 1992 by Vasil’s grandchildren during a visit to Slovakia and the Ukraine. Four of his children were still alive. The story of Vasil and the church was part of their family lore.

It absolutely was not part of ours. My grandfather Stephen, one of Vasil's younger brothers, died more than a decade before I was born, so all I know of his family is filtered through the stories my father and aunt told me. According to my father, my great-grandfather Ivan was a carousing alcoholic ne’er-do-well. Stephen despised him and was determined to be nothing like him. He told his children the family was well off, owned land, but that everything came from his mother’s family and that she managed the farm. He had been sent off to school, the tuition paid by his maternal grandmother. His mother’s brother, Fr. Victor Thegze (Tegze) was a priest. He had come to America years earlier. 

The sense I had of Maria was a long-suffering, devout woman working hard to raise her children despite her husband and making sure her son had as many opportunities available to him as possible. While never said explicitly it seemed to me that my grandfather revered his mother.

Vasil’s family had another image of Ivan and Maria. They spoke of Vasil and Ivan going off together for days to visit other villages, of Maria as stingy and dour. They portrayed the men as carefree guys out for a good time and Maria as a killjoy. There was a glee in the idea that Vasil had routed the priest, a sense of him as the protector of his family.

I had trouble believing this was true. It seemed so foreign from the family I knew – and I use that word deliberately. I could imagine Maria supporting the church; I couldn’t imagine her letting her children go unshod. I couldn’t imagine my devout grandfather attacking his church. My own father flirted briefly with idea of becoming a priest; another cousin had. It seemed impossible that anyone in the family would do such a thing.

But as I thought about the trip, the people we had met, their lives and our lives, the stories made sense. My father’s family is the prototypical immigrant family. Ellis Island, hard work, education, better lives for the children and grandchildren – the whole shebang. The stories I heard about our family reflected that experience.

Our cousins in Europe had a very different 20^th century. Wars, Stalin and the domination of the Soviet Union took their toll. The stories they told emphasized family loyalty, cunning and a lack of respect for authority. Looked at from those perspectives the different family stories made complete sense.

Even so, my sympathies rested with my great-grandmother Maria Tegze. Boys being boys doesn’t cut it when there are fields to be tended and children to be reared. My grandfather’s view of his father rang true. I decided the story was interesting, but probably exaggerated.

Until I read this.

The wife of Géza Thegze, a priest in Vyshni Bystryi (Felsöbisztra), was attacked with a knife, and their house set on fire by unknown arsonists four times![1]

This was written in 1939 and refers to events before 1901 in a village a little more than thirty miles by road from Berezovo. (The book was translated and published in the United States in 1990.) The author was describing a time of increased economic distress and growing turmoil in the region. Suddenly the fish tale of Uncle Vasil firebombing the church seemed more plausible. If there were other episodes of anticlerical violence then Vasil's actions, though outrageous from my modern American standards, were not unique. He, used to wandering the region with his father, would have known of this other attack. I also had no evidence of my family exaggerating any other stories or information. Indeed, there were  instances of a public story and the more truthful, family version.

So I’ve set aside my sympathies and adopted the story as a way of expressing my family’s survival instincts. My squabbles with bureaucracies and life's petty annoyances do not compare in any way to my cousins' very real suffering at the hands of the Soviet Union. Still, Uncle Vasil has crossed my mind more than once when dealing with AT&T.  And it's just such a good story.

One more thing – one of Uncle Vasil’s sons, Stefan, became a well known scholar and priest.

---

[1] Alexander Bonkáló (The Rusyns. Fairview, N.J.: [Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center], 1990), p. 136.


Submitted to the 99th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

Painting the Full Picture

I attended a funeral early this week - one of those real world, real life events that I research and document. A phone call, a text to my daughter to come take care of the dogs, quick laundry and we were out the door.

Ten hours across Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska looking at the hills, plains and sky I hadn't seen in 25 years. Breathtaking. Ten hours passing spots where this ancestor or that appeared on a census, married or died, wishing all the while we could stop for just one hour, one cemetery, one photo. Frustrating. An evening visiting with close, but distant kin, embracing and embraced.

He seemed a gentle man, though I didn't know him well, and it became clear over the day we were there that he had been a force to be reckoned with in many lives. Much loved by his wife of 34 years, my husband's aunt, and her family. Admired and loved by his own children and the community he lived in his entire life. Between her family and his half the church was filled - 10 surviving children, 31 grandchildren, 58 great-grandchildren. A gigantic Deere tractor led us to the cemetery - fitting for a life-long rancher and equipment salesman.

A long life, well lived. All lovely - except for the complications. Divorce, strained relationships, family members meeting one another for the first time. What impressed me so was that there was space for mixed feelings, acceptance that we are sometimes bruised by one another, respect for the full range of emotions involved. The smiles were polite, and sincere, and even rueful. The warmth was genuine.

We met another aunt for the first time, a dynamic, engaging woman that I hope we meet again. She resembles her mother rather than her father, which can only be a blessing. I am, it seems, not as gracious as the rest of the family. But for his sins - and they were many - her father had some wonderful children who built lives the best they could. Plenty of bruises along the way, plenty of mixed feelings. But lots of warmth and laughter, too.

And then we left. Ten more hours back home looking at the sky and listening to Cliff Lee dominate the Yankees, admiring his talent and hating the results.

I've new information to add to my data. Some names and dates. But they don't paint the full picture that the direct looks, rueful smiles and hugs did.