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Archiver > WHITNEY > 1999-02 > 0918518929


From: "Robert L. Ward" <>
Subject: Re: [WHITNEY-L] Joseph Whitney of Gorham, Maine
Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 19:08:49 -0500


At 02:14 PM 2/8/99 PST, Kenneth Whitney wrote:
>Joseph Whitney of Gorham, Maine
>
>I am searching for some help in interpreting an apparent conflict
>between the Vital Records of Gorham, Maine, Marquis King; second edition
>and Hugh D. McLellan's The History of Gorham, Maine. The help of anyone
>with insight on this matter will be appreciated.
>
[SNIP]
>So, at first glance it would appear that McLellan reported the marriage
>of Mary Freeman to the wrong Joseph Whitney. Confounding the picture,
>however, is the ages of the Joseph Whitneys. If Joseph, Jr. did marry
>Mary Freeman, as the vital records indicate, rather than Mary Hunter, as
>McLellan reports, then he would have been only sixteen years old at the
>time. One would think it more probable that Joseph, son of Isaac,
>married Mary Freeman, as McLellan reports, because he would have been
>twenty-six years old at the time.
>
>Is it possible that Joseph, son of Isaac, could have been known as
>Joseph, Jr.? I can find no will in the Maine Probate Extracts to help
>with this puzzle. Can anyone contribute incite to the problem?
>
>Ken Whitney
>Silver Spring, MD

It should be noted that in colonial times, two men or the same name living
in the same town at the same time, even if unrelated, were often called
"Sr." and "Jr." to differentiate them. Of course senior means, literally,
older, and junior means younger, so this is a more literal usage than is
common today. Probably Joseph, son of Joseph, would be called Joseph,
3rd, since he was the third oldest of the trio. I have experience with
two cases where the numbers got up as high as "5th"!

My guess is that McLellan was right, and Joseph, Jr., was son of Isaac.

Regards,

Robert

Robert L. Ward
12236 Shadetree Lane, Laurel, MD 20708-2832
301-776-1659

http://www.erols.com/rlward1/index.htm

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