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From: "Robert L. Ward" <>
Subject: [WHITNEY-L] John-1 WHITNEY's Occupation
Date: Sat, 05 Jan 2002 20:51:51 -0500


Dear WRG,

Many people have assumed that, because John-1 WHITNEY of Watertown, MA, was
a member of
the guild of Merchant Tailors of London, that he was a tailor, or in a related
profession. That is an unwarranted assumption. That guild had members of
many different
professions. Thus we cannot conclude from that fact alone what his
occupation may have
been.

Now a new fact has come to light which confirms John's occupation. Bond,
in his
discussion of Robert DANIEL, another early settler of Watertown, says,
"Dec. 22, 1651, he
sold to John Whitney, tailor, six acres in the hither plain." He is
apparently quoting
from a Middlesex County, MA, deed, although the exact citation is not
given. Thus John-1
WHITNEY was, indeed, a tailor, after all! This item is not mentioned in Bond's
discussion of the WHITNEY family, pp. 642-652, and the lack of an index to
Bond's book
has meant that I, for one, have missed this fact heretofore.

Reference:
Henry Bond, _Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the
Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, Including Waltham and
Weston; to Which is Appended the Early History of the Town. With
Illustrations, Maps, and Notes._ (2nd ed., 1860), p. 197.

Regards,

Robert

Mr. Robert L. Ward

http://www.whitneygen.org/home.html

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