Brief Life History of William
When William Whitney was born in 1846, in Hinesburg, Chittenden, Vermont, United States, his father, Jotham Whitney, was 49 and his mother, Sarah Lucy Smith, was 39.
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Family Time Line
Sources (0)
There are no historical documents attached to William.
Parents and Siblings
1797–1872 Male
1807–1850 Female
Siblings (7)
1837–1876 Male
1840– Female
1842–1921 Male
1843–1860 Female
1845–1862 Male
+2 More Children
World Events (3)
1846
Age 0
1863
Age 17
1864 · St. Albans Raid
Age 18
Name Meaning
English: habitational name from Whitney in Herefordshire, the etymology of which is uncertain. The second element is Old English ēg ‘island, piece of higher ground in a low-lying area’; the first appears to be hwītan, which is either the genitive singular of an Old English byname Hwīta (meaning ‘white’), or the weak dative case (originally used after a preposition and article) of the adjective hwīt ‘white’. The name may also derive from Whitney (now Whitney Wood) in Stevenage (Hertfordshire), probably named from Old English hwītan ‘white’ + (ge)hæge ‘enclosure’.
History: John Whitney came from London, England, to Watertown, MA, in 1635, and had numerous prominent descendents.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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