Joseph Whitman was born about 1778, in Coventry, Tolland, Connecticut, United States. He had at least 2 sons and 1 daughter with Ruth Herrick.
English (southern): from the Middle English personal name Whytman (Old English Hwītmann, from hwīt ‘white’ + mann ‘man’). Compare White 1 and also Wightman , with which this surname was probably confused.
History: John Whitman settled in Weymouth, MA, c. 1638. The poet Walt Whitman (1819–92) was descended from Joseph Whitman, who had settled in Stratford, CT, from England around 1660.
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