Next, we meet Thomas Wittum's son, Peter Wittum. We don't know much about him, as you'll soon see, but here is everything we know at this point. We'll be sure to add new information as it develops.
Peter Wittum
Born about 1595 in Steeple Parish, Essex, England.
On 7 Dec 1616 when Peter was 21, he married Mary Lufkin in St Clement Danes, Middlesex, England. (Recorded in the Bishop of London’s office.)
Mary Lufkin
Born about 1605 in Steeple Parish, Essex Co. England
Mary's father: John Lufkin (John Lufkin's occupation is listed as Baker.)
They had the following children:
Peter (~1627-~1697)
Thomas (~1630-)
Anne
Peter's occupation was listed as yeoman.
Mary's occupation at the time of their marriage was listed as spinster.
Stay tuned for the next post which will feature Peter and Mary's son, Peter. This is about to get really exciting!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Glossary of Old Occupations & Trades
Sometimes in our research work, we run across an occupation or trade name that we don't understand, as it's no longer used.
For example, in our last post about Thomas Wittum, we learn he was a yeoman. Do you know what a yeoman is? If so, great! If not, here's a resource that can help you out:
http://genealogy.about.com/library/glossary/bl_occupations.htm
It's a glossary of old occupations and trades. Let's try it out.
When we look up 'yeoman', it says a yeoman is a farmer who owns his own land.
We'll be referring back to this resource again in the future as we discover more information about other ancestors in our family line.
For example, in our last post about Thomas Wittum, we learn he was a yeoman. Do you know what a yeoman is? If so, great! If not, here's a resource that can help you out:
http://genealogy.about.com/library/glossary/bl_occupations.htm
It's a glossary of old occupations and trades. Let's try it out.
When we look up 'yeoman', it says a yeoman is a farmer who owns his own land.
We'll be referring back to this resource again in the future as we discover more information about other ancestors in our family line.
Thomas Wittum
Meet Thomas Wittum. He is from the earliest generation we've discovered thus far in our Witham family line:
Thomas Wittum
Born: About 1565 - Stansgate, England
Died: About 1601 - Steeple Parish, Essex, England
MARRIED: Ann Gaywood
Born: Jun 6, 1568 - Steeple Parish, Essex, England
Father: John Gaywood
CHILDREN:
Henry Witham
Thomas Witham 1590
John Witham 1592
James Witham 1593
Daniel Witham 1594
Peter Witham 1595 in Steeple Parish, Essex, England
Mary Witham 1597
Dorcas Witham 1598
Ann Witham 1600
Thomas Wittum's brothers were William Wytham of Feering (5 miles northwest of Witham), Peter Witham of Stansgate, and John Witham (from the will of William Wytham, 13 Nov 1592, source: Essex Archdeaconery Court Wills 1591-1597, by Frank Emmison. Peter appears as a frequent witness on other wills as well).
The original wills of Thomas, dated 1601, and William, dated 1592, are still on file in the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, England. From Thomas' will it can be inferred that he died about 1601 in Steeple Parish, Essex Co., England.
Thomas was a yoeman, indicating a life as a farmer of some substance and standing in the community.
Stansgate was a small abbey farm area adjacent to the small town of Steeple in southeast England, on the Blackwater River, very near the North Sea, north east of London. Much of the time the Stansgate abbey did not have an operating parish church, therefore residents of Stansgate were members of Steeple Parish.
The area was and remains a low-lying marshland area of farms and small villages, very close to the sea and isolated from major population centers and roads. It is referred to as the Dengie Hundred (hundred referring to a grouping of parishes, as sub-area of a county.)
In his will Thomas passed on a manor hold property rights to farms in Chich St. Osif, which lays across the Blackwater River from Stansgate, indicative of the fact that it was easier to get around on the water than by land. The town of Witham is nearby. It is likely that the surname Witham was taken at some time when the family moved from Witham to a nearby town.
Thomas Wittum
Born: About 1565 - Stansgate, England
Died: About 1601 - Steeple Parish, Essex, England
MARRIED: Ann Gaywood
Born: Jun 6, 1568 - Steeple Parish, Essex, England
Father: John Gaywood
CHILDREN:
Henry Witham
Thomas Witham 1590
John Witham 1592
James Witham 1593
Daniel Witham 1594
Peter Witham 1595 in Steeple Parish, Essex, England
Mary Witham 1597
Dorcas Witham 1598
Ann Witham 1600
Thomas Wittum's brothers were William Wytham of Feering (5 miles northwest of Witham), Peter Witham of Stansgate, and John Witham (from the will of William Wytham, 13 Nov 1592, source: Essex Archdeaconery Court Wills 1591-1597, by Frank Emmison. Peter appears as a frequent witness on other wills as well).
The original wills of Thomas, dated 1601, and William, dated 1592, are still on file in the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, England. From Thomas' will it can be inferred that he died about 1601 in Steeple Parish, Essex Co., England.
Thomas was a yoeman, indicating a life as a farmer of some substance and standing in the community.
The area was and remains a low-lying marshland area of farms and small villages, very close to the sea and isolated from major population centers and roads. It is referred to as the Dengie Hundred (hundred referring to a grouping of parishes, as sub-area of a county.)
In his will Thomas passed on a manor hold property rights to farms in Chich St. Osif, which lays across the Blackwater River from Stansgate, indicative of the fact that it was easier to get around on the water than by land. The town of Witham is nearby. It is likely that the surname Witham was taken at some time when the family moved from Witham to a nearby town.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Witham Spelling Variations
In the last post, 'New Generation Chart', you may have noticed some interesting things about the names of our ancestors. You may have noted that we had 3 Peters in a row or 4 Johns in a row. But what probably stood out as most interesting is the fact that many of our ancestors used an alternate spelling of our last name. They used the name Wittum. Wittum is either an Anglo-Saxon or Teutonic spelling variation of the name Witham.
There were many reasons why names changed or evolved over time. Sometimes these variations were unintentional and sometimes they were intentional. Sometimes immigrants wanted to Americanize their names when they came here. Other times, they wanted to escape from their past life and make a fresh start with a fresh name. Sometimes there were family disputes that caused a split in the family that resulted in a slight name change variation. Still other times, it was just a simple case of immigrants telling inspectors their names and the immigration authorities would write it down the way it sounded or come up with their own spellings. And remember, many immigrants couldn't write or spell their own name.
Exactly why our ancestors used the variation Wittum is still unknown to us at this point, but our ancestors weren't the only Withams to vary the spelling of our last name.
Other spelling variations used by other Withams may include:
Witham, Withem, Wittam, Witam, Withum, Wittum, Whittam, Whitham, Whittum, Whittem, Wytham, Wyttam, Wyttum, Wythum, Withams, Wittams, Whiton, Whitten, Whittin, Whittom, Whitton, Whittone, Widden, Wihtum, Witam, Witten
There were many reasons why names changed or evolved over time. Sometimes these variations were unintentional and sometimes they were intentional. Sometimes immigrants wanted to Americanize their names when they came here. Other times, they wanted to escape from their past life and make a fresh start with a fresh name. Sometimes there were family disputes that caused a split in the family that resulted in a slight name change variation. Still other times, it was just a simple case of immigrants telling inspectors their names and the immigration authorities would write it down the way it sounded or come up with their own spellings. And remember, many immigrants couldn't write or spell their own name.
Exactly why our ancestors used the variation Wittum is still unknown to us at this point, but our ancestors weren't the only Withams to vary the spelling of our last name.
Other spelling variations used by other Withams may include:
Witham, Withem, Wittam, Witam, Withum, Wittum, Whittam, Whitham, Whittum, Whittem, Wytham, Wyttam, Wyttum, Wythum, Withams, Wittams, Whiton, Whitten, Whittin, Whittom, Whitton, Whittone, Widden, Wihtum, Witam, Witten
Friday, January 14, 2011
New Generation Chart
In an earlier post, we listed each generation of the Witham family that we had been able to trace up to that point. If you recall, it looked something like this:
William Witham (Elisabeth)
George Washington Witham - b.1831 (Catharine Bunch - b.1832)
Francis Calvin Witham - b.1858 (Mary Susan "Molly" Raines - b.1866)
Charles Washington Witham - b.1887 (Josie Mann - b.1887)
Thomas Washington Witham - b.1916 (Annabelle Stucker)
Charles Thomas Witham - b.1949 (Melody Pruiett - b.1954)
*ME* Christopher Michael Witham "Mike Smith" - b.1972 (Alicia Hanley - b.1960)
With our new information, we've been able to significantly expand upon this. Let me introduce you to several more generations of our Witham ancestors. Then, in future posts, we'll dig in and learn some fascinating things about many of these new folks. Enjoy!
Thomas Wittum - b.1565 (Ann Gaywood)
Peter Wittum - b.1595 (Mary Lufkin)
Peter Wittum - b.1627 (Redigon Clark)
Peter Wittum - b.1656 (Agnes Stewart)
John Wittum - b.1685 (Elizabeth Tidy)
John Wittum Jr. - b.1711 (Lydia Ramsdell)
John Wittum - b.1733
John William Witham - b.1779 (Elizabeth Hutchinson)
George Washington Witham - b.1831 (Catharine Bunch - b.1832)
Francis Calvin Witham - b.1858 (Mary Susan "Molly" Raines - b.1866)
Charles Washington Witham - b.1887 (Josie Mann - b.1887)
Thomas Washington Witham - b.1916 (Annabelle Stucker)
Charles Thomas Witham - b.1949 (Melody Pruiett - b.1954)
*ME* Christopher Michael Witham "Mike Smith" - b.1972 (Alicia Hanley - b.1960)
Anyone notice anything about the names on our new list? I won't give it away yet, but that's what we'll talk about in the next post. See you then!
William Witham (Elisabeth)
George Washington Witham - b.1831 (Catharine Bunch - b.1832)
Francis Calvin Witham - b.1858 (Mary Susan "Molly" Raines - b.1866)
Charles Washington Witham - b.1887 (Josie Mann - b.1887)
Thomas Washington Witham - b.1916 (Annabelle Stucker)
Charles Thomas Witham - b.1949 (Melody Pruiett - b.1954)
*ME* Christopher Michael Witham "Mike Smith" - b.1972 (Alicia Hanley - b.1960)
With our new information, we've been able to significantly expand upon this. Let me introduce you to several more generations of our Witham ancestors. Then, in future posts, we'll dig in and learn some fascinating things about many of these new folks. Enjoy!
Thomas Wittum - b.1565 (Ann Gaywood)
Peter Wittum - b.1595 (Mary Lufkin)
Peter Wittum - b.1627 (Redigon Clark)
Peter Wittum - b.1656 (Agnes Stewart)
John Wittum - b.1685 (Elizabeth Tidy)
John Wittum Jr. - b.1711 (Lydia Ramsdell)
John Wittum - b.1733
John William Witham - b.1779 (Elizabeth Hutchinson)
George Washington Witham - b.1831 (Catharine Bunch - b.1832)
Francis Calvin Witham - b.1858 (Mary Susan "Molly" Raines - b.1866)
Charles Washington Witham - b.1887 (Josie Mann - b.1887)
Thomas Washington Witham - b.1916 (Annabelle Stucker)
Charles Thomas Witham - b.1949 (Melody Pruiett - b.1954)
*ME* Christopher Michael Witham "Mike Smith" - b.1972 (Alicia Hanley - b.1960)
Anyone notice anything about the names on our new list? I won't give it away yet, but that's what we'll talk about in the next post. See you then!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Witham Family Reunion 2011
Uncle Ray just sent out the announcements for the 2011 Witham Family Reunion.
In case you missed it, here it is. Hope to see you all there! Don't forget to bring your old family pictures.
In case you missed it, here it is. Hope to see you all there! Don't forget to bring your old family pictures.
Hello all:
Just a note to let you know that the Family Reunion will be on Sunday, July 17, 2011. It will be in Franklin at the Lion's Den and we'll try and eat in the 12:00 - 12:30pm time frame.
If you have any old family pictures please bring them. Mike Smith is tracing the Witham Family Tree and needs pictures or anything that you think would help. He has a portable scanner and will scan the pictures and give them right back to you.
Hope to see you all there.
As ever,
Ray Witham
The Withams in 2011
Hello, Withams, and Happy 2011!! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I stopped the blog posts for a bit while everyone was focused on the Holiday season. I'd like to get them rolling again now that the new year is upon us.
2011 is going to be a very exciting year for Witham Family History. I have a gigantic surprise for you. Right before Christmas, we had a major breakthrough in our family line thanks to Becky Bucalo, great granddaughter of Alex Clay Witham. Becky is part of our research team, and boy is she good at it!
Before Becky's discovery, we could only trace our Witham family line back to George Washington Witham's parents, William and Elizabeth Witham. We didn't know anything about William and Elizabeth - just their names. Well, Becky made a connection and we can now trace our family line back to the 1500's in England. Now, that's exciting family history news!
But, it doesn't stop there. We've known for a long time that there were two groups of Withams who came over here from England. One group settled in Kittery, Maine. The other group settled in Gloucester, Massachusetts. We just never knew which group we were from. Well, we now know we are from the Kittery group. How exciting!
I have all kinds of interesting things to share with you on the Witham family history blog, so stay tuned. We will talk about our connection to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Whiskey Rebellion, and more. Did you know our name wasn't always spelled Witham? I'll be posting a blog post about that soon, too.
There's lots more to come, so stay tuned in and please feel free to get involved. The more the merrier!
Talk again soon!
Mike
2011 is going to be a very exciting year for Witham Family History. I have a gigantic surprise for you. Right before Christmas, we had a major breakthrough in our family line thanks to Becky Bucalo, great granddaughter of Alex Clay Witham. Becky is part of our research team, and boy is she good at it!
Before Becky's discovery, we could only trace our Witham family line back to George Washington Witham's parents, William and Elizabeth Witham. We didn't know anything about William and Elizabeth - just their names. Well, Becky made a connection and we can now trace our family line back to the 1500's in England. Now, that's exciting family history news!
But, it doesn't stop there. We've known for a long time that there were two groups of Withams who came over here from England. One group settled in Kittery, Maine. The other group settled in Gloucester, Massachusetts. We just never knew which group we were from. Well, we now know we are from the Kittery group. How exciting!
I have all kinds of interesting things to share with you on the Witham family history blog, so stay tuned. We will talk about our connection to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Whiskey Rebellion, and more. Did you know our name wasn't always spelled Witham? I'll be posting a blog post about that soon, too.
There's lots more to come, so stay tuned in and please feel free to get involved. The more the merrier!
Talk again soon!
Mike
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