Its always amazing what comes from this site. My Mother was the Whitney so I follow everything closely. So it was a surprise in this to see Sir Christopher Wren used as an example. He is from my paternal Grandmothers side. She was a Wren and married a Wells. The little blurp about his age when he left Westminster I will incorporate into the Wells family history. I remember when I was quite small my Father told me we were all just Pennsylvania Dutchmen. I guess he was joking as when I got into family research I find both sides straight from England. Its a great day in Wyoming - God Bless. Rose Zella On Aug 1, 2005, at 4:38 PM, karl h schwerin wrote: > William Snow, a member of our list, recently visited London. I had > suggested to him that he might contact the Westminster School (where > Melville, in Pierce, says John Whitney was a student), to see if they > had any record of JW's attendance. > > William didn't actually get to the school, but he phoned them and they > suggested contacting Mr. Eddie Smith, Deputy Headmaster and historian > about any inquiries. I did so, and below is his reply--no record. > But as you see below, that doesn't mean John Whitney didn't study > there. > > Does anyone know where Melville's information comes from? > > Karl Schwerin SnailMail: Dept. of Anthropology > Univ. of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131 > e-mail: [email protected] > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2005 17:59:12 +0100 > From: Eddie Smith <[email protected]> > To: karl h schwerin <[email protected]> > Subject: RE: Seeking information > > Dear Dr Schwerin > > Thank you for the enquiry concerning your forebear. I am afraid that I > can find no record of his having attended Westminster School; I have > of course checked under various variant spellings. I have to admit > that that is not entirely conclusive! Only by the nineteenth century > do records become fuller; we have a dodgy period around 1700, and > earlier, anything that is Elizabethan derives very largely from > archival material in Westminster Abbey and that is far from complete, > it is usually based on bills. So the reords for the period of which > you enquire are somewhat meagre. If Whitney were a King's/Queen's > Scholar or proceeded to Christ Church or Trinity then I would be > confident that we had a record. Otherwise we cannot be sure. Have you > any knowledge of the basis for Pierce's statement or is it based on > geographical proximity? > > Do not be too anxious about his age of leaving school, ages varied > considerably until later in the eighteenth century (for example > Christopher Wren was only fourteen when he left Westminster to go to > Wadham College, Oxford). > > May I suggest another way of discovering is by association? In other > words are there early friends and/or colleagues to whom he was close? > If there are enough who are old Westminsters a degree of inference may > be made. Names such as Ireland, Dudley Carleton, Bancroft, Gunter, > Dolbey, Duppa, Hacket, and of course George Herbert. > > I am sorry if I am less than helpful. Do let me know if there is > anything more that I can do, and in particular do let me know if you > find further evidence for his having been here and we shall be able to > add him to our list! > > Yours sincerely > > E A Smith > Under Master and Archivist > > ________________________________ > > From: karl h schwerin [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Sun 31/07/2005 21:46 > To: Eddie Smith > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Seeking information > > > > Mr. Eddie Smith > Deputy Headmaster > The Westminster School > > Dear Mr. Smith: > > I am an eleventh-generation descendant of John Whitney, who emigrated > from > London to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. According to Henry > Melville > (in Pierce 1895*, p. 17) John was born in Lambeth Marsh in 1589. He > was > baptized in the St. Margaret's Church, London on July 20, 1592. He > goes > on to say that John "probably received, for those days, a good > education > in the famous 'Westminster School,' now known as St. Peter's College, > and > February 22, 1607, at the age of fourteen (sic), was apprenticed by his > father to William Pring of the Old Bailey, London" (of the Merchant > Tailors' Company). > > *Pierce, Frederick Clifton. 1895. Whitney. The descendants > of John > Whitney, who came from London, England to Watertown, > Massachusetts, in > 1635. Hammond, IL: Press of W. B. Conkey Company. > > William Snow, another descendant of John Whitney, recently contacted > the > Westminster School while in London to find out about any mention of our > John Whitney in your school records. The woman he spoke to said that, > rather than his going there in person, we should contact you, since > you > are not only the deputy headmaster of the school but also a historian. > > On behalf of Mr. Snow, myself, and other Whitney descendants, we would > like to know if there are records in your archives pertaining to the > attendance of John Whitney at the Westminster School sometime during > the > approximate period between 1595 and 1607. We would be interested in any > and all information about him that might still be extant in your > records. > > Thank you in advance for whatever assistance you may be able to render > this inquiry. > > Sincerely, > > Dr. Karl H Schwerin > Professor Emeritus > Dept. of Anthropology > Univ. of New Mexico > Albuquerque, NM 87131 > e-mail: [email protected] > > > >