Abraham WHITTAKER

1656 - 1733  (76 years)

• Name	Abraham WHITTAKER  [2]
  	In 1677 he is called "aged twenty" in a list of early settlers of Essex Co., MA. On 6 Apr 1682, in Haverhill, he married Hannah Bean who gave him five children and died on 18 July 1692 in an Indian attack. He then married on 7 Sep 1694, Sarah Archer, dau. of Henry Trask, and widow of John Archer. On 12 April 1703 he was warned by citation of court to show cause why he had neglected the administration on his fathers estate. That neglect continued partly because on 8 Feb 1704 there was an Indian attack on Joseph Bradley's house at Haverhill. The house had been garrisoned, and used as a refuge for the women and children while the men were off working. Abraham's wife Sarah Trask, and son John were among those killed that day. Abraham's son Jonathan related the story to his grandchildren and one of them, Ede Whitaker related it thus, "My great grandfather's family were nearly all massacred by the Indians in the capture of the Fort at Haverhill. My grandfather was, at that time, 8 years old. When the Indians rushed into the fort, he attempted to escape up stairs by means of a ladder, but one of the attackers saw him and pulled him back with a rake, giving him a severe blow on the head with his tomahawk, which laid him senseless, and which they supposed killed him; before this, however, he saw the Indians kill and scalp his mother." On 27 Dec 1704, he married his third wife Huldah Corliss. On 6 Mar 1705 the town of Haverhill paid the doctor for trying to save Abraham's children and the grave digger for burying those of his children that were killed by the Indians. On 19 Jun 1710, Abraham was in a company of fifty men under Lt. Col. Saltonsthal, armed and equipped, and provided with snow shoes, to be ready for emergencies that might arise out of Queen Anne's War. From 1720 until his death, he appears several times in land depositions and property transactions, the last of which was on 21 Mar 1733 when he and his wife sold to James Cushing two and a half acres on the road to Chester, "Where we now live". He died soon after. Gravesite Details No stone has been found [1]
  Birth	28 Feb 1656	Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1733  [1]
  Burial	Pentucket Cemetery, Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts   [1]
  Person ID	I61167	Main Tree
  Last Modified	11 Aug 2022

  
  

  Family	Huldah CORLISS,   b. 18 Nov 1661, Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts d. 1733 (Age 71 years)
  Marriage	27 Dec 1704	Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts   [2, 3]
  Family ID	F04869	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	11 Aug 2022

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 28 Feb 1656 - Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts Marriage - 27 Dec 1704 - Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S02329] Find A Grave Website. [S12602] Frederick John Kingsbury, LL.D., The Genealogy of the Descendants of Henry Kingsbury of Ipswich and Haverhill, Mass. [S4746] Ancestry.com: Massachusetts Town and Vital Collections, 1620-1988.