Abraham WHITTAKER

Notes:

Name:
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

Abraham married Huldah CORLISS on 27 Dec 1704 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Huldah (daughter of George CORLISS and Joanna DAVIS) was born on 18 Nov 1661 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts; died in 1733. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]