Whitney Family

• Samuel Whitney
  
• Abigail Whitney
  
• 12 Children, one of which was David
  
• Two Servants

• The family lived in Boston before moving to Concord in April 1776. Samuel was a trader in Boston. Six of his children were already born when Samuel Whitney purchased the new family house from John Breede, just over the Lexington line, in Concord. He was able to purchase the house and 100 acres of land along with it because his mother had left him 400 pounds when she died in 1761.

• The Whitney's lived in a white stucco house on the road to Lexington and Boston. (Now called Route 2a.) The house has four rooms, one being used as the "best" room and study and the others probably used as bedrooms. There was a small yard and wooden pickey fence in front of the house.

In 1771 the Concord Tax Tecord shows that Samuel Whitney was taxed for:
• One house
• Concord's only warehouse
• Two "servants for life"
• a Horse
• Four oxen and
• 150 pounds in stock in trade.

• Town Moderator
  Samuel Whitney became a well known man in the town of Concord. He did not agree with many of the British rules. In September, 1774, he was elected to be Town Moderator (leader) of the Concord Town Meeting. The British had made a rule that town meetings in Massachusetts could be held only once a year. Samuel Whitney broke the rule and called a meeting.

• By 1771 there were four potash plants, two saw mills, three grist mills, to tan houses, a slaughter house, a fulling mill, a warehouse, and thirty-four shops in town.
  
  Fifteen persons had some stock in trade. Most had less than 30 pounds and only tow had more than 150 pounds.
  
  There were fourteen "servants for life" in Concord. No one had more than two.

• David Whitney was born July 15, 1761. At the time of the Revolution he was 13 years old and had to help with many of the chores at home and in his father's store. Since his father was a well known man in the town, he had met many of the important town leaders. When his family's friends came from Boston to visit they talked about the latest problems with the British soldiers in Boston. Sometimes during the summer he accompanied Thaddeus Hunt, a Concord farmer, when he brought his animals to N.H. to graze.

• When the British soldiers marched to Concord the Whitney children were told to stay home so they would be safe from harm in case of a fight. David sneaked out of the house and ran to the fields near the North Bridge. He hid behind some bushes so he wouldn't be seen by his father. When he heard the shistling bullets near his head, he rushed home.

• He became an apprentice to Thaddeus Hunt when he was 16 years old. When he received his majority he bought a farm in Rindge, New Hampshire. He returned to Concord to marry Betsey Darby on June 1, 1786. After several years he purchesed a large farm in Bolton, Massachusetts. It was one of the best in that town. He had 8 children. He died on September 17, 1838.