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Whitney family

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This page collects genealogy for the Whitney Family:

Whitney Main Articles[]

  • Whitney Family - Core family research page
  • Whitney Notable People - People of distinction featured in Wikipedia, important migrants and others.
  • Whitney Disambiguation List - Whitney Family people with identical names sorted.
  • Whitney Migrants - listings of notable Whitney Migrants.
  • Whitney Family Landmarks - Notable castles, cemeteries, monuments and much more.
  • Whitney Baronets - Several lines of the Whitney family featured in ThePeerage of Great Britain.
  • Whitney Family Ancestry - Royal ancestors of the Whitney Family - Including English, Norman, Irish, Scottish, French and more.

A cautionary note on this genealogy: while generally well-documented with reliable sources, many of them primary, the compilers also used IGI; Family Group Records; and online genealogies on occasion. These latter sources may not be reliable.

Surname Origins[]

The Whitney surname has deep roots in English history, tracing back to the border counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire. The name is believed to have originated from the place name "Whitney-on-Wye," a village situated along the River Wye in western England. The name itself likely derives from Old English elements: "hwīt," meaning "white," and "ēg," meaning "island" or "low-lying land near water."

The Whitney family is among the oldest of English lineages, with records dating back to the Domesday Book of 1086 with the spelling Witenie. Over the centuries, members of the Whitney family rose to prominence as landowners, knights, and sheriffs. One of the earliest known ancestors is Eustace de Whitney, a knight who lived in the 13th century and served under King Edward I.

Today, the Whitney name is recognized in historical records, family genealogies, and landmarks across the United States and the United Kingdom. For those with Whitney ancestry, their family story is tied to a long legacy of perseverance, innovation, and public service. This surname has also been used as a first name for both males and females, and many locations around the world have been named Whitney after individuals with this name.


Whitney in America[]

The Whitney family is an American family notable for their business enterprises, social prominence, wealth and philanthropy, founded by John Whitney (1592-1673), who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. The historic family mansion in Watertown, known as The Elms, was built for the Whitneys in 1710.[1]

Among the most well-known American descendants is Eli Whitney (1765-1825), the inventor of the cotton gin and a pioneer of interchangeable parts manufacturing—an innovation that helped usher in the American Industrial Revolution.


Whitney Family of Kentucky[]

Beginning with William Collins Whitney and unbroken through to Marylou Whitney today, members of the Whitney family would become major figures for more than a century in the breeding and racing of Thoroughbred horses.[2] [3] Marylou Whitney died on July 19, 2019, the last immediate descendent of the Whitney name. [4]

Prominent descendants of John Whitney[]

  • Amos Whitney (1832–1920)
  • Anne Whitney (1821–1915)
  • Asa Whitney (1797–1872)
  • Asa Whitney (canal commissioner) (1791–1874)
  • Benson Whitney (born 1956)
  • Charlotte Anita Whitney (1867–1955)
  • Charles Andrew Whitney (1834–1912)
  • Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1992)
  • Courtney Whitney (1897–1969)
  • David Whitney Jr. (1830 -- 1900)
  • David Whitney Steger Sr. (1918–1979)
  • Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968)
  • Edward Baldwin Whitney (1857–1911)
  • Eli Whitney (1765–1825)
  • Eli Whitney, Jr. (1820-1895)
  • Eli Whitney Debevoise II (born 1953)
  • Flora Payne Whitney (1897–1986)
  • Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930)
  • Hassler Whitney (1907–1989)
  • Henry Melville Whitney (1839–1923)
  • James Scollay Whitney (1811–1878)
  • Joan Whitney Payson (1903–1975)
  • John Hay Whitney (1905–1982)
  • Josiah Dwight Whitney (1819–1896)
  • Mary Watson Whitney (1847–1921)
  • Newel Kimball Whitney (1795–1850)
  • Orson F. Whitney (1855–1931)
  • Parkhurst Whitney (1784–1862)
  • Pauline Payne Whitney (1874–1916)
  • Payne Whitney (1876–1927)
  • Phyllis Ayame Whitney (1903–2008)
  • Richard Whitney (1888–1974)
  • Wheelock Whitney I (1894–1957)
  • Wheelock Whitney II (1926–2016)
  • Wheelock Whitney III (born 1949)
  • William Collins Whitney (1841–1904)
  • William Dwight Whitney (1827–1894)
  • Willis Rodney Whitney (1868–1958)
  • Edward John Whitney (1984-Present)

By marriage:

  • Mary Elizabeth Altemus (1906–1988)
  • Charles T. Barney (1851–1907)
  • Kathleen Blatz (born 1954)
  • Betsey Cushing (1908–1998)
  • Henry F. Dimock (1842–1911)
  • Leonard Knight Elmhirst (1893–1974)
  • Helen Julia Hay (1876–1944)
  • Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861–1949)
  • Marie Louise Schroeder (born 1925)
  • Willard Dickerman Straight (1880–1918)
    • Whitney Willard Straight (1912–1979)
    • Beatrice Whitney Straight (1914–2001)
    • Michael Whitney Straight (1916–2004)
  • Adeline Dutton Train (1824–1906)
  • Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942)
  • George W. Headley (1908–1985)

Family tree[]

  • Stephen Whitney (1784–1852), m. Mary Burgess (1786–1868)
    • James Scollay Whitney (1811–1878), m. 1836: Laurinda Collins (1810–1906)
      • Henry Melville Whitney (1839–1923), m. Margaret F. Green
      • William Collins Whitney (1841–1904), m. Flora Payne (1824–1924)
        • Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930), m. Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942)
          • Flora Payne Whitney (1897–1986), m. Roderick Tower
            • Pamela Tower (b. 1921), m. (1) Jay Ketchum Secor (1912–1960); m. (2) Thomas LeBoutillier (1913–1979)
            • Whitney Tower (1923–1999), m. (1) Frances Cheston Train; m. (2) Joan Baker Spear; m. (3) Lucy Niblack Lyle
            • Flora Miller (b. 1928), m. Michael Henry Irving; m. (2) Sydney Francis Biddle (1918–2004)
            • Leverett Saltonstall Miller (b. 1931)
          • Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1992), m. (1) Marie Norton (1903–1970); m. (2) Gwladys Crosby Hopkins; m. (3) Eleanor Searle (1908–2002), m. (4) Marie Louise Schroeder (b. 1925)
          • Barbara Whitney (b. 1903)
        • Pauline Payne Whitney (1874–1916), m. 1895: Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861–1949)
          • Olive Cecilia Paget (1899–1974), m. (1) Hon. Charles Winn (son of Baron St Oswald); m. (2) Arthur Wilson Filmer; m. (3) Sir Adrian Baillie, 6th Bt (1898–1947)
            • Pauline Winn (b. 1920)
            • Susan Winn (b. 1923)
            • Sir Gawaine Baillie, 7th Bt (1934–2003), m. Margot Beaubien (daughter of Louis Beaubien)
          • Dorothy Wyndham Paget (1905–1960)
        • William Payne Whitney (1876–1927), m. 1902: Helen Julia Hay (1876–1944)
          • Joan Whitney (1900–1975), m. 1924: Charles Shipman Payson (1898–1985)
            • Daniel Carroll Payson (1925–1945)
            • Sandra Helen Payson (1926–2004), m. (1) William Meyer; m. (2) Baron George Weidenfeld (1919–2016)
            • Payne Whitney Payson (b. 1927), m. Henry Bentivoglio Middleton (descendant of Arthur Middleton)
            • Lorinda Payson (b. 1931), m. Vincent de Roulet (1925–1975)
            • John Whitney Payson (b. 1940), m. Joanne D'Elia
          • John Hay Whitney (1904–1982), m. (1) Mary Elizabeth Altemus; m. (2) Betsey Cushing Roosevelt
            • Sara Delano Roosevelt Whitney (b. 1932), m. (1) Anthony di Bonaventura (1929–2012); m. (2) Ronald A. Wilford
            • Kate Roosevelt Whitney (b. 1936), m. (1) William Haddad; m. (2) Franklin A. Thomas
        • Oliver Whitney (1878–1883)
        • Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968), m. (1) Willard Dickerman Straight (1880–1918), m. (2) Leonard K. Elmhirst (1893–1974)
          • Whitney Willard Straight (1912–1979), m. Lady Daphne Margarita Finch-Hatton (1913-2003) (daughter of the 14th Earl of Winchilsea)
            • Camilla Caroline Straight, m. Michael Ian Vansittart Bowater (b. 1934) (son of (Sir Ian Bowater)
            • Amanda Straight
            • Barney Barnato Walker (b. 1947) (daughter with Diana Barnato Walker (1918–2008))
          • Beatrice Whitney Straight (1914–2001), m. (1) Louis Dolivet (1908–1989); m. (2) Peter Cookson (1913–1990)
            • Willard Whitney Straight Dolivet (1945-1952)
            • Gary Cookson
            • Anthony "Tony" Cookson
          • Michael Whitney Straight (1916–2004), m. (1) Belinda Crompton (1920–2015); m. (2) Nina Gore Auchincloss (b. 1935) (step-sister of Jackie Kennedy); m. (3) Katharine Gould
            • Dorothy Elmhirst Straight (b. 1958)
          • Ruth Elmhirst (1926-1986), m. Maurice Ash (1917–2003)
          • William Elmhirst (b. 1929)
      • Susan Collins Whitney, m. Henry F. Dimock (1842–1911) (son of Timothy Dimock)
        • Susan M. Dimock, m. Cary Talcott Hutchinson
      • Lucy Collins Whitney, m. Charles Tracy Barney (1851–1907) (son of Ashbel Barney)
        • Helen Tracy Barney (b. 1882), m. Archibald Stevens Alexander
          • Archibald Stevens Alexander (1906-1979), m. (1) Susan Dimock Tilton (d. 1935); m. (2) Jean Struthers Sears (1907–1983) (sister-in-law of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.)


Whitney Genealogy by Region[]

  • Whitney Family of Massachusetts
  • Whitney in Barnstable County, Massachusetts
  • Whitney in Salt Lake County, Utah

See Also[]


Non-SMW Family Name Pages[]

The following list of Whitney family person articles should be upgraded to SMW format.


Notes[]

  1. ^ William Richard Cutter. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 3 (Boston: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1908) pp. 1400–1401. https://books.google.com/books?id=qaK9Vz1UdDcC
  2. ^ "Racing Proud of Whitney Heritage: Three Generations of Family Prominent on American Scene; Among Founders of Jockey Club, Campaigned Abroad; Owned Two Derby Winners". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1956-05-05. https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1956050502/drf1956050502_3_1. Retrieved 2019-02-22. 
  3. ^ "Marylou Whitney Stables LLC". Equibase.com. 2019-02-21. https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=People&searchType=O&eID=1028670&rbt=TB. Retrieved 2019-02-22. 
  4. ^ "Marylou Whitney Obituary". NYT.com. 2019-07-19. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/sports/horse-racing/marylou-whitney-dead.html. Retrieved 2019-09-22. 


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