WHETHAM Genealogy

   Be aware this page is under constant revision

Last up-dated 11-July-2001

This line of Whetham's originated in England.   Much of our older Whetham Genealogy is from the published research “The Whetham Connections”, written by Maxine L. Kaul.  Mrs. Kaul and her sister spent considerable time including more then a year in England researching the history of the Whetham Family.  Additional information came from the Atlas of the County of Wellington, 1895 edition reprinted by the OGS.

The earliest Whetham's we know about at this time is William Whetham born 2-December-1782 in Bridport, England. He was married to Jane Bradford born 25-Sep-1784, likely in Bridport as well. The marriage date would have been in the 1780 to 1782 time period and if we guessed that they were both about 25 to 30 when a child was born then we could estimate birth dates in the 1752 to 1755 range.

We know nothing about the Bradford line at this time. However, according to some old family folklore, the significance of the Bradford name is that it maybe tied to William Bradford the first governor of Pennsylvania, USA. This has never been proven.

The only child we know about from this marriage is:

  1. Thomas Bradford Whetham born 2 Dec 1783 in Bridport, England

Thomas Bradford Whetham became Major Thomas Bradford Whetham in the British Army and was sent to Canada to fight in the War of 1812 where he was injured and later received a land grant from the crown in Nelson Township, Halton County, Ontario.  It is not clear when exactly he came to Canada.  He married Mary Crossin. We are not sure of this date but it would likely have been in England since all three children we are aware of were born in England.
 
Major Whetham's obituary is on a separate page. 

 

It is not known exactly when the family immigrated to Canada but we infer that they came at the time the Major was sent to fight in the war of 1812 as a member of the Royal Artillery. He fought in two battles Queenstown Heights and Lundy's Lane (25-July-1814). (Article about Major Thomas Whetham from the 1906 Atlas of Wellington County, Ontario, Canada).

 

Thomas and Mary had three children:

  1. William Whetham born xx in xx. We believe he lived in Birdport, England since we have records indicating this is where some of his children we born.   Unfortunately, we do not know his exact birth date or location.   He was married.
  2. Jane Whetham - likely born in Birdport as well; however, no further details are known at this time.
  3. James Joseph Whetham born in 1809 in England and was three years old when he came to Canada, according to a story in the 1906 Atlas of Wellington County, Ontario.

James Joseph Whetham born 1809 in England. He was three years old when he came to Canada. He was raised in Nelson Township, Halton County, Ontario. In early manhood moved to Chinguacousy Township, Peel County, Ontario where he met and married Fanny Nevills of Erin Township, Wellington County in 1831. Fanny died 11-Feb-1906 at the age of 94. Most of this information was taken directly from the 1906 Atlas of Wellington County, Ont.

James and Fanny had seven children:

  1. Annie Whetham. [No further information.]
  2. Noah Whetham. [No further information.]
  3. Lydia Bradford Whetham. Marries Francis Leonard Scott. [Their information is continued on another page.]
  4. Jacob Whetham born in Chinguacousy Twp., Peel Co, Ontario in 1838. In his early days he followed saw milling, and worked mostly in Halton Co. Later he came to Mount Forest and worked in a foundry for some years, since then, he has been night watchman n the furniture factory. He is a trustworthy man, a most respected citizen, and a staunch conservative. In 1870 he married Elizabeth Clarridge, who died in 1888, age 44. The had two children:

After Elizabeth's death he married a second time to Mrs. Ellen Campbell. Not much is known about either of the two wives.

  1. Thomas Whetham. [No further information.]
  2. Martha Whetham. Married J. Lyons and lives in Minto, Twp.
  3. George Whetham born 19-November-1854 in Chinguacousy Twp, Peel Co., and settled in Minto Twp. in 1876. He married Melissa Holliday, daughter of George Holliday who was born in Yorkshire, England in 1812 and came with his parents to Lanark Co. in 1821 settling in Noranby in 1862. Both George and his father, Major Thomas Whetham, were promoters of Drew Methodist Church. George was appointed as Magistrate in 1889 and served under both the Reform and Conservative.

This is where the research on the Whetham line has ended. At this time we are following only the Lydia Whetham branch and her marriage to Francis L. Scott.

Research Questions - all dates are approximate
 

  1. Visit family grave plot in Mt. Forest Cemetery. Also get monument inscriptions from OGS.
  2. Get copy of Major Thomas Whetham's land grant in Haltham County
  3. Research George Holliday in Yorkshire, England b 1812 and Lanark Co in 1821.
  4. Locate and research Drew Methodist Church. Located in Minto Township? Looking for articles about Major Thomas and son George Whetham.

 
 
 

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