Background
William Henry Whitmore was born on September 6, 1836 at Dorchester, Massachussets, the son of Charles Octavius and Lovice (Ayres) Whitmore, and a descendant of Francis Whitmore who settled in Cambridge before 1648.
(Excerpt from An Essay on the Origin of the Names of Towns...)
Excerpt from An Essay on the Origin of the Names of Towns in Massachusetts, Settled Prior to A. D. 1775: To Which Is Prefixed an Essay on the Name of the Town of Lexington The peculiar arrangement of the following essays is due to the fact that they were thus prepared for presentation to the Historical Society. I had devoted considerable time to the con sideration of the whole subject; but the origin of the name of the town of Lexington had a special interest for me, and I devoted to its investigation an amount of space which could not be afforded to that of other towns. I have but one suggestion to add to those in the Lexington pamphlet; and that is, to point out that farther investigation showed that Sunder-land was named after Lexington. The considerations which I have urged on page 20 tend, I think, to strengthen my case against the probability of the naming of a town in honor of any English statesman before the time of Governor Shute. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from Register of Families Settled at the Town of ...)
Excerpt from Register of Families Settled at the Town of Medford, Mass Concerning the above, I can only add the following extracts of Wills on file at East Cambridge: Thomas Blanchard, of Charlestown, will dated 16, 3 mo., 1654, mentions wife Mary, sons Nathaniel, Samuel, and George, and his son Joseph. John Blanchard, of Dunstable, March 13, 1693, mentions Wife Hannah, sons Benjamin, Joseph, James, Thomas, and Nathaniel; and daughters Han nah Reed, Hannah Parish, Sarah, and Mary. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from A Memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, Knt: Governor...)
Excerpt from A Memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, Knt: Governor of New England, New York and Virginia, &C, &C A° he came of age, which having at fey. Married to Mr. Bailly of tained he did his homage, and John Andros, fon of the faid payd the Relief clue to the King John Andros before Ifle, third for the faid Seigneurie, and had mentioned, 24 Oft wife. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Genealogy of the Norton Family, with Miscellaneous Notes:...)
Genealogy of the Norton Family, with Miscellaneous Notes: Reprinted from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register For July, 1859 by William Henry Whitmore is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This publication was produced from a professional scan of an original edition of the book, which can include imperfections from the original book or through the scanning process, and has been created from an edition which we consider to be of the best possible quality available. This popular classic work by William Henry Whitmore is in the English language. Genealogy of the Norton Family, with Miscellaneous Notes: Reprinted from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register For July, 1859 is highly recommended for those who enjoy the works of William Henry Whitmore, and for those discovering the works of William Henry Whitmore for the first time.
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(Record of the descendants of Francis Whitmore of Cambridg...)
Record of the descendants of Francis Whitmore of Cambridge, Mass. 42 pages
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(An account of the Temple family : with notes and pedigree...)
An account of the Temple family : with notes and pedigree of the family of Bowdoin : reprinted from the New England historical and genealogical register, with corrections and additions 36 pages
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Businessman politician antiquarian
William Henry Whitmore was born on September 6, 1836 at Dorchester, Massachussets, the son of Charles Octavius and Lovice (Ayres) Whitmore, and a descendant of Francis Whitmore who settled in Cambridge before 1648.
After studying at the Boston Latin School and English High School he entered the family firm of commission merchants, where he served for nearly twenty-five years, visiting Mauritius, Madagascar, Calcutta, and England. Meanwhile he studied law and painting.
In 1874 he was elected to the Boston Common Council as a Republican. He soon became a Democrat, gave up society, and moved to Worcester Street, where he found numerous political friends. With one brief interval, he continued in the Council until 1886, promoting the preservation and printing of records, and the preservation and restoration of the Old State House. His political influence gave him power to advance successfully his antiquarian aims. In 1875 he became a record commissioner, and in 1892 city registrar, taking over the work of the commissioners. Under his supervision twenty-eight volumes of invaluable local records were issued, and manuscript copies of vital records of Boston churches were collected. All this time he wrote frequently for the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the Nation, the Prince Society, and the Massachusetts Historical Society. He was also an active trustee of the Boston Public Library (1882-83, 1885 - 88). Whitmore's work in its day represented an advance in standards of accuracy, but unfortunately his output was so great that much of his printed work requires careful checking. Much erudition is displayed in his editorial work on The Andros Tracts (1868 - 74), the "Diary of Samuel Sewall", and The Colonial Laws of Massachusetts. His The Heraldic Journal, Recording the Armorial Bearings and Genealogies of American Families and The Elements of Heraldry (1866) were pioneer efforts. He also published A Handbook of American Genealogy (1862), The Massachusetts Civil List 1630-1774 (1870), A Bibliographical Sketch of the Laws of the Massachusetts Colony from 1630 to 1686 (1890), and several reports and pamphlets of a political nature. He printed pedigrees of the families of Whitmore and Hall, Temple, Lane, Reyner, Whipple, Quincy, Norton, Winthrop, Payne, Gore, Vickery, Hutchinson, Oliver, Pelham, Usher, Elliot, Dalton, Batcheller, Wilcox, and others. He was uncompromising in his hostility to false pedigrees. In The Memorial History of Boston (4 vols. , 1881), edited by Justin Winsor, he wrote on old Boston families. Other interests led him to edit The Poetical Works of Winthrop Mackworth Praed (1859), Abel Bowen, Engraver (1884), and The Original Mother Goose's Melody, as First Issued by John Newberry (1889). Among his fellow workers - but not always harmonious ones - were John W. Thornton, Samuel Gardner and Samuel Adams Drake, Charles Deane, W. S. Appleton, J. T. Hassam, A. C. Goodell, and M. P. Wilder. With them he was brilliant in conversation.
(Excerpt from Register of Families Settled at the Town of ...)
(Genealogy of the Norton Family, with Miscellaneous Notes:...)
(An account of the Temple family : with notes and pedigree...)
(Excerpt from A Memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, Knt: Governor...)
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
(Excerpt from An Essay on the Origin of the Names of Towns...)
(Record of the descendants of Francis Whitmore of Cambridg...)
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
He was short, with abundant black hair, dark complexion, keen but imperfect eyes, and resolute expression. While kind to the aged and those in misfortune, he was "destitute of clemency" for antiquarians whose efforts distressed him. Toward the end of his life he suffered from disease and could find little relief; his office at the Old Court House was much of the time deserted.
Quotes from others about the person
One of his friends has said that it was "certainly quite as easy to differ from him as to agree with him"; another very frank comment was that his "absorption in his chosen interests was of a character bordering on derangement".
Whitmore was married on June 11, 1884, to Fanny Theresa Walling Maynard, daughter of Edward F. Maynard of Boston. They had a son.