The purpose of THIS page is to secure history on the Wightman\Whitman family. As a return offer, I will introduce you to a fabulous family history that goes back as far as the immigrant and into the Middle Ages. This is a free service. If you answer by e-mail, there isn't any postage. What can you lose?

Visit the following pages to learn more about the Wightmans. on any word that is underlined.



1. WHAT DO YOU OR YOUR FAMILY KNOW ABOUT YOUR ANCESTOR?

2. DID YOU KNOW THAT EDWARD WIGHTMAN WAS THE LAST TO BE BURNED AT THE STAKE IN ENGLAND?

3. DID YOU KNOW THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS A COUSIN TO MANY WIGHTMANS?

4. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE MAJORITY OF US ARE RELATED TO THE FIRST GOVERNOR OF RHODE ISLAND.

5. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE TREACHEROUS, DISREPUTABLE, AND INFAMOUS BENEDICT ARNOLD MAY BE YOUR RELATIVE?

6. HISTORIC WIGHTMAN DOCUMENT -- HELP US LOCATE IT.

7. THE WIGHTMAN HERITAGE.

8. THE WIGHTMAN ANCESTRY -- VOLUME ONE

9. THE WIGHTMAN ANCESTRY -- VOLUME TWO

10. THE WIGHTMAN ANCESTRY -- VOLUME THREE

11. INDEX OF WIGHTMANS AND WHITMANS--YOUR NAME IS PROBABLY LISTED.

12. CLARK AIR FORCE BASE---PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. WERE YOU EVER STATIONED THERE?




There is no better monument for you and your loved ones than being recorded for posterity.



Do your grandchildren know the maiden names of their grandmothers? Probably not! Do you know the names of your eight grandparents? Isn't your life worth remembering? Why let it crumble into oblivion!!





Fill in the following chart





Use full names (first--middle--last------if known) to fill in chart.

E-Mail to: <wightman@shianet.org> OR regular U. S. mail to:

Wade C. Wightman, 7202 North Chipman, Henderson, MI 48841-9716



Your name:-------------------------------------------------------. Born:------------------
     Your dad's name:-----------------------------------------------. Born:------------------
          Your dad's father's name: -------------------------------. Born:------------------
          Your dad's mother's name:------------------------------. Born:------------------
               Your dad's grandfather's name: ---------------------------. Born----------
               Your dad's grandmother's name:---------------------------. Born---------
     Your mother's name:-----------------------------------------. Born: -------------------
          Your mom's father's name:----------------------------.  Born:-------------------- 
          Your mom's mother's name:-------------------------- .  Born:--------------------
               Your mom's grandfather's name:----------------------- .  Born:----------
               Your mom's grandmother's name:--------------------- .  Born:----------


In a small hollow on the edge of town, a parched oblong wooden grave marker stands as a symbol of the emptiness that only a forgotten life can produce. The oblong piece of wood, an eroded unreadable sandstone marker, or perhaps a sod covered grave indicates where some forgotten person, possibly your ancestor, is laid. That forgotten person could also be you in two or three generations if you don't do something about it. There is nothing worse than being buried in a neglected grave. You might as well be dumped into New York's Potter's Field. There is no better monument for you and your loved ones than being recorded for posterity.



Gather the lost and the hidden and preserve it for thy children in the:-



The Wightman Ancestry

Volume III

THAT IS NOW IN PROGRESS



Fill in the above chart listing your parents and grandparents and e-mail to:

< wightman@shianet.org >



See next page:-

Many unrecorded Wightmans are still out there throughout the states and Canada. I want to record all of you. There are many births and deaths since volumes one and two were published. These need to be recorded.

Guidelines: All Wightmans [and those Whitmans who descended from the Wightman name] are sought. All women who were born with the Wightman name are wanted as well as there children and grandchildren. There are always exceptions to my guidelines. For example: If someone has researched there line and brought the Wightman line forward several generations, your lineage will be printed in its entirety. PICTURES: Old pictures of your ancestors are wanted as well as you living Wightmans. Studio pictures are best. Pictures taken with a good camera lens are satisfactory. However, if an old photo of poor quality is the only likeness in existence, I will do my best to scan a good picture. All pictures will be returned within one week after scanning. If you want the pictures returned by priority mail, please enclose $3. Incidentally, not one photograph has been lost in transit in the preparation of my three books on the Wightmans.

 

The Wightman Ancestry

Volume III

THAT HAS BEEN IN PROGRESS

Has been canceled because of the death of Wade Wightman, at the age of 78, on October 19, 1999 in Owosso, Michigan.

Wade was a Librarian at Owosso High School for 30 years. Prior to being at Owosso he taught at Perry High School for six years as a Commercial Teacher.

In his sixties he began tracing his ancestors and recording them for his family. In compiling The Wightman Heritage, and Volume I and II of The Wightman Ancestry Wade enjoyed his retirement and spent countless hours at his new hobby. His dream was to finish Volume III, but that was not to be. He finished nearly 400 pages and his family will have that published within the next year. We will not add to his monumental work, but if you have questions or information on other Wightmans there is someone who hopes to carry on the Wightman genealogy.

Ronald Wightman 6243 S. Redwood Road #120 Salt Lake City, Utah 84123 Phone # 801-277-8215

www.wightmanfamily.com

Horrific scenes in Market Square as ex-mercer is publicly burned

'Heretic' Wightman dies at the Stake

An artist's impression of the scene in Market Square

when Edward Wightman was burned at the stake

APRIL 1612*

His complete story is given in The Wightman Ancestry-Vol. I

& The Wightman Heritage





Unusual Wightman Record By John K. Sherman - 1943


Musty Family Notebook Spans 300 Years



Every once in a while Mrs. Ethyln Wightman Whittier of Minneapolis looks through an old calfskin notebook and decides that food rationing, Hitler and even World War II are as transient and fleeting as the butterfly that lives only a summer.

That notebook, tobacco-brown with age and equipped with an archaic clasp, was old when Mrs. Whittier was a babe . . . old when Mrs. Whittier's grandfather was a babe.

IT GOES BACK IN TIME AND OWNERSHIP TO A REMOTE ANCESTOR, JOHN WIGHTMAN, WHO IN 1636 WROTE OUT HIS ACCOUNTS CONCERNING "THREE POUND OF WOOLL, ONE POUND OF TOBAKE, TWO GEES" IN A CRABBED HANDWRITING FULL OF FISHHOOKS, LIKE SHAKESPEARE'S.

Old John must have been a devout man, for on the first page he inscribes the Biblical quotation:

"Come unto me saith Christ all ye that labour and I will give you rest."

He must also have had a taste for spirits, for on the same page is something that looks like a recipe:

4 gallons and a half of mullasas

Two quarts of prunes

3 pounds of shugar

3 gallons of Rum

A century intervenes between John Wightman and a descendant, Timothy Wightman, who in 1743 inscribes his ownership with a flourishing hand, records the marriages in the family, and just as a "filler" throws in some statistics about Spanish possessions in America.

The Wightmans eventually migrated to America, and another century passes. In 1834 Cyrus D. Wightman records that the gift of the book from his father makes him the fifth generation to possess it.

Allen Wightman pens a short-lived journal of his "trip to the West"--and in 1868 a later Wightman, politically minded, pastes into the book a now-yellowed newspaper clipping showing returns in the '68 presidential election. Grant won.

Now more than three centuries old, the notebook gets an occasional notation from the living Wightmans, just to keep the record unbroken.

MRS. WHITTIER fingers through its brown-stained pages, reflects that while individuals die a family is immortal, that 100 years hence a Wightman now unborn, in a strange, crisp handwriting which will make our own look old-fashioned, may be recording the happenings of a Wightman household in 2043 A. D.

Occasionally, too, she looks at the copy of a document signed by James I and ponders the grim fate that overtook one of the earliest Wightmans of record.

In 1611, Edward Wightman was designated as a "blasphemous and condemned heretick" in a royal warrant which commanded the sheriff of Litchfield to "cause the said Edward Wightman to be committed to fire in some public and open place."

Three centuries don't alleviate the cold unforgiving harshness of that decree, and even now Mrs. Whittier experiences a pinprick of horror as she read over that long-forgotten sentence.

There are no heretics among the Wightmans now. And history rolls on for the Wightmans and the rest of our human race. Hitler so far hasn't been mentioned in the Wightman chronicle--probably won't be.

A century from now he will be less remembered, as far as the Wightmans are concerned, than the "oats for my mare" purchased at Landlord Horton's by Allen Wightman on Dec 10, 1771.

Source: From a Minneapolis newspaper in 1943.



I am searching for

descendants of

Mrs. Ethyln Wightman Whittier of

Minneapolis

to locate this historic

document.









THE WIGHTMAN HERITAGE

As a descendant of Valentine2 Wightman, you would be interested in The Wightman Heritage. It is an 818-page book that has more than 300 pages about your Colonial and Old England ancestors. It was published in 1990. It shows your relationship to Benedict Arnold and Abraham Lincoln. You are also a direct descendant of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. This $39 postpaid book can be ordered on approval if you would like to read it before purchase. I have shipped dozens on approval and not one has been returned. I am so confident that you will want to keep it that I will pay the return postage if you decide not to keep it. You will be receiving a book printed on acid free paper that will last more than 300 years. It is bound with a Smythe binding that allows the pages to remain flat when the book is open -- similar to a Bible. I have collected several hundred book reviews and reader comments [all favorable] that are accessible to anyone that wishes to read them. Eleven copies are available for purchase. There will not be another printing. Check your state library or local library. There were 250 complimentary copies sent to libraries.



BOOK REVIEWS FOR WIGHTMAN HERITAGE





The Wightman Heritage

"The Wightman Heritage by Wade C. Wightman, 7202 North Chipman, Henderson, MI 48841 generously uses graphics and type variations with several hundred photos, maps, ancestor charts, etc. to produce a book of extraordinary eye-appeal. In addition, the author weaves a large amount of well-written genealogy with social history of his ancestors' times from the 1400s in England, to 1644 in America when John Wightman settled in R.I., to personal histories for descendants of today. Some 50 related families with descendants in many states are traced in separate chapters of this hardcover, 7 x 10 in., 912 pg., indexed volume available at $39.00 postpaid from the author." Book Review printed in the Challenge of Genealogy. Written by Marie Wise for the Genealogical Library, Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge, LA.

"Again, many, many thanks for your fantastic book! I received it this past week and already I'm nearly finished reading it. It was far above and beyond my expectations. I found it delightfully engrossing, informative and very easy reading. Overall a splendid labor of love. I"M hooked... and anxiously looking forward to the completion of your current work." Kenneth Wightman, 1 Administration Road, Bridgewater, MA 0232l4-3230

"It is seldom that we receive such attractively formatted and detailed family history research. You are to be congratulated on a very professional job! We enjoyed reading the chapter `About the Book' - with all this technical equipment in place, may we expect another volume soon?' Jean T. Lyndon, Genealogical & Historical Room, Washington Memorial Library, 1180 Washington Ave., Macon, Georgia 31201

"With 71 maps , 217 photographs, 51 ancestor charts, extensive source and reference data, and every-name index, this book is not only extremely well done, but also interesting and thorough." Louise M. Everton, Book Review Editor, The Everton Publishers, Inc., P. O. Box 368, Logan, Utah 84321"An outstanding book! One of the best family histories I have ever seen. Your book is very well written and would definitely be a welcome addition to my collection of family histories. Your attention to detail, and the use of history of the time makes your book most interesting reading even for a non family member. I am thoroughly enjoying it!" Mileta Farr Kilroy, Stanislaus County Free Library, Genealogy Section, 1500 I St., Modesta, CA 95354

The Wightman Ancestry - Vol. I



Compiled by Wade C. Wightman - Published 1994 - 1318 pages - $20.00 + $5 for package and postage. This book weighs almost 5-1/2 pounds with decorative hard cover and printed on acid-free paper that will last 200 to 300 years.

The contents of this book include the entire 433 pages of Mary Whitman's book, George Wightman of Quidnessett, R. I. (1632-1721/2) and Descendants plus several hundred pages of update to bring the lineages up to the current date. Also, included are 26 known immigrants by the name of Wightman with their known descendants.

ONE BOOK REVIEW:

"The Wightman Ancestry by Wade C. Wightman, published by Bookcrafters, Inc. P. O. Box 370, Celsea, MI 48818. 1084 pgs, 198 pg index, photographs, charts, maps. Available from the author at $25 per copy postpaid. Wade C. Wightman, 7202 N. Chipman, Henderson, MI 48841-9716.

Mr. Wightman's second book, The Wightman Ancestry begins by reprinting the original work of Mary Ross Whitman that was first published in 1939 following her death. While Wade Wightman's first book, The Wightman Heritage, concentrated efforts to explore his direct Wightman line, this volume expands on the original work of Mary Ross Whitman and includes information on many of the descendants of George Wightman of Quidnesset, Rhode Island, and others as the family began its cross country migration after the first four generations had remained primarily in the Rhode Island area.

It is apparent from Mr. Wightman's work that his research has been quite extensive. He has been in contact with hundreds of "cousins," and the love of family history and tradition seems apparent, not only in Wade Wightman's immediate family, but also throughout the entire family. As a result, Mr. Wightman has been able to include excerpts from the Wightman Family Bible, information from a 300 year old Wightman notebook, etc.

Despite all Mr. Wightman's efforts to date, he does not consider his work complete. He has included a long list of deceased Wightman's and plans to seek more information about them as well as other Wightman's in a second volume.

In addition to Wightman, hundreds of other surnames are included in this work. The book is replete with information and stories about Wightmans -- past and present. Cheri Hunter, Librarian, Decatur Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 1548, Decatur, IL 62525-1548.







Volume II of The Wightman Ancestry is ready for shipment.



Over 1200 pages featuring the detailed lives of the those Wightmans that have had unusual tales, encounters, experiences, education, or old-time episodes to put on record for their descendants to enjoy. There are 630 pictures, 145 charts, maps, drawings, etc., updates and NEW listings of Wightmans. There are over 10,000 names in the 257 page index. The book has a beautiful hard cover with all pages printed on acid free paper to last 200 or more years. Price: $30 includes shipping and packaging.

Order from: Wade C. Wightman, 7202 North Chipman Rd., Henderson, MI 48841

In a hurry, ask for a preview copy:-pay later or return the book. (I will trust you): Ph: 1-517-723-3756 or e-mail: <wightman@shianet.org>



If any reader does not want it, return the book and a full refund, including your shipping cost, will be refunded.

The Wightman connection to the Benedict Arnold family.

Benedict Arnold, 1741-1801 [The Traitor]; m. (1) Margaret Mansfield; m. (2) Margaret Shippen

Benedict Arnold, (?) -1761

Benedict Arnold, 1683- 1719

Benedict Arnold, 1641-1727

Benedict Arnold, 1617-1678 [Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island]; m. Damaris Westcott, 1621-1678)

Stukely Westcott, 1592-1677

Zorobabel Westcott, 1666-1745

Catherine Westcott 1703- (?); m. Daniel Wightman, 1702-1753

All descendants of Daniel Wightman, 1702-1753













The Wightman Connection to

Abraham Lincoln



Rev. Obadiah Holmes [our common ancestor]

|

John Holmes 1649-1712

|

Susanna Holmes 1682- ?

m.

Rev. Valentine Wightman 1731-1814

|

Daniel Wightman 1768- ?

|

All descendants of Daniel Wightman 1606 (?)-1682

Lydia Holmes, dau. of Obadiah Holmes [our common ancestor](m. Major John Bowne)

|

Sarah Bowne (m. Richard Salter)

|

Hanna Salter (m. Mordecai Lincoln)

|

John Lincoln

|

Capt. Abraham Lincoln

|

Thomas Lincoln

|

Abraham Lincoln







Philippine Islands

Clark Air Force Base

The following sign was a guide to a street for residential housing at Clark.



WIGHTMAN ST


What Wightman was honored by having his name for this street? Who was instrumental in naming this street and what was the occasion? Let me know by e-mail to include in Vol. III of The Wightman Ancestry.



The Rest of the Story:-- My son, Gerald Wightman, was a teacher at Subic Bay when the Philippine government and the volcanic eruption caused the base to be closed. With the help of friends in Law Enforcement and Drug Control, he visited Clark and secured all the Wightman street signs as souvenirs. One of these signs now guides guests at the entrance of our driveway in Henderson, Michigan.