W
Whitwam Family History
A family migration from England to Canada and settling in the USA.
Written for Henry, Simon and River.
By Grandpa Ron Whitwam.
4-8-2015 release.
contents include:
* A four hundred year documented record of ancestry.
* The origin of the Whitwam surname.
* Whitwams in context of history.
* Reference Attachments:
Charles Patrick Whitwam
Leona May (Riemersma) Whitwam
Charles Christopher Whitwam
Minnie Belle (Jacox) Whitwam
George Franklin Whitwam
Alice Lucille (Whitwam) Simkins
Christopher Whitwam III
Christopher Whitwam I
Walker Whitwam
Whitwams of Golcar England
Open issues
1
A Whitwam Family History.
Let's not overemphasize the importance of family name. As Shakespeare wrote,
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." However, we all ask the same
questions about who we are, where we are from, why we are here, where we are going
and how we will get there. It's only natural that in our search for answers we look back at
the people who made the choices which charted the course to the place we are now.
Of course, we have no obligation to live up to or live down their choices or actions. For
by God's grace he has placed each one of us where we are for his own purpose. So, it is
for us to pick our own directions by making our own choices, with emphasis on that one
big choice in life that really matters. For it is our choice alone to accept God's great
salvation and follow his will for us. Or not. In the end this is the one big choice that
defines who we are, explains where we are from and why we are here, decides where we
are going and shows us how we can get there. This Big Choice is the truth of it all. I'll
leave further discourse on this to my writings in, "My Self, the Plan for me & my Big
Choice" and my short story "My Tiny Self."
I also have views posted on (www.first - spark.com.)
----------------------------------As I grew up very little was known about the Whitwam side of my family, therefore,
very little was ever said. Family gatherings were dominated by Riemersmas who knew
everything about everything and wanted you to know it too. It brings to mind the line in a
Bob Dylan song that says, "Heard ten thousand whisperin and nobody listenin." Only
thing was, these Riemersmas thought that a good opinion had to be a loud opinion. Don't
get me wrong, I loved every one of them.
My Whitwam Grandparents both passed away before I was born. So, I never had a
chance to know them or any other Whitwams. I was a teenager before I knew that the
man, who stopped by when I was very young and gave me a big silver dollar, was
actually my Half Uncle Frank. I saw him just that once. That memory and the fact that
my Grandmother was a well known piano teacher from Middleville MI was the extent of
my knowledge about the Whitwam past. Oh, there was the occasional comment that the
only thing my father ever got from his father was a sweater with a hole in it. That
probably sums up why very little was ever said about the Whitwam side of my family.
Over the years I gathered some family knowledge by asking a few questions and
stumbling on certain facts here and there. The few things I learned made me realize how
easily the knowledge of our past can fade with the memories of our older relatives. If
they did not make an effort to record our family history, it would be lost to us forever.
But lest I become critical of them, I have to make the effort to capture what I can and
pass it on to my family. So, that's why I pull together "A Whitwam Family History."
2
As I began my search I found more information than I thought there would be. I found
books with notations in flyleaves, old records crumbling with age, old photos of nameless
faces and buildings without places, all these were about to be tossed away. I met a distant
cousin who had done some family research. I found a site on the net where another
distant relative has done very extensive research on the Whitwam family name. By
piecing all of this together with the little I knew, the following story is what I can offer:
I have been aware of Steve Whitwam from Huddersfield, England, since 1986 when a
distant cousin, Ward Whitwam, told me of his work on the records of our family name.
Ward Whitwam, from Sioux Falls, SD, shares my Great- Great Grandfather, Christopher
Whitwam I, originally from Golcar, Yorkshire, England, a suburb of Huddersfield,
England, later from St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Steve Whitwam shares my GreatGreat- Great- Great Grandfather, James Whitwam (1710 - 1783) born in Golcar.
I looked into Steve’s website with interest several years ago. (www.whitwam.co.uk) He
has added a lot of information since then. His record of the earlier Whitwam generations
in the Golcar area confirms Ward Whitwam’s work and is probably the source of much
of it, as they collaborated. Adding Steve's work and Ward's work with what I already
knew completes ten generations, including me, over a 400 year period back to 1600.
To put this in historical perspective, 1600 was in the mid span of the lives of Galileo, Sir
Edward Coke and William Shakespeare. The microscope was invented about 1590. The
King James Bible was published in 1611. Galileo improved the thermometer about 1600
and improved the telescope in 1610. William Harvey discovered the full function of the
heart and circulatory system about 1619. The first English settlement, Jamestown,
Virginia, was established in 1607. All of this was taking place as the reign of Queen
Elizabeth 1st. was coming to an end and little Johnny Whitwam, born 1600, was playing
in the grass of Golcar and attending the Almondbury Grammar School.
I met Ward Whitwam when he was visiting Grand Rapids to see the Meyer May House,
a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house, restored and exhibited by Steelcase Inc. Ward is a
well known architect, so when he heard there was a Whitwam working at the Steelcase
Product Development Center, at their unique Pyramid Building, he called to ask if I
would give him a tour. We had a good visit over lunch and shared a little about our
backgrounds. He had much more to share about our family history than I did and he knew
that our name originated near the town of Huddersfield, England.
One other significant meeting was with Kevin Miller, Managing Director of CDI
Technologies Ltd. London England. Kevin grew up in Huddersfield and had Whitwam
friends throughout his school years. Kevin was very appreciative of time I spent going
over our Product Development Process with him. On his return to England he sent me a
copy of "Huddersfield a most handsome town" by E.A. Hilary Haigh, which I refer to
later. This book has 26 chapters written by 26 authors and covers the period from 1599 to
1920 while Huddersfield was a manor owned by the Ramsden family. This is the very
period that our known Whitwams can be documented in the Huddersfield area.
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4
We are especially interested in Steve Whitwam’s “FAMILY TREE OF THE WHITWAMS
OF GOLCAR.” By blending Steve's research with Ward’s excellent work I can see that we
have our distant common ancestor in James Whitwam, who married his second wife
Hannah Livesey and raised our Grandfather 5. Walker Whitwam. With this good work of
others and by filling in some information of our own with a healthy amount of inference,
we can spin enough of the Whitwam story to make it credible, if not interesting.
Through James Whitwam, born 1710, we share a common ancestry with Steve and Ward
Whitwam. With Ward, we share a common line through Christopher I, 1786-1843, who
brought his wife Elizabeth and six of his eight children to St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
from Golcar, Yorkshire, England to start a new life. The children, all born in England, are
listed with their birth year as follows: Sarah Jane 1816, Christopher Plat 1815-1826 (died
in England at age 11), Walker 1817, Joseph 1826 (stayed in England), Charles I 1828,
Beaumont 1830, Charlotte 1832 and our Christopher III 1837.
Ward's records show that the two younger brothers in the family, his Great Grandfather
Beaumont and my Great Grandfather Christopher III, had a close bond, both in their
livelihoods and in their home lives. Ward's sketchy information, which he found in the
1879 St. Thomas City Directory, offers several clues as to how our Christopher III and
his wife Diana Potticary, along with his older brother Beaumont and his wife Ann
Potticary, led the Whitwams to move from Canada into South Dakota, USA.
1879 - St Thomas City Directory
"Beaumont Whitwam, Christopher III’s older brother, and his wife Ann lived at 76
South Side Eliza Street in St. Thomas. He was employed with a gentleman named Dexter
in the manufacturing business of wood handles and best stuff. He was 49 years old.
Beaumonts younger brother Christopher III, age 42, was the manager. Beaumont’s wife,
Ann Potticary, had lived at 58 South Side Eliza Street in St. Thomas. Her father, Joe
Potticary, was a machinist at Dexter and Whitwam Co. He was born in England, as was
his wife. Christopher III married Ann’s younger sister Diana Potticary."
1882 It appears that 45-year-old Christopher III and his older brother Beaumont, along with
their wives, Diana and her older sister Ann, left St. Thomas for a tree claim land in South
Dakota, five miles northeast of Watertown. Did their interest in this area start with a
connection to the material source for their wood handles and best stuff? Or, maybe they
had a vision that this area had the lumber they needed for making even better best stuff.
Regardless, this is the area our Whitwams settled and where my Great Grandfather
Christopher III finally died and is buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery. At the time of the
move my Grandfather, Charles Christopher, was 17 years old and may have made the
move with them. However, we see that Charles Christopher's son with his first wife, my
Father's half brother George Franklin Whitwam, was born in Elgin, Canada.
5
This was Downtown St. Thomas in 1875. Wooden sidewalks and crosswalks enabled
pedestrians to cross muddy streets. Hitching posts can be seen along the side of the street.
Somewhere near this point was located a manufacturing business called Dexter and
Whitwam Company, where Christopher Whitwam III, his older brother Beaumont and
their Father-in-law Joe Potticary made wood handles and best stuff. Family life for my
Grandfather Charles Christopher, then 10 years old, must have included walking these
sidewalks with his mother, his brother Joseph and sisters Udaky, Mary and Ada.
6
The following is our documented record of ancestry going back nine generations, with
my father, Charles Patrick Whitwam 1912-1993 listed as Grandfather #1:
9. Johannis 1600-1673 (73) Occupation Clothier and Farmer. Golcar.
Almondbury Grammar School.
Married June 4, 1627 at Almondbury Parish Church
to Grace Jagger 1603-xxxx.
8. Joseph 1632-1703 (71) Baptized May 20, 1632. Golcar.
One of seven known children.
He inherited property from his father.
Married Sarah ( ) who died 1723 or 1724.
7. George 1684-1756 (72) Baptized August 3, 1684.
The only boy of six known children.
Married Martha Dyson April 29, 1706, Golcar.
Buried in Huddersfield.
6. James 1710-1783 (73) Baptized October 7, 1710. Golcar.
Married first wife Mary Wood 1712-1783.
Nine children.
Married second wife Hannah Livesey 1733-1781.
Six children, the oldest being our Walker.
5. Walker 1757-(xx) Baptized November 30, 1757.
One of eight possible known children.
Married Hannah Platt ( )
4. Christopher I, 1786-1843 (57) Born at Small Lane, Golcar, Yorkshire, England.
Methodist, baptized January 15, 1786.
One of four known children.
Buried at Old St. Thomas Church, 55 Walnut Street.
Occupation Clothier in England.
Occupation Farmer in St. Thomas, Canada.
Married Elizabeth Betty Beaumont 1790-1853, a
Methodist. Occupation weaver. Father-David Beaumont.
3. Christopher III 1837-1915 (78) Born Yorkshire, England.
Methodist.
Occupation listed in 1879 St. Thomas City Directory as
manufactory, Dexter and Whitwam Co.
Died Watertown South Dakota.
Married Diana Potticary 1842-1936 (94) Born St.Thomas. Died
Minneapolis, MN. Buried Watertown S. Dakota.
7
2. Charles C. 1865-1938 (73) Born Ontario Canada.
Died Grand Rapids MI.
Occupation, managed Charles Chemical Co.
Married first wife, Alice A. Bennett 1866-1910.
One son, George Franklin, clerked in his father's company.
Married second wife, Minnie B. Jacox 1874-1936, in
Grand Rapids MI. She was a well known music teacher.
One son, Charles Patrick Whitwam.
1. Charles Patrick 1912- May, 1993 (80) Born Grand Rapids MI.
Raised by his mother in Middleville MI.
Died May 08, 1993 in Spring Lake MI.
Graduated Thornapple Kellogg H.S. 1932.
Member, Spring Lake Baptist Church.
Occupation, Tank and aircraft test mechanic.
Married 1937 to Leona May (Riemersma) Whitwam 1921-xxxx
Points of interest:
Ward Whitwam notes that Grandfather 9, Johannis (John) Whitwam 1600-1673, as
records go, may be the son of John Whitwam and Isabell (Loude) who were married on
April 4, 1562 in the town (or parish) of Bolton by Bowland OR, he was the son of John
Whitwam of Neptonstall and was baptized on November 12, 1609. Either way, Johannis
Whitwam is documented as the father of our Grandfather 8, Joseph Whitwam 1632-1703.
With James Whitwam 1710-1783 there is a split in the family tree from the result of his
second marriage. James had a first marriage and nine children with Mary Wood 17121783 which produced Steve Whitwam's line from then on. A second marriage and six
children with Hannah Livesey 1733-1781 produced our line of descent. (An interesting
side note: Our Hannah died in 1781, two years before their Mary died in 1783.)
Mary Wood's last child, their Joseph, was born 1754, and Hannah's first child, our
Walker, was born 1757. So, if this record is correct, at 47 years old James left his wife
Mary with a 2 to 3 year old son and at least seven older siblings, to start a new life with
our Hannah, who bore her first child, Walker, to continue our family line.
Question - If James would have remained faithful to his first wife Mary, where would
our line of Whitwams be today? Observation - In this world, we are all products of bad
choices made. However, there is never a time in our lives when we do not have a second
chance to move from where choices have taken us, to where God wants us to be. No
matter how far from God's plan we seem to get, we can always turn from where we are to
follow his will for us. And, if we are tempted to blame our circumstances on the choices
of others, we should rather blame our own lack of right choices instead. So, where would
we be today? We would exist somewhere, placed by the All Knowing, Sovereign God
for his purpose. For, he knew each of us even before the foundation of the world.
8
The origin of the Whitwam name.
The Whitwam name, which is an Old English, or Anglo-Saxon medieval locational
surname, evidently came into use when surnames began to be used for personal taxation
purposes. According to www.surnamedb.com some variant forms of spellings of
Whitwam have been, Whytwham, Whitwhame, Whitewham, Whitwhame, Whittwam,
Whitwham, Whitewam and Whitwand.
One explanation is that the name Whitwam comes from the words "hwitt-hwamm"
meaning a white corner angle or dwellers at the white corner. We can only speculate as to
what distinguishing white feature caused these people to be called the hwitt-hwamm
dwellers. A possible explanation is that the name originates from the village in former
times known as "La Whitewhom," but is now Whitwham, in the county of
Northumberland.
Whitwam Surname
According to "Name Origin Research" (www,surnamedb.com) "This is an English
medieval surname. It originates from the village in former times known as La
Whitwham, but is now Whitwham, in the country of Northumberland. First recorded in
the year 1317, Le Whitewhom translated as the valley of light grass, and refers to a
summer grazing area. From the Old English 'hwita - wham', the latter is a dialectal from
the cwm or cumb meaning a valley. The surname is not apparently recorded in
Northumberland at all, being centred on the county of Lancashire and to a much lesser
extent, Yorkshire. This suggests that the original village in Northumberland was probably
cleared in the 15th century through changing agricultural practice, or possibly to escape
from the raiding Scots, who pillaged as far south as the city of York. In leaving their
original homestead , the villagers adopted or were given as their surname the name of
the village. Spellings being at best erratic and local accents very thick lead to the
creation of the variant forms. Examples of recordings taken from early church registers
include Mychaell Whytwham of Halifax on September 10th 1581, and John Whitwhame
of Burnley, on April 15th 1562. Other spellings include Whitewham, Whitwhame,
Whittwam, Whitwham, whitewam, and Whitwand, Joseph Whitwand, of Newcastle on
Tyne, Northumberland, being christened there on March 5th 1637. The first recorded
spelling of the family name in church registers may be that of Alice Whitewhame. This
was dated September 23rd 1563, when she married at Burnley, Lancashire, during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when
governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll
Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop"
often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. "
9
The name Whitewhom, first recorded in the year 1317, is translated as the valley of light
grass, and refers to a summer grazing area. The first recorded spelling of the family name
in church registers may be that of Alice Whitewhame. This was dated September 23rd
1563, when she married at Burnley, Lancaster, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st,
1558-1603. Our earliest documented ancestor, John Whitwam was born in the year 1600
in Golcar at the end of this reign.
Steve Whitwam, who is a very proficient genealogy researcher, has probably exhausted
all possibilities of new Whitwam discoveries in England. Ward Whitwam, who has had a
strong interest in the research and has engaged researchers in England, Canada and the
United States, may have come to an end also. It is unlikely that we will learn many new
confirmable Whitwam facts further in the past than 1600. So, we can document our actual
line back over 400 years and know from www.surnamedb.com that the name was
recorded as far back as the 1317.
The Whitwam migration from England
According to Ward Whitwam's searches, the first Whitwham in the New World was a
26-year-old man who sailed from Liverpool on the ship named Globe of London,
captained by Jeremy Blackman. Joe Whitwham landed in Virginia in August of 1635,
three years after our Grandfather 8. Joseph was born. There is no indication that he is
directly related. However, because our name is an English locational surname, his origin
is from the same small village where our name began. National Geographic's "A World
Transformed" states that "When tobacco boomed, thousands of English indentured
servants mortgaged their lives for 4 to 7 years of brutal work in return for 50 acres of
their own - if they survived."
On a more personal level, Christopher Whitwam I and His wife, Elizabeth (Betty)
Beaumont, migrated to St. Thomas, Ontario with six of their eight children sometime
after they were married in England in 1814 and all of their children were born. Elizabeth
Beaumont was from a prominent family in the city of Huddersfield England. She is likely
descended from the same family as Sir Richard Beaumont of Whitley, a Baronet. (A
Baronet is a member of British order of honor; ranking below a Baron but above a
knight.) There is a Beaumont Park located in Huddersfield today and there are many
mentions of the Beaumont family name in the city history.
One early and interesting mention of the Beaumont Family is found in the history of
Castle Hill, Almondbury. Castle Hill has a very old history stretching back into the BCs
and includes a Middle Age castle structure which can be seen from most vantage points
in Huddersfield. On page 13 of "Huddersfield a Most Handsome Town" is a statement
that there are records that the castle on the hill was never besieged, and that the burnt out
Iron Age ramparts were probably a result of accidental spontaneous combustion.
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"A battle did take place, however, in 1471 at the hamlet of Hill Bower, just below Castle
Hill. It seems to have been a small affair, the local families of Beaumont and Kaye
settling old scores in a continuing feud. However, several people were killed, including
Nicholas Beaumont of Newsome."
So, when we search back to see if we are part of the Royal Family or can carry a shield
and wear a feather in our cap, the closest we can get to the "Knights of the Round Table"
is a distant relative on my Great-Great-Grandmother Beaumont's side, who got his tin
pants kicked in a local family feud. But, of such are legends born.
We don't know the exact year that the Christopher I and Elizabeth Whitwam family
moved to Canada, but the records show that their youngest child, our Christopher III, was
born in 1837 in Yorkshire England and his father Christopher I died six years later in St.
Thomas Ontario on June 2, 1843. It is apparent that sometime in that six year span, about
1840, the family made their major move when our Christopher III was about 3 years old
and his father was about 54 years.
We see that Christopher Whitwam II was the first son in the family. He died in 1826 at
the age of 11. This was eleven years before his brother, our Christopher III, was born in
1837. Christopher II's burial was in England, about fourteen years before the family
moved to St. Thomas.
The record shows that Christopher and Elizabeth's fourth child, Joseph (born 1826)
apparently remained behind when the family migrated to Canada. Joseph would have
been about 14 years old.
I found a brief mention of a Joseph Whitwam on page 686 of the book, “Huddersfield, a
Most Handsome Town” This Joseph Whitwam was a collector of land and freshwater
shells. His collection eventually ended up displayed in the Tolson Memorial Museum in
the town of Huddersfield.
During the 1850s, this Joseph Whitwam was a very good friend with Seth Lester Mosley
and James Brier. They met and created a "museum" in a shed where Seth kept rabbits.
James Brier stuffed and collected birds and Joseph Whitwam collected his shells. Seth's
father was a well known taxidermist who stuffed birds for the Alfred Beaumont
collection of 295 cases of British birds, which was the nucleus for the Town's Museum.
Joseph's friend Seth grew up to be named curator of the Tolsom Memorial Museum.
Alfred Beaumont showed interest in this small group and encouraged them to collect.
If it is difficult to fathom the family leaving young Joseph behind, it may help when we
put it in context with Elizabeth Beaumont's connection to the prominent Beaumont
family. Did Joseph stay behind with a Beaumont family? Is this connection with the
Beaumonts what led to Joseph and Seth being good friends? The timing is right. The
connection is right. I think we can infer that this Joseph is my Great- Grand Uncle Joseph
Whitwam, who remained behind in Huddersfield.
11
We can only speculate as to why our particular Whitwam family decided to leave
Huddersfield, England, where the Whitwams have been so well established for so many
generations and many still live today. Our family's recorded occupations in the farming,
weaving and clothier industries may tell the story as we see what was happening in the
textile industry at that period in time.
The town of Huddersfield rests in the middle of the English "North Country." It is in this
area, at the peak of the textile industry, that up to 70% of the world's cotton goods were
hand woven, dyed and finished in private cottage industries supplied by regional cotton
and sheep farmers. Neighboring Bradford was once the wool capital of the world and the
cities of Manchester, Entwistle Station and Blackburn were England's land of cotton. (For
more details on this see National Geographic's "Discovering Britain & Ireland.")
According to Colum Giles, who wrote chapter 12 of "Huddersfield a Most Handsome
Town," the area enjoyed a diverse economy for centuries. "Agriculture has always been
important, engineering and chemicals have played a significant role since the middle of
the nineteenth century and, of course, textiles have long been a major employer."
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It was in this location, during this era of privet cottage industries, that Whitwams held
deep roots where their surname originated with the people who dwelled in the valley of
light grass, in the area of the white corner angle, and become known as the (La
Whitewhom) Whitwams. I speculate that these Whitwams lived within the domestic
system of farming and textile production, blending into the industry culture while
retaining the surname of the small band of dwellers from the white corner angle.
The 1770s began a transition from homespun goods to a systematic mechanization of the
textile industry. This led to dramatic changes in the nature of the cottage industries. 1770
to 1851 was an era of mixed domestic and mill production in the textile industry. Most
spinning and weaving was done on home looms or at small co-op looms, while the
finishing and dyeing processes transitioned to being services at large public processing
centers. Later in this period even most of the spinning and weaving moved to the mills.
By mid-century, the majority of the industry was fully mechanized in all aspect of textile
production. Major inventions and the infusion of investment capital led to large private
production mills and ultimately to the extinction of the cottage industry. The industry
eliminated the individual hand weaving along with the livelihoods of many common
people. Our Christopher I, a clothier, and Elizabeth, a weaver, may have been in just such
a family cottage industry that was threatened or eliminated by new methods. This could
very well have been what pulled up their deep family roots from the little neighborhood
on Small Lane, Golcar, Yorkshire, England to be replanted in St. Thomas, Ontario,
Canada with hope of a new start in life.
Small Lane is a very short drive from one end to the other. This is a recent Google
picture of the Small Lane neighborhood in Golcar, Huddersfield area. These homes look
old enough that one of them could be the old Whitwam homestead, where the Whitwam
kids played in the streets when not working.
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Economic and Social pattern of life in the cottage industry culture of
the 1800s to 1840s.
Some historians describe the tough living conditions endured by cottage industry
families through the first half of the 1800s by contrasting the improvements made during
the second half of the century. During the early period it was all work and no play with a
work week consisting of twelve to fourteen hour days and working until 2 or 4p.m. on
Saturdays. There were only two half-day holidays per year to celebrate Good Friday and
Christmas. The entire family, including children, would be engaged in home industries,
leaving little or no time for school or recreation. I imagine they endured their 75 hour
work weeks and relished their Saturday evenings and Sundays with hope for better life.
The 1850s and through the later period saw the beginning of the formation of trade
councils, effective law and order, chapels, schools, co-operatives and clubs. Life
improved when wages increased and food prices lowered so one could eat more than the
customary three meals of oatmeal each day and whatever greens could be found to put in
it. Meat that had been eaten only on Sundays became available and broth or stew became
the usual dinner throughout the week. The introduction of water distribution and drainage
systems, gas lighting and home sanitation all contributed to a better life. The new luxury
of free time resulted in a clear division between labor and leisure. There was time for
games, music, reading, societies and clubs, all of which helped curb a former
predominate rebellious spirit and wiped out the old rough way of life.
Perhaps the biggest influence on improved family life was the demise of the cottage
industry and the moving of labor from the home to co-operatives and factories. Weaver's
cottages in the early period were devoid of comfort. Furniture was simple and sparse with
little room left when weaving, spinning, winding and warping were performed at home.
People were born, slept and died on beds with straw mattresses that were hung on the
walls during the day and laid over the equipment at night. There may have been a shelf
for drying oatcake and a stone sink which sometimes had drainage to the outside. The
family would gather around a small table and eat from an iron pot. Communal privies
were vile and primitive, with little or no privacy, consisting of two or three poles
stretching from wall to wall over a drop to the ash pit. There was no question that the
family structure existed to produce product, not for the comfort of living.
The later period brought many improvements with the removal of production from the
home. Now the home could be made and kept clean. There was room for tables, chairs,
beds and the cast iron oven. The cast iron range with ovens and water boilers began to
alter domestic life radically. It made possible a new level of hygiene and comfort and
significantly changed food habits. Compressed yeast, cheaper sugar, jam and dried fruit
appeared in the 1840s and reliable baking powder appeared in 1850. Women, whose
cooking had been done only in open fire pots or on griddles, now could add bread,
biscuits, pies, tarts, and cakes to the daily meals.
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Ironically, as our Whitwams endured their 75 hour work weeks and relished their
Saturday evenings and Sundays through that early period, they found their hope for a
better life by moving to a new land just as the better life of the later period got started
back home. But, from that time on, home was not where they had been but where they
were going. From our perspective it was a good choice they made.
Immigrating Canada
French and English exploration touched the Canadian shores several times following a
brief eleventh century Viking outpost presence in northern Newfoundland. Samuel de
Champlain, sometimes called the Father of New France, founded the first permanent
settlement in Quebec in 1642. The settlement was later named Montreal. In 1663 Louis
XIV made Canada a province of his kingdom and one hundred years later there were
about 60,000 French settlers in the new province.
The French and English, being mortal enemies, did battle until the English prevailed in
the Battle of Quebec. Following this the British American governors implemented the
benevolent "Quebec Act" of 1774, which assured the loyalty of the French Canadians.
Following this, 45,000 pioneers set sail from five Irish ports, joined by even larger
numbers from Scottish areas. In 1783, 40,000 American colonists affirmed their loyalty
to the British Crown and moved north.
This benevolent approach to multi-cultural infusion of population worked well for many
years. In 1839, one of the classic documents in the rise of the British Commonwealth of
Nations, the "Durham Report," recommended numerous liberal reforms in the
administration of Canada. United Canada was given the machinery of independence in
1840, with an elected assembly to assume virtual control over all domestic affairs. It is at
this time that, whether by choice or overwhelming circumstances, our Whitwams boarded
a great ship to sail to the new independent Canada and start a new life.
15
The Christopher Whitwam I, Family
16
The Whitwams in context of Human Existence and World History
As we spin the story of the Whitwam path through history let's start where we should, at
the very beginning. This is a well documented part of our early pedigree. It is a pedigree
spanning about two thousand years and one that every person on earth can claim.
(B.C. dates, USSHER)
Father Adam (930years) (USSHER assigns 4004 B.C. as the year of creation of the world.
Adam was created on the 6th day and God fashioned Eve and established
the law of marriage between a man and a woman.
Adam died 3474 B.C. The date that Eve died is not known.
Seth
(3874-2962) (912 years) Adam talked with Seth 800 years.
Enos
(3679-2864) (905 years) Adam talked with Enos 695 years.
Cainan
(3769-2769) (910 years) Adam talked with Cainan 605 years.
Mahalaleel (3609-2714) (895 years) Adam talked with Mahalaleel 535 years.
Jared
(3544-2582) (962 years) Adam talked with Jared 470 years.
Enoch
(3382----Walked with God and was translated 3017 after 365 years.
Methuselah (3317-2349) (969 years) Died one year before the 2348 B.C. great flood.
Adam talked with Methuselah 243 years.
Lamech
(3130-2353) (777 years) Died five years before the great flood.
Adam talked with Lamech 56 years.
Father Noah (2948-1998) (950 years) Saved by God‘s grace from the great flood, as his
faith was counted as righteousness. He survived with his wife, three sons and their wives.
Noah talked with Enos for 84 years, Cainan 179 years, Mahalaleel 234 years, Jared 366
years, his Grandfather Mathuselah 599 years and Lamech his father 595 years. All had
talked with Adam. Noah was very well versed with pre-flood culture and history.
Japheth Only three sons were born to Noah approx. 2440's to 50’s B.C. With the
dispersion of Noah’s descendants over the earth in about 2247 BC, Japheth's
descendants probably dispersed into Europe, Shem's probably dispersed into Asia and
Ham's probably dispersed into Africa. It is most likely that our pedigree follows
Japheth's line as our name later appears in the Humber River area in Northumberland,
Medieval England.
An interesting note:
Shem, the son of Noah, lived for 600 years, 502 of them after the flood. He was
contemporary with and talked with Abraham 150 years and with Isaac 50 years. Abraham
lived 175 years; Isaac lived 180 years, Moses 120 years. Clearly, the effects of the post
deluge ecology was showing up in the shorter threescore and ten (70) year life spans
reported in Ps. 90:10 of the Old Testament. There is a great explanation of this in Chapter
VIII of "Scientific Creationism" published by The Institution for Creation Research.
The pre-flood genealogy record is confirmed by Moses in the book of Genesis 5:1-32. It
is clear that Moses is recording from an existing book, probably passed along by Adam
through Noah and carried on the ark. "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day
that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;"
17
The repopulation of the world after the Great Flood
Of the world's major geographic regions including Asia, Africa, Americas and Europe,
we will concentrate on the migration into Europe, influenced by the spread of the
dominance of the mighty Roman Empire.
It will not be the intent of this narrative to detail the broad history of the rise of men and
nations from the eight survivors of the Great Flood. Rather, we will attempt to follow the
narrower path of our ancestors as it leads to our namesakes in the British Isles. Even this
narrow path can only be followed as it weaves through and skips over the known events
of world history. We will only ever know that there is an unknown, howbeit unbroken,
DNA path starting with Adam and Eve, running through Father Noah and probably his
son Japheth to the Whitwam people, long before they were named Whitwam. We only
need to know that, like every child born into this world, we each struggle with the same
broken relationship with our creator. This is a situation that requires a big choice,
regarding a change in our self will, if the break is to be mended.
It is very humbling indeed to stand back and view one of the many published time charts
of world history. Two good examples are "Amazing Bible Timeline with World History"
and "The Time Chart History of the World." Over time there have been major
civilizations, some unknown to each other, some battling each other for supremacy. But
the movement of nations, large and small, has served only as a backdrop for the billons of
individual human souls who have been so strategically placed for the individual purpose
God has had for them. If we learn anything from our perspective, we can see that it is not
our time or position in history that counts with God, but it is where we are in our spiritual
relationship with him that counts.
Against the backdrop of the broad scope of human history, we realize just how
insignificant one person seems to be in this big world. But in the context of the living,
loving God, who personally knows and cares for each individual soul, we each stand
before him in a position where our actions and choices have significance in light of the
purpose he has for us to fulfill. He gives each of us a "Big Choice" to submit our will to
his will, accept his great salvation and be his child. And yet we see that so many, when
given that choice to abide with him on a personal level, chose instead to keep their
allegiance with a harsh impersonal world that does not know or care who they are.
For further perspective let's assume that in each generation our ancestors bore the child
in our line on an average of 30 years after they were born. Over the 2,000 AD years from
the time of Christ we have had 66 generations pass. Add to this the 2,300 BC years back
to the Great flood and it totals about 145 generations. There is no reason to speculate
further back, because we can see that life spans were much longer before the drastic
effect the great flood had on the earth. So, what did our line of 145 people experience
during their appointed times? What did they see, hear and do? What choices did they
make that directed the path to where we are? One thing is sure, they made their Big
Choice or not, on their own. Now we can make our Big Choice or not, on our own.
18
Now, like a little hovering drone following marks left on the landscape of history, let's
review the ruling influences and world events our narrow ancestral line may have
encountered as our DNA path led to the valley of light grass in the land of England.
Imagine the sights they saw, the choices they made and the places they went.
Before the beginning. God's Plan for creation included a plan for each of us.
The creation. God spoke and the world was.
Holy Fellowship with God in His perfect garden. God's fellowship plan for us.
The rebellion. Lucifer's usurping of God's will.
The fall of Adam and Eve. The choice that broke Holy Fellowship with God.
The curse of labor, pain and death. Life moved outside of God's perfect will.
The death of Abel. The first murder. The first martyr.
The birth of Seth. A new line of hope.
Pre flood culture - The Pre Flood age - About 4004 BC to 2348 BC.
Invention - metallurgy - music - etc.
The birth of Noah in the line of Seth.
Rebellion- Falling away from God's order until the thoughts of men where only evil.
Noah's Deluge 2348 BC. A continuation of the hope.
A new cultural beginning in a drastically changed earth.
Post flood culture started with praising God for deliverance and degenerated from there.
Rebellion - Joining together at the Tower of Babel to challenge God's Sovereignty.
The confusion of tongues and dispersion of peoples. 2247 BC.
1. Shem - probably Asia. 2. Ham - probably Africa. 3. Japheth - probably Europe.
Fast forward through two thousand years of population explosion and proliferation of
nations as a trial of every conceivable form of order failed to rectify man's evil rebellion.
200 B.C. - The beginning of the rise of the Roman Empire.
55 - 54 B.C. - Caesar invades Britain but withdraws.
The center point of history. The Hope realized! The coming of God's Son.
The birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the redeemer.
The beginning of the Church Age and spread of the gospel throughout the world.
50 - A.D. - English towns created, including Colchester and London.
61 - Celtic Queen Boudicca of Iceni revolts and sacks London, killing thousands.
78 - Conquest of Wales completed by the Romans and the Druids were exterminated.
100 - Roman road system finished.
275 - Romans began building "Saxon Shore" forts on southeast coast.
306 - Constantine proclaimed Roman Emperor at York. Converted to Christianity.
350 - 400 Attacks by Picts, Scots, Irish, and Saxons.
400 - The decline of the Roman Empire ending Roman protection.
410 - Emperor Honorius tells British to provide for their own defense.
500 - Reputed Saxon defeat by King Arthur at Mons Badonicus.
597 - St Augustine converts King of Kent, founds church at Canterbury.
827 - Egbert formed the Kingdom of England
19
865 - Danish Great Army invades England.
1014 - Battle of Clontarf. Victory of Irish High King Brian Boru over Vikings.
1066 - Battle of Hastings. William, Duke of Normandy, wins English Crown.
1189 - Richard I leads Third Crusade to the Holy Land.
1215 - King John forced by English barons to accept Magna Carta.
1265 - First English Parliament meets at Westminster Hall.
1277 - 1295 - Edward I crushes Welsh uprisings.
*1317 - The first recoding of the name Le Whitewhom, translated as the valley of the
light grass, and refers to a summer grazing area.
1320 - Gun powder invented by M. Schwartz.
1337 - 1453 - Hundred Years War with France.
1348 - Bubonic plague arrives from Europe, wipes out one third of England's people.
1440 - First printing by Gutenberg.
1455 - 1485 Wars of the Roses.
1536 - 1539 - Dissolution of the Monasteries brings great wealth to Henry VIII.
1558 - The beginning or the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
*1563 - The first recorded spelling of the family name in church registers may be
that of an Alice Whitewhame.
1577 - 1580 - Sir Francis Drake voyages around the world.
1588 - Drake defeats Spanish Armada; beginning of the English naval supremacy.
*1600 - 1673 - Johannis Whitwam born in Golcar England.
1603 - The end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
1607 - Virginia settlement, the first permanent American colony.
*1632 - 1703 Joseph Whitwam born.
* 1635 - Joe Whitwam in Virginia, placing the fist Whitwam footprint in America.
1642 - Samuel de Champlain funded the first settlement in Quebec.
1642 - 1649 - Civil War in England ends in the execution of Charles I.
1666 - Great Fire of London destroys much of the city. Sr. Isaac Newton discovered the
Law of Gravition.
*1684 - 1756 - George Whitwam born.
1689 - Bill of Rights defines authority of English Parliament.
*1710 -1783 - James Whitwam born. Married Marry Wood. First child, Ann, born 1733.
1750 - James Watt discovers the power of steam.
* 1754 to 57 - James Whitwam married his second wife, Hannah, to continue our line of
the Whitwams, with their first child Walker.
*1757-(xxxx) - Walker Whitwam born to James and Hannah.
1764 - James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny.
1769 - James Watt patents his first steam engine.
1776 - 1783 - U.S. American colonies declare independence.
1785 - Edmund Cartwright invents the power loom.
*1786 - 1843 - Christopher Whitwam I born to Walker and Hannah Platt Whitwam.
1789 - First US President, George Washington.
*1837 - 1915 - Christopher Whitwam III, born in Yorkshire, England.
20
1839 - Durham Report, recommended liberal reforms in English administration of
Canada and united Canada was given the machinery of independence in 1840.
*1840 (Approx.) - Christopher I and Elizabeth Whitwam family moved to Canada.
1845 - 1851 - Great Famine in Ireland; mass emigrations to Americas.
1865 - Charles C. Whitwam is born in Ontario, Canada.
1882 - Christopher III and Dianna Whitwam move to South Dakota, USA.
1912 - Charles Patrick Whitwam is born in Grand Rapids MI.
The populating of the British Isles
This is where we will explore a general overview of the populating of the continent of
Europe and the British Isles. For this, with much editing and much addition, I credit
portions of Ward Whitwam's 1980, 4th printing of his version of how Whitwams
established themselves in the manor of Golcar (originally Guthlacscar) belonging to the
Saviles family, being a suburb of Huddersfield, owned by the Ramsden family between
1599 and 1920. It was within this ruling system that the Whitwams paid rents, market
dues, tolls, rights to buy and sell at the various fairs, as tax monies moved up to the
Crown through the various land owners and lords. I also credit information gleaned from
the section "The North Country" from the National Geographic publication "Discovering
Britain & Ireland," Halbert's Family Heritage publication "The World Book of
Whitwams" and "The Amazing Whitwam New World Registry" by Sharon Taylor.
Little is known about the people who first settled various parts of the British Isles and
left behind such sites as Stonehenge near Salisbury. The successive waves of strangers
who would repeatedly disembark on the English shore did not leave a clear history. These
first intruders were the Iberians, a people of Neolithic culture who came up from the
Mediterranean area and settled. It was said they were dark people, and it is thought that
traces of their line may be seen today in occasional strikingly dark-haired individuals in
the population of Ireland and Wales.
According to Ward's version of history, around 500 B.C. the first of three main waves
from the European Continent disembarked. They were the Gaels (whose language still
survives today in Irish and Scotch.) In their wake came the Celts who occupied England
for the better part of 500 years until the Anglo-Saxons drove them into the mountains of
Wales and the peninsular refugees of Cornwall and Brittany. The last of the three
invading Celtic waves came in the first century B.C. This group spread swiftly over
southern and eastern parts of the island. Caesar found them waiting for him when he first
landed on a British beach in 55 B.C.
We Whitwams are interested in the lower midsection of the "North Country," midway
between the mouth of the Humber River on the east shore and the shipping ports of
Liverpool on the west shore. Here it is said that, "The ground it selfe for the most part
rough, and hard to be manured, seemeth to have hardened the inhabitants, whom the
Scots their neighbours also made more fierce and hardy..." (William Camden, 1610)
21
According to "Discovering Britain and Ireland," it is in this area that Northerners today
possess a spirit of independence from the pomp and ceremony and romantic extravagance
of London and the rest of Southern England. They instead feel different from all of that,
and even different from each other according to country, dale, or city. They have 2,000
years of history of invaders who arrived in different centuries, speaking different tongues
and settling in or leaving behind parts of their culture and themselves until, fee-fi-fo-fum,
who knows what blood runs through the veins of our Englishman. Northumbrians,
Yorkshire folk, Lancastrians and Cumbrians have this history of splitting England's North
into tribes differing in speech and attitude, but united in cheerful disdain for the South.
Many would describe themselves as a tougher, friendlier, mongrel breed. This
independent spirit is probably what motivated our Whitwam family to eventually break
away and move on to new opportunities in the new independent world across the sea,
where they could chose to drink their own brand of tea.
Again, according to Ward Whitwam, for a full century before the departure of the
Roman Legions the first of the Teutonic tribes that ultimately would conquer Britain, the
Saxons crossed the North Sea in their long boats and began to harass and devastate the
eastern coast. Again and again the imperial government at Rome sent reinforcements to
defend its remote province, but the Empire as a whole had already begun to crumble
within.
As the Roman Empire began to decline, hordes of barbarians overran all of northern and
central Europe and finally the very heart of the empire. By 410 A.D. the last of the
Roman legionnaires had been withdrawn from the English Island. The Teutonic tribe
began to stream across the North Sea from western Germany and Denmark to England,
raiding, plundering and finally conquering. The floodgates opened wide in 449 and these
migrations continued into the middle of the sixth century. Last to arrive were the Angles,
who in 547 descended on the east coast and took over the downs and hill country north of
the Humber River.
The language which the Teutonic invaders brought to their adopted home completely
supplanted Latin. Its evolution from its advent in England down to the present time has
been a continuous process. Contemporary scholars distinguish three main chapters in its
growth:
1. Old English - from 450 to 1150 when the impact of the Norman Conquest (1066)
began to alter the speech.
2. Middle English - from 1150 to 1500.
3. Modern English - from 1500 on.
Old English, or Anglo-Saxon as it is sometimes called, more nearly resembled Dutch
than the English we speak today. It is Old English that we Whitwams are most interested
in for the name "Whitwam" comes from the words "hwitt-hwamm" Meaning a white
corner angle, or dwellers at the white corner.
22
It is obvious from these Anglo-Saxon words that a group of people living together in
Northumberland between 450 and 1150 on a section of road at a special corner came to
be known as Whitwhams or Whitwams. We can't be led to believe that people from this
group alone are descendants of the last of the Angles who came in 547, for history tells us
there were waves of fierce invaders from across the North Sea. Scandinavian people of
the Baltic, the Norwegians, Swede and Danes, burst forth from their bleak and misty
fjords and spread to the east and west plundering neighboring lands for the next 250
years. But in the summer of 835 their activities underwent a marked change in quantity
and scale. It became apparent their purpose was no longer simply to plunder, but to
conquer.
In this second epoch of the Viking Age, great fleets of 300 to 400 ships sailed up the
rivers of Europe and the British Isles, pillaged the greatest cities of northern Europe
(Paris, Hamburg, London,) and invading the Mediterranean, attacked the strongholds of
Islam in the North Africa and Spain. The Swedish Vikings, pointing their bronze-beaked
longboats eastward, penetrated deeply into Russia, sacked the river towns, occupied
Kiev, where they established the foundations of a Russian state, and ultimately laid siege
to Constantinople.
The Norwegian Vikings plying westward invaded the Shetland Islands, the Faeroes,
Scotland, Ireland (where they founded the city of Dublin), and then pushed on through
unknown waters to Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, and the St. Lawrence River. The Danes
headed south and west; one invasion force wrested the Dukedom of Normandy from
Charles the Simple of France. This event would prove to be of crucial historic importance
later. Other fleets of seaborne Danish warriors concentrated on England where the same
flat shores and wide, slow rivers that had attracted the forebears of the Anglo-Saxon
defenders 400 years before now lured them into the heart of the lush English countryside.
In that year the Anglo-Saxon chronicles referred to this period as "The Great Army". An
army with its warriors traveling on horseback but fighting on foot, rampaging the length
and breadth of the land, the Danes established themselves firmly on the conquered soil.
These Danish settlements were, in the early years of the occupation, little more than
armed camps. But, as conditions gradually stabilized, they began to transplant their
families, as the Anglo-Saxon pirates had done four centuries earlier, and the historic
sequence of conquest and colonization repeated itself again. The soldiers of one
generation thus became the progenitors of the farmers and artisans of the next. During the
two centuries that elapsed between the advent of the Viking Great Army in 865 and the
arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066, Danes intermarried with English and sank
quietly into the society around them.
23
Our Whitwams
Which corner on the White Road the Whitwams dwelled in is yet to be established. The
towns northwest of Huddersfield called Kilowick, Halifax and Neptonstall show many
Whitwams in the 1500 and 1600's. Our family seems to have established themselves
firmly in Golcar, a suburb of Huddersfield. (Golcar, originally Guthalacscar, a manor
belonging to the Saviles family). Many Whitwam births, baptisms and deaths are
recorded at St. Peter's Parish in Huddersfield.
It is in this time and area that the great textile industries were developed and reached
their peak during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800's. Many Whitwams migrated to
the textile mills. The records show that Johannis Whitwam 1600 - 1673 was listed as a
clothier and farmer. Later, all of our Whitwam family members for the next two hundred
fifty years were in textiles. (No, not just wearing them, but producing them.) It was from
this historic background that our 3-year-old Christopher Whitwam III moved to start a
new life in a new land, grew up in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, manufactured best stuff,
married Diana Potticary and eventually settled in Watertown, South Dakota. And we are
all better off for the diversity that comes from the English side of our heritage.
It was then, from this background, that Christopher's son Charles C. Whitwam married
his second wife, Minnie Belle (Jacox) Whitwan in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Minnie B.
Whitwam's only child is our Charles Patrick Whitwam who settled in Spring Lake,
Michigan and with his wife Leona raised four sons to carry on the Whitwam name. Now
it will be up to your generations to make the choices that will chart the directions to
where you will go and how you will get there. The most important advise I can leave, is
that you not forget that one Big Choice that defines who you are.
The following is our documented record of the descendants from Charles Patrick
Whitwam and Leona May (Riemersma) Whitwam.
Charles Patrick Whitwam Family
1 Charles Patrick Whitwam
Born September 19,1912 in Grand Rapids, MI to Charles Christopher and Minnie
Belle (Jacox) Whitwam. (Also formerly Minnie Belle McConnell)
Siblings: Half brother George Franklin Whitwam, July 26, 1890-1952.
(Frank's mother was Alice Bennett 1866-1910) (44)
Graduated from Thornapple W.K. Kellogg, Agricultural High School 1932.
Married June 21, 1937 in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Over the years, resided in Grand Rapids, Middleville, Lamont and Spring Lake MI.
Died May 8,1993 in Spring Lake MI, Grand Haven Township Lakeshore Cemetery.
+ Leona May (Riemersma) Whitwam Born May 3, 1921 in Tallmadge Township,
MI to John Riemersma and Jennie (DeMeester) Riemersma.
Living as of 2014.
24
2 Neil Patrick Whitwam
Born July 15, 1938 in Middleville, MI.
Living as of 2014.
Married December 22, 1961 in Spring Lake, MI.
+ Jeannie Marie White Born May 2, 1940 in Champlain, IL
to Wilber and Eleanor White
Died April 27, 2006 in Sanford, FL.
3 Dawn Marie Tamari Born October 12, 1964 in Grand Haven, MI.
+ Wahbe Joseph Tamari Born April 14, 1966 in Lebanon.
4 Grace Marie Tamari Born March 8, 2007 in Orlando, FL.
3 Neil Patrick Whitwam Jr. Born May 13, 1967 in Grand Haven, MI.
+ Brenda Anne Madray Born June 28, 1965 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
4 Christine Joyce Whitwam Born December 4, 1993 in Altamonte Springs, FL.
4 Sandra Ann Whitwam Born May 15, 1995 in Altamonte Springs, FL.
2 James Edward Whitwam
Born December 4, 1939 in Middleville, MI.
Living as of 2014.
Married October 18,1963 in Spring Lake, MI.
+ Alice Kay Wierenga Born March 1, 1941 in Spring Lake, MI.
to William and Anna Wierenga.
3 Roxanne Kay Ritsema Born September 1, 1966 in Grand Haven, MI.
+ Peter Scott Ritsema Born July 26, 1965 in Grand Rapids, MI.
4 Anna Elise Born February 12, 1993 in Grand Rapids, MI.
4 Elizabeth Grace Born February 24, 1996 in Grand Rapids, MI.
4 William Scott Born November 30, 1998 in Grand Rapids, MI.
3 Scott Edward Whitwam Born August 30, 1968 in Grand Haven, MI.
+ Michelle Ann LaNore Born September 4, 1972 in Grand Haven, MI.
4 Michael James Born September 26, 1989 in Grand Haven, MI.
4 Alicia Ann Born December 15, 1990 in Grand Haven, MI.
5 (daughter)
3 Thomas James Whitwam Born December 28, 1970 in Grand Haven, MI.
+ Dee June Kuzyk Born May 16, 1972 in Muskegon, MI.
4 Tristin Brown, Dee's daughter, born January 23, 1989.
4 Abby Grace Born April 27, 2004 in Grand Rapids, MI.
4 Christopher David Born April 27, 2004 d- April 27, 2004 in GR.
4 Jacob James Born April 27, 2004 in Grand Rapids, MI.
3 Jennifer Lynn Boudrie Born July 12, 1974 in Grand Haven, MI.
+ Ronald Joseph Boudrie Born January 22, 1965 in Mt. Clemons, MI.
4 Marin Olivia Born December 29, 1998 in Grand Rapids, MI.
4 Jessica Leigh Born October 13, 2000 in Grand Rapids, MI.
4 Aaron Thomas Born May 9, 2006 in Sarasota, FL.
25
2 Ronald Lee Whitwam
Born January 20, 1943 in Grand Haven, MI.
Living as of 2014.
Married January 3, 1969 in Denver, Colorado (Galilee Baptist Church)
+ Karen Ann Swanson Born December 7, 1943 at West Point, NY
to Clarence and Doris (Myrwold) Swanson.
3 Todd Allen Whitwam Born January 6, 1973 in Grand Rapids, MI.
3 Jeremy Allen Whitwam Born May 13, 1975 in Grand Rapids, MI.
Married November 30, 2002 in Lansing, MI.
+ Kristin Rachael Magee Born August 6, 1978 in Fresno, CA.
4 Henry Tayshaun Whitwam Born June 2, 2007 in Lansing, MI.
4 Simon James Whitwam Born July 24, 2009 in Lansing, MI.
4 River Solidad Whitwam Born October 18, 2011 in Lansing, MI.
2 Jack Laine Whitwam
Born May 30, 1950 in Grand Haven, MI.
Living as of 2014.
+ Pam is deceased. Her only son Patrick took the name and is a Whitwam.
3 Patrick James Whitwam
+ Christine Lynn (Gibbs) Whitwam, married November 10. 2013
4 Philip Whitwam, son of Patrick
W
There is a supplement reference material package to this Whitwam Family History. This
document and the supplement package are both available in digital file. There are also
OPEN ISSUES in this work in progress that someone could research. (Original Documents
are in the possession of Ronald Whitwam.)
26
W
Whitwam Family History
Reference Attachments
Charles Patrick Whitwam
Page 28 - 31
Leona May (Riemersma) Whitwam
Page 32 - 34
Charles Christopher Whitwam
Page 35 - 36
Minnie Belle (Jacox) Whitwam
Page 37 - 39
George Franklin Whitwam
Page 40 - 41
Alice Lucille (Whitwam) Simkins
Page 42
Christopher Whitwam III
Page 43 - 45
Christopher Whitwam I
Page 46 - 47
Walker Whitwam
Page 48
Whitwams of Golcar England
Page 49
Open issues
Page 50
27
Charles Patrick Whitwam 1912- 1993 (80)
Born September 19, 1912 to Charles Christopher Whitwam and Minnie Belle (Jacox) Whitwam
of 1921 Horton Ave., Grand Rapids Michigan. He had a half brother, George Franklin Whitwam,
22 years older. Charles P. Whitwam died May 8, 1993 in Spring Lake Michigan, after a history
of heart disease. He is interred at the Grand Haven Township Lakeshore Cemetery, plot #335 B.
Charles was raised by his mother in Middleville MI. from about 1914 through his 1932
graduation from Thornapple W. K. Kellogg, Agricultural High School. He was known as a very
good amateur boxer as he grew up. He pole vaulted on the high school track team and
participated in clubs and extracurricular activities. He spent many hours hiking and swimming the
Thornapple River area around Middleville.
Charles had several good friends and had activities that took him back and forth on trips to the
Chicago area. He later befriended the John Riemersma family in Middleville and met his future
wife Leona Riemersma.
Married 6-21-1937 in Valparaiso, Indiana. He eloped at the age of 26 from Middleville MI with
Leona May Riemersma, also from Middleville MI. Over the years he resided in Grand Rapids
MI, Middleville MI, Lamont MI and then settled in Spring Lake MI. For most of that time he
resided at the family home site, 418 E River Street, Spring Lake MI. He provided well for his
family, if not with his time, there was always food and shelter.
1940s - 1950s
He tried his hand at selling stainless steel pots and pans.
He tried to sell a floor wax product from a formula that his Father had developed.
He started a gas station with his brother-in-laws in Holland MI.
He retired 1972 from Teledyne Continental Motors, Muskegon MI, after 30 years as a mechanic.
(Tested Tank and Aircraft Engines)(Essential industry worker during WWII)(Always worked
second shift)
Member of Spring Lake Baptist Church. 1947-1993. He served for years as a church bus driver.
(See his written testimony) He was 21 years old before he heard about the "true God" and the
plan of salvation. He was saved in his home years later.
Hobbies: Tuning motors, gardening, hunting and fishing. Liked to read Zane Grey novels and
watch TV wrestling and westerns. Always dreamed of a trip to Africa, but never was able to go.
He was involved at the 1950 beginning of the Berlin Raceway, Marne MI. He was very much in
demand for his ability to fine tune racecar engines. (See Berlin Raceway at Wikipedia)
Upon retirement he and Leona served at camp CO-BE-AC, a Conservative Baptist Convention
camp, in the Houghton Lake, MI area. He and Leona traveled through Michigan, Florida and
Texas, living in a small house trailer.
Favorite foods: Basic meat and potatoes, bread and butter, fried eggs, raw onions, and
horseradish. Favorite beverage: Coffee. He would pour some and drink it from a saucer so he
didn't have to wait for it to cool in the mug.
28
29
30
31
Leona May (Riemersma) Whitwam 1921Born May 3, 1921 to John Riemersma and Jennie (DeMeester) Riemersma of Tallmadge
Township, MI. (from the Certificate of birth)
She was raised in Middleville MI within a large extended farming family. She attended
Thornapple W. K. Kellogg Agricultural High School through grade eleven. She was a good
student and competed on the high school girl's basketball team.
The oldest daughter in a family of three girls and three boys, a lot of homemaking duties fell on
Leona. As a young teenager growing up in the aftermath of the great depression, she boarded out
to care for an elderly woman for 50 cents a day. The 50 cents went back to help support the
family.
Married June 21, 1937 in Valparaiso, Indiana. She eloped at the age of 16 from Middleville MI
with Charles Patrick Whitwam, also from Middleville MI. Over the years she resided in
Middleville MI, Lamont MI, Spring Lake MI and Grand Haven MI. After the death of her
husband Charles, she resided
at the 418 E River Street, Spring Lake, MI family home, Liberty Woods Retirement Co-op in
Spring Lake and Robbinswood Assisted Living Community, Grand Haven MI.
A long term member of Spring Lake First Baptist Church from 1944, Leona was a faithful
servant of the Lord and served in teaching and leadership positions in the Sunday school and
Vacation Bible School. She often accepted leadership positions in activities. She brought her four
boys up in the Church and they all now proclaim a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Leona used her very good cooking skills at many volunteer events and in employment. She
cooked at a chicken take-out restaurant, a rehabilitation facility and church summer camp.
Upon retirement she and Charles served at camp CO-BE-AC, a Conservative Baptist Convention
camp, in the Houghton Lake, MI area. They also traveled through Michigan, Florida and Texas,
living in a small house trailer.
Hobbies: Cooking and baking, sewing, knitting, crafts, neighboring. She was a neighborhood go
to person for medical advice and assistance.
Favorite foods: Cooked big well balanced meals, but favored anything sweet or greasy. Some
specialties included wilted lettuce with mashed potatoes, breaded pork steak and pigs in the
blanket. Canning fruits and vegetables was common activity and provided a well stocked fruit
cellar. To the delight of her family, she did a lot of baking and candy making.
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Charles Christopher Whitwam 1865 - 1938 (73)
Born 1865 - Likely in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.
His family moved from Canada to South Dakota in 1882 when his father was
reportedly 45 years old. C.C. Whitwam would have been about 17 years old.
Died September 16,1938 in Grand Rapids MI. Buried in Garfield Park Cemetery with his first
wife and their son Frank. (C.C. reportedly led a hard life and apparently became somewhat
estranged from his second family.)
Father - Christopher C. Whitwam III 1837 - 1915 Mother - Diana (Potticary) Whitwam
1st wife - Alice A. 1866 - 1910. They had one son, George Frank Whitwam 1890 - 1952.
2nd wife - Minnie B. Jacox 1874 - 1936. They had one son - Charles P. Whitwam 1912 1993.
Charles Christopher's siblings: (4) All apparently died between 1901 and 1941
Joseph Beaumont Whitwam Born 6-14-1859 in St. Thomas - Railroad Engineer.
Married Carolyn Jane Forbes on 3-18-1885
Death 8-9-1935 (76) in Lima, Ohio.
Joseph had six children born between 1886 and 1895. (Lena May, Adah Beatrice,
Carrie Louise, Edna Alberta, Charles Christopher and Albert David.) All died between
1969 and 1978 after living in the Lima Ohio and Detroit Michigan areas.
Ada (Whitwam) Conn, Born 1861. Died 1941 (80) Minneapolis, Min. Burial Watertown, S.D.
Married Edwin Conn 1861-1931
Udaky Whitwam, Born 1862.
Charles C. Whitwam 1865
Mary Whitwam, Born 1875. Died 1901, (26) Watertown S.D.
* Grand Rapids City Directory 1920 page 882 lists: 1922, Whitwam Charles, Mgr. Charles
Chemical Co. h. 2134 Division Ave S. George F. h. 546 Benjamin Av. SE. ( His son Frank was a
clerk of the company.)
* Reported to have boxed bare-knuckle in Chicago area. Once fought in a bout which lasted 45
minutes and once with gangster Al Capone attending.
* A salesman by profession, he sold chemical products. He developed a floor wax product that his
son Charles P. later unsuccessfully tried to market.
* Reported to be a member of the Elks Club in Grand Rapids.
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Minnie Belle (Jacox) Whitwam 1874-1936 (62)
Father, 1846 - 1931 Allen Brown Jacox. (85) Known to have been a Merchant Marine and
sailed the world at some time in his life. A set of dishes from Japan is a family legacy he left
behind.
Mother, 1851 - 1921 Mary Ann Jacox. (70) Left Minnie farm property located on 92nd street,
between Kalamazoo Ave. and Hanna Lake Ave. in Kent County.
Husband, 1865 - 1938 Charles C. Whitwam. (73) (Father of Charles P. Whitwam) Managed
Charles Chemical Co. 2134 Division Ave. Grand Rapids MI.
Note: - It appears from documents that Minnie B. was previously named Minnie B. McConnell.
Whether there was a previous marriage, or there is some other explanation, documents from 1896 show that
she was 22 year old Miss Minnie B. Jacox, whereas in 1908 she was 34 year old Mrs. M. B. McConnell,
living at 483 Horton Ave. in Grand Rapids. At the birth of her son Charles Patrick she was 38 year old Mrs.
Charles Christopher Whitwam, living at 1921 Horton Ave. Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 1914 Minnie B. Whitwam purchased property in the town of Middleville Michigan to raise
her two year old son Charles Patrick. It is said that she was a very protective mother. Pictures of
Charles Patrick's early childhood show that she provided well for him. Her livelihood was that of
a Piano Teacher. She traveled through the Middleville and Caledonia area in a horse drawn
buggy, teaching piano in homes. I have met several older residents who were taught by her and
spoke highly of her. In fact, I have learned from the previous owners of our old farm house at
2889 100th St. that she taught them in the home.
On November 2, 1936, Minnie B. Whitwam passed away at the age of 62 years, survived by her
son Charles and brother Harvey Jacox of Sparta MI. The following are named in a notice of
probate hearing for her will: Charles P. Whitwam (Son), Harvey Jacox (Brother), Odin Jacox,
Ragina Jacox Brann and John Jacox Staat.
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George Franklin Whitwam 1890-1952 (62)
This information is from Ancestry.com, find a grave.
Attached To:George Franklin Whitwam (1890-1952) ref. in Simkins family tree to
being born in Elgin Canada.
Interment in Garfield Park Cemetery, Grand
Rapids MI. with his wife and his father and mother.
546, Bemis, Grand Rapids Mi.
Frank's Father - Charles Christopher Whitwam 1865-1938 (73)
Frank's Mother - Alice A. Bennett Whitwam 1866-1910 (44)
Frank's Wife - Louise M (Peckham) Whitwam, 1887-1952, (reference to "married 1910-1913"?)
Frank's Daughter - Mrs. Alice Lucille Simkins, 1915 - 1963 - (Richard C. Simkins 1911-1984)
Grandson - Richard Jr. (Richard C. Simkins Jr.)
Half Brother - Charles Patrick Whitwam, son of Charles C. Whitwam.
George Franklin, clerk at Charles Chemical Co. bds 1187 Jefferson Av. ref. to Central H.S.) (ref.
to Elks Club) (half brother to Charles P. Whitwam) 1920 Grand Rapids City Directory - Business
address of Charles C. Whitwam, manger and G. Frank Whitwam, clerk of Charles Chemical Co. at
2134 Division Av.
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Frank was 22 years older than his half brother Charles Patrick
Public Member Photos &
Scanned
DocumentsPICTURES
Public Member Photos &
Scanned
DocumentsPICTURES
PHOTO:
CATEGORY:
ATTACHED TO:
PHOTO:
CATEGORY:
ATTACHED TO:
Frank W 1940
Portrait
George Franklin Whitwam (1890-1952)
Frank.Louise.Marriage
Portrait
George Franklin Whitwam (1890-1952)
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Alice Lucille Whitwam Simkins 1915-1963 (48)
This information is from Ancestry.com, find a grave.
Alice S.Photo (Portrait)Alice LucilleWhitwam(1915-1963)
Alice Yr Bk (Portrait)
Photo Dec 26, 10 49
09 AM(Headstone)
Cemetery: Rosedale
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Benjamin (Portrait)
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Christopher Whitwam III 1837- 1915 (78)
Christopher III 1837-1915 (78) Born to Christopher Whitwam I and Elizabeth (Betty)
Beaumont of Yorkshire, England and died in Watertown, South Dakota.
Methodist.
Occupation listed in 1879 St. Thomas City Directory as manufactory, Dexter
and Whitwam Co.
Married Diana Potticary 1842-1936 (94) Born, St.Thomas. Died, Minneapolis.
Diana's older sister Ann married Christopher's older brother Beaumont.
Diana's father, Joe Potticary, was a machinist at Dexter and Whitwam Co. He
and his wife were born in England.
Father of our Charles Christopher Whitwam, his brother Joseph and sisters
Udaky, Mary and Ada.
Mount Hope Cemetery
Watertown
Codington County
South Dakota, USA
Record added: Oct 02, 2012
Find A Grave Memorial# 98178666
Christopher III and his wife Diana Potticary, along with his older brother Beaumont and
his wife Ann Potticary, led the Whitwams to move from Canada into South Dakota,
USA.
1879 - St Thomas City Directory - Christopher III was employed with a gentleman
named Dexter in the manufacturing business of wood handles and best stuff. At age 42,
he was the manager.
1882 - It appears that 45-year-old Christopher III left St. Thomas for a tree claim land in
South Dakota, five miles northeast of Watertown, where he settled and finally died and is
buried.
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Christopher Whitwam I 1786- 1843 (57)
Born to Walker Whitwam (b.1757) and Hannah (Platt) Whitwam, Yorkshire, England.
Christopher I, 1786-1843 (57) Born at Small Lane, Golcar, Yorkshire, England.
Methodist, baptized January 15, 1786.
One of four known children.
Buried St. Thomas, Ont. Canada, Old Church.
Occupation - Clothier in England.
Occupation - Farmer in St. Thomas Canada.
Married Elizabeth Betty Beaumont 1790-1853, (63) a
Methodist. Occupation weaver. Father-David Beaumont.
1. Old St Thomas Church
55 Walnut St, St Thomas, ON N5R 2Y7, Canada +1 519-633-2610 To the side
a high iron fence marks Whitwam lot containing, with others Christopher, 1843, and
Elizabeth Beaumont, 1853, The ancestors of the families bearing the name here
(natives of George York).
Christopher Whitwam I and His wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Beaumont, migrated to St.
Thomas, Ontario with six of their eight children sometime after they were married in
England in 1814. Elizabeth Beaumont was from a prominent family in the city of
Huddersfield England. It is apparent that sometime about 1840, the family made their
major move when our Christopher III was about 3 years old and his father was about 54
years.
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Walker Whitwam 1757 - 1835 (78)
Walker Whitwam's Geni Profile
Walker Whitwam
Birthdate:
circa 1757
Immediate
Family:
Son of James Whitwam
Father of Christopher Whitwam
View Complete Profile
Walker Whitwam

Collection:
MyHeritage Family Trees

Site name:
Whitwam New Zealand Web Site

Site manager:
David Whitwam

Birth:
1757 - Golcar, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England

Death:
1835 - Small Lane, Golcar, Huddersfield Yorkshire, England

Parents:
James Whitwam, Hannah Whitwam (born Livesey)

Siblings:
Ann Whitwam, Joseph Whitwam, George Whitwam, Mary Whitwam, James Whitwam, Martha Whitwam,
John Whitwam, Benjamin Whitwam, Joseph Whitwam, William Whitwam, Martin Whitwam, Charles
Whitwam, Betty Taylor (born Whitwam), Sarah Garside (born Whitwam)

Wife:
Hannah Whitwam (born Platt)
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"Whitwam Family History"
Reference Attachment
There are open issues in our work in progress that someone could research. For a list of
open issues and copies of background documents and pictures, ask for the "Whitwam
Family History" reference attachment package, available in digital form. The original documents
are in the possession of Ronald Whitwam.
Open Issues
1. The picture album that belonged to Charles P. Whitwam. Many faces without names.
2. Research the relationship of Regina Jacox Brann and John Jacox Staat to Charles P.
* See Notice of Hearing on Probate of Will of Minnie B Whitwam.
* See "ancestry.com" Regina (Jacox) Brann, father Harvey Jacox. Her death 1973 in
Harris, Texas.
* Also see back of pic of small curly haired boy, "your newest cousin Erich Brann Jr."
3. Research that Minnie B. was once Mrs. Minnie McConnell, between 1902 and 1912.
* See 1906 postcard to Mrs. M. B. McConnel
* See Will of Mary A. Jacox naming her daughter Minnie B. McConnell.
* See 1910 US Census listing a Minnie McConnell in ward 11. (Ancestry.com)
4. Research the life of Charles C. Whitwam through his various Grand Rapids addresses
and his Charles Chemical Co. business.
* See record of Charles Chemical Co. 2134 Division Ave. Grand Rapids.
5. Are there living descendants of George Franklin Whitwam?
* See George Franklin Whitwam obit document at Ancestry.com,find a grave.
Document names daughter and Grandson.
6. Are there living descendants of Joseph Beaumont Whitwam's 6 children? (Deaths from
1969 to 1978) These were Charles Patrick's cousins.
* See Christopher C. Whitwam Family Group document. Charles C. was one of 5
siblings.
Charles P. had One uncle (Joseph Beaumont Whitwam) and three Aunts. (Udaky, Ada
and Mary)
* See Joseph Beaumont Whitwam Family Group document. Joseph, Charles C's oldest
brother, had 6 children all deceased between 1969 and 1978. (All in the Detroit area.)
7. A trip to St Thomas, Ontario, Canada and Watertown and Sioux Falls,South Dakota
may uncover more information.
8. A trip to Huddersfield, including a visit to Small Lane. A visit to the Textile Museum
at nearby Blackburn, would add to our perspective of the early Whitwams life style.
9. A short obituary of Christopher I can be found at Find a Grave.
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