Whitten Project
Whitten/Libby Line

By Don Taylor

Ever since I started volunteering at the Scarborough Historical Society I’ve been hearing stories that all the Libby’s in Maine are descended from one person – John Libby. According to several accounts, John Libby settled in Scarborough about 1630 and was one of the earliest settlers.  Naturally, I was excited when I learned that my sister-in-law’s great-grandmother was a Libby.  Would I be able to connect her Libby ancestor into the long line of famous Maine Libby’s?

Whitten Project – Ancestor #9

List of Grandparents

• Grandfather: Herbert Winfield Whitten
• 1^st Great-grandmother: Martha Angeline Libby
• 2^nd Great-grandfather: Charles G. Libby

Martha Angeline Libby (1863-1938)

Martha Angeline Libby[i] was born in March of 1863[ii], in Limerick, York County, Maine. She was probably the third child of Charles G. and Jane H. Libby.

Childhood

The 1870 Census is key in understanding her childhood. The census shows her father is a farm laborer and her mother is keeping house.  Also, living with them is Marietta, a 13-year-old girl who is working in the woolen mill and is also attending school. The 1870 Census does not include relationships, but I’m assuming she is an older sister unless I learn otherwise.  Also, is her older sister Harriett, who likewise is attending school. Seven-year-old Martha doesn’t appear to have begun school at that time.[iii]

The 1880 Census finds the 17-year-old Martha still at home in Limerick with her parents and her sister Hattie (Harriett). Her father is still a farm laborer.[iv]

Marriage

In 1882, Martha married Daniel Winfield Whitten[v]. And the family stays in Limerick and they begin to have children.

Adulthood

• 

  Martha Libby Whitten lived her entire life in York County, Maine

  Herbert Winfield Whitten was born on 3 September 1883 in Limerick.[vi]

• Charles Libby Whitten was born in January 1886 in Limerick.[vii]
• Muriel Arvella Whitten was born 7 Sep 1890 in Limerick.[viii]

The 1900 Census indicates that Martha had had three children and all three were alive, she and Herbert had been married for 18 years, and were then living about 15 miles south in Shapleigh, ME.

• Newsen Whitten was born about 1901
• Leland W. Whitten was born about 1904.

The 1910 Census indicates that Martha had had five children and all five were alive. The couple had moved to Kennebunkport and lived on Kennebunk Road. All the kids were living with them and were either working or attending school.[ix]

The 1920 Census shows Daniel and Martha Angeline “Angie” living on Portland Road in Kennebunk[x].  Herbert and Charles had moved on, so Muriel, Newsen, and Leland were the only children remaining at home.

The 1930 Census shows Daniel and Martha still on Portland Road in Kennebunk. Their daughter, Muriel, had moved in with her husband John Hayes.

Death

Marker – Daniel & Martha A Whitten
Photo by “Airborne Steve” via Find a Grave.

Martha Angeline (Libby) Whitten died in 1938.[xi] She was survived by her husband, Daniel Winfield Whitten and at least four, if not all five, of her children. She is buried in Highland Grove cemetery in North Shapleigh, York County, Maine.

Libby Family Search

I then just had to look at The Libby Family in America 1602-1881 by Charles T Libby. Would I find Martha Angeline Libby.  Yes! She was listed. I now had an entry point into THE Libby family for Martha.  The book shows, on page 399, Martha Angeel Libby born on 23 March 1863 in Limerick, whose parents are Charles Gardner Libby and Jane H. Warren. It also shows an older sister, Hattie. Definitely, the right person.

Based upon The Libby Family in America 1602-1881, we learned that Charles’s father was William Libby, born in Limerick, Me., 21 June 1811; married, 28 Nov. 1830, Martha Libby.

Whose father was Joseph Libby, born in that part of Kittery, Me., which is now Eliot, 13 May 1767; married, 1795, Sarah Staples, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Mendum) Staples of Scarborough.

Libby Line followed

Whose father was Azariah Libby, born 1740, in Kittery, now Eliot; Married Dec. 1762, Elizabeth Paul.

Whose father was Matthew Libby, born probably during his father’s stay in Portsmouth, 1690-1700; married 3 Sept. 1730, Mary Nason.

Whose father was Matthew Libby, born in Scarborough, in the year 1663 ; married Elizabeth Brown, daughter of Andew Brown, one of the principal inhabitants of Black Point.

Whose father was John Libby – the Immigrant (1602-1682) and the 8^th great-grandfather of my sister-in-law. How fun is that.

UPDATED List of Grandparents

• Grandfather: Herbert Winfield Whitten
• 1^st Great-grandmother: Martha Angeline Libby
• 2^nd Great-grandfather: Charles G. Libby
• 3^rd Great-grandfather:  William Libby
• 4^th Great-grandfather:  Joseph Libby
• 5^th Great-grandfather: Azariah Libby
• 6^th Great-grandfather: Matthew Libby
• 7^th Great-grandfather: Matthew Libby
• 8^th Great-grandfather: John Libby

Endnotes

[i] Martha Angeline Libby is identified as Martha in the 1880 and 1910 Censuses and as Angie M. in the 1900 and 1920 Censuses. Overall, Martha is used more frequently than Angie and is the name on her grave marker, so I prefer Martha in my use.

[ii] 1900 Census (FS), Danel [Daniel] W. Whitten – Shapleigh Town, York County, Maine. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMG4-D6W.

[iii] 1870 Census, 1870 Census – Charles Libby – Limerick, Maine. https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/1870usfedcen/33125883/printer-friendly.

[iv] 1880 Census (A), Charles G. Libby – Limerick, York, Maine – Page 27, ED 197. https://search.ancestry.com/search/collections/1880usfedcen/16254166/printer-friendly.

[v] 1900 Census (FS), Danel [Daniel] W. Whitten – Shapleigh Town, York County, Maine. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMG4-D6W.

[vi] Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921, Family Search, Herbert Winfield Whitten, 1883. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HKQ-Y3Y.

[vii] Daniel W Whitten – Kennebunk Town, York County, Maine.

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] 1910 Census (FS) (NARA), Family Search, Daniel W Whitney [Whitten] Kennebunkport, York County, Maine.

[x] 1920 Census (FS), Daniel W Whitten – Kennebunk, York, Maine. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF8W-K7Y.

[xi] Maine, Faylene Hutton Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1990, Family Search, Maine, Faylene Hutton Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1990 – Daniel W Whitten. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKM1-WJ33  : United States, Maine State Library, Augusta; FHL microfilm 1,787,567.