The first of the Whitcomb family to settle permanently in America is believed to have been John. He was long supposed to have been the son of Symon Whitcombe, but this has been proved erroneous, and no direct proof of his parentage has been found; there are, however, strong reasons for believing that he was the second son of John and Anne Harper Whitcomb. If this theory be correct, then John had a direct line of ancestry to the time of Henry IV. and was entitled to the coat-of-arms of the Berwick Whitcombs.
John Whitcomb, immigrant ancestor, appears on the records in Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1633. In 1640 he removed to Scituate, where he owned a farm of one hundred and eight acres, and after 1646, when he became one of the Cohasset partners, he owned the lands which that transaction brought. In Scituate he was constable, a very important office in those days. He was made a freeman after "joining" the church, which was probably in 1635 at Dorchester. Disposing of his lands in Scituate, he removed to Lancaster in 1654. He already owned property there and acquired more. John Whitcomb had married in England, Frances ————, who died in Lancaster, Massachusetts, May 17, 1671. Children: Catherine, James, John (2), Robert, Jonathan, see forward; Abigail, Job, Josiah and Mary.
(II) Jonathan, son of John and Frances Whitcomb, was probably born in England, died in Lancaster, Massachusetts, February, 1690. He served on a jury in Scituate, February 16, 1655, and must have been at least twenty-one at that time. He removed to Lancaster with his father in 1654, and exercised the rights of a freeman there, where his after life was spent. He acquired some property there. He married, November 25, 1667, Hannah ————, who survived him two and one-half years, when she was slain by the Indians. Children: Hannah, Jonathan, see forward; Hannah, Abigail, Elizabeth, Katherine, Ruth, Mary and John.
(III) Jonathan (2), eldest son of Jonathan (1) and Hannah Whitcomb, was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, February 26, 1669, died April 10, 1715. (One record gives him as a twin of Hannah.) He married Mary (Blood) Joslin, of Lancaster, between 1685 and 1689. He married (second), Deborah Scripture, of Groton, September 4, 1710. Children: Jonathan (3), see forward; Joseph, Nathaniel, Hannah, Martha, Ephraim, Mary, Benjamin and Lydia.
(IV) Jonathan (3), eldest son of Jonathan (2) and Mary (Joslin) Whitcomb, was born about 1690, died around 1770. He had nine lime kilns, was a tanner, currier, blacksmith, shoemaker, and made coffins. By a deed made October 20, 1716, he is named "Cordwainer." He married at Groton, Massachusetts, May 15, 1716, Deliverance, daughter of James Nutting and granddaughter of John Nutting, and to them were born the following children: Jonathan, William, Oliver, Elizabeth, Tamer, Lydia, Job, see forward; Martha and Jotham.
(V) Job, seventh child of Jonathan (3) and Deliverance (Nutting) Whitcomb, was born April 16, 1730. He is said to have been a soldier of the revolution, but his record is not yet found satisfactorily, although there is a record of Job Whitcomb serving in Captain Obadiah Beal's (Cohasset) company for five days, marching to Dorchester, March 4, 1776. There are about fifty Whitcombs whose names appear under the heading of Whitcomb and Whitcombe. As this was a common spelling of the family name, it proves their loyalty and patriotism without doubt. He married (first) May 2, 1757, ————, (second) March 6, 1769, Abigail Whitney. He may have had a third wife as Templeton records mention "Jemima, daughter of Job and Mary Whitcomb." By these wives he had twelve children: Simeon, Olive, Levi, Reuben, Dille (see forward), Susana, Jemima, Achsah, Mille, Jemima, Abigail and Job.
(VI) Dille, fifth child of Job Whitcomb, was born in Wendell, Massachusetts, September 7, 1766, died July 12, 1808. He was married in 1791-92 to Mercy Moore, born in Wendell, March 8, 1772, died in Berlin, St. Clair county, Michigan, January 27, 1854. The descendants of Dille Whitcomb have usually been Congregationalists in religious belief and Republican in politics. Children:
- Mary, born July 2, 1793, died 1878.
- John, February 6, 1796; lived and died in Michigan.
- Levi (see forward).
- Lucinda, June 11, 1800; married ———— Fox; died January 2, 1901, having passed the century mark in age.
- Dille, August 30, 1802, died unmarried, 1822.
- Mercy, May 19, 1805, died August 27, 1876.
- Elmira, May 6, 1808; married Elmore Draper; died April 9, 1900, aged ninety-two.
These two sisters retained their mental and physical vigor to a remarkable degree until their last brief illness.
(VII) Levi, third child of Dille and Mercy (Moore) Whitcomb, was born in Hampden county, Massachusetts, March 18, 1798, died in Montgomery county, New York, November 11, 1886. He learned the trade of shoemaker, and left Massachusetts in 1841-42 and went to New York state, working at his trade in the various Erie canal towns and cities. He settled for a time at Johnstown and Fonda, finally on a farm in Montgomery county, where he ended his days. He was a member of the old Wyckoff Church; in politics a Republican. He was a man of "Sturdy honesty and upright life." He married (first) October 1, 1822, Anna Maria Miller, of Fonda, New York, who died June 3, 1840. He married (second) December 15, 1844, Phebe Ann Hall, of Montgomery county, New York. She survived her husband and lived to be very old, leaving a daughter Jane, now wife of Peter Cline, of Amsterdam, New York. Children of Levi by his first wife, Anna M. Miller:
- Luther, born April 30, 1830; married, August 15, 1854, Jane Ann Rulison; he enlisted in the Union army as a private, was promoted first lieutenant for bravery on the field of battle; returned from the war and later went to the Black Hills; what his fate was has never been learned.
- Mary Elizabeth, April 29, 1835; married John Ouderkirk; she died two years after the birth of her only child, Annie, who later married a Mr. Baker, and died leaving several children.
- Calvin, see forward.
- Jennie, November 1, 1847; married, March 2, 1875, Peter Cline.
(VIII) Calvin, third child of Levi and Anna Maria (Miller) Whitcomb, was born in Johnstown, New York, February 22, 1838. His parents moved to Glen and he was educated and resided in Glen until 1866, when he located in Amsterdam. He worked as a clerk there for five years. In 1871 he established a grocery store on the south side, then Port Jackson, now ward five of city of Amsterdam. He remained in business there until 1889, when he retired with a competence. He has always been a Republican, known as an active, shrewd leader of his locality. He was postmaster at Port Jackson for many years and served as supervisor of schools in both town and city of Florida. Both Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb are Baptists. Calvin Whitcomb married in Glen, Montgomery county, September 20, 1865, Harriet Mount, born in Glen, February 1, 1841, daughter of Jacob and Susan (Pickering) Newkirk, both born in Glen. Children:
- Beecher, born February 22, 1867, died August 24, 1869.
- Frazier Calvin, May 27, 1871; was educated in public schools and at Amsterdam Academy; is a "newspaper man," associated for some time with the Amsterdam Morning Sentinel; married, August 18, 1901, Carrie C., daughter of W. Max Reid, prominent business and literary man of Amsterdam.
- Lillie, September 8, 1874; married, July 23, 1898, J. Henry Palmatier, superintendent of the Axminster rug department of the Stephen Sanford Mills at Amsterdam.
Jacob Newkirk, father of Mrs. Whitcomb, was born July 7, 1808, died 1879. He was a contracting carpenter and builder. Susan Pickering, his wife, was born August 10, 1810, died 1898. They were married June 2, 1828. Both were members of the Dutch Reformed church. They were the parents of twelve children:
- Mary, born 1829, died March 31, 1847.
- Jane, July 30, 1830; married Isaac T. Davis, a farmer; they reside in Glen.
- Stephen, March 12, 1832, died September 17, 1833.
- Antoinnette, June 30, 1833, died 1902; married Lewis Shutts, also deceased.
- Alonzo, September 27, 1834, drowned in the Mohawk.
- Catherine, May 26, 1839; widow of William B. Shutts.
- Harriet Mount, February 1, 1841; (Mrs. Calvin Whitcomb).
- Hannah, October 13, 1843, died February 20, 1845.
- Andrew, September 10, 1845; married Anna Quackenbush.
- Abigail, October 10, 1847; married Harmon Clizbe Quackenbush; now of Fort Hunter, New York.
- Justice A., July 30, 1849; married William H. Doubleday, now of Johnstown, New York.
- Newton B., March 29, 1859; married Theodosia Harvey.
Jacob Newkirk, grandfather of Mrs. Whitcomb, was a carpenter and builder at an early date in Montgomery county, where it is supposed both he and his wife were born. She was Jane Poole. Some years after marriage they removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where both died, aged about seventy-seven.