William Whipple was one of five children born to Captain William Whipple and Mary Cutt. He arrived on January 14, 1730 in Kittery, Maine. Their home was an old garrison house left to his mother by her father, noted shipbuilder, Robert Cutt, along with a parcel of farmland. Captain Whipple was the son of a brewer/maltster who loved the sea more than he did the brewing of beer.
William received his early education in the common schools of Kittery, and additional tutorage from his mother’s cousin, Robert Elliott Gerrish, a graduate of Harvard College. In their free time, William and his brothers, Robert and Joseph, played in the shipyard and learned the process of constructing a sailing vessel. As the boys would watch the flotilla head out to sea, William no doubt dreamed of being aboard one of the crafts.
When William reached his teens, he set off to seek his fortune aboard ship. An able-bodied seaman, by the time he was 21, William claimed the title of Ship’s Master. At the time of William’s departure, New Hampshire’s governor, Benning Wentworth, stood on shore and watched as the flotilla departed. His desire had been to command the force, but the honor went to Massachusetts Governor William Shirley, due to the fact Governor Wentworth suffered from gout.
By the time he landed in Portsmouth in 1759, William had saved a considerable sum of money. He now went into business with his brother as a merchant. With a job and savings to his name, William decided it was now time to marry and settle down. His cousin, Mehitable Odiorne, caught his eye. He asked her father, Honorable Jothan Odiorne, for her hand and received Jothan’s blessings. Mehitable seemed in full agreement with the idea.
The wedding was planned, invitations sent out and on the appointed day, Reverend Samuel arrived to handle the nuptials. All was in readiness except for the bride. Whether it was stage fright or some other problem that plagued his young fiancée, William never knew. All he knew was when he gave Mehitable the ultimatum of “now or never,” she said, “Never,” and he left.
Being left at the altar did not set well with young William. After a little time to recover, he boxed up his desires for someone of the fair sex in his life, set the box on a shelf somewhere and threw himself into his work.
In 1767, a soft voice called to him from the box on the shelf and William decided to once again try his hand at love and matrimony. His new interest was another cousin, Catherine Moffatt, daughter ofCaptain John Moffatt. At the time they were married, William was 37 and his bride 35.
Soon after the wedding, Catherine’s brother, Samuel, experienced a failure in his business. In an effort to recoup his fortune, he set sail for the West Indies. When he did, he vacated the beautiful Moffatt house, a mansion build by Catherine’s parents. William and Catherine moved into the home with Catherine’s father and mother, along with Samuel’s daughter, Mary.
Not long afterwards, his career as a patriot in public service began. In 1775, Whipple was elected to represent his town in the provincial congress. The following year, the Royal government was dissolved by New Hampshire and Whipple became a council member on the Committee of Safety. Soon after, he was elected to a post in the Continental Congress. He would serve there until 1779, taking time off for military service.
On January 7, 1776, William wrote a letter to Josiah Bartlett, in which he stated, “This year, my friend, is big with mighty events. Nothing less than the fate of Americade pends on the virtue of her sons, and if they have not virtue enough to support the most Glorious Cause ever human beings were engaged in, they don’t deserve the blessings of Freedom.”
Later that year, Whipple was sent with Josiah Bartlett and John Langdon to Philadelphia as delegates to the Continental Congress. From 1776 to 1779, Whipple made a number of trips to Philadelphia, serving on various committees and actively participating in debates relating to finance and military affairs. On his first trip, Whipple carried with him a copy of New Hampshire’s constitution. Some historians believe the New Hampshire constitution was used as a basis from which to construct the Constitution of the United States. On July 4, 1776, Whipple signed the Declaration of Independence, then returned to Portsmouth and planted a horse chestnut tree.
That same summer, William received a letter from a friend telling him of his friend’s engagement. As with William, his friend had suffered a matrimonial setback some years prior and was trying his hand at love a second time. In this case, his friend’s fiancée was 20 years his junior. William wrote him and offered a piece of advice, “Have you well considered the matter? I would beg leave to remind you of the observations of one of the philosophers of the age; that a man who is thinking of marrying a woman twenty years younger than himself, ought to consider who is to be her husband twenty years hence.” His friend later married his intended on February 2, 1777. The bride, Betsy Sheburne, was the niece of William’s wife; so his friend was now his nephew-in-law.
In 1777, William attained the rank of Brigadier General in New Hampshire’s militia. His leadership resulted in success against British General Burgoyne during the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga.
At the time he entered military service, Whipple owned a slave by the name of Prince. Prior to leaving for Bennington, he called to Prince and said, “Hurry up Prince, we’ve got to go and fight for our freedom.” Prince looked at William and stated, “But I have no freedom to fight for, suh.” Prince’s words struck the heart of his master. Feeling he could not both own a slave and fight for liberty, Whipple told him, “From this moment on you are a free man, Prince. Hurry up now and we will fight for our freedom together.” Prince served beside William throughout the course of the Revolutionary War and was with General Washington when he crossed the Delaware.
Following the American Revolution, Whipple became an associate justice with New Hampshire’s Superior Court. On November 28, 1785, he experienced a fainting spell and fell from his horse while in riding his court circuit. William died a short time later, having suffered from heart problems for many years. He was 55 years old. Justice William Whipple was laid to rest in Portsmouth’s Old North Burial Ground. His obituary later appeared in the “New Hampshire Gazette” on December 9, 1785.
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