James Whitman
James Whitman was born May 26, 1856, in Beaver Harbour, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, Canada. I believe he died in 1926, in Boston, Massachusetts. He spent most of his life in Beaver Harbour. Like his father and grandfather, I am sure he was a mariner in one way or another. He married into money. His wife's family owned and operated a shipyard in Spry Bay, Halifax County, Nova Scotia and were quite well off. It was probably a job offer as an officer on sea-going ships that caused my grandfather, at the age of fifty or so, to immigrate to the United States with his wife and three children. They relocated to Boston, Massachusetts in the 1904 to 1906 time frame. From this point on, most of his time was spent at sea and only occasionally did he spend time with his family.
James married Emily Matilda Leslie February 19, 1885, in Spry Bay, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her maiden name is the source of middle names for my father and me and my oldest daughter's first name. The Leslies were descendants of Marcus Gottfried Leslie (spelled Lassle) who arrived in Halifax in 1751on the ship Gale, listed as a 22-year-old carpenter from Wurttemberg, Germany. Marcus married Anna Barbara Rempin in Halifax at St. Paul's church in 1752 before moving to Lunenburg in 1753. It was their grandchildren who settled Spry Bay. Emily was the sixth child of Captian William Gasper Leslie b-1828 and Mary Ann Boutlier b-1825. Emily was born January 3, 1863, in Spry Bay and died March 3, 1957, in Casper, Wyoming. James and Emily had three children and nine grandchildren. Their children were: Mary Lillian b-1887, Annie Myrtle b-1889, and James Leslie b-1898. My father, James Leslie, was their youngest child.
Contributed by Robert Whitman
