We have Roscoe Whitman to thank four our family society as we know it today. He was instrumental in founding the Society of Stukely Westcott Descendants of America on January 13, 1934. There were 116 charter members.

In an early letter from Ethel Clarke we find the comment, “Our bylaws are ridiculously long and complicated for our little organization”. But 66 years later the “little organization” is stronger than ever.

Roscoe L. Whitman was born in West Oneonta, New York on Sept. 25, 1869, the son of Henry Cutler and Zilpha Abigail (Westcott) Whitman. He was married in Amsterdam, NY, July 18, 1894 to Susan Felthousen Kline. They had one daughter, Dorothy. She married (1) Edmund Stites Morris and (2) Adelbert Niles Potter.

His professional life was in advertising. He established the Whitman Advertisers Service in 1907; he closed the firm at the request of James Cash Penney and became the first Advertising Director of J.C.Penney, retiring in 1929.

In 1932, he was the author of “History and Genealogy of the Ancestors and Some Descendants of Stukely Westcott”. In 1939 he published volume II of the Westcott genealogy. He built on the family genealogy published earlier by J. Russell Bullock.

He was Registrar, Historian and Editor of our society newsletter.

Roscoe Whitman was quite a writer and we have copies of the speeches that he gave at all the early society meetings. In 1939 he was honored with a “Certificate of Merit in Genealogy” and he was elected as a “fellow” of the Institute of American Genealogy.

Roscoe L. Whitman died in Westfield, NJ Sept. 3, 1955 and is buried beside his wife, Susan, at Westfield, New Jersey.

Source: Betty W. Acker, 2000

Lineage: Zilpha Abigail (Wescott) Whitman 9, Hamilton Wescott 8, Reuben Jr. 7, Reuben 6, Stukely 5, Stukely 4, Stukely 3, Jeremiah 2, Stukely 1