WAKEMAN: Hannah's trial, conviction and punishment ended in Hartford. She went to New York City and ran afoul of the "residency laws" there. The now 30 year old Hannah, with a young daughter and no prospects, came into contact with former British soldier, Edward Whittaker. Whittaker hired Hannah as a servant. Edward took up residence on land in Kingston awarded him for military service.
The relationship between Whittaker and Hannah would be a rocky one at best. Hannah was known for her "sharp tongue" and Whittaker for his temper. Not a good mix. On at least one occasion, Edward threatened to kick Hannah and her daughter out during the dead of winter because Hannah's "evil tongue" was costing him business. On another, he threatened to kill her.
During the early summer of 1670, Hannah was called before the Kingston Court to testify about an incident with Edward Whittaker. The incident in question almost seemed to flash back to Hartford six years earlier.
Hannah had became pregnant with Whittaker's child. After the child was born, it died from convulsions. This time, there were witnesses to the newborn's tragic demise. She related the Hartford incident to the court. Sympathy, this time, was with Hannah. Whittaker was ordered to care for her and, if he got her pregnant again, to marry her.
As early as 1672 Hannah and Edward were indeed recorded as husband and wife. Two sons were born to the couple, James, about 1675, and Edward, about 1678.
It would seem that around 1682 Hannah was battling what we would diagnose as depression today. She testified in a slander suit brought against Edward "that she had grown weary of life." A neighbor testified that Hannah told him that she felt her soul would be damned by the Lord.
Life had not been easy for Hannah Wakeman Hackleton Whittaker. The exact date of her death has not been recorded. Hannah outlived Edward Whittaker, who died in January 1694/5.
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