By Suzanne Sparrow Watson
Facebook is often a cesspool of trivial and inaccurate information. However, once in a while something redeeming stems from it and such was the case a few weeks ago when Bob and I were re-connected with a first cousin, Mark Whitman, who we have not seen in many decades. We enjoyed learning about his life and accomplishments and as luck would have it, he is also the keeper of a great deal of our mother’s Whitman family history. He shared with us a photo of our great-grandmother and her sister who were apparently quite active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Wow – she would not be happy to see how far the family has fallen when it comes to alcohol! I sent Mark the history of the family that I wrote back in 2011, and after he read it, he told me that I stopped short by ending it in 1632. Two generations prior, our 10th great-grandfather, Edward Wightman (name changed later to Whitman for reasons that will become obvious) was the last person burned at the stake in England. So, to add to our already august ancestors who were horse thieves, we can now add heretics.
Clearly, I had to learn more, and it turns out that Edward was not only burned once, but twice! He was born on December 20, 1566, in Burbage, Leicestershire, England. By all accounts he was first exposed to the Puritan movement while serving an apprenticeship in Shrewsbury. We do not know how or why he became such an ardent Puritan, but it came to pass that his particular views differed radically from the local Puritan leaders. Like cray-cray radical. Most salient among his philosophical musings was that there is no Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost), that Jesus Christ was a mere man, not God, and that Christ was never incarnate and did not fulfill the promise of salvation. Edward’s most outlandish claim was that HE was the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. Although King James I was tolerant toward Catholics and helped liberalize the Church of England, he saw Protestant dissenters as a major problem and challenge. Edward, foremost among them.
By 1611, now completely deluded, believing in his own righteousness and persuasiveness, Edward delivered a manuscript detailing his radical theology to King James I. This was a dubious move to say the least. Edward’s family was prominent in the community and because of that, local clerics tried to hush him up before the king could take action. But Edward continued to interrupt local church services, convinced he was the anointed one. Finally, the local bishop reported Edward’s actions to the king, who was determined to deal once and for all with this bothersome heretic.
In April 1611, Edward was arrested. His trial took place in November of that year (the wheels of justice ground slowly back then too), where he was found guilty. Having refused to change any of his views, he was sentenced to be excommunicated and condemned to be burned at the stake. But first he was placed in a public open place each day for months as an example to others who might harbor similar beliefs.
Finally, in March 1612 Edward was tied to a stake and his execution commenced. But once tied to the stake, Edward began to review his options. As the flames reached his feet and legs he screamed and began to recant his beliefs. In those days a beheading or burning at the stake was equivalent to an NFL game today, with lots of cheering, booing and calling out the refs. Apparently, the crowd assembled for Edward’s burning was a benevolent one and once they heard his screams and recantations, they pleaded for his release. A written retraction was hurriedly prepared and Edward, in pain and weakness, orally agreed as it was read to him. Later, however, no longer fearing the flames, he refused to sign the retraction and blasphemed louder than before.
King James re-approved his execution and a few weeks later on April 11th, he was once more led to the stake. Again, on feeling the intense heat of the fire, Edward cried out in recantation but this time the sheriff told him he would “cost him no more” and commanded additional bundles of thin sticks to be thrown on to make the flames roar. Edward was burned to ashes
King James I lost faith in burning heretics shortly thereafter, as the proliferation of them continued unabated despite the threat of death. After the case of Edward Wightman those found guilty of heresy were instead silently and privately left to waste away in prison rather than excite others with a public execution.
Edward’s grandson, George, emigrated from England to Rhode Island in the late 1700’s. The Wightman name was commonly interchangeable with “Whitman” and perhaps to avoid association with his grandfather he changed the spelling. Or it was a clerk at the registry office who couldn’t spell. In any event, that is how my mother’s family ended up as Whitmans. Unfortunately, no relation to the candy company. But having an ancestor who was the last person burned at the stake is less fattening and entirely more fascinating.