The son of Thomas Whitby, rector (1631-7) of Rushden, Northamptonshire, then rector of Barrow-on-Humber, Lincolnshire, he was born at Rushden on 24 March 1638.
The town's football club, Rushden Town merged with nearby Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992 to become Rushden & Diamonds.
He was watched by Brian Talbot, a player who managed the Rushden & Diamonds team some 20 years later.
Rushden Parkway would be built on the Midland Main Line (which runs to the west of Rushden) on the site of the former Irchester railway station.