Mailing List:2001-08-06 09, Re: David J. Whitney, by Kenneth Whitney
Mailing List Archives > 2001-08-06 09, Re: David J. Whitney, by Kenneth Whitney
From: "Kenneth Whitney" <klw1 -at- starpower.net> Subject: [WHITNEY-L] Re: David J. Whitney Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 17:14:19 -0400 WRG, Not too long ago I sent along a query I received from Spencer Sellas concerning his wife's ancestor, David J. Whitney of Stow, Oxford Co., Maine, son of Eli Whitney. At the time, I made the conjecture that he might have been the grandson of Enoch Whitney of Harrison, Maine, but I had no proof. Below is a message I sent to Spencer earlier today. If anyone can help with the link between David, Eli, and possibly Enoch Whitney of Harrison, Maine, it would be appeciated. Ken Whitney Silver Spring, MD ----- Original Message ----- From: Kenneth Whitney To: Spencer Sellas Sent: Monday, August 06, 2001 4:56 PM Subject: David J. Whitney Hello Spencer, I have returned from a successful day of genealogy research, including the Civil War pension file for David J. Whitney. You're going to love it! I found the file to contain many documents, some in better condition than others. There is much of interest in the file, but the ink on many documents has faded and won't photocopy very well, or at all. In addition, the handwriting on some documents is also very poor. All in all, I believe you can make out pretty much everything if you bring along a magnifying glass, which I forgot. I did photocopy what I thought to be the most important documents, and I hope they will fax okay. If you give me your fax number, I will be glad to fax them. If they don't fax well, let me know, and I will snail-mail them. They are on 8.5 x 14 inch paper. If you ever plan to come to Washington, D.C. and want to see the file, let me know. I can save you a lot of time in getting the file pulled. I will summarize what I have learned below, in case th! e documents don't fax well. David J. Whitney was born in Harrison, Oxford Co., Maine, the son of Eli Whitney. At the age of 25 in 1850, David was living in Boston, MA and working as a teamster. He was married in Boston by Rev. S. Streeter on 14 September 1850 to Bridget Trainer, daughter of James Trainer, and born in England. She later states that her full name is Celia Bridget Trainer. They had five children: David E. Whitney, reached age 16 on 18 November 1872 Charles E. Whitney, reached age 16 on 4 June 1875 Celia Whitney, reached age 16 on 22 October 1877. Emma, J. Whitney, reached age 16 on 14 January, 1882 Isabelle S. Whitney, reached age 16 on 2 October 1885. David J. Whitney enlisted in Co. E. 1st Regiment, Maine Heavy Artillery 12 December 1863, and was discharged 8 August 1865. He was captured by the enemy at Spotsylvania, VA on 19 May 1864. He was taken to a succession of prisoner-of-war camps: Libby Prison, Andersonville, and finally Savannah, GA, where he was delivered on 19 November 1864. He was taken from Savannah to Anapolis, MD, where he was hospitalized and treated for Phthisis (?). At he time of discharge he weighed 67 pounds. He suffered from chronic diarrhea the rest of his life, and was granted a military pension on 50% disability. He died of heart failure related to his military disability at Stow, Oxford Co., Maine on 26 October 1870. Celia Bridget Whitney died at Stow on 22 March 1881. The two younger children were then still under age 16, were placed in guardianship, and received pension benefits. I believe that David probably worked as a teamster in Stow after the war, as he is described as delivering hay to a hotel, and suffering heart problems while unloading it. While all of this information is interesting, it still does'nt link David to a grandfather. However, the fact that he was born in Harrison makes my earlier conjecture seem more realistic. (Enoch Whitney of Harrison was probab;y his grandfather.) I'm afraid you'll still have to be the one who proves David's ancestry, but I still think Harrison is the place to concentrate your efforts. I hope you find this to be helpful. Good luck in your further research. I would be very interested in anything you turn up, and let me know if I can be of further assistance. I will pass this message on to the WRG in hopes that someone will be able to add more. Sincerely yours, Ken Whitney Silver Spring, MD
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