Family:Whitney, Charles Oscar (1838-a1920)

Charles O. Whitney

Charles Oscar⁷ Whitney (Luke⁶, John⁵, James⁴, Joseph³, Jonathan², John¹), son of Luke⁶ and Louisa (White) Whitney, was born 4 May 1838, Troy, NH,^[1] and died after 1920.

He married, 27 Nov 1862, Keene, NH, Frances Flora Bent,^[2] daughter of Hyman and Levina (Allen) Bent. She was born 27 Oct 1838, Fitzwilliam, NH, and died after 1910.

Mr. Whitney's father dying when he was but three years old, and the family being in humble circumstances, he went to live with his uncle, Ira Godding, of Troy, NH, where he resided until he was about twelve years old, when he was thrown upon his own resources by the death of Mr. and Mrs. Godding. Now commenced his hard struggle with the world for a living, and for the next few years he made his home in any family where his labors would suffice for his board and clothes. With all these adverse circumstances he had but little time or opportunity for education except a few weeks in the winter at the district school. At the age of seventeen he went to work in a saw and grist mill and afterward to Gardner, MA, where he worked for some time in a chair manufactory. At the breaking out of the war, when the demand for firearms was largely increased, he went to Springfield, MA, and worked for the United States government making muskets, where he remained nearly two years. But Mr. Whitney had conceived the plan of furthering his business interests, and his early life of labor had taught him prudence and economy, so he now determined to start business for himself. Accordingly returning to South Gardner and taking into partnership his brother-in-law, under the firm title of Whitney & Bent, he began chair manufacturing, which was carried on for several years with a fair percentage of profit for the capital invested. In 1866 Mr. Whitney disposed of his interest in the business and removed to Marlborough, NH, where he now resides. The same year he in company with several other gentlemen formed a copartnership under the name of the Marlborough Manufacturing Company, and in the following spring made the first horse blankets manufactured in this town, thus developing a most important branch of industry, which added much to the prosperity and growth of the town. Mr. Whitney afterwards withdrew from this company, purchased land, erected a building, and creating a new water-power, resumed chair manufacturing. Subsequently he, with Mr. Warren H. Clark, formed what is now known as the Cheshire Blanket Company and fitted up the mill in which Mr. Whitney formerly made chairs for the manufacture of blankets. These enterprising men from time to time enlarged their manufacturing facilities until they now have seven sets of machinery. They have a capital stock of $40,000 and can produce five hundred blankets a day. This firm also manufactures satinets and produce as many as twenty-five thousand yards per month, and the annual production when running full time is three thousand bales. Politically Mr. Whitney is a Republican, and has served the town as selectman and has for some time been a member of the school board. He is a man of great industry, perseverance and pluck, and though his early manhood was one of hard toil, yet by persevering efforts, from humble beginnings, unaided, he has acquired competency, and stands well in the esteem of his fellow townsmen and is a good type of the self-made men of the Granite State; resided Marlborough, NH.

Children of Charles Oscar⁷ and Frances Flora (Bent) Whitney:

i.	Frank Russell8 Whitney, b. 29 Aug 1866, NH; d. after 1880, Marlborough, NH.
ii.	Charles Winnefred Whitney, b. 4 Aug 1877, Marlborough, NH; m. 21 Apr 1894, Marlborough, NH, Julia E. Cloutier.[3]
iii.	Robert Seymore Whitney, b. 10 Sep 1880, NH.

Census

• 1855, Gardner, Worcester Co., MA:

182 235 Sylvester J. Pierce 35 M - Chair Manufacturer Mass. Susan E. Pierce 34 F - " Lucretia Taylor 18 F - New York Albert Bently 7 M - " Fredrick Dickinson 33 M - Chair Maker " Charles O. Whitney 25 M - Chair Maker "

• 1860, Gardner, Worcester Co., MA:

94 109 Polly Nichols 47 F - $1000 $50 Massachusetts Mary " 68 F - " Charles O. Whitny 22 M - Chair Maker New Hampshire Henry Murdock 21 M - Chair Maker Massachusetts

• 1870, Marlborough, Cheshire Co., NH:

109 130 Whitney, Charles U. 32 M W Chair Manufacturer $10000 $300 N.H. Male citizen over 21 -----, Fanny F. 31 F W Keeping house N.H. -----, Frank R. 3 M W N.H. 131 Ingalls, Charles F. 32 M W At Work in Chair Shop N.H. Male citizen over 21 -----, Mary E. 32 F W Keeping house N.H. -----, George E. 8 M W N.H. Attended school Sweetser, Hannah 58 F W Seamstress $600 N.H.

• 1880, Marlborough, Cheshire Co., :

Charles O. WHITNEY 42 Self M M W NH Woolen Manufacturer NH NH Frances F. WHITNEY 41 Wife F M W NH Keeping House MA MA Frank R. WHITNEY 13 Son M S W MA At School NH NH Charles W. WHITNEY 2 Son M S W NH NH NH

• 1900, Marlborough, Cheshire Co., NH: Charles O. Whitney
• 1910, Marlborough, Cheshire Co., NH: Charles E. Whitney
• 1920, Marlborough, Cheshire Co., NH: Charles O. Whitney

References

• All data imported from Frederick Clifton Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635, (Chicago: 1895), pp. 378-379.

1.^  New Hampshire, Vital Records, Birth Index.

2.^  "C. O. Whitney (b. 1838, Troy, s. of Luke Whitney & Lavina) & Frances F. Bent, m. 27 Nov 1862, Keene, Cheshire Co., NH," according to New Hampshire, Vital Records, Marriage Index.

3.^  "Charles W. Whitney (b. 1877, Marlboro, NH, s. of Charles O. Whitney & Frances F. Bert) & Julia E. Cloutier, m. 21 Apr 1894, Marlborough, Cheshire Co., NH," according to New Hampshire, Vital Records, Marriage Index.

---

Copyright © 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group.