Family:Whitney, Jonathan (1769-1850)

Dr. Jonathan⁶ Whitney (Timothy⁵, Jonas⁴, Moses³, Richard², John¹), son of Timothy⁵ and Alice (Whitney) Whitney,^[1] born 14 Sep 1769, Petersham, MA,^[2] and died Jul 1850, Cayuga, NY.

He married, 27 Nov 1800, Dolly Smith. She was born 17 Mar 1782, and died 1846, Cayuga, NY. Her father was a sea captain.

He was born in Otis, MA, the son of Timothy and Alice (Whitney) Whitney. With his parents he moved to Petersham, MA, where he passed his early life and where he studied medicine. Soon after his majority he started for the west, locating in Cayuga, New York, where he was one of the earliest settlers. He was a physician of eminence and, with a few others at the beginning of the century, made the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake famous throughout the state. Dr. Whitney was highly respected by the entire community. Cayuga bridge was built in 1797. There was only a log tavern, built by Mr. Hardenburg at Auburn, when he passed through. Cayuga at that time was the county seat. He first located in Cayuga. After remaining there a few years he sold his rigs and moved to Batavia, NY. After a year's residence there, the physician at Cayuga died and the people sent for him to return, which he did, and remained there the rest of his life. He resided Cayuga, NY.

Children of Jonathan⁶ and Dolly (Smith) Whitney:

i.	William7 Whitney, b. 15 Aug 1815; m. Elizabeth J. Turner.
ii.	Charles H. Whitney, b. 25 Jan 1824; m. Elizabeth Lowe.
iii.	Edwin H. Whitney, b. 7 Oct 1806; m.(1) Jane Horton; m.(2) Eliza J. Kyle.
iv.	Mary Brainerd Whitney, b. 12 Sep 1801; m. 15 Feb 1827, Cutler L. Laflin. He was b. 17 Oct 1799, Southwick, MA; d. 2 Oct 1877, Westfield, MA. She d. 25 Dec 1885, Westfield, MA; resided Westfield, MA. He was emphatically the architect of his own fortunes. Honesty, economy, and application tell the story of his successful career. From a clerkship at Suffield, CT, he went to Gorham, ME, and engaged in the powder business. Later he was in the fur trade in Montreal and Quebec. Disposing of this business, he returned to the States and engaged in the manufacture of paper at Lee, MA. The business at Lee was finally discontinued, when Mr. Laflin opened a commission paper warehouse in New Orleans with a Mr. Steavens of New Marlboro, under the name of Laflin, Steavens & County. This business was continued for some years, and he finally sold out to Mr. Steavens, his partner. He then became connected as special partner in the firm of C. Yale, Jr., & Company, in importation of silks. This business arrangement ceased somewhere about 1849, at which time he removed to Westfield in order to be near his father, who still lived in Southwick. In the fall of 1851 Mr. Laflin purchased the interest of Alexander Jessup in the Woronoco Mills for his son, G. L. Laflin, when the well known, successful and popular firm of Jessup & Laflin was organized. Since going to Westfield, Mr. Laflin has never engaged in any active business. He was also one of the founders of the Westfield Savings Bank, in which he was for a long time a prominent and an active director. In 1864 he withdrew from the Old Westfield Bank, and in company with Mr. Jessup and his brother Heman Laflin, now of New Haven, and his son, George L. Laflin, established the First National Bank of Westfield in the room now occupied by the Westfield Savings Bank. After a successful existence of two years the capital stock was increased from $100,000 to $250,000, and the Westfield Bank merged into it. He was always the largest stockholder of the bank, and as a director he was something more than a figure-head. He always and wisely, too, dictated the policy of the bank, and in him Mr. Hooker, the trusted and efficient cashier, always found a sound and reliable adviser. In 1871 the Hon. William G. Bates resigned the presidency of the bank and Mr. Laflin was then elected the president, a position which he held up to the time of his death. Mr. Laflin was also the chairman of the finance committee of the Westfield Savings Bank, whose interest he guarded with jealous care. In all transactions he was a man of integrity, upright in all his dealings. Occupation of Cutler Laflin, paper manufacturer; religion of both, Protestant. Ch.: George Lester, oldest child, b. Lee, 8 Mar 1828; m. 20 Jun 1865, Martha M. Clark of Newark, NJ, at Westfield, MA; resided Westfield; 8 ch., George Lester, b. 25 Oct 1866; d. 18 Jan 1867; George Lester, b. 19 Nov 1867; d. 21 Oct 1870; Mary Frances, b. 4 Feb 1869; Charles Walter, b. 26 Jun 1870; Gertrude, b. 8 Dec 1872; Cutler, b. 9 Mar 1874; Jere Horton, b. 19 Feb 1876; Catherine Eldredge, b. 27 Mar 1879. Mary Frances, 2d child, b. 19 Nov 1829, Lee; d. 7 Aug 1862, Westfield, unmarried; Adelaide, 3d child, b. 11 Jan 1836, Lee; d. 11 Mar 1839, Lee. Politics of Cutler, Whig and Republican.
v.	Clarissa Smith Whitney, b. 15 Aug 1804; d. 1846, Dansville, NY; m. 17 Dec 1823, Cayuga, William Foote. He was born 8 Dec 1802; d. 22 Jun 1877; was a farmer, later a grain dealer. Ch.: Elizabeth Coe, b. 16 Jan 1825; m. 27 Sep 1843, Olney Bryant Maxwell; resided Oakland, CA; 2 ch.; Julia Louisa, b. 18 May 1826; m. May 1846, Henry Kingsbury; d. 13 Feb 1870. They had one dau., born 12 Jul 1847, Rochester, NY. Is now matron of Wells College, Aurora, NY; Mary Adaline, b. 3 Jun 1828; m. 1856, Isaac O. Adams; d. May, 1869, Chicago, leaving 3 ch., Harry F., Harriett M., and Norman; Harriett Amelia, b. 9 Aug 1831; m. Howard Phillips; d. 25 May 1870, Chicago; 2 ch., Howard M. and Louise H.; Almeda Cornelia, b. 30 Sep 1839; d. 13 Jan 1846.
vi.	Fannie Whitney, b. 7 Nov 1812; d. 2 Mar 1892; m. 2 Sep 1833, Dr. John A. Thompson. He was b. 30 May 1810; d. 17 Feb 1879; resided Auburn, NY. Ch.: Charles DeWitt, b. 16 Jul 1834, Cayuga; m. 17 Feb 1866, Mary E. Comstock of Chicago, IL; d. 3 Aug 1890, New York; Harriett Lettitia, b. 20 Mar 1842; m.4 Jun 1872, Valorus Southworth, who d. 22 Sep 1882; m.(2) 27 Dec 1883, Homer P. Bender, who d. 6 Mar 1889; address 140 E. 48th St., New York; George Edwin, b. 10 May 1844; d. 11 Jan 1879, New Orleans; Mary Frances, b. 11 Jun 1849; m. 3 Jan 1871, John B. Pinn; address 118. E. Genesee St., Auburn, Cayuga County, NY.
vii.	George S. Whitney, b. 25 Feb 1810; m.(1) Elcie Kellogg; m.(2) Mrs. Rhoda Bond.
viii.	Harriett Amelia Whitney, b. 28 Aug 1818; m. 20 Dec 1855, Hon. Morris B. Flinn, b. 27 Apr 1811; d. 24 Jun 1891, s.p. She resided Rushville, NY. He was a hardware merchant.
ix.	Ann Maria Whitney, b. 13 Aug 1820; m. 15 Jan 1850, Lyman Carr; resided Mount Morris, NY. He was b. 9 Nov 1816; merchant. Ch.: Marion W., b. 25 Oct 1851; Fannie C., b. 5 Sep 1856; d. 31 May 1861.

Census

• 1790: not found.

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. 171-173.

1.^  His parentage is proven by his birth record.

2.^  "Jonathan [Whitney], s. Timothy and Alice, [born] Sept. 14, 1769," according to Franklin P. Rice, ed., Vital Records of Petersham, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester: The Systematic History Fund, 1904), p. 54]]

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