Family:Whitney, Henry Mitchell (1843-a1900)

Rev. Henry M.⁸ Whitney (Josiah Dwight⁷, Abel⁶, Aaron⁵, Moses⁴, Moses³, Richard², John¹), son of Josiah Dwight⁷ and Clarissa (James) Whitney, was born 16 Jan 1843, Northampton, MA.

He married, 3 Aug 1859, Frances Wurts.

Rev. Henry M. Whitney, M. A., professor of rhetoric and English literature, was born in Northampton, MA; graduated at Williston seminary, Easthampton, MA, in 1859; entered Yale college in 1859, but left at the close of junior year to enlist as a private in Company C, Fifty-second Massachusetts Infantry. Shortly after his enlistment he was promoted to sergeant-major. His regiment was assigned to the department of the Gulf in the famous Banks Expedition. When his regiment was mustered out in 1863, by reason of the expiration of their term of enlistment, Prof. Whitney was offered a commission in another regiment, but was so exhausted by hard service, having been on continuous duty, that he was compelled to decline the appointment. He spent the next year in recovering his health and completing his college course. Served as an officer of the U. S. Christian Commission from Jun 1864, to the close of the war, the latter part as paymaster for all the Commission work in the armies operating against Richmond. Was among the first to enter Richmond and occupied the official chair of the Confederacy shortly after it was vacated by Jefferson Davis. From 1865 to 1868 he spent in theological study at Princeton, NJ, and Andover, MA. Shortly afterward accepted the pastorate of the Congregational church at Geneva, IL, where he remained until he came to Beloit, in Apr 1871. Prof. Whitney is a man of large acquaintance with English literature, and gives careful training to all the young men in rhetoric. The British Association for the Advancement of Science elected him an honorary member when he was abroad in 1881. He is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers, and is noted as an orator on educational, religious, and patriotic themes. From 1883 to 1891 his leisure time was mostly given to work as associate editor of the Century dictionary: a "Dictionary of Synonyms and of Synonyms Discriminated," written by him, was incorporated into that work. Prof. Whitney was a brother of the late Prof. W. D. Whitney, of Yale, and of Prof. J. D. Whitney, of Harvard; resided Beloit, WI.

Children of Henry M.⁸ and Frances (Wurts) Whitney:

i.	Albert Wurts9 Whitney, b. 20 Jun 1870; resided Beloit, WI.
ii.	Edward Payson Whitney, b. 27 Jun 1872; d. 13 Aug 1873.
iii.	Clarissa James Whitney, b. 5 Nov 1874; d. Oct 1879.
iv.	Elizabeth Barnes Whitney, b. 21 Nov 1876.
v.	Josiah Dwight Whitney, b. 11 Nov 1878.
vi.	James Lyman Whitney, b. 21 Apr 1881.
vii.	William Dwight Whitney, b. 17 Jun 1863; d. 22 Mar 1891.

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. 491-492.

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