Archive:Marion Thomas Whitney, Part 2
Archives > Archive:Extracts > Marion Thomas Whitney, Part 2
Edith S. Middleton, Marion Thomas Whitney: The Story of His Predecessors & Descendants: Parker, Greely, Tufts (Portland, OR: The author, 1995).
[p. 8]
8 WHITNEY, COAST TO COAST Marion T. Whitney was 9 years old when his father moved the family to Burns, Illinois, and 19 years old when his father died. He was 29 years old when he was married. The children of Marion T. and Laura Whitney were: Maude Lulu, Ira P., Neva Jessie, Laura Melissa, Mary Lydia and Ruth. MAUDE LULU WHITNEY Born: 11 Sept. 1879, Waterville, Washington County, Kansas. Married: 8 July 1900, Chitwood, Lincoln County, Oregon. Died: 15 Sept. 1954, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. Buried: Chitwood Cemetery, Lincoln County, Oregon. Resided: Waterville, Kansas; Albany and Chitwood, Oregon. Occupation: Housewife, store clerk, Postmaster. Father: Marion Thomas Whitney Mother: Laura Augusta Parker Spouse: GEORGE THOMAS SMITH Born: 6 Aug. 1864, Fern Creek, Jefferson County, Kentucky. Died: 21 May 1942, Chitwood, Lincoln County, Oregon. Buried: Chitwood, Lincoln County, Oregon. Resided: Chitwood, Lincoln County, Oregon. Occupation: Farmer, Postmaster, merchant, orchardist, beekeeper. Father: Levi Allen Smith (born approx. 1822-1825, died 1880) Mother: Malitta Jane Maddox (born approx. 1834, married 20 Dec. 1851). The children of Maude L. (Whitney) Smith and George Thomas Smith were: Levi Marion, Zula May, Irene Elizabeth, Laura Loretta, Ruth, Morris X., Edith Janice, Lois Loree, Paul H., Frances Louise, Maude Lucile, and Evalyn Louise. * * *
[p. 9]
9 WHITNEY, COAST TO COAST CHILDREN OF Thomas Whitney and Lydia (Tufts) Whitney: Henry T. Whitney married Nancy Ann Phillips; he was a wagonmaker. Sarah H. married Jonathan Niles Chandler, medical doctor. Rebecca Jane married Rufus Darwin King, teacher and farmer. Melissa D. married Samuel Lynn Edmonds, farmer. Jaruel B. married Caroline C. Henderson; he was a farmer. Marion Thomas married Laura Augusta Parker; he was a carpenter. Children of Marion Thomas Whitney and Laura A. (Parker) Whitney: Maude L. Whitney married George T. Smith, Postmaster, storekeeper Ira Parker Whitney married Clara Vannice; he operated a dairy. Neva Jessie Whitney married W. R. Rutherford, both school teachers. Laura Melissa Whitney married Bert Jordan; he was a dentist. Mary Lydia Whitney married Jack Mollett, heavy equipment dealer. Ruth Whitney married Swart Himes, dairyman; Ruth, head housekeeper, Davenport Hotel, Spokane, Washington. Children of Maude Lulu (Whitney) Smith and George Thomas Smith: Levi Marion Smith married Ruth Pinkston, school teacher; Levi M., Engineer. Zula May Smith married Victor Sampson Landess, Machinist. Irene E. Smith married Theodore F. Silvey, printer; Irene, teacher. Laura Smith married Tom Chatterton, deep sea captain. Ruth Smith married (1st) Edwin Jones, owner of lumber mill and motel. (2nd) George McDonald, banker and poet. Morris X. Smith Rancher; active member of Oregon Beekeepers Association; Lincoln County Chapter of Oregon Historical Society; Oregon Home Orchard Society; lumber mill employee. Edith Janice Smith married Frank Briggs Middleton, office and warehouse manager; Edith was a professional secretary. Lois Loree Smith married Walt Jahnke, machinist; Lois a nurse. Paul H. Smith Born on Oct.16, 1916; died Feb.16, 1919. Frances Louise Smith married Stanley Smouse, a Deputy Police Chief of Tillamook County, Oregon. Maude Lucile Smith married Norval Eastwood, barbershop owner, rancher, carpenter, builder. Maude was a beauty shop operator, and is a noted collector and author. Evalyn Louise Smith married (1st) Frank Hopp; (2nd) Vern Simshaw. Children of Edith J. (Smith) Middleton and Frank B. Middleton: Franklin S., Marcia Joan, George B., John D., Lee N., and Janice E.
[p. 10]
10 PREDECESSORS MOVE WESTWARD In 1815, a natural calamity occurred in Sumbawa (now Indonesia) on the other side of the world from our state of Maine. That calamity had a disastrous affect on the weather in the United States. In a volcanic eruption, the top of Mount Tambora exploded. Considered one of the greatest volcanic eruptions of our world, the blast was many times stronger than our Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. A great cloud of volcanic ash worked its way around the world and was suspended over the Northern Hemisphere. In northern Europe and the eastern United States, temperatures during the daytime rarely rose as high as 50 degrees F. At night, the temperature often fell below freezing. In Savannah, Georgia, the temperature on July 4 was below 50 degrees. In 1816, it was said there was no summer in Maine. In June, a blizzard brought ten inches of snow to New England. Farm crops could not be raised. In the three year period following the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815, perhaps half the population of the state of Maine migrated to other locations. (Paraphrased from various sources, including Parade section of The Oregonian Newspaper, 4/12/1982). It appears that usually one or two members of a family owning land in Maine stayed on the property when the others went West. The weather in Maine returned to normal in about three years. Ohio was open for settlement, and our Tufts, Greelys and Whitneys migrated from western Maine to southwestern Ohio. They settled northeast of Cincinnati in Yankeetown; it was so called because all the settlers there were from Maine. In 1850, when the town was incorporated, it was named Maineville, in Warren County. Josiah Tufts (1780-1841), brought his wife Jane (Greely) Tufts, and family, to Maineville in 1817; their daughter Lydia Tufts was 11 years old at that time. Seth Greely (1737-1825), father of Jane (Greely) Tufts (1779-1862), came to Maineville in 1818. Daniel Greely, brother of Jane (Greely) Tufts, was married in Warren County in 1818. His marriage record is on file in the County Court. The Reverend Francis Tufts, Sr., (1744-1833), was father of Josiah Tufts (1780-1841). It is known that the Reverend Francis Tufts fought in the Revolutionary War with General George Washington at Dorchester Heights. He was also well known as a preacher. On going northward from Massachusetts, he lived in two different towns in Maine: Noblesboro and Damariscotta. Later, going farther northwest in Maine, he became one of the founders of the town of Farmington, on the Sandy River. The first U.S. Census, taken in 1790, showed him at Sandy River, 1st township, Lincoln County, Maine. The story of his life and involvement in government was told in a book written by Jay Franklin Tufts of Cleveland, Ohio: "Tufts Family History; A True Account and History of our Tufts Families, from and before 1638-1963."
[p. 11]
11 PREDECESSORS MOVE WESTWARD There has been a book written which includes the story of the Rev. Francis Tufts' involvement in the development and location of Farmington, Maine: "A History of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, 1776-1885", by Francis Gould Butler, printed in 1885. The Rev. Francis Tufts (1744-1833), went to Maineville, Ohio, in 1831, with relatives who traveled by horse and wagon from Maine. He died October 2, 1833, at age 90 years, 7 months. His burial place was Maineville Cemetery, Warren County, Ohio. Andrew Greely, emigrating from France through London, had settled at Salisbury on the northern coast of Massachusetts. The next two generations lived at Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Hudson, New Hampshire. The next generation went to Maine. Seth Greely and his brother Joseph were among the founders of Farmington, Maine, after having lived for some time in the area of Augusta, Maine. Many Whitney people came into Maine in the early years of its settlement. There were Whitneys in Lisbon, and some in Farmington. Maine became a state in 1820. Previous to that date, it was referred to as York County of Massachusetts. Study of our predecessors in Maine before 1820 reveals they were proficient in many lines of work, and able to provide for their needs. The Greelys, Tufts and Whitneys knew how to survey land and how to keep government records. They were carpenters and constructed dams to provide power for the sawmills and gristmills they built. There were Whitneys engaged in manufacturing and ship building. Settlements too small to have a church were visited by preachers who traveled circuits. A local resident would officiate when the circuit preacher was away. Joseph Whitney (1770-1850), grandfather of Marion T. Whitney (1846-1927) was born in 1770 in Maine. His profession was carpenter. Parish records state that he married Rebecca in the house of John Stinchfield, in New Gloucester, Maine, on March 2, 1797. We have family diary entries that mention some of their children, and records of those who were born in Maine: Mehetabel, Thomas S., Ephraim S., Alvah, Francis T., Moses, Respah, Johnson and Nathan. The 1820 U.S. Census for Ohio Co., West Virginia, showed them living there, with two more, younger, male children. Joseph's wife Rebecca was born June 12, 1775 in Maine; she died Nov; 10, 1826, in Maineville, Warren County, Ohio. Her burial place was Maineville Cemetery. She was a daughter of John Stinchfield, Jr., and Mehetabel Winship. On Dec. 9, 1827, Joseph Whitney married his second wife, Sarah (Sally) Ager, who was born in 1782, in Virginia. This marriage took place in Maineville, Warren County, Ohio.
[p. 12]
12 PREDECESSORS MOVE WESTWARD Joseph lived in Maineville, Warren County, Ohio, in 1826; he is shown there in the 1830, 1840 and 1850 United States Census records. In "Maineville, Ohio History, 100 Years As An Incorporated Town, 1850-1950", (Published by John C. Swift Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, 1950), Joseph Whitney was identified as a judge who counted votes for the election of city officials. Some of Joseph's neighbors were Tufts, Greelys, other Whitneys, and Hopkinsons. All were originally from Maine. For interesting reading refer to: "History of Warren Co., Ohio", published by W. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1882. In 1830, Thomas, (son of Joseph Whitney), his wife Lydia, and their first two little children under the age of 5, lived very close to Joseph. Joseph Whitney was living in the same place in 1850. In 1840, Thomas and Lydia moved to Milan, Ripley County, Indiana, where their sons Marion T., and Jaruel B., were born. They moved again, to Burns, Henry County, Illinois, in 1855. Thomas Whitney died in 1865. Marion T. Whitney had an uncle who was listed in the 1880 U.S. Census as John Whitney, disabled and living in the household of Marion's sister Rebecca (Whitney) King, in Burns, Illinois. The 1860 U.S. Census showed John Whitney, and another man, and a farm labourer, and Sarah's children, all living in Sarah Shaw's household in Lee Center, Lee County, Illinois, near the farm of Ephraim Whitney. Mehetabel Whitney was shown in the records of Blanchester Township Cemetery, Clinton County, Ohio, as a child of Joseph and Rebecca Whitney. She was born Dec.22, 1797; died Oct.22, 1860. "Baldwin" is also on the cemetery marker. Records of Blanchester Township Cemetery, Clinton County, Ohio, also showed Alvah Whitney was a child of Joseph and Rebecca Whitney, born in Maine, died in Ohio, April 4, 1875. Marion T. Whitney's diary notes his Uncle Alvah Whitney died April 4, 1875. This is proof that Alvah was an uncle of Marion. Alvah was born March 31, 1803, in Phillips, Maine. In a letter dated May 18, 1890, written by Sarah H. (Whitney) Chandler to her niece Lydia Edmonds, mention was made of Aunt Rebecca Baldwin, who had been ill. I assume she was writing of Rebecca (Whitney) Baldwin who was married to Samuel Baldwin on Nov.26, 1843, Warren Co., Ohio, but I have no other records about her. Rebecca Cordelia (Whitney) Shaw was a cousin of Marion T. Whitney. Moving west from Illinois, she settled with her husband, Edwin J. Shaw, on a ranch in South Fork, Rio Grande County, Colorado, before 1880. This location is in southwest Colorado, near Del Norte. Rebecca Cordelia (Whitney) Shaw sent a picture postcard dated April 6, 1909, to Marion T. Whitney. The picture on the postcard showed herself with her husband and son in front of their ranch buildings on the Shaw Ranch. The following message was penned on the postcard:
[p. 13]
13 PREDECESSORS MOVE WESTWARD "My Dear Cousin, (South Fork, Cob April 6 - 1909, The cloth on this table is the one mother made before she was married and her and Papa ate their wedding dinner on it. She gave it to me in 1898 the year Papa died. That was the last time I went east. This picture was taken two months before Edwin died. It is Byron our youngest son taken with us. R. C. Shaw." Rebecca Cordelia was born in Ohio. Her father, Ephraim Whitney, was born in Maine, in 1801; her mother, Mary Livingston, was born in Ohio. Ephraim and Mary lived in Warren County, Ohio, for several years after their marriage in 1824. In 1850, the U.S. Census showed they were living in Lee Center, Lee County, Illinois, with their three youngest children. They are also listed there on the 1870 U.S. Census. Rebecca married Edwin J. Shaw in 1857, in Lee County, Illinois. Edwin J. Shaw was born in Michigan in April, 1831 or 1833; his father was born in Ohio, his mother was born in New York. Rebecca and Edwin's older children were born in Illinois; raised in Illinois and Colorado. Wilbur, born Sept. 1858, married Nellie; their daughter was Rebecca M. Shaw. Ernest W., (son of Rebecca and Edwin), was born Nov. 1859; he married Effie M.; their daughters were Nellie and Otie. In an old photograph album that belonged to Marion T. Whitney, there is a picture of one of his aunts. When Maude L. (Whitney) Smith directed her daughter Maude L. (Smith) Eastwood to write names on the photographs, Maude Eastwood wrote on this photograph that this was Melissa Eggins (or Eggens), sister of Thomas Whitney (1799-1865), and aunt of Grandfather Marion T. Whitney. In 1850, the U.S. Census shows Malinda Eggers or (Eggins) was living in the household of Joseph and Sarah Whitney in Maineville, Warren County, Ohio, and was 30 years old. She was born in April of 1819. On December 14, 1851, in Warren County, Ohio, she married Cranson Stearns. She passed away on March 26, 1868. Her burial place was Maineville Cemetery. Lydia Tufts was eleven years old when brought to Ohio in 1817 by her parents, Josiah and Jane (Greely) Tufts. Lydia Tufts and Thomas Whitney were married in Warren County, Ohio, June 14, 1827. Their five older children were born in Maineville, Ohio. They moved to Milan, Ripley County, Indiana, about 1840. Their two youngest children, Jaruel B. and Marion T. Whitney were born there. In 1855, Thomas Whitney moved his family to Burns, Henry County, Illinois. Thomas passed away in 1865. Lydia passed away Feb. 21, 1882. Their burial place was Cosner Corner Cemetery in Burns, where both names were engraved on their monument stone. After serving in the Union Army, Jaruel B. Whitney married Carrie Henderson, and farmed the land which he had inherited from his father. The original farm had
[p. 14]
14 PREDECESSORS MOVE WESTWARD been divided equally between Marion and Jaruel, upon the death of their father. They had good farm land in Henry County. A railroad was built through the southeastern part of the county, which was used to transport the farm produce to market. The 160 acre tract of land in Burns, Henry County, Illinois, that was owned by Thomas and Lydia Whitney and their sons Jaruel and Marion, continued to be held by descendants of Jaruel Whitney in 1981, according to county records. Marion T. Whitney married Laura Augusta Parker in December of 1875. She was the daughter of Ira Parker, Supervisor of Burns township. They farmed the land Marion had inherited from his father Thomas, who passed away in 1865. Ira Parker was a close neighbor of Marion T. Whitney. A picture of Ira Parker's farm located on Section 9 in Burns, Henry County, Illinois, was printed in the "Atlas of Henry County and the State of Illinois". An original print of that picture is among our family pictures, saved since 1874. Ira Parker was married to Mrs. Mary E. Woodruff on April 6, 1854. The marriage ceremony took place in Ira Parker's home in Burns, Henry County, Illinois. Their daughter, Laura Augusta, was born January 29, 1855. Ira Parker's parents were Joshua Parker (1773-1828), and Susanna (Ransom) Parker (1773-1838). The 1880 U.S. Census record listing Ira Parker gave the information that Joshua Parker was born in New York; Susanna (Ransom) Parker was born in Massachusetts. Joshua Parker's parents were Amos Parker (1746-1834), and Lucy Parker (1752-1834), of New York. Joshua Parker and Susanna (Ransom) Parker were married about 1794; eleven children were born to them from 1795 to 1813, seven sons and four daughters. Ira Parker (born 1809 in Delaware Co., N.Y.), was the youngest son. In 1810, there were nine children shown on the U.S. Census; Ira was the ninth. This family was living in the Middletown precinct of Delaware County, New York, close to the northeast boundary line of Pennsylvania. Ira Parker's grandfather Amos Parker lived very close by. Also living very near were five other related Parker families, at the head of which were Amos Jr., Seth, Asa, David and Elijah.
[p. 15]
15 PREDECESSORS MOVE WESTWARD In 1815, and the next few years, land records show that all of these Parker families moved to a location north of Palmyra village in Ontario County, New York. The 1820 U.S. Census, Ontario County, New York, shows eleven children in Joshua Parker's household. Ontario County was divided in 1823; Wayne County was created from parts of Ontario and Seneca Counties. The Parker families were then living in Wayne County, New York, without moving their residences. Ira Parker lived in his parents' home until 18 years of age. In 1827, he started out on his own career of the painter's trade and teaching. He worked in Michigan, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi and Illinois. In Illinois, he worked in Moline, Rock Island County, and LaSalle County, before settling in Burns, Henry County. Ira Parker's father passed away in the next year after Ira left home. Ira Parker had two sisters older than himself, and two sisters younger. His two older sisters passed away quite young; Nancy at 21 years of age, and Avis at 30 years of age. Their burial place was the private Durfee burial plot. Ira Parker's sister Lucina was still living in 1898. The 1830 U.S. Census, Palmyra township, Wayne County, New York, showed Seth Parker as a head of household, with 13 people living in his residence. It appears that Ira Parker's mother Susanna, as well as Amos and Lucy Parker, were living with Seth Parker at that time, considering the ages of the people listed in that household. The 1830 U.S. Census, for Arcadia township, Wayne Co., New York, showed Hiram Parker, age 20-30, as head of a household, with his wife and two daughters under age S. Our family letters tell of Ira Parker's brother Elbert having a son Hiram. A letter was written by Mary L. (Cowl) Parker in Waterville, Kansas, to Maude L. Whitney, saying she received a letter from Aunt Lucina, who is aunt of Hiram Parker, "your mother's cousin"; stating Hiram Parker is the only living child of Elbert Parker, brother of Ira Parker. Our family pictures include a photograph of Elbert Ransom Parker, at age three months. He was born Nov. 6, 1891; son of Hiram Parker, named for his Grandfather Elbert Parker, and for his Great-grandmother Susanna (Ransom) Parker. The letter, dated July 5, 1898, stated that Warren Parker had visited them recently in Waterville, Kansas, and gave news of his wife and six children, sons and daughters. Joshua and Susanna (Ransom) Parker apparently always lived with or near to Amos and Lucy Parker. The first U.S. Census, in 1790, showed they lived in Pittstown, Albany County, New York. In 1800 and 1810, they lived in Middletown
[p. 16]
16 PREDECESSORS MOVE WESTWARD Precinct, Delaware County. In 1820, they lived in Ontario County, which divided in 1823, putting the Parker farms into Wayne County. County records of land purchased by our Parkers in Ontario County, New York, appear as follows: Deed dated 1814; Seth Parker bought 100 acres for $1,650.00; 12th twp. Range 2. Deed dated June 12, 1818; 50 acres deeded to Joshua Parker. 12th twp. Range 2. $350.00. Lots #103, 104 and 105 North of Palmyra Village, Ontario (later Wayne) County, New York. A map showing location is available. The 1820 U.S. Census indicated that Amos, Joshua and Seth Parker had houses on adjoining land in Ontario County, and later, Wayne County, New York. Both of Ira Parker's parents, Joshua and Susanna, passed away in Wayne County, New York. Amos and Lucy Parker passed away there, also. Their burial place was the Durfee burial plot near Palmyra. It is located beside the peach orchard at the top of the Durfee Hill north of Palmyra Village; the Parker plot is outside the fence. This place continues to be maintained and cared for. Our Parkers' farms were located near to the Durfee farm upon which this cemetery was located. * * * Records from Blanchester Cemetery, Clinton County, Ohio, were compiled by the Blanchester Area Historical Society. Included was reference to Alvah Whitney and his sister Mehetabel. Also, see acknowledgment for Warren County Cemetery records, page 5.
[p. 17]
17 MOVE TO OREGON The "Atlas of Henry Co. and the State of Illinois", published in 1875 by Warner & Beers, Chicago, contains a statistics table for 1870, showing Illinois was one of the most fertile farm areas in the United States at that time. The state ranked first in production of wheat, corn and horses; second in number of bushels of oats marketed and in number of acres of improved land; third in production of hay and cattle, and fourth in production of hogs. The 160 acres of land in Burns, Henry County, Illinois, that had been owned by Thomas and Lydia Whitney, passed to their sons Jaruel B. and Marion T. Whitney. The same land continued to be held by descendants of Jaruel B. Whitney in 1981. Marion T. Whitney was married to Laura Augusta Parker on Dec.30, 1875, at her father's residence in Burns, Henry County, Illinois. He continued to farm in Burns for three years. Marion's wedding gift to Laura was a large woolen shawl imported from Scotland. It had a Paisley design and was made of a fine grade of wool, finely woven. Laura used this shawl folded, as a wrap for herself. Later, she used it as a wrap for each of their children in turn (when very small), while visiting or on trips. When their youngest daughter, Ruth, was married, she was given the shawl to keep. Ruth kept it draped over the back of her sofa; sometimes she used it as a blanket <when she happened to nap there. The Paisley design of the shawl was woven with red, brown, green and gold wool thread, showing two different sizes of hearts among scrolls and stripes. It measures 5.5 feet by 7 feet. The colors remain clear and beautiful. The shawl is still in good condition except that after 100 years of use, it has thinned along the creases where it was folded. Information regarding this type of shawl was found in the June, 1991, issue of the magazine "Americana." They mentioned a similar Paisley shawl which measured 5 feet by 10 feet, and dates from the 1870's. That one, they said, was designed to be worn as a garment, although some might have been used as drapes for pianos, sofas or tables. Current value they estimate at $500, if in perfect condition. A cemetery marker in Cosner Cemetery, now properly called Burns Township Cemetery, is inscribed: "Infant son of M. T. and L. A. Whitney - Oct. 11, 1876". This marker is located next to the Thomas Whitney (1799-1865), grave stone.
Copyright © 2001, 2006, The Whitney Research Group
