Archive:Our Pioneer Families, part 6
Archives > Archive:Extracts > Our Pioneer Families, part 6
Our Pioneer Families: Genealogies of Whitney, Groathouse and Lignitz, by Vivian Gail Morrow Wade.
Title page, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 107, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 120, 120(a), 120(b), 122.
[p. 111]
William Peace Whitney
[p. 112]
4 generation picture
Nancy J. Carlton (95 yrs old, 4 mo-20days)
(wife of William Whitney)
dau. Nancy P. Kinyon
Nancy's dau. Lydia G.
Lydia's hus. George M. Little
the Little's baby (1 mo. old)
[p. 113]
In continueing our Whitney story, we pick up our family in 1850 in Tempest Township, DeKalb, Illinois. We found in dwelling #67, William whitney, age 67, value of real estate $900. His wife, Nancy, age 44 both born in Maine. Children listed.
Hiram, age 19 born Maine
Philena age 15 born Maine
George age 12 born Maine
Next door we find William's daughter Nancy P. married to George Kinyon (Kenyon) Nancy is 24 years old and George is 23. George is listed as born in New York. Value of real estate is $1500. His occupation is listed as farmer. Vesta (female) age 4 is living with them. Vesta is Nancy's daughter by her first marriage to John Adkinson in Indiana. John Adkinson died in Indiana and Vesta was born there before Nancy P. came to Illinois with her parents. Note the value of the land, that was alot of money then! George Kinyon's parents and brothers and sisters also lived in this area.
In 1860 Census of Pampus Township, post office being at Sycamore, deKalb, Illinois: George Kinyon age 34, farmer, real value $3000., born New York.
wife - Nancy sons: John w. age 10 Dexter age 5 (listed as living in Calif. in 1920) dau: Lydia no age listed
Vesta is not listed in this census and she is known to have married Mr. Artemus McKinney (Art).
A short distance away in Cortland, DeKalb, Illinois, we found Hiram, age 27, occupation reaper agent (a reaper is a havest machine)
wife -Mary 22 Effie age 7 Bro. George Washington, age 22 Parents- William and Nancy Nancy's age listed as 56
[p. 114]
1870 Census of Marysville Township, Kansas we find George W. age 30, farmer, real value $1800. William passed away in 1863, in Cortland, Illinois. Nancy J. , age 63, then also living with them was Artemus, Vesta and dau. Adda R. age 7. This was dwelling 198, family 200 on the census.
By 1870 Philena, Catherine, Effie and Sylvia had died. Nancy and George Kinyon and family lived all their lives at Cortland, Illinois.
1880 Census--Kansas dwelling #10 We find listed:
George W. Whitney age 41, farmer, born-Maine
wife--Minnie, age 29 born-Ohio child--Alonzo, age 3
Knowing Minnie Merniva Hartley was born in Berlin Crossroads, Jackson County, Ohio; we went back to:
1850 Census: Milton Townsip, dwelling #1270 Lewis Lawrence Hartley age 23, occupation shoemaker, born-Pa. wife-Lucy Long age 26 daughter - Harriet
Minnie's father Lewis L. Hartley, born 1824, d. 1850; right after they took the census. It was to our advantage that he waited until after the census were taken or we may not have found him. On an insurance form filled out by Pearl H. Whitney dated Oct. 9, 1922; Lewis is death was listed as being from typhoid fever. Lewis L. Hartley's father was born 1796 (John) and his mother (Harriet) was born in 1807 in Pa. There are also brothers listed on the census.
Shortly after Lewis L. Hartley passed away Minnie's mother Lucy, had a nervous breakdown or illness and couldn't care for her children. Family history has picked it up as Lucy having lost her father, brother and husband all within a short period of time. In checking history I found that 1847 was when they had a great diptheria epidemic. Then of course there was always the Indian raids.
[p. 115]
A family by the name of Wilson took Minnie after her fathers death. Maybe Mr. Wilson was a minister. For awhile we don't know where the other girls were.
October 10, 1855, Lucy Long Hartley married Abel Huddle- ston (who doesn't seem to be a stranger to the family) but must have just been a neighbor.
1860 census shows Milton Township, Jackson Co,. Dawkin Mills, Ohio:
Wilson Hawk--farmer--M. E. Church-- Berlin x-roads, Ohio.
wife: Symanthia son-Charles infant 1 mo. old
Minnie M. Hartley 10 yrs. old
So this is one of the foster parents Minnie had. In my geneology book is the obituary of their daughter Olivia Hawk Arthur listing Minnie as a foster sister.
Lucy Long was born 1827 and died 1916, was married to Abel Huddleston on October 10, 1855. Abe died in 1902 in Kansas.
There has been some speculation that Levina was a half sister to Minnie but that proves false as she is older than Minnie and is listed in a couple of places. However, in an obituary it lists a half sister Melinda Glaze. This could be a foster sister of hers. I have not searched anymore for Melinda Glaze.
Minnie passed down a story about her being on a train and a horrible smoke was everywhere. It was so bad it was like the whole country was on fire. When she got to Kansas she read about the Chicago fire in the paper. Remember Mrs. O'Leary's cow! This was when Minnie went to Kansas to teach. Since Minnie taught in Sycamore, Illinois and then the fire was Oct. 8, 1871 and she got married in 1873 in Kansas, that would have made her 21 years old.
That Chicago fire cost $196 million and 250 lives. (Just thought I would throw that in for interest!)
We speculated that she didn't travel alone as it wasn't done in those days and reading the obituaries--think that her friend Olivia went with her. I since have received an obituary written by the paper there and copied by Hilda Lignitz Whitney giving us more information to confirm this. I think you will find it interesting reading.
[p. 120]
Was born in Phillips Co., Maine Dec. 8, 1838 and died at Chanute Kansas Thursday Oct. 30, 1930 at the age of 91 years, 10 months and 23 days.
Mr. Whitney moved with his parents when he was a year old to Illinois where he grew to manhood.
At this time our country became involved in the Great Civil War. He applied three times to join the Union forces, but was rejected on account of an injured foot.
In 1862 he, with a small group of men, drove across the country to California with horses. They endured the hardships, which only the early plainsmen understood. At one time they were attacked by a band of Indians, and two of the small group of men were killed. Mr. Whitney came to Kansas in 1869.
He was united in marriage to Minnie M. Hartley at Marysville, Ks. where they reared their family. Their children were Frank who died in infancy a number of years ago; A. C. of Ogallala Neb., Vina who died when quite small, George W. Jr. of Haigler, Neb., Pearl H. & Lester L. of Morrisey, Wyo., and Effie W. Simon of Chanute Ks.
Mr. Whitney leaves to mourn his loss, his aged companion, his children, sixteen grandchildren, and many great grand children. He became a member of the Masonic Lodge Order Sept. 26, 1868 at Courtland Illinois and later transfered his membership to Haddam. He had the honor of being the oldest Mason in the State of Kansas. In his passing another one of our grand old pioneers has answered the last call. He lived to see our state deve1ope from the wild prairie stage to the present time.
He made his contribution to the world and has passed on leaving a memory of a kind and loving husband and father and a loyal friend.
Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Snare.
The Masonic service was held at the grave in Haddam Cemetery.
written Sunday July 18,1934
[p. 120(a)]
Front Row: George Washington Sr. & Minnie Hartley Whitney
[p. 120(b)]
Seated Left: Lucy Long Huddleston & dau. Minnie M. Hartley
Whitney,
Standing Left: Minnie's daughter Vina & her dau. Mrs. Taylor
[p. 122]
MRS. MINNIE MERNIVA WHITNEY
MINNIE MERNIVA HARTLEY born at Berlin CrossRoads Ohio, Oct. 21, 1850. She taught two years of school at Palmer Kansas.
On January 23, 1873 she married George Washington Whitney, who preceded her in death Oct. 30, 1930. They had seven children, five sons and two daughters. A son and a daughter died in infancy
In the spring of 1878 with her husband and baby moved to the Whitney Farm place three miles Southeast of Haddam. In the fall of 1919 they moved to town for almost six years.
The past three years she had been gradually failing in health and after a short illness she passed away 10:50 a.m. Sept. 20, 1933.
She leaves to mourn her, four sons: Alonzo C. of Ogallala, George W. of Haigler, Neb., Pearl H. and Lester L. of NewCastle Wyo, and one daughter Effie Simon of Haven Kansas. One sister Harriet Reck of King- fisher, Okla., sixteen grandchildren, a large number of nieces and nephews, and ten greatgrand children.
Funeral services were conducted by the Rev. L. E. Dixon at the Haddam Church Sat. and interment made in Haddam Cemetery.
Copyright © 1999, 2006, The Whitney Research Group
