Family:Whitney, Hiram (1828-a1880)
Hiram Whitney (Eli, James), son of Eli and Catherine (Longyear) Whitney, was born 6 May 1828, Shandaken, NY, and died 7 Oct 1907, Shandaken, NY.
He married, 15 Oct 1848, Shandaken, NY, Anna Maria Fredenburgh, daughter of Issac H. and Elizabeth (Rose) Fredenburgh. She was born 27 Mar 1829, Pine Hill, NY, and died 28 Jul 1911, Kingston, NY.
Commemorative Biographical Record states that Hiram's grandfather was John Whitney who constructed the first fanning-mill ever made in New York. It also states his g.grandfather was Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin. (See Notes below.)
Hiram began working with his father on the farm until he reached his majority, when he struck out for himself in the lumber business for ten years. After his marriage he began the business of producing tan bark until 1868. In 1857, he bought 2000 acres of land and built a sawmill. In 1864, he opened a general store in Shandaken, in 1869 erected a large chair factory employing 125 men. In 1884 built the mammoth store at Shandaken, the largest one in Ulster county. In 1886, he purchased the Palace Hotel.[1]
He was a very sccessful chair manufacturer in Shandaken, employing 1,000 people in 1880. He owned 6,000 acres of land, from which was obtained the raw material used in his factory. Was a Methodist.
Children of Hiram and Anna Maria (Fredenburgh) Whitney:
i. Jeremiah Smith Whitney, b. 27 Dec 1849, Shandaken, NY; m.(1) Francis C. Thompkins; m.(2) Abigail Van Etten; m.(3) Ursula Misner. ii. Josephine D. Whitney, b. 22 Sep 1851, Shandaken, NY; d. 28 Jan 1898, Shandaken, NY; m. William Louis DeGraff; no children. iii. Maria Catherine Whitney, b. 12 Aug 1853, Shandaken, NY; d. 16 Dec 1856, Shandaken, NY. iv. Marion F. Whitney, b. 23 Sep 1855, Shandaken, NY; d. 14 Sep 1912, Phoenicia, NY; m. 16 Nov 1875, Shandaken, NY, Cora Isabel Benson, dau. of Levi and Harriet Matilda (Bate) Benson, b. 21 Jul 1858, d. 9 Jan 1916, Phoenicia, NY; no children. He was a farmer and hotel proprietor in Phoenicia. v. Eliakim S. Whitney, b. 18 Jan 1858, Shandaken, NY; m. Jennie V. K. Beekman. vi. Adalaide Whitney, b. 1 Sep 1859, Shandaken, NY; d. 6 May 1897, Kingston, NY; m. 5 Nov 1879, Shandaken, NY, Frank W. La Ment, son of Franklin B. and Saville J. (Clawson) La Ment, b. 31 May 1857, Lexington, NY.
Notes
This family cannot be descended from the inventor Eli Whitney, whose agnate descendants are known. Furthermore, the inventor was too young to be Hiram's great-grandfather. They could be cousins, but until the ancestry of the Ulster Co., NY, family is proven, this is merely speculative.
Census
94 99 Hiram Whitney 22 M - Farmer New York Maria " 21 F - " Jeremiah " 9/12 M - "
124 Frame $200 124 Hiram Whitney 26 M - - Ulster 1 - 2 Farmer 1 - - - - 1 - Hannah M. Whitney 25 F - Wife Ulster - - 2 - - - - - - - - Jeremiah S. Whitney 5 M - Chld Ulster - - 2 - - - - - - - - Josephine D. Whitney 3 F - Chld Ulster - - 2 - - - - - - - - Maria C. Whitney 1 F - Chld Greene - - 1 - - - - - - - - Ephraim Rush 23 M - Labr Kings - - 1 Farmer 1 - - - - - -
1310 1263 Hyram Whitney 32 M - Farmer $12000 $2500 New York Illiterate Maria " 31 F - " Jeremiah " 9 M - " Attended school Josephine " 8 F - " Attended school Marion " 5 F - " Attended school Elikam " 4 M - " Adalade " 1 F - " Merinda Butter 20 F - Domestic " Daniel Deyo 21 M - Farm Laborer "
192 193 Mansfield, Mary E. 40 M W N.Y. Attended school Whitney, Hiram 41 M W Farmer $54000 $29500 " Attended school, Male citizen over 21 -----, Mariah 40 F W " -----, Jeremiah 20 M W " Attended school -----, Josephine 18 F W " -----, Morrin 14 M W " -----, Eliakim 12 F W " Attended school -----, Ada 10 F W " Attended school
Horain WHITNEY 52 Self M M W NEW YORK Chair Manufacturer NY NY Anna M. WHITNEY 51 Wife F M W NEW YORK Keeping House NY NY Anna M. WHITNEY 14 Dau F S W NEW YORK At Home NY MICHIGAN Catharine WHITNEY 81 Moth F W W NEW YORK At Home NY NY Adelbert ALEY 21 Othe M S W NEW YORK Works In Chair Factory NY NY Jacob MYERS 28 Othe M S W NEW YORK Laborer NY NY Polly THOMPSON 42 Othe F S W NEW YORK Servant NY NY Edward LANE 14 Othe M S W NEW YORK Servant NY NY
Marion F. WHITNEY 24 Self M M W NEW YORK Works In Chair Factory NY NY Cora I. WHITNEY 21 Wife F M W NEW YORK Keeping House NY NY
References
- Edmund J. Longyear, The Descendants of Jacob Longyear of Ulster County, New York (Los Angeles, privately printed, 1942), pp. 57-58, 154-156.
1.^ Mailing List:1996-12-26 03, Hiram Whitney, Ulster Cty,NY, by Marion Whitney Leska Martin, citing Commemorative Biographical Record - Ulster County, New York - Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and of Many of the Early Settled Families (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1896).
Copyright © 2011, 2014, Helen Rogers, Robert L. Ward, and the Whitney Research Group.
