Family:Whitney, Giles Henry (1818-1888)
Hon. Giles Henry7 Whitney (Abel6, Aaron5, Jonas4, Moses3, Richard2, John1), son of Abel6 and Abigail Holman (Townsend) Whitney, was born 18 Jan 1818,[1] Boston, MA, and died 12 Jan 1888, Winchendon, MA.
He married, Nov 1850, Lydia Ann Davis, daughter of Capt. Joseph Davis of Baldwinsville (Templeton). She was born 16 Feb 1825,[2] Northboro, and died 28 Dec 1891.
Giles Henry Whitney, the son of Abel and Abigail H. (Townsend) Whitney, of Lancaster, MA, was born in Boston, 18 Jan 1818. His father kept for many years a popular and successful private school for boys in that city. His mother died when her son Giles was only five years old, and in his record in the classbook he deplores the loss of her guiding influence. He entered the Latin school when he was nine years of age, remaining there till he was thirteen, and there finished his preparation for college under Mr. Frederic P. Leverett. "That one year's instruction was worth all I have received in college." His health in his younger days was such he tells us, that school was no place for him, for he was incapacitated for hard study, and he carried this indisposition to severe intellectual labor to college with him. "Wherever the prescribed studies were difficult I neglected them and contented myself with the idea that I could do without them." He frankly acknowledges his mistake and his regret at not having pursued a more studious course; not because he failed like many others to obtain college honors, but on account of the mental discipline and training he had missed. He had much to learn like the rest of us, before he could shape his course to his entire satisfaction, but his subsequent career has shown us that our confidence in his general ability and our respect for his manly independence and integrity of purpose was not misplaced. He studied law in the office of George F. Farley, of Groton, and Washburn & Hartshorn of Worcester, and also in the law school at Cambridge. He was admitted to the bar in Sep 1842, and commenced practice in Westminster, MA, where he remained till Apr 1846, when he removed to Templeton. In Jun 1855, he went to Winchendon, where he has lived ever since. Mr. Whitney was a member of the Massachusetts senate in 1851 and of the house in 1864, 1866 and 1881. His sight began to fail him two years before his last election to the house, and since then he has been unable to read or write. He was married to Lydia A. Davis, daughter of Capt. Joseph Davis, of Baldwinsville (Templeton). By this marriage he has had six children, two of whom are still living, [Memorials of the class of 1837 of Harvard college.] He resided Westminster and Winchendon, Massachusetts.
Children of Giles Henry7 and Lydia Ann (Davis) Whitney:
i. Abby L.8 Whitney, b. 28 Jan 1852, Templeton, MA; d. 18 Aug 1853. ii. Elizabeth W. Whitney, b. 7 Apr 1854, Templeton, MA; unmarried; resided Winchendon, MA. iii. Alfred H. Whitney, b. 1 Oct 1855, Winchendon, MA; m. 21 Dec 1898, Salem, MA, Elizabeth D. Foster, daughter of George B. and Catherine E. (Duncan) Foster, b. ca. 1849, Boston, MA;[3] resided Winchendon, MA. iv. Andrew J. Whitney, b. 25 Sep 1857; d. 15 May 1863. v. Ella A. Whitney, b. 10 Jan 1853, Templeton, MA; d. 18 Aug 1853, Templeton, MA. vi. Mary D. Whitney, b. Apr 1860; d. 31 Mar 1877.
Census
258 329 Edwin Sawyer 36 M - Lumber & Chair Manufacturer $4950 Massachusetts Lydia " 29 F - Rhode Island Edwin F. " 4 M - Massachusetts Ivers Howe 19 M - Laborer " Savel Brown 23 M - Chair Maker Massachusetts Patrick Hurly 30 M - Laborer Ireland Hannah S. Manchester 22 F - Rhode Island Julia A. Wiley 18 F - Massachusetts Giles H. Whitney 39 M - Lawyer "
1351 1651 Giles H. Whitney 42 M - Atty. at Law $3500 Mass. Lydia A. Whitney 35 F - Mass. Elizabeth W. " 6 F - " Attended school Alfred " 4 M - " Andrew J. " 2 M - " Mary D. " 1 F - " Lucy " 78 F - $1000 "
151 198 Whitney, Giles H. 52 M W Lawyer $8000 $1000 Mass. Male citizen over 21 " Lydia A. 45 F W Keeping House " " Elizabeth W. 16 F W Attends School " Attended school " Alfred H. 14 M W Attends School " Attended school " Mary D. 11 F W Attends School " Attended school
Giles H. WHITNEY 62 Self M M W MA Lawyer MA MA Lydia A. WHITNEY 55 Wife F M W MA Keeping House MA MA Elizabeth W. WHITNEY 26 Dau F S W MA At Home MA MA Alfred N. WHITNEY 29 Son M S W MA Clerk In Lawyer Office MA MA Lucy G. HARRIS 53 SisL F W W MA MA MA
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), p. 504.
1.^ "Giles H. [Whitney], [born] ____ __, 1818. G.S.3," according to Franklin P. Rice, ed., Vital Records of Winchendon, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1909).
2.^ "Lydia A. Davis [Whitney], w. Giles H., [born] ____ __, 1825. G.S.3," according to Winchendon Vital Records.
3.^ "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910," from original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004; volume 480, page 547.
Copyright © 2006, 2008, 2010, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group
