Family:Whitney, Thomas B. (c1837-1879)
Thomas B.8 Whitney (Joel7, Ephraim6, Joel5, Abel4, Nathaniel3, Benjamin2, John1), son of Joel7 and Jane Elizabeth (Corthell) Whitney, was born about 1837, ME, and died 15 Jun 1879, Stiles, WI.
He married, 19 Oct 1869, Stiles, WI, Louisa Jane Spice, daughter of Thomas and Nancy Jane (Logan) Spice. She was born 25 Mar 1852, Janesville, WI, and died 5 Jul 1923, Oconto, WI. She married secondly, 16 May 1882, Oconto, WI, John Spencer Crane.
Louisa Jane Spice was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, on March 25, 1852. Her birth must have occurred during a lumber scouting trip from New York to Wisconsin for the Balcom Lumber Company. The Spice family returned to New York in the mid 1850's, where her next sibling, Samuel Beasley Spice was added to the family. I am amazed at the traveling this family appears to have done in the 1850's when roads and trains were still being constructed to Wisconsin! Louisa was only 8 years old in 1860 when her mother Ann Jane Logan Spice died of poisoning while living in the Town of Stiles. Life for Louisa must have been very difficult for the next few years. Her oldest brother, Robert, and her father Thomas both enlisted in the Civil War, leaving her and her siblings parentless in the wilderness of Wisconsin. Louisa was only 17 years old when she married Thomas Whitney on October 19, 1869. Thomas served with Robert Spice in the Civil War. Her parents were correctly identified as Thomas Spice and Jane on the marriage certificate.
The Pension records for Thomas Whitney revealed the death of Thomas Whitney and the second marriage of Louisa. She had been in Oconto just waiting to be found!
On the 1910 census, Louisa J. Crane has been widowed for a second time. She is living on McDonald Street with her 38 year old daughter Liddea Whitney.
In 1920, Louisa Crane is living with her daughter and son in law, Maud and Martin Flynn on Baldwin Street.
"OCONTO COUNTY REPORTER, July 12, 1923
FIFTY YEARS RESIDENT OF OCONTO DIES HERE AFTER LONG ILLNESS
- "Mrs. Louisa Crane a resident of Oconto for more than fifty years, died her at the home of her daughter Mrs. Martin Flynn at 12:30 P.M. Thursday July 5 after a prolonged illness due to the infirmities incident to old age.
- "Louisa Spice was born in Janesville March 25, 1852. Part of her childhood was spent in Stiles, and about fifty years ago she came to Oconto, where she has made her home ever since.
- "Deceased is survived by one daughter Mrs. Martin Flynn, of Oconto, one son, Walter Whitney of Green Bay, one stepson Spencer Crane, Oconto, one stepdaughter, Mrs. Theodore Lewis of Florence and one brother Sam Spice of Oconto.
- "The funeral was held Saturday afternoon from the Martin Flynn home, Rev. R.A. Garrison officiating Interment was made in Evergreen Cemetery.
- "Those from out of the city who attended the funeral were: Mr and Mrs George Trepanier, Mr and Mrs Wilton Smith, and Mr and mrs R. Smith of Marinette. J.M. Davis and daughter, Mrs Beyer of Menomonie; Miss Gertrude Robinson, Walter Whitney Jr. and James Collins of Green Bay; Walter Flynn, Detroit; Harlan Flynn, Chicago; Mrs E. Thorin, Florence; and Mrs. George Kinzinger, Appleton.
Thomas Whitney, Louisa Spice Whitney Crane, and daughter Maude were buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Oconto, WI.
Children of Thomas B.8 and Louisa Jane (Spice) Whitney:
i. Walter9 Whitney, b. Oct 1870, WI; living in Green Bay with his son according to the obit of his sister Maud in 1924; no wife is mentioned. ii. Lillian Whitney, b. May 1873, WI; identified as Lillian in the 1880 and 1900 censuses, but listed as Liddia, a 38 year old dressmaker living with her mother in Oconto in 1910. She is not mentioned in the obit of her sister, Maud Flynn in 1924, leaving the assumption that she had already died. iii. Maud Whitney, b. 1 Apr 1874, Oconto, WI; d. 1 Aug 1924, Oconto, WI; bur. Evergreen Cemetery, Oconto, WI; m. ca. 1882, Martin Flynn. - OCONTO COUNTY REPORTER - AUGUST 9, 1924
MRS MARTIN FLYNN DIES SUDDENLY AT HER HOME FRIDAY
- "Mrs Martin Flynn a resident of this city all her life, was found dead in bed at six o'clock Friday evening, by her husband, who had just come from work. She had been dead less than an hour as neighbors had seen her standing in the doorway about five o'clock. Death was caused by a cerebral hemorrhage.
- "Mrs Flynn who was fifty years old had not been in the best of health for the past seven years, but up until the time of her death she had been up and around.
- "Maud Whitney was born April 1, 1874 in Oconto. About thirty-two years ago she was married to Martin Flynn, who survives her. She is also survived by two sons, Harlan of Chicago and Walter of Detroit, Mich., one daughter, Mrs. E. M. Laitala of Appleton; one brother, Walter Whitney of Green Bay and two grandchildren.
- "The funeral was held Monday afternoon at 2:30 from the house, the Rev. E. W. Wright of Menomonie, Mich., officiating. Burial was in the Evergreen cemetery. The pallbearers were J. Ratchford, John Green, George Glynn, Louis Brazeau, Dell Thompson, and William Baldwin.
- "Those from out of town who attended the funeral were Mr. and Mrs. Harlan Flynn, Chicago; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Flynn, Detroit, Mich.; Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Laitala, Appleton; Walter Whitney and son of Green Bay; and Mrs. George Trepanier of Marinette, Wis.
- OCONTO COUNTY REPORTER - AUGUST 9, 1924
Census
567 483 Joel Whitney 60 M - Carpenter Maine Laura J. Tourtellott 34 F - Seamstress " Leonora " 10 F - " Attended school Marcella " 7 F - Penn. Attended school Jotham " 5 M - Maine Attended school John " 4 M - " Attended school Charles " 1 M - Minnesota Thomas B. Whitney 22 M - Maine
- 1870: not found.
- 1880, Oconto, Oconto Co., WI:
Louisa WHITNEY 28 Self F W WH WI Keeps House ENG CAN Walter WHITNEY 9 Son M S WH WI Attends School ENG WI Lillian WHITNEY 7 Dau F S WH WI Attends School ENG WI Maud WHITNEY 6 Dau F S WH WI Attends School ENG WI
31 33 Crane, John Head W M Jun 1848 51 mar 18 Canada Eng Canada Eng Canada Eng Edge Sawyer, Rents house -----, Louisa Wife W F Mar 1853 47 mar 20 3ch 3liv Wisconsin England England Whitney, Walter Son W M Oct 1870 29 sgl Wisconsin Maine Wisconsin Day Laborer -----, Lillian Dau W F May 1873 27 sgl Wisconsin Maine Wisconsin
- 1910, Oconto, Oconto Co., WI: Lousia J. Crain, widow, 59, living with her daughter Liddia, single, 38.
References
- Census records.
Copyright © 2012, 2021, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group.
