Archive:The Descendants of John Whitney, page 401
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The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635, by Frederick Clifton Pierce (Chicago: 1895)
Transcribed by the Whitney Research Group, 1999.
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| WHITNEY GENEALOGY. | 401 |
The great fire in New York in 1836 swept away the greatest part of a fortune which had been built up by years of honest toil, and for a time paralized the energies of the victims of that calamity. Gathering up the fragments of his shattered wealth, Mr. WHITNEY embarked for China to recommence life at its meridian. After a few years residence there and in Europe, he returned to the United States bringing with him the ripened fruits of a large experience and the well-developed plan of that work to which it may be said his mature life was unselfishly dedicated. The mighty problem of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by way of a railway was worked out on a homeward voyage from China, the trade of which, and of Japan, his forecast then regarded as the basis of its future prosperity. A narrative of the life of Asa WHITNEY* from 1840 to 1850 is the history of the development, during that period of the Pacific railway project. This was the aim and object of his life and he devoted his fortune and energies to that aim and object with all the zeal and persistence of a fanatic. In the second memorial presented by him to Congress in 1846 he says that while riding on the Liverpool & Manchester railroad in England, in 1830, and observ- ing the speed and facility with which its work was done, he foresaw the great future of railways, and predicted the important part they would perform in abbreviating the distance between China and the markets of England. In 1842 while on a voyage to China, his attention was more forcibly called to the matter by information of the recent conclusion of a peace with China and the opportunity afforded by it for a more exstensive commerce. He spent about 2 years thereafter in China, during which time he accumulated much information concernig the commerce of the east, and in 1844 he returned to America fully impressed with the importance of construct- ing a Pacific railway. He was finally instrumental in securing appropriations in 1853 for the first surveys of the northern, southern and middle routes and lived to see communications opened from sea to sea in 1869. He was the author of "A Project for a Railroad to the Pacific" (New York, 1849), and "A Plan for a Direct Communi- cation between the Great Centers of Populations of Europe and Asia" (London, 1851). He d. Sept. 18, 1872; res. New York, N.Y., and at Locust Hill in Washington D.C., s.p. 3333. GEORGE RANSOM WHITNEY (Appleton D., Asa, Joshua, David [NOTE], Joshua, John), b. in Pittsfield, Mass., Mar. 14, 1801; m. in Euclid, O., Feb. 22, 1829, Harriett Maria BRONSON; b. Oct. 19, 1807; d. Oct. 17, 1884. George R. WHITNEY was born in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1801. His mother died when he was ten days old. At an early age he was apprenticed to learn the blacksmith's trade. About 1825 he moved to Ohio, and settled near Cleveland. In 1829 he was married to Maria BRONSON. In 1836 moved to Coldwater, Mich., but, not having good health there, he returned to Ohio in 1837, and located at Berea, where he carried on a shop for a number of years, latterly working land that he had bought. He died in 1871, respected by all who knew him. He was a blacksmith. He d. Sept. 11, 1871; res. Berea, O. 6118. i. HARRIETT ANN, b. Oct. 3, 1831; m. Oct. 25, 1853, Franklin A. MOE. She was educated at Baldwin seminary, Berea, O. She d. Dec. 21, 1890. Ch.: Ida, b. -----; m. ----- STEPHENS; res. 100 Broadway, Denver, Col.
6119. ii. MARY ESTER, Sept. 2, 1841; m. Apr. 29, 1869, Rev. Burton J. HOADLEY; res. Me- dina, O. She attended Baldwin univer- sity at Berea, O., and graduated in the classical course in 1868. Rev. B. J. HOADLEY is also a graduate of Baldwin university. Being fond of study in addition to the duties developing upon a minister's wife, she has carried on the Chautauqua course of reading for many years. He was b. Nov. 29, 1843. Ch.: Helen Louise, b. June 23, 1873; d. Nov. 11, 1884: Geo. Whitney, b. June 13, 1876. 6120. iii. JAMES W., b. Sept. 2, 1843; m. Lizzie TORBERT. 6121. iv. GEO. A., b. Nov. 28, 1838: m. Mary A. PATTERSON. 3335. ALBERT APPLETON WHITNEY (Appleton D., Asa, Joshua, David [NOTE], Joshua, John), b. Dec 10, 1811; m. 1833, Jenette BROWN; d. 1849, in Wellington O. He was ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Davis' History, Union Pacific R. R.
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