Family:Whitney, William Fiske (1844-a1880)

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William Fiske9 Whitney (George Howe8, William7, Phinehas6, William5, William4, Nathaniel3, John2, John1), son of George Howe8 and Elizabeth B. (White) Whitney, was born 24 Nov 1844, St. Charles, MO, and died after 1880.

He married 10 Jun 1869, St. Charles, MO, Mildred A. Buckner, daughter of Aylette Hawes and Eliza Lewis (Clark)(Minor) Buckner, of St. Charles, MO. She was born 12 Jul 1847, MO, and died after 1880.

Mr. Whitney, like most men who have done great service to the agricultural and livestock interests, was farm-born. He first saw light of day on a farm near St. Charles, MO, in 1844, and his early life up to his majority was spent in the usual avocations of the Missouri farm boy, learning what farmers' boys usually learn (which to a bright and active boy is no little education in itself), and, taken in connection with that vigor which is the result of early farm life, is of inestimable value in later years. The isolation of the farm, however, begets in many farm boys a wonderful desire to see the world. Mr. Whitney was no exception. In 1865, when he had attained his majority, his ambition, as that of many a farm boy, was to be a pilot on a steamboat on the Missouri river, and for five years he followed this life. If there is any occupation that requires close observation, discriminating judgment and a level head it is that of a pilot on a steamboat on the Missouri river, with its treacherous sand bars, its changing currents and its constant dangers. It has, however, its drawbacks, and the man who wishes to have a home of his own and enjoy its quiet, and who, besides, has decided home instincts, will not choose long between the pilot house and the home when a young lady to whom he is devotedly attached points the way to the home. He was married to Miss Mildred A. Buckner, of St. Charles, MO, and to them have been born two sons and one daughter. We are inclined to think the good lady did not think much of the business of steamboating, for we find that in the fall of 1874 the family removed to Mexico, MO, and Mr. Whitney was engaged during that fall in the stock business, buying and shipping. 1 Jun 1875, he went to Washington, DC, and was clerk of the committee of the house of representatives of the District of Columbia, and for two terms was clerk of the banking and currency committee. A position like this is all right for a young man for two or three years, but all wrong as the settled business of life, and in 1880 Mr. Whitney resigned his position to take charge of a farm in Saline County, MO, ten miles southwest of Marshall, and for eleven years engaged in general farming and stockraising, handling mostly beef cattle. When cattle began to decline in 1886-87 he sold his herds and made up his mind to become a breeder of Holstein-Friesians and a breaker up of the way toward making Missouri the great dairy state for which nature intended her. His first investment was in 12 head of cattle costing $2,800. This was the foundation of the present herd, which now numbers over one hundred. He has from time to time added such individuals as in his judgment would bring them up to his ideal standard, and as a result he has a herd which is recognized as one of the leading Holstein-Friesian herds in the west. In the fall of 1890 he met Mr. M. E. Moore, of Cameron, Missouri, at the Kansas City Exposition, for the first time, and after discussing fully the necessity for a state Holstein association they finally agreed to organize it, and the following spring united in a call for the Holstein-Friesian breeders of the west to meet at Marshall, MO, in the month of April. The beginning was small, only six breeders being present, and Mr. Whitney was elected secretary. The following October another meeting was held, at which time the membership had increased to twenty-seven, and it was then named the Western Holstein-Friesian Association. The second annual meeting was held in Kansas City, 26 Oct 1892, when the membership numbered ninety-six, and when the important step of establishing a herd book was agreed upon, one reason being that they believed the fees charged by the old association were exorbitant. In the hands of Mr. Whitney and the able board of directors, the association has become a very great success, and now numbers one hundred and eighty-five breeders, distributed through twenty-six states of the Union, and is still on the increase. Mr. Whitney is the originator of the present system of keeping the records, which is regarded as many as the most complete of the kind in the United States; resided Mexico, MO.

Children of William Fiske9 Whitney:

i. Avlette Howe10 Whitney, b. 20 Apr 1870; m. 5 Jun 1894, Mabel Robinson; resided Mexico, MO; is a druggist.
ii. Arthur Buckner Whitney, b. 5 Jan 1877; resided Mexico, MO.
iii. Mildred Clark Whitney, b. 27 Feb 1887; resided Mexico, MO.

Census

1 1 William Whitney 25 M W Tobacconist MO Wilfred 22 F W Keeping house " Elliot 2M M W " Born Apr

"Wilfred" should be "Mildred".

Aylitte W. BUCKNER 63 Self M M W VA Member Of Congress VA VA Eliza BUCKNER 61 Wife F M W VA Keeping House VA VA Maggie BUCKNER 23 Dau F S W MO VA VA Charles A. BUCKNER 20 Son M S W MO Student VA VA Stonewall J. BUCKNER 17 Son M S W MO Student VA VA Wm. F. WHITNEY 34 SonL M M W MO Farmer MA KY Mildred WHITNEY 31 Dau F M W MO VA VA Aylette H. WHITNEY 10 GSon M S W MO VA VA Arthur B. WHITNEY 3 GSon M S W MO VA VA Jas. C. BUCKNER 34 Oth M M W MO Drummer VA VA Nannie BUCKNER 29 Oth F M W GA --- NY Mildred H. BUCKNER 11 Oth F S W LA MO GA

Notes

Biography of Aylette Hawes Buckner, member of congress.

References

Copyright © 2006, 2009, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group

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