Family:Whitney, William Oscar (1859-1939)

William Oscar⁷ Whitney (John Angier⁶, George⁵, Jason⁴, Mark³, Benjamin², John¹), son of John Angier⁶ and Sarah Elizabeth (Thomson) Whitney, was born 12 Nov 1859, Natick, MA,^[1] and died 1939, Philadephia, PA.

He married, 5 Jul 1907, Hyde Park, MA, Lena Ida Bird, daughter of Arthur and Delphine (Daggle) Bird.^[2] She was born about 1889, Natick, MA, and died 1960, Kingston, NH.

He married Lena Ida Bird, daughter of Delphine Daggle. He was approximately 29 years her senior and had witnessed her birth. Together, they resided in Natick, MA, moving to Worcester, MA and Hyde Park, MA later on.

One son Lewis Benidict Whitney, born 29 June 1908, who later changed his first name to "Louis."^[3]

In 1914, Lena Ida Bird divorced William and left to live in Kingston, NH. She re-married a William A. Bennett (1886-1965) of Danville, VA, who had two previous children by marriage, Virginia and Robert.

It is thought, but not proven as of yet, that William Oscar Whitney moved to New Jersey after Lena left him. This information was provided by his daughter-in-law Elizabeth (Nason) Whitney in her recollections of the obituary.

William Oscar Whitney worked as a machinist and shipbuilder through out the New England Coast; notably at Quincy Mass Yard, Booth Bay Harbor, ME and Bath, ME.

He went by the nickname "Ossie" and earned a reputation for his work. Fellow worker Jack McGuire of Quincy, MA witnessed "Ossie" get struck in the head with a steel beam while plying his trade in the Quincy Mass Shipyard. McGuire stated that William "had been a very good worker and very strong!" to his son, Louis. The insurance company awarded him the amount of $68,000.

He moved to a boarding house and rented from a Mrs. Cowan of Philadelphia, PA. Louis visited William in Pennsylvania, and was distressed on how very slim his formally very heavy father had gotten. However, Louis was disgruntled to see that whilst he was going bald, his father still had a full head of hair. His visits left Louis under the impression that his father was diabetic.

William Oscar had written $8,000 in his will for his son, Louis, which upon his death in 1939 in Philadelphia, PA was not granted. Numerous reasons were given by the lawyers,i.e. the banks had failed, keep was due to Mrs. Cowan, etc.

Children of William Oscar⁷ and Lena Ida (Bird) Whitney:

i.	Lewis Benidict8 Whitney, b. 29 Jun 1908, Hyde Park, MA;[4] d. 7 Nov 1973, Haverhill, MA. He changed his name from Lewis to Louis.

Census

• 1900, 85 Tremont Street, Marlborough Ward 6, Middlesex Co., MA:

253 312 McGregor, Charles W. Head W M May 1842 58 mar 34 Maine Maine Maine Book keeper, Rents house -----, Marian E. Wife W F Dec 1847 52 mar 34 2ch 0liv Maine Maine Maine -----, Marjorie M. GDau W F May 1893 7 sgl Massachusetts Maine Maine At school 313 Whitney, Sarah E. Head W F Apr 1828 72 wid 8ch 5liv New Brunswick New Jersey New Brunswick Rents house, Immig. 1856 -----, Oscar Son W M May 1859 41 sgl Massachusetts Massachusetts New Brunswick Sole-lea-cutter -----, Lizzie M. Dau W F Aug 1869 30 sgl Massachusetts Massachusetts New Brunswick Stenographer and type writer

• 1910, Edgecomb, Lincoln Co., ME.

References

• Census records.

1.^  "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910," from original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004; volume 124, page 151.

2.^  Interview with Elizabeth (Nason) Whitney, Kingston, NH 19 December 1995. Also "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910," from original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004; volume 572, page 59, and volume 571, page 595.

3.^  Copy of Record of Birth No 370140, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

4.^  "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910," from original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004; volume 576, page 47.

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Copyright © 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018, Charmaine Whitney, Robert L. Ward, and the Whitney Research Group.