Family:Whitney, Francis Austin (1830-1922)
Francis Austin8 Whitney (Joseph7, Jonas6, Jonas5, David4, Benjamin3, John2, John1), son of Joseph7 and Sally (Harrington) Whitney, was born 5 Feb 1830, Westminister, MA,[1] and died 5 Feb 1922, Leominster, MA.[2]
He married firstly, 9 Jun 1853, Lunenburg, MA, Mary Lavinia Baker, daughter of Jesse and Sophia (Weatherbee) Baker.[3] She was born 28 Jan 1834, Lunenburg, MA, and died 21 Mar 1869, Leominster, MA, aged 35 years.[4]
He married secondly, 6 Jan 1870, Leominster, MA, Orrissa Ann Taylor, daughter of George H. and Abigail R. (Wheelock) Taylor.[5] She was born 9 Sep 1844, Leominster, MA, and died 30 Jun 1916, Leominster, MA, aged 71 years.[6]
Francis A. Whitney was born in Westminster, MA. Came to Leominster, MA, at age of 20 or thereabouts, and for a few months worked as a mechanic in the piano business. Then in company with F. W. Whitney he began the manufacture of children's carriages. Beginning in a small room, rented on the upper floor of an old factory, the business has gradually increased until it is now the largest children's carriage concern in the United States. Various changes have occurred in the business at different times. About 1870 he bought out F. W., ran it a few years alone and then formed a corporation, of which he is still president and holds a majority of the stock. The firm now employs 150 to 200 hands and manufactures about 40,000 carriages a year, which are sent even to Australia. About 15 years ago he also began the manufacture of shirts in Leominster in company with a Mr. Gaines, a young man acquainted with the details of the business. They are now, probably, the largest manufacturers of shirts in the United States. They employ about 700 hands and manufacture 600 to 800 dozen (7,200 to 9,600) shirts a day. Their business amounts to about $1,000,000 a year. He is, as might readily be imagined, perhaps the most prominent and wealthy man in the town of Leominster. He has given large sums of money to the Church there and to other benevolences, and is held in the most universal esteem and affection as a benefactor of the poor and a public spirited citizen. His relations with his employes have always been especially harmonious and actuated by a mutual regard. He has several times been asked to accept public office, but has always refused to become a candidate and has kept entirely aloof from political affairs; resided Leominster, MA.
Heywood says the following:[7]
- "Francis A. Whitney8 (170), upon starting out in life, located in Leominster, where he has been actively engaged in the manufacture of children's carriages and other industrial enterprises. He is a man of high standing in the business world and has contributed largely to the prosperity of his adopted town. His bro., Wm. B., a man of genuine worth, was for some years associated with him in the carriage trade."
Children of Francis Austin8 and Mary L. (Baker) Whitney:
i. Addie Sophia9 Whitney, b. 11 Jun 1854; d. 28 Sep 1854. ii. Herbert Baker Whitney, b. 24 Nov 1856; m. Belle Boardman. iii. Frank Judson Whitney, b. 11 Oct 1858; m. Mary A. Porter. iv. Fanny Harrington Whitney, b. 18 Apr 1867; d. 10 Sep 1874.
Child of Francis Austin8 and Orrissa Ann (Taylor) Whitney:
v. Frances Abbie Whitney, b. 29 May 1873.
Census
590 664 Francis A. Whitney 24 M - " Mass. Mary L. Whitney 21 F - " 665 Joseph Whitney 52 M - Carpenter " Sally Whitney 51 F - " William Whitney 14 M - "
1831 1831 F. Whitney 30 M - Mechanic $3500 $650 Mass. M. S. Whitney 26 F - Wife Do H. B. Whitney 4 M - Do J. M. Whitney 2 M - Do
282 373 Whitney, Frank A. 40 M W Baby carriage manufacture $22000 $20000 Mass. Married Jan, Male citizen over 21 -----, Oracy A. 26 F W Keeping House " Married Jan -----, Herbert B. 13 M W Attends School " Attended school -----, Frank J. 11 M W Attends School " Attended school -----, Fanny H. 3 F W " Heywood, Rhoda 36 F W House keeper " Holman, Joseph 20 M W Teamster "
Francis A. WHITNEY 50 Self M M W MA Carriage Manufacturer MA MA Orisa A. WHITNEY 35 Wife F M W MA House Keeping MA MA Abbie F. WHITNEY 7 Dau F S W MA At Home MA MA Charles E. DRESSER 25 Oth M S W MA Apothacary MA MA Bridgett KING 33 Oth F S W IREL Service House IREL IREL Anna GLYNN 26 Oth F S W IREL Service House IREL IREL
- 1900, Leominster, Worcester Co., MA: Francis A. Whitney, 70; wife Orissa A. Whitney, 55; living with daughter Frances A. Jones, 27, and family.
- 1910, Leominster, Worcester Co., MA: Francis A. Whitney, 80; wife Orocy A. Whitney, 65; living with daughter Frances A. Jones, 35, and family.
- 1920, Leominster Ward 5, Worcester Co., MA: Francis A. Whitney, 90, single.
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. 480.
1.^ "Francis Austin [Whitney], s. Joseph and Sally, [born] Feb. 5, 1830," according to Franklin P. Rice, ed., Vital Records of Westminster, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1915).
2.^ Find A Grave memorial #44597995, Francis Whitney.
3.^ "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910," from original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004; volume 71, page 233.
4.^ Find A Grave memorial #44598031, Orsay Whitney: "Orocy A. Taylor Whitney | born 1845 | died 30 June 1916 | age 71 yrs | 2nd wife of Francis A. Whitney"
5.^ "Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910," from original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004; volume 228, page 259.
6.^ Find A Grave memorial #65377786, Mary L. Baker Whitney.
7.^ William Sweetzer Heywood, History of Westminster, Massashusetts (First named Narragansett No. 2), From the date of the original grant of the township to the present time, 1728-1893, with a Biographic-Genealogical Register of its Principal Families, (Vox Populi Press: S.W. Huse & Co., Lowell, Mass.: 1893), p. 928.
Copyright © 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group.
