Family:Whitney, Zerah (1784-1873)

Zerah⁷ Whitney (James⁶, Samuel⁵, Samuel⁴, Nathaniel³, John², John¹), son of James⁶ and Eunice (Johnson) Whitney, was born 10 Jun 1784, Newtown, CT,^[1] and died 15 Jan 1873, Bradley, MI.

He married, 19 Feb 1808, Danby, NY, Jane Demond. She was born 22 Dec 1788, NY, and died 25 Jun 1843, Plainfield, MI.

He was born in Newtown, CT, and was a tanner and currier by trade. Moving to New York state, he later located in Michigan at Cascade. The village where he resided was called Whitneyville, in his honor. He was in the war of 1812 and received a pension. Was justice of the peace for many years. Seventeen of his sons and grandsons served in the civil war and not one was wounded. He resided Bradley, MI.

Phoenix says the following:

"Zerah Whitney, b. at Newtown, Conn., 16 June 1784; a tanner and currier; went, when a young man, to the State of New York; married, 9 Feb. 1808, at Danby, N.Y., or, as another account says, near Herkimer, N.Y.; Jane Demond, who was born 22 Dec. 1788, in "York State." They dwelt in Danby, till after the birth of three of their children; at Scipio, N.Y.; at Genoa, N. Y., till the Spring of 1830; at Black Rock, N.Y., till 1831; at Buffalo, N.Y., till 1832; at Lancaster, N.Y., till about 1834; in Lenawee Co., Mich., till 1836; then settled at Plainfield, Mich., where she died, 25 June 1843, and was buried. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and a pensioner for his service. He died at Bradley Station, on the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway, in Hopkins, Allegan Co., Mich., at the residence of his son Ezra, 15 Jan. 1873, and was buried at Bradley. The following extract from an obituary notice shows something of his history:

'Another Old Settler Gone. At the venerable age of 88 years, Zerah Whitney, for many years a resident of Cascade, in this county, has passed from earth. He was one of the first settlers of Plainfield, in this county, in 1837, and three or four years later removed to Cascade, and with his sons, gave name to the little village of Whitneyville, in that town. He was the first Justice of the Peace elected in Cascade. The deceased was a highly respected citizen, and early comers to this valley, over the Battle Creek road, have many pleasant remembrances of the tavern at Whitneyville, where the latch-string was always out, and good cheer was always found within. Hundreds will join with the family in a sigh of regret at his departure to the unseen world, on the confines of which he has lingered so many years beyond the allotted three-score and ten.'

"Seventeen of his sons and grandsons served in the war of 1861, and all escaped without a wound."

Children of Zerah⁷ and Jane (Demond) Whitney:

i.	Ruth Ann8 Whitney, b. 28 Oct 1808, Danby, NY; a teacher; d. 3 Sep 1869, Ravenna, MI, aged nearly 61 years, after a painful illness from cancer; m. 5 Apr 1828, Genoa, NY, Jonathan Mizener, son of John and Louisa (Mathews) Mizner; b. 7 Apr 1803, Goshen, NY; d. 13 Apr 1875; a farmer. They lived at first in Hector, NY; went thence to Black Rock, NY, and Lancaster, NY; moved, in 1837, to Grand Rapids, MI; and finally settled on a farm in Ravenna, MI. She was buried in Whitehall Cemetery. Since her death, he has resided with his daughter, Mrs. Betsey Anna (Mizner) McIntyre, of Grand Rapids, and was living there in 1874. Children: a. John Mizener, b. -----; res. Grand Rapids, MI.
ii.	Peter Isaac Whitney, b. 5 Oct 1810, Danby, NY; m. Betsey Porter.
iii.	Oscar F. Whitney, b. 6 Aug 1812, Danby, NY; m. Electa A. Bryant.
iv.	Ezra Whitney, b. 29 Jul 1815, Scipio, NY; m. Hannah De Puy.
v.	Abraham Johnson Whitney, b. 13 Jan 1820, Genoa, NY; m.(1) Julia A. Morse; m.(2) Virginia A. Chatterdon; m.(3) Frances Bennett.
vi.	Chester Coborn Whitney, b. 18 Sep 1822, Genoa, NY; m. Amanda De Puy.
vii.	Martin Van Buren Whitney, b. 24 Nov 1832, Lancaster, NY; m. Harriett White.

Census

• 1810, Spencer, Tioga Co., NY: Zere Whitney, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 0-9, 1 female 16-25, 1 female 0-9.
• 1820, Genoa, Cayuga Co., NY: Zarah Whitney, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 16-17, 4 males 0-9, 1 female 26-44, 1 female 10-15; 1 engaged in agriculture.
• 1830, Genoa, Cayuga Co., NY: Zera Whitney, 1 male 40-49, 3 males 15-19, 1 male 10-14, 1 male 5-9, 1 female 40-49, and 1 female 10-14.
• 1840, no township listed, Kent Co., MI: Zera Whitney, 1 male 50-59, 1 male 15-19, 1 male 5-9, 1 female 60-69, and 1 female 10-14; 1 engaged in agriculture.
• 1850, Cascade, Kent Co., MI:

1385 1385 Ezra Whitney 34 M - Landlord $2000 N.Y. Hannah H. " 29 F - " Jane E. " 7 F - Mich. Attended school Charles " 5 M - " Attended school Abram J. " 29 M - Jonier $600 N.Y. Trifenia Stewart 22 F - Ohio Zera Whitney 67 M - None Ct.

• 1860, Grand Rapids, Kent Co., MI:

1992 1755 Jonathan Mizner 57 M - Farmer $5000 $700 New York Ruth A. Mizner 52 F - do Zerah Mizner 32 M - Lumber dealer $300 do Dudley Mizner 24 " - Farm laborer do Ann Cortwright 21 F - Michigan Susan Mizner 19 " - do Attended school George Elmer 21 M - Farmer $1000 $100 Ohio Married in year Harriet Elmer 17 F - Michigan Married in year Alexander Elmer 16 M - do laborer Ohio Attended school Zerah Whitney 76 " - Connecticut Jackson Alvord 34 " - Carpenter New York Louisa Alvord 26 F - do Samuel Zimmer 75 M - Farm laborer Ohio Newman Whitney 18 " - do do Michigan

• 1870, Hopkins, Allegan Co., MI:

262 264 Whitney, Ezra 54 M W Farmer $5000 $1200 N. York Male citizen over 21 Hannah 49 F W Keeps House " Charles 25 M W Farm Laborer $800 Mich. Married in Dec, Male citizen over 21 Melissa 18 F W Penna. Married in Dec Fred 12 M W Mich. Attended school Frank 12 M W " Attended school Carrie 10 F W " Attended school Zerah 85 M W Connt. Male citizen over 21

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. 279.

• Stephen Whitney Phoenix, The Whitney family of Connecticut, and its affiliations; being an attempt to trace the descendants, as well in the female as the male lines, of Henry Whitney, from 1649 to 1878; to which is prefixed some account of the Whitneys of England. (New York : Priv. Print. [Bradford Press] 1878), p. 279; and pp. 735-737.

1.^  "Zerah, s. [James & Eunice], b. 16 Jun 1784," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Newtown 1:52.

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