My Genealogy Hound

GEORGE WHITTREDGE. The grandfather of the subject of this notice settled in Harmony Township, Clark County, at an early day and was classed among its best citizens. He transformed a portion of wild land into a valuable homestead, one hundred and twenty-two acres of which is owned and occupied by his grandson of whom we write. The latter was born where he now resides, December 20, 1840, the old place being located in the southwestern part of the township. In addition to general farming he makes a specialty of stock-raising and is proving a worthy representative of one of the most highly respected families in the county.

The parents of our subject were Thomas and Lucinda (Winchester) Whittredge, the former of whom was born in 1813, near Rochester, Mass, and the latter that same year in Butler County, this State. Thomas Whittredge was brought to Ohio by his parents in the fall of 1818, being then a lad of five years. His father purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land from the Government at $1.25 per acre; the father died in October, 1841, at the early age of twenty-nine years. He and his wife were consistent members of the Free Will Baptist Church. They were the parents of three sons, the eldest of whom, Worthington, is a resident of Van Wert, this State; George, our subject was the second born; Thomas was accidentally killed at the age of four years by the discharge of a flint-lock musket.

The paternal grandfather of our subject was Joseph Whittredge, likewise a native of Rochester, Mass., and born in 1774. He went to sea when a youth of seventeen, became a captain before reaching his majority and was a seafaring man during the early part of his life, sailing for a period of twenty-seven years to and from the West Indies. He was first married to Miss Abigail Foster who bore him one son and three daughters, all of whom lived to mature years, were married and reared families. The first wife died in Massachusetts and Grandfather Whittredge was then married to Mrs. Olive Rider by whom he had three sons — Thomas, the father of our subject, Worthington, an artist of New York City, and William, who died when fourteen years old. The second wife had two children by a former marriage.

Capt. Whittredge removed to Ohio in 1818 and entered one hundred and sixty acres of Government land, the same upon which our subject now resides. He made a specialty of cheese-making and died at the old homestead at the advanced age of eighty-one years. He was a man of a deeply religious turn of mind and frequently officiated as a preacher. He was kind and benevolent to the poor and was one of the early adherents of the Masonic fraternity. His father, Thomas Whittredge by name, was born and reared in Massachusetts where he followed farming all his life. The family orignated in England and was represented in this country during the Colonial days, by two brothers who came from Yorkshire soon after the arrival of the Plymouth Colony.

The mother of our subject was the daughter of Lyman Winchester, who married a Miss Goodspeed, both of whom were natives of New York State. The Winchester family originated in Scotland. The maternal brand parents of our subject spent their last years in this county. George Whittredge was reared to farming pursuits and obtained his education in the common school. Two days prior to attaining his twenty-sixth year he was joined in wedlock December 18, 1806, to Miss Catherine A. Franklin. Mrs. Whittredge was born May 11, 1844 in Clifton, this State, and is a daughter of Hiram and Ann (McCoy) Franklin who were natives respectively of Vermont and Greene County, this State, and are residents of this county. Four children have been born of this union, the eldest of whom a daughter, Eva, is the wife of George Vince; they have one son, Charles C. Minnie, Maude and Clifford remain at home with their parents. Mr. Whittredge, politically, gives his support to the Democratic party and has served as Township Trustee for two terms. He is considered a reliable man — one whose word is as good as his bond.