1804 - 1873
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Suffix |
Rev. and Dr. |
Birth |
1 Sep 1804 |
Hopkinton, Merrimack, County,New Hampshire [1] |
Gender |
Male |
BIRT |
1 Sep 1804 |
? [2] |
Buried |
Mar 1873 |
Farquhar Cemetery, Washington County, Texas [1, 3] |
DEAT |
26 Mar 1873 |
? [2] |
Died |
26 Mar 1873 |
Washington County, Texas [1, 4] |
Person ID |
I59923 |
Brainard (Brainerd) / Foster / Fish |
Last Modified |
27 Oct 2005 00:00:00 |
|
Father |
Daniel WHITMAN, b. 7 Mar 1765, Stow, Massachusetts |
Mother |
Sarah KAST, b. 3 Apr 1772, Salem, Mass. |
Family ID |
F32270 |
Group Sheet |
|
Family 1 |
Almeda SAUNDERS, b. 1815, Shelbyville, Tennessee |
Married |
1833 |
Shelbyville, Bedford Co., Tennessee [1] |
Children |
| 1. Mary Ellen WHITMAN, b. 5 Aug 1834, Bedford County, Tennessee |
| 2. Rachel WHITMAN, b. 9 Nov 1835 |
| 3. Daniel Presley WHITMAN, b. 6 Feb 1837, Lincoln, Tennessee |
| 4. James William WHITMAN, b. 28 Nov 1838, Moore Fraction, Lincoln County, Tennessee |
> | 5. Edward Doak WHITMAN, b. 12 Nov 1840, Lincoln County, Tenn. |
| 6. Elizabeth Carr WHITMAN, b. 30 Apr 1842, Lincoln County, Tennessee |
| 7. Robert Harrison WHITMAN, b. 4 Mar 1844 |
> | 8. Walter Carrington WHITMAN, b. 25 Dec 1846 |
| 9. Frances Madeline WHITMAN, b. 20 Jan 1849 |
| 10. George Phillips WHITMAN, b. 18 Jan 1851, Bedford, Tennessee |
|
Family ID |
F32245 |
Group Sheet |
|
Family 2 |
Jane Lavinia HALL, b. 1826, near Selma, Alabama |
Married |
31 May 1854 |
Dallas County, Alabama [1] |
Children |
|
Family ID |
F15473 |
Group Sheet |
|
Family 3 |
Mary Ann Gardner EDWARDS |
Married |
1859 |
Dallas Co., Alabama [1, 5] |
Family ID |
F23417 |
Group Sheet |
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Notes |
- [gurley.FTW]
PROOFS IN POSSESSION:
Parentage:
Birth:
Marriage:
Death:
Other Proofs:
Robert M. Whitman is referred to as "farmer" and "trader" in census records, never as "Dr." He probably studied apothecary with his brother and practiced medicine by prescribing it and making it available to neighbors in Tennessee where he was a farmer and a trader. He was also never a "minister" of the church. He did preach at services, and was called Elder. This is like being a deacon.
From GOODSPEED- Biographicial Entry for James Whitman [Robert's son by Almeda Saunders] of Marshall County:
.....a son of Rev. R.M. Whitman. When a mere boy R.M. Whitman went with his parents to Virginia, where he lived quite a number of years. They then immigrated to Bedford county, and here he married Almedia Sanders (the subject's mother), and a native of Bedford County. To them were born nine children. After her death the father was married twice; first to Mrs. Jane Reed, who died in 1857, and then to Mrs. Ann Edwards, who still lives. The father died in Texas in 1873. He was an extensive farmer and stock trader, and in early life practiced medicine. He was also a preacher of the gospel.
from Lincoln County Tennessee Pioneers, Vol. III, #1 Ball Fork Church of Christ at Mulberry, Third Saturday in May 1839, The Liberty Baptist Association having convened on Friday before & we by our messengers uniting with them the church agree to refer the case of Brother Henry Warren to our June meeting. Brethren Halcole, Seal, Leftwich & Whitman being in attendance. They preached the word & the Lord by his spirit accompanied it and 3 white God's children were edified, sinners ware made to mourn, and we trust a goodly number ware made to rejoice in Jesus as their Saviour. On Wednesday door was opened for the reception of members. Eight of the above ware baptized on Sunday. On Sunday, the sacrament of Supper was attended also.
The End of the Curch Under the Old Association, September, 1839.
The only proof we have that Robert M. was the son of Daniel is the work by Farnham. Daniel Whitman's obit in the Nashville paper on 1 Oct. 1834 only says he died, and does not name any survivors.
FARNAM: "Elder Robert Molineaux Whitman, went south in his early manhood and became noted, not only as a pioneer preacher of great worth but also as a very successful physician of the "Thompsonian order." He was also possessed of financial ability to a marked degree, and left to his children a handsome fortune. He moved, late in life, to Washington County, Texas, and the town of Whitman in that state was named for him. He was noted for his kind benevolence and charitable disposition." 12 ch.
BEDFORD COUNTY LAND RECORDS: April 12, 1831
" Robert Whitman to Jack Shaffner. One hundred and eighty-two acres, in Civil District #23.
BEDFORD COUNTY COURT RECORDS, July 21, 1840:
"Robert M. Whitman and Samuel Doak pay to Nancy Edgar five hundred and seventy-five dollars in full payment for a negro girl mulatto named Selian, about twenty years of age."
Robert M. Whitman appears on both the 1850 and 1860 Tennessee, Lincoln County, U.S. Census. Charles does not appear.
The inventory papers of Daniel Whitman in Bedford county, TN of 1848 was no doubt the inventory of Robert M's BROTHER, Daniel, who lived in Alabama but did own land in Tennessee. The papers list Robert as administrator, but do not identify him in terms of relationship.
"Upon application of Robert M. Whitman it is ordered that by the Court that he be appointed Administrator Debonis Mon of the Estate of Daniel Whitman, Decd., whereupon the said Robert M. Whitman entered into Bond in the sum of five hundred dollars with William L. Tune his security , the execution of which bond was duly acknowledged in open court by the said Robert M. Whitman and his said security and was by the Court approved. Whereupon the said Robert M. Whitman was only qualified as administrator (Debonis Mon) aforesaid.
DR. ROBERT MOLINEUX6 WHITMAN
6. Dr. Robert Molineux6 Whitman (b. 1 Sept. 1804 Hopkinton, N.H., d. 26 March
1873 Washington Co., Tex.; buried Farquhar Cemetery near Bremond); son
of Daniel5 and Sarah (Kast) Whitman of Mass., N.H., Va., S Tenn.; m. (1)
3 Oct. 1833 at Shelbyville, Bedford Co., Tenn., Almeda Saunders (b. 14 Jan.
1815 Bedford Co., Tenn. d. 18 Oct. 1852 Lincoln Co., Tenn.); - 10 c.; m.
(2) 31 May 1854 Burnsville, Dallas Co., Ala., Mrs. Jane Lavinia (Hall) Reed
(b. 1826 Dallas Co., Ala. d. 28 Feb. 1857 Burnsville, Ala.), widow of
Smith C. Reed (d. before 1850), dt. Richard and Sarah (Morris) Hall of
Burnsville, Dallas Co., Ala.; - 2 c. (1 d. inf.); m. (3) 10 July 1859
Dallas Co., Ala. as her 3rd husband, Mrs. Mary Ann (Pearce) (Lewis)
Edwards (b. 1815 Ga. fl. 1886 Ala.), widow of (1) Henry Dudley Lewis and
(2) Littleton Edwards (d. 1858); - no issue; = 12 c.
Micro Bio: Born Hopkinton, N.H. 1804. To Meadsville, Va., 1809; to Huntsville, Ala., 1829; to Bedford Co., Tenn., 1833; to Lincoln Co., Tenn., 1830. Physican, farmer, stock trader. Elder, Baptist Church; occasional preach-er. To Washington Co., Tex., 1868, where died 1873. Whitman, Tex. named for him. Listed by Farnham in Des-cendants of John l~hitman of Weymouth, and Goodspeed's Histories of Tennessee (Marshall County). . _ ~ _
Proof: Names of wives given by Goodspeed. Names of parents given by Farnham. Birth, death dates on gravestone, Farquhar Cemetery 1 mile NE of intersection, State Hwy 90 ~ Farm Road 912, Washington Co., Tex.
Jane(Hall) Whitman named daughter of father in Dallas Co., Ala., Probate File 22, "Richard Hall." Named wife of R.M. Whitman on gravestone, Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Country Road 83, Burnsville, Dallas Co., Ala.
Physician, Farmer, Stock Trader
Robert Molineux6 Whitman was born in Hopkinton, N.H. in 1804, the sixth child of Daniel5 and Sarah (Kast) Whitman. His parents were close friends of the Moli-neux family of Hopkinton, and so he was given that name. The Molineuxs reciprocated by naming one of their daughters, Sarah Kast.
Robert was five years old when the Whitmans migrated to Meadsville, Va. He was educated in Virginia, studied medicine, and began his practice in Meadsville. In 1829, when he was 25 years of age, he moved with his parents to Huntsville, Ala. The economy there was based on cotton, and in 1830, Robert purchased a plantation 40 miles north of Huntsville in Bedford County, Tenn. And so he began his long career as planter and stock trader, as well as physician.
On 3 October 1833, Robert married 18-year-old Almeda Saunders of nearby Shelby-ville, Tenn., and settled on his plantation to rear a large family. He practiced medicine in the Thompsonian order (i.e. caring for the whole person, not just treat-ing the physical body) and became greatly beloved as well as respected in the com-
munity. He was astute in financial matters, and in the next decade bought and sold, ~'
at a profit, several tracts of land. His honesty in deals was above approach, and
there is an indenture in the Bedford County Court House dated 1835 which shows that
William Patterson gave to Robert M. Whitman "for consideration of trust and confidence
reposed in him" his entire crop of cotton, corn, oats, stock of cattle, 30 heads of
hogs, and one hay mare, to be disposed of.
| $ometime in this period, Dr. Whitman joined the Baptist Church, and unlike his
Puritan father, became a slaveholder. There is a court record stating that Robert M.
Whitman and Samuel Doak sold to Nancy Edgar of Bedford County for $575 "a Negro girl
Mulatto named Selian, about 20 years of age."
The Move to Mulherry
In 1838, the Whitmans and their three children moved 20; miles south to the
~Mulberry community in Lincoln County, between Fayetteville and Winchester. Dr.
· Whitman was made an Elder in the Baptist church, and it was there that he began to
preach occasionally for the Liberty Baptist Association. He continued to practice
~medicine, expand his land holdings, and became a wealthy man. He made house calls
'.' to plantations, left medicine with his patients (such as tincture of Myrrh), bought
supplies for them, and even paid the Constable for John Woodman.
Almeda had seven more children at Mulberry and then died in 1851, at age 37, after the birth of her tenth child.
Jane (Hall) Reed
It is not known why Dr. Whitman visited Dallas County, Ala., in 1854, but it probably was as a delegate to a Baptist Conference. While there, he met a young widow, Mrs. Jane L. (Hall) Reed of Burnsville (near Selma), whose brother-in-law, Rev. Athelstan Andrews, was pastor of Shady Grove Baptist Church at Burnsville. Jane's parents had come to Alabama from South Carolina in 1819, acquired a large plantation and a number of slaves. Mr. Hall died in 1846, leaving his property to his heirs. In the division of the estate, Mrs. Hall received one-third of the land
(about 800 acres) as her dower rights, and Jane received 80 acres as her share of -
her siblings' part.
Dr. Whitman and Jane Hall were married on 31 May 1854. They departed immedi-ately for Tennessee, but were back in Burnsville the next year so that Jane could give hirth to her first child, a son, in her mother's home. Among the Halls' neigh-bors and close friends was the Dubose family, and the boy was given the name, Charles Dubose Whitman.
When the Whitmans returned to Tennessee with the baby, they were accompanied by Jane's orphaned nephew, young Richard Hall, who wished to attend school in Win-chester. En route, Dr. Whitman purchased a hat and boots for the youth, and after
| arrival, he paid for Richard's board and tuition for one year. In 1857, they journey-
~ ed hack to Burnsville, where Jane gave birth in late February to a daughter. They named her Sallie, for both of their mothers.
Jane died ten days later, and Dr. Whitman buried her near her father in the Shady Grove Cemetery. Her Hall property passed to her children.
The Shady Grove Cemetery is located under the trees on a hill across from the church on Country Road 83. It is now (1986) overgrown, but the gravestones are still distinguishable. Jane Whitman's marker reads:
Jane L. Whitman, wife of
Dr. R. M. Whitman
Born 1826 - Died Feb'y 28, 1857 - Age 32 years
Her obituary, which appeared in the South Western Baptist on 7 May 1857, called her "a lady of superior merit, of a lively and social temperament. She had the kindest of dispositions ... won love of all who came within her influence ... leaves a husband and two lovely little children, an only sister, and an aged mother. Kindness and gentleness ... natural dignity ... Christian grace ... many years a member of the Baptist church."
Dr. Whitman took his two-year-old son, Charles, and infant daughter, Sallie, back to Tennessee to the care of his sister, Mrs, Elizabeth (Whitman) Carr, at Winchester. The baby died at three months of age, but Charles continued to live with the Carrs, as did Dr. Whitman's daughters, Elizabeth7, aged 14, and Frances, aged 8. His eldest daughter had married; his eldest son, James, was looking after the plantation with an overseer, and the younger boys were away at boarding school.
The Alabama Years
Dr. Whitman had been friend of the Littleton Edwards family in Dallas County, Ala., and when Mr. Edwards died in 1858, he sent his condolences to the widow, Mary Ann. Mrs. Edwards was left a large estate and nine children (three by her first marriage to Henry D. Lewis), and five of them were still minors.
The Texas Years
1_
After the war, James and Edward Whitman moved to Washington County, Texas to _
engage in the mercantile business. Thei r father joined them in 1868, and young
Charles, then aged 13, returned to Winchester to school. It is not known iF Mrs.
On 10 July 1859, Robert M. Whitman, aged 55, and Mrs. Mary Ann (Pearce) Edwards, aged 44, were married in Dallas County. They remained on her plantation near Burns-yille, and Dr. Whitman sent for five-year-old Charles to live with them and his wife's young children, ages seven to twenty. Dr. Whitman deeded four tracts (519 acres) of his Mulberry land in Tennessee to his eldest sons, James and Edward Whit-man, who took over management of the plantation.
When the Civil War began, James enlisted in the Confederate Army and served for four years. He was captured once, but succeeded in making his escape. His younger brother, Robert7 Whitman, although only 17 years of age, also enlisted, was wounded, and his leg was amputated.
The Texas Years
After the war, James and Edward Whitman moved to Washington County, Texas to engage in the mercantile business. Their father joined them in 1868, and young Charles, then aged 13, returned to Winchester to school. It is not known if Mrs. Hary Ann Whitman accompanied her husband to Texas, as she is not listed in the 1870 census of Washington County with him. Dr. Whitman is shown living with his bach-
elor sons, Edward and James, and his occupation is given as farmer.
Perhaps Mary Ann had returned to Alabama, as Dr. Whitman was in Dallas County
~on 16 June 1871 when the Hall estate was divided among the heirs, at which time he
.. petitioned Probate Court at Selma to be named guardian of his youngest son, "Charley
'' Whitman, a minor 16 years of age, who has estate in Alabama. Petitioner is the
father of said minor and resides in the state of Texas." (See Dallas County Probate,
File 22, "Richard Hall.")
The court granted the request, and the Administrator of the estate of Richard Hall paid $143 to Robert M. Whitman, "guardian of Charles Whitman, a minor, who in-herited in right of his mother, who was the daughter of R. Hal1."
Dr. Whitman returned to Washington County, Texas, where he died two years later. He was buried in the Farquhar Cemetery near Brenham, about one mile north-east of the intersection of State Highway 90 and Farm Road 912. His marker, found in 1970 among a scattering of broken stones beneath some ancient oak trees, reads:
R.M. Whitman
Born at Hopkinton, N.H. Sept. 1, 1804
Died March 26, 1873
! His biography in Farnham's Descendants of John Whitman of Weymouth, states,
~"He went South in early manhood and became noted, not only as a pioneer preacher
'84 of great worth, but also as a very successful physician of the Thompsonian order.
He was possessed of financial ability to a marked degree, and left to his children
a handsome fortune. He moved late in life to Washington County, Texas, and the
town of Whitman in that state was named for him. He was noted for his kind benevolence and charitable disposition."
Dr. Whitman was survived by his widow and seven living children. The town of Whitman, Texas no longer appears on the map.
Aftermath
Mary Ellen7 Whitman married A.D. Trimble, D.D., pastor of the Winchester Baptist Church. Dr. Trimble was instrumental in raising funds for the estabishment of Mary Sharp College in Winchester in 1851. The Trimbles later moved to Seymour, Mo., and one of their sons, Edward Trimble, Ph.D., was a noted professor at the University of Chicago.
James7Whitman returned to Tennessee from Texas, married, and settled in
Marshall County, where he was an outstanding farmer and stock raiser. His biography
is included in Goodspeed's Histories of Tennessee (Marshall County).
Walter C.7 Whitman joined his brother Edward7 in Washington County, Texas, and both later moved to adjacent Montgomery County where they resided between Willis and Huntsville. Each married and had children.
Elizabeth7 Whitman and her husband, Elijah Martin Ousley, a real estate agent,
7
lived at Winchester, Tenn. Robert' Whitman, who had lost a leg during the Civil War, continued to operate his father's Mulberry plantation, turned farm, and was elected Deputy Sheriff of Lincoln County, Tenn. Fannie7 Whitman married Edward N. Grigsby and lived at Elkton, Tenn.
Youngest son, Charles D.7 Whitman, followed his father's avocation as preacher, attended Southern Baptist Seminary at Louisville, and was sent to Texas as a pioneer Baptist missionary. He married, had a large family, and became a leader in the
· establishment of churches and schools in the communities where he lived. His des-
cendants have spread throughout the United States. (See Chapter VII.)
.
Issue of Dr. Robert M. Whitman and (1) Almeda Saunders:
i. Mary E1len7 Whitman (b. 5 Aug. 1834 Bedford Co., Tenn.) m. 23 Dec. 1851 A.D. Trimble; - 10 c.
To Seymour, Mo. ii. Rachel7 Whitman (1835-d.inf.) iii. Daniel Presley7 Whitman (1837-1852)
-
iv. James William7 Whitman (k. 28 Nov. 1838 Lincoln Co., Tenn. flo 1886 Marshall Co., Tenn.), m. (1) 1877 Ann E. Hutton (d. 1832); m. (2) 1883 Jennie P. Grigsby of Giles Co., Tenn.; - 1 c.
v. Edward Doak7 Whitman (b. 12 Nov. 1840 Lincoln Co., Tenn. d. 14 Sept.
~1875 Montgomery Co., Tex.) m. 1873 Montgomery Co., Tex. Mary W. Corley
_ - 2 c.
vi. Elizabeth7 Whitman (b. 30 April 1842 Lincoln Co., Tenn.) m. 1864 Elijah
~Martin Ousley, - _ .
F"' Lived Winchester, Tenn.
vii. Robert Harrison7 Whitman (b. 4 March 1844 Lincoln Co., Tenn., fl. 1836
_
_ Lincoln Co., Tenn. - Unm.
~viii. Walter Carrington7 Whitman (b. 25 Dec. 1846 Lincoln Co., Tenn.) m. 1875
_ Montgomery Co., Tex. Lisetta E. Brown; - 5 c.
~; ~I ~_ _ _ ~
I am happy to share information. The majority of this work is sourced with primary proof. Family Tree, however, chooses to use itself as the documentation source when you merge files. Contact me for the proper citation if one is missing. Please share w
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Sources |
- [S2776] gurley.FTW.
Date of Import: Aug 2, 2000
- [S2775] beasley.ftw.
Date of Import: Aug 2, 2000
- [S2781] Cemetery Records of Washington County, Texas 1826-1960, Judy and Nath Whitfield, Jr., Page 12.
About one mile N.N.E. of the intersection of State Highway 90 and Farm Road 912. A scattering of broken and buried stones beneath ancient oaks. [1970]
- [S2781] Cemetery Records of Washington County, Texas 1826-1960, Judy and Nath Whitfield, Jr..
- [S2793] Alabama Source Book, Volume I, "Index to Marriage Book A, Dallas County, Alabama, 1845-1865.", England.
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