WHINNERY, John E., b 1829; 1905 Bio, Delta County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/delta/bios/whinneryje.txt --------------------------------------- Donated September 9, 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- John E. Whinnery A pioneer in four states, John E. Whinnery, of Delta county, living five and one-half miles up the Gunnison from the city of Delta and one-fourth of a mile west of Read post-office, has passed practically the whole of his life on the frontier so far, except the portion spent at his present residence since that section of the state has been settled and civilized through his labors and those of others. He was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, on June 6, 1829, when that section was yet in a state of great wildness notwithstanding his father and other settlers had been living there nearly thirty years. His father, John Whinnery, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1785, located on a farm in Columbiana county in 1801, when all the surrounding country was an unbroken wilderness and still peopled with Indians and infested with wild beasts. He had one hundred and sixty acres of land which he improved to a good condition and lived on until his death, in 1852, at the age of seventy-seven. Being a Quaker, and pursuing the peaceful policy of that sect, he was able to get along with the Indians without trouble, and it was two years or more after he settled there before they were removed in a body. In 1805 he married with Miss Mary McBride, a native of western Virginia, and also an early settler in the wilds of Ohio. They had eleven children, of whom John E. was the last born and is the only one now living. The last of the others died in 1903, at the age of eighty-two. The elder Whinnery was an intimate friend of the late Senator Mark Hanna and was well known to all the older leading men of the state. He died on the farm on which he first located in Ohio, and his wife died there also, having survived him ten years and passing away in 1862. Their son John grew to manhood on the home place and received his education in the district schools in the neighborhood. In 1852, at the age of twenty-three, he left home and moved to Benton county, Iowa, then a new country with pleasing prospects for enterprise and thrift. Here he bought one hundred and sixty acres of government land, which he improved and lived on for five years. At the end of that period he returned to Ohio, and after a short visit to his old home, traveled through various parts of the country until the beginning of the Civil war. He then enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company A, Fourteenth Infantry, and was soon after at the front. He participated in the battle of Rich Mountain under General McClellan, fought Stonewall Jackson at Winchester, and was in a number of active skirmishes. Being injured in a stampede, he was laid up in a hospital ten weeks, and after getting out of there was honorably discharged on account of disability. He at once returned to Ohio, and during the next three years he was engaged in farming in that state. In the fall of 1865 he moved to Lyon county, Kansas, and later to Wilson county, where he farmed and raised stock until 1874. In that year he came to Colorado and settled in the San Luis valley. Where Lake City has since been built he did some prospecting and located several mines. The town was then a rude hamlet of about ten log cabins, but showed evidences of its increasing vitality and promise of its subsequent growth. He started a dairy there which he conducted six years, and during that time he got together about one hundred cattle. In 1879 he took up a ranch in Gunnison county, and in 1882 he moved on it with his cattle, living there until 1885, when he changed his residence to Delta county and the ranch of one hundred and sixty acres on which he now has his home. It was all raw and unimproved, and he entered with vigor and dispatch on the work of making it habitable and productive. The first fall he planted two acres in choice fruit trees, and he has since set out two acres and a half more in orchard. The rest of the land is given up to other farm products suitable to the soil and climate, his principal crop being alfalfa. In the public affairs of the county he has taken an active part, serving a number of years as a justice of the peace. In political faith he is a zealous Republican, and his party always has the benefit of his work and influence. He was first married in March, 1850, to Miss Emily Crew, a native of Logan county, Ohio, and daughter of Dr. James Crew. She died in 1855, leaving a son and daughter, Josiah, now fifty-three years old, and Louie J., now fifty-one. One of them lives in Colorado and the other in Wisconsin. Mr. Whinnery's second marriage occurred in 1862 and was with Miss Mary A. Fawcett, who was born in Ohio in 1834. Her father, Samuel Fawcett, is still living in that state, at the age of ninety-two, having been born in 1812. He is a carpenter and still works at his trade. The mother died very young. In the Whinnery household three children were born of the second marriage, Webster S., Eva J. and Ralph V. They also are all living. Mr. Whinnery has belonged to the Masonic order for a long time, and has always been somewhat enthusiastic in the work of the fraternity. =================================================== Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Archive Project (http://www.usgenweb.org) and by the COGenWeb Archive Project USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.