Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Whitmore, John C 
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Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com March 25, 2006, 8:02 pm

Author: Bio/Gen Record LaSalle/Grundy 1900

John C. Whitmore has long been connected with the development and progress of 
Grundy county. He is numbered among the leading agriculturists and pioneer 
settlers, and as the years have passed he has taken cognizance of the needs of 
the county, giving his support to all measures which he believes to be of 
public benefit. Such a course has made him known as one of the representative 
citizens of his community, and it is therefore with pleasure that we present 
the record of his life to our readers.

The Whitmores are of old Puritan ancestry and were among the early settlers of 
New England. Stephen Whitmore, the grandfather of our subject, was a farmer of 
Middletown, Connecticut. By his first marriage his children were Stephen and 
Mabel. For his second wife he married a Miss Clark, and to them was born a 
son, Daniel C. The grandfather was one of the soldiers of the Revolutionary 
war and valiantly aided in the struggle for independence. He died at 
Middletown, Connecticut.

Daniel C. Whitmore, the father of our subject, was born at Middletown, and 
received such educational privileges as the common schools of that day 
afforded. At the age of twenty years he became a sailor and followed the sea 
for seven years, his trips being made mostly from Boston to the West Indies. 
He was married in Middletown, Connecticut, to Sarah Roberts, a native of the 
Charter Oak state, and a daughter of Comfort Roberts. Their children were: 
Lucy A., who was born in Middletown, April 6, 1830; John C, born also in 
Middletown; Stephen, born in Summit county, Ohio; and Albert and Mary E., who 
were natives of Charleston, Ohio. It was the year 1833 that witnessed the 
arrival of Daniel C. Whitmore and his family in Ohio. The year previous he 
visited this state in order to secure a location, and on the trip rode on the 
first railroad ever constructed in the United States. When he went with his 
family in 1833, however, the trip was made by wagon. He took up his abode in 
Summit county, Ohio, and resided at Silver Lake for one year, living with his 
father-in-law, Comfort Roberts, who had settled there some time before. His 
home was near Cuyahoga Falls, in Summit county, and there he lies buried. He 
was a well-known pioneer and a man of the highest respectability.

In 1834 Daniel C. Whitmore removed to Charleston, Portage county, Ohio, 
locating on a tract of land of one hundred acres in the midst of the forest. 
There he cleared a farm and made a good home, but in 1841 removed to 
Middlefield, Geauga county, where he purchased land, again becoming the owner 
of a heavily timbered tract. Cutting down the trees and grubbing up the 
stumps, he at length placed his land under a condition of cultivation and made 
a good home, which continued to be his place of abode until 1851, when he 
removed to Coshocton county, Ohio. A year later he went to Wood county, where 
he again purchased a farm in the midst of the forest. After living there some 
years he sold that property and cleared another farm in the same county. 
Subsequently he took up his abode in North Star township, Gratiot county, 
Michigan, and again purchased land in the woods. Clearing and improving a 
farm, he made his home thereon until his death, which occurred at the 
venerable age of eighty-two years. He was a man of very strong constitution. 
When a sailor he was twice shipwrecked and endured many hardships, and after 
becoming identified with farming interests he endured all the trials and 
difficulties experienced by pioneer settlers. He was never ill in his life 
until over fifty years of age, and after that endured but little sickness. His 
first wife died at Charleston, Ohio, in February, 1839. She was a worthy 
pioneer woman of many virtues and had a large circle of friends. In 1840 Mr. 
Whitmore was again married, his second union being with Betsy E. Phillips. 
Their children were: Sarah, Emma, Daniel, Warren, Maria, Charles, Emerson and 
Helen. Mr. Whitmore was a typical pioneer, strong and vigorous, and at all 
times reliable and honest. In politics he was a Republican and in religious 
faith was a Baptist.

John C. Whitmore, whose name introduces this record, was born in Middletown, 
Connecticut, April 25, 1831, and was three years old when his parents removed 
to Ohio. At the age of ten he became a resident of Geauga county, that state, 
and in the public schools he acquired a limited education, for his attendance 
at school was necessarily cut short, as his services were needed in the 
development of the home farm. He attended school only three winters, but he 
studied at home as opportunity afforded and thus gained a practical English 
education. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, and throughout his entire 
life has followed that calling. He worked with his father until he had 
attained his majority, after which he was employed for four seasons as a farm 
hand in Summit and Geauga counties, Ohio. In 1854, at the age of twenty-four 
years, he came to Illinois, making the journey by railroad to Morris. He 
purchased eighty acres of land in Mazon township, one mile north of the 
village, paying five dollars per acre for the wild prairie. He had carefully 
saved the money which he had earned in Ohio and had four hundred dollars with 
which to purchase his farm. For a time he worked at farm labor in Livingston 
county and then returned to Grundy county, where he was employed for two 
years, after which he began the operation of his own land.

Mr. Whitmore has been twice married. On the 26th of August, 1859, in Mazon 
township, he wedded Emma Siterly, a widow whose maiden name was Underwood. She 
was born in Pomfret, Connecticut, a daughter of Lester and Hulda (Medbury) 
Underwood. The Underwoods and Medburys were both old colonial families. Lester 
Underwood was a farmer and carpenter, who in pioneer times removed to 
Illinois. He first located at Wheaton and afterward came to Grundy county, 
where he purchased a farm north of Mazon, becoming one of the substantial 
pioneer agriculturists of the community. He had but one child, Emma, who first 
married Silas Siterly, who died soon afterward. Mr. Underwood died in Ottawa, 
Illinois, in the prime of life.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Whitmore located in Mazon township, two 
miles north of the village, and there lived for one year. They then took up 
their abode upon a farm a mile and a quarter west of the village and afterward 
lived in Ottawa, where Mr. Whitmore engaged in teaming for eighteen months. He 
then returned to Mazon township and settled upon the farm, which he purchased 
of his father-in-law, Mr. Underwood. This was a tract of one hundred and 
twenty acres, which up to that time had never been improved, but by hard work 
and untiring labor he developed a good property.

While living there his first wife died, on the 13th of March, 1877. She was 
born December 19, 1839, was a member of the Congregational church .and a woman 
of many virtues. Their children were: Hattie E., born in Ottawa, November 19, 
1862; and Harry C., born on the home farm, October 7, 1866. He served as a 
soldier in the Spanish-American war for the liberation of Cuba, enlisting as a 
private in May, 1898, in Indianola, Nebraska, becoming a member of Company L, 
Third Nebraska Regiment, under command of Colonel W. J. Bryan. He was in Camp 
Cuba Libre, at Jacksonville, Florida, and at Savannah, and sailed for Cuba, 
January 1, 1899, being stationed seventeen miles from Havana. He was promoted 
to the rank of corporal and quartermaster sergeant, and returned in good 
health May 13, 1899. Mr. Whitmore was again married, June 6, 1882, in 
Brookfield, New York, the lady of his choice being Mrs. Mary M. Moore, the 
widow of Frank O. Moore. She was born April 2, 1839, in North Brookfield, New 
York, and was a daughter of Joseph H. and Mary J. (Sweet) Blanding. Her father 
was born in Connecticut, September 22, 1803, obtained a common-school 
education and was a farmer. Tradition says that the Blandings were originally 
of French origin. The name was probably De Blandin and the ancestors lived in 
either the province of Alsace or Lorraine. They were Huguenots and had that 
firm integrity and inflexible adherence to their religious faith which marked 
the Protestants of that day. During the wars of Spain, France and the 
Netherlands in the sixteenth century—between 1545 and 1567—members of the 
Blanding family with thousands of others were exiled and driven from France. 
They found refuge in England and in 1640 we have a record of three brothers of 
the name, Ralph, William and John, whose family homestead was at Upton on the 
Severn in Worcestershire, England. Ralph remained unmarried and devoted his 
life to literature. John was in command of His Majesty's ship, Lion, of 
London, and William came to America, becoming the progenitor of the Blanding 
family in this country. It was about the year 1640 that he and his wife, 
Phebe, crossed the Atlantic from Upton on the Severn and settled in Boston. 
They became members of "The First Church of Boston" and several children were 
born to them. The father died June 15, 1662, and his widow was afterward 
licensed to keep an inn in the town. He was a member of the grand inquest of 
the colony from 1643 until 1648 and was deputy of the Plymouth courts from 
1646 to 1651. His son, William Blanding, Jr., emigrated to Rehoboth, 
Massachusetts, about 1660 and was married to Bethia Wheaton, September 4, 
1674. The numerous descendants of William Blanding, of Boston, are now 
scattered all over the country. William, the second, left a sum of money to 
the town of Rehoboth, about 1675, to carry out an expedition against the 
Narraganset Indians, which fact was mentioned in the town records of May, 
1680. William and Bethia (Wheaton) Blanding were the parents of seven children.

One of this number was also given the name of William and represented the 
family of the third generation. He was married in October, 1708, to Elizabeth 
Perry and they had seven children, including William Blanding, the fourth of 
the name. He was married on December 25, 1740, to Sarah Chaffee and by their 
union there were born seven children. One of their sons, Christopher, was a 
colonel in the civil war, but the line of descent came down through another 
William Blanding, who was of the fifth generation. He was married July 5, 
1772, to Lydia Ormsbee and they were the parents of nine children. George 
Ebenezer, of the sixth generation, was married August 29, 1773, to Nancy 
Wheeler, by whom he had six children, and after her death was married March 5, 
1788, to Elizabeth Ingalls, by whom he had seven children, namely: Nancy, who 
was born February 6, 1789; James, born in 1790; Franklin, born in April, 1791; 
Elizabeth, born April 8, 1793; Rachel, born April 30, 1795; William, born 
April 11, 1797, and Lois, born July 13, 1799. The Blandings have always been 
noted for their loyalty and patriotism and the family was represented by 
various members in the Revolutionary war, including Noah, Lamech and Daniel, 
grandsons of William Blanding of the third generation. Four sons of William 
Blanding of the fourth generation were also Revolutionary soldiers, namely: 
Ebenezer, William, Shubal and Christopher. There were also others, some of 
whom held official rank and the family was likewise represented in the war of 
1812 and in the civil war.

Franklin Blanding, the representative of the family of the seventh generation, 
was the grandfather of our subject. He married Nancy Holbrook and was a 
shoemaker by trade. He removed to the Empire state, and for many years was a 
resident of East Hamilton, New York, where he died at the age of sixty-eight 
years. His children were: Joseph H., Franklin, William, Adolphus, Oscar, 
Freeman, Jefferson, Nancy, Eliza, Lucina, Amanda and Mary. The father of these 
children was a Universalist in his religious belief. He possessed a strong 
mind, a natural sense of justice, and was a man of strong convictions and 
independent character. In politics he was a Democrat.

Joseph H. Blanding, the father of Mrs. Whitmore, accompanied his father on the 
removal to New York. He was married in North Brookfield, that state, to Mary 
J. Sweet, a native of that town and a daughter of Samuel G. and Sally 
(Stetson) Sweet. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Blanding took up their 
abode on a farm in North Brookfield. Their children were Mary M. and Marion J. 
After the death of his first wife Mr. Blanding was married, in North 
Brookfield, to Lucy M. Beebe, and their children all died in early life. In 
1849 Joseph H. Blanding removed to Grundy county, Illinois, locating in Vienna 
township, where he engaged in farming for a year and a half. He then returned 
to the Empire state and was engaged in the cultivation and sale of hops. He 
became one of the substantial citizens of the community and made for himself a 
good home. He was a man of broad and liberal views and an honored and valued 
citizen. His political support was given the Democracy. He died in 1885, at 
the age of seventy-two years.

After his second marriage Mr. Whitmore continued upon the old homestead, 
living there with his second wife for seventeen years. He made substantial 
improvements upon the place, erected commodious and tasteful buildings, 
planted a good orchard and developed and improved one of the most desirable 
country homes in Grundy county. His wife was first married to Frank O. Moore, 
at New Berlin, Otsego county, New York, October 30, 1862. He was a farmer and 
owned a tract of land in Eaton, Madison county, New York, where he lived until 
failing health caused his removal to North Brookfield, where he died at the 
age of forty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were the parents of one daughter, 
Marian F. Frank O. Moore was previously married to Hattie Duncan, and there 
was one child by this marriage—Hattie E. Moore. In February, 1899, our subject 
and his wife left the farm and removed to Mazon, where he purchased a pleasant 
residence. They are now comfortably installed in their new home and are 
regarded as sterling citizens of the community. Their friends in the county 
are many, and their many excellent characteristics have gained for them the 
confidence and good will of all with whom they have come in contact. Mr. 
Whitmore's retirement from labor gave him a well merited rest, for through 
many long years he was actively connected with the agricultural affairs of the 
county and was an industrious and indefatigable worker. His well directed and 
honorable efforts brought to him a handsome competence that now supplies him 
with all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

Additional Comments:
Source:  Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle and Grundy County, 
Illinois, Volume 11, Chicago, 1900, p699-704

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