Calvert County MD Archives Biographies.....John Edward WHITTINGTON, April 30, 1859 - August 13, 1904 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/md/mdfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Karl Whittington karlwhittington@hotmail.com September 23, 2011, 8:11 pm Source: Doris Phibbons Author: Doris Elizabeth Cramer Shepard Phibbons The Grandparents I Never Knew John Edward Whittington was born on a farm in Owings, Maryland, in May of 1859. His parents were twenty-four years old at the time. He would be considered the oldest child as a daughter, Frances Virginia, born in May of 1858, only lived for ten days. When Eddie was two years old, his sister Lillian was born, next came Sara Elizabeth (Betty) when he was four, then came Mary Agnes when he was six and Rose Elmer(a) when he was nine years old. He was big brother to lots of little sisters. In 1871, when Eddie was twelve years old, Charles William was born, but, unfortunately, died at the age of one year and four months on July 22, 1872. Richard Franklin was born in 1874 when Eddie was fifteen so he was more or less, the only brother Eddie knew for more than a short time. The last child of the family was another girl, Cora Cowling, born when Eddie was eighteen years old. Cora lived to be two years old but died on January 1, 1880, with Elizabeth, the mother, following her in death just four days later. Elizabeth was forty-five when she died of consumption and Eddie was twenty-one years old at the time of his father’s death which occurred just five months later, in May of 1880. Apparently, after the death of his parents, Eddie became a commission merchant in the big city of Baltimore. He courted and married Rachel Elizabeth (Bettie) on June 18, 1884, in Friendship Methodist Church, when he was twenty- five and she was twenty-eight. They moved to Park Terrace and proceeded to add to their family in much the same manner as their parents. Children arrived approximately every two years. Fortunately the seven children of this union all survived and it was his wife that Eddie lost on September 14, 1896, when she was forty years old. It must have been a sobering feeling to be left with seven children, the oldest being eleven. They did have live-in help and apparently no financial problems, but a family without a mother is greatly handicapped. Bettie’s oldest sister, Miranda, had a daughter Addie who was twenty-four when Bettie died. As yet unmarried, it seemed a logical decision that Addie and Eddie be married and one year and one month later this event took place, October 7, 1897. Thirteen years after he married Bettie, Eddie was marrying Addie in the same church. They returned to Park Terrace where four more children were born, the youngest being born on July 19, 1902. Eddie contacted spinal meningitis and on August 13, 1904, he died while at home leaving a family ages two to nineteen. Inasmuch as Addie was a cousin, before becoming a stepmother to Bettie’s children, she continued to be called by many of them as Cousin Addie. It is admirable that that she continued to be the anchor of the family. Raymond, Effie and Essie were old enough to be able to work, Eddie stayed at home until he could join the Navy, Bettie (my mother) who was twelve, was kept at home to help with the four younger children. Marie was sent to live with relatives, unhappily, and Wilbur was sent to McDonough School along with Harold of the second set of children. Addie had several brothers and sisters through Miranda’s first marriage. Her brother, Sam Owings, was a wholesale grocer and Will was a retail grocer. It was arranged that the family move from Park Terrace to Gilmore Street to a house that lent itself to a confectionary store in the front while the family could be comfortable in the remaining rooms. I fondly remember my step-grandmother and am thankful that my parents visited my mothers family through my growing up years. Doris Elizabeth Cramer Shepard Phibbons Additional Comments: Note: Headstone in Friendship United Methodist Church Cemetery, Friendship, MD says he was born on April 30, 1859. John Edward Whittington was the son of Thomas J. P. Whittington and Elizabeth Cowling Whittington. He is found in the 1870 census for Prince Frederick, 3rd District, age 11 living with his parents and sisters: Lillie Lee, 9; Sarah E., 7; Mary A., 4; and Elmer (Rose Elmer), 1. His father is buried in the graveyard at Maidstone Plantation. His mother is buried in Alexandria, Virginia. This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mdfiles/ File size: 4.8 Kb This file is located at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/md/calvert/bios/whittington-je.txt