Joseph W. Whiting Biography


	This biography appears on pages 809-810 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	JOSEPH W. WHITING, a member of the faculty of the Springfield 
Normal School, at Springfield, Bon Homme county, merits distinctive 
representation in this work as one of the able and popular educators of 
the state, where he has maintained his home for more than fifteen years 
past, the while gaining a high reputation in his chosen vocation.  

	Joseph Williams Whiting is a native of the state of Wisconsin, 
having been born in Springvale, Fond du Lac county, on the 4th of 
September, 1864, and being a son of Amos C. and Valucia Violant 
(Williams) Whiting. The father of the subject was a farmer by vocation 
and died May 7, 1900, while his widow's death occurred on November 5, 
the same year. In the agnatic line Professor Whiting traces the direct 
ancestry back to Nathaniel Whiting, who settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, 
in 1638, while on the maternal side the lineage is traced to that 
historic figure, Roger Williams, the founder of the Rhode Island 
colony. In Romeo Elton's history of the life of Roger Williams, 
published in 1853, the ancestral record shows blood relationship of the 
Williams family and that of Oliver Cromwell.  

	The subject was reared under the sturdy discipline of the 
homestead farm, and after availing himself of the advantages afforded 
in the public schools he entered the Wisconsin State Normal School at 
Oshkosh, with a definite aim of preparing himself for the pedagogic 
profession. He completed a thorough course in this excellent 
institution, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 
1887. He began teaching immediately after his graduation, being thus 
engaged in the public schools at Oconto, Wisconsin, during the winter 
of 1887-8, while in the autumn of the latter year he came to 
Springfield, South Dakota, where he held the position of principal of 
the public schools for the ensuing two years, his efforts in the 
connection meeting with marked appreciation and approval. In 1891 he 
was elected principal of the high school at Scotland, Bon Homme county, 
and retained this incumbency two years, after which he returned to 
Springfield and accepted a clerical position in a local mercantile 
establishment. His tastes and training, however, were in the line of 
his previous endeavors and he was thus naturally led to resume 
teaching. In 1897 he was elected a member of the faculty of the 
Springfield Normal School, and in this capacity he has since continued 
to serve with marked efficiency, being one of the popular and 
enthusiastic instructors of the institution and having marked facility 
in begetting a similar spirit of enthusiasm and devotion in the 
students. So far as educational matters are involved Professor Whiting 
believes that they should be entirely segregated from politics if the 
best ends are to be conserved, but in local and national affairs of 
governmental order he accepts the faith of the Republican party and is 
a staunch advocate of its principles. With a deep reverence for the 
spiritual verities, Professor Whiting is tolerant and liberal in his 
religious views, contributing to the support of all churches and being 
personally associated principally with the Protestant Episcopal church, 
though he is not a communicant of the same. Fraternally he is 
identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having been 
affiliated with Springfield Lodge, No. 107, since 1890; and with the 
Modern Woodmen of America, holding membership in Seneca Camp, No. 3053, 
in which he is at the present time incumbent of the office of clerk, 
having been identified with the organization since 1900.

	In Springfield, on the 28th of March, 1890, Professor Whiting was 
united in marriage to Miss Luna B. Monfore, a daughter of Peter and 
Diana (Howland) Monfore, who settled in Springfield in 1871, having 
come hither from Iowa. It is supposed that the ancestry of the Monfores 
may be traced to Simon de Monfort, the founder of the English 
parliament. Mrs. Peter Monfore is a lineal descendant from one of the 
Howland brothers who came to the new world in the Mayflower and were 
closely associated with the history of Plymouth colony. The subject and 
his wife are the parents of a winsome little daughter, Madge Monfore 
Whiting, who was born in Springfield, on the 8th of February, 1894.