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WHO WAS - W. F. Whitman
in Plum Township
Venango County, Pennsylvania
By H. W. Strawbridge

The Honorable W. F. Whitman, one of Plum Township's most widely known residents who served in the state legislature, was born Jan. 21, 1855, in Mercer County, one of four children of Jacob and Jane Fancher Whitman. Young Whitman was named after his maternal grandfather, Capt. William Fancher, who arrived in the Utica vicinity when the canal was built. The old gentleman had charge of the lock there, and after the canal was abandoned he took up the shoemaker's trade.

The Whitman's, according to family tradition, came from the border area between Holland and Germany. Seven brothers are said to have come to this country, one of whom settled in this state, another in New York state, and the rest having gone west and taken up large wheat farms.

Young William was a youngster when his father, a farmer, died of apparently an intestinal ailment. He was thereafter reared by his grandfather Fancher. The lad naturally partook in the ventures of the other neighborhood boys. In 1868 the old hemlock ties that were on the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad between Oil City and Meadville were removed and replaced with new white oak ties. William, then only 13, and his chums made rafts from the old ties and floated them on French Creek.

William secured excellent educational advantages, and attended the academy at New Lebanon. He taught school there for four years and also took a business course at the Dickinson Business College at York for $75 a term. This was in 1876.

In July 1877, William had a chance to become a partner in a drug store with one Thomas H. Barns who lived in Waterloo (Polk), but he turned down the offer.

In 1879 he began the mercantile business as a clerk in the store of Crane & Co. at Utica. On a day in early 1881 he was approached by George M. Winchester to go into partnership in a store at Chapmanville. William accepted, and the store, a small house and a cooper shop - all three buildings and one acre, were purchased for $2,000 from Nicholas Sharp. The Whitmans moved to Chapmanville on March 28 and first lived in the present house of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Hancox and family.

Winchester and Whitman did an enormous business. Within a year they purchased a team and buggy, and Winchester traveled over the countryside trading groceries for butter and eggs. They bought or traded anything. In one case a neighbor traded a team of oxen to them for a buggy and harness. On the railing of the old wooden bridge that once stood at the foot of the hill west of Chapmanville, was painted the following: "Whitman Trades for Anything."

They bought cord wood by the hundreds of cords that was cut in the beech woods beyond Fauncetown. They bought much rough lumber, and at the rear of the store building for several years there was a rough lumber yard. Eventually, J. W. Morse operated a stave mill behind the store.

They bought buggies by the carload, 28 of them in a carload. Flour was purchased from the mills at Utica and Cochranton. One morning William started from Utica with ten sacks, each weighing 200 pounds. His team and wagon bogged down at Cooperstown on bad roads, and he was forced to unload half of his load before proceeding to Chapmanville.

A set of harness was then $28, a plow was $12, and plug tobacco 25 cents a pound. such were the prices in the oldtime country store. Mr. Whitman was good to the young people - trusting many young fellows purchasing new buggies without sufficient finances, giving sacks of candy to children, etc.

Eventually the Whitmans moved into a small house just east of the store, and still later bought the large house on the northwest corner from S. S. Gould for $500. Here they lived the remainder of their lives, and it is still possessed by a granddaughter, Miss Anna Whitman.

Winchester & Whitman had a new building, 70 feet long, erected immediately east of the store in 1885. It was used as a rink and hall. Its grand opening was in August. It was sometimes used for the storage of buggies and carriages.

In November, 1885, Winchester & Whitman started a branch store in Wallaceville with John W. Arters as the manager.

In early 1886, Winchester sold his interest to James Zeigler, and for a short time the store was under Whitman & Zeigler. Soon Whitman bought Zeigler's interest and became sole owner, and eventually he bought out the only rival concern in the village.

Record indicates W. F. Whitman held title to many pieces of land in and near Chapmanville. Some of this land was acquired when the owner ran up such a large store bill that he was unable to pay it.

Mr. Whitman was married in January, 1879, to Miss Anna Eliza Gilmore of near Utica. She was born on a farm just outside of Utica on Nov. 4, 1853, a daughter of William and Jane Dickey Gilmore. The Gilmores were of Scotch-Irish descent. Anna had three older brothers, Adam, Robert and Brice Gilmore, who served in the Civil War.

Mr. and Mrs. Whitman had the following five children, listed with their dates of birth. Harry William Whitman, Sept. 17, 1879; Alice Irene Whitman, July 13, 1881; Nellie May Whitman, Oct. 27, 1883; Charles Gilmore Whitman, Jan. 29, 1889; and Florence Bell Whitman, May 3, 1896.

Double Wedding

Harry was married on June 23, 1904, to Miss Mae Markley of Troy Township at Mayville, N. Y., in a double wedding with his sister, Nellie, and Mr. Brown. In 1902, when a young man, Harry became a partner with his father in the store, afterward known as W. F. Whitman & Son. Harry also was in the Jersey dairy business for many years, and for a time was a stream inspector for the state. Mrs. Whitman died on Jan. 4, 1927. In October, 1938, Harry was married to Mrs. Lizzie Noel Brown. He died on Jan. 22, 194, and the second Mrs. Whitman died March 19, 1950. By the first marriage there were four children, as follows: Miss Anna M. Whitman of Chapmanville, Quentin H. Whitman who died in infancy, Mrs. Josephine E. Williams of Chapmanville and William F. Whitman of Titusville, RD 3.

Alice was married on Jan. 7, 1903 at Chapmanville to Ray Smith of Troy Township. They moved to Ohio. He worked for a streetcar company in Hubbard for a few years, then was employed in the town of Masury before permanently residing in Youngstown where he was engaged in the grocery business. He died there on May 7, 1947, and Mrs. Smith still resides there. They had one daughter, Mrs. Irene Foradora of Youngstown.

Nellie was married to Hamilton F. Brown at Mayville, N.Y., on June 23, 1904, in the double wedding as before mentioned. They too, moved to Youngstown where he was employed in the Sheet and Tube office for years. He died on April 30, 1933, and Nellie on Dec. 7, 1945. They had three children: George W. Brown, of Youngstown, Mrs. Alice E. Osgood of Pittsburgh and Richard A. Brown of Youngstown.

Charles was married at Youngstown to Miss Ora Haller on Nov. 26, 1918. They have resided through the years at Youngstown where he has been engaged in the grocery business. They have one son, Charles H. Whitman, who also lives in Youngstown.

Florence was married at Sunville to Meryl C. Rice of Chapmanville on Aug. 20, 1919. They have resided all their married life just east of Chapmanville. Meryl had taught school, farmed and last worked in a Titusville shop. they have one son, Robert C. Rice, who lives at Titusville, RD 3.

W. F. Whitman belonged to a number of organizations through the years. As a young man he belonged to the Young Men's Temperance Union of Waterloo, the 'L. Dep. 1249 I.O.G.T.' of Utica (Juvenile Templars), and was one of the first officers of Plum Tent, No. 52, Knights of the Maccabees, instituted Jan. 16, 1888. He also belonged for several years to the Bradleytown IOOF Lodge.

Although Mr. Whitman never bound himself to church membership, he nevertheless was a church attendant, supporter of the churches, and a man possessed of Christian qualities.

Mr. Whitman had united with the Presbyterian Church of Utica when young, and after their removal to Chapmanville, both attended the Presbyterian Church of Sunville for more than 20 years. She transferred her membership there in June 1885. Finally, both decided that they may as well support the two churches in their area, the Baptist and the Methodist. Mrs. Whitman was secretary of the Baptist Ladies Aid for some time, and after the old Baptist building burned in 1897, Mr. Whitman, together with Frank Loker and Nelson Cheers, were appointed as the building committee of the present church that stands. Mr. Whitman ordered the large bell that still hangs in the Baptist tower.

Mrs. Whitman transferred her church membership from the Sunville church to the Chapmanville Methodist Church in August 1910. She served as one of its stewards for some time and taught a Sunday School class. She was a beautiful alto singer. Mr. Whitman was a trustee there for several years.

He generally was one of the set of officers who planned the old Chapmanville Harvest Home picnics.

Named Postmaster

On April 18, 1882, after being in Chapmanville only one year, Mr. Whitman was appointed postmaster of the village office, known as Plum. he remained postmaster there until Aug. 15, 1906, when the Plum office was discontinued and the patrons became a part of Rural Route No. 1 of the Diamond post office.

In 1883 he was elected Plum Township treasurer, and he held that office for 10 years at which time he was succeeded by the late A. J. Morse. It was about that time that Mr. Whitman was elected township school director. He held that office until 1904 -'05.

Record indicates he invested in an oil well which proved a duster in 1900. Family members stated that he liked to buy stock and invest in various ventures.

Mr. Whitman, a staunch Republican, served as clerk in the transcribing room of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives during the sessions of 1903, 1905 and 1906. In 1906 he was elected to represent his district in that body for two years.

In 1908 he was defeated for re-election by only one vote. His opponent was Dr. Samuel G. Foster. The contest was quite sharp on account of the prohibition issue, then uppermost. Mr. Whitman was known to hold decided views on this subject, being opposed to the general sale of spirituous liquors and favorable to local option. Public opinion was with him to such an extent that in 1910 he was easily elected again, as also two years later. In each session that he served he had the honor of a place upon the Appropriations Committee.

It is wondered what his mother (who died in 1897) would have thought of his political career, when in 1876, she penned the following anxious lines to him while he was in college at York: "You let the rebellion alone and all politics, for you do not know what kind of fellows you meet with sometimes."

Backed Many Bills

To mention a few of the bills with which he was connected; He was the one who introduced the water purifying bill concerning the Polk Institution; he was one of the instrumental legislators in getting passed to allow chiropractors to practice in this state; he authored an oil inspection bill, favored by the Standard Oil Co., to abolish inspection of oil in tank wagons or cans intended for small consumers, but which died a natural death in the House.

He was opposed to the state purchasing the Cook Estate (Cook Forest) for park purposes at that time because he thought the state could not afford the expenditure when other uses for the funds were pressing, such as charities, additions to state institutions, good roads, etc.

He occasionally held Republican rallies in the Chapmanville hall (used for many public functions) at which some candidates for state or county offices would be present.

Sought Road Improvements

He was one of the instrumental men in pushing for the improved highway from Titusville to Chapmanville. This was stone-based in 1913 -16 and paved in 1920 - 22.

He spent his retiring years in his Chapmanville home, and slowly failed in health. He passed away in his home on July 1, 1942, aged 87.

His funeral was conducted on the third in the McKinley Funeral Home in Chapmanville with Rev. J. L. Murray officiating. Burial was in the Millcreek Cemetery in his boyhood town of Utica.

After the funeral a fine tribute prepared by the late Harry I. Sharp of Diamond was published in this newspaper, and a couple of its quotations are worthy of repetition here. The opening of the tribute was as follows:
"It will be a long time, and it should be a long time before the memory of W. F. Whitman grows dim in the minds of those who knew him best, for surely no other man had a larger influence in the last 60 years in the history of Chapmanville than this genial gentleman."
Then, farther on, Mr. Sharp stated that he often heard Mr. Whitman say that "I never lost anything by trusting the young people."

Mrs. Whitman, a lady with a retiring nature, lived the remainder of her life in the same home, and indeed made history herself.

Transcribed by Penny Kulbacki Minnick
minnick862@verizon.net

Disclaimer:there may be errors due to transcription ofinformation from both early and late (current contributors) work.