Summary
Joseph Whitaker (March 29, 1789 – November 30, 1870) was an American industrialist, landowner, and legislator in the Phoenixville and Mont Clare area of Pennsylvania, during the 19th century. He was a member of the Whitaker iron family.
Joseph Whitaker | |
|---|---|
 Drawing of Whitaker and his wife in a 1917 newspaper | |
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the Chester County district | |
| In office 1844–1844 Serving with Robert Parke and Jesse C. Dickey | |
| Preceded by | Emmor Elton, John Beidler, Robert Parke, Jesse C. Dickey |
| Succeeded by | William Price, Robert Parke, Jesse C. Dickey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 29, 1789 |
| Died | November 30, 1870 (aged 81) Mont Clare, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Grace Adams
(m. 1811; died 1870) |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker (grandson) John Waters (great-great-great grandson) |
| Occupation |
|
Early life edit
Joseph Whitaker was born on March 29, 1789. He attended a night school for a short time.[1]
Career edit
Until 1846, Whitaker was the ironmaster and an owner of the Phoenix Iron Works, the major industry in Phoenixville. He was elected by the Whigs to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1843, where he served one term.[2][3] He was responsible for having the first Mont Clare Bridge constructed in 1844.[3] His 1846 estate was named Mont Clare, and eventually lent its name to the village of Mont Clare.
In 1836 Joseph, his brother George Price Whitaker, and some partners purchased the Principio Furnace in Maryland and revived ironmaking there. Before the Civil War the Whitakers divided their holdings geographically, with Joseph receiving the Pennsylvania properties and George Price the Maryland and Virginia ones. George Price Whitaker and his descendants continued to be involved in the iron and steel business; their holdings eventually became part of the Wheeling Steel Company in 1921, later Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel.[4]
Personal life edit
Joseph married Grace Adams (1789–1870) of Swedesboro, New Jersey, on April 28, 1811.[5][6][7] They had a daughter, Anna Maria, who married Isaac A. Pennypacker in 1839. Anna and Isaac's eldest son was Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker; a judge, historian, and the first 20th century Governor of Pennsylvania. When Isaac died in 1856, Anna and her children, including Samuel, came back to live in Mont Clare with Joseph.[5]
Another of Joseph and Grace's children, Gertrude (1830-1914), married Rev. Charles Impey Thompson (1819-1883); their son Joseph Whitaker Thompson (1861-1946) was a United States federal judge at the circuit and district court levels.[citation needed]
Joseph is the great-great-great-grandfather of American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist John Waters (born April 22, 1946).[8]
Whitaker died of a heart attack on November 30, 1870, at his Mont Clare home.[9][10]
References edit
- ^ Pennypacker, Samuel Whitaker (1895). Joseph Rusling Whitaker 1824-1895 And His Progenitors (PDF). Philadelphia. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-09-11. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Thomson, W. W., ed. (1898). Chester County and Its People. The Union History Company. p. 440. Retrieved 2023-12-16 – via Archive.org.
- ^ a b Pennypacker, Samuel Whitaker (1872). Annals of Phoenixville and its Vicinity. Bavis & Pennypacker. p. 175. Retrieved 2023-12-16 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Milt Diggins, "Principio" Archived 2011-08-12 at the Wayback Machine, Historical Society of Cecil County.
- ^ a b Jordan, John W. (1978) [First published 1911]. Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania. Genealogical Publishing Co. p. 486. ISBN 0-8063-0811-7. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ Whitaker. Joseph Rusling Whitaker. p. 6. Retrieved 28 August 2010
- ^ "Died". Harrisburg Telegraph. 1870-07-16. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-12-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Season 7, Episode 1: To the Manor Born. PBS, January 2021
- ^ "Sudden Death". Lansdale Reporter. 1870-12-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-12-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miscellaneous Chester County, Pennsylvania Deaths". Retrieved 12 August 2011.
- Pennypacker, Samuel Whitaker (1872). Annals of Phoenixville and Its Vicinity: From the Settlement to the Year 1871. Phoenixville, PA: Bavis & Pennypacker, printers.
External links edit
Media related to Joseph Whitaker (industrialist) at Wikimedia Commons
