The Illinois River Valley, Pages 614-617
The Whitnah family is one of the oldest and best known in Fulton county, where its members have for nearly a hundred years been engaged in business or agricultural pusuits and have consistently exemplified the highest type of citizenship. The first of the name to become established in this county was Andrew J. Whitnah, who settled on a farm near Canton in 1836. He was born at West Liberty, in waht is now West Virginia, February 23, 1815, and was a son of William Burns Whitnah, a native of Virginia. In 1819 the family moved to Livingston county, New York, where they were engaged in farming until 1832, when they moved to Michigan. They lived there for four years and then, on April 14, 1836, Andrew J. Whitnah started from that state for Galena, Illinois. Two days previously Mr. Whitnah married Miss Elizabeth J. Hendershott, of New York, and the party, consisting of himself and his bride and father and mother, started for the Illinois valley, a trip which at that time was one a considerable importance. The trip was made in wagons and upon reaching Ottawa, Illinois, so difficult was it to obtain provisions that they were diverted from their original purpose and, following the Illinois river, they came to Fulton county. Andrew J. Whitnah settled on a tract of land near Canton, which he developed into a valuable and productive farm in the course of time, and there he spent the remaining years of his life. To him and his wife were born eleven children.
Hiram A. Whitnah, son of Andrew J. and Elizabeth (Hendershott) Whitnah, was born in Buckheart township, Fulton county, in 1838. He attended the common schools of hishome neighborhood and on attaining mature years became active as a farmer and trader. In 1859 he bought one hundred and sizty acres of land in section 34, Buckheart township, and with his own hands he cleared this land of its virgin timber, hauling the wood to Canton, where he exchanged it for the necessities of life. He was known as a hard-working man and one who required very little rest, seldons sleeping over five hours. Thus he was enabled to accomplish much more than the average man. He was a man of sterling character, rugged honesty, straightforward in all of his personal relations and very capable in the mangement of his affairs. He was a warm supporter of the democratic party and took a keen interest in the political affairs of his home county, invariably casting his vote for the candidates who in his judgment were best qualified to fill the offices they sought. He was a consistent member of the Christian Church, to which he gave generous support, as he did also to all worthy benevolent causes. He was very fond of hunting and fishing, the chief diversions of those days. He remained on his farm until about 1884, when he moved to Canton, where he devoted most of his time to trading in live stock, in which business he was actively engaged until his death, on March 12, 1894, the result of an accident which occurred while he was loading hogs.
In 1859, Hiram A. Whitnah was united in marriage to Mary Elizabeth Snider, a daughter of Solomon B. and Deborah (Wilcoxen) Snider. Her father was born in Carter, Tennessee, in 1812, and was a son of William and Elizabeth (Bealor) Snider, both of whom were of German parentage. Solomon B. Snider moved to Buckheart township, Fulton county, Illinois, in 1853, and during the greater part of his life was a farmer. He was a republican in politics and filled the office of justice of the peace at Peoria for one term. It was in Carter county, Tennessee, in 1833, that he married Deborah Wilcoxen, who passed away May 10, 1872. Solomon B. Snider departed this life in March, 1889. Mrs. Deborah (Wilcoxen) Snider was a daughter of Smauel Wilcoxen, who was born in 1806 and whose father was a nephew to Daniel Boone. The Wilcoxen family first settled in North Carolina, but moved to Kentucky in 1815. In 1830, Captain Elijah Wilcoxen, brother of Samuel, moved to Liverpool, Illinois. Samuel Wilcoxen followed him in 1836 and they both became wealthy landowners of Liverpool township. Mrs. Mary Elizabeth (Snider) Whitnah was a member of the Christian Church, and belonged to the Woman's Chritian Temperance Union. She was a great reader and enjoyed the companionship of her friends and neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Whitnah became the parents of two children: Chester Leon, of this review; and Pearl Arzena, the wife of C. C. Rohrer, of Los Angeles, California.
Chester Leon Whitnah was born in Buckheart township, Fulton county, Illinois, on the 12th of July, 1868, and received his elementary education in the grade schools of Fulton county, graduating from the Canton high school in 1886. He then became associated with his father in the lumber, grain and meat packing business, a partnership which was continued until the death of the father. At that time Chester L. Whitnah became administrator of the estate and gradually drifted back to farming. He is now the owner of Duck Island, a tract of fifteen hundred acres near the Illinois river and a short distance from Canton, which land is devoted to general farming and stock-raising. He has been associated with a number of business concerns in this county, prominent among which is the Canton Natinoal Bank, of which he was a director for a number of years. He has always been interested in drainage projects and is a member of the executive committee of the Association of Drainage and Levees of the District of Illinois.
On February 14, 1889, Mr. Whitnah was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Lillie Frazier, who was born in Fulton county, July 27, 1868, and is a daughter of Theophilus L. And Dora (Durham) Frazier, early settlers of Adams county, Illinois. Mr. Frazier was a veteran of the Civil war, for which he enlisted on September 1, 1862. He was first under the command of General Buell, and was then under General Sherman on the latter's historic march from Atlanta to the sea. He took part in the battles of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Rossville Gap, Peach Tree Orchard and Missionary Ridge, besides many minor engatements and skirmishes. His death occurred on April 22, 1913. He was a republican in politics and was member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Canton. Mrs. Elizabeth (Frazier) Whitnah was educated in the grade schools of Lewistown and the high school at Canton. She likes to travel and enjoys the great out-of-doors. She has been active in social affairs and club work as a member of the Ebell and Altruistic Clubs and has served as a member of the executive board of the Young Women's Christian Association of Canton. Mr. And Mrs. Whitnah are the parents of two children, Mildred and Dorthea W. Mildred was born January 13, 1890, received a good public and high school education and is the wife of M. D. Montgomery, a member of the jewelry firm of Montgomery Brothers in Los Angeles, California, their marriage occurring February 12, 1913. They are the parents of a daughter, Elizabeth Jane, born September 24, 1915. Dorthea W. Whitnah was born September 19, 1896, and in 1918 became the wife of Captain George Barton, of Detroit, where he is connected with the Senior Investment Company, stock and bond dealers. They have a son, Whitnah H., born August 1, 1920. Mrs. Chester L. Whitnah has a brother, Clifton W. Frazier, who was born July 27, 1874, and is now a banker at Peoria, Illinois.
Chester L. Whitnah has long been actively interested in the welfare of his home city and was for two years a member of the city council. During the World war he was an active member of the Citizens Reserve, serving under Directory U. G. Orendorff. He belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is a member of the Canton Young Men's Christian Association and he and his wife belong to the Church of Christ, Scientist. Their home is on Duck Island, but they spend much of their time traveling, of which they are both very fond. Being opposed to the killing of any living creature, Mr. Whitnah never hunts or fishes, but loves outdoor live and nature in all of its forms. He is a man of strong character, but is unassuming and friendly in his social relations, so that throughout this community he has a host of warm and loyal friends.