Joseph C. Whitnah

Joseph C. Whitnah		Mrs. Whitnah
Birth:	27 Dec 1854 Ohio⁽¹⁾	Birth:	Iowa⁽²⁾
Marriage:	before 1885 (wife's name unknown)
Death:	19 May 1886 Denver, Colorado⁽³⁾	Death:	before 1900⁽⁴⁾
Father:	Joseph Henry Whitnah, Jr.
Mother:	Mary E. Tuttle

The life of Joseph C. Whitnah, first son of Joseph Henry Whitnah Jr. and Mary E. Tuttle, is one of both mystery and tragedy. Joseph arrived as a late Christmas present in 1854 in Ohio and given the first name of his father, who had been named after his father, making in all three generations of Joseph Whitnahs. A sister was added to the family in 1857, but she died at the age of two sometime after their move to Missouri. Two years later, another sister was born to the young family.

Tragedy struck for a second time in 1863 with the passing of Joseph's mother shortly before his ninth birthday. The family moved back to Ohio, where his father remarried.

The family then returned to Missouri, where his father remained until his death. His father was a farmer, and the 1880 Census shows Joseph C. working alongside his father (then a widow for the second time) on the family farm. The year of 1880 would be one of the last that all the children would spend together.

Joseph's father passed away in Iron County, Missouri in 1899 at the age of 72. Joseph Henry's will makes no mention of his first son, but instead lists a grandson, Joseph Chester, as an equal heir with the rest of his children. One must conclude that Joseph C. Whitnah has preceded his father in death. But whatever became of Joseph C., and where did his fortune take him after 1880?

The first clue to the mystery lies in a report of the murder of streetcar driver Joseph Whitnah in Denver Colorado in 1886. The murder was noteworthy not because of the victim or the manner of the crime, but because the execution of the murderer was the last publicly-conducted execution in Denver. It was because of this fact, and because the accused was black, that an account of the murder and ensuing trial was published years later.

The following account of the crime comes from William M. King's book To Meet a Man:

"Late in the evening of Wednesday, 19 may 1886, Joseph C. Whitnah, a white Denver City Railway Company driver, was shot to death by one or more assailants during the course of what appeared to be an attempted robbery. Frank O. Peterson, a blacksmith who lived in the vicinity of the crime ... had witnessed the shooting ...

I saw the street car come up and turn on the table. It was turned round and ready for the return trip when the shots were fired, but it had not started. Two shots were fired, and the driver (Whitnah) hollered, but the shout was more like a loud laugh than anything else. I thought at the first it was simply a joke--that someone was firing for fun--or else that it was a fire. Directly, however, I saw the driver fall backwards into the car, and then I concluded he was shot, and I started to catch the murderer, who was going south from the car. Remembering that the murderer must be armed, I didn't chase him more than twenty-five or thirty feet."⁽⁵⁾

Three early theories of the murder were advanced⁽⁶⁾:

Frank O. Peterson, witness to the murder, was the initial suspect. He was arrested, but soon afterward released because of lack of motive and due to the fact that Joseph had been shot from close range.
Two men had escaped from the County Jail earlier in the day. It was believed that these two men had attempted to rob the driver but were refused.
Lt. John W. Belcher theorized that robbery could not have been a motive, since there was ample time to take the money but it was not touched. He reports that "a married woman has been in the habit of riding Whitnah's car and would not ride on any other.... and what is more reasonable to suppose, that a jealous man fired the fatal shot." Some believe the shout heard at the time of the murder was that of a woman. Others report that it came from the driver himself.

The lack of a clear suspect caused quite a stir amongst the townspeople. However, on Monday, May 24th, it was announced that Andrew Green had confessed to the murder and was then in custody.⁽⁷⁾ During the trial, Green claimed that his testimony was coerced, that he had signed the confession admitting the shot was fired accidently. It was his contention that he confessed to prevent the possibility of execution, hoping to get the conviction of second-degree murder.

During final arguments, the prosecution had this to say of Joseph Whitnah and the crime (as related by William M. King):

"Whitnah ... was married, had a good job and was 'fulfilling all the duties of a good man and a good citizen.' He left his home secure in the knowledge that when his day's work was done, he would return to his good wife the same as he had left her. The defendant and his accomplice, in contrast, frequented 'a dive that is a disgrace to the community--the G.A.R. Saloon.... They met there just as naturally as two honest and decent men meet on a Sunday morning in church... They say let's go and rob a street car.... It would be better to hang every man that ever entered the G.A.R. Saloon than that one honest street car driver should be murdered as Whitnah was.'"⁽⁸⁾

The defense's approach was to dispute the confession signed by Green. He either signed it under duress, or without fully reading its contents and understanding its implications. Another strategy was to admit to the contents of the confession, but stress the fact that the crime was committed without premeditation, and therefore not worthy of death. Regardless, the jury deliberated for one hour and five minutes and returned with a guilty verdict. A second trial delayed the execution until July of that year. It is worthy of note that at no time during the trial or thereafter did Green deny shooting Joseph Whitnah (although besides his confession I have not found a statement where he directly admits it). His defense to the end was that he did not intend to do it. In his final speech before his execution, Green apologizes to Mrs. Whitnah, pleads the injustice of his execution before God, and admonishes others to change their lives to avoid his fate.

But the tragedy of Joseph C. Whitnah doesn't end there. His death left a young wife alone in 19th century Colorado. And on July 1, less than three months after his murder, his first and only son was born and named Joseph after a father he never knew. Mrs. Whitnah later remarried, to a Dr. J.L. Greene of Eagle Town, Eagle County, Colorado. Mrs. (Whitnah) Greene also died at an early age (before 1900), leaving her young son in the care of his stepfather and aunt⁽⁹⁾.

Joseph C. Whitnah and his wife are the parents of:

Joseph Chester Whitnah, born 1 July 1886 in Colorado. Attended school and lived with his stepfather Dr. J.L. Greene in Colorado. Later moved to California. Passed away in November 1962 in California.

Notes:

Sherman Whitnah notes, 1880 Missouri Census.
1900 Colorado Census.
King, William M. To Meet a Man.
1900 Census shows Joseph C. Whitnah living with Dr. J.L. Greene, widowed.
Man, pg. 28-29.
Ibid. pg. 29-31.
7. Ironically, Green was already in custody. He had been arrested a few days prior on an unorderly conduct charge and had to be recalled from the work gang for questioning. When arrested, he had a pistol in his possession.
8. Man, pg. 83, 87.
9. The 1900 Colorado Census shows Joseph Chester living with his stepfather Dr. J.L. Greene, widowed. Also living with Dr. Greene is his sister-in-law, Ella Brinkely, also widowed. Perhaps Ella is Mrs. (Whitnah) Greene's sister.