Person:James Whittaker (4)

This information was derived from the family records of Arthur and Mozetta Smith Whittaker which was kept by Mary Whittaker Sewell. TIB #3249 Bk B, Pg 131 EH Death Certificate #SL283037, James Whittaker, Dept. Social Ser. SLC, Ut. Born 9:00 A.M. Wrigley Brook is a place name in Heywood. Information obtained while Arthur Whittaker was on a mission to London England 1995. Brief Sketch of the Life of James Whittaker Jr. By Louise W. Cheney The James Whittaker Sr. family consisted of four children. Ellen, born 6th of July 1830 at Heywood Lancashire, England, she married Henry Lunt of Cedar City, Iron, Utah; James Whittaker was born April 27, 1833, Heywood, Lancashire, England, he married Mary Ann Arthur; Mary born 18 of November, 1838 at Heywood Lancashire, England, married Amos Thornton, Pinto Washington, Utah; Sarah, born 16th of May, 1841 at Bank Top, Sharples, Lancashire, England, She married John Chatterley, Cedar City, Iron, Utah. They were a happy family being raised in a comfortable home where kindness and love and consideration for each individual member was important in creating a home atmosphere. The father was a well to do merchant of the middle class and provided well for his family. James started to school when four years of age, but had very little schooling. He, with his parents and sisters, embraced the gospel and desired to gather with the Saints in Utah. They left their home January 9th and sailed form Liverpool England, January 22, 1851. They sailed in the ship "George W Bourne", and landed in New Orleans, March 20, 1851, being two months on the ocean. They sailed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis where preparations were made for the West. His father planned the trip carefully so that his loved ones would not have to suffer too many hardships. They were the proud owners of two wagons and one yoke of oxen and one yoke of cows, which provided plenty of milk and butter while crossing the plains. This with the dried fruits, dried fish and other condensed foods brought from England, provided well for the families' needs. They arrived in Salt Lake Valley in the fall of 1851 and made their abode on the Jordan River. They were there a short time, when their father was called by President Brigham Young to go south to Cedar Fort, Iron County. They were among the first settlers to arrive there - just before Christmas. Immediately they set about preparing a little home in old Cedar Fort. They were filled with courage and a cheerful determination to meet the hardships of pioneer life uncomplainingly. As soon as spring time made it possible to get out on the land, James helped his father and sisters and soon they had twenty acres ploughed and planted. They were all industrious, frugal and honest and faced life unflinchingly. After living here for sometime they decided to leave the old fort and built a very comfortable home near the mountains, in the northeast corner of Cedar City. Here the family resided ever after. James Jr., the only son, was keenly intellectual and had natural business ability. He was a great lover of music and taught himself to sing by note and to play a musical instrument in the Cedar Brass band. Later in his life he led the Circleville Ward Choir for years and it was considered the best in the county. No matter how weary he was from a hard day's labor, he never failed to attend the weekly choir practice. He had a craving for knowledge and through self-effort he studied mathematics and became an expert mathematician; also became expert in shorthand, drawing, chemistry, geology, numerology, etc. He was a reader of good books and was truly a self-educated man, as he had very little schooling. While a young man in Cedar he was Ward Clerk. The Arthur family had emigrated from England in the spring of 1854 and they too were called by President Young to help build up Cedar City. It wasn't long before James fell in love with the only daughter of the Arthur family. She was a beautiful girl, with rosy cheeks, long black hair, and very modest and reserved. On March 12, 1856 they were married by her father and the following spring went to Salt Lake City in a wagon, drawn by oxen, and received their temple blessings and sealing in the Endowment House. James and Mary Ann or "Polly" lived in Cedar City for sometime where Rachel Ann was born. In 1858, they moved to Minersville, Beaver County, where a small colony of Mormons lives in rock cellars. They were very poor like the rest of their friends, but happy and contented. Life-long friendships were formed here, especially with Watkins Reese and his wife, also Joseph Simpkins and his family. I Think "Tiffer" or James Christopher were born while here. The couple worked at dairying, making barrels of butter that were hauled to California and the Eastern States, and sold for the necessities of life. They also farmed. It was at this place that James, in company with others, drove ox teams back to the Eastern States with barrels of butter. There hebought the first grain reaper to be brought to Southern Utah. While the machine merely cut the grain down, it was hailed as a "paramount wonder of the age". This was the beginning of better days for them. Mary Ann and the girls spun the wool and then knit it into stockings for the family. After the raw wool was washed and then dyed it was sent to the Beaver Wollen Mills where it was woven into cloth. The cloth was fashioned into clothing and sewed by hand. For light through the long dismal nights the mutton tallow and beef suet was rendered out and run into molds around a cotton wick. These candles were a big improvement over the "bitches" they had been using, which consisted of a rag burning in a saucer of grease. From Greenville, the family moved to Beaver where they lived in a comfortable two-story brick house, and father was superintendent of the Beaver Co-op. Alice was born here but died when about 19 months old. Louise was also born here. In the fall of 1877, the family moved to Circleville, and were among the first settlers to resettle Circleville. They lived the first summer in a house built on their homestead. The next year they moved down on the Sevier River. Here 640 Acres of meadow-land was procured. Great racks of hay were stacked, thrown off by hand from the wagons; this went on for many years until the derrick came into use. Here large numbers of cows were milked, butter and cheese was made in large quantities. A merchandise store was run to accommodate the increasing population. The Indians gave the settlers considerable trouble and the father was enlisted to fight in the Black Hawk War. James, like his father, had good business ability, so by this time, 1880, had accumulated considerable means - herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. He and his sons hauled the wool in high racks by oxen team to Nephi and later to Salina; later fine work horses were used. Machinery and supplies were hauled by team. Bachelor Mitchell and James Whittaker brought the first barbed wire into the county to construct a petition fence between their properties. Hundreds of deer were killed by the boys in the winter time; their hides being worth more than the meat. James bought the first "Starved Rooster" threshing machine into the Valley, and was run by the father and his sons. "Tiffer" always drove the horses that furnished the power. The Reaper was brought over from Beaver, and here in the county it cut down the grain. About 1890 he built the first roller flour mill in Kingston, and the Junction flour mill was also built and owned by him. The family never did join the Kingston United Order, but they always maintained an open house to their many friends who came by the wagon loads to partake of their hospitality, and to spend the summer and winter evenings in wholesome merriment and dancing. Tis happened when all the boys and girls were home. The mother would make stacks of pies, jars of cookies and Rachel and Nellie would prepare a real banquet. After the meal was over, the furniture would be taken out of the largest room, and to the music of a violin, harmonics, banjo and organ, dancing would be indulged in until the early hours of the morning. Travelers were never turned away but were fed and kept over night and many a wandering tramp from the North, on his way to Sunny Dixie, was fed and kept overnight. Children - George, John, Mary, and Louise, went to Kingston to school in a one-room log house; in the winter they rode in a wagon, and in pleasant weather they walked. Later they attended the grade school in Circleville. The old one-room log house still stands, (1941) holding many pleasant memories of the happy school days and jolly dances held there. James and "Mother" Whittaker were known for and near for their hospitality, honest, and uprightness of life, and for their kindness to the poor and the needy. In 1895 the mother accompanied Louie and John to Provo there they attended the BYU Academy. James bought a home on 95th West St., Salt Lake City, and became interested in mercantile and mining business, and lived there until he passed away on Jun 1, 1907 He had suffered for about seven months with stomach trouble which the Doctors pronounced cancer. He starved to death in a land of plenty. He was reduced to a skeleton. Louie or "Doctor Lu" as her father affectionately called her, nursed him the last two months of his life, coming home from Twin Falls, Idaho, with her six months old daughter, Helen. Her Uncle George took care of Helen by singing to her and walking the floor and keeping her quiet while her mother took care of their father. At James' request his body was sent to Circleville for Burial "Tiffer" came up to visit his father on this day, but on account of train trouble was delayed and arrived two hours after his father had passed on. He, George and Louie made all arrangements for shipping the body to Marysvale, and selected his coffin and clothing. The body arrived in Marysvale R. R. terminal an was taken to Circleville in a white top buggy, his life-long true friend, Thomas Smith, driving the team carefully. Thus ended the life of one of the best, kindest, noblest fathers that ever lived. He bore his testimony to Arthur and George a week or so before the end, declaring the Gospel was true, that he had been greatly blessed by the Priesthood. Bro. Frank Knowles and Bro. Ball officiating Elders, and for his sons to show an interest in the church and pay their fast offerings and tithing to the Lord and be blest by Him. Here is the account that Mary Sewell gives of James Whittaker Jr.

 James Jr found employment in the cottonmills at Manchester.  James said in later years, "My sisters and I would enjoy a dish of porridge and milk for our breakfast without any sugar, [H]  but on Sunday would be given a liberal amount of sugar by our thrifty mother."

James Whittaker Jr.: This information was derived from the family records of Arthur and Mozetta Smith Whittaker which was kept by Mary Whittaker Sewell. TIB #3249 Bk B, Pg 131 EH Death Certificate #SL283037, James Whittaker, Dept. Social Ser. SLC, Ut. Born 9:00 A.M. Wrigley Brook is a place name in Heywood. Information obtained while Arthur Whittaker was on a mission to London England 1995. Brief Sketch of the Life of James Whittaker Jr. By Louise W. Cheney. The James Whittaker Sr. family consisted of four children. Ellen, born 6th of July 1830 at Heywood Lancashire, England, she married Henry Lunt of Cedar City, Iron, Utah; James Whittaker was born April 27, 1833, Heywood, Lancashire, England, he married Mary Ann Arthur. His third child Mary born 18 of November, 1838 at Heywood Lancashire, England, married Amos Thornton, Pinto Washington, Utah. Sarah, his fourth child was born 16th of May, 1841 at Bank Top, Sharples, Lancashire, England, She married John Chatterley, Cedar City, Iron, Utah. They were a happy family being raised in a comfortable home where kindness and love and consideration for each individual member was important in creating a home atmosphere. The father was a well to do merchant of the middle class and provided well for his family. James started to school when four years of age, but had very little schooling. He, with his parents and sisters, embraced the gospel and desired to gather with the Saints in Utah. They left their home January 9th and sailed form Liverpool England, January 22, 1851. They sailed in the ship "George W Bourne", and landed in New Orleans, March 20, 1851, being two months on the ocean. They sailed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis where preparations were made for the West. His father planned the trip carefully so that his loved ones would not have to suffer too many hardships. They were the proud owners of two wagons and one yoke of oxen and one yoke of cows, which provided plenty of milk and butter while crossing the plains. This with the dried fruits, dried fish and other condensed foods brought from England, provided well for the families' needs. They arrived in Salt Lake Valley in the fall of 1851 and made their abode on the Jordan River. They were there a short time, when their father was called by President Brigham Young to go south to Cedar Fort, Iron County. They were among the first settlers to arrive there - just before Christmas. Immediately they set about preparing a little home in old Cedar Fort. They were filled with courage and a cheerful determination to meet the hardships of pioneer life uncomplainingly. As soon as spring time made it possible to get out on the land, James helped his father and sisters and soon they had twenty acres ploughed and planted. They were all industrious, frugal and honest and faced life unflinchingly. After living here for sometime they decided to leave the old fort and built a very comfortable home near the mountains, in the northeast corner of Cedar City. Here the family resided ever after. James Jr., the only son, was keenly intellectual and had natural business ability. He was a great lover of music and taught himself to sing by note and to play a musical instrument in the Cedar Brass band. Later in his life he led the Circleville Ward Choir for years and it was considered the best in the county. No matter how weary he was from a hard day's labor, he never failed to attend the weekly choir practice. He had a craving for knowledge and through self-effort he studied mathematics and became an expert mathematician; also became expert in shorthand, drawing, chemistry, geology, numerology, etc. He was a reader of good books and was truly a self-educated man, as he had very little schooling. While a young man in Cedar he was Ward Clerk. The Arthur family had emigrated from England in the spring of 1854 and they too were called by President Young to help build up Cedar City. It wasn't long before James fell in love with the only daughter of the Arthur family. She was a beautiful girl, with rosy cheeks, long black hair, and very modest and reserved. On March 12, 1856 they were married by her father and the following spring went to Salt Lake City in a wagon, drawn by oxen, and received their temple blessings and sealing in the Endowment House. James and Mary Ann or "Polly" lived in Cedar City for sometime where Rachel Ann was born. In 1858, they moved to Minersville, Beaver County, where a small colony of Mormons lives in rock cellars. They were very poor like the rest of their friends, but happy and contented. Life-long friendships were formed here, especially with Watkins Reese and his wife, also Joseph Simpkins and his family. I Think "Tiffer" or James Christopher were born while here. The couple worked at dairying, making barrels of butter that were hauled to California and the Eastern States, and sold for the necessities of life. They also farmed. It was at this place that James, in company with others, drove ox teams back to the Eastern States with barrels of butter. There hebought the first grain reaper to be brought to Southern Utah. While the machine merely cut the grain down, it was hailed as a "paramount wonder of the age". This was the beginning of better days for them. Mary Ann and the girls spun the wool and then knit it into stockings for the family. After the raw wool was washed and then dyed it was sent to the Beaver Wollen Mills where it was woven into cloth. The cloth was fashioned into clothing and sewed by hand. For light through the long dismal nights the mutton tallow and beef suet was rendered out and run into molds around a cotton wick. These candles were a big improvement over the "bitches" they had been using, which consisted of a rag burning in a saucer of grease. From Greenville, the family moved to Beaver where they lived in a comfortable two-story brick house, and father was superintendent of the Beaver Co-op. Alice was born here but died when about 19 months old. Louise was also born here. In the fall of 1877, the family moved to Circleville, and were among the first settlers to resettle Circleville. They lived the first summer in a house built on their homestead. The next year they moved down on the Sevier River. Here 640 Acres of meadow-land was procured. Great racks of hay were stacked, thrown off by hand from the wagons; this went on for many years until the derrick came into use. Here large numbers of cows were milked, butter and cheese was made in large quantities. A merchandise store was run to accommodate the increasing population. The Indians gave the settlers considerable trouble and the father was enlisted to fight in the Black Hawk War. James, like his father, had good business ability, so by this time, 1880, had accumulated considerable means - herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. He and his sons hauled the wool in high racks by oxen team to Nephi and later to Salina; later fine work horses were used. Machinery and supplies were hauled by team. Bachelor Mitchell and James Whittaker brought the first barbed wire into the county to construct a petition fence between their properties. Hundreds of deer were killed by the boys in the winter time; their hides being worth more than the meat. James bought the first "Starved Rooster" threshing machine into the Valley, and was run by the father and his sons. "Tiffer" always drove the horses that furnished the power. The Reaper was brought over from Beaver, and here in the county it cut down the grain. About 1890 he built the first roller flour mill in Kingston, and the Junction flour mill was also built and owned by him. The family never did join the Kingston United Order, but they always maintained an open house to their many friends who came by the wagon loads to partake of their hospitality, and to spend the summer and winter evenings in wholesome merriment and dancing. Tis happened when all the boys and girls were home. The mother would make stacks of pies, jars of cookies and Rachel and Nellie would prepare a real banquet. After the meal was over, the furniture would be taken out of the largest room, and to the music of a violin, harmonics, banjo and organ, dancing would be indulged in until the early hours of the morning. Travelers were never turned away but were fed and kept over night and many a wandering tramp from the North, on his way to Sunny Dixie, was fed and kept overnight. Children - George, John, Mary, and Louise, went to Kingston to school in a one-room log house; in the winter they rode in a wagon, and in pleasant weather they walked. Later they attended the grade school in Circleville. The old one-room log house still stands, (1941) holding many pleasant memories of the happy school days and jolly dances held there. James and "Mother" Whittaker were known for and near for their hospitality, honest, and uprightness of life, and for their kindness to the poor and the needy. In 1895 the mother accompanied Louie and John to Provo there they attended the BYU Academy. James bought a home on 95th West St., Salt Lake City, and became interested in mercantile and mining business, and lived there until he passed away on Jun 1, 1907 He had suffered for about seven months with stomach trouble which the Doctors pronounced cancer. He starved to death in a land of plenty. He was reduced to a skeleton. Louie or "Doctor Lu" as her father affectionately called her, nursed him the last two months of his life, coming home from Twin Falls, Idaho, with her six months old daughter, Helen. Her Uncle George took care of Helen by singing to her and walking the floor and keeping her quiet while her mother took care of their father. At James' request his body was sent to Circleville for Burial "Tiffer" came up to visit his father on this day, but on account of train trouble was delayed and arrived two hours after his father had passed on. He, George and Louie made all arrangements for shipping the body to Marysvale, and selected his coffin and clothing. The body arrived in Marysvale R. R. terminal an was taken to Circleville in a white top buggy, his life-long true friend, Thomas Smith, driving the team carefully. Thus ended the life of one of the best, kindest, noblest fathers that ever lived. He bore his testimony to Arthur and George a week or so before the end, declaring the Gospel was true, that he had been greatly blessed by the Priesthood. Bro. Frank Knowles and Bro. Ball officiating Elders, and for his sons to show an interest in the church and pay their fast offerings and tithing to the Lord and be blest by Him.

(Medical):He had suffered for about seven months with stomach trouble, which the Doctors pronounced cancer. He starved to death in a land of plenty. He was reduced to a skeleton. Louie or "Doctor Lu" as her father affectionately called her, nursed him the last two months of his life, coming home from Twin Falls, Idaho, with her six months old daughter, Helen.

1.   Garth Rodney Dalton. Personal Information from Garth Rodney Dalton.
2.   Rodney Dalton. Personal File of Rodney Dalton.