William Wallace Gaines Whitney
Birth: 1835
New Orleans
Orleans Parish
Louisiana, USA
Death: Jun. 25, 1881
Washington
District of Columbia
District Of Columbia, USA
Name: Wm. W. Gaines
Side: Confederate
Regiment State/Origin: Maryland
Regiment Name: 1 Battery Maryland Artillery
Regiment Name Expanded: 1st Battery, Maryland Artillery
Rank In: Private
Rank In Expanded: Private
Film Number: M379 roll 1
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Massachusetts Marriage Town of Ashfield, pg 290
name: Wm. Gaines Whitney
event: Marriage
event date: 13 Feb 1869
event place: Ashfield, Massachusetts
gender: Male
age: 33 clerk
birthplace: New Orleans
grooms 2nd marriage
brides 1st marriage
father: Wm. W. Whitney
mother: Myra Clark Whitney Gaines
spouse: Hattie L. Hall born Ashfield
age 26
spouse's father: Alvan Hall
spouse's mother: Rhoda Thwing
record number: 105
film number: 1433027
digital folder number: 4279594
image number: 00641
married by J F Moore of Greenfield Clergyman
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Cemetery Records
Border 4 (East) B4-6
[Note: For Plan, see Rock Creek section]
6. No monuments.
Whitney, William G., age 46, bur. 27 JUN 1881 [U]
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Pith of the News
Date: Monday, June 27, 1881
Paper: Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago, IL)
Volume: X
Issue: 80
Page: 1
On Saturday Evening William G Whitney, a son of the well-known litigant, Mrs Myra Clark Gaines, was murdered by his brother-in-law, James Y Christmas. The two men and their families, who lived with Mrs Gaines in the Catacazy Mansion, Washington, had been in business together, and the quarrel which caused the murder was in regard to the settlement thereof. They left the dinner table together, and as they passed into the hall Christmas drew a revolver and shot Whitney through the heart. The murderer has been arrested.
A Deliberate Murder
Date: Friday, July 22, 1881
Paper: Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
Page: 8
A Well Aimed Shot Ends the Carrer of Willia G. Whitney the Shot Fired by Jas. Y. Christmas
Date: Monday, June 27, 1881
Location: District of Columbia
Paper: Critic-Record
Article type: Newspaper Article
A WELL AIMED SHOT
ENDS THE CAREER OF WILLIAM G WHITNEY
The Shot Fired by Jas Y Christmas
Saturday afternoon, at 5 o'clock, James Y Christmas shot and instantly killed Wm G Whitney, at No 1323 I Street northwest, in the building known as the Catacazy Mansion, and now occupied by the Misses Harrover, as a boarding house. Here Mrs Myra Clark Gaines had been living with her son and his wife and their three children and her son in law, Mr Christmas and his three motherless children. The two men had been in the hair-mattress business as partners, but owing to some disagreements, the partnership was dissolved. Whitney then went into business with H A Linger & Co, 1117 Nineteenth street.
Whitney was a drinking man and had a very violent temper, and the differences between the two men increased in intensity until they became such bitter enemies that they did not eat at the same table. Besides the business differences between the two men, Whitney became jealous of the attention which Mrs Gaines showed to Christmas' children, and when he was under the influence of liquor would accuse Christmas of trying to defraud Mrs Gaines out of her money. This state of affairs reached a crisis Saturday morning by Whitney telling Mrs Gaines in a threatening manner that the next time he ran across Christmas he would let daylight through him. Christmas was warned by this threat by Mrs. Gaines.
rest of article describes the shooting
That the said William G Whitney came to his death about 5 o'clock p.m., June 25, 1881, at the house No 1336 I Street, city of Washington, D. C. from a pistol shot wound of the chest inflicted with a pistol in the hands of James Yancy Christmas.
The deceased was a son of Mrs Gaines by her first husband, William Whitney, of Philadelphia. He resided here up to the time of war and always bore the name of his stepfather, Gen Gaines, until a few years ago, when on account of some family troubles he dropped the name of his stepfather and assumed that of his own paternal ancestor. He was always known as Will Gaines here until his return from the war, and to the day of his death his old friends always addressed him as Gaines. He always signed his name as William Gaines until the past few years.
Immediately upon the secession of South Carolina he-then a resident of this city, and a clerk in the Treasury Department--decided to cast his lot with the South, and, resigning his position, crossed the line. He served with distinction in a Maryland (Confederate) Battery. His mother, Mrs Myra Clark Gaines, and his sister, Miss Rhoda Whitney, whose first husband was Dr Strother, of Kentucky, from whom she was divorced, and afterward, married Christmas, were subjected to much harsh treatment by the Union forces, and through orders from Secretary Seward compelled to leave Washington in the dead cold of winter and conveyed across the lines to the South.
The deceased was a man of much magnetism of nature and always bore the honored repute of being as true a friend as ever existed. His heart and his purse was ever ready at a call from a friend.
From youth to his death he had been a subject of epileptic fits, and this weakness, added to a life-long excessive use of tobacco, rendered him nervous, and at times uncontrollable. The day previous to the homicide he was seized with a fearfully violent attack of epilepsy.
Mr. Whitney was a native of Philadelphia, but after the marriage of his mother to Gen. Gaines, the family moved to Louisiana and he was reared in the South.
A strange coincidence, associated with the homicide, is the fact that many years ago previous to the war, the father of Mr. Christmas shot and killed a free negro in North Carolina, and was tried and hanged for the crime. A cousin of Christmas was also hanged for murder.
Mrs Myra Clark Gaines
Mrs Gaines was fully cognizant of the unfortunate difficulty existing between her son and son-in-law, and acted as mediator between them, in order to bring about a restoration of their former amicable relations, but never dreamed that there could arise from their misunderstanding any serious difficulty which would result so fatally, she had advised Mr. Christmas, not to take any notice of her son, who, when he became excited from his afflictions of epilepsy, was not responsible. The peculiar relations of Mrs Gaines to the parties make her position most painfully distressing, and we learn this sudden blow has utterly prostrated her.
more in between
Grand jury
the case of James Y. Christmas, who killed W. J. Whitney on Saturday evening last, will be presented to the grand jury tomorrow, as it is throught the ends of the law and the rights of parties will be best, established by a prompt examination of the charge.
The Remains of Whitney
were taken to the undertaking establishment of R. W. Barker, to be embalmed. They will not be taken to the house of the deceased, but will be transferred at 5 o'clock this afternoon by the undertaker direct to Oak Hill Cemetery, where short religious services will be held at the chapel connected with the cemetery vault, and arrangements made for final interment.
The funeral will be perfectly quiet, no formal pall bearers, nor any funeral procession. The family will meet the remains at the cemetery, and with a few friends attend the final ceremonies.
Acquitted. The Christmas-Whitney Homicide Case
Date: Thursday, March 23, 1882
Paper: Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA)
Volume: CVI
Page: 1
Acquitted
the Christmas Whitney Homicide Case
Washington, March 22
The case of James B Christmas, indicted for the murder of William G Whitney, on June 25 last, was called to day. It will be remembered that Christmas is the son in law of Mrs Myra Clark Gaines, and Whitney, the murdered man, was her son. Counsel for the accused admitted the killing, the plea being self defense, and only two or three witnesses were summoned by the prosecution. The jury, by direction of the court, rendered a verdict of acquittal on the ground of self-defense, and Mr. Christmas was released from arrest.
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Location: District of Columbia
Paper: Evening Star
Article type: Newspaper Article
Miss Myra C G Whitney, granddaughter of the late Myra Clark Gaines (the once famous New Orleans claimant), died in this city yesterday
Twins
William Wallace Whitney born 6 Dec 1869 Brooklyn, New York
Name: Myra Clark Gaines Whitney
Gender: Female
Burial Date: 15 Dec 1890
Burial Place:
Death Date: 14 Dec 1890
Death Place: District Of Columbia
Age: 21
Birth Date: 1869 (born 6 Dec 1869 Brooklyn, New York)
Birthplace: Brooklyn, N. Y.
Occupation: None
Race: White
Marital Status: Single
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name:
Father's Birthplace: American
Mother's Name:
Mother's Birthplace: American
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: B01244-8
System Origin: District of Columbia-EASy
Source Film Number: 2135909
Reference Number: cn 75108
Family links:
Parents:
William Wallace Whitney (1810 - 1837)
Myra Clark Gaines (1806 - 1885)
Spouse:
Hattie Luana Hall Whitney (1842 - 1920)
Children:
Myra Clark Gaines Whitney (1869 - 1890)*
William Wallace Whitney (1869 - 1961)*
Alvan Hall Whitney (1871 - 1871)*
Hattie Zulime Whitney Summers (1872 - 1936)*
Sibling:
Rhoda Jane Gaines Whitney Christmas (1833 - 1879)*
William Wallace Gaines Whitney (1835 - 1881)
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Oak Hill Cemetery
Washington
District of Columbia
District Of Columbia, USA
Plot: Rock Creek Section, 4 (East), B4-6
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Created by: historyseeker
Record added: Aug 15, 2012
Find A Grave Memorial# 95378947
