Fred A. Whitney, connected by marriage with the oldest settlers in Stevens county, came to Stevens county in 1889, just as the territory of Washington was entering into statehood. His comfortable surroundings warrant the belief that he has no occasion to regret his choice of a home. He is one of the successful farmers and cattle men of the country.
Camppoint, Illinois, is the place of his nativity, and he was born May 15, 1855. His father, J.W. Whitney, a native of Ohio, removed from Illinois to Minnesota in 1859, when the subject of this sketch was four years of age. The mother, Martha J. (Riggin) Whitney, was born and reared in Illinois. In 1887 they came from Minnesota to Spokane where they now reside. Their union was blessed by nine children, of whom seven survive, viz.: J.M. and G.W., of Bozeman, Montana; Mary E., widow of Samuel Tower, in Springdale; Emma A., widow of J.S. Boyd, in St Paul, Minnesota; Ella L., wife of G. W. Bowers, of St. Paul; W. H., a resident of Spokane; and Fred A., our subject.
In the excellent public schools of St.Paul, Minnesota, the latter received a thorough practical education, and at the age of twenty-five he left home and faced the world. He at first engaged in the business of contracting and building. In 1889 he located the homestead on which now he resides, four miles south of Springdale, Stevens county. Here he has a quarter section of land, twenty-five acres of which are under cultivation, with good buildings and other valuable improvements. On the same land there are over a million feet of timber. He usually winters twenty head of fine stock.
His marriage to Miss Emeline Heller was solemnized in 1891. She is the daughter of Thomas and Esther (Gangro) Heller, the father a native of New York, the mother of Oregon. They are among the first settlers of the county and the wealthiest farmers of the valley. To Mr. and Mrs. Whitney seven children have been born, Alfred R., Rosa J., Ivy M., Ruth, Frank, Harry T., and an infant daughter unnamed.
Mr.Whitney is an advocate of Republican principles and a member of the I.O.O.F., in Fregus Falls, Minnesota. He is highly esteemed by all friends and acquaintances.
File contributed by:Nancy Grubb 1997
Source: An illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington, pp. 371-2; by Richard F. Steele and Arthur P. Rose.[Spokane] : Western Historical Pub. Co. 1904.
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