Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Seneca Prosser Whipple

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Descendants of Seneca Prosser Whipple

Generation No. 2

4. Frank P⁶ Whipple (Seneca Prosser⁵, David⁴, Inman³, Job², Abraham¹ Angell) was born 1859 in Ortonville, Michigan, and died 1936. He married Emily D. Webster 1875. She was born 1859, and died 1889.

Child of Frank Whipple and Emily Webster is:

Mabel E.⁷ Whipple, born January 05, 1877.

5. Alvin⁶ Whipple (Seneca Prosser⁵, David⁴, Inman³, Job², Abraham¹ Angell) He married Elizabeth Walker, daughter of Oliver Walker and Emily Merrell. She was born 1868, and died 1950.

Child of Alvin Whipple and Elizabeth Walker is:

OliverB.⁷ Whipple, born 1886; died 1911.

6. James Albert⁶ Whipple (Seneca Prosser⁵, David⁴, Inman³, Job², Abraham¹ Angell) was born February 23, 1871 in Ortonville, Michigan, and died March 05, 1943 in Mason, Michigan. He married (1) Unkown. He married (2) Grace Louisa Brown in Ortonville, Michigan, daughter of James Brown and Eliza Alyea. She was born May 01, 1883 in Atica, Michigan, and died November 26, 1957.

Notes for James Albert Whipple:
See the orginal copy of the Auction Poster/Auctioneer was AL Stafford

James Albert Whipple was the youngest son of Seneca and Alice. Evidently, he ended up with the farm North of Ortonville. He was married twice. The is nothing known of his first wife. His second wife, Grace Louisa Brown, gave birth to all the children. Alice, James Lee, Ray and most likely Nelson were born in Ortonville. Jim and Grace apparently lived with his mother Alice and the two women did not get along. On Tuesday, February 25th in the year 1908, James A. Whipple had an auction. Al. Stafford was the auctioneer and most likely began at the posted time of 12 (noon). The list of things to be auctioned showed James' father, Seneca, and James to have been fairly successful farmers.

Having gotten the urge to go West, the family story tells of James and Grace having friends in Oregon who told them of the good life there. Somehow, there was also consideration of New Mexico. The family story tells of a coin toss that sent them to the four corners region, specifically Clayton, NM in Union County. Pictures of the place show it to be a very harsh, lonely environment. Stories, later told by the children, have the farm being able to be run by one person.

It would appear that James Albert took a job running a harvester in the plains area. The story goes that he and Grace travelled the circuit, living in a tent with a cot, under which his young family slept. Alice was the oldest of the children and it appears that she was basically a mother to the younger children, perhaps a reason why she never married and had children of her own.

When the family moved to NM, Alice would have been 6, with James "Lee" being 4, Ray being 2 1/2 and Nelson being not yet one year old. Five children were born in Clayton, NM (Union County): Eva in 1909, Fred Floyd in March of 1911 and dying in December of the same year, Ellen in 1913, Ethel "Gean" in 1915 and finally Lloyd in 1918. Times were difficult and the older children tell of virtually fighting to be the child selected to go stay with good neighbors, the Purvis's. The Purvis's were childless and evidently would take one child at a time to live briefly with them. The food was good, more of it and the story goes that Mrs. Purvis would hold you, rock you, read to you and even hug you.

Evidently, when the three boys were old enough, they went with the harvesting crews one year, mostly just to have warm meals. Alice was the first to return to Michigan and evidently went to the Flint area to stay with an aunt. She eventually opened a residential nursing/foster care home for retarded children in Flint. The boys returned to the Flint area too, ignoring their father's warning of the Michigan winters. Evidently, he told them that when they encountered a Michigan ice storm and fell on their asses, they'd wish they were back in New Mexico. The story goes, that shortly after they got to the Flint area, while on their way to relatives home, they did encounter icey conditions and indeed all ended up on their asses before reaching their destinations.

Somehow Jim, Grace and the other family members too, returned to Michigan. Jim died in Mason, Michigan in or about 1943. Grace lived until November, 1957. The 8 off-spring of the two all lived long lives, into their eighties in most cases. They were a very competitive family and a family not without some conflict. Several of them entered into business ventures together, which unfortunately caused breaks in the family. Lee and Nelt owned a tire shop on South Washington Ave. together. Nelt lived with Lee and Mildred on Teel St. Mildred did not like Nelt and shared that he had "hit" on her. Lee and Nelt evidently went in on a farm together and when they split it up, Mildred felt they had not gotten their fair share. Thus, their families had no contact as the cousins grew and had families of their own. Nelt stayed in farming in the Mason area and was killed in a car/tractor accident in the 1960's.

The above mentioned farm may have also been the sight of a family tragedy. Ellen had married and her husband was a John Churchey. They were in a farming business with Lloyd. Some type of problems arose which culminated in Lloyd fatally shooting John on Christmas Eve in 1947. Lloyd spent a great deal of his adult behind bars as a result of the shooting. His daughter was born just days after the shooting.

More About James Albert Whipple:
Property: February 25, 1908, Held farm property auction at 10:30 AM 1 mile N or Ortonville MI at Spencer's Crossing on the DUR

Notes for Grace Louisa Brown:
Grace was the second wife of James Albert (Jim) Whipple. She gave birth to all nine of his children. A child, who was male and born in NM, lived only one year.

Children of James Whipple and Grace Brown are:

	9	i.	Alice⁷ Whipple ¹, born March 21, 1902 in Ortonville, Michigan ²; died January 21, 1991².
+	10	ii.	James Lee Whipple, born February 28, 1904 in Ortonville, Michigan; died February 23, 1993 in Lansing, Michigan.
+	11	iii.	Ray Whipple, born August 02, 1905 in Ortonville, Michigan; died December 1986.
+	12	iv.	Nelson Fay Whipple, born May 29, 1907; died in Mason, Michigan.
	13	v.	Eva Belle Whipple, born December 24, 1909 in Clayton, New Mexico. She married Elmer O'Hara.
	14	vi.	Fred Floyd Whipple, born March 25, 1911.
	15	vii.	Ellen Wilson Whipple, born May 04, 1913. She married (1) John Churchey; died 1947 in Mason, Michigan. She married (2) Harry Ferguson.
+	16	viii.	Ethel Gean Whipple, born June 08, 1915 in Clayton, New Mexico Union County; died May 23, 1998 in Flint, Michigan.
+	17	ix.	Lloyd Whipple, born June 08, 1918 in Clayton, New Mexico Union County; died August 18, 1994.

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