Whitney family
| Whitney family | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Place of origin | England |
| Founder | John Whitney |
| Connected families | Paget family Vanderbilt family |
| Estate(s) | The Elms Greenwood Plantation |
The Whitney family is a prominent American family descended from English emigrant John Whitney (1592–1673), who left London in 1635 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. The historic family mansion in Watertown, known as The Elms, was built for the Whitneys in 1710.[1] The Whitneys today continue to be involved in philanthropic efforts due to the wealth accumulated by past generations. They are also members of the Episcopal Church.[2]
Until the mid-20th century, successive generations of the Whitney family had a significant impact on American history. Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin in 1793 enabled cotton seeds to be removed 50 times faster, a breakthrough which led the country to become home to 75% of the world's cotton supply.[3] This caused the demand for slaves to increase rapidly, with Yale law professor Paul Finkleman writing that "slaves were a profitable investment before the cotton gin and an even more profitable investment after its invention".[4] In 1844, Asa Whitney launched a campaign for a railway linking the country's west to the east that ultimately resulted in the first transcontinental railroad. Upon taking office as U.S. Secretary of the Navy in 1885, William Collins Whitney oversaw the American fleet's widespread adoption of steel ships, an event essential to the United States becoming a leading world power.
During the 20th century, family members continued to exercise massive influence over the country's economy through conglomerates such as Pan Am, J.H. Whitney & Company, and Freeport-McMoran. Beginning with William Collins Whitney, members of the Whitney family would also become major figures for more than a century in the breeding and racing of Thoroughbred horses.[5][6]
Prominent descendants of John Whitney
Eli Whitney Jr. (1765–1825)
William Collins Whitney (1841–1904)
- Amos Whitney (1832–1920)
- Anne Whitney (1821–1915)
- Asa Whitney (1791–1874), canal commissioner
- Asa Whitney (1797–1872)
- Benson Whitney (born 1956)
- Charlotte Anita Whitney (1867–1955)
- Charles Andrew Whitney (1834–1912)
- Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1992)
- Courtney Whitney (1897–1969)
- David Whitney Jr. (1830–1900)
- Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968)
- Edward Baldwin Whitney (1857–1911)
- Eli Whitney (1765–1825)
- Eli Whitney Blake (1795–1886), inventor
- Eli Whitney Blake, Jr. (1836–1895), scientist
- Eli Whitney Debevoise II (born 1953)
- Flora Payne Whitney (1897–1986)
- Whitney Tower (1923–1999)
- Flora Miller Biddle (born 1928)
- Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930)
- Hassler Whitney (1907–1989)
- Henry Melville Whitney (1839–1923)
- James Scollay Whitney (1811–1878)
- Joan Whitney Payson (1903–1975)
- John Hay Whitney (1905–1982)
- Josephine Whitney Duveneck (1891–1978)
- Josiah Dwight Whitney (1819–1896)
- Mary Watson Whitney (1847–1921)
- Newel Kimball Whitney (1795–1850)
- Orson F. Whitney (1855–1931)
- Parkhurst Whitney (1784–1862)
- Pauline Payne Whitney (1874–1916)
- Olive, Lady Baillie Olive Cecilia Paget, (1899–1974), Anglo-American heiress, landowner and hostess.
- Dorothy Wyndham Paget (1905–1960), British racehorse owner and sponsor of motor racing
- William Payne Whitney (1876–1927)
- Phyllis Ayame Whitney (1903–2008)
- Richard Whitney (1888–1974)
- Wheelock Whitney I (1894–1957)
- Wheelock Whitney, Jr. (1926–2016)
- Wheelock Whitney III (born 1949)
- William Collins Whitney (1841–1904)
- William Dwight Whitney (1827–1894)
- Willis Rodney Whitney (1868–1958)
By marriage:
- Mary Elizabeth Altemus (1906–1988)
- Charles T. Barney (1851–1907)
- Kathleen Blatz (born 1954)
- Betsey Cushing (1908–1998)
- Henry F. Dimock (1842–1911)
- Leonard Knight Elmhirst (1893–1974)
- Helen Julia Hay (1876–1944)
- Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861–1949), British industrialist and politician
- Marie Louise Schroeder (1925–2019)
- Willard Dickerman Straight (1880–1918)
- Whitney Willard Straight (1912–1979)
- Beatrice Whitney Straight (1914–2001)
- Michael Whitney Straight (1916–2004)
- Adeline Dutton Train (1824–1906)
- Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942)
- George W. Headley (1908–1985)
- Dorothy Laverne Whitney (born 1930)
- Alfa Vanderbilt-Winther (1924–2008)
Descendants of James Scollay Whitney
- James Scollay Whitney (1811-1878) m. 1886 Laurinda Collins (1810-1908)
- Henry Melville Whitney (1839–1923) m. 1878 Margaret Foster Green (1856–1932)
- William Collins Whitney (1841-1904) m. 1869 Flora Payne (1842-1893), m. 1896 Sibyl Randolph
- Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930) m. 1896 Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942)
- Flora Payne Whitney (1897–1986) m. 1920 Roderick Tower (div. 1925), m. 1927 George Macculloch Miller III
- Pamela Tower (1921–2013) m. Jay Ketchum Secor (1912–1960) 1941 (div. 1950), m. Thomas LeBoutillier (1913–1979)
- John LeBoutillier (born 1953)
- Whitney Tower (1923–1999)
- Flora Miller Biddle (born 1928)
- Pamela Tower (1921–2013) m. Jay Ketchum Secor (1912–1960) 1941 (div. 1950), m. Thomas LeBoutillier (1913–1979)
- Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1992) m. 1923 Marie Norton (1903-1970) (div. 1929), m. 1931 Gwladys Crosby “Gee” Hopkins (div. 1940), m. 1941 Eleanor Searle (c. 1908–2002) (div. 1957), m. 1958 Marie Louise Schroeder (1925–2019)
- Flora Payne Whitney (1897–1986) m. 1920 Roderick Tower (div. 1925), m. 1927 George Macculloch Miller III
- Pauline Payne Whitney (1874–1916) m. 1895 Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861–1949)
- Olive, Lady Baillie (1899-1974) m. 1919 Charles John Frederick Winn (1896–1968) (div. 1925), m. 1925 Arthur Wilson-Filmer (1895–1968) (div. 1930), m. 1931 Adrian Baillie, 6th Baronet (1898-1947) (div. 1944)
- Gawaine Baillie, 7th Baronet (1934-2003) m. Margot Beaubien 1966
- Dorothy Paget (1905-1960)
- Olive, Lady Baillie (1899-1974) m. 1919 Charles John Frederick Winn (1896–1968) (div. 1925), m. 1925 Arthur Wilson-Filmer (1895–1968) (div. 1930), m. 1931 Adrian Baillie, 6th Baronet (1898-1947) (div. 1944)
- William Payne Whitney (1876–1927) m. 1902 Helen Julia Hay (1875–1944)
- Joan Whitney (1903-1975) m. 1924 Charles Shipman Payson (1898-1985)
- Lorinda Payson (1930-) m. 1951 Vincent de Roulet (1925-1975)
- John Hay Whitney (1904-1982) m. 1931 Mary Elizabeth Altemus (div. 1940), m. 1942 Betsey Roosevelt (née Cushing) (1908-1998)
- (adopted stepdaughter) Sara Roosevelt Whitney (1932-2001) m. 1953 Anthony di Bonaventura (1929-2012) (div. 1972), m. 1973 Ronald A. Wilford (1927-2015)
- Joan Whitney (1903-1975) m. 1924 Charles Shipman Payson (1898-1985)
- Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968) m. 1911 Willard Dickerman Straight (1880–1918), m. 1925 Leonard Knight Elmhirst (1893–1974)
- Whitney Willard Straight (1912–1979) m. 1935 Lady Daphne Margarita Finch-Hatton (1913–2003)
- Beatrice Whitney Straight (1914–2001) m. 1942 Louis Dolivet (1908–1989) (div. 1949), m. 1949 Peter Cookson (1913–1990)
- Michael Whitney Straight (1916–2004) m. 1939 Belinda Crompton (1920-2015) (div. 1969), m. 1974 Nina Gore Auchincloss (1937-), m. 1998 Katharine Gould
- Dorothy Straight (1958-)
- Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930) m. 1896 Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942)
- Susan Collins Whitney (1845–1939) m. Henry F. Dimock (1842–1911)
- Lorinda Collins "Lily" Whitney (1852–1946) m. Charles T. Barney (1851–1907)
Family network
Associates
The following is a list of people closely aligned with or subordinate to the Whitney family.
- Henry Lawrence Burnett
- Roscoe Channing
- Merian C. Cooper
- Herbert Croly
- William Lukens Elkins[7][8]
- Catharine Littlefield Greene
- Daniel Guggenheim[9]
- Daniel S. Lamont[10]
- Oliver Hazard Payne
- Benjamin Franklin Pearson
- Francis A. Pratt
- Benno C. Schmidt Sr.
- David O. Selznick
- Kenneth A. Spencer
- Charles Shipman Payson
- Sherman Pratt
- Thomas Fortune Ryan[11][12]
- W.E.D. Stokes
- Ilya Andreyevich Tolstoy
- Juan Trippe
- Clarissa Watson
- Peter A.B. Widener[7][8]
- Langbourne Meade Williams Jr.
- Richard Thornton Wilson Jr.
Businesses
The following is a list of companies in which the Whitney family have held a controlling or otherwise substantial interest.
- American Tobacco Company[13]
- Art in America
- Burnett & Whitney[14]
- Cataract House Hotel
- Dominion Iron & Steel Company
- Dun & Bradstreet
- Foshalee Plantation
- Freeport Texas Company
- Great Northern Paper[15]
- Greentree Stable
- Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Company
- International Herald Tribune
- J.H. Whitney & Company
- Manhasset Stable
- Marineland of Florida
- Metropolitan Steamship Company
- Metropolitan Street Railway Company[8]
- Minnesota North Stars
- Minnesota Vikings
- Minute Maid Company
- The New Republic
- New York Loan & Improvement Company[16]
- New York Mets
- Pan American World Airways
- Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems
- Selznick International Pictures
- Spencer Chemical Company
- Technicolor Corporation
- West End Street Railway
- Westbury Stable
- Western Airways
- Whitney Armory
- Whitney Real Estate Corporation[17]
Philanthropy and non-profit organizations
- Almeric Paget Massage Corps
- American Philological Association
- Association of Junior Leagues International
- Country Art Gallery & Art School[18]
- Dartington College of Arts
- Dartington International Summer School
- Greentree Foundation[19]
- Helen Hay Whitney Foundation
- Jockey Club (United States)
- John Hay Whitney Foundation[20]
- Markey Cancer Center
- National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame
- National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
- The New School for Social Research
- North Shore University Hospital
- Payne Whitney Gymnasium
- Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic
- Saratoga Performing Arts Center[21]
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience
- Whitney South Sea Expedition
- William C. Whitney Foundation
- Whitney Gallery of Western Art
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Whitney Stakes (NYRA)
Buildings, estates and historic sites
- Belmont Park[22]
- Breuer Building
- Brookdale Farm
- C.V. Whitney Farm
- Dartington Hall
- David Whitney Building[23]
- David Whitney House
- Eli Whitney Gun Factory
- The Elms [1]
- Greentree
- Greenwood Plantation
- Joye Cottage
- Llangollen Farm
- Payne Whitney House
- Saratoga Race Course
- Waters Farm
- Whitney Studio Gallery[24]
- Whitney Park
- Willard Straight Hall
References
- ^ a b Cutter 1908, pp. 1400–1401.
- ^ W. Williams 2016, p. 176:The names of fashionable families who were already Episcopalian, like the Morgans, or those, like the Fricks, who now became so, goes on interminably: Aldrich, Astor, Biddle, Booth, Brown, Du Pont, Firestone, Ford, Gardner, Mellon, Morgan, Procter, Vanderbilt, Whitney. Episcopalian branches of the Baptist Rockefellers and Jewish Guggenheims even appeared on these family trees.
- ^ "Eli". US National Archives. August 15, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
- ^ "The cotton gin: A game-changing social and economic invention". National Constitution Centre. March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ "Racing Proud of Whitney Heritage: Three Generations of Family Prominent on American Scene; Among Founders of Jockey Club, Campaigned Abroad; Owned Two Derby Winners". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. May 5, 1956. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ "Marylou Whitney Stables LLC". Equibase.com. February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Hendrick 1920, p. 138.
- ^ a b c Burnley 1901, p. 226.
- ^ Ingham 1983, pp. 1614–1615.
- ^ "WILLIAM C. WHITNEY PASSES AWAY" (PDF). New York Times. February 3, 1904. p. 2. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ Ingham 1983, pp. 1612–1614.
- ^ NYT 1904, p. 2.
- ^ Ingham 1983, p. 1614.
- ^ Harrison, Bruce. The Family Forest Descendants of Sir Robert Parke. Lulu.com. p. 238. ISBN 9781411686304. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ "Birth of the Paper Giant | Great Northern Paper". Greatnorthernpaperhistory.com. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
- ^ "Mr. Barney's Career. Prominent All His Life in Finance, Art, and Realty Operations", The New York Times, November 15, 1907.
- ^ Ingham 1983, p. 1615.
- ^ "Glen Cove's multi-talented Clarissa Watson dies in France". Herald Community Newspapers. April 10, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ Chin, Jessica (July 3, 2017). "Greentree Foundation maintains community roots with grants - The Island Now". The Island Now. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ "JOHN HAY WHITNEY DIES AT 77; PUBLISHER LED IN MANY FIELDS". The New York Times. February 9, 1982. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ Nemy, Enid (July 19, 2019). "Marylou Whitney, Social Queen of the Racing World, Dies at 93". New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ Dahler 2020, p. 110.
- ^ "David Whitney Building". Historic Detroit.org. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ "The Whitney Museum of American Art". The Art Story.org. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
Bibliography
- Burnley, James (1901). Millionaires and Kings of Enterprise: The Marvellous Careers of Some Americans who by Pluck, Foresight, and Energy Have Made Themselves Masters in the Fields of Industry and Finance. Harmsworth Brothers, Limited.
- Cutter, William Richard (1908). Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Bostaon and Eastern Massachusetts. Boston, Massachusetts: Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
- Dahler, Don (2020). Fearless: Harriet Quimbly, A Life Without Limit. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-64896-131-1.
- Hendrick, Burton Jesse (1920). The Age of Big Business: A Chronicle of the Captains of Industry. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
- Ingham, John N. (1983). Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders: V-Z. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-23910-X.
- W. Williams, Peter (2016). Religion, Art, and Money: Episcopalians and American Culture from the Civil War to the Great Depression. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469626987.
External links
- Whitney Research Group Archived 2006-07-09 at the Wayback Machine – dedicated to the scholarly research of Whitney families around the world and throughout history.
- July 25, 2008 Bloodhorse.com article titled "The Whitney Handicap: a look at a treasured American family"