Whitney, Daniel H.

Born: 1806-XX-XX New York

Died: 1864-02-12 Belvidere, Illinois

Flourished: Belvidere, Illinois

Daniel H. Whitney was a physician, county recorder, court clerk, county judge, Mason, Whig, and, later, a Republican. In July 1828 in New York, he married Elizabeth P. Hazard. In August 1835, he traveled to Illinois to scout locations for a new home. Shortly thereafter, in September 1835, Elizabeth died. In December 1836, he married Sarah Caswell in Winnebago County, Illinois. They had six children together, although only two survived to adulthood. Whitney quickly became a leading member of the community of Belvidere. In 1836, he worked as recorder for Winnebago County. In May 1837, he was elected clerk of the Boone County Commissioners' Court, then, just a few months later, he was elected county clerk. Politically active, he served as a delegate to the 1847 Illinois Constitutional Convention. In November 1849, he was elected judge for Boone County, Illinois, a position to which he was reelected in November 1854. In 1850, he owned $1,200 in real estate. In 1856, he won election as clerk of the Boone County Circuit Court. He was reelected in November 1860 and held the position until his death. By 1860, he owned $3,500 in personal property and his real estate holdings were valued at $5,000.

Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Winnebago County, 10 December 1836, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; The Past and Present of Boone County, Illinois (Chicago: H. F. Kett, 1877), 230, 240, 320-22, 333, 336; The History of Winnebago County, Ill. (Chicago: H. F. Kett, 1877), 240, 244; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 6 May 1847, 2:1; Illinois Daily Journal (Springfield), 25 November 1847, 1:4; Royal Brunson Way, ed., The Rock River Valley: Its History, Traditions, Legends and Charms (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1926), 1:196; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Belvidere, Boone County, IL, 3; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Belvidere, Boone County, IL, 82; Gravestone, Belvidere Cemetery, Belvidere, IL.