Whitten, Easton

Flourished: Montgomery County, Illinois

Whitten moved from Kentucky to Montgomery County, Illinois in 1816, and was one of the earliest settlers. He was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 1827. In 1832, he was a private in Captain Levi D. Boone's company during the Black Hawk War. When the time came to build a new Montgomery County Courthouse, Whitten loaned money for it to be built in 1833. He was elected twice into the Illinois House of Representatives, 1836 to 1838, and 1842 to 1844, representing Montgomery County both terms. He was also active and contributed to the first Montgomery County Fair in 1857, serving as an auctioneer and fair manager.

Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Montgomery County, ed. by Alexander T. Strange (Chicago: Munsell, 1918), 2:701, 706, 724-25, 749, 869, 906; Ellen M. Whitney, comp., The Black Hawk War, 1831-1832: Illinois Volunteers, vol. 35 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1970), 1:145-46; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 206, 211.