Whipple Avenue

On a recent trip to California, I passed the Whipple Avenue exit several times when traveling between San Francisco and Silicon Valley on the U.S. 101 freeway. (Whipples are everywhere ...)

New Book: Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy

Earlier this year the University of Florida Press published a brand new biography of Commodore Abraham Whipple, by author Sheldon S. Cohen.

Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy: Privateer, Patriot, Pioneer / by Sheldon S. Cohen (University of Florida Press, 2010). New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology.
ISBN-10: 0813034337.
ISBN-13: 978-0813034331

If you're interested in history of the American colonies, Rhode Island, the navy, Whipples (in general) or Commodore Abraham Whipple, this is the book for you. (Thank you, Blaine, for bringing it to our attention!)

You can find about Abraham at The Commodore's Page on the Whipple Website. His genealogy is at http://whipple.org/2570.

Happy reading! (The book is available at Amazon.com.)

Photos of Elizabeth Harriet (Whipple) Kerr

I recently received an email from a researcher in Wisconsin, who has two photographs of Elizabeth Harriet Whipple:

1. Aged 4 mos., 7 days, June 1898, taken in Saginaw, Michigan
2. Age 11 1/2 years, Aug 1909, taken in Marinette, Wisconsin

Here are excerpts from that email:

Recently I was given two photos and asked to see if I could find out if any of this person's descendants are living or anyone who would be interested in having these pictures. They are originals not prints.

From my research, I have confirmed that this individual is Elizabeth Harriet Whipple, daughter of Harry A. Whipple and Adelaide McMann, born 21 Feb 1898 in Saginaw, Michigan. She married David Clinton Kerr on 28 June 1924. She died suddenly in Marinette, Wisconsin on 24 Sept 1975.


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She continues by stating that the email address at the bottom of Elizabeth's page in the Whipple Genweb (http://whipple.org/49566) is no longer active, then asks:

Do you know of any other descendants from this family line who might be interested in these photos? If they can explain their connection to Elizabeth, I will gladly send them the photos by snail mail.

Just out of curiosity; did Elizabeth have relatives in Marinette From some of the clues, it seemed like she died unexpectedly while in Marinette, possibly while visiting. Also the fact that one of the childhood photos was taken in Marinette. ...

Any help would be appreciated. The woman who gave me the photos owns an auction business and said that normally they would sell them at auctions, but because the two were of the same person, she was hoping I could find the family they belong to.

If you are Elizabeth's descendant (or know of  one of her descendants), please contact:

Debra A. Batt
PO Box 250
Kewaskum, WI 53040
dbatt@charter.net

S. Lawrence Whipple, Lexington Town Historian, Dies at 88

I can't believe I'm writing a third post today! Ray Whipple reports that "Larry" Whipple, longtime Town Historian for Lexington, Massachusetts, passed away recently at the age of 88. While I haven't made a habit of posting obituaries on the Whipple Blog, I will post this one. (Indeed, some newspapers frown on having current obituaries copied verbatim and posted elsewhere, so the Whipple Website has abandoned that practice.)

Here is a link to the article/obituary. I found it interesting; perhaps you will, too!

S. Lawrence Whipple appears in the Whipple Genweb at http://whipple.org/126956. (I'll add dates and places to his entry forthwith.)

90th Annual Whipple Reunion, August 15, 2010, Lake Chautauqua, NY

August must be Whipple Reunion Month! This announcement is for a second August 2010 Whipple Reunion. (Click here for the WhippleFest in Mount Vernon, Iowa, on the previous weekend.)

For Whipple relatives living near Chautauqua County, New York (Chautauqua is the western-most county in New York State):

The 90th Annual Whipple Reunion will meet at the Lake Chautauqua [New York] Lutheran Center on Sunday, August 15 at 12 noon.

Directions
The directions to the Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Camp from the Dunkirk-Fredonia Thruway Exit:

1. Left on Bennett road (Bennett Road also Route 60) South to Cassadaga.
2. In Cassadaga take a right on Maple Ave., and remain on this for 10 miles.
3. Turn right on Centralia-Hartfield Road for 0.1 mile.
4. Left on Elwood Road for 0.2 mile.
5. Turn left on Route 430 for 9 miles (also called East Lake Road) and follow to Camp.

View Larger Map
Food
A special thank you to Rich and Deb Stearns, who will host this year's event. The Whipple Reunion will provide coffee and lemonade, and we request that everyone please bring a dish to pass along with table service items, plates, cutlery, etc.

For those coming from long distances and do not have access to kitchen facilities, we suggest a stop by the super market for convenience food: cake, pie cookies, chips. We shall have the blessing and start the meal by 1:00 p.m. sharp.

Expenses
There will never be a fee for the Whipple Reunion. The rental for the Lutheran Camp is $75.00, and other expenses have come into play since last year. In the past, we have raised money for the Whipple Reunion through the White Elephant sales and passed the hat for postal expenses on the flyer.

Send comments or questions to Kenneth L. Vogt (kvvogt@earthlink.net).

Aug. 7 2010 WhippleFest, Mount Vernon, Iowa (2nd post)

I received the following (second) announcement of the August 7th WhippleFest in Mount Vernon, Iowa. (If you are uncertain about whether or not to attend, contact Blaine Whipple by visiting http://www.blainewhipple.com and clicking the "Contact" link near the top of the page. This is a followup to an earlier pre-announcement on this blog.)

WhippleFest will be held Saturday August 7 in conjunction with Elaine Whipple West's 100th birthday celebration. (Photo below is Elaine and her mother, 1910.) Everyone receiving this message is invited to attend.



Place: The Lodge at Palisades State Park, 700 Kepler Dr., Mount Vernon, Iowa. Mount Vernon, home of one of Iowa's oldest 4-year colleges, is about 20 miles from the Cedar Rapids airport. It is also about 20 miles from Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa; 30 miles from West Branch, birthplace of President Herbert Hoover and home of his Presidential Library and Museum; and approximately 30 miles from the Amana Colonies, a favorite tourist spot of travelers nationwide.

View Larger Map

Time: Festivities begin in the afternoon

Motel: Sleep Inn & Suites in Mount Vernon, 319-895-0055. E-mail: gm.ia111@choicehotels.com. If you stay there, ask for the group rate under Whipple Fest. There are many motels in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

Bring your family memorabilia to share. We will display family charts beginning with Matthew and Whipple of Ipswich.

Visit http://whipplefest2010.yolasite.com/ and send birthday greetings to Elaine in the Guest Book.

It will help in planning if you e-mail me if you plan to attend. Include the number in your party.

The attachment is a picture of Elaine and her mom taken in 1910.

I look forward to seeing many of you August 7.
Blaine Whipple
Visit my Web Page: http://www.blainewhipple.com

Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight

I just returned from an evening watching (from the second row) Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka: A scrumptious musical theatre treat. My next-door neighbors Ryan (Grandpa George), Zak (Oompa Loompa who rode a unicycle) and Maddie (another Oompa Loompa), as well as my niece Hannah (ensemble dancer), were all actors.

I was reminded again that Whipples figured prominently in the play--in the form of their namesake Wonka Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallo Delight chocolate bar. (Yum, yum!)

... So I blogged about it. (You can see the original submission of this photo in the Whipple Website photo gallery at http://whipple.org/photos/whipplescrumptious.html)

Happy Independence Day 2010!

Today we celebrate the 234th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. General William Whipple of New Hampshire was one of the 56 patriots who signed the document. (You can read more about him on the Whipple Website.)

Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island--also a Whipple descendant (of the Rhode Island Whipple line)--also signed. (Am I missing any other Whipple signers?)

Here is the Declaration William and Stephen signed:

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. –Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, July 8, 1776

Aug. 7, 2010 WhippleFest at Palisades State Park in Mount Vernon, Iowa

I received the following from Blaine Whipple six days ago. (He gave permission to post it. Visit Blaine at http://www.blainewhipple.com/)

We are in the final stages of planning for WhippleFest this year and hope to be able to provide full details in early July.

This year's WhippleFest coincides with my sister Elaine Whipple West's 100th birthday and will be held Aug. 7 at Palisades State Park in Mount Vernon, Iowa where she lives. Her birthday is Aug. 6.

We will be selling T-shirts and the attachment includes three possible designs.  I would appreciate your vote on which design you prefer -- regardless of your intention to buy one.

Once the design is determined I will order the shirts and for those interested in acquiring one, advise me of your size(s).  Mens, Womens, and Kids all come in Small, Medium, and Large.  The cost is yet to be determined because it is based on the size of the order  The shirts will be sold at cost.  Individuals not attending but interested in acquiring a shirt are welcome to place orders.

It would be greatly appreciated if you would respond to this request before July 4.  Thank you for your help.

WhippleFest

Photos from Dewey Whipple Reunion, June 12, 2010

It was a very rainy day in Salt Lake City on June 12, 2010, when about 30 descendants of Dewey A. Whipple met for their family reunion. (See the announcement earlier in this blog.) Here are some photos submitted by Ken Goates.

Here is a view of Salt Lake Valley from the Atkins Home. (Edson Whipple was among those present when Brigham Young said "This is the right place" in July 1847. Click on the photos for an enlarged view.)

Group photos of those in attendance, standing on the front step of the Atkins House:

iWhipple.org

I almost didn't post this, but--after some thought--decided to anyway.

During the past few months I've been writing prototypes of iPhone apps. Along the way, I've wondered about (somehow) incorporating the Whipple Website/Genweb in one or more of those apps. ... Or perhaps I could make a version of the Whipple sites that work on the iPhone/iPad and other phones and PDA's.

From time to time I hear about other genealogical web software, and have tried different packages. Several years ago I tried PHPGedView. I liked the finished product, but it couldn't scale to the 132,000+ individuals in the Whipple Genweb's database.

Last year I heard about another software package called TNG ("The Next Generation of Genealogical Sitebuilding"). Although it had received rave reviews, I was still skeptical, because of my experience with PHPGedView. It didn't take me long, however, to succumb to the temptation of plunking down $30.00 (I think that was the price) and installing it. It was fairly fast, but I was still skeptical.

Several weeks ago, while looking for a domain in the "spirit" of the iPhone, I discovered that several iWhipple domains were available. At about that same time, I decided to try the TNG software again. (After all, now I have a faster computer in my basement.) I have been pleasantly surprised with its functionality--so much so that I have (temporarily, at least) decided to make that database available at iWhipple.org.

Feel free to visit that site at your leisure.

A few observations are probably in order:

• Because the server is in my home, its Internet connection is fairly low bandwidth. You might not be able to access the server. (In fact, mentioning the site on this blog might result in it becoming unavailable ...)
• I can't promise that it will stay up forever--in fact, it might go down at any time (and never come back up ...)
• iWhipple.org is configured to omit names and other information relating to living individuals. (This is a bit more aggressive than the Whipple GenWeb. I've been debating about whether to hide names of individuals on that site ... but haven't gotten around to it yet ...)

TNG presents data in interesting ways. I tried clicking on "Statistics," for example, then clicked on "Longest Lived." To my chagrin, I found that Sally Salisbury had lived 162 years--an obvious mistake (which I will try to fix shortly).

As you look at iWhipple.org (assuming that you can access the site), look for obvious errors and oversights. Feel free to find corrections yourself and let me know. I'll update as soon as I have time. (Of course, you may also just mention obvious errors to me, and I'll add they to my list of things to do ...)

So ... Enjoy!

WW

Server Consolidation

The Whipple Website (whipple.org) servers were consolidated with the Whipple Genweb (genweb.whipple.org) server a few minutes ago. (This also includes the gravestone database at http://whipple.org/graves.)

Let me know (either by posting a comment or mailing the Webmaster) if you discover errors or omissions.

Thanks for your interest!

Farewell, Mr. Christmas!

Mervin Ray Whipple, known as "Mr. Christmas," died Saturday night, April 17, 2010 in Putnam, Connecticut. I first heard about Mr. Christmas when a cousin submitted a 1999 article from The Day, of New London, Connecticut. (You can read that article on the Whipple Website.)

The Norwich (CT) Bulletin--and several other newpapers and news wires--have printed obituaries.

We'll miss you Mr. Christmas! Thank you for the good cheer you spread!

(Mervin appears in the Whipple Genweb at http://whipple.org/132302.)

New Whipple Genweb Server

Overnight the Whipple Genweb (http://genweb.whipple.org) changed servers. As you encounter the inevitable configuration errors, please let us know--either by commenting at the bottom of this post or by sending email to webmaster@whipple.org.

Thanks for your interest and support!

--WW

Auction of Christopher Whipple-related Earthenware Jug, April 20, 2010

Collectors of Whipple memorabilia might be interested in an auction of an earthenware jug at Freeman's of Philadelphia on April 20, 2010. Here is the notice we received:

I would like to bring to your attention Lot 162 in Freeman's of Philadelphia upcoming April 20, 2010 Americana sale in which you or a member of your extended family may be interested. Lot 162 is an earthenware jug associated with the Brig Sukey and its captain, Christopher Whipple, Jr. The Brig Sukey was captured from the British by American privateers on January 15,1776, and brought to Newburyport, Ma. It was the ship on which news of the battle of Lexington and Concord had been carried to England in 1775. In 1804, it was captured from Americans by French privateers. Thus, the ship is connected to two military events in American history.

What may be of special interest to you is the fact that the master of the ship in 1804 was Lt. Christopher Whipple, Jr. I believe he was the son of the Christopher Whipple who, himself, was a renowned Rhode Island sea captain. I believe Christopher Whipple, Jr. died in 1807, as reported by the New York Post.

As to the earthenware jug, itself, it is decorated with a transfer print of a ship highlighted in polychrome and labeled "Brig Sukey" on one side; a transfer print of the American eagle and labeled "e pluribus unum" on the other side; and, "Christopher Whipple Junr." printed in a wreath under the spout. Lot 162 can be viewed at Freeman's auction site here.

If you have further interest, you can get more information about the auction at freemansauction.com or you may contact Lynda Cain at 494-414-1237. I hope this has been of interest, if not helpful, in helping you and the Whipple family preserve Whipple family history.

Who is Christopher Whipple mentioned on the jug? He is mentioned in the book The French Assault on American Shipping, 1793-1813: A History and Comprehensive Record of Merchant Marine Losses (McFarland, 2009), on page 332. (You can read that page on Google Books.)

Christopher might be in the Whipple Genweb at http://whipple.org/33144, although our information is insufficient to identify him positively. (His father was named Christopher.) If this is the Christopher, he would have been about 31 years old in 1804, when the French recaptured the Sukey.

Christopher might also be the Captain Christopher Whipple listed at the top of Unidentified Whipple Deaths from the New York Post, 1801-1890, on the Whipple Website. According to that entry, he died 19 Sept 1807, at the age of 38, a native of Rhode Island.

If you can positively identify Christopher, please comment on this blog entry or email the webmaster.

Historic Home Museum Status for the Whipple-Cullen Farmstead?

Charles M. Whipple, Jr. contacted the Whipple Website recently concerning the Job Whipple house in Lime Rock, Rhode Island. (The house appears in Charles' 2007 book entitled Captain John and Sarah Whipple: A Multigenerational Study of the First Whipple Family in America [Victoria, BC: Trafford], on page 137. The photograph above was submitted by Charles as part of a pre-publication draft of the book.)

The present owner, John Cullen, is a member of the historic preservation society known as Historic New England, which owns and preserves historic home museums. He writes:

I asked [the society] if they would consider accepting as a gift the Historic Whipple-Cullen Farmstead to add to their 40 some historic home museums. They indicated yes but would require a large (DOWRY) endowment to accept the gift.

I would like this very special property which is on the National Register of Historic Places to tell the Whipple/Cullen story FOREVER as a museum.

If you are interested in discussing how the extended Whipple Family and the Cullens can accomplish my DREAM, please e-mail me or call me on my cell  401-526-9157.

If any readers of this blog are interested in helping preserve the Whipple-Cullen Farmstead, please contact John Cullen directly.

The label marked "A" on the map below shows the location of the Whipple-Cullen House and Barn (GPS coordinates 41.930278, -71.441944). Click "View Larger Map" below for different views and for driving directions. (The house is across the street from the Lincoln Police Department.)

View Larger Map

Which Sarah Whipple b. 1641?

Recent posts to Ancestry.com's Whipple Message Board show ongoing confusion about the two Whipple families of Ipswich, Massachusetts and nearby Dorchester (now a part of Boston). A recent thread began on 9 Feb 2005:

Looking for the ancestral line for Sarah Whipple, born 28 Feb. 1641/2 - Pawtucket, Providence, Rhode Island; died 23 July 1681- Dorchester, Suffolk, Mass. She married Joseph Goodhue 13 July 1661. Joseph was born 1639 - Ipswich, Essex, Mass; died 21 Sept. 1697 - Ipswich, Essex, Mass. Thank you.

A response was posted yesterday (five years after the first query):

I have a source for ancestors of Sarah Whipple. Would like to know if you are still persuing such a treasure. Please let me know.

The following is offered in response to both posts:

There are actually two Sarah Whipples born in 1641, three months apart, 35 miles apart, in Ipswich, Massachusetts (point A on the map below) and Dorchester Massachusetts (point B on the same map). You can drive from Ipswich to Dorchester in 47 minutes on a good day:


View Larger Map

(You may need to click on the map and "drag" it--or zoom out--to see both points A and B at the same time.)

1. The first Sarah was born 3 Nov 1641 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. She married Joseph Goodhue. You can find her in the Whipple Genweb at http://whipple.org/5940. Before her death on 23 Jul 1681 in Ipswich, she wrote a "valedictory" to her husband. You can read that valedictory on the Whipple Website. (Scroll to the bottom of both pages cited in this paragragh for sources of information.)
2. The second Sarah Whipple was born the same year, 35 miles to the SSW in nearby Dorchester. Her baptism (christening) date was 6 Feb 1641/2. (I'll briefly mention the slash in that date later in this post. It is not an indication of uncertainty.) She married John Smith in Providence, Rhode Island in 1659. (She had moved with her family from Dorchester to Providence the year before.) I don't know Sarah's date of death, but she was still alive in Providence on 12 May 1710. Sarah number 2 is in the Whipple Genweb at http://whipple.org/369.

Note that both Sarah's are daughters of fathers named John. Most (?) online databases (including those at familysearch.org) incorrectly "merge" those John's into a composite. (For what it's worth, I--the writer--am a descendant of the Dorchester/Providence John; my wife is a descendant of the Ipswich John. See Two Immigrants Named John on the Whipple Website.)

Slashes in Colonial Dates:

The slashed year 1641/2 is not an indication of uncertainty, but is an exact year. In those days, the new year started on March 25, not on January 1. 6 February 1641/2 was actually three months (and 3 days) after 3 Nov 1641. Both Sarahs (and public records of the day) referred to 6 Feb 1641/2 as 6 Feb 1641 (without the slash), and knew that it was after 3 Nov 1641, because in those days the new year started on March 25. (The day following 24 Mar 1641 was 25 Mar 1642.)

England changed from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian calendar in September 1752, by declaring that 2 September 1742 would be followed by 14 September 1752. Also, for the first time, the day following 31 December 1742 would mark the beginning of the next year--1 January 1743. (See my article "Making Sense of Dates in Colonial America" on the Whipple Website.)

To summarize: When we see a date that looks like 6 Feb 1641/1642, we should realize that

1. New (and old) Englanders of that period referred to the date as 6 Feb 1641 (in their public records), and knew that it was after 3 Nov 1641.
2. The "/1642" was added for the benefit of people of our day, to remind us that in 1641, February followed November.

Unfortunately, most people don't realize what the slash is for (so the use of slashed dates fails miserably [sigh] ... :)

(One more note: When you see slashed years in dates between 25 March and 31 December before 1752, you should investigate them further--they are probably in error.)

H. P. Lovecraft and His Legacy

I was just made aware of a blog dedicated to H. P. Lovecraft and his Legacy. H. P. Lovecraft "was an American author of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction." (See the article on Lovecraft in Wikipedia.)

Lovecraft is also a Whipple: H. P. Lovecraft(1), Sarah Susan Phillips(2), Whipple Van Buren Phillips(3), Jeremiah Phillips(4), Esther Whipple(5), Benedict(6), Benjamin(7), Benjamin(8), John(9). (See Lovecraft's page in the Whipple Genweb.)

One of Lovecraft's books, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, is reviewed on the Whipple Website. Among its characters is Captain Abraham Whipple (generally known as Commodore Whipple to this generation). A link to the review appears at the bottom of The Commodore's Page.

This post was motivated by emails from Blaine Whipple, referencing posts mentioning Whipple Van Buren Phillips on the H. P. Lovecraft blog. As you can see by scrolling down on H.P. Lovecraft's page in the Whipple Genweb, Whipple V. Phillips was Lovecraft's maternal grandfather. (Whipple V. Phillips is at http://whipple.org/11254 in the Whipple Genweb.)

If you're interested in Whipples, the history of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and the Salem witch trials, you might want to try reading The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Enjoy!

A Whipple Vampire? (Revisited)

(Note: The following was originally posted November 1, 2008. The embedded YouTube video was removed due to a copyright claim by A&E Television Networks. It has also been modified to include a link to Simon's new page in the Whipple Genweb.)

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series has sparked considerable interest in vampires. (The interest promises to heighten further as Twilight the Movie appears in theaters on the 21st of this month [November 2008].)

The History Channel recently aired a series on Vampires in America. The second episode of the series mentioned a Simon Whipple Aldrich, who was thought to have been a vampire. [YouTube video appeared here in original blog entry.] Simon's headstone in Union Cemetery Annex, Great Road, North Smithfield, Rhode Island, bears this inscription:

In memory of
Simon Whipple,
Youngest son of
Col. Dexter Aldrich
& Margery his wife,
who died May 6,
1841,
aged 26 years.
Although consumption's vampire grasp
had seized thy mortal frame

FamilySearch lists a Simon W. Aldrich born 13 Apr 1814 in Smithfield, RI, the son of Dexter and Margery Aldrich. We probably ought to add Simon to the Whipple Genweb? [Thanks to one of the Whipple Genweb's major genealogical contributors, Simon Whipple Aldrich now appears in the Whipple Genweb. Simon's sister, Hannah Aldrich, married John Dexter, a direct descendant of Captain John Whipple, of Providence, R.I., who immigrated to New England in 1632.]

By the way: I'm planning on going to see Twilight the Movie when it appears later this month. Are you? (No, it doesn't mention anyone named Whipple ...)

[P.S. Did anyone go see New Moon--the sequel to Twilight?]

Sarah Whipple (b. 1701)

This morning I received the following email from Dave Tower, Past President and Genealogist, Tower Genealogical Society. (The Whipples and Towers intermarried extensively in colonial--and later--Rhode Island).

Have you ever seen or heard of a reference that dicusses the obvious contradiction of facts for the following: (abbreviated references)

A. Sarah Whipple married Isaac Bucklin in Rehoboth, MA 8 March 1721/22. They had 5 children born between January 1723 and August 1742

1. International Genealogical Index (R)
2. Vital Record of Attleborough, Massachusetts
3. Attleboro Marriages, p. 351
4. p. 65, VR 2-136, Rehoboth Marriages
5. Bucklin Society Website
   

B. Sarah Whipple married Jonathan Salisbury 29 August 1725 in Providence RI. They had 9 children born between April 1721 and November 1739. She then married Obadiah Ballou 26 December 1740. They had three children born January 1741 to July 1747.

1. New England Families Third series, vol. IV, p. 2285
2. Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850 vol. 2, pp. 163 & 198, VR 1-45, Providence Marriages
3. An Elaborate History and Genealogy of the Ballous in America
4. Genweb.whipple.org
   

Obviously the two Sarahs above can not be the same person. However from all the records she is supposed to be...

Sarah Whipple (4) born 26 December 1701 in Attleboro, MA, The Daughter of Israel Whipple and Mary Wilmarth. [Israel 3, David Married to Hannah Tower 2, John 1)

1. New England Historical And Genealogical Register, Volume XXXII, 1878, Page 406
2. A History of the Descendants of EDWARD BOSWORTH who arrived in America in the year 1634 page 147
3. Vital Record of Attleborough, Massachusetts

If I can ever be of help with Tower questions please feel free to contact me.

I haven't yet responded to Dave. (I will as soon as I finish this blog entry.) Unfortunately, the Whipple Genweb is full of entries similar to this one. (If you follow the links above, be sure to scroll to the bottom of each person's page in the Whipple Genweb to see my sources--in some cases additional sources not given above are cited.)

If there are two separate Sarah's (and there must be, because they were both bearing children during the same time interval), who are the parents of the Sarah that isn't the daughter of Israel Whipple and Mary Wilmarth? If you figure this one out, please comment on this blog!

One possibility we shouldn't overlook: Could "Whipple" be the married name of one of the Sarahs? (If so, she couldn't have been married long to a first husband--named Whipple--before the first husband died ...) Might a first husband have died in an accident or been lost at sea?

When I encountered the Sarah who married Isaac Bucklin last year (when going through the 2009 publication entitled The Arnold Family of Smithfield, Rhode Island by Richard H. Benson (Boston: Newbury Street Press), p. 163), I initially considered merging the two Sarahs ... but didn't (and won't).

Any ideas or suggestions?

Weldon Whipple, Webmaster

Whipple Servicemen Buried Overseas

I received the following from Blaine Whipple yesterday, listing three "Whipples who were killed during World War I and buried in cemeteries overseas." I have identified David O. Whipple in the Whipple Genweb at http://whipple.org/117979. Unfortunately, I haven't (yet) been able to identify James B. Whipple or John B. Whipple. (Please comment if you know their "connection.")

James B. Whipple
Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps
6th USMC Regiment, 2nd Division
Entered the Service from: Michigan
Died: June 3, 1918
Buried at: Plot A Row 8 Grave 53
Aisne-Marne American Cemetery
Belleau, France

David O. Whipple (in the Whipple Genweb)
Private, U.S. Army
128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division
Entered the Service from: Indiana
Died: November 10, 1918
Buried at: Plot D Row 15 Grave 40
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
Romagne, France

John B. Whipple
Private, U.S. Army
12th Engineer Regiment
Entered the Service from: Michigan
Died: March 31, 1918
Buried at: Plot B Row 11 Grave 18
Suresnes American Cemetery
Suresnes, France

Blaine states that "the source of the information is the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), an agency of the Executive Branch of the federal government, established 1923 to 'commemorate the service, achievements, and sacrifice of U.S. armed forces where they have served overseas since 1917.' The web address is www.abmc.gov/home.php."

Thank you very much, Blaine! ... and thanks to James, David and John for your sacrifice in preserving freedom. Thanks to all our servicemen and women for their efforts in promoting and preserving freedom.

Dewey Whipple Family Reunion, June 12, 2010

I just received the following announcement of the annual Dewey Whipple Family Reunion in Salt Lake City, June 12, 2010:

Come to the annual Whipple Reunion at the This Is The Place Heritage Park and see the area where your ancestor, Edson Whipple, came into the valley. You can see his name on the “This is the Place” monument and experience a bit of his pioneer lifestyle at the This Is The Place Heritage Park. Let all the family know!! Reconnect, share your history and have fun!

Date: Saturday, June 12th 2010
Place: This Is The Place Heritage Park
2601 E Sunnyside Avenue
Salt Lake City, Utah

The Atkins home inside the park is reserved for our reunion “headquarters” and is available to us all day. Register and get your name tag here, stash your stuff and enjoy the park! Food is available to purchase in the park at the Huntsman Hotel. If you want to drive your own cooler etc. up to the house you have to do it before the park opens by 8:30 a.m. otherwise carry it in. The house is air conditioned and will be the place we hold our family gathering/picnic in the evening.

Go to www.thisistheplace.org to see a virtual tour of the Atkins home and for information about the park. For the reunion we get half price admission to the park (tell them you are with the Whipple reunion): adults $4 children 3-11 and seniors 55+ $3 (regularly $8 and $6)

Admission includes any 3 take- home craft, pony ride, mini-train ride. Additional activities are $1 per craft or ride. Two replica trains, included in admission, give everyone a relaxing and fun way to see the entire 450 acre park. Explore pioneer homes and shops and watch authentic trade and craft demonstrations, shop at Z.C.M.I., pet animals or enjoy the pioneer playground. See the same view Edson Whipple saw when he entered the valley.

Time: The Park opens at 9:00 a.m. and closes at 5:00. The family gathering/picnic will be at 5:30. If you are only coming to the family gathering/picnic you have to be at the park gates by 5:20 and you will be let into the park by a park representative.

What to bring:

• Your own picnic and a favorite dessert to share (there will be water and lemonade provided)
• Raffle prizes to donate (hand made or store bought, there will be a quilt drawing)
• Park admission fee
• dues per family$5 (includes 1 ticket for the quilt drawing)
• Money for raffle tickets $1 each
• Your smiling face! See you there!!

Questions: call/email Jeanette Whipple Eggett @ 801-299-0264 eggettkj@hotmail.com

Babette Samelson Whipple Dies at 91

The Harvard University Gazette reports that Babette (Samelson) Whipple, former psychology research at Massachusetts General Hospital and wife of the late Harvard astronomer Fred Lawrence Whipple, died on 18 Dec 2009, after a short illness. A resident of Belmont, Massachusetts, she was 91 years of age. (Her husband died in 2004.)

A memorial service is planned for April 10. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Babette and Fred Whipple Fund for Graduate Student Travel, c/o Amanda Preston, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., MS-45, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Farwell!!

Whipple Power!

"Wow, no wonder we have so much Whipple power!"

Those are the words of my son last night in an email sent in response to a discovery that he is a descendant of both main groups of Whipples in the U.S.

Ever since the time I realized that there are two major groups of Whipples in the United States, I have known that I am a descendant of "Captain" John Whipple of Providence, RI. At one time I thought I might be "connected" to his somewhat older contemporary, "Elder" John Whipple of Ipswich, MA (born in Bocking, England). (The two are often confused or "combined" into a "composite" John Whipple.)

(I had hoped that I was connected through Josiah Chamberlain, an early husband of my 4th great grandmother, Hepsibah Cressey. I later learned that a different Josiah Chamberlain contemporary was the descendant of "Elder" John. [sigh].)

Yesterday my mother-in-law (a genealogist of many years) emailed the news that she had discovered a connection to the Ipswich Whipples, through Elder John's daughter Mary Whipple, who married Simon Stone.

So now it turns out that I married a Whipple, and all our children are descendants of both Whipple groups. What an exciting discovery. (I've always thought there was something special about my wife. This makes her even more so!)

Query about Bishop Whipple's Long Case Clock

I just received an email from Wendy Evans, Director of the Ipswich (Massachusetts) Historical Society & Museums, asking about a clock once owned by Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple of Minnesota. (He was elected the first Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota in 1859.)

Here is the text of her email:

An art researcher named Gloria Gray Witt called on Thursday seeking information on a 1770 long-case clock once owned by Henry Benjamin Whipple. In 1859 the clock went to Minnesota and it was sold with the estate.

She described it as 84 inches tall, 17 inches wide, with a beautifully carved image of the old man of the sea. She is seeking information about the clock for a woman in Texas.

Gloria's contact info: 951-929-2343. Long distance, so you can telephone her and she will call you back.

Address: 25878 Columbia Street, Hemet, California 92544.

You can also contact Wendy Evans directly:

Wendy Evans
Director
Ipswich Historical Society & Museums
54 South Main Street
Ipswich, MA 01938
www.ipswichmuseum.org
978-356-2811

The Whipples of Ipswich and Its Hamlet

The Whipples of Ipswich and Its Hamlet /as written and compiled by Raymond Whipple Jr. -- 2d ed. -- Beverly, MA : Minuteman Press, c2009. -- 72 p. : ill. (some col.), coats of arms, facsimiles, genealogical tables, maps ; 28 cm. -- ISBN 978-1-60402-000-7.

Yesterday I received my copy of a brand new Whipple Genealogy about the Whipples of Ipswich, Massachusetts. This isn't just any book on the Ipswich Whipples. I can think of at least two things that set it apart from other Whipple genealogies:

1. The book focuses entirely on Whipples who have been born and died in Ipswich and the town of Hamilton (incorporated from Ipswich hamlet in 1793). (Exceptions are made for the English ancestors of Matthew and John, the earliest known Whipples with "connections" to U.S. Whipples. Additionally, two descendancy charts--on a single short page--show the Ipswich Whipple ancestry of two U.S. presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John Calvin Coolidge.)
2. The book's author, 72-year-old Raymond "Ray" Whipple, is the youngest of the three remaining male Whipples still living in Ipswich. (The others are Alvin Whipple--Ray's 79-year-old brother--and David Whipple--Ray's 73-year-0ld cousin.) In an email Ray sent me earlier, he noted that the 2001 birth of his grandson in Montana marked the first time in 363 years that a child in his line had been born more than ten miles from where the [Ipswich] Whipples first settled in 1638! Eleven generations of Ray's Whipple ancestors lived in Ipswich (including Hamilton), starting with Matthew Whipple, who settled in Ipswich in 1638!
   

The table of contents gives a flavor of the book:

1. The Author's Lineage
2. The Grant
3. The Early Years (1475-1638)
4. The First Three Generations (1638-1750)
5. The Next One-Hundred & Fifty Years (1750-1900)
6. The Twentieth Century (1900-2000)
7. The Church
8. The Schools
9. The Military
10. Community Service
11. The Presidential Connection
12. Whipple Marrying Whipple
13. The Family Clock
14. The Land
15. The Cemetery
16. Bibliography

You can purchase your own copy of the book from the author for $26.00 ($23.00 + $3.00 shipping). Mail your request to:

Raymond Whipple
49 Mill Street
South Hamilton, MA 01982

As I have time to go through the book more, I will post additional observations. Thank you Ray, and congratulations on your new book!!

Amiel Weeks Whipple

I just received a note from Blaine Whipple, noting that Fort Whipple in Prescott, Arizona, was named after General Amiel Weeks Whipple. Blaine's note cites an article in The Daily Courier entitled Days Past: The First Christmas in Prescott - Part I.

This is a good excuse to say a few other things about General Amiel. He was born 21 Oct 1817 in Greenwich, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. He died on 7 May 1863 in Washington, D.C. from wounds received while defending Washington at the battle of Chancellorsville during the U.S. Civil War.

During the decade preceding his death, Amiel was a first lieutenant in the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. He led a government expedition in 1854 to determine the most practical route for the Pacific Railroad. (Note: This was more than 10 years before the first Pacific Railroad--the Union Pacific Railroad--was completed further north in the United States.) Instructed to follow the 35th Parallel of north latitude, Whipple traveled east to west. In western Arizona, he drifted south of the 35th Parallel because of the scarcity of water between today's Kingman and the Colorado River. He then went upstream to present-day Needles and continued along the 35th Parallel to Cajon Pass and the Los Angeles basin.

Amiel has left his mark numerous places in the U.S. Here are a few:

• Fort Whipple, Prescott, Arizona. Fort Whipple, established to protect Prescott, Arizona's first territorial capital, is now the site of a Veterans Administration Hospital. See also the North American Forts web site.
• Whipple Mountains and Whipple Bay, California. The Havasu Magazine mentions both. It also mentions the plant Yucca Whipplei (also known as Our Lord's Candle), named after Whipple.
• Fort Myer, Virginia, was originally named Fort Whipple. The fourth paragraph of the Fort Myer page of the Arlington National Cemetery web site begins a discussion of that Fort Whipple.

I'm still trying to verify whether the flower Whipple's Penstemon (Penstemon whippleanus) is named after Amiel Whipple. It is found in Arizona and many places in the western United States.

For a deeper look into the life of Amiel Weeks Whipple, you might start with these:

• Shelburne, John P., and Gordon, Mary McDougall. Through Indian Country to California : John P. Sherburne's Diary of the Whipple Expedition, 1853-1854. -- Stanford : Stanford University Press, 1988. ISBN: 0804714479

• Furgurson, Ernest B. Chancellorsville 1863 : The Souls of the Brave. -- Vintage Books, 1993. ISBN: 0679728317
  

Amiel Weeks Whipple appears in the Whipple Genweb.

Nate Whipple

A letter to the editor in a recent issue of The Valley Breeze suggested that sidewalks be added along the entire length of Rhode Island's Nate Whipple Highway.

The letter reminded me of my own visit to the Nate Whipple Highway in 1999. Here's the photo I took in July 1999:

We saw several other locations named after Nate. Here is what the Nate Whipple Medical Center (on Nate Whipple Highway, of course) looked like that same day:

We also visited Whipple Station--part of the North Cumberland (R.I.) Fire Department:



Nate Whipple served as fire chief from 1925 to 1963. You can see Nate's ancestry in the Whipple Genweb.

What do you know about Nate Whipple? Was his middle name William or Winthrop?

Fred Whipple Dreamed of Space Travel

Childhood polio ended Fred's dream of playing tennis, according to the Web site www.amazing-space.stsci.edu, but a high school astronomy course ignited an even more passionate interest.

"My interest in space travel began in my teens," Dr. Fred Whipple wrote in the preface to "The Collected Contributions of Fred L. Whipple, Vol. II" (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory/1972).

Born Nov. 5, 1906, in Iowa, www.amazing-space.stsci.edu said the boy could "add up customer's (sic) purchases in his head" at the grocery store where he worked. Over his 97 years, Whipple discovered five comets and an asteroid named Whipple, his International Space Hall of Fame biography stated. He was one of the first to discern that stars other than our sun emit radio waves.

So begins an article entitled "Space History: Whipple dreamed of space travel," published November 1 in the Alamogordo (New Mexico) Daily News. (Click here to read the entire article.)

Fred is in the Whipple Genweb at http://whipple.org/32739.

(Special thanks to Blaine Whipple for submitting this article.)

John Whipple Sailed the Lyon to America

Which John?

I see there is still some doubt among Whipple researchers about exactly which John Whipple it was that sailed from England to New England in 1632. Since I am probably at least responsible for the continuing confusion, I should also help set the record straight.

It was the young John Whipple who later became known as Captain John Whipple and died in Providence, Rhode Island. It was not the John who came to New England with his brother Matthew six years later in 1638.

Whipple genealogical researcher and publisher Blaine Whipple recently responded to that question as follows:

There are records supporting my position that brothers Matthew and John Whipple settled in Ipswich, Mass. in 1638 and were not passengers on the Lyon's 1632 voyage to Boston.

Matthew's son Lt. John Whipple was born in Bocking, Essex Co., England 6 Sept. 1632. The Lyon docked in Boston Harbor 16 Sept. 1632 after a journey of 12 weeks.
Matthew's son Matthew was born in Bocking ca 1635.

John's daughter Anna was born in Bocking 2 June 1633.
His daughter Mary was born there 20 Feb. 1634.
His daughter Judith was born there in August 1636.
His son Matthew was born there 17 February and died 30 March 1638. His death date also gives credence to the parent's land grants in Ipswich 1 Sept. 1638.

The source of this information is from the Parish Records of Bocking's St. Mary's Church available from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, film 1471886 Items 12 and 13.

I have presented this information to a number of Whipple researchers who after confirming the information agreed that, despite various sources to the contrary, the Whipple brothers were not passengers on the Lyon.

There, now you have it!

As soon as I have time (and decide what to do with the old material on the web site--possibly deleting it altogether) I will modify Frequently Asked Question 2.8 - Which John Whipple came to America on the ship Lyon?, as well as clarify the introductory paragraphs of the page entitled Passenger Lists for the Lyon, 1632.

Hopefully this will put to rest the confusion about which John sailed on the Lyon. (It will also re-emphasize the fact that there were two major Whipple "groups" that arrived in New England in the 1630's.

Frank Whipple: A hands-on dad at 101

That's the title of an article in the UK's Guardian. (See http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/24/frank-whipple-millwall-single-dad.)

The article begins:

Frank Whipple is 101. He saw action in the 1926 General Strike, he fought the fascists in Cable Street in the 1930s, and for more than 30 years he has cared single-handedly for his beloved daughter Peggy, who has special needs.

Frank Whipple and his daughter Peggy sit side by side at the kitchen table at their home in the East End of London. Peggy should be at the day centre but she has invented a collection of symptoms so she can stay at home with her dad. "Headache, back ache, leg ache, she's got them all until it's too late to go," Frank says good humouredly. "Then, she suddenly gets better."

Peggy strokes her father's hand and smiles happily. "I love you, Dad," she says. "I look after you, don't I?"

Click here to see Frank's photo and read the rest of the article.

2010 USS Whipple Reunion?

I received the following from a shipmate of the USS Whipple, asking about a reunion in 2010. Not knowing exactly what to do with it, I will post it here. (You might want to visit the Whipple Website's "sub" website http://uss.whipple.org.)

Hello Shipmates,
Here is an easy opportunity to hold a reunion by piggybacking on the U.S. Navy Frigates (FF & FFG) Association - Gathering at Sea Reunion on April 26th, 2010. Please read the information below. If there is an interest, then we can contact the association and arrange for dinner tables. To tell you all the truth, we have plans to be on another RV trip in the fall of 2010, not to mention many more trips in 2010. Unless somebody else can step up to the plate, putting another reunion together by a committee of one (me) is not going to happen. This event seems like a great opportunity. I will need to know fairly soon to make the arrangements

Dan Garcia

Ahoy All U.S Navy Frigate Sailors, Families, Friends and Survivors,

We are extending an invitation to all U.S. Navy Veterans who have served aboard the U.S. Navy's Frigate Class of vessels, (the FF's and FFG's), including those who served aboard the USS Whipple (FF-1062), as well as their friends, families and survivors. You will muster aboard Royal Caribbean's four-star, 73,941 ton super liner, Monarch of the Seas on April 26th, 2010, for a four night Gathering at Sea Reunion. Monarch will be sailing round-trip from Port Canaveral, Florida and her actual cruise itinerary will be as follows:

Day Date Port Arv Dep

Mon 04/26 Port Canaveral, Florida 05:00 PM
Tue 04/27 CocoCay, Bahamas 08:00 AM 05:00 PM
Wed 04/28 Nassau, Bahamas 07:00 AM 11:59 PM
Thu 04/29 At Sea
Fri 04/30 Port Canaveral, Florida 06:30 AM

As is always the case with our gatherings, we have a friends and family policy. All survivors, families and friends (military and civilian) of those shipmates who have passed on are invited to sail with us. Members of our brother military branches of service are also encouraged to participate.

All onboard meals, accomodations and entertainment as well as room service (24/7) will be provided. All guests from the same units as well as those traveling with friends and families, will be seated together at the same table in the dining room each night. The entire reunion party will also have tables grouped together in our own section of the dining room. We would be delighted to provide cakes for birthdays and anniversaries, at no charge, as long as you let us know of the occasion at least a month before sailing.

Your cruise fare, (double occupancy) all port charges and all taxes are included in the price. Accomodations, all onboard meals, all onboard entertainment and 24/7 room service is included as well. There are no additional costs other than optional and personal items such as gratuities, optional shore excursions, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and if you choose, your casino contributions! Trip cancellation, interruption and medical insurance is also optional, inexpensive and available to U.S. citizens.

Unlike cruises advertised at most internet sites, which normally are "entry level" cabins and don't include all taxes and fees, the prices below are TOTAL prices, including ALL TAXES AND FEES, for two people (not per person) sharing a stateroom. None of our cabins are "entry level". ALL are upgraded categories and none of the balcony or oceanview cabins have obstructed views. Also, none of the oceanview cabins have portholes. All of them have picture windows. We are only allocated a very limited number of upgraded cabins at this price, so when they are gone, they're gone. Prices are as follows:

Cat JS - Balcony Suites: $1239.80 TOTAL for TWO people

Cat F2 - Oceanview Stateroom: $ 713.68 TOTAL for TWO people

Cat M - Inside Stateroom: $ 623.80 TOTAL for TWO people

If you would like to add a passenger to the above double staterooms making them into a triple or quad, we would be happy to contact the cruiseline for a quote for the additional person/s.

There is a completely refundable $200.00 per cabin deposit due at the time of booking which is applied directly to your total in order to lock in the above rates. You will immediately receive an e-mail, or snail-mail confirmation if you don't have a computer. Your stateroom number will normally be assigned at that time as well. The earlier you book, of course, the better your choice of cabin locations.

Final payment will be due on February 5th, 2010. You may make payments a little at a time, as you desire, as long as your booking is paid in full by that date. Your deposit can be made on any type of debit or credit card. Also, so that you won't have to worry about marking your calendar, we will send out e-mail reminders and invoices periodically to keep you advised of the date and balance due.

Also, this is VERY IMPORTANT! In the event that you must cancel, all deposits will be refunded directly back to the credit card that was used for payment, 100 percent, with absolutely no penalty and no questions asked, as long as you do so before midnight on February 5th, 2010, the final payment date.

For your convenience and peace of mind, we have provided the following references:

CDR George Zanic, USNR (Ret) - cretebabe@aol.com
John Mcguire, New Jersey Police Officer - john0608@gmail.com
RM2 Charles Metz, Former USN - rbmetz@cox.net
CAPT Kerry Magee, USN (Ret) - usnr06ret@brazoriainet.com
FT2 Byron Lott, Former USN - lott15@comcast.net
SK2 Walter Blair - Former USN - wdblair@comcast.net

If you are interested in sailing with us on this unique adventure, please call Robbie or Barb toll free at (866) 965-6730 or (912) 756-5764 for bookings and other information.

Fair Winds and Following Seas,

RMC & Mrs. Robbie Robinson, USN/USCG (Ret) 1964-1986
www.cruisesinc.com/brobinson
Toll free: (866) 965-6730
Local: (912) 756-5764

Whipples and Football

My brother just reported watching a football game between Miami and Oklahoma. He mentioned that he saw a Whipple who was the offensive coordinator. Google found that he is Mark Whipple of Tarrytown, NY, a graduate of Brown University in Providence. Here is his page at miami.rivals.com.

(Hmmm ..., any blog entry about football has to mention Steve Young, the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. See his Wikipedia article. Steve is in the Whipple Genweb at http://whipple.org/16631)

Dorothy Whipple, the "Jane Austen of the 20th Century"

That is how J.B. Priestly once described British author Dorothy Whipple (1893-1966, born and died in Blackburn, Lancashire). The blog Lakeside Musing has written a review of Dorothy's novel Someone at a Distance, first published 1953 and republished last year. Rather than repeat what the muser by the side of the lake had to say, I'll let that review speak for itself.

Dorothy is mentioned on the Whipple Website's Fiction by Whipples page. You can also read about her in Wikipedia.

Whipple Genweb Maps Now Zoom and Pan

Last night I programmed late, converting the static Google maps (added earlier this week) to dynamic maps. You can now zoom in and out and pan in all directions.

Try President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's page for example.

I still have plans to improve performance, etc. (All I need is time! :-)

(If you notice bugs, please comment!)

Later ...

WW

More Whipples on the Web

Blaine Whipple has been actively searching for Whipples on the Web. Here are two of his latest:

In York, England (photo included), students can refuse vaccinations:

Deborah Whipple and her daughter, Kate, review a letter sent to parents of Grade 7 students in the York Region District School Board about hepatitis B and meningitis vaccinations, stating children have the choice to receive or refuse the vaccine, regardless of age or parental wishes.

Improvement in Devices to Aid in Ironing Clothes:

In 1872, Waterford, CT, resident Charles S. Whipple patented a device to aid in ironing clothes. (Photo included). (Note: The Whipple Genweb has five Charles S. Whipples, any of whom might have been the Charles mentioned here. Does anyone have an idea of who this Charles is?)

Eva Dalton Whipple, Sister to the Dalton Gang

Nick Russell is the author of a September 21, 2009 post to the RV.net website about the Dalton Gang Hideout in the "friendly little town of Meade, Kansas." The beginning of the fifth paragraph begins with Eva Dalton Whipple, "sister to the infamous Dalton Gang." It's an interesting read!

Eva (at http://whipple.org/93710) was the wife of John N. Whipple, born in April 1841 in Connecticut (according to the 1900 census). I still don't know who his parents were (but will likely begin looking as soon as I finish this post :-).

Many thanks to Blaine Whipple for informing me about the link!

Google Maps on Individual Whipple Genweb Pages

This weekend I found a few hours to cobble together an initial--pre-beta--proof-of-concept implementation of static Google Maps on the individual pages of the Whipple Genweb.

If the Genweb page-generation script detects an individual's place(s) of birth, christening, marriage, death or burial, it attempts to create a Google Map in the upper right-hand corner of her/his page. With 130,000+ separate pages in the Whipple Genweb, there are bound to be errors caused by typos in places and other unforeseen conditions.

If you find errors, feel free to comment on this blog.

Next step: Add controls to zoom in/out and pan the maps (as soon as I find the spare time.)

Henry Whipple School, Nottingham, England

Blaine Whipple just sent me a news item about the Henry Whipple School in Nottingham, which is set to be redeveloped. Who is this Henry Whipple?

I entered his name in the Whipple Genweb search page at http://genweb.whipple.org/search.html. Realizing in advance that I wanted to search only Henry Whipple's in England, I entered "England" in the "All Placed (combined)" field. The result was six Whipples named Henry (there was a seventh, but Henry was his middle name):

1. Henry H. Whipple (ABT 1822 - ____) (http://whipple.org/117635)
   
2. Henry Whipple (ABT 1510 - 31 Mar 1585) (http://whipple.org/117882)
   
3. Henry Whipple (CHR 8 Apr 1576 - 9 Jul 1576) (http://whipple.org/117865)
4. Henry Whipple (CHR 21 Jul 1580 - ____) (http://whipple.org/117866)
   
5. Henry Whipple (ABT 1838 - ____) (http://whipple.org/117627)
   
6. Henry Whipple (ABT 1910 - ABT 1985) (http://whipple.org/23454)

Yes, the Whipple Genweb does have some British Whipples. If you scroll to the bottom of each individual's page, you can see the information sources--some of them better than others.

Feel free to e-mail the Webmaster (that would be me) if you have any insight into Whipples in England--or any place, for that matter.

Whipple Cave, Nevada

Blaine Whipple reports a blogger who has chronicled his experiences at Whipple Cave in the Egan Mountains of Nevada. I haven't had time to research the cave, but I can't help but wonder if the cave's name might have something to do with Amiel Weeks Whipple, the military engineer and explorer who (among other things) led an 1853 expedition in search for a railroad route near the 35th parallel of latitude to the Pacific Ocean.

If you know more about the cave and the origins of its name, feel free to comment!

Johnny Whipple Brick at the Utah Shakespearean Festival

Yesterday we saw Noel Coward's 1930 play entitled Private Lives at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. As we left the Randall L. Jones Theatre following the performance, I spied this brick in the pavement:
I also noticed the bio and photo of another Whipple--Jennifer--in a this year's commemorative book. (Was that Jennifer Whipple who identified herself as "Jennifer" in the green show before the evening performance of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors?)

I haven't yet managed to identify any of the Whipples there. Maybe they are related to the Whipples in nearby Las Vegas?

(P.S. Both Private Lives and Comedy of Errors were fantastic!

Photo of Ida Whipple, 1885, Albion, NY

Yesterday I received the following photo (front and back) from a librarian in Monroe, Louisiana. The back of the photo idetifies her as Ida Whipple. It was taken in Albion New York in 1885. Albion is about 37 miles west of Rochester, NY, in Orleans County (adjacent to Rochester's Monroe County).The Whipple Genweb has about 45 Whipples named Ida. Of those known to have a New York Connection, three might be the Ida in the photograph. (The others shouldn't all be eliminated, however.) Here are three possibilities:

1. Ida I. Whipple (http://whipple.org/52488), b. 1868, possibly Mansfield, Cattaraugus, New York, d. 1937 and buried in Maple Hill Cemetery, East Randolph, Cattaraugus, New York. She would have been about 17 years old in the photo. (East Randolph is about 114 miles SSW of Albion. It is nearly due south of Buffalo. Cattaraugus County borders Pennsylvania, which lies to its south. Cattaraugus County is adjacent to Chautauqua County (New York's western-most county).
2. Ida May Whipple (http://whipple.org/44827), b. 1869, probably in Cambridge, Washington, New York. She would have been 16 years old in 1885. (Cambridge is about 300 miles east of Albion. It is also about 38 miles northeast of Albany, the state capital. Washington County is in eastern New York, where it borders Vermont.
3. Ida Whipple (http://whipple.org/104364), b. 1857, in New York. She would have been 28 years old in 1885.

Two additional possible candidates became Ida Whipple when they married:

1. Ida B. Howe (http://whipple.org/97113), b. 26 Apr 1853 in New York, married Guilford L. Whipple. She would have been about 32 in 1885.
2. Ida S. Wells (http://whipple.org/113396), b. 27 Sep 1857 in Eagle, Wyoming County, New York, married William E. Whipple 26 Sep 1878 in Pike, Wyoming County, New York. She died sometime after the 1920 census of Perry, Wyoming County, New York. She would have been about 28 years old in 1885. (Wyoming County is two counties south of Albion. Genesee County separates Wyoming County from Orleans County. Albion and Pike are about 50 miles apart.)
   

To search for Ida yourself, visit http://genweb.whipple.org/search.html and type "Ida Whipple" in the field labeled "Person to search for." To limit the search to individuals known to have lived in New York, type "New York" in the field labeled "All places (combined)." (Note, that by typing the place, you will miss anyone named Ida Whipple whose place of birth, death (etc.) is unknown.)

To search for Ida who married a Whipple, type "Ida" in the "Person to search for" field. Type "Whipple" in the "Spouse(s)'s name(s)" field.

(Hint: Ida is sometimes spelled Idah. You might want to try clicking the "Calculate Soundex for person" checkbox beneath the "Person to search for" field. Alternately, try separate searches using the spelling "Idah".)

Please comment if you can identify Ida!

Whipple Street in Newport, Rhode Island

Jeff Congdon sent this photo "from his iPhone." This Whipple Street is in the Newport (RI) Naval Base. Jeff's brother, Steven Whipple Congdon (a retired Coast Guard Commander), provided access to the otherwise restricted naval base.

Thanks for the photo, Jeff!

August 2009 WhippleFest in Oregon

I received a note from Blaine Whipple, mentioning a WhippleFest in Oregon in August. (You can see a photo of Blaine's 2007 WhippleFest held in Rochester and Stewartville, Minnesota at http://www.whipple.org/reunions/stewartville2007.html)

In his note, Blaine indicates that he won't be attending this year. However, if you would like a WhippleFest T-shirt, you can order one for $15. Send check payable to Blaine Whipple to 1834 SW 58th Ave., Ste. 105, Portland, OR 97221. Be sure to include size(s). Color is white only. No orders accepted after Saturday July 25.

Blaine's web site is at http://www.blainewhipple.com/ You can contact him at blaine.whipple@yahoo.com.

89th Annual Whipple Reunion August 16, 2009

For Whipple relatives living near Chautauqua County, New York (Chautauqua is the western-most county in New York State):

The 89th Annual Whipple Reunion will meet at the Lake Chautauqua [New York] Lutheran Center on Sunday, August 16 at 12 noon.

Directions
The directions to the Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Camp from the Dunkirk-Fredonia Thruway Exit:

1. Left on Bennett road (Bennett Road also Route 60) South to Cassadaga.
2. In Cassadaga take a right on Maple Ave., and remain on this for 10 miles.
3. Turn right on Centralia-Hartfield Road for 0.1 mile.
4. Left on Elwood Road for 0.2 mile.
5. Turn left on Route 430 for 9 miles (also called East Lake Road) and follow to Camp.

Food
A special thank you to Rich and Deb Stearns, who will host this year's event. The Whipple Reunion will provide coffee and lemonade, and we request that everyone please bring a dish to pass along with table service items, plates, cutlery, etc.

For those comping from long distances and do not have access to kitchen facilities, we suggest a stop by the super market for convenience food: cake, pie cookies, chips. We shall have the blessing and start the meal by 1:00 p.m. sharp.

Expenses
There will never be a fee for the Whipple Reunion. However, this year the rental for the Lutheran Camp went up from $50.00 to $75.00, and other expenses have come into play since last year. In the past, we have raised money for the Whipple Reunion through the White Elephant sales and passed the hat for postal expenses on the flyer.

This year proceeds from a free-will offering basket at the buffet table will in part determine what the Whipple Reunion President and Secretary can provide for next year's reunion.

Send comments or questions to Kenneth L. Vogt (kvvogt@earthlink.net).