Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County,
Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with
portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States,
and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890;
page 240-241; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
Theodore O. Whitenack. There is something about the life
of a prosperous and popular young man very pleasant to contemplate;
something that gives encouragement to those seeking to make for
themselves desirable positions in life. Such an example is given
in the person of Theodore Whitenack, who is generally conceded to
deserve unlimited praise for the success he has attained and for the
strict integrity of his business transactions. He is a
native-born citizen of this county, and is now numbered among the
intelligent farmers of Liverpool Township. In the fall of 1882 he
bought his present farm of one hundred and three acres on section
9. Under our subject’s careful management the farm has been
placed under excellent cultivation and is now a neat and well-ordered
piece of property, comparing favorably with any other farm in the
neighborhood in point of tillage and improvement. Here Mr.
Whitenack is engaged in cultivating his land and in raising stock to a
considerable extent with a very good profit.
Peter Whitenack, the father of our subject, was born in the
State of New York in 1820. His father, who bore the same name as
himself was a native of Pennsylvania. The Whitenack family are of
German antecedents and its representatives in America are descended
from two brothers, who came to America from Holland in Colonial times
in the early part of the eighteenth century. The grandfather of
our subject was a farmer in Pennsylvania, and finally removed from that
State to New York, where he passed his last days on a farm.
The father of our subject was born and reared on a farm in
Western New York, and in early life he became proprietor of a farm of
eighty acres in that part of the country upon which he lived until
1850. In that year he settled up his affairs in that State and
took up his residence in Canton, this county, making the journey from
his old home by rail and boat. He and his family resided in
Canton two years and then settled on a farm in Canton Township.
Later Mr. Whitenack moved to Union Township, and farmed there about six
years. At the expiration of that time he took up his residence at
Ellisville. In 1865 he removed to Bryant in Buckheart Township,
and for twenty years was engaged in business as a blacksmith at that
point. Since that time he has made his home with our
subject. The wife who has journeyed with him so far on life’s
road lives with him and devotes herself to his comfort. Her
maiden name was Sarah S. Elwood, and she was born in the State of New
York in 1825. Both the parents of our subject are devoted
Christians and members of the Methodist Church. Mr. Whitenack is
a firm Republican in his political sentiments. He held the office
of Justice of the Peace in this township four years.
Our subject is one of four children of whom he and his sister
Hettie are the only survivors. The names of those deceased are,
Isadore and Jennie. Theodore Whitenack was born in Canton,
January 23, 1855. He was but an infant when his parents moved to
the country where he was reared on a farm. He attended school
some in the country but gained his education mainly in the village of
Ellisville and Bryant. When he was twenty-one years of age he
began his independent career as a farmer on a rented farm of sixty
acres in Buckheart Township. He rented land for about six years
and then purchased his present farm as before mentioned.
Our subject by his marriage with Lavina Hummell, April 2, 1876,
secured a wife who has greatly aided him in making their pleasant
home. Mrs. Whitenack was born in Bryant this county, August 11,
1854. She is a daughter of William Hummell a native of Licking
County, Ohio, who came to this county in 1831, and was one of its early
settlers. He was a farmer and continued to carry on that
occupation until the time of his death at the age of seventy-two
years. The maiden name of Mrs. Whitenack’s mother was Nancy M.
Wilcoxen, and she belonged to a noted family whose history appears
elsewhere in this Album. She died at the age of sixty-nine
years and thus closed a well-spent life. Our subject and his wife
had three children, namely: Grace T., Anna Blanche (deceased) and
Leota C. Mrs. Whitenack is a devoted member of the Christian
Church and is well thought of by all about her.
Our subject is a member of the Republican party. He is
active in public life and in the spring of 1889 was elected to the
important office of Supervisor to represent Liverpool Township on the
County Board of Supervisors, to which position he was re-elected in
1890. He has served as School Director for nine years and does
all that he can to advance educational interests in his township.
He possesses many pleasant social qualities and has a host of warm
friends who delight in his success.
