# William Whiting II

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American politician

William Whiting Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 11th district In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1889 Preceded by George D. Robinson Succeeded by Rodney Wallace 3rd Mayor of Holyoke In office 1878–1879 Preceded by Roswell P. Crafts Succeeded by William Ruddy Personal details Born (1841-05-24)May 24, 1841 Dudley, Massachusetts, U.S. Died January 9, 1911(1911-01-09) (aged 69) Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. Resting place Forestdale Cemetery Party Republican Spouse Anna Fairfield Children 2, including William Education Amherst College (BA) Signature

**William Whiting** (May 24, 1841 – January 9, 1911) was an American businessman and politician from [Holyoke, Massachusetts](/source/Holyoke%2C_Massachusetts).[1] Whiting descended from an English family who first settled in [Lynn, Massachusetts](/source/Lynn%2C_Massachusetts), during 1636.[2]

Whiting was born in [Dudley, Massachusetts](/source/Dudley%2C_Massachusetts), May 24, 1841. Whiting attended public schools and graduated from [Amherst College](/source/Amherst_College).[2]

Whiting worked for the [Holyoke Paper Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Holyoke_Paper_Company&action=edit&redlink=1) and the [Hampden Paper Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hampden_Paper_Company&action=edit&redlink=1). At the age of 17 Whiting started at the Holyoke Paper Company working first as a bookkeeper. After three years working as a clerk, Whiting became a salesman first working out of the company's main office and later working as a commercial traveling salesman.[3] Whiting organized the Whiting Paper Company in [Holyoke, Massachusetts](/source/Holyoke%2C_Massachusetts), in 1865.[4] In 1865, Whiting built his first mill followed by another in 1872.[4] When the [Whiting Paper Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whiting_Paper_Company&action=edit&redlink=1) was first formed. L.L. Brown of [South Adams, Massachusetts](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Adams,_Massachusetts&action=edit&redlink=1), was president and Whiting was agent and treasurer. Whiting later became president and his son, [William Fairfield Whiting](/source/William_Fairfield_Whiting), became treasurer.[4] Whiting later organized the [Collins Paper Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Collins_Paper_Company&action=edit&redlink=1) and built a paper mill in [North Wilbraham, Massachusetts](/source/North_Wilbraham%2C_Massachusetts).[4]

In addition to his political and manufacturing careers, Whiting was a prominent philanthropist in Holyoke's history, and endowed the city with many of its secular institutions. In 1870 along with John and Edwin Chase, Whiting incorporated the [Holyoke Public Library](/source/Holyoke_Public_Library), serving as its first president.[5] During his mayoralty Whiting privately funded the construction of the [Holyoke Opera House](/source/Holyoke_Opera_House), a venue which once hosted a wide variety of renowned Vaudeville and musical acts, as well as early motion pictures. In 1893 he led the efforts to found the [Holyoke Medical Center](/source/Holyoke_Medical_Center), then known as Holyoke City Hospital, as the first non-sectarian medical institution in the city.[6] Being a member of the [Mount Tom Lodge](/source/Grand_Lodge_of_Massachusetts) of [freemasons](/source/Freemasons), his work in philanthropy was held in such regard that he would go on to have the city's second lodge named after him in 1909, an unusual honor as freemasons rarely name lodges after living persons. Following a period of declining membership and poor bookkeeping the William Whiting Lodge however had its charter suspended in 1997.[7]

## Political career

Whiting during his tenure as a state senator, 1873; a variant of Whiting Paper's acorn logo, evoking the namesake etymology of his hometown, the Holyoke surname deriving from "holy oak"

Whiting was a member of the [Massachusetts Senate](/source/Massachusetts_Senate) in 1873; city treasurer of Holyoke in 1876 and 1877; and mayor of Holyoke in 1878 and 1879. While Holyoke's mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan, drawing support from the business community and Holyoke's residents at large, Whiting enjoyed backing of both major political parties during his mayoral election.[7] He would go on to serve as delegate to the [Republican National Convention](/source/Republican_National_Convention) in 1876 and 1896; elected as a Republican to the Forty-eighth, Forty-ninth, and Fiftieth Congresses (March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1889).

## After politics

Whiting was not a candidate for renomination in 1888. He was a commissioner to the [Exposition Universelle](/source/Exposition_Universelle_(1900)) in [Paris, France](/source/Paris%2C_France), in 1900, and resumed his former manufacturing pursuits.

Whiting died in Holyoke on January 9, 1911, and was interred in [Forestdale Cemetery](/source/Forestdale_Cemetery) in Holyoke.[2]

## Family

William Whiting's son [William F. Whiting](/source/William_Fairfield_Whiting) was a close friend and adviser to President [Calvin Coolidge](/source/Calvin_Coolidge).[2] Serving for a time as [United States Secretary of Commerce](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_Commerce).

## Legacy

The Holyoke Public Library (*left*), and Holyoke Medical Center (*right*), both institutions that Whiting, his wife Anna Fairfield, and associates directly had a role in establishing

Many of the institutions which Whiting established or cultivated during his life continue to play a significant in Holyoke today. Most notably these include the [Holyoke Medical Center](/source/Holyoke_Medical_Center), and the city's public library. Whiting, an alumnus of [Holyoke Public Schools](/source/Holyoke_Public_Schools) would have one named after him on Chestnut Street, which has since been converted to apartments. He also served as a vice president of the Holyoke and Westfield Railroad, predecessor of the [Pioneer Valley Railroad](/source/Pioneer_Valley_Railroad) which maintains freight services in the region. His former summer home and cattle farm today bears his name as the [Whiting Farms](/source/Whiting_Farms%2C_Holyoke%2C_Massachusetts) neighborhood of Holyoke.

## See also

- [1873 Massachusetts legislature](/source/1873_Massachusetts_legislature)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Poore, Ben: Perley (1884). "Official Congressional Directory". Washington, D.C.: [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress). p. 42. {{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: Missing or empty |url= ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#cite_web_url))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Clark_2004_155_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Clark_2004_155_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Clark_2004_155_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Clark_2004_155_2-3) Clark, p. 155

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** White, James Terry (1910), *The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women who are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time. Supplement 1*, New York, N.Y.: J.T. White and Co., p. 481

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Weeks_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Weeks_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Weeks_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Weeks_4-3) Weeks, Lyman Horace (1916), *A history of paper-manufacturing in the United States, 1690-1916*, New York, N.Y.: The Lockwood Trade Journal Company, p. 247

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Holyoke"](https://archive.org/stream/historyofconnect02ever#page/n557/mode/2up). [*History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers*](https://archive.org/stream/historyofconnect02ever#page/n7/mode/2up). Vol. II. Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts; Press of J.B. Lippincott and Co. 1879. pp. 915–938. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [866692568](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/866692568).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["About Us"](https://www.holyokehealth.com/About-Us/History). Holyoke Medical Center. Retrieved June 11, 2018.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-MountTomLodge_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-MountTomLodge_7-1) Brooks, Archibald (1950). [*Mount Tom Lodge A. F. & A. M. 100th Anniversary*](https://archive.org/stream/HistoryOf100YearsMountTomLodge18501950/History_of_100_Years%2C_Mount_Tom_Lodge_1850-1950.compressed#page/n1/mode/2up). Anker Printing Company. p. 10.

## References

- Clark, Rusty (2004), *Holyoke, Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone*, West Springfield, MA: Dog Pond Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9755362-6-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9755362-6-5)

- Copeland, Alfred Minot (1902), *"Our County and Its People" a History of Hampden County, Massachusetts v. 3*, Boston, MA: The Century Memorial Pub. Co.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [William Whiting II](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:William_Whiting).

- United States Congress. ["William Whiting (id: W000418)"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000418). *[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)*.

- [William Whiting](http://www.infoplease.com/biography/us/congress/whiting-william-W000418.html) at infoplease.com

Political offices Preceded by George D. Robinson Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 11th congressional district 1883–1889 Succeeded by Rodney Wallace Preceded by Roswell P. Crafts Mayor of Holyoke 1878–1879 Succeeded by William Ruddy

v t e United States representatives from Massachusetts 1st district F. Ames Dexter Goodhue Holten Sedgwick Skinner Sedgwick J. Bacon Eustis Quincy Ward Jr. Mason Gorham Webster Gorham N. Appleton Gorham A. Lawrence Fletcher A. Lawrence Winthrop N. Appleton Winthrop S. Eliot W. Appleton Scudder T. D. Eliot Hall T. D. Eliot Buffington Crapo R. Davis Randall Wright G. Lawrence Treadway Heselton Conte Olver Neal 2nd district Goodhue Foster W. Lyman Sedgwick Ward Sr. W. Lyman Shepard J. Crowninshield Story Pickman W. Reed Pickering Silsbee Barstow B. Crowninshield Choate Phillips Saltonstall D. King Rantoul Fay Crocker Buffington O. Ames Harris Long E. Morse Gillett Churchill Bowles Kaynor Granfield Clason Furcolo Boland Neal McGovern 3rd district Gerry Bourne Coffin S. Lyman Mattoon Cutler Nelson Livermore White Pickering Nelson Varnum Nelson Osgood Cushing A. Abbott Duncan Edmands Damrell C. Adams Thomas A. Rice Twichell Whiting I Pierce Field B. Dean Field Ranney L. Morse J. Andrew Walker J. R. Thayer R. Hoar C. Washburn J. A. Thayer Wilder Paige F. Foss Casey Philbin Drinan Donohue Early Blute McGovern N. Tsongas Trahan 4th district Sedgwick Dearborn G. Thatcher Wadsworth Foster L. Lincoln Sr. Hastings Varnum W. Richardson Dana Stearns Fuller E. Everett Sa. Hoar Parmenter Thompson Palfrey Thompson Sabine Walley Comins A. Rice Hooper Frost J. Abbott L. Morse Collins O'Neil Apsley Weymouth Tirrell Mitchell Wilder Winslow Stobbs P. Holmes Donohue Drinan Frank Kennedy III Auchincloss 5th district Partridge Bourne Freeman L. Williams T. Dwight Ely Mills Lathrop Sibley J. Davis L. Lincoln Jr. Hudson C. Allen W. Appleton Burlingame W. Appleton Hooper Alley Butler Gooch Banks Bowman L. Morse Hayden Banks Sh. Hoar Stevens Knox B. Ames J. Rogers E. Rogers B. Morse Cronin P. Tsongas Shannon Atkins Meehan N. Tsongas Markey Clark 6th district G. Thatcher Leonard J. Reed Sr. J. Smith Taggart S. Allen Locke Kendall Grennell Alvord Baker Ashmun G. Davis Upham T. Davis Alley Gooch Banks Butler Thompson Loring Stone Lovering Lodge Cogswell Moody Gardner Lufkin A.P. Andrew G. Bates W. Bates Harrington Mavroules Torkildsen Tierney Moulton 7th district Leonard Ward Sr. Leonard Bullock Bishop Mitchell Barker Baylies Turner Baylies Hulbert Shaw H. Dwight S. Allen Grennell Briggs J. Rockwell Goodrich Banks Gooch Boutwell Brooks Esty E. Hoar Tarbox Butler W. Russell Stone Cogswell W. Everett Barrett Roberts Phelan Maloney W. Connery L. Connery Lane Macdonald Markey Capuano Pressley 8th district Grout G. Thatcher F. Ames Otis Eustis L. Williams Green Gardner Green J. Reed Jr. Baylies Sampson Hobart Lathrop Bates Calhoun J. Adams Mann Wentworth Knapp Train Baldwin G. Hoar J. M. S. Williams Warren Claflin Candler W Russell C. H. Allen Greenhalge Stevens McCall Deitrick Dallinger H. Thayer Dallinger Healey Goodwin Macdonald O'Neill Kennedy II Capuano Lynch 9th district Varnum Bishop J. Dean Wheaton J. Reed Jr. Folger J. Reed Jr. H. Dwight Briggs Jackson Hastings H. Williams Hale Fowler Little De Witt E. Thayer Bailey A. Walker W. Washburn Crocker G. Hoar W. Rice T. Lyman Ely Burnett Candler G. Williams O'Neil Fitzgerald Conry Keliher Murray Roberts Fuller Underhill Luce R. Russell Luce T. H. Eliot Gifford Nicholson Keith McCormack Hicks Moakley Lynch Keating 10th district Goodhue Sewall Read Hastings Upham J. Allen Brigham Wheaton Morton F Baylies Bailey H. A. S. Dearborn W. Baylies Borden H. Williams Borden Burnell Grinnell Scudder Dickinson Chaffee Delano Dawes Crocker Stevens Seelye Norcross W. Rice J. E. Russell J. Walker McEttrick Atwood Barrows Naphen McNary O'Connell Curley Murray Tague Fitzgerald Tague Douglass Tinkham Herter Curtis Martin Heckler Studds Delahunt Keating 11th district Bradbury Bartlett Cutler Stedman A. Bigelow Brigham B. Adams J. Russell Hobart J. Richardson J. Adams J. Reed Jr. Burnell Goodrich Trafton Dawes Chapin Robinson Whiting II Wallace Coolidge Draper Sprague Powers Sullivan Peters Tinkham Douglass Higgins Flaherty Curley Kennedy O'Neill Burke Donnelly 12th district H. Dearborn I. Parker Lee S. Thatcher Skinner Larned Bidwell Bacon Dewey Hulbert Strong Kendall L. Bigelow Baylies Hodges J. Adams Robinson F. Rockwell Crosby E. Morse Lovering Powers Weeks Curley Gallivan McCormack Keith Studds 13th district Wadsworth Seaver Ruggles Dowse Eustis J. Reed Jr. Randall Simpkins Greene Weeks Mitchell Carter Luce Wigglesworth Burke 14th district G. Thatcher Cutts C. King J. Holmes Lovering E. Foss Harris Gilmore Olney Frothingham Wigglesworth Martin 15th district Wadsworth Ilsley Whitman Widgery Bradbury Whitman Greene Leach Martin Gifford 16th district S. Thatcher Cook Tallman S. Davis Brown Orr Hill Thacher Walsh Gifford 17th district Bruce Chandler Gannett F. Carr Wood J. Carr Wilson Kinsley 18th district Wilson T. Rice J. Parker 19th district J. Parker Conner Gage Cushman 20th district Hubbard Parris E. Lincoln At-large Cobb

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