The Whiteley Family
Kentucky, Indiana, and Iowa
Family of Alexander Whiteley and Martha L Stewart
Hannah Elizabeth (August 09, 1848 - March 05, 1914), married Jacob Stineshouer in Tama Co., Iowa
John A (December 28, 1850 - May 19, 1853), born and died in Boone County, Indiana
Charles S (September 03, 1853 - July 09, 1877), married Mary C Riley on September 02, 1875
James A (June 29, 1857 - January 21, 1921), married Paulina Alice West in Tama Co., Iowa
Anna Margaret (November 22, 1859 - February 04, 1925), married John N Mock on April 04, 1886
Olive (Ollie) Blanche (January 10, 1866 - January 15, 1951), married Willis Volney Amidon on March 10, 1887
Florence (Flora) Ella (July 04, 1868 - January 28, 1914), married Arthur E Newhall in Tama Co., Iowa
Alexander Whiteley was born May 10, 1825 in Kentucky. He lost his parents at a young age, his father as an infant and his mother as a child. Supported by other family members he was raised to manhood in the State of Indiana. Alexander's older brother William became a farmer on the border of Montgomery and Boone County, Indiana, and this is where Alexander also settled. On August 24, 1847 in Montgomery County, Indiana, Alexander married Martha L Stewart, a daughter of Moses Stewart and Hannah Halley. Martha had lost her mother when she about 10 years old, and as a prominent farmer in Montgomery County, Martha's father remarried and added on to an already large family with a large second family. The connection between the Whiteley and Stewart families would later be expanded by the marriage of Alexander's nephew Martin Whiteley (son of William) to Elizabeth Stewart, a younger half-sister of Martha.
Alexander and Martha set up a farm in Boone County, Indiana, near the border with Montgomery County, where the first of their five [known] children were born, one son John dying at age two. By the early 1860s the young family of Alexander and Martha Whitely set off to new opportunities and established a farm in Tama County, Iowa. This was an area that Martha's brother Charles Stewart had moved a few years prior, marrying Marty Ann Sadler in Tama County in 1855.
In Tama County two additional Whiteley daughters were born, Olive and Florence, and the family prospered on their farm in Howard township. By 1864 the eldest daughter Hannah married Jacob Stineshouer in Tama county and they began to raise a family of their own. In the 1870 census the family of Alexander and Martha consisted of Charles, James, Margaret A, Ollie, and Flora. During the 1870's the family continued farming in Howard township, and in 1875 son Charles married in hopes of establishing his own family. Tragically, Charles Whiteley died less than two years later just prior to his 24th birthday.
The 1880 U.S. census finds the family of Alexander and Martha Whiteley continuing to farm in Howard township with youngest daughters Anna, Ollie, and Flora. Although son James was not enumerated with the family he is found marrying Pauline West about three years later and by 1885 had a daughter, Ruby. A year later daughter Anna Whiteley married John Mock on April 04, 1886 in Tama County. The next year both daughter Ollie married Willis Amidon on March 10, 1887, followed shortly after by the marriage of daughter Flora Whiteley to Arthur Newhall.
The next generation of Whiteley's remained in Tama County to raise their families. By 1891 daughter Hannah Stineshouer had one daughter and two sons; James had one daughter, Anna had a daughter, and Olive had a daughter. About the same time Hannah's daughter Bertie married Grant Hill in Tama County.
Having six grandchildren, Alexander Whiteley passed away in Tama County on December 14, 1891, at the age of 65. His widow Martha would follow six year later, taken from this life on July 02, 1898, leaving seven grandchildren to mourn her loss. Both Alexander and Martha were buried at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Howard township, Tama County, Iowa. By the turn of the twentieth century the families of Hannah, James, and Anna Whiteley were still in Tama County, while the families of youngest daughters Ollie and Flora had relocated to Larchwood in northwestern Iowa.
In 1901 Hannah lost her husband Jacob Stineshouer who died at age 62. By 1902 her son John married Edith Blake, and about 1906 her son James also married. Hannah would live nearly 13 years following the death of her husband, passing away in Tama County on March 05, 1914. Both Hannah and Jacob were at Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Hannah would have one surviving grandchild, Carl Stineshouer, son of James and Laura, who was raised by his aunt Bertie Hill after the apparent early death of his parents.
In Tama County, son James Whiteley would witness the marriage of his daughter Ruby to Charles Gallagher about 1906. James would move to Toledo where he was located in 1910 and 1920, his death occurring on January 21, 1921, with burial at Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Having separate from his wife a few years before Pauline Whiteley would leave this earth in 1930, her burial in Tama County at Hayes Cemetery, along with her parents.
Daughter Anna Whiteley was inflicted with a condition that required constant attention, and as a result her daughters Carrie and Myrtle were nurtured by their father John Mock as well as other family members. Anna's daughter Carrie was married in Larchwood, Lyon Co., Iowa in 1911 to Matt Solon, having been fostered by Anna's younger sisters Ollie and Flora. They would remain in the Larchwood area. Anna's younger daughter Myrtle was married in Tama County County about 1914 to Ward Ferriss, and they remained in the Tama County area. Anna herself passed away in Toledo on February 04, 1925 after living in an institution for many years, her burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Iowa. Her husband John Mock would be buried at the same place 13 years later.
Daughters Ollie and Flora spent their remaining days living in Larchwood, Iowa, where they and their husbands were buried at Larchwood Cemetery. Daughter Flora passed away on January 28, 1914 at age 45, leaving no children, her husband Arthur Newhall dying 15 years later. Ollie Whiteley lived to the ripe old age of 85, outliving her husband Willis Amidon by seven years. Ollie's only child Nell married John Quackenbush by 1917 and they farmed in various parts of northwestern Iowa during their lifetimes.
Article compiled by Dennis Walsh, February 2007.