ARLON
MANN WHIPPLE -- Since 1659 the name Whipple has been identified with
Rhode Island life and affairs. Descendants of the founder, John Whipple,
have figured prominently in official life in Rhode Island for two centuries.
Of his sons, John Whipple, Jr., was particularly active in public affairs
in Providence; he was town treasurer, town clerk, deputy to the General
Assembly, member of the town council and assistant. Samuel, Eleazer,
and Joseph Whipple all represented Providence in the Colonial Assembly.
All of the sons of the settler married, and with the exception of David,
resided in Providence. Branches were established in subsequent generations
in many of the towns of Providence county. The Cumberland Whipples
form one of the oldest and most distinguished branches of the family.
Arlon Mann Whipple, for many years prior to his death in 1910, one of the
foremost farmers and stockraisers of Providence county, was a native of
Cumberland. He was descended in the eighth generation from John Whipple,
the founder.
(I) John Whipple, immigrant ancestor and progenitor, is first of record in Dorchester, Mass., in 1632. In 1637 he received a grand of land there. In 1639 he was married, and he and his wife united with the church at Dorchester in 1641. In 1658 he disposed of his homestead and lands to James Minot, and removed to Providence, where on July 27, 1659, he was received as a purchaser. In the division of lands made February 19, 1665, he received lot No. 45. In the following year he took the oath of allegiance. In 1666 he was chosen Deputy to the General Court. He filled that office again in 1669, 1670, 1671, 1672, 1674, 1676, and 1677. In 1674 John Whipple was granted a license to keep an ordinary. On August 14, 1676, as one of those 'who staid and went not away' in King Philip's War, he had a share in the disposition of the Indian captives whose services were sold for a term of years. He died May 16, 1685, and his will, dated May 8, 1682, was proved on May 27, following his death.
(II) Eleazer Whipple, son of John Whipple, was born in Dorcester, Mass., and baptized there on March 8, 1646. He was a housewright and followed his trade in Providence, where he was active and prominent in public life. He represented the town in the General Assembly in 1693 and 1701. He married, January 26, 1669, Alice Angell, who was born in 1649, died Aug. 13, 1743, daughter of Thomas Angell. Eleazer Whipple died Aug. 25, 1719.
(III) Daniel Whipple, son of Eleazer and Alice (Angell) Whipple, was born in Providence, R. I. He settled in Cumberland, where all his children were born. Daniel Whipple married Mary ----- , and among their children was Daniel (2), mentioned below.
(IV) Daniel (2) Whipple, son of Daniel (1) and Mary Whipple, was born in Cumberland, August 19, 1716. He was a life long resident of the town, a prosperous farmer, and prominent citizen. He married (first) Mary ----- ; and (second) Mary ------- .
(V) Simon Whipple, son of Daniel (2) and Mary Whipple, was born in Cumberland, February 13, 1752. He was a large land owner and a prominent citizen there all his life. On May 3, 1772, he married Levina Staples, daughter of Nathan Staples, of Cumberland.
(VI) Daniel (3) Whipple, son of Simon and Levina (Staples) Whipple, was born in Cumberland on June 19, 1784. He married, at Cumberland, October 13, 1805, Dorcas Cook, daughter of Ariel and Dorcas (Whipple) Cook, and they were the parents of Eliab, mentioned below.
(VII) Eliab Whipple, son of Daniel (3) and Dorcas (Cook) Whipple, was born in Cumberland, February 2, 1808. He was a farmer in the village of Grant's Mills during the greater part of his life, and also engaged extensively in the butcher business in in Cumberland and the vicinity, raising, buying and selling cattle. He was very successful in this business, and amassed a considerable fortune. Eliab Whipple was well known and eminently respected in Cumberland, and although not active in public life took an interest in local issues. He married (first) Ardelia C. Haskell, daughter of Comfort Haskell; (second) Nancy Grant, daughter of Bryan Grant, of Grant's Mills.
(VIII) Arlon Mann Whipple, son of Eliab and Nancy (Grant) Whipple, was born in Cumberland, R. I., July 17, 1839, on his father's farm which was part of what is now the Diamond Hill Reservoir. He was educated in the local district schools, and until he reached his eighteenth year remained on the Cumberland farm. In 1857 he went to North Attleboro, where he apprenticed himself to the clock manufacturing business, and later entered the employ of Henry Haskell in the nut and bolt manufacturing business, remaining until 1863. He later removed to Kansas, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land. This property he developed and improved by the use of every method then known to scientific farming. In 1880 he disposed of his interests in Kansas at a large profit, and returned to the town of Cumberland. Here he purchased a farm of one hundred and ninety acres at Grant's Mills, which he at once began to cultivate, and under his direction and that of his daughter, Mrs. David W. Swift, the farm was brought to a high state of productiveness and efficiency. While maintaining supervision over his farming interests, Mr. Whipple found irksome the restraint and narrowness of farm life. For many years he was connected with the business of Joseph Grant, of Providence, as a tool maker. He was a man of boundless energy, essentially a constructive worker. He was well known and eminently respected in Cumberland. Although he displayed always a deep interest in the welfare of the town which had been the home of his ancestors for generations, he remained strictly aloof from public and political life. A man of magnetic personality, possessing the gift of making and holding friendships, he stood high in the regard of hundreds to whom his death came as a deep grief.
On January 27, 1864, he married at Woonsocket, R. I., Esther Weatherhead, who was born at Tower Hill, R. I., daughter of Horace and Louisa (Brown) Weatherhead, and granddaughter of John Weatherhead and Elijah Brown, of Cumberland, where both the Weatherhead and Brown families have been established for several generations. Mr. and Mrs. Whipple were the parents of three children, two of whom survive: 1. Frederick Lester, died in infancy. 2. Alice Elvira, became the wife of Eugene J. Whipple; their daughter, Esther L. Whipple, married Harold B. Monroe, the son of Senator Addison P. Monroe. 3. Edna L., married David W. Swift, of Foxboro, Mass. Mr. Swift came to Rhode Island in 1889, and for sixteen years was agent of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad at Central Falls. In 1905 he removed to Grants Mills and assumed with the late Arlon Mann Whipple the management of the farm there. Mr. and Mrs. Swift are the parents of a son, David A. Swift, who married Mary Reed, of East Providence. Mrs. Whipple survives her husband and makes her home on the farm at Grants Mills.
Arlon Mann Whipple died at his home in the town of Cumberland, March 19, 1910.
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Arlon M. Whipple, July 17, 1839 - March 19, 1910
Esther W., his wife, July 29, 1846 - Feb. 2, 1938 |
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| "Mother"
Nancy Grant, wife of Eliab Whipple, b. Sept. 30, 1805, died Feb. 20, 1843 "Dearest Mother rest with God" |
"Father"
Eliab Whipple, Feb. 2, 1808 - Oct. 21, 1864 "his work is done" |
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| Dorcas Cook, wife of Daniel Whipple, b.
Jan. 24, 1783, died Oct. 2, 1871
The weary heart is at rest |
Daniel Whipple
b. June 22?, 1784, died Feb. 23, 1837 Through darkness into light |
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