William Whiteley

As printed in 1902

WILLIAM WHITELEY.

For eighty-one years William Whiteley was a resident of Clark county and his life record should find a prominent place ón the pages of its history because he was not only a representative of a leading pioneer family but also because of what he accomplished in the business world. ‚He was an inventor of note and the founder of one of the leading industrial concerns of Springfield—the Champion Iron Works, and aside from business his life was of value to the community because of the active and helpful interest which he took in many movements contributing to general progress and to the public good. -;

Mr. Whiteley was born in the eastern part of Springfield township, Clark county,

January 18, 1815, a son of John and ChristHE tian (Hall) Whiteley. The family comes of English ancestry and was established in Virginia in colonial days when this country still belonged to Great Britain. When the colonies became aroused with the attitude of oppression manifested by the mother country Joseph Whiteley, the grandfather of our “subject, and his brother John joined the American army and fought for the cause of liberty, the latter laying down his life on the altar of freedom. Joseph Whiteley, however, survived his army experience and lived to enjoy the liberty for which he fought. He reared a large family, including John Whiteley, the father of our subject.

John Whiteley was born in North Carolina while his parents were visiting in that state, but he always claimed Virginia as the place of his nativity. In 1804 he journeyed to Ohio from Kentucky, where he had resided for several years previous. He came simply on a prospecting tour, and in 1810 he made a similar trip. In the spring of 1811 he married Miss Christiana.Hall, in what is now Clark county, Ohio. She was born in Virginia and was of English, German and Scotch descent. Her parents came to this state at a very early date in its development. After his marriage John Whiteley and his wife returned to Kentucky, where he engaged in teaching school until 1814. He was a man of good education and proved a successful educator of his day. In 1814 he removed to this county and became one of the first teachers within its borders, teaching in the neighborhood known as Fletcher Chapel. ‘Both he and his wife did their duty well in the upbuilding of the moral and material interests of the neighborhood and they enjoyed the love and respect of the entire community. Mr. Whiteley was for some years county commissioner and justice of the peace and was known throughout the county as Squire Whiteley. Unto him and his wife were born seven children: Andrew, Freelove, William, Abner, Joseph, Nancy and Sarah.

Upon the home farm on which he was born the subject of this review was reared. The marked characteristic of the family was an inventive turn of mind, and naturally William Whiteley early took up work along this line and from his fertile brain evolved many ideas which took shape in devices of practical utility. When on the farm he began business in a small way in the manufacture of plows, which have become known far and wide as the product of the Champion Company. He was a successful inventor and business man, having not only the ability to make improvements in the line of his manufactured products but also had the power to successfully control the manufacture and sale of these, so that his labors were attended with gratifying financial success. He was entirely a self-made man, for when he entered upon his business career he had no capital save the skill and diligence which he put into his work. The years, however, rewarded him with the just recompense of labor and he became the possessor of a very gratifying competence.

In 1848 Mr. Whiteley was married to Miss Mary Ann Stickney, a daughter of John and Sarah Stickney, natives of England, while Mrs. Whiteley was born in this county. They had but one child, Mary E., who is now living at No. 408 South Limestone street, which was the home of her parents in the later years of their life. When Mr. Whiteley removed to Springfield he located on Mound street, and later removed to East High street, where he remained for twenty-five years, going then to the residence which is now the home of his daughter. ‚In early life he joined the Fletcher Methodist Episcopal church, situated near his old home, six miles east of Springfield, and was'one of its trustees. When he removed to the city in 1850 he joined the High Street Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a faithful member until his death. He was an open-handed and large-hearted man, who gave freely of his time and means to any individual or movement that needed assistance. His benevolences were many and few men have done more for Springfield according to their means than did William Whiteley. It might be said of him, as it was of Goldsmith’s village preacher, that “een his failing leaned to virtue's-side,” for if he erred in any direction it was on the side of too great generosity. His good deeds, however, caused him to be enshrined in the hearts cf many whom he aided and befriended and to-day his memory is revered by many who knew him. He passed away in January, 1896, and in January, 1901, his wife was laid by his side in Ferncliff cemetery. The family name is closely associated with the history of the county from pioneer times down to the present and no member of the family more deserved the confidence, love and respect of his fellow men than did William Whiteley.

As printed in A Biographical Record of Clark County Ohio (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.