A Loyalist in the Family? George Kentner

Before I leave the Whipple branch of the family, I will write posts about two of my fifth great-grandparents. In this post I will focus on George Kentner, who lived from about 1737 until sometime between 1811 and 1816. I should note that all of the information in this post has been unearthed by other genealogists.

My grandmother, Janet Nicholas Brown, took pride in the fact that she was descended from Alexander Kirkpatrick, who fought on the American side in the Revolutionary War. This entitled my grandmother to be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.). Little did she know that her husband, Harmon Brown, was descended from George Kentner, a Loyalist who fought against the “Continentals” in New York State as part of the famous (or infamous) unit known as “Butler’s Rangers.” George was the grandfather of my third great-grandmother, Lucinda Kentner Whipple, who in turn was the wife of Jonathan Whipple and grandmother of Lizzie Whipple Brown.

Joseph Galloway

George Kentner was born in Wurttemberg, Germany in about 1737. He came to this country in a ship named The King of Prussia, arriving in Philadelphia on October 3, 1764. His fare had been paid by Joseph Galloway, a lawyer and acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin. Galloway owned several estates in southeastern Pennsylvania and Kentner was brought over to serve as an indentured servant for two and a quarter years. At some point he married Sarah Brown. (Yes, there is yet another Sarah Brown among our ancestors.) When his indenture was completed, George may initially have gone to Lancaster County, but eventually he and his family moved farther north up the Susquehanna River to the Wilkes-Barre area.

George was involved in the Pennamite War of 1769, in which conflicting land claims between the colonies of Connecticut and Pennsylvania resulted in fighting. (Connecticut claimed land in what is now northern Pennsylvania.) George fought on the Connecticut side. On September 24, 1771 George was admitted into the town of Wilkes-Barre on the Susquehanna River. It appears that our ancestor, John George Kentner, the son of George and Sarah, was born in Wilkes-Barre in 1773 (although that date is disputed). In 1774 George sold his property in Wilkes-Barre and moved to Tunkhannock, on the Susquehanna thirty-one miles northwest of Wilkes-Barre. From there George moved his family to Sheshequin (Sugar Creek) in what is now Bradford County, Pennsylvania, again along the Susquehanna River. In 1776 George Kentner’s name appears on an assessment list of the Upper River District, County of Westmoreland, State of Connecticut. In 1777 he sold all of his property and, with his family, he and other Loyalists made the difficult trip to Fort Niagara in Canada.

1776 Upper River District Assessment List

 At Fort Niagara George joined the British fighting force known as Butler’s Rangers. He participated in the siege of Fort Stanwix and the battle of Oriskany in 1777. After the Rangers withdrew from Fort Stanwix, George and others were allowed to return to the Susquehanna to get cattle and more recruits. There he was captured by the Connecticut militia. He and his friend Jacob Anguish were jailed in Wilkes-Barre and then in Hartford, Connecticut, until 1778. 

The uniform of Butler's Rangers

In the Hartford jail, conditions were wretched. At one point the foot of Jacob Anguish froze to the mud floor and had to be torn loose.  Anguish and Kentner appealed to the Connecticut Assembly, claiming to be supporters of the Revolution and were released in May of 1778. They then made their way to Tioga, New York, where they rejoined Butler. (“All is fair in love and war”?)

By 1779 George and his family had moved to a kind of refugee camp at Machiche, near Montreal, where they were supplied with food along with other Loyalist families. On June 25, 1780, George enlisted in another Loyalist unit, the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, Second Battalion. In 1784, the regiment was disbanded. Along with other German Loyalists, George and his family settled in Matilda Township of Dundas County, Upper Canada, across the St. Lawrence River from New York State. (The Germans named the township for Charlotte Augusta Matilda, a daughter of King George III of Britain, who later became the Queen of Wurttemburg.) George Kentner died there sometime between 1811 and 1816. His descendants eventually drifted back into New York State, where George’s granddaughter, Lucinda, married my third great-grandfather, Jonathan Whipple.

The Whipple Family

My last two posts have focused on the parents of my great-grandmother, Lizzie Whipple Brown. Lyndon Leander Whipple and Alida Electa Hand both came from families with New England roots. Both families came to Michigan via New York State. In this post, I’ll share some of what I have learned about the Whipple family. In a future post I’ll relate some things I have discovered about the Hand family.

The Whipples of America have an entire website devoted to them: http://www.whipple.org/. According to the home page of this site, “Captain” John Whipple “was the first ancestor of present-day American Whipples to arrive in the New World. He landed at Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1632 (or 1631 or 1630) as a teenager. Initially indentured to Israel Stoughton, he soon became a ‘freeman,’ married, and began raising his family in Dorchester. He moved with his family to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1658.” This move may have been the result of a law that was passed in the same year, banishing all Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

My fourth great-grandfather, Jonah Whipple, was born in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island, on October 22, 1761. By 1795 he was living in the town of Johnson, Vermont, where he took the “freeman’s oath” (enabling him to vote) in that year. Probably at about that time he married Hepsibeth Melvin, of Cambridge, Vermont. (Hepsibeth is an alternate spelling of the biblical name “Hephzibah”, which means “my delight is in her.”). Hepsibeth had been born in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, on March 4, 1767. Both of her parents came from old Massachusetts Bay families. According to the census of 1800, Jonah and Hepsibeth were living in Johnson with two children under ten, a boy and a girl. These would have been Nathan M. and Cynthia. My third great-grandfather, Jonathan, was born in 1800, most likely after the census was taken.

1825 Lower Canada Census, Stanstead, Quebec

At some point after 1807 but prior to 1825 Jonah Whipple moved to Chateaugay, New York, with his children Nathan, Jonathan, Daniel, and Mary Ann. We don’t know whether or not Hepsibeth moved with him. Sadly, it appears that she was separated from Jonah for a number of years. According to the 1825 census of Lower Canada, Hepsibeth and her youngest child, John, were living in Stanstead, Quebec, just across the border from Vermont. The census lists her as “widow Hepzibah Whipple” although in fact her husband Jonah was alive and probably by that time was living in Chateaugay, New York. Most likely Hepsibeth was in Stanstead because her oldest daughter, Cynthia Whipple Morrill, was living there with her husband, Gilman A. Morrill. Jonah and Hepsibeth’s son John married Esther Bickford of Hatley, Quebec, and lived his entire life there. Hepsibeth died in 1837 and is buried in Ayer’s Cliff, Quebec. Jonah died in Chateaugay on January 6, 1843 and is buried there.

Jonathan Whipple

Jonathan Whipple, the father of Lyndon Leander Whipple and grandfather of Lizzie Whipple Brown, was born in Vermont in 1800. According to an account I haven’t been able to verify, he married Lucinda Kentner on April 22, 1826, in New York State. Lucinda had been born in Plattsburgh, in Clinton County, New York, in 1806. In 1830 Jonathan, Lucinda, and their oldest son Levi were living in Madrid, New York, in St. Lawrence County. Lucinda’s sister, Clarinda, and her husband, Garret Van Brackley, were also living in Madrid. In 1840 Jonathan, Lucinda and their family were living in Chateaugay, where Jonathan's brothers Nathan and Daniel were living, as well as his father, Jonah.

By 1844 (the year after Jonah’s death) the Jonathan Whipple family had moved to Sterling, Macomb County, Michigan. Apparently they moved to Michigan because several of Lucinda’s siblings and their families moved there. In the 1850 and 1860 censuses, Jonathan’s occupation is listed as “farmer.” Sometime just before 1870, Jonathan and his wife Lucinda moved to Fairgrove, in Tuscola County, Michigan, (in the "Thumb") along with some of the families of Lucinda's siblings. 

Jonathan died in Tuscola County sometime in 1882. Lucinda lived until February 18, 1899. They are buried in the Gilford Township Cemetery.

Life Summary: Alida Electa Hand (1847-1928)

Alida Electa Whipple

Alida Electa Hand was born on April 28, 1847 in Galen or Clyde, in Wayne County, New York. There is some uncertainty about the year of her birth, but 1847 appears most likely. She was the daughter of Henry Hand, a clerk, and his wife Catherine. A younger sister, Margaret Ann Hand, was born on March 18, 1849.

Apparently both Henry and Catherine died sometime between 1850 and 1860. According the the census of 1860, Alida was living at that time in the town of Rose, north of Clyde, with a large family, which included Daniel and Anna Tucker, both 60 years of age, and Philander and Ann Lewis, both 37, and their two children Daniel and Anna. Alida’s sister Margaret was living in Galen with a glasscutter named Daniel Watson, 52, and his wife Elizabeth, 46. (Galen was a center of glass-making.) I have been unable to determine what happened to Margaret after 1860.

Alida had two aunts and a great uncle (on the “Hand” side) who had been living in Ohio and then, shortly before Alida’s birth, moved to Lake Township in Berrien County, Michigan. Some time after 1860, Alida went to live with them. It was there that she met Lyndon Leander Whipple, whom she married on March 18, 1869. Lyndon and Alida moved back to the town of Rose, in Wayne County, New York, where Lyndon was working as a laborer and Alida was keeping house in June of 1870 when the census was taken. They lived between the Philander Lewis and the Daniel Tucker families, with whom Alida had lived as a girl. A woman named Catharine Callan, 46, whose occupation is listed as “housekeeper,” was living with them. Their first child, Claud D. Whipple, was born on September 25, 1870 in Clyde, New York, and died a month later.

Family Bible birth record, probably written by Alida

As was mentioned in Lyndon’s life summary, Lyndon and Alida moved to Fairgrove in Tuscola County, Michigan, where a daughter, Maud L. Whipple, was born on October 5, 1871. Maud died In January of 1873. Harry Henry was born on November 11, 1873. Lizzie Margaret was born on June 24, 1875. Another daughter, Mattie E., was born on October 23, 1876 and died on August 3, 1877.

According to the census of 1880, at that time Lyndon, Alida, Harry and Lizzie were living with Lyndon’s father and mother, Jonathan and Lucinda. Lyndon died on April 27, 1885. He had been appointed postmaster of Kintner in 1882. Following his death, Alida was appointed postmaster in his place on May 26, 1885. A United States Bureau of Pensions document states that Alida is entitled to a pension of $8.00 per month, to commence on April 28, 1885. On March 19, 1886, this was increased to $12.00 per month. Alida received an additional $2.00 for each of her children, as long as they were under the age of sixteen. The pension was raised to $25.00 per month in 1917, $30 per month in 1920 and $40 per month in 1928. The family has preserved a letter from Congressman Roy O. Woodruff, addressed to Mrs. Alida E. Whipple, Box 780, Midland, Mich. In the letter, dated December 18, 1928, Representative Woodruff informs Alida that his special bill, granting her an increase to $50.00 per month, passed the House on December 14 and is awaiting approval by the Senate. Alida had died on December 11. The only picture I have of Alida shows her holding a medal, which may well be Lyndon's Civil War campaign medal.

Bureau of Pensions certificate

According to the 1900 census, at that time Alida was living in Sebewaing, Huron County, Michigan, with her son Harry. By 1905, Harry had moved to Manistee, Michigan, where he met and married his wife. Apparently Alida moved with him. Some time before 1910, Harry, his wife, step-son and mother-in-law moved to Chicago, Illinois. The census of 1910 shows that Alida remained in Manistee, living by herself at 478 First Street. A 1916 letter from Harry shows that she was in need of a replacement for her stove and had asked him to find one for her. Alida was still in Manistee in 1920, now living at 78 Poplar Street. By 1928, the year of her death, she had moved to Midland, Michigan, where her daughter Lizzie Brown was living.

Alida Whipple died in Midland on December 11, 1928, at the age of 81. She is buried in the Gilford Cemetery, in Tuscola County, Michigan.

Life Summary: Lyndon Leander Whipple (1849-1885)

Lyndon Leander Whipple

Lyndon Leander Whipple was born in Sterling Township (now Sterling Heights), in Macomb County, Michigan. He was the eighth of nine children born to Jonathan Whipple and Lucinda Kentner Whipple.

The date of Lyndon’s birth is uncertain, but most likely it was July 2, 1849. An review of census information, the date in the family Bible and the date on Lyndon's grave marker leads to this conclusion. It is possible that Lyndon lied about his age when he enlisted in the Union Army in 1864. If he was born in 1849, he was then fourteen years of age. Perhaps he said he was born in 1847, a date which appears on a few documents. That would have made him a more acceptable sixteen years of age when he enlisted. And maybe once a birth year of 1847 had been given to the military, he continued to use that, at least on some official documents.

As mentioned above, on January 22, 1864, Lyndon enlisted in Company A of the 23rd Michigan Regiment (Infantry). His brother William, who was eight years older than Lyndon, had enlisted in Company D of the same regiment in 1862. Lyndon would have participated in the Atlanta Campaign, commanded by General Sherman. He would also have been involved in fight against the Confederate General John Bell Hood. After the defeat of General Hood in Tennessee, the 23rd was transferred to South Carolina, where they took part in the attack on Fort Anderson. From there they marched to North Carolina. In June of 1865, with the war over, the 23rd regiment was mustered out of service. Just prior to that, Lyndon transferred to Company F of the 28th Infantry. He was mustered out on June 5, 1866 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Civil War Discharge

In March of 1869, Lyndon was living in Laketon (now Bridgman) in Lake Township of Berrien County, in the southwest corner of Michigan. I am not sure what would have brought him to this part of the state. But it was in Laketon that he was married to Alida Electa Hand by Isaac Hathaway, Justice of the Peace, on March 18, 1869. Alida was an orphan who originally came from Wayne County, in New York State. Two of her aunts were living in Lake Township, and she must have moved there to live with them. Lyndon and Alida moved back to Wayne County, New York, where Lyndon was working as a laborer and Alida was keeping house in June of 1870 when the census was taken. The family Bible says that their first child, Claud D. Whipple, was born on September 25th of that year, in Clyde, New York. After living just a month, Claud died on October 26.

By October of 1871, the couple had moved to Fairgrove in Tuscola County, Michigan. Lyndon’s father Jonathan had moved there with his wife and several children. A second child, Maud L. Whipple, was born to Lyndon and Alida on October 5, 1871. She died In January of 1873. Harry Henry was born on November 11, 1873. Lizzie Margaret was born on June 24, 1875. Another daughter, Mattie E., was born on October 23, 1876 and died on August 3, 1877.

On August 15, 1873 Lyndon applied for and received an Army pension as in "invalid." This means that he had some kind of disability. The census of 1880 shows Lyndon, Alida and the two surviving children living with his father and mother, Jonathan and Lucinda. Lyndon’s occupation is listed as “farmer.” On July 24, 1882 Lyndon was appointed as the first postmaster of Kintner, a stop on the Saginaw, Huron and Tuscola Railway. Kintner was an alternate spelling of his mother Lucinda’s maiden name, Kentner.

At the time of his death, Lyndon's occupation is listed as "merchant." A copy of the local newspaper, The Fair Grove Observer, dated May 15, 1890, has been preserved by the family. It contains a notice for "Stanard and Whipple," which appears to be a general store.

Lyndon Whipple died on April 27, 1885, at the early age of 35. The cause of death is listed as “cancer of the stomach.” He is buried in the Gilford Cemetery in Tuscola County, Michigan.

Sibling of Lizzie M. Whipple: Harry H. Whipple (1873-1935)

Harry H. Whipple, 1895

For the sake of completeness, I am including an entry for the only sibling of Lizzie M. Whipple who lived to adulthood, Harry Henry Whipple.

Harry was born to Lyndon Leander Whipple and Alida Electa Hand Whipple on November 11, 1873 in Fairgrove, Tuscola County, Michigan. At least, that is what the entry in the family Bible says. There is also a Michigan birth record of the birth of Abram Henry (or Abram Henry Hand) Whipple on November 11, 1873 in Oshtemo Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Abram's parents are listed as Lynden and Electa. Abram Henry was baptized on June 1, 1874. It seems likely that Abram Henry became known as Harry Henry. In the 1880 census, his name is given as "Harry."

According to the 1900 census, at that time Harry was still unmarried, living with his mother Alida in Sebewaing, Michigan. His occupation is listed as "agent at R.R. depot."

In 1905 Harry was living in Manistee, Michigan, where he was working as a railway clerk. On June 19 of that year he married Mary Jane (or Mamie) Hainer, a widow who was working as a telephone operator. Mary Jane's maiden name was Mary Jane Hope. She was born in Manistee to George and Mary Hope on March 12, 1879. In 1897 she was married to James W. Hainer. James died shortly after they were married. Mary Jane had a child after her first husband's death, whom she named James W. Hainer.

By 1916 Harry and his family were living in Grand Rapids at 1365 North College Avenue. In September of that year he wrote a letter to his mother Alida on Pere Marquette Railroad stationery. He reports that "the fair is on," but he and Mary can't afford to go. He promises to look for a second-hand stove and says he is "sending the rent as usual."

 A World War I draft registration from 1918 shows that at that time Harry was a cashier for the Pere Marquette Railway, working at the corner of Cherry Street and Ottawa Avenue in Grand Rapids. He had blue eyes and gray hair. Strangely, Harry's birth-year is listed as 1872, not 1873. The 1920 census shows that at that time two people were living with Harry and Mary, a step-son, now listed as "William J. Hainer," and Mary's mother, whose name is given as Mary A. Hasse. According to William J. Hainer's 1918 draft registration card, at that time he was working as a traveling salesman for the New Era Spring and Specialty Company.

The Pere Marquette Magazine was a publication of the railroad for its employees. A short report from Grand Rapids in the July 1920 issue has the following item: "With the fishing season now in full bloom Cashier Harry Whipple is found up in the vicinity of Peacock, but the profits have not been large. A basketful of hoppers gathered off the stub line, in order that hand car could be propelled, was his luck on the last trip. Operator Earl Murgerson had much better success on Mosquito Creek, but uses different brand of 'fly' than Whipple."

The 1930 census shows that Harry and Mary were still living in Grand Rapids. A young cousin, June Murday, was living with them.

Harry Whipple was a member of the Doric Lodge #342 of the Free and Accepted Masons. He died in Grand Rapids on February 14, 1935, at the age of 61. His wife Mary Jane lived until September of 1961. Harry and Mary are buried in the Fairplains Cemetery in Grand Rapids.

Life Summary: Lizzie Margaret Whipple (1875 - 1963)

Lizzie M. Whipple, about 1893

Lizzie Margaret Whipple was born on June 24, 1875, in Fairgrove, Tuscola County, Michigan, to Lyndon Leander Whipple and Alida Electa Hand Whipple. She was the fourth of five children born to the couple, only two of whom lived to adulthood. Claud and Maud died before Lizzie was born. Lizzie's older brother Harry was born in 1873. A younger sister, Mattie, born in 1876, lived less than a year.

On June 24, 1896, Lizzie married David Winter Brown in Fairgrove. According to the marriage record, she was a music teacher at the time.

As mentioned in the post on Lizzie's husband David, Lizzie and David moved several times early in their marriage. Their first child, Harmon, was born in Sebewaing in 1897. Fred apparently was born in Fairgrove in 1899. At some point in 1900 the family moved to a rented home in Winsor Township, where they lived alongside other employees of the Wallace Stone Company. David and Lizzie's son Lynn was born in Colfax Township, Huron County, in May of 1900. A daughter, Myrtle, was born in 1902. Neil, according to his marriage record, was born in Manistee, Michigan, in August of 1905. This was just two months after Lizzie's brother Harry was married in Manistee. Was the family visiting Harry and his wife when Neil was born? Pictures from 1908 show the family living in the "Quarry Home" near Bayport.

Lizzie in the Quarry Home with Fred, Lynn, Myrtle and Neil, Christmas 1908

Lizzie and another woman with Fred, Lynn, Myrtle and Neil

Carpenter Street house in Midland

David and Lizzie welcomed Kenneth into the world in 1910 and Walter in 1912. In 1912 David was corresponding with Harmon Fairchild, his brother-in-law, regarding the purchase of a house, apparently in Midland, and also five acres of land. He asked Harmon Fairchild to take pictures of the house. He said Lizzie was concerned about the height of the ceilings. In 1913 and perhaps before that, their oldest son Harmon was living in Midland with Harmon and Harriet Fairchild, attending high school. 

In 1916, when Lizzie was 41, the family moved to Midland. David and Lizzie’s youngest son Herb was born there in 1917. According to the 1920 census, the family lived at 608 Carpenter Street, West. Later they moved to another house at 1316 West Carpenter Street.

Lizzie Brown, December 1950

Lizzie was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. After David died in 1953, she lived another ten years. I remember going with my dad to visit her in her house in Carpenter Street. She died on August 25, 1963 in Midland, Michigan. She is buried in the Midland City Cemetery.