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| 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.
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| 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.
