Family:Whitney, Martin Van Buren (1832-1903)
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Martin Van Buren8 Whitney (Zerah7, James6, Samuel5, Samuel4, Nathaniel3, John2, John1), son of Zerah7 and Jane (Demond) Whitney; born Buffalo, New York, 24 Nov 1832; married Bowne Twp., Michigan, 20 Feb 1853, Harriet White, born Nottinghamshire, England, 15 Mar 1835. He is a farmer and has been supervisor of his town; resided Caledonia Station, Michigan.
Children of Martin Van Buren8 and Harriet (White) Whitney:
i. Eva Jane9 Whitney, born 4 Oct 1856; married 4 Apr 1875, Horatio Plumley Bateman; resided Grand Rapids, Michigan. ii. Ida Luella Whitney, born 15 Oct 1858; married 12 Nov 1876, D. E. Pierson; resided White Lake, South Dakota. He was born 10 Apr 1848; farmer. - Ch.: Myrta May, born 24 May 1877; Ruby A., born 12 Jan 1883; Fred M., born 22 Nov 1886; Minnie M., born 8 Aug 1888; Fay E., born Mar. 12, 1890.
iii. Nellie Louisa Whitney, born 11 Nov 1861; married 24 Dec 1877, George H. Jones. He was born 20 Nov 1853. - Ch.: Grace Belle, born 20 Sep 1883; Louisa Eveline, born 7 Jan 1888, died 29 Nov 1889; Clara Edna, born 21 Sep 1891.
iv. Alice May Whitney, born 24 Jun 1867; married 28 Oct 1887, Allan B. Betzner. He was born 3 Oct 1860 in Breslau, Waterloo Co., Ontario, Canada; He was primarily a businessman, serving as an Agent for the Aetna Insurance Co., as well as providing other services in real estate, and trading in stocks and bonds. He was also a fine musician, played the Cornet and the violin in the Betzner-Clemens family orchestra, wife Alice played the piano, other Betzner and Clemens relatives played other instruments. One younger member whose name I cannot remember eventually played clarinet in a major Symphony Orchestra in NYC. Allan Betzner died 3 Sep 1926, in Caledonia, Kent, MI, so even though I am his namesake, I never knew my maternal grandfather. I do have his violin, which I have played since age 7, and I still play it at age 74. Alice May Whitney lived with my family since before I was born in 1933, as the stock market crash in 1920 wiped out all that her husband had laid aside for her. "Nana" died 19 Nov 1963, in Grand Rapids, Kent, MI, where we lived at the time. One most unusual memory connection to her funeral exists. During the cortege from the Funeral Home in Grand Rapids to the outlying town of Caledonia, President Kennedy was shot in Dallas, and when we arrived at the graveside the Dallas tragedy far overshadowed the interment. v. Orrin Chester Whitney, born 5 Apr 1873.
References
1. All data imported from Frederick Clifton Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635, (Chicago: 1895), p. 465.
Copyright © 2006, the Whitney Research Group
