Wikipedia

E. I. Whiting

Edwin Isaacson Whiting was an American politician and businessman from Arizona. He served two terms in the Arizona State Senate in the 4th and 9th Arizona State Legislatures.[1] With his three brothers and father, he was one of the founders of Whiting Brothers and Kaibab Industries.

E. I. Whiting
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the Yavapai County district
In office
January 1919 – December 1920
Preceded byFred Colter
Succeeded byW. A. Saunders
In office
January 1929 – December 1930
Preceded byFred Colter
Succeeded byT. J. Bouldin
Personal details
Born1883
Brigham City, Arizona
DiedJanuary 4, 1963
St Johns, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseEthel Farr
ChildrenEdwin Farr, Lee, Virgil, Merwin, Mabel, Melba, and Erma
ResidenceSt. Johns, Arizona
ProfessionPolitician, businessman

Biography

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Whiting was born in Brigham City, Arizona, in 1883.[2][3] He was the son of Edwin M. Whiting, who founded the enterprise which would become Whiting Brothers in the 1920s, and Mary E. Upham.[4][5] In 1890 the family moved to Mapleton, Utah, where the senior Whiting opened a lumber mill. The family returned to Arizona in 1901, when they relocated to St. Johns. The elder Whiting built and opened a general store.[6][7]

In 1906 Whiting traveled to Salt Lake City, where he married Ethel Farr. After the wedding the two returned to St. Johns.[8][9] The couple had seven children, four sons and three daughters. Their firstborn son was Edwin Farr, born in 1907. Their second son, Lee, was born in 1909, but died in infancy. Virgil was born in 1916, and their final son Merwin in 1924. Merwin died in 1939 as the result of a tractor accident, and Edwin and Virgil died in a private plane crash in 1961.[10] Their three daughters were Mabel, Melba, and Erma.[9] After returning to St. Johns, Whiting took up farming.[11] By 1912 he was in charge of the family's store in St. Johns.[12] That same year the family opened their first sawmill in Arizona, near Green's Peak.[6]

By 1914, the holdings of the family were under the mantle of The Whiting Brothers, having been formed by the four brothers, E. I., Ernest, Arthur, and Ralph, and their father.[13][14][15] In November 1918 Whiting was elected to the Arizona State Senate, becoming the senator from Apache County in the 4th Arizona State Legislature.[16] In November 1919 he was one of the founding members, and first president, of the St. Johns Chamber of Commerce.[17] Whiting decided not to run for re-election to the State Senate in 1920.[18] In 1922 he was made the bishop of the St. Johns Ward of the Latter Day Saint movement.[19] He was the seventh bishop of the ward.[20] Also in 1922 he was elected to the Apache County Board of Supervisors.[21] In 1926 he was selected by the Republicans to once again run for the State Senate, however he lost to the incumbent, Fred Colter, in the November general election.[22] In 1928, Whiting and Colter met in a rematch for the State Senate seat, this time with Whiting coming out on top.[23][24] In 1930 Whiting ran for re-election, one of nine state senators doing so. He was the only incumbent to lose in the November general election.[25][26]

In 1942 a gas truck filled with butane exploded at Whiting's garage in St. Johns, killing two people. The subsequent fire burned down an entire city block, most of the buildings on that block were owned by Whiting.[27] In 1960 he was elected to be one of Arizona's four presidential electors.[28] In 1952, along with his three brothers founded the Kaibab Lumber Company.[29] Whiting died on January 4, 1963, at his home in St. Johns.[30]

References

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  1. ^ "Session laws, State of Arizona, 1928, Eighth Legislature, Fifth and Sixth Special Sessions, 1929, Ninth Legislature, First Regular Session". p. 82. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  2. ^ "E. I. Whiting, Ex-Senator, Is Dead At 78". Arizona Republic. January 5, 1963. p. 13. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "Senate Resolution Pays Tribute to Edwin I. Whiting". The Yuma Daily Sun. January 29, 1963. p. 3. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Whiting Brothers Missing On Plane Trip To Phoenix". Arizona Republic. March 31, 1961. p. 11. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Death of Mary E. Whiting". St. Johns Herald and Apache News. July 11, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ a b "Family Enterprises Sprawl From St. Johns Headquarters". Arizona Republic. July 6, 1952. p. 41. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ "Kaibab Charts Course to Profits". Arizona Republic. September 24, 1972. p. 39. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ "350 Friends Help E. I. Whitings Celebrate 50th Wedding Anniversary". Arizona Republic. June 19, 1956. p. 14. Retrieved July 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ a b "Ethel Whiting". Arizona Republic. December 11, 1971. p. 12. Retrieved July 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  10. ^ "Whiting Brothers Rites Set". Arizona Daily Sun. August 4, 1961. p. 1. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  11. ^ "Untitled". The St. Johns Herald. May 5, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved July 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  12. ^ "Untitled". The St. Johns Herald. June 13, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved July 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  13. ^ "May Berry, Arizona Pioneer, Dies". Arizona Republic. September 14, 1955. p. 12. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  14. ^ "Pioneering Whiting Brothers Settle On Flagstaff Location". Arizona Daily Sun. October 31, 1969. p. 76. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  15. ^ "Whiting's Cash Store". St. Johns Herald. March 12, 1914. p. 3. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  16. ^ "Personnel Of New Legislature". Bisbee Daily Review. November 15, 1918. p. 4. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  17. ^ "Chamber of Commerce is Organized". The St. Johns Herald. November 6, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  18. ^ "Brief Local Notes". The St. Johns Herald. August 19, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  19. ^ "Head Of Stake 35 Years, He Retires". The Arizona Republican. May 3, 1922. p. 12. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  20. ^ "Conference Notes". The St. Johns Herald. May 4, 1922. p. 1. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  21. ^ "Official Election Returns". The St. Johns Herald. November 30, 1922. p. 8. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  22. ^ "Apache Republicans Put Out Full Ticket". The Arizona Republican. August 10, 1926. p. 26. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  23. ^ "Republicans To Have 17 Seats In Lower House". The Arizona Republican. November 7, 1928. p. 26. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  24. ^ "Colter Loses Senate Chair To Republican". The Arizona Republican. November 7, 1928. p. 26. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  25. ^ "Lower House Increased By Nine Solons". The Arizona Republican. November 2, 1930. p. 22. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  26. ^ "Heavy Gains Are Scored In Counties". The Arizona Republican. November 6, 1930. p. 22. Retrieved July 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  27. ^ "Apache Sheriff Dies In Blast At St. Johns". The Arizona Republican. March 1, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved July 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  28. ^ "Arizona Electors Cast Votes For Nixon Tomorrow". The Arizona Republican. December 18, 1960. p. 13. Retrieved July 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  29. ^ "One of the Whiting Brothers dies". Route66News.com. 12 June 2016. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  30. ^ "E. I. Whiting Dies; Pioneer Businessman". Tucson Citizen. January 4, 1963. p. 4. Retrieved July 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
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