WHITAKER, John Mills^[1]

1863 - 1960  (96 years)  Submit Photo / Document

 Set As Default Person

• Name	WHITAKER, John Mills
  Birth	16 Oct 1863	Centerville, Davis, Utah, United States   [1]
  Christening	22 Oct 1863	Centerville, Davis, Utah Territory, United States
  Gender	Male
  WAC	22 Sep 1886	LOGAN
  _TAG	Reviewed on FS
  Death	2 Apr 1960	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States   [1]
  Burial	5 Apr 1960	Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States   [1]
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I50120	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

  
  

  Family ID

  F25437

  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	TAYLOR, Ida Oakley ,   b. 6 Sep 1860, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United Statesd. 23 May 1946, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 85 years)
  Children	+ 1. WHITAKER, Jeannette Taylor ,   b. 5 May 1897, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United Statesd. 4 Feb 1975, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 77 years)
  Family ID	F7308	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

• Photos

  At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

  
  

• Notes

  Thee contract for the building of my home was let tc Osmond Angel, son of Truman Angel, who was the architect under Brigham Young for the erection of the Salt Lake Temple. (June 1890) At the completion of the building we found we were without water hnd I employed J.M. Hockins to drive a well at 955 Garfield Avenue. When he had completed his contract the water only came to top or the gnound and Sister Whitaker felt that she could not live there if she had to carry water. An inspiration came to me during this difficult period of decisions and I walked over the bench looking for springs and happened to come across a lot owned by Oliver Hudson on which was a spring. I went to Oliver Hudson and asked him how much he would take for the two lots and the spring that rose on these two lots. The lots were worth about one hundred and fifty dollars a piece but he held me up for five hundred dollars. I was so anxious to secure water that I paid a fifty-dollar deposit, took an agreement to pay the balance on receipt of a deed and the conveyance of the water. After securing this, I then borrowed money and piped the water from these springs 12th east and sixteenth or seventeenth South Street, practically a mile, built a cement tank for the storage of the water and by fall had the water conveyed into the home. The pressure was sufficent to take the water to the top of the house. The John M. Whitaker House is a two-story building constructed of brick with stone trim in 1889. The residence follows the High Victorian Italianate style and is well preserved, excepting the stucco sheathing over the exterior brick--an alteration which conceals the original color and texture of much of the exterior. Inside, however, the house is very much intact. Typical of Victorian era floorplans, the plan of the Whitaker House is irregular, yet it is almost symmetrical with both the east and west wings of the building being identical as to types and layouts of rooms. Each wing has separate front entries. The plan has all of the aspects of a two-family residence or perhaps a "polygamy house." The central wing of the house has pent corners and is fully two stories tall, while the side wings are one-and-one-half stories in height. The building has a hip roof and boxed and moulded cornice. The window bays are tall, segmentally arched and contain one-over-one operable sash windows. The wings have shallow, square bay windows. The foundation wall is sandstone. All major entries to the home are recessed and covered by wooden porches which feature carved wooden trim. The original landscaping is intact, the trees and shrubery now being fully matured and very large. A photograph of the building taken shortly after construction shows the original appearance of the home and its yard. Of its architectural features, the interior of the Whitaker House is most impressive Several fireplaces with ornamental wood mantels and front pieces, tile hearths, and stamped metal hoods are extant. A variety of Eastlake doors, as well as window and base trim are intact. The heavy Eastlake stair rails and balusters, high ceilings, wood floor and original hardware also remain in most areas of the building. The original contract with T. 0. and T. J. Angell, October 17, 1889, is extant and specified the "best of materials, Oregon pine studs, and maple, walnut or mahogony banister." The contract also mentions a spring, a well, and plumbing and indicated"the house will be built at a cost of $4,575." Whitaker's house was designed by Truman 0. Angell, Jr. and built by the Angell Brothers. Angell is best known as architect of the Logan Temple and Templeton Building The Whitaker House, built in 1889, is High Victorian Italianate in style. A Sunday dinner was held at my Grandma & Grandpa Chipman's home. I, being the oldest grandchild had a privilege to sit at the dinner table often and was able to hear the stories told by him and gospel principles he would expound upon. i was mesmerized by his stories and teachings. I felt a strong kinship to my great-grandfather and grandfather, grandmother, aunts and uncles who also were at the table. I received a burning testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel that has remained with me my entire life. As I grew I received a great love of the Book of Mormon and all scriptures and comprehending many things in the gospel was always easy and I love to talk about it. He was the only great grandparent that I knew and died before my 8th birthday. I remember him coming to our home in Bountiful and he gave us some rose starts. He was one of the first Seminary teachers in the Church and had a huge collection of books. My brother Karl and I received one of his books. He is the one who built the Whitaker Cabin in 1910. On Christmas Eve at his home on Kensington Avenue and 1300 East grandchildren would receive some gifts from him. I remember receiving a small pyrex dessert dish. The measure of a man is his influence for good on the lives the the people he touches. His size is reckened by the length of his shadow and on whom it falls. As a tree reaches up to the sun for life and growth, John M. Whitaker has looked on high for the source of his energy. He has said in his life 'A mighty fortress is My God.' The whole of his thinking has been religious in that to him God and his influence is the only thing of permanent worth.

  
  

• Sources

  [S148] Ancestry.com, Unknown, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.).