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Note: I never knew my grandfather, Benjamin Whittaker, face to face; but, my mom's tales of him made him seem bigger than life. He was a tall, husky man, with prematurely gray hair. It was he who was the disciplinarian of the family; especially doling out justice to my mother's twin brothers, John and Lawrence, who, according to her were the hellions of the family. They were strapped by Ben for such deeds as throwing their twin sisters in the Ohio River and telling them "Swim or Drown!", pushing my mom off of the hay loft into a pile of hay so she hit so hard that her front tooth came out in her knee; and, many other such things.
Ben was also the hard worker of the family, working in the foundry as a fireman, working on construction projects, piloting boats on the river, and even painting houses in order to support his family. Benjamin was the one who gave the nickname "Neva" to my grandmother; and, it was given to her so well that it is the name which appears in all of her documentation; even on her tombstone.
Benjamin seemed to be a Jack of all trades, doing whatever he could to make a living for his family. The family also moved around quite a bit, as he looked for work. He worked as a grocer and a barber in Charleston (the barbering position did not last long). He worked as a fireman in a steel mill in Wheeling. He worked on boats traveling up and down the Kanawha and Ohio rivers. He worked at painting houses in Cincinnati; and, I recently found that he was in business with his brother Charles, as the proprietors of a saloon in Columbus, Ohio in 1902-1903 when his son, Adam, died. This fact may be found in the Columbus City Directory of 1902-1903. Bartending did not last long either as they were gone from the following year's city directory.
Benjamin died in 1924 of pneumonia. His body was shipped to Charleston, West Virginia to be buried at Spring Hill Cemetery. I don't think that my mother ever went to the funeral or burial, both of which were held in Charleston. She never mentioned where he was buried, if she even knew. I tend to think she did not know because when I found his resting place, I also found that he was in an unmarked grave. My mother would never have let that stand, no way! So, I took care of it for her and got him a simple head stone, along with his brother, Burlew, and mother,
Virginia, who also were in unmarked graves at Spring Hill.
I have since found his obituary in the Charleston Daily Mail of 09 Aug 1924, page 2:
BEN WHITTAKER Funeral services for Ben Whittaker, who died at the St. Francis Hospital in Cincinnati, were held this afternoon at 4 O'clock at the residence of his mother, Mrs. Virginia Whittaker, 209 Tennessee Avenue. Burial was made in the Spring Hill Cemetery. Mr. Whittaker is survived by his widow, his mother, five children, and five brothers.
I can say, with authority, that two pieces of information given in the above obituary were false. The first fact is that he had six still living children, not five. The second fact is that he was survived by four brothers; William W. Whittaker, John T. Whittaker, Albert T. Whittaker, and Burlew Whittaker, who died himself less than six weeks later. He had a surviving sister, Lena Whittaker Eisele, as well.
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