Joseph Whitehill

Joseph Whitehill
6thOhio State Treasurer
In office February 17, 1835 – February 24, 1847
Governor	Robert Lucas Joseph Vance Wilson Shannon Thomas Corwin Thomas W. Bartley Mordecai Bartley William Bebb
Preceded by	Henry Brown
Succeeded by	Albert A. Bliss
Personal details
Born	(1786-12-30)December 30, 1786 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania,US
Died	November 1, 1861(1861-11-01)(aged 74) Columbus, Ohio,US
Resting place	Green Lawn Cemetery
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Battles/wars	War of 1812

Joseph Whitehill, Jr.(December 30, 1786 – November 4, 1861) was a nineteenth-centuryOhiofarmer who was elected to a series of local offices inWarren County, Ohio,before his election asOhio State Treasurer.

Biography

He was born inLancaster County, Pennsylvania,the son of Joseph Whitehill. In 1800, at age fourteen, his family moved toBotetourt County, Virginia,nearFincastle.In 1808, his father died and Whitehill assumed responsibility for his family: six sisters and a brother. In theWar of 1812,he was lieutenant in the militia company from Botetourt County, and served in the defense ofNorfolk, Virginiafrom the British. Upon the death of the captain of his company, Whitehill was in command.

After the war, the family moved toWarren County, Ohio,north ofCincinnati.They arrived in the county in 1815, initially settling near the town ofWaynesvillebut relocating closer toLebanon,the county seat. He was forced to abandon farming because of hisrheumatism.Moving into the town of Lebanon, he hauled freight between Lebanon and Cincinnati. He also owned a grist mill on theWarren County Canal's Lock 3, southwest of Lebanon.

In 1826, he was electedsheriffof Warren County and served 1826 to 1830, two two-year terms. Whitehill was briefly out of office in 1830, during which time he bought a farm three miles north of Lebanon inTurtlecreek Township.In 1830, he was elected to theOhio General Assemblyas a representative. He was re-elected three times, serving four one-year terms. In 1834, as he was completing his final term in the legislature, he was electedOhio State Treasurer.He was re-elected three times, serving four three-year terms. When his service expired, he remained in the state capital,Columbus.Whitehill, who never married, lived there with his spinster sister Jane.

Whitehill speculated in property and became quite wealthy, but lost his fortune through the failure of several companies he had invested in.Josiah Morrow,the historian of Warren County, wrote of him:

Mr. Whitehill was not a man of much knowledge of the sort that is derived from books, he having had but little time for the acquisition of that kind of knowledge in his early life, which was one of labor and activity, rendered necessary by reason of the responsibilities imposed upon him.... But he was a man of strong sense and sound judgement. His disposition was frank and generous, and his manners were popular. He enjoyed in an eminent degree the affection of his relatives and friends, and the respect and esteem of his acquaintances.

Whitehill died in Columbus at age 74. Both he and his sister Jane are buried atGreen Lawn Cemeteryin Columbus. Cemetery records indicate he died November 1, 1861.

Errata

As of July 2023, the Ohio Treasurer's office web site lists his surname asWhitehall.

References

• Josiah Morrow.The History of Warren County, Ohio.Chicago: W.H. Beers, 1883. (Reprinted several times, relevant page on-linehere)