Joseph White (1785 - 1827)

Born 28 Dec 1785 in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Smith) Bunting — married 17 Dec 1807 (to 25 May 1827) in Mount MH, under the care of Mt. Holly MM, New Jersey

Descendants

Died 25 May 1827 at age 41 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Joseph was a Friend (Quaker)

Following biography is from Richard Haines and His Descendants, pp. 141, 142:

"Joseph, b. 12 mo. 28, 1785; d. Philadelphia, Pa., 5 mo. 25, 1827, aged 42 years. m. Mount MH, under the care of Mt. Holly MM, N.J., 12 mo. 17, 1807, REBECCA SMITH, b. 3 mo. 29, 1787; d. Jan. 3, 1865; daughter of Daniel Doughty and Elizabeth (Scholey) Smith, of Springfield Twp., Burlington Co., N.J. Joseph and Rebecca White were received Philadelphia MM, Pa., 11 mo. 24, 1808, from Mt. Holly MM on certificate dated 11 mo. 10, 1808. They were received Philadelphia MM 6 mo. 1, 1815, from Philadelphia (Western District) MM on certificate dated 5 mo. 17, 1815. Soon after his marriage, he entered into the hardware business on Market St., Philadelphia, in partnership with Samuel Lippincott. He realized at an early date the importance of travel by river and was a pioneer in river navigation, being identified with early steam boating on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and proving the practicability of the navigation of those rivers.

In 1811, he left Philadelphia with the intention of travelling on horseback to St. Louis, Mo., and other places in the Western and Southern States, for the purpose of collecting debts due the firm and for extending its business. In Brownsville, Fayette Co., Pa., he met Elisha and Caleb Hunt, who were conducting a mercantile business there. They prevailed upon him to assist them in building and freighting a keel boat to St. Louis, whereby he could make his trip more pleasant. In the Spring of 1812, Joseph White and Caleb Hunt, with a crew of French Canadian boatmen, started their keel boat from the landing at Brownsville, bound for St. Louis. It was a comparatively easy trip to the mouth of the Ohio River, but the trip up the Mississippi River to St. Louis was most difficult, the boat being pulled up the stream by a long rope held by men on the shore. Such arduous labor was well calculated to lead a reflective mind to consider if some other power could not be successfully applied for propelling boats against the current of a stream. On the return trip, a keel boat was taken to the mouth of the Cumberland River, Kentucky, from where the rest of the trip was made on horseback. At Bowling Green, Warren Co., Kentucky, Joseph White fell in with the proprietor of a cave (Mammoth Cave) who wanted to sell it for $10,000. He said he was making 100 pounds of salt peter per day, and was making a nice profit. The trip from the mouth of the Cumberland River to Philadelphia required 41 days.

During the autumn of 1812, Elisha Hunt visited Joseph White in Philadelphia. While he was there, they examined a little stern-wheel steamboat built under a patent owned by Daniel French, of Connecticut, and then running as a ferry boat between Cooper's Point, N.J. and Philadelphia. French informed them that he could construct steamboats that would run 5 miles per hour against the current of the Mississippi River. A stock company was formed to construct steamboats and carry passengers and freight by steamboats between Pittsburgh, Pa., and New Orleans, La. The stock of this company was divided into six shares, of which Joseph White owned two shares, or one-third of the entire stock. The "Enterprise" was was built at Brownsville for about $15, 000 and in the latter part of the summer of 1813 left Pittsburgh for New Orleans under the command of Captain Henry Shreve, son of Israel Shreve, of Burlington Co., N.J., who was a Colonel during the Revolutionary War. Upon arrival at New Orleans, some difficulty was experienced with the local authorities, and the Enterprise was seized, but was finally released, and it returned to Pittsburgh with passengers and freight, arriving in 26 days from New Orleans. It was the first steamboat that ever made the trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans and return.

Joseph White died as a result of being thrown from a horse. He died at age 42. His wife, Rebecca Smith married a second time to John H. Bunting, son of Josiah and Sarah (Hunt) Bunting. Their marriage was also a second marriage for John Bunting. He 1st married Mary Morgan. John died either in 1824 or 1827 (there is a discrepancy in the records).

Children: JOHN JOSIAH; DANIEL SMITH; ELIZABETH; SARAH SMITH, d. aged 23 yrs., unm.; ANNA, d. young; HOWARD, d. aged 19 yrs.; BARCLAY; ANNA MARIA.

Sources

See also:

• Haines, John W., Richard Haines and his Descendants. A Quaker Family of Burlington County, New Jersey Since 1682., (Boyce, Va: Carr Publishing Company, Inc., 1961), pp. 141, 142.

• Haines, Richard; Haines Ancestry, p. 86.

• Smith; Smith Family, pp. 235, 237.

• Morton; Josiah White, pp. 72, 81, 89, 97, 164, 165, 196, 264.

• Hinshaw; American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. II, pp. 262, 435, 684, 722, 890, 938.

• Gross; Sleeper Family, p. 89.

• Lippincott Papers, Vol. IV, p. 266.

• Shoemaker; Shoemaker Family, p. 122.

• Sophia Selden Rogers Collection, Vol. Ro. 15, p. 49.

• Allen; Shreve Family, pp. 197, 198;

• Shinn Family, pp. 175, 256.

• Chester MM, N.J. Marriages, Bk. 1, p. 18.

• Woodward & Hageman; History of Burlington & Mercer Cos., N.J., pp. 217, 220, 221.

• Philadelphia, Pa., Wills, Bk. 9, p. 63.

• Mt. Holly MM, N.J. Records, pp. 409, 432.

• Barclay White Records.

• Entered from the Genealogy worksheets compiled by Ralph Pryor during his 40 years of research, traveling extensively in the military and in retirement. Entered by Greg Rose, Grandson.

• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ialqm/WhiteFamilyTree.html

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Greg Rose for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Greg and others.