William Charles (Whitaker) Whittaker II (1883 - 1950)

Born 23 Mar 1883 in Dargaville, Kaipara, Northland, New Zealand

Ancestors

Husband of Edith May (Gamble) Whittaker — married 18 Dec 1907 in St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 25 May 1950 at age 67 in Auckland, New Zealand

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Marc Whitaker [send private message]

Biography

Fitter, Mill Hand, Jockey, Labourer, of 88 Beresford Street, Freemans Bay, of 29 Kingsland Avenue, Kingsland, and of 6 Crummer Road, Panmure, Auckland; formerly of Whitianga, Mercury Bay, Coromandel, New Zealand. From about 1912 he took the family name Whittaker in lieu of Whitaker.

Background

William Charles Whitaker was the elder son of Mary Ann Weston and William James Whitaker. He was born on 23 March 1883 in Dargaville. His birth was registered on 30 April 1883 at Auckland by his mother (the Informant).

He was baptised on 1 May 1883 at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, by Father George Lenihan, Priest. William Charles Whittaker. Sponsor: Henrietta Whittaker [perhaps his grandmother Hinerahia?], see: Notes.

He was Confirmed on 8 January 1893 at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, by Father Joanne Edmundo Luck, Priest. William Whittaker (aged 10). He took the Confirmation Name: Joseph. His Sponsor was James Mulligan, see: Notes.

Early years

In 1897, aged 14, he signed New Zealand's National Address to Queen Victoria, on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee.

Jockey

In 1899 and 1900 he was granted a Jockey Licence by the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club.

12 Jan 1905 "Police Court - This Day. Remanded. Two young men named William P S Skipworth and William Whittaker, who were charged with failing to provide for illegitimate children, were remanded on bail, Whittaker to be charged in a few days at Whitianga, and Skipworth at Rotorua a week hence." AS, Papers Past, NLNZ.[1]

Marriage and family

On 18 December 1907 at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, by Rev Alexander Farthing (Officiating Minister) he married Edith May Gamble, daughter of James Gamble and Lucy Bennett, with issue 11 children.

Their Marriage Certificate stated he was a Mill Hand and Bachelor, aged 24, of Whitianga (usual residence) and Auckland (present residence); born in Dargaville, the son of William James Whitaker (a Miner) and Mary Ann Whitaker, née Weston. His wife, Edith May Gamble, was a Domestic Servant, aged 16, of Whitianga (usual residence) and Auckland (present residence); born in Tairua, the daughter of James Gamble (a Carpenter) and Lucy Gamble, née Bennett. Witnesses: James Henry Gamble, Mill Hand, of Whitianga (the bride's brother), Beatrice Gamble, of Jervois Road, Auckland (the bride's sister), and Albert Royal Whitaker, Jockey, of Ellerslie, Auckland (the groom's brother).

In 1933 the family lived at 29 Kingsland Avenue, Kingsland, Auckland, a residential property built in 1900 with three bedrooms and one bathroom.

On 19 August 1933 he was a Witness at the marriage of his eldest son Albert Royal Whitaker, to Louise Hagger. Details: William Charles Whitaker, Fitter, of 29 Kingsland Avenue, Auckland.

In 1935 and 1941 the family lived at 88 Beresford Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland.

In 1950 they lived at 6 Crummer Road, Panmure, Auckland.

Whitaker Family Notebook

He compiled a Whitaker Family Notebook containing genealogical and biographical details about the lives of Peti and James Whitaker and their descendants.

Death and burial

He died on 25 May 1950 probably at his residence, 6 Crummer Road, Panmure, Auckland, aged 67. He was buried on 27 May 1950 by M Quinn (Priest) in the Roman Catholic Cemetery at St Patrick's Churchyard, Panmure, Auckland. His widow survived him by five months and died on 20 October 1950. She was buried with him. Burial Reg No RA43-1, Event No 273; copy: Lynnette Huia Paul (printed 27 Apr 2005).

Grave Inscription

"Sacred to the Memory of Mary Ann Whittaker, Died 1st May 1940; William Charles Whittaker, Died 25th May 1950; Edith May, Loved Wife of William Charles, Died 20th Oct 1950, RIP." Photograph: Lynnette Huia Tatton Paul (2005).

Legacy

An abiding relationship between the Whitaker and Coleman families began in 1869 with the marriage of Jane Whitaker and Charles William Coleman Sr.

It was the family's love of horses, horse training and horse racing that bound them together for three generations.

William and his younger brother Albert were both trained as racehorse jockeys by their cousin Charles William Coleman Jr who was lost overboard on the steamer Rawara and drowned at sea in 1926, enroute whilst transporting racehorses from New Plymouth to Onehunga, Auckland.

In 1908 William named his eldest daughter Syvilla after the ship 'Sevilla' that brought the Coleman Family to New Zealand in 1861.

Whittaker in lieu of Whitaker

From 1912 it is apparent the family began permanently using the name Whittaker in lieu of Whitaker. William had 11 children of whom his three eldest children (daughters) were registered under the family name Whitaker whilst his eight younger children were registered under the family name Whittaker. Sources consulted include newspaper articles; children's Death Certificates; Family Gravestone Inscriptions; and grandchildren's Birth Registrations.

Children and descendants

1 Syvilla Maud (Dilla) Whitaker (1908-1955). In 1925 she married 1ly Edward Henry Leedham (Ted) Quintal, a descendant of the Bounty mutineers who inhabited Pitcairn Islands, with issue two sons (and a daughter who died in infancy). She married 2ly (Leslie) James Patrick (Jimmy) Byrne, with issue one son. She died in 1955.

2 Eileen Gladys Whitaker (1909-1983). In 1929 she married Wesley Rea Woolhouse III, a Pianist and Piano Maker, of Woolhouse Piano Company, and a direct descendant of British Actuary Wesley Stoker Barker Woolhouse I, with issue two children. She married 2ly Louis Basil Hicks (Larry) Vallerie, a French Painter, without children. She died in 1983.

3 Phyllis Edith (Phyl) Whitaker (1912-1980). In 1929 she married 1ly her second cousin, Benjamin Rawson Davenport III, with issue two sons. They were both great-grandchildren of Henry Riley Calvin Bennett and Matira Te Pokiha. She married 2ly Frederick Harry Cooper, without children. She died in 1980.

4 Albert Royal Whittaker II (1913-2003). Named after his deceased uncle, world-record holding racehorse jockey, Albert Royal Whitaker I, in 1933 he married Louise Hagger, 2nd daughter of 12 daughters and 3rd child of 18 children of Frederick Henry Colin Hagger, of Kaimaumau, by 1st wife, Ngawini Hemi Ngapo, of Pawarenga. They had issue five children. His wife died in 1990 and was buried in the Hagger Family Burial Ground at Kaimaumau. He died in 2003 and was buried with her.

5 Claude James (Dick) Whittaker (1915-1945). He married Elva Bernice McMilne, without children. He was killed in an accident in 1945, aged 29. His widow remarried Mr Brennan, with issue. She died in 2001.

6 Norman William Whittaker (1917-1918). He was accidentally killed in infancy, aged 16 months.

7 Norma Claire Whittaker (1919-2008). Named after her deceased elder brother, in 1941 she married Norman Edmond (Jerry) Nichols, with issue three daughters. Her husband died in 1991. She was the last surviving of her siblings and died in 2008.

8 Corporal William Charles (Billy) Whittaker Jr (1921-1945). He was killed in action in Italy in the last weeks of World War II. He never married, however he had issue one son, William Charles Whittaker Jr, who was born in 1942.

9 (Patricia) Lola Whittaker (1928-1990). She married 1ly Joseph Meese, without children. In 1962 she married 2ly Alfred Thomas Hilton (Alf) Stone, with issue five children. Her husband died in 1980. She died in 1990.

10 Colin Henry Raumoa Whittaker (1931-1999). In 1951 he married (Estrelle) Bernice Cripps-Collans, with issue four children. He died in 1999. His widow died in 2008.

11 Richard Horsley (Dick) Whittaker (1933-2004). In 1953 he married Joan Marion White, with issue three daughters. He died in 2004. His widow died in 2012.

Acknowledgements

Correspondence, Birth Certificate, Baptism and Confirmation Summaries, Grave Photographs: Lynnette Huia Paul (2005).

Notes

Baptism

1 May 1883 at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, by Father George Lenihan, Priest. Details: son of William & Mary Anne Whittaker, of Auckland; William Charles Whittaker, born Auckland; Sponsor: Henrietta Whittaker (perhaps his infant sister Marietta; or his grandmother Hinerahia?) noting there is no 'Henrietta' known in the family to date. Baptism information comes from a printed summary provided by Lynnette Huia Paul (printed 27 Apr 2005), and is not the original record. His birthdate was incorrectly given as: 31 Mar 1883. Baptism Register RB1-1 First Year 1854.

Confirmation

8 January 1893 Confirmed at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, by Father Joanne Edmundo Luck, Priest. Details: William Whittaker (aged 10). He took the Confirmation Name: Joseph. His Sponsor was James Mulligan. Reg No RC1-2, St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, Event No 843; copy: Lynnette Huia Tatton Paul (2005).

Sources

'A Time to Build: A Biographical Account of Thomas and Susan McDowell Gamble, William and Charlotte Jane Cleaver, John James and Sarah Louisa Wilson, William and Sarah Lee and Their Descendants Who Were Pioneers in the Mercury Bay District and Who Settled at Whitianga between 1868 and 1890 by Sonia Lee Edwards, Opotiki, NZ (1990).

The History of the Bennett Family, compiled by Stuart Ward (1993).

Birth reg 1883/5476 William Charles Whittaker, son of William & Mary Ann; marriage 1907/8079 William Charles Whitaker & Edith May Gamble; death 1950/28114 William Charles Whittaker, age 66, NZBDM: https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search/Search?Path=querySubmit.m%3fReportName%3dDeathSearch%26recordsPP%3d30#SearchResults.