Franklin Whitaker (died January 5, 1891) was an American politician from Maryland. He served as a member of the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

, representing

Harford County Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

, from 1860 to 1864.

Career

In 1851, Whitaker had a mill built with slave labor near

Winters Run Winters Run is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in Harford County, Maryland. The river begins north of the community of Fallston at the confluence of t ...

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

. The mill was called Whitaker's Mill. Whitaker was a member of the

Southern Rights Party The Southern Rights Party was a political party in the United States, organized exclusively in the Southern United States. It was active for a few years in the early 1850s. Two or three members won seats in the House of Representatives House ...

. Whitaker served as a member of the

, representing Harford County, from 1860 to 1864. He also served as school commissioner in Harford County. Whitaker was a member of the board of trustees of the Bel Air Academy. In January 1882, Judge Watters appointed Whitaker as a school commissioner of Harford County. He was re-appointed by Judge Watters in January 1884. He resigned from the role in July 1885.

Personal life

Whitaker was married and had eight sons and four daughters, Samuel Jr. (died 1870), Nicholas Bond (died 1880), Elijah J. B., William, Franklin Jr., George, Henry, Howard, Elizabeth, Harriet, Mrs. W. H. Brookes and Virginia. In 1880, his son Franklin Jr. murdered a man. Whitaker died of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

on January 5, 1891, at the age of 73, at his "Dunkale" home near

Bel Air, Maryland The town of Bel Air is the county seat of Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. History Bel Air's identity has gone through several incarnations since 1780. Aquilla Scott, w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Franklin Year of birth missing 1891 deaths People from Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland Maryland state senators