Date Original
1824-1834
Description
This collection contains typescripts of letters written by H.A. Whittington edited by Dallas T. Herndon, director of the Arkansas History Commission. The letters include valuable historical information about Arkansas before statehood.
Biographical/Historical Note
Hiram Abiff Whittington was born January 14, 1805, at Boston, Massachusetts, to William Whittington, Jr., and Hepsabeth Lincoln. As a teenager he worked for the Nantucket Enquirer. He later moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he worked for Alden Spooner, who introduced him to William E. Woodruff, editor of the Arkansas Gazette. He moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1826, where he worked for the Arkansas Gazette as a printer. In 1832, he moved to Hot Springs and established the first mercantile and opened a novaculite factory that manufactured whetstones. In 1833, he became the postmaster and was elected clerk of Hot Spring County. Whittington returned to Boston in order to marry Mary Burnham on October 12, 1836. They had three children that lived to adulthood. In 1838, he was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives and served again in 1840 and 1850. He donated land for St. Mary's Catholic Church and First Presbyterian Church. He died May 5, 1890, in Hot Springs.
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Arkansas; Massachusetts; New York
Language
English
Identifier
SMC.020.005
Resource Type
Text
Collection
Hiram A. Whittington letters, SMC.020.005
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
Hiram A. Whittington letters, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History
