of John Whiting,” his father (New York, 1844). His son, Henry Macomb (1821-'53), also served in the Mexican war in the artillery, receiving the brevet of 1st lieutenant for gallantry at Buena Vista.
WHITING, Nathan, soldier, b. in Windham, Conn., 4 May, 1724 : d. in New Haven, Conn., 9 April, 1771. His father, Samuel, who was first
minister of Windham, died during the son's infancy, and the boy was brought up chiefly by his sister Mary and her husband, Rev. Thomas Clap,
who became president of Yale in 1740. Nathan was graduated at that college in 1743, studied there for two years longer, and then became a
merchant in New Haven, but accompanied the Connecticut troops to the siege of Louisburg in 1745 as an ensign, and in the same year was
commissioned lieutenant. He then formed a business partnership with Thomas Darling, but at the beginning of the French war of 1755 he
was appointed, in March of that year, lieutenant-colonel of the 2d Connecticut regiment. His command formed part of the garrison of Fort
Edward, and on 8 Sept. he was with Col. Ephriam Williams when the latter was surprised by the French and Indians near Lake George. On the
death of Williams the command devolved on Whiting, who led the retreat with much skill and coolness. He was promoted colonel in 1756, and
served throughout the war. Col. Whiting was a representative in the Connecticut general assembly in 1769 and 1770, and at the time of his death was a candidate for the upper house. President Timothy Dwight says of him : " He was an exemplary professor of the Christian religion, and for refined
and dignified manners and nobleness of mind has rarely been excelled." His portrait is in the rooms of the Connecticut historical society at Hartford.
— His elder brother, John, soldier, b. in Windham, Conn., 20 Feb., 1706 ; d. there, 28 Aug., 1786, was graduated at Yale in 1726, and entered the minis-
try, but, removing to Newport, R. I., entered the military service of that colony, became captain, and in 1761 had risen to the rank of colonel. He
participated in several campaigns against the French, and was wounded at the battle of Lake George in 1758. He afterward returned to Windham, and was made judge of probate there in 1775.
WHITING, Samuel, clergyman, b. in Boston,
Lincolnshire, England, 20 Nov., 1597; d. in Lynn.,
Mass., 11 Dec., 1679. His father, John, was mayor
of his native city. The son was graduated at
Cambridge in 1616, entered the ministry, and officiated
at Lynn, in Norfolk, and in Skirbeck, near his
native place, but, after two prosecutions for
nonconformity, he emigrated to this country, where
he was the first minister of Lynn, Mass., serving
from 8 Nov., 1636, till his death. He was a close
student and an accomplished Hebrew and Latin
scholar. “In his preaching,” says Cotton Mather,
“his design was not to please but to profit; to bring
forth, not high things, but fit things.” He
published “Oratio quam Comitiis Cantab. Americanis”
(1649); “Treatise on the Last Judgment” (1664);
and a volume of sermons on “Abraham Interceding
for Sodom” (1666). His second wife was the
daughter of Oliver St. John, chief justice of
England under Cromwell, and their son, Samuel (1633-1713),
was graduated at Harvard in 1653 and
became the first minister of Billerica, Mass. An
“Elegy on the Rev. Samuel Whiting, of Lynn,” by
Benjamin Tompson, “ye renowned poet of New
England,” is printed in Cotton Mather's
“Magnalia.” See also “Memoirs of Rev. Samuel Whiting
and of his Wife, Elizabeth St. John, with Reference
to some of their English Ancestors and Ameri-
can Descendants,” by William Whiting, LL. D.
(printed privately, Boston, 1871).—His descendant,
William, lawyer, b. in Concord, Mass., 3 March,
1813; d. in Boston, Mass., 29 June, 1873, was
graduated at Harvard in 1833, and, after teaching
at Plymouth and Concord, studied law in Boston
and at Harvard law-school, where he was graduated
in 1838. He then began practice in Boston,
where he soon attained eminence at the bar, and
was engaged in many important cases. In 1862
he became solicitor of the war department in
Washington, where he served three years. In 1868
he was a presidential elector, and in 1872 he was
elected to congress as a Republican, but he died
before he could take his seat. Colby university
gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1872. He left
$5,000 to Harvard for a scholarship. Mr. Whiting
was for five years president of the New England
historic-genealogical society. His principal work
is “The War Powers of the President and the
Legislative Powers of Congress in Relation to
Rebellion, Treason, and Slavery” (Boston, 1862; 10th
ed., with large additions, 1863; 43d ed., 1871). In
this he formulated views that he had urged at the
opening of the civil war, namely, that the U. S.
government had full belligerent rights against the
inhabitants of seceded states, and without going
beyond the constitution could confiscate their
property, emancipate their slaves, and treat them
as public enemies. These opinions were at first
received with caution by most public men, but
they were finally sanctioned and adopted by the
government. The book had a large sale in this
country and abroad. Besides this, he published
various pamphlets, chiefly legal arguments
before the U. S. courts, and a “Memoir of Rev.
Joseph Harrington,” prefixed to a volume of his
sermons (Boston, 1854), and was the author of the
privately printed memoir of his ancestor, Samuel,
mentioned above.
WHITING, William B., naval officer, b. in Troy, N. Y., 13 Nov., 1813 ; d. in Milwaukee, Wis., 16 Dec, 1883. He was appointed a midshipman in the navy, 2 Feb., 1829, and cruised on the Pacific station in 1831-'4, principally engaged on surveys. He became a passed midshipman, 4 June, 1836,
served on coast-survey duty in 1837-'43, in the frigate "Macedonian," on the coast of Africa, on surveying duty in 1843-'5, and at the naval observatory at Washington in 1845-'50, during which he drew plans of the defences of Vera Cruz pre- liminary to the expedition of the navy and Gen. Winfield Scott's army. He was again on the coast survey in 1851-'2, and cruised in the sloop "Vandalia," 1852-'6, measuring the coasts of China and Japan. He was placed on the reserved list by the notorious retiring board of 1855 because his entire service had been in surveying duty rather than the military duties of the naval profession. He was then attached to the U. S. naval observatory at Washington until 1871, where he rendered valuable services in astronomical work. In recognition of his scientific attainments, he was promoted to commander and captain in 1867, and to commodore in 1871. After this last promotion he was relieved from active duty.
WHITING, William Danforth, naval officer, b. in Boston, Mass., 27 May, 1823. He entered the navy as a midshipman, 1 March, 1841, and served in the sloop " Levant " in 1846-7. at the capture of Monterey, Cal., when the American flag was first hoisted on that shore, 7 July, 1846. He attended the naval academy in 1847-8, was graduated, and became a passed midshipman, 10 Aug., 1847. He was promoted to master, 1 May, 1855,
