Sumeral Whitaker

1801 - 1864  (62 years)

• Name	Sumeral Whitaker  [1, 2]
  Birth	12 May 1801	New Jersey   [3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1864  [5]
  Person ID	I39299	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of LMW
  Last Modified	8 Nov 2023

  
  

  Father	Oliver Whitaker,   b. 10 Sep 1775, New Jersey d. 11 Dec 1831, Gloucester County, New Jersey (Age 56 years)
  Mother	Mary Summeral,   b. 1782, Alloway, Salem, New Jersey d. 18 Nov 1806, Clinton County, Ohio (Age 24 years)
  Marriage	2 Feb 1799  [1, 6]
  Family ID	F23075	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Sarah Brown   d. 1823
  Marriage	28 Nov 1822	Clinton County, Ohio   [7]
  Family ID	F23078	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Nov 2023

  
  

  Family 2	Mary Bloom,   b. Abt 1801, New Jersey d. 1856 (Age ~ 55 years)
  Marriage	1824  [5]
  Notes	According to an unsourced wikitree.com page for Sumeral Whitaker, he and Mary Blook were married 18 Sep 1824 in Cuba, Clinton, Ohio.
  Children	+ 1. Cynthia Whitaker,   b. 2 May 1832, Clinton County, Ohio d. 21 Dec 1896, Washington, Washington, Kansas (Age 64 years)
  Family ID	F23074	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Nov 2023

  
  

  Family 3	Eliza Lyons   d. 1864
  Marriage	Abt 1858  [5]
  Family ID	F23079	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Nov 2023

  
  

• Notes

  Spelled "Summerill" on his New Jersey birth record. Posted to familysearch.org, "Excerpt from Lucinda, a book of Lucinda Sarvis' memories as told to her granddaughter Mildred (Boddy) Reed": A wave of excitement swept over the country with the discovery of gold in California. Sumeral Whitaker was caught up in it and left for the gold fields in May 1840. It took him 5 months to go from Iowa to California. A young neighbor, Ephraim Bowles, was anxious to make the trip. His father finally gave his permission to go under the supervision of Father Whitaker. The Indians made considerable trouble for the caravan. One night when Ephraim was on guard, the cattle were stampeded by Indians. Ephraim was killed and scalped. It nearly broke Sumeral’s heart to send this sad news back to neighbor Bowles. [...] Sumeral kept a diary of his experiences, but it was stolen. Wouldn’t we treasure it if we had it now? He hunted gold with two men from Pennsylvania. They struck a find—a gold vein—and they staked their claim. I don’t know if anyone knows what he was worth when he came back in 1852 by the way of Panama and New York, but Lucinda said he was considered wealthy. He told of living on jerked steer and black coffee for weeks.

  
  

• Sources

  [S6996] Find a Grave page for Oliver S. Whitaker. [S6994] Find a Grave page for Mary Summeral Whitaker. [S2229] 1860 United States Federal census, on ancestry.com., year and state only. [S6993] New Jersey Births and Christenings, 1660-1980, on familysearch.org. [S7000] Lucinda, a memoir of Lucinda Biggs Sarvis by her granddaughter Mildred Boddy Reed. 1978. [S7001] New Jersey Marriages, 1678-1985, on familysearch.org. [S6999] Marriage record of Sumeral Whitaker and Sarah Brown.