51749

Page 224

J Thomas Whittaker home, built abou11880. Now owned by Lyle Wright. Address: 168 North Main 51. From th~ Parrish home we go south on Main Street to 168 North Main . This home was built by Thomas Whittaker. The iron gate and the carved wood are authentic and the very front of the home looks much as it did when it was first built. The cinderblock rooms were added later to the back. Until recently (about February 1974) this home belonged to Staynor and Grace Fredrickson . He passed away a few years ago and his wife moved into Salt Lake City. Thomas Whittaker was converted to the church in California by Charles C. Rich . When he came to Centerville he met and married Elizabeth Mills Oakden, the widow of John Oakden. It is believed this home was built for her in the 1880's. (12) THOMAS WILLIAM WHITAKER This history wa s (omp iled by Mary Ellen Sm oot. Th e information cam e from a history wrillen by Mabel Smith Randall and a telephone wn!'e rsat ion with Nora Miles , his granddaughter. Thomas Whitaker was born in Rotherhithe, Surrey, England on May 16, 1816 to Thomas James Whitaker and Mary Ann Betts. Her parents were wealthy shipbuilders. Her husband followed in the shipbuilding trade and was also a tailor. At the age. of sixteen Thomas ran away from home. He was a stowaway on one of his father's ships. When he told the captain of the ship who he was they wouldn't believe him, and they insisted he work as hard as the rest of the crew for his passage. He learned the carpen ter trade on the ship and became a beau tiful cabinetmaker. Thomas left the ship in Tahiti where he met and married, Tuana, a native girl whom he loved very much . They never had any children of their own; 'however, they adopted a daughter named Anna. Tuana .f contacted the black smallpox and died. Thomas took Anna and moved to California. In California Thomas met and married Mary Ann Church, a tavern owner. Charles C. Rich, a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints converted Th o mas to the gospel. He acce pted it without reservation and was des iro us of moving to the Salt Lake Valley to be among the Saints . He pl ea ded with Mary Ann to sell her tavern and move with him to Salt Lake, but she could not change (265)