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 a county 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 Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Stati ...

, 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 ...

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Wa ...

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

Southern Rights Party The Southern Rights Party, briefly known as the Resistance Party in the state of Georgia, was a political party in the United States organized in several slave states to oppose the Compromise of 1850, viewing it as inadequate protection for the Sou ...

. 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 any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

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, Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. The United States Census Bureau defines an urban area in northeast ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Franklin Year of birth missing 1891 deaths People from Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland Maryland state senators 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly