Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-02-07
OBITUARY.
JOSIAH D. WHITNEY.
Death of One Of Brattleboro's Oldest
Citizens, Who was for Years Sue
cessfu Inventor and Manufacturer.

one of The oldest and most cstimable
citizens of Brattchoro who possessed
rare inventive genius and who for a long
term of years cngagcdin business success
fuzzy, passed away i'm the death "Wednesday
morning of Josiah Davis whitney, 81. at
his Western aycuuo home. Mr. whitney
had been i'm failing health the past four
months. suffering from an aggravated
form of stomach trouble.
Mr.. Whitney was born in Ashby, Mass.
Nov. +. 1878. His father, Jonas =. Whit
nev, was Il manufacturer of church or
gaus. and when a lad of IS or II Josiah
began to work i'm his fathers shop Whcn2 n
Mr.. Whitney was taken into partnership
with his father. The manufacture ot
church organs continued until 1911. In
that year j. u. Whitney moved TO Spring
field. Mass, to engage i'm the manufacture
of mclodcuns. pianos and church organs
I'm ISL Mr.. Whitney went to NitChburg.
whore he was employed by his father
making melodcons or reed organs Two
years later he formed a partnership in
Worcester with Rice & Robinson for the
manufacture of organ reeds He remain
ed in Worcester only year returning to
I'itchhurg. where he set up his machinery
for the manufacture of reeds. j. EsteN "
Go. bought Mr. Whitneys machinery in
1>Gi and engaged him to come to Brattle-
| boro to run it. lie remained with Estey
| & co. until 1874, working the last eight
| Years by contract. He sold EsteN & Co.
| the machinery he had invented during his
stay with them and for year or two did
not engage in business. About 1876 Mr..
| Whitney began on "A new set of machin-
| cry with which he was ready to make
reeds in 1875 the business being establish
| ed in Harmony block. Mr. Whitney $
| son. Edwin -. Whitney, was admitted to
| partnership July I, 1879. under the firm
| I II q. \ -tt4
| ful business was carried on here until
Jan /. 1893, when the Estey organ com
| panN bought Mr.. WhitneYs machinery
and he retired. Whitney & Son manufac-
| tured over a half million organ reeds a
year, a large part of the product going to
| the Wilcox n White company of Meriden,
| Conn. Mr.. Whitney invented all Of the
machinery used i'm making the reeds. This
machinery worked automatically, and in
it's construction the hand of an inventor
| and a master mechanic was visible. Many
of Mr.. Whitney's inventions might have
been patented. but he perfected them to
| facilitate his own work. and was salts
| fed with the results achieved. In March
| 1856 Mr. Whitney was granted a patent
| for a process for fastening the tongue 70
the block of the reed. This process was
| executed by an automatic machine. When
| application was made for patent the au-
thorities at Washington declared the pro
| posed scheme impossible, but Mr.. Whit
ney soon demonstrated that his design
worked perfectly and was a great i'm
provement over any method of organ reed
| manufacture.
MIR. Whitney married Lucy d. Chaplin OF
Springfield, Mass. Dec. 3. 1912. Mrs
Whitney died Jan !. 1893 Their two sur
viving children are Miss Jennie l.. Whit
ney and Edwin ID. Whitney, both of Brat
tleboro. In 1899 Mr.. Whitney married Mrs
Alice Hicks. who survives him.
Mr.. Whitney was a quiet, even temper
ed, approa chabie man. who was Away
deeply interested and engaged in his in
ventions and work lie took no activ,
part in public affairs, but he had the es
teen Of his townsmen to an extent giver
to but few men and in all relations of lif,
he was a worthy citizen
The funeral will be held this, Friday
afternoon at the house on Western ave
nue..