In celebration of the 250th Anniversary of our country, local members of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will highlight the patriots buried in Southeast Missouri.
Henry Whitener, Jr. is the second son of George Heinrich (Henry) and Catharina Mary (Mull) Weidner. Henry was born in 1752 in Anson County (present-day Catawba County), North Carolina.
The Whiteners supported the Revolutionary War and opened their home to serve as a depot to raise supplies for the army. While Henry, Sr. was too old for service, his sons: Daniel, Henry and Abram did enlist in the militia. Henry was made a Captain and was appointed to draft men for the Battle of Kings Mountain. His brother Abram was killed during the Battle of Kings Mountain (buried at the battle site in an unmarked grave). Daniel is credited for killing British Colonel Patrick Ferguson during the battle. As a member of the Lincoln County Militia of North Carolina, Henry also served in the battles of Ramsour’s Mill, the Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse. The last recorded campaign for Whitener’s company was in 1782 against the Cherokee in a skirmish on the Sandy Mush Creek in western North Carolina.
Henry married Anna Sarah Shell in 1780, and they had one daughter. Anna died in 1785 and, in 1786, he married her sister, Mary Catherine Shell. Henry and Catherine built a home in North Carolina that is known as Rock House Plantation. While he was a successful landowner, he, like many others, felt the pull of the opportunities in the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase Territory. The Whiteners relocated around 1804 to property about 1.5 miles south of present-day Marquand on the west side of the Castor River. This area was known as Whitener Settlement and was near what is now Whitener Cemetery on Highway DD.
Henry fathered six sons and three daughters. His sons were Henry Whitener (married Elizabeth Mary Bollinger); Abraham Whitener (married Mary Magdalene “Molly” Bollinger); Daniel Whitener (married Mary “Polly” Clubb); Solomon Whitener (married Elizabeth Kinder); Benjamin Whitener (married first Elizabeth Rhodes and second Priscilla Kelley), and Jesse Robinson Whitener (died as an infant). His daughters were Catherine Whitener (married Theobolt Devault Bollinger); Barbara Whitener (married Henry Bollinger), and Charity Whitener (married Philip Bollinger, Sr.).
Henry died in 1811/1812 and is buried in the Whitener Cemetery. Many of his children remained in the area and were instrumental in the development of Fredericktown and Madison County, Missouri. Several of his descendants formed the Capt. Henry Whitener Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1966 based in Madison County.
Compiled with information from Teri Moss, Capt. Henry Whitener Chapter NSDAR by Pamela Johnson John Guild Chapter NSDAR
Sources:
Captain Henry Whitener -Early Settler on Upper Castor River, Tales from Days Gone By (KRCU) Dr. Bill Eddlemanhttps://www.krcu.org/2025-04-09/captain-henry-whitener-early-settler-on-upper-castor-river
Capt. Henry Whitener – American Patriot and Revolutionary War Soldier, By Teri Moss https://www.democratnewsonline.com/regional-news/capt-henry-whitener-american-patriot-and-revolutionary-war-soldier-fb4b0873
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26477693/henry-whitener
https://www.fold3.com/memorial/641396816/captain-henry-whitener
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/81910712
Weidner - Whitener Rock House Hickory NC 2013a.jpg - Forces War Records
Extensive information on the Whitener family is made available because of historical research completed by Virginia Whitener Crowe and her husband Fletcher Standefer Crowe.
Tombstone and marker photographs were taken from Find a Grave website.
