Parkhurst Whitney

Parkhurst Whitney (September 25, 1784 – April 26, 1862) was an American soldier, businessman, and early settler of Niagara Falls, New York who owned the prominent Cataract House.

Early life Whitney was born in Conway, Massachusetts on September 25, 1784,

His paternal grandparents were Jonathan Whitney and Lydia (née Jones) Whitney, who lived in Mendon, Massachusetts,

In 1789, his father moved his family from Massachusetts to Ontario County in Western New York, where he died three years later in 1792. which became "the most elegant and popular hotel on the American side." to Lockport, New York to witness the opening of the Erie Canal in June 1825 during Lafayette's visit to the United States.

In 1848, Whitney served as the inaugural Village President of Niagara Falls.

Personal life In 1805, Whitney was married to Celinda Cowing (1783–1860), the daughter of Sarah (née Randall) Cowing and Jabez James Cowing, who served with the Massachusetts Militia in the Revolutionary War. Between 1809 and 1817, they were the parents of six children, two of whom died as children; two sons and four daughters:

Asenath Beecher Whitney (1809–1859), who married a Polish nobleman, Pierre (Piote) de Kowalewski. Angeline Whitney (1812–1857), who married Dexter Ray Jerauld. Celinda Eliza Whitney (1817–1892), who married James Fullerton Trott (1815–1898).

He was "an old and eminent Mason, and a distinguished Knight Templar."

Legacy Three Sisters Islands (off of Goat Island) was named after his three daughters, who in 1817, were the first recorded "non-native girls to visit the islands." Brother Island was named for son Solon Whitney.