Cataloging a book (or musical score or recording, in my case) involved searching OCLC (an online cataloging cooperative headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. If another library had already cataloged the item, it was easy for our library to verify the call number and subject headings, then print cards or add the cataloging "record" to the local online catalog.
I was cataloging a book containing music of songs and dances of England. It's title began "Songs and Dances of ..." I decided to search OCLC with a "3,2,2,1 title search key": son,an,da,o. (songs and dances of ...).
In addition to a number of books of songs and dances, the search results included "Sons and Daughters of Jesse : A 360 Year History of the Whipple Family."
Curious, I printed out the cataloging record. Seeing that the Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana) had a copy, I wrote to ask about the author's address. Soon I was corresponding with Dr. Charles Whipple of Central State University in Edmund, Oklahoma, and the proud owner of my first book of Whipple genealogy.
I soon discovered that Charles was my 8th cousin once removed. We were both descendants of Captain John Whipple of Dorchester, Massachusetts, and Providence Rhode Island. (John is our nearest common ancestor: Charles descends through John's son William; I descend through Samuel.)
1. Sons and Daughters of Jesse : A 360 Year History of the Whipple Family
Published as a "Bicentennial Edition" in 1976 by Southwestern Press of Oklahoma City, Sons and Daughters of Jesse is about Jesse Whipple of Rhode Island and Indiana. The book begins with Captain John (Jesse's great-great grandfather), with chapters on John's son William, grandson William, and great grandson Eleazer Whipple. It continues by tracing Jesse's descendants through the Great Southwest, ending with Charles and his family of Oklahoma.
2. A History of William Whipple of Dorchester, Massachusetts and Smithfield, Rhode Island : His Antecedents and Descendants, 1652-1712
Charles' second Whipple genealogy book was published thirty years later, in 2006, by Trafford Publishing of Victoria, B.C. William Whipple (mentioned above) was the 6th child (4th son) of Captain John. (No, William was not the person who signed the Declaration of Independence decades later.)
William's history was a prelude to Charles' larger work, published a year later:
3. A History of Captain John and Sarah Whipple of Dorchester, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island, 1617-1685: A Multigenerational Study of the First Whipple Family in America
Like the previous book on William Whipple, this volume was published by Trafford. It covers John, Sarah, all of their children, and many of their descendants:
CONTENTS: Chapter 1. Captain John Whipple -- Chapter 2. The Whipple Children -- Chapter 3. Ensign John Whipple Junior -- Chapter 4. Samuel Whipple -- Chapter 5. Eleazer Whipple -- Chapter 6. William Whipple -- Chapter 7. Benjamin Whipple -- Chapter 8. Ensign David. Whipple -- Chapter 9. Colonel Joseph Whipple -- Chapter 10. Lieutenant Jonathan Whipple -- Chapter 11. Sarah, Mary, and Abigail.
Early versions of some of the chapters appear on the Whipple Website. (For the final versions, you will need to purchase the book.)
- Captain John and Sarah Whipple of Dorchester, Massachusetts & Providence, Rhode Island
- The Louquisset Brothers: Samuel, Eleazer, & William
- Yeomen and Princes: Benjamin, David & Joseph [PDF version]
- Lawyer and Lumberman: John and Jonathan, Sons of Captain John Whipple, with Notes on Their Sisters [PDF version]
- Sarah, Mary and Abigail: The Daughters of Captain John and Sarah [PDF version]
--Weldon Whipple, Webmaster, Whipple Website
