John Lucius Whiting

• GIVN: John Lucius
• SURN: Whiting¹
• Sex: M
• Born: 12 Feb 1890 in Colonia Diaz, Galeana, Chihuahua, Mexico
• Died: 12 Aug 1911 in St. Johns, Apache, Arizona, United States
• Buried: Aug 1911 in St. Johns, Apache, Arizona, United States
• AFN: 47RB-NS²
• _UID: 6C15AB9C885E4E288626CB68F0FB6DAB0659
• Baptised LDS: 12 Feb 1898 in Colonia Diaz, Chihuahua, Mexico 20 Nov 1912
• TEMP: SLAKE BIC
• Record last updated: 30 Nov 2013
• TIME: 11:39
• Notes:

  «b»JOHN LUCIUS WHITING«u»
  «/u»«/b»
  John Lucius Whiting was the first child of Charles Whiting and Anna Eliza Jacobson. He was born Feb. 12, 1890 in Colonia Diaz, Chihuahua, Mexico. His brothers and sisters were Myrtle Ivy, James Albert, who died at the age of 15 months when John was 5 years old, Iris Esther, William (Bill) Verland, and Mary Estelle.
  
  John had a happy childhood in Mexico. His parents worked hard and the children helped as best they could. To encourage the children to learn to work, their father would pay them a few pennies for each row of potatoes weeded, to speed them up a bit. John, Fred and Myrtle were the official weeders at one time.
  
  When he was a young boy, his father and brothers helped him pick out a horse, the beginning of his own herd, a tradition his father, Charles established with each of his sons. Charles Whiting bred mostly saddle horses, but he sold many head of driving stock, usually mares, to American buyers for use as buggy horses. Each time a younger brother was able to choose his own first horse, his older brothers enjoyed assisting their father, who would present a selection of mares for him.
  
  Each morning, the young brothers would locate the horses in the mesquite thickets and drive them home before breakfast for their father and their older brothers, before they could begin the day's work on the range. In the evening, usually about sundown, the riders would return. The younger boys would again take the horses to pasture and walk home to eat their bread and milk supper. They were lucky if they could get back before dark. Charles had the little boys ride along with him when only 4 or 5 years old, at first on the easier rides and only occasionally, then every day. Before long, their father would send them to ride with one of the older boys.
  
  A long series of summer droughts, made it necessary to move cattle into the high grassy areas of the Sierra Madre, some seventy miles or so from home. This took the men and older boys away for many weeks, often several months, and left the women and younger children of their families to get along as best they could without them. Charles saw this as another reason for ending the cattle business and becoming more involved in farming, difficult as it was and not natural to him.
  
  One year before the exodus from Mexico, John left for St. Johns, Arizona. He had listened to the tales of his older brother, Bernard, going to Arizona to work as a cow hand. John was anxious to see some of the places he had spoken of. After writing and making arrangements with his uncle Edwin Whiting, his father's brother, who owned a store at St. Johns and a sawmill in the White Mountains, John and a companion Wilford Rolley left on horseback.
  
  The summer of 1911, John L. Whiting, a little over 21 years of age, was a tall, strong and handsome young man. Life seemed full of promise since he was going to work in his uncle's sawmill. Arrangements had been made to stay with his cousin, Martha Whiting Brown and her husband, Doctor Frank Brown. At last he had the opportunity to finish his education by enrolling in St. Johns Stake Academy for the coming year, 1911-1912. It takes little imagination to picture the numbing horror which filled the minds of all the family, when in August of 1911, they received an urgent telegram from St. Johns, carried horseback for the last few miles to Diaz, telling how John had accidentally fallen onto the saw and was in very critical condition. He had been working with uncle Edwin's son-in-law, Herbert Berry. Charles left immediately and arrived in St. Johns a week after the accident, a few hours after John's death. Then he learned the terrible details of the accident. The saw had cut completely through the abdominal wall, from the lower right hip to the upper abdomen. John's tremendous vitality and determination enabled him to survive the long hours until Doctor Roberts could be brought from St. Johns to the sawmill to disinfect and suture the terrible wound. If only they'd had a little "sulfa", or an antibiotic he would have lived. As it was, he died of peritonitis in the violent delirium of a raging fever precisely 7 days from the time he was hurt, on August 12th, 1911.
  
  Almost in a state of shock himself, his father buried this first-born son of his wife Anna Eliza Jacobson in St. Johns, then returned to Diaz, where the events of the next few months served only to add to the turmoil within his own soul. The only consolation had been that John had met his own grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Cox Whiting, and Charles, too, had seen her one more time, for she too was to die the 5th of July, 1912. The exodus from Mexico would be just two weeks later.
  
  «b»The Mexican Revolution«/b»
  
  In 1910, the Mexican Revolution was originally organized by Francisco I. Madero, member of a wealthy Mexican family, who had received his education in the United States. Appalled by the abuses and injustices of the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship, Madero had run for President of Mexico several years earlier, but had been defeated by Diaz' political machine, which was based on the placing of "strong men" in all key positions, to make sure that only those friendly to the regime would dare vote at the elections.
  
  John's brother, Frank M. Whiting, had been an administrator and a city official in Colonia Diaz, and he describes the system in the state of Chihuahua, where President Diaz had placed Luis Terrazas, one of the Generals who had helped him during a previous revolution, which had overthrown the Emperor, Maximilian and put Diaz in power.
  
  As Governor of Chihuahua, Terrazas had placed his Colonels and other trusted officers on good estates, where, as officers of the federal army and holders of various governmental positions, they were not required to pay taxes. "Only the poor paid taxes", Frank said.
  
  After Madero was defeated in the presidential election, he returned to the U.S. from where he organized the revolution, which erupted in November of 1910, his first major victory being the taking of Ciudad Juarez. (Not the Colony of Juarez). Out of curiosity, Frank travelled there by buggy and train, with 6 or 7 others, arriving one day after the routing of the Mexican federal troops by Madero. It was quite a sight, with streets full of men on horseback; Yaqui Indians, with long flowing hair, as well as American adventurers and Mexicans of all types made up the rebel army. In the meantime, Madero had sent two of his generals, one being Francisco Villa, toward the interior on the Sierra Madre railroad, with instructions to burn the bridges as they went. At Casas Grandes they met with considerable resistance by the federal forces and were finally routed for the time being. At one time, Francisco "Pancho" Villa had worked with Frank on the Sierra Madre Land and Railroad Company, and was glad he had never had to encounter him again. Villa was fired by the company, at Frank Whiting's suggestion.
  
  Madero was a brilliant, scholarly, and idealistic champion of human rights, but his revolution degenerated into horrible anarchy, dominated by double crossing opportunists, and former trusted generals of Madero. Lacking the vision and the idealism of their leader, the opportunists saw in his revolution only another chance to exploit their poor, bleeding land and it's people, and finally conspired and succeeded in the atrocious murder of one of it's greatest citizens who ever lived, Francisco I. Madero. But the spirit of Madero lives today. At long last the "peon" has become a "solid citizen", human slavery has been destroyed. Human rights is recognized as the primary criterion of man to man.
  
  Thievery began to plague the saints at Colonia Diaz. Revolution army people demanded horses, food etc. as a form of taxation. Fierce-looking Mexicans, wearing bandoleers of ammunition and carrying rifles appeared more frequently in their town.
  
  For Colonia Diaz, the climax of the revolution came in the early morning hours of July 28, 1912. General Jose Ynez Salazar, revolutionist, took command at Colonia Dublan, demanding that the Mormons surrender all arms and ammunition.
  
  From President Romney of Juarez Stake, a message had come to Dublan, advising the colonists to prepare to leave for the Unites States; this message was borne horseback to Frank Whiting, former Presidente of Colonia Diaz, by Levi Tenney (Aunt Lurlene's brother), who arrived in Diaz at 2:00 AM, July 28th. Frank, awakened by Tenney, told him to notify Bishop Romney and others on one side of town, while he alerted the other families. All heads of families were to meet at the school building as quickly as possible. At the schoolhouse, the people of Diaz, in accord with President Romney's request, decided to leave Chihuahua for a few days, until the trouble, which they hoped was just temporary, was settled. Boys were sent by horseback to all nearby Mormon ranches, and were told the time of departure would be promptly at 10:00 AM, only 6 hours away, since the meeting had been adjourned at 4:00 AM. At ten o'clock, the Mormon colonists of Colonia Diaz, Chihuahua, Mexico, started their trek, their "exodus", to the United States, which, though perhaps they didn't realize at the time, had been their "promised land".
  
  «b»Epilog for John«/b»
  
  John was considered to be one of the most exemplary young men in the community. What a tragedy! Such a promising young man, an obedient son, just beginning life. John's temple work was done, though born in the covenant, reaffirmation of his sealing to his parents was done April 10, 1970, by Merrill D. Black. As a baby, he was blessed by M.P. Mortenson, April 3, 1890. He was baptized by A. Anderson, confirmed March 3, 1898 by Charles Whiting, his father. He was ordained a Deacon September 7th, 1902. He was endowed after death November 20, 1912. Beverly Brown Killpack has searched the Temple Index Bureau and found no record of John being sealed to Minnie Acord, as some had supposed.
  
  Iris remembered her big brother as having dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, standing six feet tall. She remembers watching him tread water while swimming, raising himself half way out of the water with his strength. He had a good sense of humor. Iris really admired her older brother, six years her senior. The ache of losing him never went away. You can imagine how his mother and father felt. Myrtle and Iris, his sisters, both named a son after him.
  
  John had a part in a day of challenge in the forming western frontier, which saw colonization by not only the saints, but for many in the building of the west. The saints particularly, and those in the southwest especially were tried, but not found wanting. Many gave up their lives, or greater, gave life to a grateful posterity, through their faith, courage and hard perseverance. We must never forget to give to them our gratitude, for the foundation which they laid, that we might have the Gospel as we have it today, with provision for education, worship, freedom, and great opportunity of choice, in a land blessed by the Lord.
  
  «i»References:
  1. Frank Marion Whiting
  2. Myrtle Whiting Isaacson
  3. Iris Whiting Brown
  
  Compiled by Beverly Brown Killpack and Lorraine King Isaacson«/i»
  
  
  
  Not Married
  
  DEATH: Accidental death at sawmill.
  
  BAPTIZED: also 20 Jul 1911?
  SEALED P: 10 Apr 1970 Arizona Temple sealed by Merrill D. Black.
  
  Child Blessed 3 Apr 1890 by M. P. Mortensen.
  Baptized by A. Anderson. Confirmed 3 Mar 1898 by Charles Whiting.
  Ordained Deacon 7 Sep 1902