Life

Edward Baldwin Whitney was born August 16, 1857. His father was linguist William Dwight Whitney

William Dwight Whitney

William Dwight Whitney was an American linguist, philologist, and lexicographer who edited The Century Dictionary.-Life:William Dwight Whitney was born in Northampton, Massachusetts on February 9, 1827. His father was Josiah Dwight Whitney of the New England Dwight family...

  (1827–1894) of the new England Dwight family

New England Dwight family

The New England Dwight family had many members who were military leaders, educators, jurists, authors, businessmen and clergymen.Around 1634 John Dwight came with his wife Hannah, daughter Hannah, and sons Timothy Dwight and John Dwight, from Dedham, Essex, England to North America where the town...

. His mother was Elizabeth Wooster Baldwin, daughter of US Senator and Governor of Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 Roger Sherman Baldwin

Roger Sherman Baldwin

Roger Sherman Baldwin was an American lawyer involved in the Amistad case, who later became the 17th Governor of Connecticut and a United States Senator.-Early life:...

.

He graduated from Yale College

Yale College

Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...

, 1878, where he was a member of Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....

 along with future US President William H. Taft. After Yale he went on to the Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...

 and was admitted to the bar of New York, 1880.

He was managing clerk, Bristow, Peet & Opdyke. In 1883, with General Henry Lawrence Burnett

Henry Lawrence Burnett

Henry Lawrence Burnett was a brevet brigadier general for the Union in the American Civil War and a prosecutor in the trial that followed the Abraham Lincoln assassination.-Early life:...

, who was a member of that firm, he formed the firm of Burnett & Whitney.

He was a justice on the First District New York State Supreme Court from 1909-1911.

Aside from his judgeship, he never held elected office. He was an active Democrat and organizer of the national association of Democratic clubs, secretary from its organization, 1888-90. Secretary, anti-Hill organization in New York up to the time of the February convention last year, when it was reorganized. At the May 1892 convention at Syracuse

Syracuse, New York

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

 he was chosen as delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

.

Whitney was a trustee, Reform Club

Reform Club

The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...

; member, Century Club

Century Club

Century Club may refer to:*Centurion, a variation of the drinking game known as Power Hour*The Century Association, a prominent private authors and artists club, with its own building, in New York City...

; Democratic Club; Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....

; and of the Lawyers' club and of the bar association of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. He was appointed by President Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...

 to be Assistant Attorney General

United States Assistant Attorney General

Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an Assistant Attorney General.The President of the United States appoints individuals to the position of Assistant Attorney General with the advice and consent of the Senate...

 of the United States.

He married A. Josepha Newcomb, the daughter of astronomer and mathematician Simon Newcomb

Simon Newcomb

Simon Newcomb was a Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician. Though he had little conventional schooling, he made important contributions to timekeeping as well as writing on economics and statistics and authoring a science fiction novel.-Early life:Simon Newcomb was born in the town of...

. Their son was mathematician Hassler Whitney

Hassler Whitney

Hassler Whitney was an American mathematician. He was one of the founders of singularity theory, and did foundational work in manifolds, embeddings, immersions, and characteristic classes.-Work:...

. He died January 5, 1911. He had just been appointed to the New York State Supreme Court, and contracted a cold that turned into pneumonia on his return from being sworn in.

External links

• Edward Baldwin Whitney at The Descendants of John Whitney, pages 486 - 490
• Edward Baldwin Whitney at The Descendants of John Whitney, pages 491 - 495
• At the United States Government, 1893
• Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England By Thomas Townsend Sherman
• Hoar-Baldwin-Foster-Sherman family of Massachusetts at Political Graveyard