Justin Rice Whiting was a politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

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Whiting was born in Bath, New York

Bath (village), New York

Bath is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 5,641 at the 2000 census. Bath is the county seat of Steuben County. The community was named either for the English city or for Lady Bath, daughter of William Pulteney, one of the original landowners.The Village of...

, and moved to Michigan in 1849 with his parents, who settled in St. Clair, Michigan

St. Clair, Michigan

St. Clair is a city in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,802 at the 2000 census. The city is located on the St. Clair River near the southeast corner of St. Clair Township.-Geography:...

. He attended the public schools and the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 at Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

 from 1863 to 1865. He worked as a merchant and manufacturer. Whiting was elected mayor of St. Clair in 1879 and represented the 17th District in the Michigan State Senate in 1882.

He was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 from Michigan's 7th congressional district

Michigan's 7th congressional district

Michigan's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Southern Michigan. It consists of all of Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, and Lenawee counties, and includes most of Calhoun and a large portion of western and northern Washtenaw counties.In the November 2, 2010...

 to the 50th United States Congress

50th United States Congress

The Fiftieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887 to March 4, 1889, during the third and fourth...

 and reelected to the 51st

51st United States Congress

The Fifty-first United States Congress, referred to by some critics as the Billion Dollar Congress, was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...

, 52nd

52nd United States Congress

The Fifty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C...

, and 53rd

53rd United States Congress

The Fifty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893 to March 4, 1895, during the fifth and sixth...

 Congresses, serving from March 4, 1887 until March 3, 1895. After leaving Congress, Whiting resumed his former business pursuits in St. Clair. He was an unsuccessful Fusion

Electoral fusion

Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate...

 candidate for Governor of Michigan

Governor of Michigan

The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...

 in 1898, losing to incumbent Republican Hazen S. Pingree

Hazen S. Pingree

Hazen Stuart Pingree was a four-term Republican mayor of Detroit and the 24th Governor of the US state of Michigan .-Early life in Maine and Massachusetts:...

. He also ran for election in 1900 to the 57th Congress

57th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:*Democratic: 151*Republican: 200 *Populist: 5*Silver : 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Theodore Roosevelt , until September 14, 1901, vacant thereafter....

, losing to incumbent Republican Edgar Weeks

Edgar Weeks

Edgar Weeks was a military officer, judge and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.-Biography:Weeks was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, where he attended the public schools and learned the printing trade...

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Whiting married Emily Owen, and his son, also named Justin Rice Whiting (1886–1965), was president of the Consumers Power Company from 1949 to 1959.

Whiting also served as chairman of the Democratic State central committee. He died in St. Clair and is interred there at Hillside Cemetery.