"A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of the City of Seattle and County of King, Washington." New York and Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1903. p. 586. CHARLES F. WHITTLESEY The law has ever attracted to its ranks a certain class of men gifted with keen perception and logical minds, men who, by nature or training, or both, are peculiarly fitted to deal with the problems which arise among their fellows. In reviewing the prominent members of the King county bar we find the name of Charles F. Whittlesey, who is a member of the firm of Booth, Whittlesey & Hanford, a prominent abstract company. Mr. Whittlesey was born in Fort Warren, New Mexico on the 19th of August, 1855, and on both the paternal and maternal sides is descended from prominent old families. John Whittlesey, the progenitor of the paternal branch in America, came to this country form Cambridge, England, in 1635, locating in Saybrook, Connecticut, and there his son Joseph was born on the 15th of January, 1671. His son, also named Joseph, was born in that city on the 20th of May, 1722, and during the Revolutionary war served as an adjutant quartermaster of a Connecticut regiment. He was made a prisoner by the British during, that struggle. His son, John Baldwin Whittlesey, was born in Saybrook, November 26, 1782, and became the grandfather of our subject. He became a Presbyterian minister in the state of New York, and his death occurred there on the 10th of September, 1833, at the age of fifty-one years. He married Nancy Hotchkiss, a daughter of Lemuel and Penelope Hotchkiss Joseph Hotchkiss Whittlesey, the father of our subject, was born in Avon, New York, August 22, 1822, and was a graduate of West Point. During the Mexican war he was made a second lieutenant, and for gallant service at the battle of Buena, Vista, in which he served under General Taylor, he was made a first lieutenant. During the Civil war he also served his country as a brave and loyal soldier, having command of a regiment in the Army of the Potomac. He was with his regiment at the siege of Yorktown, and was taken prisoner at Winchester, Virginia, but on account of disability was soon afterward paroled and exchanged. For a time thereafter he was engaged in recruiting volunteers for the Union army throughout Pennsylvania, New York and New Hampshire. He was afterward professor of military science in Cornell University and was next made treasurer of the soldiers' home at Washington, D. C., serving in the latter position for five years. The year 1884 witnessed his arrival in Seattle, but after a residence here of only two years he was called to his final rest, passing away on the 1st of August, 1886, at the age of sixty-four years. He married Miss Catherine Knox Fauntleroy, a descendant of an old French family of Virginia. Moore Fauntleroy, the founder of the family in America, came to this country from Scotland, locating in Frederick county, Virginia. He was of French descent. The maternal great-grandfather of our subject, Charles Fauntleroy, was a member of the supreme bench of the Old Dominion, was also a member of the Virginia legislature, and was a general in the Revolutionary war, having charge of a Virginia brigade. So great was his sympathy for the cause of the colonies that he disinherited a son who espoused the British cause. His daughter married Charles Magill, who was a colonel on General Washington's staff, while another daughter married Charles M. Thurston, who was also a member of Washington's staff in that memorable struggle. To Mr. and Mrs. Whittlesey were born two sons, William H. and Charles Fauntleroy. Charles F. Whittlesey was educated by private tutors during his early years, and later became a student in the Princeton College, in which institution he was graduated in 1874. His professional education was received in Columbian College at Washington , District of Columbia, in which he was graduated in 1876, and from that time until 1881 he followed his chosen profession in the capital city. In the latter year he took up his abode in Colorado, where he was a member of the legal profession for three years. Since 1883 he has been a resident of the state of Washington, spending the first year in Whatcom, and since 1884 he has made his home in Seattle. After his arrival in this city he turned his attention principally to land law and assisted in forming the abstracts for King county, which his company now owns. His name is a familiar one in political and professional circles throughout this section of the state, and by reason of his marked intellectual activity and superior ability he is well fitted to aid in molding the policy of the state, to control general interests and from public opinion. Mr. Whittlesey has been a life-long Democrat, and for two terms, of two years each, he served his county as its treasurer. He was appointed by Governor George Semple as regent of the University of Washington, and was serving in that capacity when the territory was admitted into the Union. On the 23d of July, 1886, in Seattle, Mr. Whittlesey was happily married to Miss Susana DeWolf, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and a daughter of Captain Frederick S. DeWolf, who served as a captain of Confederate forces during the Civil war, and is now a resident of Seattle. The union of our subject and wife has been blessed with two daughters, Charlotte DeWolf and Laura DeWolf. The family reside in a pleasant home in Seattle, where they dispense a gracious hospitality to their many friends. Mrs. Whittlesey is a member of the Second Presbyterian church of this city. ******************* Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in October 2008 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.