Charles Andrew Whitney (November 14, 1834 – December 31, 1912) was an American businessman and industrialist in the late 19th century, born in Princeton, Massachusetts. ^[1] He was part of the prominent American Whitney family. In 1859, Charles, his brother Levi L. Whitney, and Orville E. Thompson helped lead the large-scale manufacturing of leather boots and shoes in Chicago and were attributed with successfully running the first factory of its kind there. ^[2] Whitney himself held patents for the manufacture of leather. ^[3]

Thompson, Whitney, and Co. (later Whitney Bros. and Co.) had 300 workers and annual revenue of over $300,000, producing over 100 cases of leather goods per week at its peak. ^[2] In the 1860s, the company was among the top producers in the rapidly growing Chicago leather industry, and its products were showcased in the Paris Universal Exposition of 1867. ^[4] In 1870, the company was noted as by far the highest-grossing producer in the city. ^[5]

After the loss of the factory in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Charles returned to Massachusetts with his wife Martha Elizabeth (Waters) Whitney, ^[6] and resided at the historic Waters Farm in Sutton, Massachusetts. ^[7] He died December 31, 1912, at the age of 78 from arteriosclerosis. ^[8]

References

External links

• The Encyclopedia of Chicago: Leather and Tanning