Richard Henry WHITING, Congress, IL (1826-1888)

WHITING, Richard Henry, (uncle of Ira Clifton Copley), a Representative from Illinois; born in West Hartford, Conn., January 17, 1826; attended the common schools; moved to Altona, Ill., in 1850, thence to Galesburg, Ill., in 1860, where he built a gas works; during the Civil War served in the Union Army as paymaster of Volunteers 1862-1866; appointed assessor of internal revenue for the fifth district of Illinois in February 1870, serving until May 20, 1873, when the office was abolished; appointed collector of internal revenue for the same district May 20, 1873, with office at Peoria, Ill., and served until his resignation on March 4, 1875, having been elected to Congress; elected as a Republican to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877); was not a candidate for renomination in 1876; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884; died in New York City, May 24, 1888; interment in Springdale Cemetery, Peoria, Ill.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present