Otis H. WHITAKER

1893 - 1917  (23 years)

• Name	Otis H. WHITAKER
  Born	13 Jun 1893	Tazewell Co. VA
  Gender	Male
  _UID	E3821A144AE341D78D668FBC64A44B61CA3B
  Died	2 Apr 1917	Tazewell Co. VA   [1]
  	Virginia, Deaths, 1912-2014. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia Name: Otis H Whitaker Gender: Male Race: White Age at Death: 23 Birth Date: 13 Jun 1893 Death Date: 2 Apr 1917 Death Place: Cedar Bluff, Tazewell, Virginia Cause of death: "was run over by a train. dead when found. thought to have went to sleep on track." Registration Date: 28 Apr 1917 Father: Hiram Whitaker Mother: Lillie Belle Christian Certificate Number: 1917010799
  Buried	Whitaker Family Cemetery, Cedar Bluff, Tazewell Co. VA
  	Grave location and tombstone photo: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=119724905
  Notes	Otis never married and was killed in 1917 under mysterious circumstances while guarding a railroad bridge at Cedar Bluff in World War I. His death certificate says he was a watchman for the N&W Railroad, but the Clinch Valley News says he was working for the Baldwin-Felts Agency. The family thought his body was placed on the bridge and was run over by the next train. During World War I, the agency?s talents were given freely to the United States Government for the protection of industries and apprehension of German spies and others considered enemies to the United States. U.S. entry into World War I in 1917 sparked a boom in the coal industry. The Baldwin-Felts Agency oversaw security operations in the Norfolk & Western Railway?s coalfield district. The company investigated train robberies, wrecks, and thefts as well as providing guards for railway and mine payrolls, as well as to accompany coal trains into the coalfields. Among labor union members of the coal mines, Baldwin?Felts agents were regarded as hired thugs, as evidenced in the shoot out at Matewan, WV, known as the Matewan Massacre. After the agency closed its doors in 1937, most of the company's files were destroyed or lost. The largest collection of extant files is housed at the Eastern Regional Coal Archives in Bluefield, West Virginia. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE Clinch Valley News, 6 April 1917 Guardsman Killed Otis Whitaker, age 23 years, a Baldwin-Felts guard, was run over and killed by train No. 85 near Cedar Bluff Monday morning. Whitaker was one of the guards employed by the railroad company in watching the bridges and tunnels on the Clinch Valley. He went to work Saturday night. An inquest was held yesterday morning, and the investigation developed that from the position in which the body was found he had evidently gone to sleep on the track. His feet and legs were several feet from the rest of his body. A pocketbook containing several dollars in money and a fine watch were found on the track, the watch having stopped at 3:21. Whitaker was placed in charge of three bridges near Cedar Bluff in keeping with the purpose of the N. & W., to use every precaution to prevent the interruption of traffic by enemies of the United States who might be incited to acts of violence by the declaration of war against Germany. The dead boy is a son of Hiram Whitaker, a well known citizen of Cedar Bluff. CENSUS RECORDS 1900 United States Federal Census Name: Otis H Whitaker Age: 6 Birth Date: Jun 1893 Birthplace: Virginia Home in 1900: Maiden Spring, Tazewell, Virginia Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Son Marital Status: Single Father's Name: Hiram Whitaker Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's Name: Lillie B Whitaker Mother's Birthplace: Virginia 1910 United States Federal Census Name: Otis H Whiteaker Age in 1910: 16 Birth Year: 1894 Birthplace: Virginia Home in 1910: Maiden Spring, Tazewell, Virginia Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Son Marital Status: Single Father's Name: Hiram Whiteaker Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's Name: Bell Whiteaker Mother's Birthplace: Virginia
  Person ID	I41	Master File
  Last Modified	27 Apr 2017

  
  

  Father	Hiram (Hi) WHITAKER,   b. 27 Aug 1852, Harman, Tazewell Co, VA ,   d. 14 Aug 1928, Baptist Valley, Tazewell Co. VA  (Age 75 years)
  Mother	Lillie Belle CHRISTIAN,   b. 21 Feb 1869, Harman, Tazewell Co, VA ,   d. 30 Sep 1943, Baptist Valley, Tazewell Co. VA  (Age 74 years)
  Married	29 Aug 1889	Tazewell Co VA
  	Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 Groom's Name: Hiram Whitaker Groom's Birth Date: 1852 Groom's Birthplace: Tazewell County, Va Groom's Age: 37 Bride's Name: Lelly B. Christian [Lilly] Bride's Birth Date: 1868 Bride's Birthplace: Tazewell County, Va Bride's Age: 21 Marriage Date: 29 May 1889 Marriage Place: Tazewell, Virginia Groom's Father's Name: James Groom's Mother's Name: Nancy Bride's Father's Name: Thos. C Bride's Mother's Name: Alafore [Allyfair] Groom's Race: White Groom's Marital Status: Widowed Groom's Previous Wife's Name: Bride's Race: White Bride's Marital Status: Single Bride's Previous Husband's Name: Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M01695-4 System Origin: Virginia-EASy Source Film Number: 34214 Reference Number: Page 87 Line128
  Family ID	F8	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S2] Pack Family Bible, Possession of Ella Mae Pack Whitaker.