Whittlesey, Edgar Augustus (1819–1862)

Edgar Augustus Whittlesey, state legislator, was born in Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, on July 1, 1819. He was the son of Luman and Sarah Johnson (Cogswell) Whittlesey. Whittlesey immigrated to Mississippi in the late 1830s where he worked as a merchant in Lawrence and Holmes counties. In about 1846 he married Martha Augusta Bullock and moved to Sabine County, Texas. This couple had two sons and one daughter. In 1849 Whittlesey was elected to represent Sabine and Newton counties in the Third Texas Legislature. However, he resigned this position and was replaced by Joshua Hopkins Speights in August 1850. Around this time, Whittlesey moved with his family to Tyler County. Here Whittlesey served as tax assessor from 1854 to 1856 and as a county commissioner in 1861. He was also a Master Mason and served as a deacon in the Grand Lodge of Texas in 1850. Whittlesey died on April 10, 1862, and was buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Woodville, Tyler County, Texas.