Erasmus Darwin Whitney (my great-great grandfather) moved to Winnebago County Illinois in 1845 and was one of their early pioneers. He died in 1898 and his widow, Laura Bixby, and four of their children (Wilbur, Elbert, Sarah (Hobson), and Mary) all moved to Roswell, New Mexico. Laura lived until 1920 and her body was taken back to Illinois for burial. Wilbur finally returned to Illinois to live, but the families of Elbert and Sarah were all raised in that area. (Mary was married and divorced but had no children.) Today, there is only one person living in that area with the last name of Whitney and that is Ken who is the grandson of Elbert who came down there to take over the farms of his uncles who had no children. About the only evidence today is a short road which is named, "Whitney Lane" on which the mail box of Ken Whitney stands. (Note: He may have a son who also lives in the area but I am not sure.) The farm of Erasmas Darwin stayed in the family and was owned by the Elbert Whitney families up until recently. My great grandfather, one of the brothers of the above, stayed in Illinois and established he and his children on farms about two miles from the original family farm. Many members of the Whitney families lived in both Illinois and New Mexico at different times in their lives. I was one of those familles but I was the only child, my parents are dead, and I now live in Colorado. Stu Pyper