Joseph Whitehouse (abt. 1775)

Born about 1775 in Fairfax, Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

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One of the Corps of Discovery members on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Biography

Joseph Whitehouse was involved in the westward expansion of the USA. See Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Joseph Whitehouse was recruited for the Corps of Discovery at Fort Massac from the 1st Infantry Regiment. He was an officer and often acted as a tailor for the other men. He also kept a journal which for some Expedition events provides context to the story. Whitehouse later served during the War of 1812.

The exact birth year and other origin details for Joseph Whitehouse are unknown. He has most often been associated with, and presumed to be a child of, James Whitehouse(1758-abt.1819) and Sarah Mason (Vaughn) Whitehouse (1764-1843) who were parents to 15 children. However, documents have not proven such, and the relationship is disputed by descendants denying the couple had a son named Joseph, specifically at the time the family moved into what became Kentucky. See Disputed Relationships section below.

Based on his military records, Joseph was born in Virginia ca 1775. He joined the U.S. army, ca 1795 and was stationed at Kaskaskia, in the Illinois territory, during which time he worked on the Missouri River, and had extensive contact with traders and Indians. In 1803, he transferred to Capt. Russell Bissell's company, also in Kaskaskia, and volunteered for the Lewis and Clark journey that left the following year, with several of his co-officers including John Ordway and Patrick Gass.

His Expedition Journal
Whitehouse kept a journal which was published in fragmentary form in 1905. It has now been reissued, supplemented with newly found paraphrase text, as Volume 11, of the Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Gary E. Moulton, Editor (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1997).

By and large, he reported scenes and events found in the officers journals in his own vernacular. In several instances, however, Whitehouse does provide additional information concerning certain important matters that clarifies that of his superiors. For example, on May 8, 1805, Lewis had written, “[F]rom the colour of it’s water we called it Milk river. we think it possible that this may be the river called by the Minitares the river which scoalds at all others or [blank space in M.S.]”

Whitehouse clarifies the meaning of the strange word “scoalds” by giving his understanding of what the color of the river was. His May 8 entry reads, “Our officers gave this River the name, Scalding Milk River.”^{[citation needed]}

He indicated his intentions to publish his journal, prepared an expanded edition of his notes, and composed a preface in the fall of 1806. He never published the journal for sale, but either field notes or the actual diary were found, and are printed in the history of the journals published by Reuben Gold Thwaites in 1904.^{[citation needed]}

After the Expedition
Upon his return from the Western exploration, Whitehouse sold the land that he had earned as payment for the expedition for $280 to George Drouillard, an interpreter on the expedition. In 1807, he was arrested for debt. He rejoined the army in time to fight in the War of 1812, and in August of 1813 his rank was reduced from Corporal to Private. His military career finally ended when deserted the army in 1817.

Details of his death including date and location, remain a mystery.

Disputed Relationships
Although several family trees list Joseph, newspaper articles describing the family do not mention a son by that name. These old articles outline the move that James and Sarah Whitehouse made from Fauquier to Kentucky with their three children John, Thomas and Mary in 1783. Joseph's birth year supposes he was born several years before John, and the question arises why he is not then listed as a child of the couple.

Steve Whitehouse on FamilySearch notes: "James and Sarah Whitehouse's family was documented when they left Virginia for Kentucky. They did not have a child named Joseph at that time. There is no documented evidence that they had a son named Joseph. Please provide a primary source document showing that the parents of Joseph Whitehouse are James and Sarah Whitehouse." Change Log for LVM9-VS7

Wife and son: It is noted on many sites and family trees that Joseph married Mary, often times paired with the surname Williams, and had a son, Alfred Eldoris Whitehouse. However, no sources are given and seemingly no records survive to confirm the names of either.

Sources

• The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 2005. U of Nebraska Press / U of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries-Electronic Text Center. 5 Oct. 2005 <http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu>.

• Morris, Larry E. The Fate of the Corps: What Became of the Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition. Yale University Press, 2005. p. 156

• "United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD5-PT14 : 3 March 2021), Joseph H Whitehouse, 31 Aug 1816; citing p. 80, volume 033, , , , United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 17; FHL microfilm 350,323.

See Also:

• Geni.com: Joseph Whitehouse possible family tree