Wattles Family Papers, 1860-1953 | Oberlin College Archives

Oberlin's philosophy and its history of educating blacks and women made it an ideal school for those of the Quaker faith.  The Wattles and Whinery families, both Quakers, joined in the marriage of Esther Whinery and John Wattles in 1844.  Their children would serve the college and community of Oberlin for 50 years.

Thomas and Lydia Whinery came to Columbiana County, Ohio, probably after the War of 1812.  The previous location of the Whinery family is unknown, though the earliest settlers typically migrated to Ohio primarily from New England or New York State.  Their daughter, Esther Whinery Wattles, had planned to attend Oberlin, though these hopes were never realized.  However, two of her three daughters graduated from Oberlin College: Harmonia earned a B.A. in 1872 and an M.A. in 1875, while Theano earned a B.A. in 1872.  The oldest daughter, Celestia, was granted an honorary masters degree in 1884.  Two daughters, Celestia and Harmonia, taught in the Conservatory of Music, Celestia as professor of piano for 44 years (1871-1915), and Harmonia as the first Dean of Women in the conservatory (1900-1914).  Harmonia also taught at the Oberlin High School (1876) and as a Dean raised the standards of scholarship admission to the conservatory.

Esther Whinery Wattles (1819-1908) (Mrs. John Otis Wattles)

Born near Salem, Ohio, on March 27, 1819, Esther Whinery was raised on a frontier farm with twelve siblings by their Quaker parents, Thomas and Lydia.  Owing to the division within the Society of Friends (Hicksites vs. Orthodox), the family moved to Clinton County, Ohio, near present-day Wilmington, in 1832.  As a teenager Esther Whinery taught in a local primary school after having attended school herself only sporadically.  After her second term as a teacher, she felt that she needed more education.  Though she planned to attend Oberlin College ("Collegiate Institute" before 1850), family illnesses dashed these hopes.  However, the experience she had in education reinforced her commitment to educate her own family.

Esther married John Otis Wattles (n.d.) on May 3, 1844, settling on a communal farm with 100 others in Clermont County, Ohio.  The name and nature of this commune is unknown, but it could have been an Owenite or Shaker community.  They later moved to another commune, near Cincinnati, where John taught high-school level subjects to colored boys in a room apparently donated for that purpose by a local preacher (Dabney, Cincinnati's Colored Citizens, 102).  From Cincinnati the search for the perfect home took them to Excelsior, Ohio; Lake Zurich, Ohio; Lafayette and Grand Prairie, Indiana; and for eight years to West Point, Indiana, where they finally purchased a home.

The family moved west to Moneka, Kansas, where John lectured on topics such as temperance, antislavery, and women's rights.  He also helped organize a local railroad.  Esther helped in a Civil War hospital, and both assisted John Brown, as did other abolitionists connected with Oberlin.

John died suddenly in 1859 leaving his widow and daughters, aged six, eight, and ten.  Esther stayed in Kansas for another six years, but then relocated to Oberlin in 1865 with her children and a niece, Mary Ann Wattles (Mrs. Sylvanus Carroll Faunce) to give them the educational privileges available there.

At the end of her life, Esther moved to Coconut Grove, Florida, to live with her daughter, Harmonia Wattles Woodford.  She died on April 12, 1908.

Lucretia Celestia Wattles (1849-1933)

The oldest daughter of John and Esther Wattles was born in Grand Prairie, Indiana, on February 11, 1849.  After moving to Oberlin with her mother and sisters in 1865, she enrolled at Oberlin College in the Ladies' Course (later the Literary Course) in 1866, studying for two years.  Her musical talent was soon apparent, and she became the pupil of Dr. John Morgan.  She spent 1868-1871 in Music Study in Leipzig and Paris under the tutelage of Professor and Mrs. Fenelon B. Rice, who would later become the Director of Oberlin's Conservatory (1872-1901).  On their return in 1871, she began her long career as a teacher of pianoforte at the Conservatory of Music.  In 1884 Oberlin bestowed upon her an honorary Master of Arts degree in recognition of her accomplishments and teaching proficiency; she was appointed Instructor in Piano and Harmony in the same year.  In 1892 she was promoted to Professor of Pianoforte and Harmony, and in 1894 her title was Professor of Pianoforte.  She studied additionally in 1883-1884 in Berlin and Vienna.  Noted as a woman of wisdom and high standards, she was credited, along with Fenelon B. Rice, with building the strong foundations of today's piano department.

Her 44 year tenure at the Conservatory of Music ended with her retirement in 1915.  She moved to Coconut Grove, Florida, with her mother and sister (Harmonia) and she died there on July 14, 1933, from "exhaustion following a slow decline."  In 1949 the L. Celestia Wattles Fund was established "for the aid of talented and deserving students at the Conservatory of Music."

Harmonia Wattles Woodford (1851-1924) (Mrs. Marshall Woodford)

Born in Williamsport, Indiana on February 10, 1851, "Monia" moved to Oberlin in 1865 with her mother and two siblings.  At age 14 she studied in the Oberlin public schools, then enrolled in the preparatory department at Oberlin College in 1866, was classed as a freshman in 1868 and graduated in 1872 with a B.A. degree.  In 1875 she was awarded an M.A. degree from Oberlin.  She taught for a year at Oberlin High School (1872-1873), and at a school in Newark, New Jersey (1873-1874).

On April 9, 1874, she married Marshall Woodford, also a member of the Oberlin College class of 1872; though they were married for several years the Woodfords had no children.  His career as a teacher, then as a lawyer, took them briefly west to Van Wert, Ohio, where Marshall was superintendent of schools, then east to Warren, Ohio.  Together they founded the Warren Public Library where Harmonia served as its first librarian.  Harmonia taught in Warren, Ohio from 1875-1882, then continued as a librarian in the Warren Public Library until 1899.

Marshall died of heart failure in Warren, Ohio, on September 7, 1895.  Five years later Harmonia returned to Oberlin to live with her mother and sister.  In 1900 she accepted an invitation to be the first Dean of Women in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, serving in that position until failing health forced her retirement in 1914.  Most of the rest of her life she lived in Coconut Grove, Florida, with her mother and Celestia.  In April 1924, due to failing health, she was admitted to the Massillon State Hospital.  She died on August 21, 1924 in Massillon, Ohio from arteriosclerosis.

Theano Wattles (1853-1949) (Mrs. Franklin Everett Case)

The youngest daughter of John and Esther Wattles was born on February 4, 1853 in West Point, Indiana.  She moved to Oberlin in 1865 with the rest of her family.  A graduate of the Oberlin College Ladies' Course in 1872, she studied for an additional two years at the Conservatory of Music.  Following one year teaching history in Lodi, Ohio, she spent the next three years abroad studying modern languages and Latin, and for a period taught in Canton, Ohio.  There she met Franklin Everett Case, a lawyer and manufacturer of dental equipment; they married on June 6, 1879.  The couple later sold their Canton home for use as the Canton Art Museum and moved to San Diego, California.  Case died there in 1933.  After her husband's death Theano stayed in San Diego pursuing her many and varied interests in nature study, painting wildflowers and marine specimens.  She combined hobbies of long distance walking and botany with watercolor and oil painting to produce scientifically accurate portfolios, with specific interest in seaweed and mushrooms.  At age 95 she still collected seaweed along the Pacific Coast.  She was listed in 1949 as the earliest and oldest living graduate of Oberlin College.

Theano Wattles Case died childless on October 1, 1949 in San Diego.  For the Estate File of Mrs. Case, see the Bursar Files (RG 8), Office of the Controller, Box 2.

Sources Consulted

Dabney, Wendell Phillips.  Cincinnati's Colored Citizens: Historical, Sociological and Biographical.  Cincinnati, Ohio : Dabney Pub. Co., c. 1926.

Faunce, Mary Ann Wattles.  Alumni File, Oberlin College Archives (RG 28).