Yukon who is who

Charles Edward Whittaker (1864 – 1947)

Charles Whittaker was born near Burford, Ontario.¹⁾ He, like Isaac Stringer, had been recruited from Wycliffe College for work as an Anglican missionary in the Arctic.²⁾ He was ordained as a deacon in 1895.³⁾

Rev. Whittaker’s first year in the Arctic was the winter of 1895-96 when he temporarily replaced Reverend Stringer. That year fifteen vessels wintered at Herschel Island. Three of the masters had their wives aboard. Many of the others had Eskimo women from Alaska. The petty officers had local girls and women.⁴⁾

On 30 November 1895, Pysha, a Point Hope Inuvialuit, beat his wife and killed his daughter. On December 3rd, a crowd of whaleman seized him and gave him 100 lashes and then banned him from the community. Whittaker gave him the first dozen lashes. The punishment further deranged Pysha who later murdered eight Inupiat at Flaxman Island, west of Barter Island. He was subsequently executed by the Inupiat at Point Barrow [Nuvuk].⁵⁾

Whittaker had a reputation as a forthright, unpopular, and patronizing character.⁶⁾ He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1898 by Bishop Reeve of the Diocese of Mackenzie River.⁷⁾

Reverend C. E. Whittaker was at Herschel Island in 1904 and wrote about his experiences in May of the next year. In May 1904, he had no help at the mission although his wife was in ill health. In June, some First Nation people came to visit and one girl, named Susan, stayed to help. During the summer, Whittaker spent his time fishing and managed to catch two thousand fish. The wintering ships left in July and new boats arrived from San Francisco in August, bringing the missionary’s annual supplies. The police arrived with the mail a few days before the ships and so Herschel did not see the ‘drunk and disorderly’ scene of past years. The whaleships returned in September and Whittaker hired a sailor, Walter Long, to help about the mission when Whittaker left for a fast visit to Fort McPherson. He went to retrieve a woman sent by the bishop to help at the mission, but the woman did not arrive.⁸⁾

There was a qualified physician at Herschel that winter and the Whittaker's baby, Winnie, was diagnosed with rickets. She had been walking and her ankles were deformed. They made “iron legs” for her and she was unable to walk all winter, until May 1905. Mrs. Whittaker also suffered ill health during their winter. The physician helped her out by taking over the duties of organist.⁹⁾

Whittaker reported two ships in Pauline Harbour in May 1905. Mrs. Cook, who was there in the previous year, was still there and she visited daily. The two police were also reported as good company. This was in contrast to the first year when the Whittakers had only ‘evil tempered’ residents as company. The English service was not well attended but the Inuvialuit services were. There were no services during Whittaker's five-week absence, but the attendance figure for 1904 was 3,485, or an average of 66. Services were held in the missionary's house and they had as many as 114 Inuvialuit and twelve whites at once. It was a mild winter but Long, an Inuvialuit helper, was kept busy cutting wood and hauling it by dog team the ten miles to the house. The day school was not a success as the children did not attend regularly. There was a class for four young men during the winter on two evenings a week. They were taught to read and write quite a little in their own language.¹⁰⁾

Hundreds of seals were killed there during the year, but the people sometimes went hungry. The missionary was well supplied with meat all winter and in May had deer meat. Bishop Reeve advised them of the coming of a helper, Mr. Frazer, whom they expected would arrive in July and perhaps Miss Groves, whom they had expected last fall, would also arrive. Four mails arrived during the year in August, October, February and May. Whittaker expected a Canadian ship with more police to arrive and looked forward to having order established.¹¹⁾

Services for the Inuvialuit were attended by seventy to eighty people every week. An English service was held on Sunday evening for the men from the ships and there was also evening classes for the Inuvialuit men who wanted to learn. The day school was hindered by the sickness of the Whittaker's baby and she died in April 1906. It was the third death in the family in the five years Whittaker had spent there. The missionary was confined to Herschel as he did not have any transportation. He did travel to Fort McPherson on April 20th. The party included Mrs. Whittaker and their daughter Mabel as well as an Inuvialuit girl and two boys. It took two weeks to travel the 200 miles as the rivers were thawing as they went. The article includes a photo of Mrs. Whittaker and her daughter.¹²⁾

Reverend Whittaker completed a term of service of five years at Herschel Island in 1906 and he and his family moved to Fort McPherson. They left on April 20th with one large frame sled and six dogs and one toboggan with four dogs. They carried the coffin and body of one of their children who had died a fortnight before. They were to bury him beside a brother interred at Fort McPherson three years before. Their seven-year-old daughter rode on the sled or ran beside with an Inuit girl of twelve who was on her way to school. They camped the first night at Kay Point and reached King Point on the third day. They stayed at the winter camp of Captain Raold Amundsen. The party reached Fort McPherson on May 6th, one day before the river broke.¹³⁾

Woodall notes that Rev. Whittaker buried the lost RNWMP patrol members at Fort McPherson in 1911.¹⁴⁾ Reverend Whittaker was appointed the Archdeacon of the Diocese of Mackenzie River from 1914 to 1918.¹⁵⁾ The Whittakers were at Fort McPherson in April 1915 and had been for some time. Whittaker was best known for his public row with Wilhjalmur Stefansson with Stefansson criticising the northern missionaries and Whittaker attacking Stefansson for neglecting his Nunatarmiut wife, Fanny Pannigabluk, and their son Alex.¹⁶⁾

Rev. Whittaker was the Anglican rector of Christ Church Parish in Whitehorse from June 1918 to May 1921.¹⁷⁾ He left the Yukon after that and served in parishes in Ontario.¹⁸⁾