pioneer paper manufacturer, philanthropist, b. Gilboa, N.Y. He moved with his parents to Wisconsin in 1854, settling in Ripon, and until 1875 was employed in various businesses in Janesville and in Neenah. In 1875 he purchased an interest in the Winnebago Paper Mill at Neenah, and in 1881, with William Gilbert (q.v.) of Chicago, organized the Whiting and Gilbert Co. at Menasha. In 1886 he bought out his partner's interest in the Menasha mill, and in 1911 incorporated the enterprise as the George A. Whiting Paper Co. In 1893 he organized the Plover Paper Co. at the junction of Plover and Wisconsin rivers; the town that grew up around the mill was called Whiting, and the offices of the firm were eventually moved to Stevens Point as the Whiting-Plover Paper Co. Whiting was identified with several other business enterprises and financial establishments in the state, held local offices in Neenah, and was noted for his philanthropic contributions to Ripon College, Lawrence College, and to the Whiting Memorial Baptist Church in Neenah. Whiting maintained his residence in Neenah until his death, and after his death, control of his business and papermaking enterprises passed into the hands of his adopted son, Frank B. Whiting. P. V. Lawson, et al., eds., Hist. of Winnebago Co. (2 vols., Chicago, 1908); W. A. Titus, Hist. of the Fox River Valley . . . (3 vols., Chicago, 1930); M. M. Quaife, Wis. (4 vols., Chicago, 1924); Appleton Post- Crescent, July 17, 1930.Learn More
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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]
