Santa
Clara County
Biographies
ROSCOE ALBERT WHIFFEN. M.D.
ROSCOE ALBERT
WHIFFEN.
M.D. Although a
comparatively recent recruit to the professional circles of San Jose,
Dr. Roscoe Albert Whiffen has established an enviable reputation, both as
a general practitioner and gynecologist, and as the successful manipulator of
mining interests, and president of the Dresden Gold Mining Company. The doctor is a young man, having been born
in Brodhead, Green county. Wis. May 19, 1872, but
he has the judgment, dignity, and assurance of a man many years his
senior. He is of English ancestry, and
his family was established on this side of the water by his paternal
grandfather, John, who settled near Utica, N.Y., and at an early stage of
Illinois history located in the vicinity of Kewanee, Henry county. He was a stockman and butcher, and used to
ship his products to the then small town of Chicago, located on the lake. He was a successful business man, and
practical help to his community, his death occurring at an advanced age, after
he had acquired a comfortable competence.
While living in Utica, N.Y., his son, Isaac Albert, the father of
Roscoe, was born, and moved with the family overland to their new home in
Illinois. Isaac was not much behind his
father as far as enterprise and push were concerned, and while yet a boy he set
out to prepare for the future by learning the carriage maker’s trade. Eventually he worked at his trade in
Broadhead, going then to Janesville, Wis., where he manufactured carriages for
twenty-eight years. His was one of the
substantial enterprises of the town, and he was known as one of its most
public-spirited and estimable citizens.
At the present time he is living in retirement, having earned the right
to leisure by a career of unusual activity and worthiness. His wife also survives to enjoy the fruits of
his labor, she having been in girlhood Josephine Robins, a native daughter of
Elmira, N.Y.
Dr. Whiffen is the second of three
children, and he was educated in the public schools of Janesville, Wis., where
he graduated from the high-school in the class of 1891. It had long been his intention to devote his
life to medicine and surgery, and even as a boy dreams of success in this line
flitted across his brain, mingling with his small tasks and diversions and
luring him on with its fascinating possibilities. Previous to settling down to the study of
medicine, however, he learned stenography and bookkeeping, thereafter finding a
position in Chicago until entering the medical department of the Northwestern
University in 1894. After a few months
he went to the College of Physicians & Surgeons, graduating in 1897, and
thereafter being appointed an interne at the West Side Hospital, after
successfully passing the competitive examination. After eighteen months as an interne
Dr. Whiffen located in Briggsville, Marquette county, Wis., and in the fall of 1901 brought his experience
and enthusiasm to San Jose, where he has since successfully bid for the
patronage of its best and most exacting citizens. Dr. Whiffen is a member of the County
and State Medical Societies, and is inclined to take an active part in
conventions and general professional work.
His interest in mining has so far been most successful, and points to the
future accumulation of a large fortune.
The Dresden Gold Mining Company, of which he is president and one of the
largest stockholders, owns one hundred and twenty acres of land under Table
Mountain, in the old river bed near Jamestown, Tuolumne county,
the property giving promise of large returns in the near future. Dr. Whiffen is an interested spectator
of local political undertakings, and though a stanch[sic]
Republican, has so far denied himself to overtures on the part of his fellow
citizens. He is an ardent worker and
member of the Young Men’s Christian Association, and in precept and example
voices the high plane of living advocated by this enormous and powerful
organization. Dr. Whiffen has a
pleasant home in San Jose, his family consisting of his wife, formerly Sophia Muehlheisen, of Vineland, N.J., and a daughter, Josephine
E. The doctor is a sturdy example of the
man who succeeds more through his own grit and determination, than through any
encouragement on the part of early good fortune. He is a firm believer in the best tenets of
medical science, and brings to his aid many of the latter day philosophies
which tend to make life happier and better for both practitioner and patient.
[Inserted by D.
Toole.]
ROSCOE ALBERT WHIFFEN, M.D.
1907
May 7, Janesville Daily Gazette, P5, Janesville,
Wisconsin
J.[sic] A. Whiffen Returns from His Winter
in California
Spent
the Season With His Son in San Jose – Will Experience
Two Springs
J.[sic] A. Whiffen returned on Sunday from
his winter in California. He spent most
of the time in San Jose where his son, Dr. R. A. Whiffen, is located and
enjoyed his visit exceedingly. He says
that the winter there has been colder than for some years past and the spring
backward, but had he known how late Wisconsin was he would have remained on the
coast until June. Everything is
beautiful there now.
1918
Jul 12, Santa Cruz Evening News, P7, Santa Cruz, California
Many
Doctors Enter Service
San
Jose, July 21 – Responding to the nation’s call for service, a large number of
doctors in San Jose have entered the medical corps of the army and navy. <snipped> The position of captain was recently
conferred upon Dr. R. A. Whiffen, who has been for seventeen years a
physician. Dr. Whiffen does not know
when he will leave for the colors. <snipped>
1918
Aug 1, Janesville Daily Gazette, P2, Janesville, Wisconsin
Dr.
R. A. Whiffen is Made a Captain in the Medical Corps
Former
Resident of Janesville and Son of Mr. and Mrs. I. A. Whiffen, Commissioned in
California
Dr.
R. A. Whiffen, a resident of Janesville for many years, and for the past
several years a practicing physician and surgeon at San Jose, Cal., has been
commissioned as a captain in the medical corps of the army. He has been ordered for temporary duty to the
Letterman General hospital in San Francisco, Beginning August 1. Dr. Whiffen is a son of Mr. and Mrs. I. A.
Whiffen and a brother of Dr. J. R. Whiffen of this city. He spent all of his early life here and will
be remembered by many people in this city.
He is a graduate of the Janesville high school. Dr. Whiffen was one of the best known
surgeons in the San Jose section of California, and gives up a large and very
lucrative practice to enter the medical department of the army.
1950
Apr 28, Janesville Daily Gazette, P2, Janesville, Wisconsin
Dr.
Roscoe A. Whiffen
A
former Janesville resident, Dr. Roscoe A. Whiffen, retired physician-surgeon,
died March 14 at his home, 1152 Cherry avenue, Willow Glen, Calif. Second mayor of Willow Glen, Dr. Whiffen
served on the county planning commission for four yours. Born in Beloit, Dr. Whiffen attended
Janesville High school, studied at the University of Chicago and Northwestern university and was graduated from the College of Physicians
and Surgeons. In 1909 he moved from
Chicago to the Santa Clara Valley locating in San Jose, Calif. In 1925 Dr. and Mrs. Whiffen moved to Willow
Glen. The couple celebrated their golden
wedding anniversary in 1949. Surviving
are his wife; two daughters, Mrs. Joseph L Anderson, San Jose and Mrs.
Alice Armour, Virginia. He was preceded in death by a son, Dr. Robert
A. Whiffen, San Jose surgeon, who was fatally injured in an auto accident in
1946, while serving in the navy; a brother Dr. John Whiffen, Janesville
dentist, and a sister, Mrs. Alice Dugdale,
Platteville. Burial was in Oak Hill
Memorial park, Willow Glen.
1929
June 24, San Francisco Chronicle, P10, San Francisco, California
Mrs.
Sophia Whiffen, new president of the Willows Reading and Study Club, will
direct the affairs of this neighborhood organization when meetings are resumed
this fall.
1956
Apr 23, Janesville Daily Gazette, P6, Janesville, Wisconsin
50
Years Ago
April
23, 1906 – Janesville’s contribution to the relief of the California earthquake
sufferers totals $1,800. Word is
received from Dr. R. A. Whiffen, San Jose, Calif., that he and his family were
not injured in the earthquake which recently devastated the city. Dr. Whiffen is well known in Janesville.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 1289-1290. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Donna Toole.