Reuben Whitaker (1835-1918) was born in Ohio and died in Los Angeles, California. His family moved to Iowa in the 1850s. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1862, where he first served as a Private in Company F&S of the 33rd Regiment, Iowa Infantry and then as a hospital steward until the end of the American Civil War. In 1866, he married Harriet "Hattie" L. Whitaker (b. Shriver) in Oskaloosa. In 1878, Whitaker went into business with Hattie's brother, Levi P. Shriver, starting Whitaker & Shriver, book-sellers and stationers in Oskaloosa. The business was dissolved in 1887. Hattie first received Christian Science treatment through prayer from Jennie B. Fenn, a student of Mary Baker Eddy, in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1886. After a successful healing, the Whitakers both became interested in Christian Science and studied with Fenn. They later became students of Eddy, completing the Primary Class in March 1888 and joining the Christian Scientist Association that same year. Reuben also became a member of the National Christian Scientist Association and was an agent for Eddy's books. The Whitakers worked together as practitioners. Reuben was listed in the directory of The Christian Science Journal as a Christian Science practitioner in Oskaloosa in 1887 and in Los Angeles from 1890-1914. They moved to Los Angeles around 1889, where they were involved with setting up The Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Los Angeles, California. The Whitakers joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 31, 1892. In 1904, they became members of the General Association of Teachers. In 1918, Whitaker was admitted to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Pacific Branch, in Los Angeles, where he passed away.

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