Whitford was born on July 29, 1854, in Rockville, Indiana.

[1] He later moved to Loveland, Colorado with his sister Mary Harlan Leedham.

[3] From 1899 to 1902, he was a Democratic member of the Colorado Senate from the 1st district He was appointed by governor Charles S. Thomas to revise the revenue laws.

[5] Whitford died on July 12, 1914, aged 59, in Denver.

After his death, his brother Greeley married his widowed wife.