Whately began life in Suffolk before the family moved back to Oxford when she was three.
In 1831 the family moved to Dublin in 1831 where Whately had a governess and shared her brother's tutor Revd Joseph Blanco White.
[1][2] Whately was involved in the family charity works and so she taught in the Irish Church Mission Society.
Whately was convinced that Roman Catholism was dangerous and as a result she focused heavily on this subject as well as missionary work.
Like her sisters, Whately had problems with her lungs and was sent to Guernsey for the winter where she died on 19 February 1893.