William Henry Whitaker (c. 1821–1888) was an American Seminole War veteran and pioneer who, under the provisions of the Armed Occupation Act, established the first permanent settlement in what is now Sarasota, Florida.

[3][4] He later married Mary Jane Wyatt and with her raised Nancy Whitaker, the first child recorded in what now is the county of Sarasota and a family of eleven children.

He worked there in the fishing trade and in time crossed paths with his half-brother Hamlin Valentine Snell, who later became President of the Florida Senate, Speaker of the House and later, Tampa's eighth mayor.

In 1840, at age nineteen, Whitaker enlisted in Florida's Mounted Militia for three months to fight in the Second Seminole War, for which he was compensated $70.

As the war was concluding, Whitaker traveled Florida's Gulf Coast and to Havana, Cuba, working in the fishing trade.

Taking advantage of the Armed Occupation Act, Whitaker was given six months of provisions and the right to 160 acres (0.65 km2), provided he built a home there and defended it for five years.

In December 1842, he and his half-brother sailed to what is now Yellow Bluffs overlooking Sarasota Bay; the high ground, the freshwater springs, and evidence of burial mounds proved the land would be ideal for a home.

[2] During this period he was active in civic duty, serving as the clerk of elections for the 5th Precinct of then Hillsborough County where all of six voters were registered.

In modern-day Sarasota, this land stretches from Indian Beach Drive south to Tenth Street, which Whitaker called Azarti Acres.

The Whitakers were sympathetic to the local Indians and escaped slaves, in one case ferrying the fabled Seminole chief Billy Bowlegs across the river to their home where they brought him back to health from malaria.

Whitaker, securing his family at the fort in what now is Manatee County, headed seventy miles to Peace Creek, the closest military detachment to convey the news of the attack.

The cemetery, surrounded by an Italian Renaissance balustrade, was given a marker (above), dedicated by the Daughters of the American Revolution, honoring the family's local history.