Who's their father?

     I started off this blog looking for the father of Willoughby, Pelatiah, and John Wesley Whitehurst. I don't think we will be able to know that for sure, but I believe that these men were closely related to Batson Whitehurst of Princess Anne County, Virginia and Pitt County, NC as witnessed by several power of attorneys issued between these brothers. About October 30, 1812, it appears their grandfather died. Pelatiah gave Willoughby Whitehurst power of attorney to collect on estate of grandfather in Virginia. On November 2, 1812, Batson Whitehurst acting as the guardian of John Wesley Whitehurst gave power of attorney to Willoughby Whitehurst for the same purpose. I believe that this grandfather was John Whitehurst of Georgia. John Whitehurst was originally from Princess Anne County, Virginia and Pitt County, NC and had been living in Hancock County (formerly part of Greene County, Georgia) for about 20 years. 

    The North Carolina Supreme Court Case (referenced earlier in this blog) of Henry Hunter vs Simon Whitehurst & others of the October 1806 term establishes that Simon Whitehurst had four sons, Simon Jr., Batson, Daniel, and John Whitehurst. It is also established that Daniel is dead and that John Whitehurst is living in Georgia at the time. Diane Whitehurst Collins lists John Whitehurst as the father of Willoughby, Pelatiah, and John Wesley Whitehurst and as excited as I was to find that, I no longer believe him to be their father, but I do believe that he is their grandfather and that he is the grandfather that caused those power of attorneys being exchanged in October and November 1812. There is no record of him in Georgia after 1812. He lived on the same land which he purchased from John Trip in 1793. 

    All of this leads me to believe that John Whitehurst had a son who married Elizabeth and they had three sons, Willoughby, Pelatiah, and John Wesley and that he probably died when those sons were young leaving Elizabeth to raise them. John Wesley Whitehurst sent another power of attorney to Willoughby t collect any money due him when Batson died. Elizabeth Crisp's father died within a year or so after Batson's death and Willoughby and Elizabeth packed up and moved to Magnolia, Leon County, Florida territory and farmed with Pelatiah until their deaths in 1831. John Wesley Whitehurst was named as Willoughby's minor children's guardian.

    Willouughby, Pelatiah, John Wesley, Batson, and John Whitehurst appear to have been a close family. If anything or anyone convinces me that one of John Whitehurst's sons is not the father of Willoughby, Pelatiah, and John Wesley Whitehurst, I will let you know.

     This concludes this blog. I have started another blog to discuss other Whitehurst ancestors. I hope you have enjoyed this blog and please follow my new blog.

John Wesley Whitehurst, quite a legacy

    The 1840 US Census is the first census that I have found him listed. There were 28 members listed, his mother, himself, his wife, 6 males – 1 under age 5, 1 age 5 to 9, 2 age 10 to 14, 2 age 20 to 29, 5 females – 1 under age 5, 1 age 5 to 9, 3 age 15 to 19, and 7 slaves. In 1831 when Willoughby died, John was named as the guardian for Willoughby’s minor children. Some of these may have still been in his household for the 1840 Census. The 1850 US Census finds a drastically smaller household. There was John, his wife, Jane, his mother, Elizabeth, Richard age 21, Amanda A. R. age 12, and Amanda F. age 2. His slave population increased to 15. The 1860 US Census finds his household still decreasing. There is John, his wife, Jane, Amanda F. age 11, and John Andrews age 17. His land is valued at $6,000 and his personal property is valued as $3,929 and he is listed as a farmer. The 1870 US Census finds John age 77 and Jane age 67 with personal property valued at $3,000.

    Counting John’s children is difficult, but by my count, he had 7 sons and 5 daughters, and it appears that 5 of sons and 3 of his daughters were still alive at his death. He left all of his children and many if not all of his grandchildren money in his will. He died on September 25, 1874, at the age of 81 years, 6 months, and 15 days and according to this headstone, he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for 53 consecutive years. He left quite a legacy. You can find a copy of his transcribed will here: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/henry/wills/jwwhitehurst.txt. 

  

John Wesley Whitehurst, the second post

    John Wesley and Pelatiah are mentioned in the Southern Star Newspaper November 18,1885 about the early settlers of Dale County, Alabama and are also mentioned on a couple of historic markers in Alabama. The newspaper totally destroyed Pelatiah's name. Note: you can read this great article at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/dale/newspapers/storyofc217nw.txt. The only historic marker that I can still find him on is The Block House 1814. The first public structure at the convergence of the East and West Choctawhatchee Rivers called the Block House. It was built of logs by a contingent of Jackson’s Army in 1814. This post was not fortified. It provided shelter for militia and settlers driven into it by fear of Indians. It was the site of a ferry cross the river. It was occupied as a store and was designated a post office from 1833 to 1841. The first postmaster was John Whitehurst. John Whitehurst was also a Justice of the Peace in Dale County about this same time.

    On the 21 of August 1837, John bought his first parcel of land under the 1820 Land Act for the sale of public lands. He purchased 279.12 acres for approximately $350. The same day he purchased 80.25 acres for approximately $100. Both purchases were signed by Martin Van Buren. A little over two years later, he purchased 78.25 acres for a little less than $100. This purchase was also signed by Martin Van Buren. His next purchase was for 40.13 acres on the 10th of May 1848 signed by James Polk. His next purchase was on the 1st day of May 1849 for 39.88 acres signed by Zachary Taylor. He purchased a total of approximately 517 acres.

    On the next post, I will cover census data for John Wesley.

John Wesley Whitehurst

    In my records, I show John Wesley Whitehurst born on March 10, 1793. This is the date that is shown on his gravestone in Henry County, Alabama. Unlike John’s brothers, Willoughby and Pelatiah both of whom died in Leon County, Florida in 1831 and 1832, John lived a long and well documented life. He lived to the age of 82 years, 6 months, and 15 days.

    John most certainly grew up in the Pitt County, NC area. He is shown as been born in Edgecombe County, NC, but Pitt County’s borders were adjusted many times over the years and Edgecombe County is one of the neighboring counties. His granduncle, Batson Whitehurst, and his grandfather, John Whitehurst, are very well documented in Pitt County, NC.

     When John Wesley’s grandfather, John Whitehurst, died in Hancock County, Georgia, John Wesley’s grand uncle, Batson Whitehurst, served as his guardian. Batson gave his power of attorney to John’s brother, Willoughby Whitehurst. The power of attorney granted permission to act in his behalf in collecting any monies due him in Virginia. Pelatiah executed a power of attorney in Putnam County on October 30, 1812, granting Willoughby Whitehurst power to act in his behalf in collecting money due him in North Carolina and Virginia at the death of his grandfather, John Whitehurst, who was living in Hancock County, Georgia at the time of his death.

    Shortly after the death of his grandfather, we find John Wesley Whitehurst living in Hancock County, Georgia, possibly on his grandfather’s land. John also served a short stint in a Georgia militia in the War of 1812. As a young man he becomes active in local politics and even served as a constable in district 102 in 1814. He is mentioned in the Minutes of Hancock County Inferior Court minutes several times.  John Wesley and Pelatiah remained in the Hancock and Putnam respectively until 1818. By 1819, they were in Twiggs County, Georgia, and from there they emigrated to Alabama. They are mentioned in a book about the early settlers of Alabama and are also mentioned on a couple of historic markers in Alabama.

    By most accounts, John and Pelatiah were already in Alabama when Alabama became the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.

Finding Willoughby Whitehurst

    Willoughby Whitehurst is my third great grandfather. I had never heard his name growing up. I’m trying to remedy that situation for my children and grandchildren. I didn’t get serious about my genealogy until about 1990, but when I got bitten by the genealogy bug, I got a good case of it. Unfortunately, my father, Jesse Radcliff Whitehurst Jr, died that year. He would really have appreciated my discoveries. For over 15 years I spent much of my free time trying to find my fathers and mothers as George Washington called them. It wasn’t an easy thing to find your ancestors at that time. Much of my research was done by getting involved in discussion boards, trying to find searchable transcribed copies of census records, and going to the locations where I thought my ancestors had lived and search through courthouse records which I often learned had been buried and many of those records were never restored. Roots Web was started in 1993 and it was a great resource and ancestry became genuinely useful in 1996. Prior to that ancestry sold databases and other research tools. That seems so long ago.

    When I got started, I contacted by daddy’s half-brother, Lonnie Whitehurst, in Columbus. We knew that my great grandfather, Thomas Willoughby Whitehurst, grew up in Pike County, Alabama, but that was all that we knew about our Whitehurst line. Lonnie had been trying to find out about his great grandfather, who we thought was named Jim Whitehurst. 

    On Thomas Willoughby Whitehurst’s death certificate, my grandfather, Jesse Radcliffe Whitehurst Sr., stated that Thomas Willoughby Whitehurst’s father was Jim Whitehurst and that his mother was Jane Kilpatrick. After much research, Lonnie concluded that Jim Whitehurst had probably died during the Civil War, maybe at Chickamauga. Other Whitehurst researchers encouraged me to look in Henry County, Alabama. I found a transcribed copy of the Henry County, Alabama US Census. While scanning down the list, I found William Whitehurst listed with his wife, Jane, and four children, a daughter Frances E. age 7, and three sons, Thomas W. age 5, William W. age 3, and James J. age 6 months. This looked like a possible match. I was so excited that I felt my heart was going to leap from my chest.

    With the help of other Whitehurst researchers, I was able to confirm that William Whitehurst is in fact my 2nd great grandfather. William died sometime before April 14, 1851 and Jane married James Wadsworth which led my grandfather to refer to his grandfather was Jim Whitehurst. Finding William Whitehurst lead me to Willoughby Whitehurst, my 3rd Great grandfather and allowed me to join a substantial group of researchers looking for the father of Willoughby, Pelatiah, and John Wesley Whitehurst. That is where I was stuck until I found a copy of Diane Whitehurst Collins' book, The Whitehurst Family of Princess Anne County Virginia and Pitt County North Carolina. 

Willoughby Whitehurst, the older brother

    The first document which I found documenting Willoughby’s life was an extract of the 1810 US Census of Howeles District, Edgecombe County, NC. I found this record in a small library in north Georgia. I was quite excited. According to this record, there were 2 males under 10, 1 male between the ages of 15 and 25, 1 female between the ages of 15 and 25, 1 female under the age of 10, and 1 slave. Based on this record and the 1820 US Census of Captain Andrew’s District, Pitt County, NC, his birth year is determined to be about 1790. By the 1820 census, his household had grown to 10, himself, his wife, 1 male between 10 and 15, 2 females under age 10, 1 female between 10 and 15, and 2 slaves under 14 - one male and 1 female. By the 1830 Magnolia, Leon, Florida US Census, Willoughby’s household had grown to 18, himself, his wife, 3 males under 5, 2 males 5 to 9, 1 male 10 to 14, 1 male 15 to 19, 1 female 10 to 14, and 8 slaves - 1 male under 10, 3 males 10 to 23, 2 females under 10, and 2 females 10 to 23.

From census records, it appears that Willoughby and Elizabeth were married very young by today’s standards. Willoughby may have been as young 18 and Elizabeth may have been as young as 16. If memory serves me correctly, Willoughby either purchased or was given a 100 acre farm by his father-in-law, Samuel Crisp. It appears that he lived most of his life in the Pitt County, NC area. There are no records of him being active in local political offices; however, he as well as his brothers, Pelatiah and John Wesley served a stint in the militia during the war of 1812. Willoughby served in the Pitt County Regiment (Cobb’s), NC militia.

        From my research and various legal documents, Willoughby appears to be closely related to Batson Whitehurst of Pitt County, NC and he and Elizabeth lived an apparently quite life in the Pitt County area until the deaths of Batson Whitehurst before June 1826 and the death of Elizabeth’s father, Samuel Crisp on June 10, 1829.

About the time of Batson’s death, Willoughby’s brother, Pelatiah, purchased 80 ⅓ acres in Leon County in the territory of Florida through the federal land office and began plans to move from Henry County, Alabama to Leon County, Florida. After arriving in Leon County, he purchased an additional 160 acres for Willoughby.

        After the deaths of Batson and Elizabeth’s father, Samuel Crisp, Willoughby and Elizabeth packed up and made the trip to Magnolia, Leon County, Florida to grow cotton. After 2 crops of cotton, Willoughby, his wife Elizabeth, and Pelatiah had died. Mary settlers in the area died of malaria and yellow fever and that was probably their fate. Based on legal notices in the Floridian, Willoughby and possibly Elizabeth were the first to pass prior to November 22, 1831 and shortly after Pelatiah passed. Based on what we know, Pelatiah and John Wesley were the adventurers of the three brothers.

    Part of me wishes that Willoughby had not made the move to Leon County, Florida and instead had lived a long and prosperous life in Pitt County, NC, but who knows what my life would be like today if he had chosen a different path. I am thankful to him and all of my fathers and mothers.