THE WHITLEY FAMILY

We have been requested to give some historical account of the Whitley family of Macon and other counties. We are sorry to no fuller account of this family, but we will give what we have at this tijme.

The most remote ancestor of the family, of whom we have any record, was Matthias Whitley, born in Nash County, North Carolina, and supposed to have died there. The old home was four miles from the the Courthouse. Nothing is known of his brothers or sisters, or whom he married. His children, so far as we have been able to learn were: Jonas, Cager, Exum and Willis. That there must have been at least two more sons who fought in the Revolutionary War on the American side and three who were Tory soldiers. Jonas is the only one we know to have been an American soldier of the war fought for our independence. There also were some daughters, but we have no record of them what ever.

Jonas Whitley married first the daughter of Jesse Adams, a Baptist minister. Tradition has it that Jonas died somewhere in West Tennessee, but this lacks confirmation. His second wife was a Stallings. By the Adams woman he had three sons, Wylie Whitley, Exum Whitley and Taylor Whitley. By the Stallings woman he became the father of David, Jonas and Willis Whitley.

Wylie Whitley lived in Smith County in the vicinity of Rome. He married a Stallings, a sister of his step-mother. By her he had two sons, Dr. Exum Whitley and Josiah Whitley. Exum, was the son of Jonas Whitley, married a Miss Stallings and became the father of Bennett, Josiah and Willis Whitley. Bennett married a Miss Stallings and Josiah married a Foutch.

Taylor Whitley, son of Jonas Whitley, married a Miss Adams. He was born in 1800 and died at the age of 55 years. Their children were: Kinchen Whitley, married a Reeves; James M. Whitley, married a Ross; Elizabeth, maried William Moren, a member of the Macon County Court; Exum, married a Grandstaff; Vison, married a sister of Exum's wife; Mary Ann, married a Chitwood; Frankie, married a Bean; Wylie, married a Chitwood; William T. Whitley, married a Bean, a cousin of Frankies's husband; Ethie, married an Isenberg; Noah Bethel whitley, married a Glover; and Jefferson C. Whitley, married a Slate. Seven of these brothers were in the Federal Army at one time, Exum and Vinson sickening and dying during the struggle between the States. Jefferson Cannon, a member of Co. D, Ninth Kentucky Regiment was wounded at the battle of Murfreesboro.

Kinchen Whitley, son of Taylor and the Adams woman, was the father of Susan, died in girlhood, Lucinda, married a McClellan; John T. Whitley, married a Smith; Jonas, married a West and later a Beasley; Joel, who married a Smith and later a Holland; Dick Whitley, who married a Gregory; and Billie Whitley, wyo married a Bushong. Readers of the Times will recall Jonas, Joel and Dr Whitley, for they have been dead for only a few years. Leo Whitley, of Long Fork, this county is the youngest son of Joel.

James M. Whitley, son of Taylor, married a Ross; who bore him the following children: Nici Ann, who never married; William T. Whitley, married a Barton; Serena, married a Jackson; Russia Whitley, married a Kingrey; Mary, married a Witcher; James, married a Slate; fletcher, married a Donoho; and Orville Whitley, who married a Chitwood.

Elizabeth Whitley married Squire William Moren and became the mother of : Prudie, married a Chitwood and later a Bell; Rhoda Ann, married a Borden and later a Hawkins; Lucinda, married a brother of the husband of Frances; Batie, married a Kennedy.

If Exum and Vinson; died during the Civil War and left offspring, we have no record of same. Exum enlisted in the Union Army from some place in the West.

Mary Ann married a Chitwood and became the mother of: Hannibal Chitwood, married a Chitwood; Joel, Tom and Kate, the last - named marrying a Whitley.

Frankie Whitley, who married a Bean, was the mother of Orenie, married a Hughes; Mehilany, married a Thomas; Peter, who went to Missouri; Margaret, married a Holcomb; Mary married a brother of Margaret's husband; Jeff, Enoch and Zack, who never married; with four children dying in infancy.

Wylie Whitley, son of Taylor Whitley, married a Miss Chitwood who bore him the following: Martlow Whitley, who became a lawyer and who is lingering now in extreme old age, and who married a Haile; Marmaduke Whitley, married a Glover; Margaret, died young; Jerusha, married a Meador; Crittie, married Henry Sabens; Evie, married a Hawkins; and Clemmdie, married a Taylor.

William Taylor Whitley, married a Bean, who bore him a daughter, Elizabeth, who later went to Missouri.

Althie L. Whitley, married an Isenburg, and became the mother of one daughter, Elizabeth, who married a Rogers.

Noah Bethel Whitley, married a Glover. Their children were: Wylie Whitley, married a Dotson, Willie Whitley, married a a Bean; Celeta, married a Bray; Sarah, married a Butler, and two died in infancy.

Jefferson Cannon Whitley, known to the public as Uncle Gov, was born May 23, 1837 and died April 12, 1926, at the age of 89 years. He married a Slate. Their children were: Frances, married a Poteet and later a White; Prudilla K. married Ussery and McCord; Cora, married a Howell; John died at the age of 24 and was never married; Wiseman, married a Pope and removed to Kansas; Leroy, married a Thacker; Carlie, married a Copas; and Pearlie, who died in infancy. Uncle Gov became a member of Bethany Baptist church in August, 1854 and remained a member of that congregation until death.

David Whitley, son of Jonas Whitley, married Nancy Stallings, one son, Tim Whitley; and three or four daughters blessing this union. No further record of this branch is known.

Jonas, son of Jonas, son of Matthias, went to West Tennessee and no further record is at hand. Willis, the brother of Jonas and David, has no further record, so far as the editor knows.

The record of the descendants of Cager, Exum and Willis Whitley, the sons of the old man of all, Matthias, ends with their names. However, investigation could probably reveal something of their offspring. We are sorry not to have any more information about them, but this is the best we can do.

The family is of full English descent, most of them were blue-eyed, the men being large and some of them being bad to fight. Numerous blacksmiths were to be found in the family in the long -gone years.

If any reader of the paper has additional information we shall be glad to file it in our private records.

If there are errors in what is here given, we shall be glad to correct them.

We wonder how many readers of the paper enjoy these historical accounts that are given now and then. If you do, we shall be glad to hame some expression of same from readers. If nobody likes to read these sketches, we will omit them from the paper. The editor of the paper has sketches of hundreds of families. If any reader is specially interested in some family write us and we shall be glad to publish what we have.

Note: This article appeared on Page 2 of this issue of “The Times”.