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By Larry David Whitsell (1944 Granite City
Illinois) My name is Larry David Whitsell, son of Eskel
David Whitsell and Mary Emily (Lee) Whitsell, and as such I have
something in common with all of the Whitsell’s in our family: we descend
from a rich heritage, a line of ancestors such as George Whitsell, Sr.
& Elizabeth Crowley from Oglethorpe Co., Georgia in the 1770‘s;
Jacob Lester and Martha Miles from Virginia in the 1720’s; Elizabeth
Renshaw & John Crews from the early1600’s; Uriah Ledyard & The
Rev. Elder John Mark for Pennsylvania in the late 1690’s.
Our genesis is connected to the Native Americans of this land
through my great grandmother Olivina Florence Son (wife of John P.
Whitsell) whose family descended from the Choctaw Indians of Oklahoma.
We have married into families that have an equally rich lineage, such
George Whitsell, Sr. & Elizabeth Crowley’s daughter, Sarah Sally
Whitsell who married Littlebury Brittain Edwards. Littlebury’s
Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-Grandfather was King Henry VII
of England.
As with any search for family history we start
with very little, hope for inspiration and then stumble onto facts,
event, and people by accident. Some of this written documentation’s
inspiration comes from four people, my daughter Alicia Whitsell, cousins
Deanna Spears (Whitsell) and Donald Cleppe, and my father E. David
Whitsell.
Where to start is always a difficult decision, but as
challenging as how best to focus a search of a family. A attached list
of the 228 family surnames and 547 people currently in the family
database shows just how enormous the challenge is. My efforts quickly
focused on the 20 surnames of the mothers and fathers of my direct
lineage:
Whitsell, Winters, Rakes, Lee,
Fothergill, Westbrook, Clark, Son, Crowley, Crews, Marks, Lester,
Orsburn, Russell, Ferrel, Ledyard, Miles, Stanley, Gately, and
Renshaw. Bookmark this page. Additional reports will be added in the future and will be accessed from this location. FAMILY REPORT LINKS Marks Family Narrative Orsburn Family NarrativeCrews Family Narrative Fothergill Family Narrative That leaves hundreds of family histories for each of you to search out and discover. As for this story we begin with the Whitsell’s and the journey that led them to Kentucky. ADAMS, ANTLES, ARLT, BECHERER, BETTIS, BRAUN, BRAZIER, BROOKS, BYER, CANNADAY, CARVER, CHAVARRIA, CLEPPE, COFFMAN, CREW, CREWS, CURTIS, DALUZ, DEXTER, DIANE, DOWNING, FOTHERGILL, FRAZIER, GANN, GAVIN, GOLDEN, HANES, HARRIS, HENSON, HEYMACH, HINSON, HOMEYER, HORTON, HOXEY, JACKSON, JAKICH, JONES, KESTER, LACKER, LEE, LESTER, LINSEY, LOOMAN, LYNCH, MAYES, MCCLUSKY, MEAD, MING, MORTON, NALL, O'BRIEN, ORSBURN[, OSBURN, PAGANELLI, PASLEY, PEC, PERKINS, PETERS, PETRILLO, POLLAY, PRIMM, PUTNAM, RAMSEY, RIFFEY, RUSSELL, SALLEMI, SCHREMP, SIEGFREID, SIMS, SMITH, SON, SPARKS, SPEARS, STONER, SALLEMI, SCHREMP, SIEGFREID, SIMS, SMITH, SON, SPARKS, SPEARS, STONER, WARD, WARFOR, WARREN, WESTBROOK, WHIT, WHITFIELD, WHITLEDGE, WHITSELL, WHITZELL, WILLIAMS, WILSON, WINTERS, WITHERSPOON, WOOD, ZIMMERMAN, WHETSEL, WHETSELL, WETSEL, WHITESAL, WHITESALL, WEITZEL WEITZELL From Georgia to Kentucky - The Whitsell Family More than any other mystery about our family is how and when they arrived in Georgia. Deanna Spears (Whitsell) shares information concerning the will of George Whitsell, Sr. dated November 22, 1820. This will indicates a great deal about what our ancestor owned at that time. We can be fairly certain that he lived in GA at that time, as evidenced in tax records available from that period. In the Wilkes County Georgia Tax records of 1785 the Tax Digest Corrections changes the last name spelling listed as "Whitsell also Whitsill" indicating that the our family name may take several form as we search our history. Records were also found for the Monday 23 August 1790 Jurors Drawn - Wilkes Co. that listed George Whitsell. One question about the service of George as a juror is if it would be normal for a 15-16 year old to be on a jury? Was it normal for a 15-16 year old to be on a jury? If no, is this a reference to his father or do we have the birth date wrong? Deanna writes, “I have not found proof that a 15-16 year old would be called to be on a jury, but in the Militia Act of 1778, it gave the state the right to draft into the military any man ages 15-60. In those times, it may have been considered "manhood" at 15-16 years of age and therefore may have called him to jury duty. Just a guess though.....no proof.” The Oglethorpe Co, GA 1796 Tax List also lists George Whitsall in Jackson County, GA. And early Court Records (pg. 229, Dec 17, 1798) indicate Josiah N. Kennedy and wife Sarah, of Warren County deeded to George Whitsell of Oglethorpe County, 1/2 acres, a part of an original grant to John Henson. Deanna writes that in her research at the Corpus Christi, TX library she found that “George Whitsell was married in 1801 to Elizabeth Meadows in Oglethorpe Co, Ga. Oglethorpe County was formed in 1793. Prior to that it was known a Wilkes County from 1777 - 1790. From 1773 to a bought 1800 it was principally settled by people migrating from Virginia and the Carolinas. So the question remains, where did George come from and when.” She also found that “what was known as Jackson County & Oglethorpe County were once part of Wilkes County.” It is therefore possible that George and family may have come from Virginia or North Carolina. It is probably in North Carolina and Virginia that we will need to look to uncover the ancestors of George, Sr. Yet even then we will need to find out how they arrived in the United Stales. A USGEN web posting suggests that our family may have come from Germany. “Rumor has it that this George's father was one of the Hessian soldiers from Germany that was hired by the King of England to come to America and fight the colonists. He came over with 2 of his brothers at the time. All 3 of them, after being here sided with the colonists and deserted the fight, scattering across the country and changing the spelling of their names in order not to be found out. On some records you will find it spelled Wetzel. George may have also been spelled Jeorg originally. I've looked at some of the Hessian lists but haven't been able to link anything up definitely yet. There have been several Jeorg Wetzels on the list. It seems as if one of the boys settled in Pennsylvania area but I have a feeling it was one of the brothers, Phillip I think. Haven't had much time lately to research any more. You're right about the linear chain, but John Phillip Whitsell was born Jan 23, 1855 in Hopkins County, KY and not 1885. Check out the info below and let me know what else you need. I have a list of families for all of these guys too if you need it.” There is additional evidence that may lead us to search in Canada for more relatives, known as Loyalist, which fought with the British during the Revolutionary War. Wherever we search we are bound to find a rich and fascinating history. We have even older records going back to The King’s of England. It seems that Sarah Sally Edwards Whitsell, the daughter of George Whitsell Sr., married Littlebury Brittain Edwards. It is his family that adds some real flavor to the history of our ancestors. If you follow his lineage back you find the following taken from research by John Wayne Brown, He is (was) Mayor of Manchester, TN. “Sarah Sally Whitsell, the daughter of our ggggGrandfather, George Whitsell Sr., married into a rather royal family. Her husband, Littlebury Edwards, was the ggggggGrandson of Rev. Richard Edwards who appears to have been the child of Henry VIII and was adopted by the William Edwards (abt 1500-abt 1547) who married Agnes Blewitt. The story says Henry VIII is known to have had 6 wives and 2 or 3mistresses during his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. One mistress must have been Agnes Bewitt. Henry the VIII fathered a son with her, whom was born after her marriage to William Edwardes. She and William named the son Richard Edwardes. Agnes and William Edwardes had other children.” George Jr. Whitsell born in 1796 in Oglethorpe County, Ga and married Elizabeth "Betsy" Lester, (born 1803 in Oglethorpe County, Ga; died Bet. 1859 - 1860.) George Whitsell, and Elizabeth "Betsy" Lester moved to Western KY around 1830. They apparently had considerable land and other holdings in in 1860. George, Jr. s son, the Rev. William George Whitsell (1826-18790) served with the Confederate Army from Oct 9, 1861 until Dec 2, 1862. The Confederate Kentucky Volunteers War 1861-65, indicates he enlisted 09 October 1861 at Hopkinsville, KY as a Private for a period of one year and deserted on 02 December 1962 on its retreat from the Hatchis. He was captured at Fort Donelson Feb 16, 1862 and sent from Camp Morton, IN., to Vicksburg, Miss., to be exchanged, Roll dated Camp Morton, Indianapolis, IN, August 24, 1862. He married Margaret (Marjorie) Francis Crews (Henderson County, Ky 1835-1931) in 1851. Where Do We Go Next? For most of us our history becomes lost by not passing on the stories of our mothers and fathers. The website is a project for everyone, a place where stories and events can be collected and recorded for our descendants, and a place where we can preserve our history for generations to come. It is my hope that you will also find the CD informative and an invitation to help build a comprehensive family history. You can help first by simply sharing your stories with your children. Next, visit the website often to share News, Events and Activities . Finally, share pictures of your family as well. That is one of the greatest gifts we can give to those who follow.Keep watching! This is a work (and page) in progress and will grow every month.
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