Lucy Whitley was a Lion! And she came with a Pride. Still quixoticlly searching for the origins of William T. P. L. Whitley of Fallstown, Iredell County, his wife Margarter Malinda, and their son, William Alexander Whitley, who was born in 1868, in Stanly County, NC, I've been looking at the Whitleys, in particular, the William Whitley's. There, I found the intrepid Lucy.
Her actual name appears to have been Lucinda H. Whitley, or Lucy for short, as that is how her father addresses her in an 1860 land Indenture.
| Name | Lucy Whitley |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Race | White |
| Residence Age | 21 |
| Birth Date | abt 1829 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Residence Date | 1850 |
| Home in 1850 | Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Cannot Read, Write | Yes |
| Line Number | 18 |
| Dwelling Number | 897 |
| Family Number | 902 |
| Inferred Father | Wm Whitley |
| Inferred Mother | Martha Whitley |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Wm Whitley | 63 |
| Martha Whitley | 62 |
| Lucy Whitley | 21 |
| Davidson Whitley | 19 |
Lucy was born around 1829, one of the two youngest children of William "Old Billy" Whitley and wife, Martha. She had a younger brother, Davidson Whitley, who was a stalwart existence in her life. William was born about 1775, and his wife not too far behind him. He would live a very long time, and that is why he is called "Old Billy", to differentiate him from the other Williams. His wife is supposedly a daughter of Benjamin Hathcock, and one of Lucy's brothers who lived long enough to have a death certificate, has Martha Hathcock as his mother, so that could be accurate. I'm not an in depth Whitley researcher, so I'm open to debate and proof of anything otherwise. My own Whitley roots hale back to Johnston and Franklin Counties, with likely connection to the Union/Anson/Stanly/Cabarrus County Whitleys, but I haven't journeyed downward this far.
The William Whitley family lived in Albemarle District No. 9, in Household number 897 on the roll of, J. H. Tomlinson, census taker, and Family number 902. Pretty darn close to them in Household number 894 and Family number 899, also in Albemarle District #9, was one intriguing cousin, just 16 to Lucy's 21 years of age.
| Name | Columbus Whittey |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Race | White |
| Residence Age | 16 |
| Birth Date | abt 1834 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Residence Date | 1850 |
| Home in 1850 | Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Occupation | Laborer |
| Industry | Industry Not Reported |
| Line Number | 41 |
| Dwelling Number | 894 |
| Family Number | 899 |
| Inferred Mother | Rebecca Whittey |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Rebecca Whittey | 56 |
| Susanna Whittey | 25 |
| Columbus Whittey | 16 |
| Benona Whittey | 15 |
| Wm R Burris | 5 |
His name was Columbus Whitley. Columbus was from a broken home, and in 1850, was a 16 year old living with his divorced mother and two sisters, Susanna and Benona Anceline. Five year old William R. Burris, was the son of his sister, Susannah, by her lover, Joshua Christian Burris, by whom she would have four children. I've mentioned William Rufus Whitley a few times in recents posts, due to his marriage to Sarah Tucker, daughter of Lewis Tucker. He went by both Burris and Whitley, but seems to have settled with Whitley as an adult.
Columbus Whitley's father was George N. Whitley III, (1787-1858) and his mother was Rebecca Cagle Whitley, (1791-1873). The couple had a sizeable family and then George hooked up with a younger woman named Martha Harvell Owens, by whom he would add about five more children, and headed off to Cherokee County, Georgia, which coincidentally, was the same county in Georgia that Dempsey Springer would end up. Who knows, they could have been traveling companions. Rebecca, abandoned and angry, would file for a divorce, which would be granted in 1847.
Rebecca was also a lioness. She had been married to George for 30 years and had brought about 15 children into the world. She claimed George had been an acceptible husband until his relationship with Martha Harvel Owens, a woman with one child already. At that point, he had become a "drunkard and spendthrift, wasting his substance to the impovershment of his family." He abandoned Rebecca and her children, albeit most of them were adults by the time, she took him to court and won the divorce, and all that had been his in Stanly County was now hers.
This is a 'quick and dirty tree' of how Lucy and Columbus were related.
George Benjamin Whitley (1735-1800)
1st wife: Martha Castles - 2nd wife: Rebecca Honeycutt
son: George Whitley II -half brothers - son: William "Old Billy" Whitley
with Caternah Tucker with Martha Hathcock
son:George N. Whitley III -first cousins - daughter: Lucinda H. "Lucy" Whitley
with Rebecca Lousie Cagle
son: Columbus Eli Whitley - first cousins once removed - to Lucy Whitley.
In 1856, it was now William "Old Billy" Whitley taking Columbus to court. Columbus, who must have inherited some of his fathers wiles and wistless ways, was now 21 years old.
Lucy had given birth to a child. a son, on August 24, 1855, whom she named Alexander.
On January 17, 1856, five months after the birth of his son, Columbus Whitley married Amarintha Eudy, daughter of William Ransom and Sarah Furr Eudy, aged 20.
On November 7, 1856, Aramantha Eudy Whitley gave birth to a son they would name Benjamin, probably after Columbus's brother.
In most of these cases, the woman or girl who had an out of wedlock pregnancy would be taken to court and ordered to name the father, who would then be found financially responsible for the child, for at least its first years of life. When the child was deemed old enough, it would then be "bound out" to an intact family, to learn a trade. Some of these situations were successful, especially if the child went to loving grandparents or an uncle. Other times, they were placed with tyrants and abusive guardians. Not all of them survived. The Whitleys were a different type of family and Lucy Whitley was a different kind of woman.
It seems that Columbus, in conjunction with his brother B. L. Whitley as bondsman, had entered into an agreement or contract of marriage, with Lucy Whitley, daughter of William Whitley. Lucy was not a loose woman, but within the promise of engagement, from a combination perhaps of infatuation and maybe fear of loss, she had given into Columbus's concupiscence and lusty overtures, such as young men become overwhelmed by. Allen Burris, James C. Tucker, John W. Morton, Joseph Morton and of course, Lucy Whitley, were all witnesess to his promises of marriage. Columbus had broken his contract by marrying Aramantha "Rincy" Eudy and leaving Lucy, literally holding the bag, or should we say bundle.
Alexander would be the only child Lucy would ever have, and she would protect him fiercely. He grew up knowing exactly who his father was.
1860
On November 8th, 1860, William Whitley sold to his daughter, Lucy Whitley, for $100 paid by "Lucinda H. Whitley" , a tract of land , beginning with a pine in Nathan Coleys' line, in a deed with about the worst handwriting I've ever attempted to read. The tract met T. A. Coley's corner, James Little's line, Davidson Whitley's line and back to Nathan Coley's property on Camp Branch. There was a stipulation for 'their proper use'. The witnesses were Thomas W P...n? and Davidson Whitley.
Neither Lucy or her parents were listed in the 1860 census. It appears they missed an entire hunk of Whitleys that has been deleterious and an incumbrance to my research into the origins of the Iredell County Whitleys, who were born in Stanly County.
| Name | Columbus Whitley |
|---|---|
| Age | 28 |
| Birth Year | abt 1832 |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | White |
| Home in 1860 | Stanly, North Carolina |
| Post Office | Albemarle |
| Dwelling Number | 1097 |
| Family Number | 1112 |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Real Estate Value | 825 |
| Personal Estate Value | 400 |
| Inferred Spouse | Amantha Whitley |
| Inferred Child | Benjamin Whitley; Ephreim Whitley |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Columbus Whitley | 28 |
| Amantha Whitley | 24 |
| Benjamin Whitley | |
| Ephreim Whitley | 1 |
Columbus Whitley, with his little family, did appear in the 1860 census. He had acquired a third son, Ephraim, and seemed to have been close to the same spot he was before. His wife would have been expecting a fourth son, the third for her, at this time, Columbus Jr. and Columbus Sr. was about to enter the War.
 |
| Columbus Whitley |
He would survive and he and Aramantha would have five more children after his return from War. This was a total of eight for the two of them, six sons and two daughters, before Columbus's death on January 6, 1890. They settled and raised their family in Big Lick, Stanly County.
1870
| Name | Lucy Whittey |
|---|---|
| Age in 1870 | 31 |
| Birth Date | abt 1839 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Dwelling Number | 112 |
| Home in 1870 | Furr, Stanly, North Carolina |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Female |
| Post Office | Albemarle |
| Occupation | At Home |
| Cannot Read | Yes |
| Cannot Write | Yes |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| William Whittey | 84 |
| Martha Whittey | 84 |
| Lucy Whittey | 31 |
| Alex Whittey | 15 |
In 1870, Lucy is the only child still living with her parents, Billy and Martha, who would live extraordinarily long lives. They are in Furr Township in westernmost Stanly County, and her son Alexander is listed as 15. He is one of the Alexanders I looked at in my search for the origins of William Alexander Whitley of Iredell, who was born in Stanly County in 1868. Ages can be very off in the census records in my experience.
 |
| Davidson Whitley |
Living right next to William and Martha was their youngest son, Davidson, who seems to have been the man to take care of everything.
| Name | Davidson Whitley |
|---|---|
| Age in 1870 | 39 |
| Birth Date | abt 1831 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Dwelling Number | 111 |
| Home in 1870 | Furr, Stanly, North Carolina |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Post Office | Albemarle |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Male Citizen Over 21 | Yes |
| Personal Estate Value | 300 |
| Real Estate Value | 350 |
| Inferred Spouse | Mary E Whitley |
| Inferred Children | William C Whitley; Lucy Whitley; Allen G Whitley; John Whitley; Judith Whitley; James D Whitley |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Martha Whittey | 8 |
| Mary Whittey | 6 |
| Aranna Whittey | 2 |
| Samantha Whittey | 8/12 |
| Davidson Whitley | 39 |
| Mary E Whitley | 37 |
| William C Whitley | 18 |
| Lucy Whitley | 17 |
| Allen G Whitley | 15 |
| John Whitley | 13 |
| Judith Whitley | 12 |
| James D Whitley | 10 |
| Lura Barber | 10 |
| Lundy Barber | 8 |
| Mertha Barber | 8 |
Davidson had married Mary Burris, the daughter of Allen Burris and wife Lucy Hinson Burris, just after the census, in 1850. Despite having ten children of their own already, they had taken in three little Barbee girls, a name seen in old records as Barbee, Barbara and Barber, for the same family. These girls were the daughters of Josiah Barber, who had passed in 1866, and wife Mary Little, who was still living.
On April 13, 1876, Lucy's son, Alexander, would marry a Barber at age 19 or 20. She was named as Lorena on the marriage document, but as Cerena on her tombstone. 'Rena' was the daughter of Noah Barbee and Sophia Little. A year later, on February 1st, 1877, their daughter Flora E. Whitley was born.
This happy beginning would soon be overshadowed by a tearful ending. On July 19, 1877, Cerena would pass away at the tender age of 19, her little daughter only five months old. She was buried at Meadow Creek Primitive Baptist Church in present day Locust.
Lucy would step in to help care for little Flora. It seems she was always there for Flora. Still, Alexander needed a helpmate, and would soon find one in the person of 17 year old Sarah A. Honeycutt, daughter of Thomas Franklin Honeycutt and wife, Elizabeth Dry.
They were married on May 20th, 1878, in Furr Township, by Calvin H. Brooks, a Justice of the Peace, at his office. Alexander was now 22.
The young couple wasted no time expanding their family as their son Silas came 15 months later on August 17, 1879.
The family is shown in 1880, living next to Thomas A. Coley, so on the tract Lucy bought from her father, William, with the money she was awarded from her suit against Columbus Whitley in 1860. Alexander is 24, Sarah, 20, Flora is 3, and Silas is 9 months old. They are farming and Lucy, now 55, is boarding with them.
On the next page, the next home over, is the amazing listing of William and Martha Whitley, recorded as 100 years old each! What a reand markable and robust couple!
Alexanders' family would grow again on September 23, 1881 with the arrival of daughter Mary Magdalene. The happiness of this event would soon be eclipsed by misfortune.
Alexander Whitley would pass away just before his 26th birthday. His baby daughter was only 11 months old. As no one in the family died of any plague about this time, the cause may have been accidental in some way, more likely than illness, but cause unknown. Alexander would be buried with Cerena at Meadow Creek Primitive Baptist Church in Locust.
His brief estate file mentioned two children without guardian and his property going to "waste for want of such." Of course, Sarah was still living, but women rarely counted as guardians of their own children. There were three, not two, as Flora was still living, but she had a guardian, her grandmother, Lucy! A woman! Make that make sense. It may have been because Lucy owned property.
Jumping ahead a bit, Flora E. Whitley would marry young, at the tender age of 16, to Adam Luther Furr, on October 6, 1893. As she was a minor, it was with the permission of her guardian, Lucy Whitley.
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