The Informant

Below: The Death Certificate of John Alexander Springer, with informant, J. A. Whitley.

In my previous post, on the family of Israel Springer, I ended with more questions than I had begun the journey with. This post can be found here: The Journey: The Family of Israel Springer. Israel Springer was a young man from Stanly County, North Carolina and son of Lewis Springer and wife, Rachel Sides Springer. He had died of Typhoid Fever in Virginia during his Civil War Service. It was not known that he was married, however, his widow, Margaret M. Springer, applied for a pension and the money due him. Afterwards, I also discovered that he had a son, John Alexander Springer, born in 1861 in Stanly County, the year before Israel left for War. 

The document shown above is John Alexander Springers death certificate. He marries in Iredell County in 1882, to a Jane Whitley.  Jane was about five years older than Alex, born about 1856. She predeceased him, and neither the marriage certificate nor her death certificate gave any clue as to who her parents were. The couple had settled in the town of Mount Ulah, in Rowan County until their deaths. They were textile workers.

Alex and Jane had no children of their own, however, they took in two daughters of William Alexander and Rachel Helms Whitley, Mary Malinda, the oldest, and Louisa or Louise Rebecca, the youngest, who was only three days old when her mother died and was raised by J. A. and Jane Springer as their own. She was the only living heir of John Alexander Springers small estate. 

The Springers had lived very close to the Whitley's, being listed directly after them in the 1900 census. Their daughters were designated as the Springers nieces in the census records, and we will not argue with that, however, I've not been able to prove the connection. William Alexander Whitley was also born in Stanly, in 1868, about seven years younger than John Alexander Springer, and I was able to find him living with his parents in Davidson, Iredell County, in 1880. His father was William T., P. or L. Whitley, and born around 1835. His mother was Margaret Malinda Whitley and born about 1844. They died in 1923 and 1920, respectively, after living in the home for the aged in Iredell County. William Alexander Whitley had also died in 1920. I was left wondering if Margaret Malinda Whitley was also the Margaret M., maiden name unknown, who had married Israel Springer. I was also left wondering how the daughters of William A. and Rachel Whitley were the nieces of John A. and Jane Whitley Springer. Were Jane and William A. Whitley's siblings? I could not find her in 1880, when she would have been 24. Or were John A. Springer and William A. Whitley half-siblings?

In the above document there was one clue I had not explored. The informant. 

The informant to J.A. Springer's death certificate was J. A. Whitley. This person knew his father's name, and his place of birth, but oddly, did not name his mother. This wasn't Jane, who was already dead, or W. A. Whitley, who was also. There was a J. A. Whitley, living a page over from these two in the 1900 census, who could have been the informant, a John A. Whitley, who unsurprisingly, also had Stanly County roots. However, his background was as mysterious as theirs.

How was he connected to these two? By finding him, would my other questions be answered?

John A Whitley, Iredell

The above is John A. Whitley, 56, his wife Emma, 39, and their son Adam, 19, in the 1900 census of Davidson, Iredell County, one page over from William Alexander Whitley and John Alexander Springer. Who was he and where did he come from?

Well, let's back up to his childhood. Here is John A Whitley in 1860, in Stanly County, as a 16 year old in the home of his father, Adam Whitley. 

Jump ahead 20 years and John is 37, with his bride, Emma, at 19, living in New Salem, Union County, NC, just south of the Stanly County/ Union County border. 

On April 22, 1878, John Alexander Whitley, 34, of Rowan County, applied for the marriage license, himself. He was the son of Adam and Sarah Whitley, both parents deceased. The bride was Emma C Honeycutt of Iredell County, 18, daughter of Joseph and Lucretia Honeycutt, both deceased. The witnesses were Whitley's too. We can see a connection to Iredell County before John had moved to Union County, NC. 

John Alexander Whitley would remain in Iredell County. He was buried in the Blue Door Cemetery near Mooresville. The cemetery is attached to Vanderburg Church, located a few miles away, the name referring to the blue iron door of a tomb that existed there.

There was another J. A. Whitley nearby who could have been the Informant, and that was John Adam Whitley, the son and only child of the above John A. Whitley. He was "Adam" in the census record from 1900.

At 27, John Adam Whitley (II) married Josephine "Josie" Owen Holder, age 18. She was the daughter of Isaac Owens and Candis Owens, both living from Iredell. The year is 1918, and Adam indicates that his father is dead, while his mother is living. As John Alexander Springer died in 1923, John Sr. could not have been the informant. 

Adam was a World War I vet who made his home in Iredell during the earliest days of his life. He lived in Coddle Creek in 1920 and 1930, in Barringer in 1935 and in Fallstown, Troutman in 1940. By 1950, he was living in Mallard Creek, Mecklenburg County. He passed away in Mooresville, Iredell County in 1957 at the age of 72, and was buried at Blue Door Cemetery, with his parents. 

John Adam Whitley II and wife Nancy Josephine Owens Whitley raised a family of 10 children: John Adam III, Floyd, Helen Louise,  Carrie Lee, Linda Adele, Lester Bill, Connie Geneva, Mary Josephine, David and Alice. 

This wasn't the only Whitley family that lived near John Alexander Springer and wife, Jane Whitley Springer. 

Name	Green Whitley
Age	29
Birth Date	Abt 1851
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Coddle Creek, Iredell, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	168
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Self (Head)
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	M. J. Whitley
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Laborer
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Green Whitley	29
M. J. Whitley	28
J. W. Whitley	10
J. D. Whitley	9
J. E. Whitley	6
N. M. Whitley	2

There was a Green Whitley in Coddle Creek, Iredell County in 1880.

Name	Green D Whitley
Age	9
Birth Year	abt 1851
Gender	Male
Race	White
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	139
Family Number	139

Household members

Name	Age
Adam Whitley	37
Ellen P Whitley	20
John A Whitley	16
Beckey Whitley	11
Green D Whitley	9
Sarah E Whitley	6
Mary J Whitley	2

Turns out, this Green D. Whitley also had Stanly County roots, and was, by the way, the brother of John A. Whitley. As he arrived in Iredell prior to John, this may have been how John had met his Iredell County wife before he arrived there, himself. 

This was not Green Deberry Whitley of Stanly County. This was Green David Whitley.  Green had married twice in Stanly County. First, in 1869, to Elizabeth Betse "Lottie" Coley, with whom he had no children. After she died in 1875, he married in 1877 to Mary Jane Griffin, with whom he had 4 children, John, James and Jonas, and a daughter with the initials N. M., who appears to have died as a child. 

Mary Jane died in 1892, after they had moved to Iredell and Green would marry a third time, to Rebecca Kimball, by whom he would have eight children: George, Amos, Calvin, Martha, Mary, Mark, Matthew and William. 

Green would move to Steele Creek, Mecklenburg County by 1900, Long Creek, Mecklenburg County in 1910, River Bend, Gaston County in 1920, and would pass away in Pineville, Mecklenburg County in 1928. Above is his obituary in the Charlotte Observer. 

There was a third sibling to live in Iredell County, a sister, Rebecca. It was told to the Clerk by her informant, Mitchell Clark, that she had been born in Iredell County, but that was incorrect. She was the 11-year-old "Becky" in the 1860 census of Stanly County. Becky outlived all of her siblings and passed away in 1929. Her informant had her father correct, but her mother was Sarah Cagle Whitley. They wrote her own maiden name in the place instead, and perhaps misunderstood the question. 

Who was Adam Whitley and why did his children move to Iredell County? Was there a connection to William Alexander Whitley and John Alexander Springer?

The first record I find of Adam Whitley is in 1845, when it shows one note owed in the estate file of John B Carver. He would have been 22. 

He appears in several Overseers records, and the locations give a glimpse at the area he probably lived close to. On a road being built from Big Bear Creek, he was in the presence of several other Whitley's, Needham Whitley, Temple Whitley, Adam, Russell Whitley and George Whitley. In another being built from Meeting House Road to Bear Creek, he was accompanied by Solomon S. Whitley.

In September of 1851, Needham Whitley, Adam Whitley and Green D. Whitley were involved in a land transaction, where Needham guaranteed the $150 charged to Adam by Green D Whitley of a tract by Needham's line, half of the spring water on it, of 200 acres. Needham Whitley "doth warrant and defend said land".  It certainly reads like the act of a father.

In 1850, the case of R. Barringer vs. Adam Whitley and John F. Miller, levy on land.

Adam had appeared on a list of insolvents in 1851. In 1853 he reappeared in Court with a Petition for the Restoration of his voting rights. Most people are of the belief that all white men voted in those days, but that is not the way it worked. Only "Free holders" voted. Men, yes, but they had to be property owners, land owners, and own it free and clear. Color was not a part of it. It was free men who owned land. When in debt, their voting rights would be suspended.

Adam would get into trouble with the law in other ways, too. In February Session of Court, 1849, he appeared on a case of assault and battery. It was brought up twice before it was heard. Once for a change of security.

State vs Adam Whitley

Needham Whitley who is security for the appearance of Defendant surrenders him in discharge of himself as bond. Deft. is ordered in custody of the Sheriff and enters into recognizance in the sum of  $200 for his appearnce tomorrow with Solomon Robbins Security.

State vs Adam Whitley

Bejamin Whitley, John F. Miller, and Solomon Robbins confess judgement for $30 to be discharged on payment of costs.

February 1849

State vs Adam Whitley - A&B - deft pleads not guilty - same jury except B. L. Whitley and in his place, Agrippa Calloway. as in No 19 who find defendant guilty. Fined one penny.

- This action I wonder the cause for the dismissal of Benjamin L. Whitley as a juror.Could it have been because of a close relation?

 

February Session 1850    State vs Adam Whitley  A & B

Deft. submits - finded $2.00 and costs. Deft. with Solomon Burris, Ezekial Burris, J. C. Burris, and Hardy Hatley confess judgement for $25.

March 4, 1851, in the register of deeds, we find a transaction between Adam and JC Burris and JW Morton.

Adam was indebited to Benjamin Hathcock for the amount of $15 plus interest. Joshua Christian Burris and J. W. Morton became security to it on Adam's ability to pay with his personal property as collateral. "A certain  quantity of property on the premise where Whitley lives named as follows: one cow, one calf, one steer, 13 head of hogs, 13 head of geese, one loom, one saddel, 75 busheles of corn, 300 bundles of fodder, one tabel and one chest".

On March 17th 1851, he added one clay bank horse with flax mane and tail to the deal, if he should fail to pay.

On September 28, 1857, Adam Whitley married Penelope Eleanor "Nelly" or "Ellen" Hinson. We don't know much more about his first wife, Sally, than her name, but her estimated date of death could be between 1854, after the birth of her youngest child, Sarah E. Whitley and the date of his second marriage in 1857.

Nelly Hinson was the daughter of Jordan and Nancy Hinson, and born about 1836.

She appears with Adam in the 1860 census, and was so much younger, some have her pegged as a daughter. The little girl Mary, the youngest child in the 1860 census, was her first child with Adam.

Adam Whitley doesn't appear in the 1850 census, yet we can bank on him residing there at the time, due to the above records.

Name	Adam Whitley
Enlistment Age	39
Birth Date	abt 1823
Enlistment Date	1 Feb 1862
Enlistment Place	Rowan County, North Carolina
Enlistment Rank	Private
Muster Date	1 Feb 1862
Muster Place	North Carolina
Muster Company	C
Muster Regiment	42nd Infantry
Muster Regiment Type	Infantry
Muster Information	Enlisted
Muster Out Date	5 Mar 1863
Muster Out Place	Weldon, North Carolina
Muster Out Information	died disease
Side of War	Confederacy
Survived War?	No
Residence Place	Stanly County, North Carolina
Title	North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster

When the War came, Adam volunteered. He was nearly forty and had added two more children to the family with Nelly, after 1860, but perhaps he saw this as a way to bring in more money to pay debts. He was from a non-slave holding family. He enlisted at age 39 in Rowan County, with Company C, 42nd Infantry. He would die of typhoid fever on March 5, 1863, in Weldon, North Carolina. His battle was lost to the rampant diseases that ran through the exhausted and half-starved Confederate Troops. 

Name	Adam Whitley
Birth Date	1823
Birth Place	Iredell County, North Carolina, United States of America
Death Date	5 Mar 1863
Death Place	Weldon, Halifax County, North Carolina, United States of America
Cemetery	Weldon Confederate Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place	Weldon, Halifax County, North Carolina, United States of America
Has Bio?	N
Children	John Adam Whitley; Titus H Whitley

Oddly, his place of birth is noted as Iredell County on his Find-A-Grave profile. I am pretty sure that is incorrect. Perhaps this was put in by a descendant of one of his children who settled there, who wasn't aware of his Stanly County roots. 

Adam was buried in a group grave in Weldon, Halifax County, North Carolina

Back in Stanly County, Nelly had remarried to Jesse Stanly Smith, on March 22, 1869, in Albemarle. 

The 1870 census show Nellie with her newest husband, her three children with Adam Whitley, and a new baby boy, Millard, with Jesse.

Name	Nellie Smith
Age	45
Birth Date	Abt 1835
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	253
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Wife
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Jesse Smith
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Housekeeper
Cannot Read	Y
Cannot Write	Y
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Jesse Smith	52
Nellie Smith	45
Millort Smith	11
Wilbert Smith	9
J. Lizie Smith	6
May Smith	7/12
Mary Whitly	26
Joan Whitly	1

In 1880, Nellie's family includes her four children with Jesse Smith, Millard Wesley Smith, Wilbert Craven Smith, Lizie Smith and May Smith, and her adult daughter, Mary Whitley, daughter of Adam, is in the home with a one-year-old daughter, Joan. There is no more information on Nellie, who appears to have died before 1900.

The trail of the family of Adam Whitley has led me no closer to discovering the roots of the Iredell County Whitelys. Adam and Nellie's son, Titus H. Whitley also ended up in Iredell County, but how John Adam Whitley was connected to John Alexander Springer and wife, Jane Whitley, or William Alexander Whitley, despite the connections in Iredell and all of them being born in Stanly County, is a question I have yet to answer.