James L. Whitus and
Martha Wilkinson
James L. Whitus and Jane McCoy
James Whitus was born sometime
between 1792 and 1805 in Virginia. His birth year on census
records ranges significantly, but we believe he probably
was born sometime around 1800/1804, which would have put
him in his early twenties when he first married in 1825. We
do not know at this point the names of James's parents or
siblings, nor do we know his county of origin in Virginia.
James first appears in Tennessee records (as far as we can
tell) around 1825, when he married Martha Wilkinson in
Williamson County. James and Martha
appear to have had more than their share of troubles as
a couple and James ultimately sued for divorce in July
1836 on the grounds of adultery. To be honest, we have
not done much research on Martha, since she is not in
our direct ancestral line, and so we do not know who her
parents were, nor do we know her place of origin. The
names of her presumed children are from another
researcher.
By 1841, James decided to settle back into family life and
married Mary Jane McCoy, daughter of Robert McCoy, in Rutherford County. James and Jane settled
in westernmost Rutherford County, where they raised
their three sons. They seem to have had something of a
hard life, never able to accumulate enough money to
purchase their own land. In 1851, James sold some of his
personal property and livestock to his sister in law,
Martha McCoy, for $50; in 1860, he mortgaged his mare to
ensure payment of a debt.
James's primary occupation seems to be that of shoemaker;
he is identified as a shoemaker in both the 1850 and 1880
censuses. He evidently tried farming for a while -- in
1860, he was a tenant farmer -- but this apparently did not
work out, and as an elderly man, he once again turned to
that craft. According to interpreters at various historical
sites we have visited, sometimes elderly or infirm men
would become shoemakers because it did not require much
physical labor and could be done while seated; in the 1880
census, James is described as "old & infirm".
James and Jane both died sometime after 1880, when they are
enumerated in the census. This is the last time we have
found them in Rutherford County records.
Their sons George and James married sisters -- Nancy and
Priscilla Puckett, daughters of William Spencer Puckett and Milley Manor.
Note
on name:
Whitus is an unusual name and is spelled in many different
ways in 19th century records. Some of these spelling
variants include Whitas, Whities, Whitis, Whitiece, Whites,
Whitess, and Whiters. One of James's sons -- James Medlous
Whitus -- ultimately changed the spelling of the name to
Whitehurst; this is how James's name appeared in his
marriage record, so it is possible that the name of this
family was originally Whitehurst.
James
Lafayette Whitus (b.
about 1800/1805, Virginia - d after 1880, Rutherford, TN)
m1. 26 March
1825, Williamson TN
Martha Wilkinson
(b. probably about 1800/1805
- d after 1836)
Possible
children:
i. Richard Whitus (b. 1825, TN - d aft 1870); m.
Margarett
J. [unknown]
ii. Tuloss Whitus (b. 1826, TN - d aft 1880); m.
Martha
E. [unknown]
m2. 22 September 1841, Rutherford,
TN
Mary Jane McCoy
(b. 1818, Rutherford, TN - d.
after 1880, Rutherford, TN)
Children:
i. Robert Lafayette Whitus
(b. 11 Dec 1842,
Rutherford, TN - d. 19 Nov 1924, Rutherford, TN);
m. Julia Ann
Carlton
ii. George Washington Whitus
(b. 19 Jan 1845,
Rutherford, TN - d. 12 Aug 1902, Morgan, TN); m.
Nancy Lavina Puckett
iii. James Medlous Whitus (b. 1855, Rutherford, TN - d. 26 Sep
1931, San Angelo, Tom Green, TX); m. Priscilla Jane Puckett