George Washington
Whitus and Nancy Lavina Puckett
George Whitus was the middle
son of James Whitus and Jane McCoy. We have no
idea how George and Nancy may have met--their social and
economic backgrounds were rather different. The Whitus
family lived very modestly, with no land of their own
and no significant property. By contrast, the Pucketts
were a comparatively more prosperous land-owning family
in northern Bedford County, near the Rutherford line.
However, by the time they married in 1867 in Bedford
County, the Civil War had upended the social and
economic structures in middle Tennessee, including
Rutherford County, something that may have put them on a
more equal economic footing. (See the reading list for suggested books on this
topic.)
Both George and his older brother Robert enlisted in the
Confederate forces at the outbreak of the Civil War, with
George opting to join the cavalry (Company D, 11th
[Holman's] TN Cavalry). He served for the duration of the
war, often under the command of General Nathan Bedford
Forrest. Along with others in his company, he surrendered
to Union troops and took the oath of allegiance on 8 March,
1865. The card attesting that he took the oath also
contains a description of George: he had brown hair, blue
eyes, a fair complexion, and stood 5'10" tall.
We have been unable to locate George and Nancy in census
records in 1870, but Nancy's 1906 pension application
indicates they remained in the area. (The 1870 census is
notorious for missing residents, in Tennessee at least.)
All ten of their children were born in either Bedford or
Rutherford Counties, and all but one--Hattie Jo--survived
to adulthood.
The couple received a modest inheritance from the estate of
Nancy's mother, Milly Manor, but ultimately opted to sell
their small farm and move east to Morgan County. The 1890s
was a time of economic hardship in the country, and it may
be that George decided his prospects for employment would
be better in the mines of eastern Tennessee. He was listed
as a coal miner in the 1900 census, as were sons Charley
and Edward. George died in August 1902, leaving Nancy with
several children to raise. She applied for--and was
granted--a pension based on George's Civil War service.
Nancy herself died in 1930 of a stroke.
George
Washington Whitus (b.
19 Jan 1845, Rutherford, TN - d. 12 Aug 1902, Morgan, TN)
m. 20 Sep
1866, Bedford TN
Nancy Lavina
Puckett (b. 14 Apr
1850, Bedford, TN - d. 2 Jan 1930, Petros, Morgan, TN)
Children:
i. Anna Lou Whitus
(b. 16 Aug 1867-d 27 May
1951); m. John Woods Rowland
ii. Jennie Elizabeth
Whitus ("Bettie") (b.
Jun 1869-d. 13 January 1963, Nashville, Davidson, TN);
never married
iii. Robert Lee
Whitus (b. 8 Dec
1871-d. 10 Jul 1965)
iv. James Walter
Whitus (b. 1873-d. 25
September 1957, Nashville, Davidson, TN)
v. Hattie Jo Whitus
(b. 1875-d. by 1880)
vi. Charles Richardson
Whitus (b. 5 Sep
1877-d. 3 Dec 1925); never married
vii. Mary Ellen
Whitus (b. Oct 1880,
Rutherford, TN - d. 19 August 1955, Chattanooga, Hamilton,
TN); m1. George W.
Keith; m2.
Burk
Day
viii. Edward Holmes
Whitus (b. 19 Jan
1884-d. 29 April 1936); m. Cora
Koontz
ix. Beulah Estella
Whitus (b. 19 Sep
1888-d. 11 March 1985); m. Charles
Edmonds
x. William Gray
Whitus (b. 10 May
1891-d. 5 December 1968); m. Mary
[unknown]