James Medlous Whitus
and Priscilla Jane Puckett
James Medlous Whitus (or James
Whitehurst, as he was known in his later years) was the
youngest son of James L. Whitus and Jane McCoy. He was
born in 1855 in Rutherford County, TN and died on 26
September 1931 in San Angelo, Tom Green County, Texas.
On 29 December 1875, he married Priscilla Jane Puckett
in Rutherford County; she was the sister of Nancy Levina Puckett, who married James's
brother George. Priscilla was born on 25 October 1856 in
either Rutherford or Bedford County, Tennessee, and died
on 19 June 1932 in San Angelo, Tom Green, Texas.
James and Priscilla were farmers in Rutherford County,
where their five children were born. We only know the names
of three (and possibly a fourth), but Priscilla told census
enumerators in 1910 that she had had five children
altogether and that all five were still alive.
James was listed in the 1891 census of voters in Rutherford
County, but appears to have moved to Texas around 1895,
when he no longer appears in Rutherford County tax lists.
We have not yet located him in the 1900 census but he is
listed in 1910, 1920, and 1930 as James Whitehurst; his son
George E. Whitehurst either never married or married late
and is enumerated in the same household as his parents. The
family appears to have lived very modestly, never able to
amass enough funds to purchase property in Texas. The
whereabouts of the children (other than George) are a
mystery.
It is possible that Elam and George are actually the same
person, and that George's full name is George Elam.
James
Medlous Whitus (b.
1855, Rutherford, TN - d. 26 Sep 1931, San Angelo, Tom
Green, TX)
m. 29
December 1875, Rutherford, TN
Priscilla Jane
Puckett (b. 25 Oct
1856, Rutherford or Bedford, TN - d. 19 Jun 1932, San
Angelo, Tom Green, TX)
Children:
i. Willie
Whitehurst (b. 1877,
Rutherford, TN - d. aft 1910)
ii. James D.
Whitehurst (b. 1879,
Rutherford, TN - d. aft 1910)
iii. Elam Whitehurst
(b. 1890, Rutherford, TN - d.
aft 1910)
iv. George E.
Whitehurst (b. 1894/5,
Rutherford, TN - d. aft 1930)