In the late summer of 2007, William R. Whiteside, historian for the Whiteside Family Association (WFA) asked me to join with him in trying to identify all of the Whiteside and Whitsett families in early Pennsylvania.  After months of work, we are pulling together an unprecedented collection of primary source documentation of these families from the time of William Penn's Grant to the beginning of the nineteen century.  During the coming months of this year I intend to publish here the results of our findings related to the early Whitsett immigrants.  This is just a preview of what to expect.  For now, I have not included sources.  Be assured that when I have completed this project, as it relates to the Whitsett families, I will include all of my proof.

Please note:  For the purpose of this preview I have used the "Whitsett" version of the name since that is the version my family uses.  However, the documents clearly show the use of Whiteside, Whitesides, Whitside, Whitsett, Whitsitt and other minor variations.

The following family tree will be updated and corrected as this project moves forward. 

Descendants of Samuel Whitsett of Ireland

The first two generations below are not a proven fact.  Their names come from Dr. William Heth Whitsitt's family history, "Annals of a Scotch-Irish Family."  Of his sources he says, "The best records of these have been kept by the Blakey family, of Russellville, Ky. They rest upon the industry and authority of three persons, namely, Mrs. Margaret (Whitsitt) Blakey; her son, Doctor George Douglas Blakey, and her grandson, Honorable Churchill H. Blakey, all of whom are now deceased. They were industrious chroniclers, and the family owes them a debt of gratitude."  

He goes on to say, "William Whitsitt, the son of William Whitsitt, the son of Samuel Whitsitt (all of Ireland), married Elizabeth Dawson, of Ireland." 

I am inclined to accept this statement at face value.  Mrs. Blakey was the granddaughter of William and Elizabeth Dawson Whitsitt, and she was probably in a position to have gotten this information from her grandfather.  Having said this, I realize that this information must still be considered hypothetical, because we have not found any independent documentation to support it.  For now, you should consider this as only one clue to the origins of the Pennsylvania Whitsett family.

NOTE ABOUT ESTIMATED DATES:  Purists will probably object to my use of estimated dates.  Why even use guesses for dates?  For one, I think it is important to give a frame work to the lives of people.  A date that is within 10-15 years, plus or minus, of an event gives us at a glance a feel for the historical background of an individual.  All dates prefixed with "about," "probably," "possible" or "Est" (estimated) are simply estimates usually based on several factors: birth dates or estimated birth dates of children; actual or estimated date of marriage;  actual date of death; documented dates that seem to reflect that the individual had reached his or her majority; any other documented date that gives an indication of age.  I used 25 years as the length of one generation.  I assume that brides are at least 18 years of age at time of their first marriage or birth of the first child, and 21 as the age of a groom at the time of his first marriage, taking into consideration probable ages of siblings.  If I lack any indication of age at time of death or the death seems to be natural, I use 70 years as an average life span.  In most cases it was a few years less or a decade or more longer, but 70 years will keep us in the ball park.  This does not take into account accidental or other unnatural deaths.  Of course, the longer the succession of estimated dates, the more inaccurate the estimate becomes.  Remember, these are always guesses subject to change if new information emerges.  If the use of estimated dates bothers you, simply note the date as "Unknown."

Genealogy Charts for Samuel Whitsett and his son William of Ireland