Whiteside and Whitsett Pioneers and The Whitsett Family of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
James and Ann Whiteside of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
James Whiteside took out
his warrant in Lebanon Twp., Lancaster Co. in 1746,
but I think he was probably in the area earlier. He
died in Cumberland County about April 1761, the date
when the probate process started on his estate. His
will is extremely important because it shows a connection
between James Whiteside and Ralph Whitsett, plus Thomas
Hammersley and James McNees. It also gives us the name
of one son, John and his wife Ann, which allows us eventually
to connect the family to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
WILL OF JAMES WHITESIDE, 2 Feb 1754 [date Will was written]:
“In
the Name of God Amen February the 2nd in the year of
our Lord 1754 I James Whiteside of Lebanon Township
and Lancaster County Weaver being very sick and Weak
in Body but of perfect mind and Memory thanks be given
unto Therefore calling to mind the Mortality of my Body
and Knowing that its appointed for All men once to Die
I do make ordain this my last will and testament that
is to say Principally and first of All I give and Recommend
my soul into the hands of God that gave it and for my
body I recommend it to the earth at the discretion of
my Executors Nothing Doubting but that at the General
Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mighty
power of God and as touching such worldly estate wherewith
it has pleased God to bless me with in this life I give
bequeath and dispose of the same in the following manner
and form Imprimis I give and bequeath to beloved wife
Ann & my seven children now living An equal share
of all my worldly substance to each of them and to my
son John five pounds over and above the rest[?] &
I further order that if any of them dies there part
shall be equally divided Amongst the rest & I likewise[?]
constitute make and ordain my only and sole executors
of this My Last Will and Testament Ralph Whitsite, &
James McNees & Thomas Hammersley I therefore utterly
Disallow Revoke and Disannul all of Every other former
Will or Testament by before this time.
“Revoking Ratifying and Confirming this and no
other to be my Last Will and Testament In Witness whereof
I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this day and year
above Written Signed Sealed and Published pronounced
and Declared by the said James Whitesite to be his last
Will and Testament in the presence of these witnesses
Jno. Allen, Mary A. Wyland, Isbel Hamersley.
Signed Jas Whiteside, his mark. Ann Whitside her mark
“Be it remembered that on the 21st day of April
1761 letters testamentary Issued in common form to Ralph
Whitsite James McNees and Thomas Hamersley on said auth
named Executory to be exhibited on or before the 21st
day of May and an account of the administration rendered
them hereunto Required Given Under my hand and Seal
of Office
Harm Aldrich [name is not clear]
“The Accompts of Ralph Whitesides and Thomas
Hamersly Executor of the Testament and last Will of
James Whitesides late of Cumberland County dec’d
as well as all and Singular the Goods and Chattels,
Rights and Credits of the said decedent which came to
their Hand Possession or Knowledge as of their payments
and Disbursements out of the same as follows---[omitted]
“Exhibited into the Registers Office at Carlisle
the first day of December 1761.
[actual signatures] “Ralph Whitsett & Thomas
Hamersly”
James first
appears in our records with his warrant, dated August
15, 1746 for 100 acres located in Lebanon Township of
Lancaster County. The warrant seems to indicate that James
obtained it while in Philadelphia. I believe that he was
probably working at his trade as a weaver in Philadelphia
and joined his brothers John and Ralph in Lebanon Township
several years after they first settled there. I have James'
land survey in Lebanon Township, but am unable to tell
precisely where it was located, except that it was north
of the tracts laid out for the other Whitsett’s
and probably close to James McNees. The area later became
North Lebanon Township.
When James
made his will on February 2, 1754 he described himself
as, “being very sick and weak in Body…”
What ever his illness, he lived for another seven years.
He must have removed from Lebanon Township to Cumberland
County about 1760, around the same time as Ralph and his
family. There are no land warrants for him in Cumberland
County – he may have been too ill to work. It may
be that Ralph’s family was actually caring for him
and his family. This, of course is speculation.
According to
author William Henry Egle, James’ wife Ann married
John Giles in Cumberland County shortly after James' death.
Egle states that Ann was the wife of Giles by December
1761. In 1762 the tax list of Allen Township, Cumberland
County contains the names of John Giles and Thomas McGee,
along with Peter Tittle and Ralph Whiteside. Sometime
in the next three of four years, the Giles family removed to
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. James’ sons
William and John Whitesides appear in the Mecklenburg
records beginning in 1766 and the property of John Giles
is mentioned in a deed for William Bigham in April 1767.
In 2007, William
R. Whiteside hired a professional researcher to search
for documents in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina pertaining
to this family. What he found will be a great help in
further identifying the children and grandchildren of
James and Ann and their eventual dispersal to other places
in the country. I have not had the opportunity to study
Bill’s material in-depth, but I intend to do so
because this family may contain clues to my own Whitsett
line.
According
to Egle, James and Ann had the following children.
All were probably born in Pennsylvania. The names
of spouses were determined by the research of
Bill Whiteside.
John was born about
1736 and married Rachel Bigham about 1754. He died on March
6, 1824, in Mecklenburg County, N. C. John and Rachel had
several children.
Alice (Ayles) was born about 1742. She married
Thomas McGee in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
on August 26, 1760. Her husband died in
1778 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and
Alice was the administrator of the estate.
Although there were several McGee's in Mecklenburg
County, we have not been able to identify any
as the children of Alice and Thomas.
Elizabeth
was born about 1745. She married first Samuel
Bigham and after his death she married William
Berryhill. We know of one child, Anne Bigham,
who was born in 1771 and died November 20, 1798.
Elizabeth died on June 16, 1806 in Mecklenburg
County.
Margaret was born about 1747. She married Robert
Patterson. In July 1779, Robert was one
of the administrators of the estate of his mother-in-law,
Ann (Whiteside) Giles along with his brother-in-law
John Whiteside. At that time Margaret and
Robert were living in Mecklenburg County.
Samuel
was born about 1750, probably in Pennsylvania,
and died on October 22, 1772 at the age of 22
in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He
apparently left no descendants.
William
was born about 1758 and died on November 14, 1780
in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He
was only 22 years of age. His wife may have
been Mary Jane Kerr, although that is far from
certain at this time. William had a daughter,
Ann Whiteside; she named William Kerr her guardian
in October 1796. Another possible daughter
was Dorcas Whiteside. Dorcas may have been
adopted; in her will of 1819 she names herself
as Dorcas Whiteside, alias Dorcas Thompson.
Dorcas mentions her mother, Mary Jane Whiteside
but there is no indication of who her father was.
Two other
children were James, born about 1745 and Ann,
born about 1750. At this time we have no
other information on these two.
The Mecklenburg
County, North Carolina documents are among several that
link the family in Pennsylvania with the one in North
Carolina. They are: the estate files of John Giles in
Mecklenburg County; the estate of Widow Ann Giles, administered
by John Whiteside in 1779; the estate of Thomas McGee
administered by his wife, Alice McGee with John Whiteside
as one of her securities; John Whiteside appointed guardian
for Sarah Giles, minor daughter of John and Ann Giles.
Although none of these documents state that the family
came to North Carolina from Pennsylvania, some of the
names in them are echoed in the documents of Lancaster
and Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
This family
deserves to be carefully scrutinized and documented. Since
I have devoted only a small amount of time on James Whiteside’s
family, I am not prepared to speculate any further on
them. Bill (William R.) Whiteside, a descendant, was responsible
for obtaining and analyzing the documents from Mecklenburg
County. Questions about this family should be directed
to him. He can be reached through the Whiteside Family Association. |
