Dr. William Thornton Whitsett - Whitsett Family History

Part 1

Recently, I received a note from Bonnie Whitsett of Burlington, N. C.  She is the wife of William Daniel Whitsett, grandson of William Thornton Whitsett.  Her comments (dated 04/07/2008) to me were:

"There was also some question about whether Dr. Whitsett received his PhD from UNC, but I am certain that he did. Possibly one of my husband's cousins has that diploma. Dr. Whitsett's oldest daughter, Lucille Holt, had most of his important papers that were not donated to UNC, and I am sure her son has possession of most of those items. I suspect that Lucille is the one that entered the handwritten notes on some of the information you have. She was the self appointed family historian, and unfortunately passed away about 4-5 years ago.

I do know that Dr. Whitsett traveled all over the to obtain family history. We have personally had Whitsett family from Pennsylvania come by to visit Whitsett, NC, because they were linked to this family.

Our church, Friedens Lutheran Church, has an extensive genealogy, including birth and death dates and cemetery records. You may find some of your answers there.

Dr. Whitsett was a much respected educator in Whitsett and the Guilford County Schools. I am proud to be a part of his family. I hope you understand how proud we are of him and how it bothers us that his credentials are questioned. I would like for you to reconsider your wording on his accuracy and education. It seems that he did lots of research and did it when he had sources alive that we do not have today."

As to the accuracy of Dr. Whitsett's material - unfortunately, since we do not have a list of his sources we cannot make specific comments about them or how he reached the conclusions he did.   I have commented on his assumptions where I have good evidence that his conclusion was wrong.  It is understandable that two people looking at the same evidence may come away with two different opinions.  That is why it is so vitally important to know what the primary source is.  I would like very much to be able to accept Dr. Whitsett's material at face value; however, that does a disservice to the history of the Whitsett family.   William Thornton Whitsett's writings are a textbook example of why it is so important that family historians keep track of and document source material.  If notes he made about his sources turn up, and I have access to them, I will certainly post them on the appropriate web pages.  In the mean time, we can feel confident in his history and genealogy of the Whitsett family when he is discussing his immediate family.  I know that his uncle Alfred M. Whitsett helped Dr. Whitsett with information about the family (based on a copy of a letter I have written by Alfred in 1929).   I assume because of this connection that information as far back as Samuel Whitsett of Orange County is probably reasonably accurate.  I must still urge caution when using Dr. Whitsett as a primary source.  This is true of using the work of any family historian, myself included.  If you use the material in your own work, always verify the information yourself.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
27514

SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
J. ISAAC COPELAND, DIRECTOR

From the William Thornton Whitsett Papers (Whitsett family) in the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina Library, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Whitsett family data from folder 16.

Samuel Whitsett (1664-1754) Born, lived, and died in Antrim county, Ireland.

William Whitsett (1689-1769) son of above, born, lived, and died in Antrim county, Ireland.

William Whitsett (1709-1798) son of above; married Elizabeth Dawson in Ireland, and came with his wife, and son, William Whitsett who was born in Ireland August 20, 1731, to Pennsylvania in 1740.

John Whitsett (1711-1796) came with his brother, William Whitsett (1709-1798) to Pennsylvania in 1740.

Joseph Whitsett (1714-1807) came with his brothers, William Whitsett (1709-1798) and John Whitsett (1711-1796) to Pennsylvania in 1740.

The history of the earliest branch of the Whitsett family in the United States traces back to the family group that reached Pennsylvania in 1740; a group of five consisting of the three brothers, William, John, and Joseph Whitsett together with the wife and son of William Whitsett.  The descendants of these three brothers became widely scattered over many states.

When they landed in Pennsylvania in 1740, William Whitsett and his wife, Elizabeth Dawson Whitsett, had one son as stated, William Whitsett, then nine years old; their other children were born here.  John Whitsett and Joseph Whitsett married soon after their arrival and both had large families, so even before the Revolutionary War there were both children and grandchildren of the three original Whitsett brothers who had come across as the first immigrants of this family line.  Certain of these families have preserved the family record and are able to trace their lines back to the original immigrants, but others are unable to do so, although they know in a general way that they are descended from this Scotch-Irish ancestry.

It must be remembered, also, that following 1740 there were several other immigrants of the Whitsett name coming from Antrim and Armagh counties, Ireland, to America who became the founders of families of this name but not of direct kinship with the family from which William, Joseph, and John Whitsett had come.  For this reason, while numerous Whitsett families trace to these three Pennsylvania Whitsett brothers, other Whitsett families trace to other immigrants of the family who came across after the year 1740.  All, though, have the same general Scotch-Irish ancestry as herein explained.

Scotland of that earlier day had what is known as the clan system.  One was chosen as chieftain because of his wisdom, experience, and popularity, and the followers of his clan bore his name.  The Whitsett's were a division, or sept, or tribe, of one of the Annandale clans known as the Bell clan; the name Annandale being taken from the Annan river whose high moorlands have been carved into picturesque crags by the rushing waters.  This Bell clan is mentioned as far back as 1547 A.D. and in 1685 A.D. John Bell of Whiteside was the clan's head and met his death at the hands of Sir Robert Grierson of Lagg in the Parish of Tongland in Galloway in February, 1685 A.D.

From Scotland to Ireland

In order to understand why many of the Whitsett's left Scotland and went into Ireland it is necessary to glance at certain events.  James I son of Mary Queen of Scots (1603-1625) became the first Stuart king of England.  He was a contradictory character; Lord Macauley calls him "A well-read scholar, and a driveling idiot," and Sully styled him "The wisest fool in Europe."  Certain of the earls of Ireland conspired against the English government, and were driven from the kingdom; their vast estates reverted to the crown.  These lands were divided into small farms, and the people of Scotland were urged to come over and occupy them.  It was only from one to two hundred miles across the Irish Sea, and thousands of the Scotch went over, feeling sure that James I would be kind and sympathetic towards Ireland.  The "flight of the earls" placed the whole of northern Ulster for government disposition.  The Whitsett's poured into the counties of Antrim and Armagh, Ireland, because of this, and these two Irish counties, in the extreme north-[eastern] part of Ireland near the city of Belfast, became their new home.  Here they prospered, and lived as loyal subjects of the government; only to receive in return distrust and suspicion, leading, finally to their determination to abandon their new Irish home for lands beyond the seas.  The injustice and oppression that they were forced to endure; together, with the glowing reports of the advantages of the New World with its promise of civil and religious liberty brought thousands of the Scotch-Irish to Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and among these were the earliest Whitsett immigrants to this country.

Life in Antrim and Armagh

In this section of Ireland most of the inhabitants lived in simple cottages with thatched roofs, and turf was used for fuel for the fires.  Oatcakes and oatmeal formed the chief diet.  Meats were scarce and seldom appeared upon the table.  The clothing was rough and home-made.  The schools were poor, teaching only spelling, writing and the rudiments of English grammar, and the teachers were in most cases very inefficient.

Farming was on a very primitive scale, and money scarce.  Employment was difficult to find, wages were very low and often paid in produce from the farm.  Many of these farms consisted of only three to five acres of land.  Books were rare, reading matter scarce, and libraries unknown.

There is much valuable source material of early families of Antrim and Armagh counties, Ireland, to be found in the records in charge of the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland at Belfast.  There are very old congregational registers for both Antrim and Armagh, containing baptismal lists, etc.  Then there are the Muster Rolls for these counties for 1631, and the Hearth Money Rolls, 1669, for Antrim.  In the Antrim book dating from 1674 to 1733 are found 2,600 entries of baptisms and 600 entries of marriages; the Armagh books date from 1707 to 1728 and from 1796 to 1809.  While these old registers are very difficult to decipher in many instances, still to one familiar with such work, this ancient story is easily available.  These lists of names concerning birth, baptism, marriage and death serve to connect the family history with days long past, and while all definite personal record concerning most of the individual names can never be had in full; still this source material is highly valuable as establishing the fact of place of family residence.  It also serves to connect the family with the work of the church in many instances, because the mere fact that incidents in family life were entered upon the church records proves a regard for church ordinances, and a respect for church customs, that it is pleasant to remember after the lapse of these centuries.

From Ireland to America

William Whitsitt, Joseph Whitsitt, and John Whitsett, three brothers, came from Antrim county, Ireland, to America in 1740.  Antrim county was in the province of Ulster, and the brothers lived in the valley of the Lagan river.  This district bore the name of Antrim as far back as the 14th century, and has many remains of the ancient days such as cairns, cromlechs, and ancient castles, among them Glenara and Carreckfergus.

These three brothers became early settlers in the lower valley of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg, then known as Harris' Ferry; one of them later lived at Hannastown which was burned by the Indians in 1781; and still another settled at Pittsburgh.  The Indians gave much trouble to early settlers in this section, and all three brothers became noted Indian fighters; William Whitsitt, especially serving as scout and spy over what is now the counties of Fayette, Washington and Greene, and he never relented in his operations against the Indians because of their depredations in which his home had been destroyed.  William Whitsitt seems to have been easily the leader of the brothers, and many traditions preserve accounts of his bravery and his fearless spirit in the frontier life of his day.  When the Indian saw the ascending smoke of the first rude log cabins along the Susquehanna and the Monongahela he read the doom of his happy-hunting grounds, but it took stout hearts and unyielding spirit to face the painted warriors who swept down under the leadership of such chieftains as Logan and Tecumseh bent on death and destruction; William Whitsitt and his brothers were equal to the stern call of the hour.  The small round log cabin of the white man had come to stay; to be replaced as time passed by the two-story,. hewed log house, and later by sawn timbers, brick, and stone.  The pioneer with coon-skin cap, and weather-beaten face, was finally to conquer the Alleghenies, and push westward towards the Rockies.

Much interest attaches to William Whitsitt, Joseph Whitsitt, and John Whitsitt because so far as known they were the first of their name to come to America, set up families, and become the founders of many family lines.  Others of their name and connection rapidly followed, but these have the distinction of being the first immigrants.

Whitsett Nomenclature

Many variations in spelling may naturally be expected among most of the pre-Revolutionary family names.  The spelling of the Whitsett family name has usually been as follows:- Whitsett, Whitsitt, Whiteside, and Whitesides. These four spellings will include, perhaps, nine-tenths of this family both in this country and back in Ireland from whence these Scotch-Irish came. In rare cases other spellings may be found, such as Whitsed, Whitesett, Whitesitt, Whitesid, Whitsed, Whitset, and Whitsit, but the spellings as first given, - Whitsett, Whitsitt, Whiteside, and Whitesides,- may be regarded as the established spellings since the year 1700.

Whiteside appears to have been the favored spelling while in Ireland, and remains so to this time for those who are still numerous in Antrim and Armagh counties, Ireland; however, with sufficient use of Whitsett and Whitsitt to clearly connect the synonymous use of the names. In Pennsylvania Whitsitt was a favorite spelling; in Virginia Whiteside and Whitsett and Whitsitt have all been used; in North Carolina Whitsett and Whitsitt have from the beginning been commonly used, with an occasional use of Whiteside until about 1850, since which time the tendency has been to fix upon the settled spelling Whitsett.

From what has been said it can be seen that there may be families spelling the name Whitsett who trace to the same ancestry as other families spelling the name Whiteside, some settling upon the one form of spelling, some upon the other. The Tennessee families have followed chiefly the Whitsitt spelling.

In Albemarle county, Virginia, and in what was once Augusta, but is now Rockbridge county, Virginia, the early spelling was often Whiteside, but it is clearly established that the Whitsitt's of both Tennessee and Texas trace directly back to these early Whitesides. Numerous instances of how the name was changed might be given. In the Albemarle county, Virginia records William Whiteside is named. He had a son, William Whiteside, who is mentioned as a member of the Albemarle militia. When this son moved to Amherst he signed himself William Whitsitt. He bought a farm of 200 acres from one, John Wade in 1763 and this deed was made to him as William Whitsitt. Later, on June 4, 1770 he sold this same farm to William Martin, and in making the deed signed his name as William Whiteside. In all other Amherst papers he is written down as William Whitsitt. Some years after he moved to Tennessee, and on July 7, 1795 entered 640 acres of land located at Neely's Bend in the name of William Whitsitt, and from this tract on Feb. 24, 1801 he sold 110 acres to Tyree Harris and signed the deed William Whiteside. Other instances might be give to show that in many parts of the country the right to use either form of the name was recognized at an early date. We know that the Thomas Whitesett who was at Indian Run, Delaware in 1766 was a brother of William Whitesett who in 1783 was living at Ballybough Bridge, Ireland, and that both belonged to a family that sometimes used the name Whiteside. In his work, "The Scotch-Irish," Hanna mentions families of the Whiteside name in northern Ireland who are definitely known to be the same families that later spelled the family name Whitsett in the United States.

Among Albemarle county, Virginia records may be found Royal Patents for more than one thousand acres of land issued between the years 1740 and 1770 to members of the Whiteside family; and many of their descendants later spelled the name Whitsett or Whitsitt. Whiteside Creek a tributary of Mechum's river in Albemarle county took this name because it passed through William Whiteside's farm of 400 acres; its original name was South Fork creek. Whiteside Church now known as Mount Ed Church traces it original name to the same source. A certain Tennessee branch of the Whitsitt family traces its direct ancestry to this same William Whiteside. Investigation shows that practically all the early Whiteside marriages were contracted with parties bearing Scotch-Irish surnames, additional confirmation of all that has been said, and showing the tendency of Scotch-Irish communities to inter-marry.

Careful examination of records from widely scattered sections of the country reveals the disposition to adopt the shorter and easier form Whitsett as the family name, and for the last fifty to seventy-five years we seldom find the families reverting to the earlier spellings. This agrees with the general tendency of surnames in the United States, many of which began with many more variations that those found in the Whitsett family. The cases of hundreds of earlier American families might be cited to establish this fact.   

Ancestry

The Whitset family is of Scotch-Irish ancestry.  The earliest immigrants of this family came to the United States in 1740; were here throughout the Revolutionary War, and when the first United States Census was taken in 1790 there were 42 families with 168 members recorded.  These were distributed as follows: 5 families in New York, 16 in Pennsylvania, 3 in Virginia, 3 in Tennessee, 8 in South Carolina, and 9 in North Carolina.  While the family is called a Scotch-Irish family, it is really a true Scotch family, and is only known as Scotch-Irish because of the fact that it originally went from Scotland into Ireland, and after long residence there, came from thence into the United States.  It is an interesting story, long neglected, and some of the outstanding facts will be given here.  With the passing of time we will appreciate more and more the records and genealogy of the elder families of our country, who amid trial and difficulty founded home, church, state and nation.

The Scottish Home

The region of the Annan river in the southern country of Dumfries, Scotland, is the original home of the Whitsett family.  Dumfries is one of the largest counties of Scotland with an area of over one-half million acres of land and a population today of about seventy five thousand people.  The Annan river flows into Solway Firth thence into the Irish sea.  There is much romantic history connected with the Lords of Annandale, the Bruces, the Douglasses and the ancient Roman antiquities of this section.  When Edward I. of England in 1296 A.D. retreated through Annandale he burned Bruce's castle of Lochmaben.  All of this part of southern Scotland is rich in legend and song and story, interwoven with thrilling tales of chivalry and daring.

William, a Favorite Name

In the Whitsett families for the past two or three hundred years the name, William, has been a favorite.  This name comes to us from the old Anglo-Saxon, Wilhelm, its original meaning being "a man who wills to protect."  In generation after generation of the various lines and branches of the Whitsett family it will be found to be the favorite masculine proper name.  Its choice has become so well established that there is little doubt that it will continue to be constantly used.

Going back to county Antrim, Ireland, we find William Whitsett who lived there between the years 1689 and 1769; his son, also named William Whitsett, married Elizabeth Dawson in Ireland, and of his two sons born there before the family came to America in 1740, one was named Henry and the other born Aug. 20, 1731 was named William Whitsett.  This latter William Whitsett gave to his son his same name after the family custom.

In Royal Patents of land in Albemarle county, Virginia, from 1741 to 1769 by members of this family, William appears four times.  In Amherst county, Virginia, documents from 1763 to 1781, we find William appearing six times.  In Henry county, Virginia, documents from 1782 to 1790, we find the name, William, seven times.  It was a William Whitsitt who went from Virginia to Tennessee and at Nashville on July 7, 1795 entered 640 acres of land.  Rev. William A. Whitsitt born in Nashville, Tennessee, July 25, 1816 was given the family name.  When in 1800 William Whitsitt removed to Kentucky from his Tennessee home he carried William Whitsitt, Jr., with him.  William Whitsitt, Jr., named his only son William, and again this only son passed the name to the first son born in his family.

William Heth Whitsitt named his only son William; William Thornton Whitsett named his first son William; and from every branch of the family instances may be gathered to show that William has been a favorite through the generations, and has become a part of the family tradition, through pioneer days; through days of warfare; and in times of peace and security.

Whitsett Family Widely Scattered

From Canada to Mexico and throughout the various states of the Union members of the Whitsett family may be found.  Remembering that they are Scotch-Irish, it should be kept in mind that in the period of forty years from 1730 to 1770 that 500,000 of the Scotch-Irish came from Ulster to America constituting fully one-sixth of the entire population of the United States at the time of the American Revolution, and among these were many representatives of the Whitsett family.  Without the active help of the Scotch-Irish it may be seriously questioned whether the freedom of the colonies could have been won, and certainly no other class of our population took a more active part in all the events that lead up to the War for Independence.  Pouring chiefly into Pennsylvania, they scattered from thence throughout the country, and the Whitsett's went with their fellow-countrymen into various localities.  From Pennsylvania down into Virginia, over into North Carolina, westward to Tennessee, to Ohio, Kentucky, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, and into other sections they moved with their fellow Scotch-Irish, or, often alone as pioneers seeking to open for settlement the virgin territory.  They bravely faced hostile Indians, underwent privation and danger, and through it all kept their faith in a Supreme Ruler whose protection they ever sought in song and prayer.  The spirit of their ancient Scottish clans was in their blood, and though removed by generations from the land of the pibroch and tartan they kept firm their determination to live worthy of their traditions.

These Protestants had gone into Ireland from their rugged lands in Scotland thinking that James I would be a firm friend; they had found the Irish Catholics open in opposition and but few intermarriages with the Irish had taken place; restrictive legislation had thwarted their progress, until finally they had turned to America as the true land of hope.  Their bitter experiences in Ireland had intensified their determination to finally set up a government of human justice and equality where man's civil and religious rights should be properly respected.  American historians are unanimous in praise of the fine and salutary influences of these Scotch-Irish who gave us such families as Alexander, Breckenridge, Lewis, Preston, Campbell, Pickens, Stuart, McDowell, Johnston, and such individuals as Anthony Wayne, Daniel Boone, Thomas Benton, Samuel Huston and a host of others of equal renown.  Not seekers chiefly after high places, but a great body of people willing to answer every call of duty, and with quiet determination to seek to realize the ideals formed through decades of disappointment.  Their natural material development had been thwarted at every turn, and even their ministers had been forbidden to perform a simple marriage ceremony.  Fortunately for them, their devotion to learning and culture had developed a sense and ability of leadership that gave them the courage of their convictions.  Like the exiles of old in Egypt, their dream of a future Promised Land never failed them; and no immigrants ever landed upon these shores with a keener appreciation of the possibilities of a free government administered in justice and equity.  Their experience with the English government naturally made them the most active opponents of British oppression in every form in their new homes in America.

Many localities into which the Whitsett's have gone preserve the family name; some of these may be named:

Whitsett, Fayette county, Pennsylvania
Whitsett, Guilford county, North Carolina
Whitsett, Crawford county, Missouri
Whitsett, Live Oak county, Texas
Whitsett, Dooley county, Georgia
Whitsitt, Hale county, Alabama
Whiteside, marion county, Tennessee
Whiteside, Lincoln county, Missouri
Whiteside Cove, Jackson county, North Carolina
Whiteside Corners, Saratoga county, New York, &c, &c.

"The Flower Fadeth"

The story of individuals and families is interwoven with hours of happiness and days of disaster.  A profound impression was made upon the Whitsett families of central North Carolina in the year 1877 by an event that drew out the warmest sympathy of the public.

Maria C. Whitsett (1838-1910), a daughter of Austin Whitsett (1808-1890), had married (1860) Joseph J. Wood (1829-1879), and they had a happy family of six children near Graham, North Carolina.  A scourge of diphtheria swept over the state and sorrow was on every side; 'A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children because they were not."  Antitoxine was unknown, its general use only coming in about 1895, nearly twenty years later.  The mortality was great, and medical science was without remedy in the distress.  It will be remembered that it was in 1883 when the micro-organism which is the exciting cause of diphtheria was first identified by Klebs and others, hence in 1877 physicians were helpless in the presence of this dread disease.

After an unusually happy summer sickness came in September.  Anxiety filled every moment, and Mary E. Wood born Jan. 3, 1867 died Sept. 30, 1877.  The next day was even more dreadful, Maggie D. Wood born April 11, 1875 died Oct. 1, 1877; and Martha C. Wood born May 7, 1864 also died Oct. 1, 1877.  Five agonizing days passed and Lou S. Wood born Oct. 22, 1872 died Oct. 6, 1877.  The oldest girl just budding into beautiful womanhood, Frances E. Wood born May 27, 1861 died Oct. 7, 1877, and two days later the only son and the last surviving child, Joseph H. Wood born April 8, 1870 died Oct. 9, 1877.

The glorious October days were at hand, and autumn was painting every shrub and tree with brilliant colors; the air was keen and bracing, but all seemed mockery to those who had stood helpless while an entire family of six promising children had been swept away in but little more than one week.  In Providence Cemetery a row of six stones marks the tragic event.

The father and mother turned again to the routine of a desolated home, but life's hopes had been so shattered that human faith was taxed to its utmost to still hold in their hearts as they did hold the voice of the old church standing just east of their door, - "I know that my Redeemer liveth."

John Whitsett's Famous Granddaughter

John Whitsett's granddaughter, Sarah Whitsett Childress, married James Knox Polk who became the eleventh president of the United States.  President Polk was born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, Nov. 2, 1795; graduated from the University of North Carolina 1818; moved to Tennessee, and was admitted to the bar 1820.  After fourteen years in Congress he was elected Governor of Tennessee, 1839, and President of the United States 1844.  His ancestors came from the northern part of Ireland and were Scotch-irish, like those of his wife.  They originally spelled the name Polke, Poque, or Poake, finally shortened to Polk.  In Memorial Hall at the University of North Carolina there is a marble tablet to Polk's memory, and a fine oil portrait hangs in his old society there, the Dialectic Literary Society.  He is the only graduate of this University who ever rose to the Presidency of the Nation.

President Polk and his wife attended the University Commencement of 1847, coming from Washington accompanied by John Young Mason, Secretary of the Navy; Ex-Secretary of the Navy, Branch; Governor William A. Graham of North Carolina; Ex-Governor John M. Morehead; Lieutenant Matthew F. Maury; and other distinguished men.  Chapel Hill, the seat of the University, made great preparations for the unusual event, even adding a wing to Hilliard's Hotel to entertain the guests of the occasion.  President David L. Swain formally received them in Gerrard Hall and delivered an appropriate address to which President Polk made a gracious reply.  The company drove in carriages from Raleigh, the capital of the State, reaching Chapel Hill on Monday and remaining until Thursday.  The University historian, Dr. Kemp B. Battle, who was a sophomore in the institution at the time says of Mrs. Polk, "The President's Lady, as his wife was called, was pronounced by all classes to be peculiarly fascinating."

Let us now trace the family genealogy.  John Whitsett and his wife, Sarah Whitsett were married in Campbell county, Virginia.  They were the parents of four children, Mary Whitsett, James Whitsett, Lawrence Whitsett, and Elizabeth Whitsett.  Mary Whitse5tt the eldest child married Isaac Walton, and Elizabeth Whitsett, younger daughter, married James Childress.  Both daughters were married while the family lived in Campbell county, Virginia.  About 1790, John Whitsett and wife removed with their two unmarried sons, together with the families of their two sons-in-law to Sumner county, Tennessee.  James Childress and his wife, Elizabeth Whitsett Childress, had a daughter named Sarah Whitsett Childress, born September 4, 1803 in Rutherford  county, Tennessee where the parents had moved after first going to Sumner county.  It was this daughter, Sarah, who became the wife of james K. Polk, thus placing the granddaughter of John Whitsett in the White House from 1845 to 1849 as the first lady of the land during the administration of President Polk.

Isaac Walton and wife, Mary Whitsett Walton, named one of their daughters Sarah Polk Walton after her aunt, President Polk's wife.

Mrs. Sarah Childress Polk was a woman of many fine gifts, unusually attractive, if not strikingly beautiful, and won and held the friendship of a wide circle in many stations in life.  Her name, Sarah, was after her grandmother, Sarah Whitsett, the wife of her grandfather, John Whitsett.  The only sister of Mrs. Polk was named Susan after Susan Childress who was her grandmother.  Mrs. Polk was kind, sympathetic, and warmly attached to her friends.  She recalled that while still a child she grieved when her uncle, Lawrence Whitsett, had occasion to remove his parents John and Sarah Whitsett, from Tennessee to make their home with him in Alabama, where her grandparents lived to an advanced age.

As mistress of the White House, Mrs. James K. Polk met the exacting demands of her exalted position in such a way as to reflect credit upon her own womanly accomplishments, and to add distinction to the position held by her husband as the executive head of the United States of America.  She was educated in Abercrombie's school, Nashville, Tennessee, and the well-known Salem Academy of Salem, North Carolina which she entered when fifteen years old together with her sister, Susan.  The trip to Salem from her home in Tennessee was made on horseback, accompanied by her brother, Anderson Childress, and a faithful servant.  Piano lessons and needle-work were taken in addition to the usual literary studies.  Upon the death of her father, she and her sister returned to their Tennessee home.

She had just passed her twentieth year when she was married to James K. Polk on January 1, 1824.  She had finally chosen him from a number of ardent suitors for her hand, feeling that his brilliant record in college where he is said to have never missed a recitation, prophesied a future of unusual promise.  She herself was ambitious, and the ambition of the young attorney who so ably presented his cause won her heart.  The marriage was made a great event in the Childress home, and hospitality was unbounded. Among the attendants at the wedding were Aaron V. Brown and Lucious J. Polk both of whom were graduates of the groom's alma mater, The University of North Carolina, and both of whom were destined for high honors.  Brown became Governor of Tennessee in 1845, and Postmaster General of the United States in 1857; and Lucius J. Polk became Adjutant General of the State of Tennessee.

Mrs. Polk first visited Washington in 1826, traveling with Mr. Polk and two servants in their carriage.  She went again in 1833, and, hence because of her residence there became familiar with the life of the Capitol, its society, its duties, and its responsibilities.  In February, 1845, she set out again, this time to assume her position as first lady of the land.  The records of that time are unanimous in saying that Mrs. Polk fully discharged her responsibilities with tact, grace, and a delightful courtesy that added to the prestige of her exalted station.  In the social realms of the Capitol, and the circles of the foreign diplomats, she was at home alike; and numerous expressions may be easily gathered complimentary to her four year's stay in the White House.  To fully appreciate the manner in which she sustained herself it is well to remember certain things.  Let us note just a few.

Martha Washington will always be held in affectionate regard because of the lofty standards she set as the wife of our first president.  By birth, training, and long association, she was conversant with the best traditions of an aristocratic Virginia lineage.  Ample wealth and fine ideals had developed a woman worthy of universal approbation.  Then came Abigail Adams who had added to her knowledge of all that Puritan Massachusetts could give, residence abroad while her husband served as Minister Plenipotentiary to England, where she mingled freely in court circles.  Certainly, she was well prepared from the White House with its two score servants, and demands for lavish hospitality.  Dorothea Payne, born May 20, 1768, in Guilford county, North Carolina, where her parents, John and Mary Payne, were on a visit with Quaker relatives, was married January 7, 1790 to John Todd, only to become an unusually attractive widow in less than three years. Then on September 15, 1794 she married James Madison of Orange county, Virginia; a friend of Washington, Jefferson, and all the important men of his day.  Madison became Secretary of State in 1801; and fourth president of the United States in 1809.  Dolly Madison, as she is generally called, began a series of dinner parties, and receptions that have never been excelled in American official life.  Her lavish hospitality, her beauty, her brilliancy, set a standard to be often mentioned through all coming administrations.  To say that a function equals one held in "the days of Dolly Madison" is the last word of praise.  Other things might be mentioned to show the demands of the position to which Mrs. James K. Polk had come, but these few are sufficient.

President and Mrs. Polk reached Washington to find thirty thousand people there for the inauguration, the largest number ever assembled for this purpose up to that time.  In speaking of the first reception Ellet says, "Mrs. Polk's ease, grace, and simple dignity, combined with the evidence of an amiable and cheerful disposition won universal admiration."  Her exquisite taste in dress; her choice of colors and of flowers; are often mentioned with praise by writers of that day.  Henry Clay is said to have told Mrs. Polk once that while critics had found fault with some things that he President had done, no one had found fault with her.  She was from girlhood, very attentive to dress; her father was a man of considerable wealth and indulged his family in comfort approaching luxury for his time, and all through life her elegance of dress, kindness of manners, and sympathetic interest, won and held those who met her.  Mrs. Ann S. Stephens who was a popular writer at that time in 1849 published these lines:

"There, standing in our nation's home,
My memory ever pictures thee,
As some bright dame of Ancient Rome,
Modest, yet all a queen should be.

"I love to keep thee in my mind,
Thus mated with the pure of old,
When love, with happy deeds combined,
Made women great and warriors bold."

When his term expired in 1849, President and Mrs. Polk returned to their home, Polk Place, an attractive and commodious residence in Nashville, Tennessee, where Mr. Polk died June 15, 1849 only a few months after leaving Washington.  He had long suffered from overwork and the burdens of political life.  Though she lived until August 14, 1891, Mrs. Polk lived quietly in retirement, avoiding public appearances, but often receiving distinguished visitors to the State in her home, and being often honored by public bodies and the Legislature of Tennessee on special occasions.  Both husband and wife sleep the long sleep of death in the vault under the monument which stands on the grounds of Polk Place.  This monument is a small, square temple, planned by the same architect that erected the Capitol of Tennessee, and was finished in 1850, having been begun by Mr. Polk before his death.  On the south, east, and west faces it carries inscriptions concerning President Polk, and on the west side is this inscription:

_________________________________________
Asleep in Jesus
MRS. SARAH CHILDRESS POLK
wife of
JAMES KNOX POLK
Born in Rutherford County, Tennessee,
Sept. 4, 1803
Died at Polk Place, Nashville, Tenn.,
August 14, 1891.

A noble woman, a devoted wife,
a true friend, a sincere Christian.
------
"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord"

Upon the occasion of her death Governor John P. Buchanan declared; "I feel that not only the State, but the nation, has sustained a loss in the death of so refined, so cultured, so noble a woman as Mrs. Polk, the widow of one of Tennessee's greatest, best-beloved sons and the nation's most exalted chieftains, James K. Polk.  She has stood a peer among the women of the land, a perfect type of the gentle womanhood of the old South, and her influence will live forever.  The State of Tennessee will hold no spot more hallowed than that which has the honor to contain the remains of this distinguished son and his gentle wife, and will ever give all honor to their memory."

Dr. Eugene I. McCormac of the University of California in his scholarly history entitled James K. Polk, A Political Biography, published in 1922 after wide research calls Polk "a constructive statesman - a statesman possessed of vision, sound judgment, and unusual executive ability.  Surely he was a "crisis" President.   He extended our national boundaries to the Pacific Ocean and determined the political destinies of the future population of the vast area lying west of the Louisiana Purchase.  His request for an appropriation with which to conduct negotiations with Mexico called forth the Wilmot Proviso; and this proviso precipitated the "irrepressible conflict," which was one of the greatest crises in American history."

Slowly but surely Polk has come to his rightful place in history as an eminent American statesman.  As Congressman, Governor of Tennessee, and President of the United States, he never had cause to regret that in the romantic years of his early manhood he had chosen Sarah Childress as his bride, thus making this granddaughter of John Whitsett the mistress of the White House and the first lady of the land from 1845 to 1849.

George Bancroft who is generally acknowledged as America's greatest historian, who while in London as minister in 1846 was the intimate friend of Hallan, Macaulay and other notables of his time, in writing to Mrs. Polk in 1889 just two years before her death said: "You hold the affectionate regard of your country, and the esteem and best wishes of a nation minister to your length of days.'

[For more on the lineage of Sarah Childress Polk click here: John Whitsett of Sumner County, Tennessee]

It is a generally accepted fact that he was a historian, a teacher, and a preacher of a high order, and he was valued most highly by those who were best informed  upon the themes he discussed.  He was a man of marked originality, of wide vision, of fervid imagination, of decided dignity and courtesy.  His students delight to bear witness that as a master he fired their minds with a holy determination to know and to follow the truth.

Dr. Whitsitt was not so much the cause as the occasion of the conflict.  That was why the whole country suddenly became ablaze over seemingly so inadequate an offense.  As the whole 'trouble' passes into history this interpretation of that time becomes more and more apparent.  This generation suffered to its conclusion the delayed settlement of the problem of our fathers' fathers.  Other questions became involved; but the whole matter was precipitated by Dr. Whitsitt's deliverance, viz. that before 1641 the 'immersion of adult believers' had been lost in England, and that such baptisms were restored at that time.

The incident cleared the air in that twice the Southern Baptist Convention, and also the Trustees of the Seminary once and again, sustained Dr. Whitsitt's right to hold his views of history.  Thus did the denomination pronounce that there can be no historical test of loyalty, and that the instructors of the Seminary [and] all the rest, jointly and severally, are free to interpret history according to the dictates of each man's judgment. History forever afterward was not to be settled by resolutions.  In consequence the Baptist brotherhood of the Convention and of the world is nearer together than ever before in its history, and the highway is wide open for progress.

In the Richmond Virginian of Jan. 21, 1911 the following appeared as part of a long sketch of the life of Dr. Whitsitt:

Dr. Whitsitt was a student and teacher of church history for many years.  In the course of his studies he arrived at the conclusion that the English Baptists did not begin to practice immersion earlier than 1641.  In an article prepared for an encyclopedia he made this statement, and subsequently repeated it in other publications ...

The controversy arose over a mere matter of church history, though, of  course, as it proceeded other incidental matters were brought in ...

Though Dr. Whitsitt through the publication of these historical views was brought into great prominence, he was by no means a controversialist in spirit or temper.  He was first of all a student and a teacher, a man of gentle manners and affectionate disposition.  It was his desire always to shun anything like heated or acrimonious debate and to avoid as far as possible any controversy.  

 

William Whitsett and President Harrison

The members of the Whitsett family take pride in certain incidents connected with William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States, and William Whitsett.  As examples of loyal friendship, and fidelity to conviction, they are worthy of a place here.  This William Whitsett under consideration was the son of William Whitsett [and Ellen Menees] second of this name, and a grandson of the original immigrant of the same name [William Whitsett and Elizabeth Dawson]. From 1812 to 1814 he was under the command of Brigadier-General William Henry Harrison of the United States Army engaged during those years in the war on the Northwestern frontier.  Harrison in 1811 had won a victory over the Indians at Tippecanoe river which gave him great reputation, and fixed upon him the sobriquet of "Old Tippecanoe."  He was about forty years old at this time; dashing, skillful, resourceful, and the idol of his soldiers.  His father had been one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and later Governor of Virginia, and young Harrison while not a genius came of the best Virginia stock, and had grown to manhood under the finest of influences and amid great and stirring times.  When hostilities ceased, he became the representative of the government in dealing with the Indians in the treaty of Greenville, 1814, and from 1816 to 1819 was a member of Congress.  The warm friendship of William Whitsett for his military chieftain was to be shown later.

In 1839 Harrison was nominated by the Whig party for the presidency.  His opponents ridiculed "Old Tippecanoe" and cried out "hard cider and log cabins" in fierce derision.  The Whigs took up the taunting terms in delight; used them as battle-cries in great processions, and elected Harrison by a majority of 174 electoral votes.  His patriotism and his kindness of heart held his friends to him with bonds of steel.  It was in this campaign that William Whitsett gave a remarkable exhibition of his friendship for his former military commander.  Whitsett throughout his life had been a Democrat, and in 1832 had done active party service in Kentucky in the campaign in which his nephew, John Breathitt, had been elected governor of Kentucky.  Now, seven years later his friend and former leader in the Northwest campaigns, General Harrison, is in the field for the highest office in the gift of his country as the standard bearer of the Whig party.  Would old friendship or present party ties prove stronger?  The years of hardship in his military service could never be forgotten; neither could he ever forget how Harrison had marched, and frozen, and suffered with his men.  Always considerate, and never asking any common soldier to endure what he was unwilling to risk himself.  When Whitsett's friends remonstrated with him, and insisted that he remember how active he had been in Democratic ranks during the Kentucky gubernatorial campaign of 1832 his reply was, "No man knows General Harrison better than I do; though nominated by the Whigs you must remember that they adjourned their convention without adopting any platform; it is a campaign of men, not of platforms, and as between that Dutchman, Martin Van Buren, who tries simply to track the footsteps of his predecessor, Andrew Jackson, and General Harrison whose forebears were among the creators of the Republic, and whose own patriotism and devotion to his country's best interests no one can doubt who knows him as I do.  I cast my fortunes with Harrison."  Party leaders requested his services in Mississippi, and throughout that state he spoke and worked for Harrison's election, and no one rejoiced more in the victory which followed the heated national campaign.  He never felt regret that he had helped elect "The Hero of the North Bend" to the presidency, and Harrison's choice of Daniel Webster for Secretary of State gave him special satisfaction.  Only a month after the inauguration the President died from an attack of pneumonia; the stress of office, and the exacting demands being too much for his sixty-eight years.  He had never had robust health.  William Whitsett had not over-estimated his good qualities; his youth had been spent in the Old Dominion where devotion to country coupled with high personal qualities had been illustrated by a score of the ablest men of earlier days, and it not to be wondered at that his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, later became the twenty-third president of the United States.  William Whitsett lived less than one year after Harrison's death, but never did he regret his activity in his friend's behalf during the campaign.

Pressure upon the President had been terrific from office-seekers; he is said to have had many thousands of written applications before taking his seat; and the Congress by its opposition gave him great concern; he is said to have remarked to Williams of North Carolina, who was called Father of the House of Representatives, "I am glad to see the Father of the House, and the more so, because you have a very unruly set of boys to deal with, as I know."  Harrison was followed in the White House by John Tyler who after serving as Governor of Virginia had succeeded John Randolph of Roanoke in the United States Senate, and had been elected vice-president on the Whig ticket with Harrison.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

      I hereby certify that the name of William Whitsett appears as a Private on Depreciation Pay List of Westmoreland county Militia in the War of the Revolution.

     The name of William Whitsett also appears as a Private on List of Soldiers of the Revolution from Westmoreland county.

      See pages 460 and 760 of Volume IV, Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series.

(Signed) H. H. Shank,
Archivist.

In testimony whereof
I hereby affix the
Seal of the Department.
(Seal)

_______________________________________

Fayette county, Pennsylvania, was formed from a part of Westmoreland county in 1783, and any lineage that can be traced back to William Whitsett or Captain William Whiteside, either one, is entitled to membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution, or in the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

__________________________________

William Whitsett, born 1752, died 1842, and is buried in the cemetery at Perryopolis, Fayette county, Pa.

William Whitsett's wife was Hadessah Crawford.  She was once captured by the Indians, escaped and reached Donegal, Pa. where her husband found her.  She is buried near Layton, Fayette county, Pa.

Ralph Crawford Whitsett, son of William Whitsett, was born 1801, died 1893; married in 1826 at Mr. Pleasant, Westmoreland Co., Pa.  Ralph C. Whitsett's wife was Rachael Estep, who was born 1807 and died 1890.

William Whitsett and Hadessah Crawford Whitsett were the parents of thirteen children.

The Whitsett's in Military Activities

The French and Indian War afforded the earliest touch of military affairs to the family.  General Edward Braddock reached Virginia in 1755 to take entire command of the forces of King George II, and Colonel George Washington then 23 years old was sent by Governor Robert Dinwiddie to assist him.  Braddock was defeated at a battle on the Monongahela, July 9, 1755, and died while in retreat.  His grave is in Wharton township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania.  Washington took command of the troops, and with less than one thousand men undertook to defend a frontier of nearly 500 miles.  The early Whitsett's who had taken Royal Patents to lands in Virginia in 1741, 1748 and 1753 were involved naturally in the struggle and difficulty resulting from the determination of France to wrest American control from the British.  English supremacy became settled with the victory of Wolfe at Quebec in 1759, but during the previous years there were many and grievous hardships for all the early settlers.  It is interesting to recall that these early members of the family had intimate touch with the events of this great struggle in which the young and gallant George Washington who was a native of Westmoreland county, Virginia, first came into the favor and finally made him the first president of the United States.  The states of Virginia and Pennsylvania must ever hold great interest for the Whitsett families because of the early associations and events that mark the coming of the early Whitsett immigrants to America.  We can well imagine their joy at the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 which virtually gave England control of the American continent, and promised peace and greater security for the colonists.

The French and Indian War left heavy burdens of debt on England and George III, soon began with Writs of Assistance, Navigation Laws, and finally in 1765 with the Stamp Act to devise means for greater revenues.  The colonies resisted what they felt were impositions, and soon the stage was set for the American Revolution.  This War for Independence from 1771 to 1781 gave the early Whitsett's their second experience in military matters in their new homes.  General George Washington now well established in the affections of all finally closed the struggle at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781 where the haughty Lord Cornwallis laid down his arms.

William Whitsett who was born in Antrim county, Ireland, August 20, 1731 had come to America with his father; he served under Major, afterwards Colonel George Washington in the French and Indian War for some years, and in the Revolutionary War which followed soon after.  His record may be found in Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series, Vol. IV, pp. 460 and 760.   In January, 1759, George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, the widow of Daniel Parke Custis, and afterwards made his home at beautiful Mount Vernon, one of the finest estates in all the country.  Washington was now one of the richest men in the colonies.  Two interesting stories have come down through the family concerning William Whitsett who visited Washington at Mount Vernon on one occasion, and is said to have suggested to him certain plantings of boxwood in intricate patterns on the grounds which Washington later adopted; and, also that one of Washington's guests was challenged by Whitsett to a swimming contest in the adjoining Potomac River with Washington acting as judge of the contest.  Whitsett who was an expert swimmer was adjudged winner.  This William Whitsett married Ellen Menees of Amherst county, Virginia; later removed to Henry county, Virginia in 1781; and in October, 1790 moved his family to Nashville, Tennessee.  He died July 14, 1811.  His will is dated March 15, 1805, and is on record at Russellville, Hamblen county, Tennessee.  (See American Historical Magazine, Vol. IX, pp. 381, 382.)  A son of this Revolutionary hero, named after his father, William Whitsett, was in the War of 1812, under General William Henry Harrison; later active in the Kentucky militia in command of a brigade; and in 1840 when General Harrison was nominated for President of the United States he volunteered his help to elect his former commander, and known as General William Whitsett spoke throughout the entire State of MIssissippi.  His death occurred at Canton, Mississippi, March 21, 1842.  He had a son Dr. William C. Whitsett who represented Barren county, Kentucky in the State Legislature; and after removal to Fannin county, Texas was again a member of the Legislature.  (See American Historical Magazine, Vol. IX, pp. 383, 383.)

Henry Whitsett and his brother, Adam Whitsett, were in Hillsboro, Orange county, North Carolina on Saturday, September 22, 1770, and because of the agitation then in progress there remained over until Monday, September 24, 1770 when the Associate Justice Richard Henderson who was holding Superior Court adjourned that body and left town.  A few days later Judge Henderson wrote a long letter to Governor William Tryon concerning the situation.  In brief, the body of men calling themselves Regulators had gathered in Hillsboro determined to secure redress of what they felt were just grievances.  It was the same men, moved by the same courses, that later on met Governor William Tryon and his forces in open warfare at the Battle of Alamance, May 16, 1771, which Lossing in his Field Book of the Revolution Vol. II. p. 245 calls "the first battle of our war for independence."  In his own papers later Governor Tryon acknowledge the wrongs of which the Regulators complained.  (See N. C. Colonial Records Vol. 7, p. 884, p. 169, p. 294, p. 570, and p. 792 and Vol. 8, p. 651 &c.) Tryon himself said also, "Two-thirds of the taxes levied were never applied to the purposes for which they were laid."  Henry Whitsett and Adam Whitsett were in Hillsboro as sympathizers and active helpers of the Regulators, and as friends of the principles of fair treatment and a square deal that the Regulators demanded.  Eight months later when 2000 of these Regulators met the finely disciplined British troops under the direct command of Tryon himself, 200 were killed, wounded, or lost - martyrs to the cause of liberty.  In August, 1772, Governor Martin visited the communities of the Regulators to find out the facts and wrote to the British government, "Tricky attorneys, clerks, and other officers have pr4acticed upon these people every sort of rapine and extortion." (Col. Rec. Vol. 9, p. 330).  Little wonder that the Scotch-Irish Whitsett's of 1770 were to be found on the side of the Regulators.

The Civil War of 1861 to 1865 brought great distress to the Whitsett families, as it did to thousands of others.  The records of 1778 and 1779 show that William Whitsett entertained a prejudice against slavery; this was largely shared by others of the family down through the years.  When the storm broke by the firing on Fort Sumter the family was dismayed at the prospect of a divided Union which their fathers had helped to establish through the Revolutionary struggle.  No settled course of action can be claimed for this family.  In Beallsville, Washington county, Pennsylvania, Dr. James E. Whitsitt organized the Washington Cavalry Company and  went into the Union service.  Others of the family line took the same stand, and rendered every possible service within their power to preserve an unbroken Union of united states.  In certain Southern states the decision as to what to do was one to try men's souls.  Many suffered the agony of decision that overtook General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Southern forces.  It will be remembered that Lee had graduated at West Point in 1829, second in his class, and served as Lieutenant in the Mexican War, being made a Colonel at Chapultepec.  From 1852 to 1855 he served as superintendent at West Point.  In 1859 he headed the United States troops against John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry, and in 1861 was placed as Colonel of the First United States Cavalry.  When Lee's native state, Virginia, seceded from the Union in 1861, he was offered the command of the United States Army about to invade the South.  Lee did not favor secession.  He spent days in anxious prayer and agonizing meditation, but finally his conscience drove him to the conclusion that he could not take up arms against his own state and his own people; hence, he resigned his commission; and going to Richmond, cast in his fortunes with the South.  "Friends and foes alike acknowledge the purity of his motives, the virtues of his private life, his earnest Christianity and the unrepining loyalty with which he accepted the ruin of his party."  (Encye. Brit. Vol. 16, 11th ed.)

The example of General Robert E. Lee was followed by scores.  Free from hate, and free from bitterness, there were, nevertheless, thousands and thousands throughout the Southern States who felt that they could not take up arms against their own communities and their own commonwealth, even if they were opposed to the secession of any state of the Union.  Homes were broken up, families were even divided, fortunes were blown to the winds, all in the mad and insane frenzy of war.  We shall here record no word of condemnation for either the Blue or the Gray, for on either side were men of fearless hearts and pure motives, whose ancestors had helped to lay the foundations of the Republic, and who were anxious for its growth and perpetuity, but who for the moment "saw through a glass darkly" and knew not which way to turn.  It is a tribute to the finer qualities of American manhood that we have reached a day when we can think of the bravery of the troops on either side without impugning their motives or doubting their devotion and loyalty to what they conceived at the time to be the call of duty and patriotism.  The veterans for the Grand Army of the Republic and the survivors of the Lost Cause now clasp fraternal hands in mutual respect for each other's bravery.  All were men of the ancestry that in less than a century from 1776 to 1861 had set up the finest governmental structure on earth; the same men who after the battle's shock had passed, set themselves again to building a government "one and indivisible."  God has abundantly blessed their efforts, and because of the bitter experiences that overcame many, they respect and love each other all the better.

When the ancestors of the Whitsett family removed from Scotland to Ireland they were Presbyterians.  The first Presbyterian church was built in Ireland in the county of Antrim at Ballycarry; its ruins may still be seen.  Many of these Scotch-Irish Presbyterians soon began to have very liberal views, and often refused to agree in toto with the Westminster Confession of faith.  Simson of Glasgow, Hamilton of Edinburgh, and Abernethy of Antrim, were leaders in this liberal movement.  The Belfast Society stood with those who demanded the right to interpret religious views for themselves.  The spirit of independence moved mightily with them.  So while calling themselves Presbyterians, they early began to base their actions upon individual and liberal interpretations, rather than upon set dogma as formulated by church authorities.  This spirit may be found running down through the years with the Whitsett lines.  Many of them were like Colonel Thomas Polk of whom it was said, "Aye, aye, Tom Polk declared independence long before anybody else!"  It will be remembered that in May, 1775, Col. Polk who was the great uncle of President James K. Polk stood on the Court square in Charlotte, N. C., and read a Declaration beginning as follows:

"Resolved, That whosoever directly or indirectly abetted, or in any way, form, or manner, countenanced the unchartered and dangerous invasion of our rights, as claimed by Great Britain, is an enemy to this country - to America - and to the inherent and inalienable rights of men."

A Short Sketch of Whitsett Institute, Whitsett, Guilford county, N. C.

The history of Whitsett Institute is embraced within a period of thirty years, that is from 1888 to 1918.  Before going into the story of Whitsett it may be well to mention that at this same spot Dr. Brantley York, the well-known teacher of old Trinity, taught from 1884 to 1886; he was followed here by Hon. Chas. H. Mebane, later State Supt. of Public Instruction; and following Prof. Mebane, Prof. W. P. White of the well-known White family of Alamance county.

William Thornton Whitsett, A.M., PhD., was in charge of Whitsett Institute from 1888 to 1918, a period, as stated of thirty years.  He began his teaching career here coming direct from the University of N. C. in Aug. 1888.  Here he remained for thirty years as president of the institution.

He early leased the property already in use, bought the surrounding lands, and began the establishment of a school and a village.  A post office was secured upon the grounds, and buildings soon began to go up.  The school adopted a policy of wide advertising, and in a few years was well known throughout the State and the South.  Boarders began to arrive with the opening year, and soon the boarding patronage was up to the limit of the school's ability to care for students.  The village grew year by year, good roads were opened, two churches were built in the village, and stores and other conveniences came from year to year.

For the thirty years of its existence the school averaged from 200 to 250 students each year, usually drawn from sixty to eighty of the counties of N. C., and numbers from Va., S. C., Ga., and even as far north as Mass., and N. Y., and as far south as Cuba, - the school having enrolled in its history over 200 Cuban students.  It was the first N. C. school to receive students from Cuba,  and sent to the University the first Cubans ever enrolled there.

The school was regularly incorporated, and its diploma admitted to the leading colleges and universities without examination.  It maintained three courses of study, - the Regular Literary; the Business, and the Teachers' Normal.  It was one of the first N. C. schools to begin Normal work for preparation for teaching; this was before the establishment of the N.C.C.W. [North Carolina College for Women] first known as the N. C. State Normal and Industrial School, and before the University had made serious effort to train teachers.

During its 30 years history it had 6000 students; now among the leading citizens in various lines throughout the State and many in other states.

Fire destroyed the entire school plant in 1918; the loss being so heavy that it was not rebuilt.  A portion of the grounds were sold to the county of Guilford, and a splendid brick building was erected which is now known as the Whitsett School, a part of the county's school system.

The president of the school for thirty years retired from teaching to devote his entire time to literary pursuits; he has been especially active in researches in early pre-Revolutionary history, and in addition to many original addresses already in print, has ready for the press a series of historical monographs soon to be issued, making a series of studies in early Church, State, and County History.  For more detailed account of his work see Who's Who in America, latest Vol. Alumni History of University of N. C., &c. &c.

The village of Whitsett has grown into one of the attractive spots of the county, and is worth a visit from those who would become acquainted with the wide scope and variety of the great county of Guilford.

The Austin Whitsett Family Branch

Austin Whitsett was born in Orange county, North Carolina, Feb. 5, 1808, and died Nov. 29, 1890, near Graham, Alamance county, and is buried in Providence Cemetery.  He was married in March, 1833, to Margaret Barbara Bason, born Oct. 9, 1817, died Nov. 30, 1902.  She was a daughter of Joseph Bason whose wife was Barbara Foust a sister of Daniel Foust of Guilford county.

Austin Whitsett's parents were John Whitsett (1782-1845) and Ruth (Low) Whitsett (1790-1846).

His grandparents were Samuel Whitsett (1752-1832) and Mary (Stockard) Whitsett (1760-1830).

His great grandparents were Henry Whitsett (1730-1800) who came to North Carolina in 1770 from Pennsylvania or Virginia, and his wife, Jane (Mebane) Whitsett who died in 1802.  This Henry Whitsett was a brother of William Whitsett (1731-1811), and both were born in Ireland, and had come to America with their parents in 1740.

His great great grandparents were the original immigrants, William Whitsett (1709-1798) and his wife Elizabeth (Dawson) Whitsett who came to America from Ireland in 1740 with their two sons, Henry and William, and two brothers, John Whitsett and Joseph Whitsett.

Samuel Whitsett, grandfather of Austin Whitsett, had four sons, - Moses, James who married Sarah Jackson, John who married Ruth L. Low, and William who married Jane Harden and was a Presbyterian minister in Tennessee.

Austin Whitsett had four brothers who moved to Missouri, - Alfred, James, Low and Emsley; and two sisters, one married Hugh Shaw, and other Rev. Joseph Albright.

Margaret (Bason) Whitsett, wife of Austin Whitsett, had five brothers, Jeremiah who married Celia Dickey, Henry who married Mary Trollinger, Joseph R. who married Julia Fogleman, George, and Dr. William F.; also four sisters, Maria, who married Constantine Sellers, Catharine who married Andrew Murray, Sarah, and Barbara.

On May 27, 1928 a handsome granite and bronze memorial marker was erected to the memory of Jacob Bason (1741-1800) the pioneer of the Bason family in this part of North Carolina.  It stands in Hawfield's Cemetery, near Mebane, North Carolina, and was unveiled with appropriate ceremonies in the presence of a large gathering, and the historical address of the occasion traced the history of the Bason family to its original sources.

Austin and Margaret Whitsett's Children

1. Barbara J. Whitsett born Dec. 8, 1833, died Nov. 7, 1874. (Providence Cemetery, near Graham, N. C.)

2. Joseph Bason Whitsett born Oct. 27, 1835, died Sept. 3, 1917. (Frisdens Cemetery, near Gibsonville, N. C.) Married Oct. 15, 1863 Mary Louisa Foust born _______________ 1845 -------------. [Parents of Dr. Wm. T. Whitsett]

3. John William Whitsett born Nov. 29, 1836, died Aug. 21, 1909. Married Sept. 26, 1871 Lettie Kivette Foust born March 11, 1835, died Feb. 3, 1927. (Green Hill Cemetery, Greensboro, N. C.)

4. Maria Catharine Whitsett born Oct. 12, 1838, died Sept. 6, 1910. Married Aug. 14, 1860 Joseph John Wood born Aug. 17, 1829, died June 2, 1879. (Providence Cemetery.)

5. Henry James Whitsett born Sept. 18, 1840, died June 7, 1918. Married Aug. 15, 1874 Mary S. Reed, Born _________ died Feb. 8, 1918. (Rose Hill Cemetery, Brockfield, Mo.)

6. Margaret Kivette Whitsett born Sept. 13, 1842, died July 2, 1913. Married Sept. 10, 1861 Joseph Caldwell Holt born ____________ died ______________ (Providence Cemetery.)

7. Jeremiah Lewis Whitsett born May 5, 1844, died Apr. 8, 1902.  Married Dec. 30, 1875 Mary Ellen Lamb born June 23, 1844, died May 14, 1916. (Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Ga.)

8. Mary Elizabeth Whitsett born Feb. 27, 1847, died July 19, 1913. Married Mar. 6, 1878 Rev. Jeremiah W. Holt born Dec. 7, 1848, died Aug. 3, 1923. (Providence Cemetery.)

9. Austin Madison Whitsett born Feb. 16, 1850, died Dec. 18, 1899. Married Jennie Lanehardt who died 1910. (Jerusalem Cemetery, near Gardenville, Baltimore, Md.)

10. Alfred Thomas Whitsett born July 27, 1852 married ________________ Eulalia Donnell born _________ died __________ (she is buried in Midway Cemetery, near Greensboro, N. C.)

11. George Walters Whitsett born March 16, 1856 married Maude Beebe Brent Feb. 23, 1888.

____________________________

Genealogical Notes

The following genealogical facts will be found essential in tracing various family lines related to the branches of the Austin Whitsett family lines.

Summers.

Jacob Summers (1710-1800) original immigrant, in ship "Neptune" 1751. (See Rupp. p. 262) married Margaret Foust (1720-1810). To N. C. in 1752.

Capt. Peter Summers (1757-1837) 1st. N. C. Battalion, Revolutionary War. (See Abridged Compendium American Genealogy, Vol. 3, p. 479).

Ludwick W. Summers (1795-1871), and Livinia (Summers) Foust (1819-1910) (See Friedens church records, and Friedens Cemetery, near Gibsonville, N. C.)

Foust

John Foust (1719-1789), original immigrant, married Anna Barbara Albright (1719-1802) (Stoner's Cemetery, near Burlington, N. C.) Nine children, - Philip, John, Jacob, Christian, George, Barbara, Judith, Peter, and Daniel.

Holt

Michael Holt (1723-1799) married Jean Lockhart (1745-1813). (See Haywood's Gov. Tryon of N. C., p. 130; N. C. Colonial Records Vol. 10, p. 1023; Vol. 19, p. 845).

Isaac Holt (1773-1823) married Lettie Wales Scott (1777-1812)

Maria Duffy Holt (1799-1882) married George Foust (1792-1861).

Brent

John Newton Brent born 1796, married Nancy Settle born 1797.

Rev. James H. Brent (1824-1860) married 1851 Lucinda Greer Beebe (1830-1892).

- End of University of North Carolina Papers -