| Note* | Benjamin Erwin Whisnant Ben registered for the draft on September 12, 1918. At that time, he and Clara were living in Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia. He states on the registration form that he was born on June 13, 1884. He then signed his name B. E. Whisnant. He was self-employed as a farmer at the time he registered. At the age of 34, he was of medium height and build, with blue eyes. Around 1929, Ben, Clara, and the children, moved from Gwinnett County to the Lenox area of Cook County Georgia, and started farming.
Author's note: Ben's tombstone has his last name spelled as 'Whisnante.' I have found several conflicting dates for his date of birth. The U.S. census for Gwinnett County, Georgia, shows his birth date as June 1885. His death certificate didn't show his date of birth, but did say that he was 65 years old on his last birthday, which would have been in 1952. This would put his year of birth as 1887. We know he was a twin, and I found a sibling, Blakie E., with a birth date given as June 14, 1885 in the book 'Gwinnett County Georgia Deaths, 1818-1989.' Since I have a copy of Ben's signed draft registration card stating he was born on June 13, 1884, I would tend to think that both he and Blakie E. were twins, born on June 13, 1884. |
