He was buried in Riverside Bapt. Ch. Cem., Jackson Co., GA; Note: findagrave.com listed his burial place as Wheeler Cem., Maysville, Jackson Co., GA. Does anyone have a photo of the tombstone, and it's place?
age 51, md., completed the 4th. grade. He is employed as a machine operator at a cotton mill. His wage last year was $546. He rents a home for $4. [e.d. 69-17, sheet 4A, household #64]
Lizzie Eugenia Whisenant I believe she may have been married to W. J. Hunt, b.c. 1908, GA, died 03 Jan 1984, Clark Co., GA. I have not been able to prove this yet.
Citations
[S47] Letter, Edna Jo Whisenant Lonas to Raymond C. Whisnant, 1992.
age 60, single, living with Watson J. K. & Nancy Porter. I have no proof that this is actually James Thomas. Name was listed on census as "Thomas Whisenant".)
1920
Census record not found.
Note*
James Thomas Whisenant There is one Tom Whisant, bur. Bethlehem Bapt. Ch. Cem., Hall Co., GA, dates unknown. This person is buried next to Frances Elizabeth Whisenant Thomas. My thought is that this "Tom" is James Thomas Whisenant. I need further information to determine if this is correct.
Citations
[S4] 1790 to 1930 Federal Census Population Schedule, National Archives, Washington, DC.
Adam Christopher Whisnant was also known as Whisnante.
Name Variation
As of 1 June 1900, Adam Christopher Whisnant was also known as Whisante.4
Note
He Note: Used the name "William E.", I have no explanation for this name being used in the census report. I believe this is Adam Christopher. in 1910.
Name Variation
As of 15 April 1910, Adam Christopher Whisnant was also known as William E. Whisnant.4
Note*
He He spent his early life in Lumpkin County, Georgia. By 1870 his father, Nicholas Whisenant, was no longer at home. He may have died by that time. Adam married Lelitha Brown around 1871, and they moved to Walton County, Georgia. In June of 1880 the family was still living in Walton Co., Georgia. By January of 1881 Adam and Lelitha had moved to Gwinnett County, Georgia, where four of their children died in early 1881. They are buried at Omer Christian Cemetery, at Winder, Georgia, in Barrow County. After Lelitha's death in 1903, Adam married Jocie Moseley, and lived the rest of his life in Gwinnett County. Adam died in 1925 from chronic nephritis 'kidney disease.
Author's note: I've often come across this family name spelled as 'Whisnante' or 'Whisante.' My father once said that our 'Whisnant' name used to be spelled with an 'e' on the end. Usually when I find someone's name spelled 'Whisnante', it so happened that the individual was related closely to this family line. Adam's name was spelled 'Whisnante' on his death certificate. His wife Jocie was the informant. She reported his father's name to be 'Nichol Whisnante', and his mother's name to be 'Anna Lee.' Adam's son Benjamin Erwin spelled his name 'Whisnant,' but on his tombstone it was spelled 'Whisnante.' I assume the tombstone engraver had made a mistake. As far as I can tell, all Adam Christopher Whisnante's grandchildren, and later descendants, all spelled their name 'Whisnant.'
age 34, md. 18 yrs., 8 ch., 4 living. The children listed in the household were: Elnora, age 11, James L, age 5, Spurgen, age 3, and Nela, age 6 months. [ed. 81, sheet 11B]
The book Gwinnett Co. GA Deaths 1818-1989, pub. 1991, lists a Rufus E. Whisante, born September 1876, died March 1881, buried at Omer Christian Cem., Winder, aka Dillard of Barrow County. Author's note: The census on June 25, 1880 reports his age to be '1.' The other source mentioned above, lists his birth as September 1876, therefore he would be 3 years old in June of 1880. His tombstone should be checked to verify his age. I would tend to believe the census since his brother Joseph F. was listed as 3 years old in the 1880 census.
age 57, md., completed 1 year of high school. He is a farmer. His wage last year was $300. He owns a farmhouse valued at $1000. [e.d. 104-19, sheet 5A, household #65]
age 53, md., completed 7 years of school. He is employed as a farmer, and rents his farmhouse for $6. They have a lodger in the household. He is Harvey Kinard, age 27, single. He is an employee on the farm. [Lenox & Omega Rd., s.d. 8, e.d. 37-4, sheet 14B, line 52, household #221]
Obituary*
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.
A monument to her can be found; A monument to her can be found at Bethelem Cem., Lenox, Cook Co., GA. Her companion of many years Howard Robert Craft preceded her in death on 28 Feb 1981.
Emma Lee Derden appeared on the census of 1 April 1940 in Lenox, Cook Co., GA, age 27, md., completed 1 year of college, not employed.
Note*
Emma and her parents left Texas and came to Georgia in a covered wagon. The following is the story of their trip, as told by Emma.
Georgia On Our Mind
On October 7, 1926, my daddy, brother, and I left Lawson, Texas (18 miles from Dallas). We were traveling by covered wagon to Georgia. Our daddy's birth state, and where all his people lived. We were driving 2 small mules. An old no nonsense mule named Bert, and an orange one named Jerry. He was feisty but lovable. My brother rode a Mexican Burro named Ollie. Some times Ollie was hitched to the wagon to relieve a mule. Ollie was stubborn, and would lead so she had to work.
The first night we couldn't find a place to camp, so we pulled off the highway as far as we could. That night someone stole a side of white meat from under the wagon seat. The next day, going into Longview, the wagon tongue broke. The first two days weren't very encouraging.
We crossed the Red River at Shreveport, picked up mail there and headed to Slagle, Vernon Co., Louisiana, to visit our daddy's half sister. She lived with a daughter. Daddy's sister thought he had drowned in 1908 when the Trinity River flooded, and his house washed away.
We spent a few days with Aunt Lorena to do our laundry and get more supplies. We were there on Halloween. The kids got rather rough with their pranks so papa slept in the wagon to keep them from doing any damage to it. They didn't bother the wagon, but the town got a big surprise. Slagle was a sawmill town, and very sandy. There was plenty of lumber so they built board walks. The kids removed every one of them. Until the town could replace the walk, everyone had to wade around ankle deep in sand.
When we resumed our trip, we headed north for Monroe, Louisiana. Papa had a nephew who lived there. They lived in an apartment so we couldn't visit in their home, but they stayed with us for two nights in our camp.
We often had other people camp with us. Two of the most interesting were some Gypsy hoarse traders. They are a happy sort of people. They made music and sang.
A young couple on a motorcycle with a side car spent one night with us. They had just gotten married, and were heading to Florida for their honeymoon. On their return trip, we camped together again and had a long visit.
Papa had a reason for making the trip in the fall. It's cooler, and we get work picking cotton in Louisiana and Mississippi. We spend one weekend on the Mississippi river waiting for a Veterinarian to check the animals. They ferried us across the river on an old fashioned steamboat. That weekend many people were down at the river sightseeing, and of course we were an attraction.
Nothing much happened until we got to Alabama. Papa put brakes on the wagon, we had to travel some very rugged mountains. Most of the people were traveling in one-horse wagons. It was December and getting cold.
A few days before Christmas we arrived at Papa's sister's. School had just let out, so there was a crowd to meet us when we arrived, aunts and uncle, and a galore of cousins, and their friends.
The location was Omega, Georgia. When we started school, all the kids wanted to know about Cowboys and Indians. Ha!
____________________________
Author's note: Lawson, Texas wasn't on a map of Texas. Emma may have meant Lawrence, Texas, since it's about 18 miles east of Dallas, in route to Longview, Texas.
