The Whigham Report
Newsletter of the Whigham Family Association	Vol. 7, Num. 2 June 15, 2006

 

Committee Visits Louisville GA for Reunion

Whighams Take a Trip

O n Thursday, June 15^th, Faye, Keith and Myron Whigham journeyed to Louisville to make plans for our June 29-July 1 reunion. While Faye and I had visited there previously, this visit was designed to look into places to hold the reunion itself, lodging facilities available and to determine what places we would all like to see during our time there. They were joined by Mr. Leroy Lewis who showed them all the facilities available.

Faye and Myron will both be providing me with indepth information which I will be sharing with you in the newsletter and on our blog. I will also be putting updated information on our website at www.whighamfamilyassn.com.

So much interest has been stirred in our 2007 reunion simply by virtue of where it will be held. Louisville is, after all, the town to which the common ancestor of most of us came when he arrived in America in the early 1770's.

I am beginning to share Robert Whigham’s frustration with being unable to determine exactly when and on what ship Thomas Whigham arrived in America. I am beginning to speculate that Thomas didn’t arrive in Georgia through a port but maybe did come down from the north through Virginia and the Carolinas.

He was listed on the Quaker roster as coming to Wrightsboro and receiving his land grant through them. Maybe we should look to New York, Philadelphia or even Baltimore as his port of entry. William Whigham who was in Pennsylvania in time to fight in the Revolutionary War could be a brother, a cousin or some relative.

      

That remains one of the major puzzles we have to resolve, and I hope that many of you will join me in the continuing search for this information - the puzzle which took up so much of Robert’s time in his last years.

While Louisville is a small town, there are a number of other towns in the area with motels, etc., to provide places to stay. A list of those we now know about is as follows:

Louisville Motor Lodge, 308 Hwy. 1 bypass, Louisville, GA 30434, 478-625-7168. 21 nonsmoking; 19 smoking rooms @ $45.95 plus $5 for each additional person, 2 double beds each room or 8 have king size beds. No limit to number in rooms, cots available. 5 suites @ $56.10 plus $5 per person, king size bed, recliner & desks (microwaves available for $2.50 per day)

Wadley Motel, 430 Poplar St, Wadley, GA 478-252-9393 (on Hwy 1 bypass about 9 miles from Louisville) - has rooms, priced as listed -

9 rooms, @ $42, with king size bed - 4 smoking, 5 nonsmoking; 23 rooms, @ $48, with 2 double beds - 3 smoking, 10 nonsmoking; 2 suites @$65.00 - with double beds, refrigerator, microwave and sofa/sleeper and 1 suite @$70 with double beds, Jacuzzi, refrigerator, microwave and sofa/sleeper

Bed & Breakfast - Magnolia Mornings, 1038 Speir St., Bartow, GA 30413 (11 miles away) 866-429-3777, $75 per room, $10 each additional person. Built 1860, antebellum home, second Greek revival home built in Barstow. www.magnoliamornings.com

Bethany Farms Bed & Breakfast, 6694 Old Hwy 1, Wadley, GA 30477, 478-252-8259. Rooms $55 single, $65 double (includes complimentary breakfast). An antebellum home,

built in 1851, it was used to house wounded Confederate soldiers during the Civil War and was spared by Sherman during his march across Georgia. Make your reservations early, for it is much easier to cancel than to be looking for a room at the last minute.

The reunion itself will be at either the Senior Citizens building or at Pansy’s restaurant. Pansy’s is across the street from the courthouse. This is a picture of the outside. The inside is beautiful.

In addition, they visited the “Old Whigham House” which is now owned by Mr. Lewis’ son. He offered that we might want to have an event there.

Faye took so many great pictures that I plan to put them on the website so that those interested can see them and, hopefully, capture some of them.

 

  Missing Pieces

   of the Puzzle

S ince our March newsletter, I have been contacted by people from various branches of our family - some from as far away as Nova Scotia and New Zealand who were interested in making connections with their American “cousins” or simply finding where they fit in the family. As a result of these contacts we have sold a number of books - ten mailed in the past ten days. Books have been mailed not only to U.S. residents in California, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi and Oklahoma, but also to Nova Scotia, Great Britain and Portugal.

One of the first of these contacts was Sebastian Sheppard (misspelled “Shepherd”) in our book. Sebastian is a member of the Scottish/English branch of the family, the grandson of Walter Kennedy Whigham and Patience Ronald. He also gave me the name of his sister, Emily, listed as “Daughter” Shepherd in “The Whigham Chronicles.” After receiving his book, Sebastian ordered books for family members in Great Britain and Portugal. I am looking forward to receiving more information on this branch from Sebastian.

I also heard from Debbie Whigham Davis who descends from the Ohio branch of our family. Debbie is the daughter of Lawrence A. Whigham, who was the son of John Whigham, one of the sons of T. Whigham and Margaret who came to the U.S. from Great Britain (took ship in Belfast so would have been from Northern Ireland, which is part of Great Britain.)

And, we have recently found a Thomas Whigham who teaches Latin American studies at the University of Georgia, who also descends from T. Whigham. For years we have been searching for the ancestors of Arthur Nelson Whigham, Sr. We now know his father was Thomas Jefferson Whigham, another son of T. and Margaret (I am willing to bet that “T” stood for Thomas) who fought in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Civil War. Remember, brothers fought against brothers, and Whighams in the North fought Whighams in the South.

I’m also in contact with Michelle Whigham, daughter-in-law of Ricky Shedoin Whigham, son of Huett Whigham. She has sent me additional information about family members which will be included in the addendum available at the reunion next year.

Then, our historian, Carl Whigham, made a trip to the Whigham Cemetery in Hawkinsville, Pulaski County, Georgia, where he found the graves of Rudolphus and Sara Coody Whigham are buried, along with a number of their descendants. He sent me an excellent map of the gravesites. Two are unmarked - those of Rudolphus and Sara.

More recently, I was contacted by Cathie Whigham Ferguson from New Zealand concerning how her ancestry fits into ours. Since she may be a member of the Sanquhar branch in Scotland as Sebastian is, I am hopeful he can help us put this family together as well. See why I call it a puzzle?

 

      And, while we are concerned with difficult news to hear, please add Karen Coleman, J.B. Whigham’s daughters to your prayer list. Her cancer has recurred and she is currently in the hospital receiving chemotherapy. Karen has a very positive outlook, and it would be nice if we sent cheery cards to her at: 592 Valley Stream Dr., Geneva, FL 32732.

Now for some good news:

Anne Whigham Stegall emailed me to tell me of the birth of her new grandson, Brennen Alexander, born March 23, 2006, to her son Jason Eugene and Jessica Tims Stegall.

          I also received an email from Faye Hartfield telling me of the marriage of her niece, Sarah Katherine Hays, to Tyler Ned Ellis, on Saturday, April 22^nd, 2006. Sarah is the daughter of Katherine Johnson and Patrick Hays, Sr. Sarah is the granddaughter of Edna Elizabeth Whigham and Andrew Smith.

Books and Pictures

We are rapidly seeing the depletion of the Whigham Chronicles. While we still have about 75 left, there won’t be anymore when these are gone. Just a reminder.in the event you are putting off getting one. All the money from the books goes to the association and is set aside for expenses publishing other books for you.

I am still accepting pictures for the Photo Album. It will be divided into family lines, gravesites, places of importance to Whighams and reunions. So, please, please, please - mail, email or whatever the pictures you want in the album. It is getting very thick.

And, if you have any additions or corrections for the addendum, get them to us soon. It is tedious putting these things together, and most of us have full time jobs. (Mine is Don and the Whigham Family Association.) We do want to be as complete and accurate as possible, but we depend on you for the information we need.

Just a few words about dues. A number of you paid your dues at the reunion last year for two years. Others of you have asked me if your dues were due. Since we depend on dues to pay the basic expenses of the association, I am going to quickly list all those who show current on membership dues. If your name is not there and should be let me know. If it is not there, please send your 2006 dues to Lance Russell, 18744 Founders Dr., Fairhope AL 36532.

Whigham & Associates, Dorothy Beardsley,Odell & Ruby Beaty, Mary Beverly, Barbara Craig, Sue Dell, David, Sylvia & Joyce Dorrycott, Anita Eastman, Rosemary Elebash, Elsie Farley, Evelyn & Frances Gandy, Carole Gibbs, Joe Graves, David Hall, Kathy Hall, Faye Hartfield, Jeannette Hayes, Edna Johnson, Nancy Kasper, W.L. Maddox, Berneice McLain, Max McLaughlin, Rita Rorebeck, Lance Russell, Geraldine Sheffield, Bruce Sinclair, J.L. Thompson, Mike Weeks, Billie Jo Westby. (Will send Whighams next time.)