James L. Whitus and Martha Wilkinson
James L. Whitus and Jane McCoy
James Whitus was born sometime between 1792 and 1805 in Virginia. His birth year on census records ranges significantly, but we believe he probably was born sometime around 1800/1804, which would have put him in his early twenties when he first married in 1825. We do not know at this point the names of James's parents or siblings, nor do we know his county of origin in Virginia.
James first appears in Tennessee records (as far as we can tell) around 1825, when he married Martha Wilkinson in Williamson County. James and Martha appear to have had more than their share of troubles as a couple and James ultimately sued for divorce in July 1836 on the grounds of adultery. To be honest, we have not done much research on Martha, since she is not in our direct ancestral line, and so we do not know who her parents were, nor do we know her place of origin. The names of her presumed children are from another researcher.
By 1841, James decided to settle back into family life and married Mary Jane McCoy, daughter of Robert McCoy, in Rutherford County. James and Jane settled in westernmost Rutherford County, where they raised their three sons. They seem to have had something of a hard life, never able to accumulate enough money to purchase their own land. In 1851, James sold some of his personal property and livestock to his sister in law, Martha McCoy, for $50; in 1860, he mortgaged his mare to ensure payment of a debt.
James's primary occupation seems to be that of shoemaker; he is identified as a shoemaker in both the 1850 and 1880 censuses. He evidently tried farming for a while -- in 1860, he was a tenant farmer -- but this apparently did not work out, and as an elderly man, he once again turned to that craft. According to interpreters at various historical sites we have visited, sometimes elderly or infirm men would become shoemakers because it did not require much physical labor and could be done while seated; in the 1880 census, James is described as "old & infirm".
James and Jane both died sometime after 1880, when they are enumerated in the census. This is the last time we have found them in Rutherford County records.
Their sons George and James married sisters -- Nancy and Priscilla Puckett, daughters of William Spencer Puckett and Milley Manor.
Note on name: Whitus is an unusual name and is spelled in many different ways in 19th century records. Some of these spelling variants include Whitas, Whities, Whitis, Whitiece, Whites, Whitess, and Whiters. One of James's sons -- James Medlous Whitus -- ultimately changed the spelling of the name to Whitehurst; this is how James's name appeared in his marriage record, so it is possible that the name of this family was originally Whitehurst.
James Lafayette Whitus (b. about 1800/1805, Virginia - d after 1880, Rutherford, TN)
m1. 26 March 1825, Williamson TN
Martha Wilkinson (b. probably about 1800/1805 - d after 1836)
Possible children:
i. Richard Whitus (b. 1825, TN - d aft 1870); m. Margarett J. [unknown]
ii. Tuloss Whitus (b. 1826, TN - d aft 1880); m. Martha E. [unknown]
m2. 22 September 1841, Rutherford, TN
Mary Jane McCoy (b. 1818, Rutherford, TN - d. after 1880, Rutherford, TN)
Children:
i. Robert Lafayette Whitus (b. 11 Dec 1842, Rutherford, TN - d. 19 Nov 1924, Rutherford, TN); m. Julia Ann Carlton
ii. George Washington Whitus (b. 19 Jan 1845, Rutherford, TN - d. 12 Aug 1902, Morgan, TN); m. Nancy Lavina Puckett
iii. James Medlous Whitus (b. 1855, Rutherford, TN - d. 26 Sep 1931, San Angelo, Tom Green, TX); m. Priscilla Jane Puckett