Isle of Wight Co, VA where his first four children were born.
Abt 1800 Holston River Valley, TN before son Elisha was born.
White Co, TN, where the family stayed for only 3-4 years.
Livingston Co, KY, was the next destination by following the WhiteRive r northward. The family split before coming to Illinois withbrother, S harp, returning to Tennessee.
1811 Bond Co, IL. There were about 35 people in the party, includingJ ohn, his wife, 6 sons, 2-3 daughters, and 17 grandchildren. Familytra dition says the women walked the whole trip. A walnut dresserbrought f rom Tennessee was in the Coles County branch until a fewyears ago and J ohn's Bible is still in existence in Missouri with theJohn S. Whitley, J r, branch.
1813 John and his sons served in the War of 1812:
Capt. William Jones' Company.
A muster roll of a company of volunteer infantry, commanded by CaptainW illiam Jones, ordered into the service by his Excellency, NinianEdward s, Governor of the Illinois Territory, May 9,1813, to June 9thi1813,
Sergeants -
John Whitley, Sr
Privates -
Samuel Lindley
Mills Whitley
John Whitley, Jr
Randolph Whitley
Elisha Whitley
4/19/1816 Fayette Co, IL. His was the first land entry of thecounty . The property was located at NE 1/4 S35 T4N R4W.
From the History of Bond Co, IL:
"An act forming a new county out of the county of Madison, approvedJan uary 4, 1817: Be it enacted by the Legislative Council and Houseof Re presentatives of Illinois Territory...The same shall constitutea separ ate county to be called Bond, and the seat of justice for saidcounty s hall be at Hill's Fort until it shall be permanentlyestablished in the f ollowing manner, that is to say, there shall befive persons appointed, t o wit: William Roberts, John Powers, RobertGillespie, John Whitley, S r, and John Laughlin....
The first Circuit Court was held at Hill's Station, on Monday, May 30,1 817. The State being under a Territorial Government, all theoffices w ere filled by appointment, and were as follows:
The Hon. Jesse B. THOMAS, Judge; Daniel CONVERSE, Clerk; Samuel G.M ORSE, Sheriff; and Charles R. MATHENY, Satate's Attorney. Thefollowi ng persons served as grand jurors: John WHITLEY, Sr.,Foreman, So loman REAVIS, Fields PRUITT, Coonrod HOOSONG, SamuelDAVIDSON, Paul BE CK, William ROBINSON, John HOPTON, Robert GILLESPIE,Benjamin JAMES, Ch arles REAVIS, Charles STEEL, Andrew MOODY, AbsalomMATHEWS, William M cLANE, John WHITLEY, Jr., Peter HUBBARD, DavidWHITE, Francis KIRKPAT RICK, William BURGESS, John SAMPLES, ElijahPOWERS, Thomas WHITE."
5/18/1818 He was appointed Ensign.
5/4/1818 Bond Co, IL. Although he had land in Fayette Co, apparentlyt he family had not moved yet as they were counted in the state'sfirst c ensus in Bond. John's household included 1 white male over 21and 7 ot her whites. Sons John Jr and Mills were also found there.
1820 Perryville Twp, Bond Co, IL. Listed in the census as JohnWhitle y Sen, his household included 1 male under 10, 1 at 10-15, 1 at16-26, J ohn over 45, 1 female under 10, and 1 also over 45. Twopeople were e ngaged in agriculture and 1 was in manufacture. Twodoors down was son E lisha, follwed by son "Randle. In the otherdirection was sons "Mills" a nd John Jr. Other neighbors were thefamilies of in-laws, Bateman, Dun can, and Little.
1821-1826 Fayette Co, IL. He served as County Commissioner, beingmen tioned several times in the minutes of their meetings.
He served on the first Grand Jury of the county.
3/5/1822 He was also on the list of petit jurors.
12/20/1826 Fayette Co, IL. His residence there was recorded in aland t ransfer when he purchased 80 acres in Shelby Co, IL, for $1.25at a Fed eral sale. The property was located at S33 T12N R03E.
12/20/1826 He was still a resident of the same county when hepurchase d another 80 acres at S33 T12N R04E for $1.25/acre fromanother Federal s ale.
1/23/1827 Whitley Point, Shelby Co, IL. The family probably nevermov ed but rather a new county was formed out of the old and theyfound the mselves in it. County lines would later shift again to putthem in Mou ltrie Co.
The History of Shelby & Moultrie Counties spoke of the Whitleys:
"The first to grapple with these hardships (of pioneer life), wereJohn W hitley and family, and his son-in-law, Samuel Lindley. Theycame in th e fall of 1826 (the date was actually later) and settled atthe head of W hitley creek timber, now Whitley's Point, on section 12,where J.M. Edm ond's farm now lies. Mr. Whitley was a native ofMaryland, and when he m oved here, brought with him his wife and alarge family of children viz : John, Sharp, Mills, Randall, William,Josiah, and two or three daugh ters. All the sons, except Josiah,were married, and had families when t hey came. They with theirfamilies and Samuel Lindley all settled in t he same neighborhood withthe old gentleman. Here they built their cab ins, and broke the firstground in the county. A rude horse mill was c onstructed by the elderWhitley, which of course was the first mill of a ny kind built in thetownship. He as well as his boys were very fond o f the sports of theday, such as wrestling, horse-racing, etc. They re mained here only ayear or two, when they scattered in various directio ns; some went toTexas, and others to Missouri. The old gentleman move d up the Okawinto Coles county about 1838 where he died a few years af terward.The township was named in honor of its oldest settler, John W hitley.William Price, also a pioneer, but a single man, came a year or t woafter the Whitleys and squatted near them, and married one of the ol dman's daughters. but soon afterward left the country."
Also:
"The first justice of the peace was John Whitley, sen; this was whenth is part of Moultrie belonged to Shelby county"
In the list of Early Settlers of Whitley Township are:
John Whitley and family
Samuel Lindley (son-in-law of Whitley)
Hal McDaniel (arrived with Whitleys)
William Price (son-in-law of Whitley)
"The Whitleys were among the 1st settlers of the county, Johnconstruct ed a rude horse mill, the first mill of any kind in thetownship.
They were a large athletic family who kept thoroughbred race horseswit h gambling as their chief occupation as well as racing andfighting."
Also recorded:
"The Whitleys were followers of horse racing and hunting almost to thee xclusion of all else. The story was told that the elder Whitleyjourne yed to Kentucky and purchased a racing filly from a breedernamed Dodge a nd returned here to win almost all the races he enteredhe in. Thinkin g to make some easy money, he entered her in aclaiming race in which a ll entrants have a price set before the raceand may be claimed afterwa rds at the price. John set a low price onher thinking to win an easy r ace and none would claim her. To hisdismay she was claimed and to avo id losing her at a give away price,he slipped her out and hid her in a g rove of trees north of Mattoonuntil the search died down. (The grove t hen became know as the DodgeGrove because the Dodge filly had been hid den there. It is now theDodge Grove Cemetery.)
From the Geological and Historical Tour of Moultrie County, Illinois,i s an article on the family:
"Moultrie County was settled later than most areas around us, probablyd ue to the fact that our rivers were not easily navigable. Macon andSh elby Counties both had settlers in them by 1818. However,Moultrie's f irst settler (John Whitley) didn't arrive until the fall
of 1826. He and his family did not stay here permanently and movedout w hen the county became more crowded."
"John Whitley and his family of six grown sons arrived in the fall of1 826 and settled south of Whitley Creek on section 12 of what is nowWhi tley Township. The original survey of Moultrie County shows aspring n ear this location. Whitley probably chose this spot becauseof the spr ing. The small creek that crosses the east-west road herewas probably b egun by this spring. His cabin was somewhere betweenthe Whitley Creek t o the north and this east-west road. Whitley andhis sons were gambler s, horse racers and able fighters; however,Whitley seems to have been t rustworthy because he was chosen as oneof three of Shelby County's fir st county commissioners. He alsoserved as Justice of the Peace. (At t his time Whitley Township was apart of Shelby County.)
Also in 1826 two other 'squatters' settled near Whitley, staying onlya f ew years. Most of Whitley's sons moved West, and Whitley moved toCole s County in the 1830s."
Continuing again:
"The Methodists get credit for bringing the first church services toth e county, a sermon being preached in Samuel Linley's cabin by Rev.Mile s Hart in 1828. (Linley was one of Whitley's sons-in-law.)"
In Whitley Whittlings is an article which states:
"John Whitley was the first to settle in Whitley Township, near thehea d of Whitley Creek. Then, in order to file on a piece of land, itwas n ecessary to go to the land office in Vandalia. That seemed toomuch of a t rip for him so he did not file but just built his cabinand 'squatted'. A s more settlers came and began to fill theavailable space; some of his n eighbors convinced him he should file,for anyone else who wished could f ile on the land he was occupyingand legally make him move away. So, h e made the trip to the LandOffice in Vandalia and filed on October 1, 1 833 and of theIndependence of the 'United States of American the fifty e ighth.'
His claim was 'the East half of the Northeast quarter of Sectiontwelve i n the Township twelve North and Range six of lands subject tosales at t he Vandalia Land Office, containing eighty acres.'
Another article said John owned hundreds of acres of land, claimingsom e of the first land of Shelby Co.
From "The Whitley Point Record Book" is the following: "The placesele cted by John Whitley had many advantages. Wood and water were athand, a nd the game was plentiful--including deer and turkey. Bears,wolves, p anthers, and wild cats were also encountered. Because ofthe good hunt ing, Indians frequented the area. Indeed in the winterof 1826-27, aft er the Whitleys first arrived, Indians maintained alarge camp consisti ng of about 90 lodges a few miles south of theWhitley settlement in wh at is now Shelby County. These Indians wereconsidered to be friendly b y the settlers, with whom they maintaineda lively social intercourse-- including occasional contests ofhorse-racing, shooting, and athletic e vents."
And again: "The field notes of the first surveyors of Section 12 inTo wnship 12N, Range 6E, where the Whitleys settled five years later,refe r to 'gently rolling' prairie, with 'first rate' soil, andwalnut, oak, e lm, and mulberry trees.....The Whitley family settlednear a point wher e the timber adjacent to the creek extended into theprairie. Hence th e name of the settlement--Whitley Point."
He was one of three members of the 1st Co Board of Commissioners andwa s the first Justice of the Peace of the new county, for which hereceiv ed $1.50/day for court duties. As Justice of the Peace hemarried seve ral couples over the years and once as CountyCommissioner.
5/3/1827 Shelby Co, IL. As Co Commissioner, he officiated at thewedd ing of his wife's relatives, Sally Bateman and John Cochran.
2/25/1830 John was still a resident of Shelby Co when he purchased 2p lots of land in Moultrie Co on this date from a Federal sale for$1.25/ acre. The two plots of 80 acres each were located at S12 T12NR06E.
1830 Prect 4, Shelby Co, IL. At census time, sons, John Jr andWillia m, were neighbors while Mills and Sharp were just down theroad. John S r and his wife were 50-60 years old and had living withthem 1 male 15- 20 and 1 female 10-15.
In the History of Moultrie Co in an article on Jonathan's CreekTownshi p, it states:
"It had previously been told and written by others, 'that one JonathanW hitley was lost while out hunting, and from him the creek wasnamed;' b ut this is a mistake; for there never was a Whitley by thatname that l ived in this county."
Another history says: "The Whitleys have not received as muchattentio n as they have deserved, mainly because the family moved awayafter a f ew years' residence. However, they were real men, energeticand enterp rising, even if they were not impressed with the value ofthe land."
From the History of Coles Co:
"The fact that a settlement was in the township as early as 1833,seems t o be pretty fully established and John Whitley and his sonJohn, Elisha , William and Randall, are recorded as among the first,if not the firs t, to settle and make improvements in its limits.Their improvements w ere made along the Okaw, near the southwesternlimits of the township. E lisa and John were on the west side, whileWilliam and Randall located e ast of the stream. The Whitleys camefrom Tennessee, and must have com e to the State at an early day;from statements made by the elder Whit ley, they seem to have passedup the Kaskaskia, making settlements at v arious points; so soon asneighbors began to settle in around them, the y would desert theirplaces, and moving up the stream, would again loca te, only a fewyears later to move still higher up the stream."
1831 His name appears in the Circuit Court Case Files as thedefendant a gainst a Brazel Losey for damages, specifics unknown.
5/29/1832 John performed the marriage ceremony for greatgranddaughter , Clarissa Price, and John Grice.
7/20/1836 Still living in Shelby Co, he purchased 80 acres in DouglasC o at S3 T15N R07E for $1.25/acre at a Federal sale.
Gilbert Waggoner said of the Whitleys: "The Whitleys were a roughset-- a bad lot." A history said "their ways of life were different,and th e two families didn't understand each other. The Whitleys,doubtless, w ere brave, strong, active, and restless. Some of themwent to Missouri a nd others to Texas, where they probably fought forthe independence of t he Lone Star."
"They were 'rough and ready' but I believe Uncle Gilbert was toosevere i n pronouncing them a 'bad lot.' They were the typicalpioneers--the ad vance guard of civilization, and their kind made thefrontiers safer fo r those who came later."
1838 Cooks Mill, Coles Co, IL. When the rest of the family movedwest , John sold his land to William Hayden and moved nearer otherfamily me mbers.
Some sources say he was a native of Maryland but since the familylived i n VA for generations before him, it is unlikely.
Son, Elisha, was administrator of his estate and, as such, initiatedsu its to collect payment of notes owed the estate. From the partiesat l aw:
Elisha Whitley Adm of John Whitley Decd. vs John G Purvis action onnot e for $140.47 due 295h April 1837
cr $50.00 the 11th April 1836
also cr $25.50 this 2nd Feby 1839
Summons Issued 2nd Feby 1839
Subpoena for John Bracken
2/16/1839 Summons Returned Executed by reading to defendant
parties met and hearing
the Judgment against
J Purvis for $95.72
and cost--Justice $1.12 1/2
Constable 2.43 3/4
3/9/1839 Execution Issued WG Haydon JP
12/14/1839 Execution returned Amos Waggoner JP
12/14/1839 Renewed
Amos Guinn for the use of Elisha Whitley Adm of John Whitley Deceasedv s John G Purvis & Peter Warren action on note for $11.00 due 15thAug ust 1835
2/2/1839 Sums Issued to I Walker
2/16/1839 Returned executed on John G Purvis by Reading the same
Warren not found
Cr by order of Pl $7.00
this 16th Feby 1839
And stayed by plaintiff
Justice cost .50 cts
Const 56 1/4 cts
Elisha Whitley Admr. of John Whitley Deceased vs John G Purvis & JohnW hitley Junior
action on note $125.75
2/2/2839 Sums Issued to I Walker
Credited 10th June 1839 $5.25
also $53.55 same date
2/16/1839 Returned Executed on John G Purvis by Reading the same
John Whitley not found
Judgment against JG Purvis for $84.70
and cost J Cost $00.68 3/4
Constable .56 1/4
3/9/1839 Execution Issued to I Walker
12/14/1839 Execution Renewed Amos Waggoner JP
Renewed
3/4/1844 Execution returned with a cr
$60.00 & the balance Stayed by order of Plaintiff
