So who was the mother of Thomas Jefferson WHITFILL??

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Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on August 22, 2009 at 6:41pm

Welcome to the group, Anne. :)

I see that there is a record on Ancestry for a marriage between Elizabeth Clark and Robert Whitfill, but looking at the source information, it appears to be from family group sheets, and does not have a record of the marriage date or place.

I would try to find out if Robert and his wife married in Grayson County, KY, and see if there is a record. Or, possibly find a will for Robert, if possible. I do wonder if Betsy is a nickname for Elizabeth and possibly Betsy had been married once before, and her maiden name was Shaw before she married a Clark.

Also, Robert could have been married to a Betsy Shaw, who was the mother of his children, then married Elizabeth Clark after she died? Have you found out where Robert is buried and who is buried with him?

I have seen family sheets on line with Elizabeth Clark listed as Robert's wife, have you contacted the people who created the websites to see what records they have for that information? Its possible it is based on a bible record?

Have you seen any other records with Betsy Shaw listed as Thomas' mother? Are there other death records for his siblings available?

Permalink Reply by Anne on August 22, 2009 at 8:42pm

If it is an Elizabeth CLARK, she is the daughter of Wilford CLARK and Elizabeth STRADER.

I have no other record so far of a Betsy SHAW. It is very common for the informant to make an error on the death certificate, particularly regarding grandparents. The informant in this case was Angus Giaccomo WHITFILL, his second to youngest child born in 1868. Angus was 44 at the time of his father's death in 1912 and Thomas Jefferson Whitfill was fully senile by that time (indeed, it is listed as cause of death).

I can't seem to get anyone to reply to my contact attempts (and they all seem to be citing the same entry in "U.S. and International Marriage Records" which refers to a family group sheet that could have come from anywhere).

I have been searching for death records of other 7 siblings (the Kentucky Death Records in Amazon are a mess to deal with. You find a completely incorrect name every third one) and I have a letter out to IRAD for Effingham County to see if the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index might have more information than a name and date.

Thanks for the input. Even questions like that are helpful little breadcrumbs.

Permalink Reply by Anne on August 22, 2009 at 9:07pm

I may have found something...a morsel anyway.

Robert Whitfill had a brother named Martin who was married to a Rebecca Shaw. Maybe this is the Betsy and it was a slip-up by Angus (in trying to remember his grandmother's maiden name). Still looking to veryify Clarke and completely rule out Shaw, but I have a family member at least.

Permalink Reply by Anne on September 12, 2009 at 6:58am

Thanks Gene

The Children I have for Robert Whitfill (alt Whitfield) in order of birth:
Martin Gillis Whitfill (1829-1895)
Thomas Jefferson Whitfill (1832-1912)
Nancy Whitfill (1838-?)
Susannah Whitfill (1840-?)
James Madison Whitfill (1842-1865)
Benedict J Whitfill (1845-1865)
Margaret F Whitfill (1848-?)
Mary J Whitfill (1848-?)

James and Benedict both died as POWs at Camp Chase in April 1865.
(There may have been other children born who did not live long and for whom I have no record.)

I sent to the Illinois Regional Archives Depository for a copy of the marriage record of Thomas Jefferson Whitfill and Elizabeth Ann Nokes. I was grasping at straws, but I was hoping the register might name parents. No such luck. The record just shows that they were married Oct 9, 1856 in Effingham County, IL. The record is not easy to read, but it seems to suggest that an Abraham B K[illegible] and J.P. [?] certified the marriage. No other info provided.