Re: William Whiteley's children
-
In reply to:
William Whiteley's children
Lynda Combs Gipson 7/26/11
Hello Linda,
This message is from last year, so I hope you are still looking at these posts. I have been looking into this mystery for some time. Actually, I believe Frances Lee/Lea was married to Joseph Whiteley, not William. There is a story that Frances' husband was killed by Indians, and there is a well documented William who was killed by Indians, so I think some people made an assumption, but that William was killed much too early (1789, though some accounts say it was 1786). I have looked at several William Whiteleys in Russell Co. VA, and none of them could have been married to Frankie. I have also found no proof that her husband was named William (aside from 2 family trees on the internet listing his as William), but I have found, and continue to find evidence that she was married to Joseph Whiteley. Joseph disappeared or died somewhere around 1808 or 1810, and his children were refereed to as orphans. at that time, if your father was dead, but mother living, you were considered an orphan. I have seen documents saying Joseph Whiteley's children were being bonded out by the overseers of the poor to be apprentices. At that time, only John and Polly were bound out, but I believe there was a Sarah/Sally also, who was too young to be bound out as an apprentice, and in my searching for her I too believe she is the Sally/Sarah who married Jeremiah Combs! Also, Frankie remarried an Owens, and Sally/Sarah has used several names including Whiteley, Owens, and Cox. What I wonder is if she knew she was a Whiteley, but her mother married an Owens, so she identified with that too, and perhaps she may have used the name of whatever family actually raised her (or she was bound out to)(Perhaps a Cox??) She was not raised by her mother, and William Owens.So I am very interested in Sally Whiteley Combs too. Maybe you can help me! (I am a descendant of John Whiteley, brother to Polly and Sarah) I don't have any evidence of who our Sarah/Sally really was, but in looking at many possibilities, the one who married Jeramiah Combs is the only one that makes sense. I have a bit more but this is already long, so if interested, let me know.
Sue