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GENEALOGY REPORT OF ELISHA WHITAKER
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Elisha Whitaker was born 3 May 1862, in eastern Pulaski County, Kentucky, and died on 24 Apr 1901 on the Rockcastle River, in Pulaski/Laurel Counties, Kentucky. Elisha was the son of James Cooper(?) and Margaret Whitaker. Elisha married Emeline “Emma” Cornett, the daughter of Hiram Cornett and Cordelia Wilson, on 28 Apr 1880 in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Emma was born 11 Jul 1864 in Kentucky, and died 3 Jan 1939 in probably Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Elisha and Emeline are buried in Buffalo Branch Baptist Cemetery in southern Rockcastle County, Kentucky.
Notes for mother of Elisha Whitaker
On the 1870 Census, Elisha and his mother Margaret are living with William and Sarah Arthur and their children in Pulaski County.[1] Sarah is Margaret’s sister. In 1880, Margaret is still living with William and Sarah Arthur in Pulaski County, and is listed as William's sister-in-law.[2] Sarah’s maiden name was Whitaker, according to her and William Arthur’s marriage record.[3] At the 1903 trial of James Mize, George W. “Dud” Whitaker testified that he was Elisha's first cousin, and that William Arthur was his and Elisha’s uncle.[4] Dud was the son of Sarah’s brother Elisha Whitaker (b. 1829, d. 1899) and Elizabeth Stogsdill.[5] [6] All of this indicates that Margaret passed down her maiden name to Elisha.
Margaret, Sarah, and Elisha (b. 1829) are likely the children of James Whitaker (b. abt 1803) and Mary Unknown (b. abt 1817). On the 1850 U.S. Census, James and Mary Whitaker have eleven children, three of whom are named Elisha, Margaret, and Sarah.[7] Their ages are consistent with the Elisha b. 1829 who was father of Dud Whitaker, the Margaret who was mother of Elisha b. 1862, and the Sarah who married William Arthur.
Notes for father of Elisha Whitaker
Robert “Bob” Cooper testified at James Mize’s trial in 1903 that “it is said that we [Elisha and I] are half-brothers.”[8] Robert Cooper was the son of James Cooper and Sarah Arthur Cooper.[9] [10] (James Cooper's wife Sarah Arthur Cooper was William Arthur's sister.) Therefore, it is likely that James Cooper is the father of Elisha Whitaker.
Perhaps in support of this theory, is the fact that James Cooper owned property to the East and South of William Arthur’s land prior to 1905. James Cooper's obituary in the February 14, 1888 issue of the Semi-Weekly Interior Journal also mentions his land holdings in the Line Creek area:
James Cooper, one of the most prominent citizens of Pulaski county, who lived at Line Creek, near the southern border of this county, died Thursday night of measles. Mr. Cooper was the principle stock holder in the Second National Bank of Somerset and owned in one tract 11,000 acres of land situated in this and Pulaski counties. [11]
Notes for Elisha Whitaker and Emeline “Emma” Cornett
Elisha and Emma married on 28 Apr 1880 in Rockcastle County, Kentucky.[12]
On the 1880 Census, Elisha and Emma are boarders in the household of Crawford and Jane Pike in Rockcastle County. Elisha is employed as a laborer. Also in the household is Emma's sister Ludema.[13]
On the 1900 Census, Elisha and Emma are living with seven children in Pulaski County.[14] Elisha is employed as a farmer. Emma is listed as having seven children, seven living.
In March 1901, Elisha and family moved to a house on the Rockcastle River near London-Somerset Road, in what was either Pulaski or Rockcastle County. It is most likely that they rented and did not own this house. Neighbors included Albert Teague and Humphrey Mize. Elisha rented a storehouse from Robert Cooper, his half-brother, where he sold groceries and whiskey.[15]
Humphrey Mize’s son James “Jim” L. Mize shot and killed Elisha on 24 Apr 1901. Click link to see my separate post on that topic.
Notes for Emeline “Emma” Cornett
On the 1910 Census, Emma is living with her son-in-law and daughter, Eli and Martha Ping, in Knox County, KY. Also in the household are her sons John, Earl, and James. Emma is listed as mother of 7 children, 6 living. Under Emma's occupation is the description “invalid.” Eli Ping and John Whitaker both work for the railroad.[16]
On the 1920 Census, Emma is living with her son James on “Buffalo and Rockcastle River Road” in Walnut Grove, Rockcastle County, KY.[17] (On the same road are George W. Decker and Hampton Mize). John Whitaker is living nearby on “Eagle Creek Road.”[18]
Children of Elisha Whitaker and Emeline “Emma” Cornett are[19]
i. Hily Ann Whitaker, b.17 Apr 1880, d. 1948.*
ii. Martha Jane Whitaker, b. 4 Nov 1884, d. 23 Sept 1972.
iii. Jesse Whitaker, b. 25 Dec 1887, d. 5 Jan 1907. Twin of John.
iv. John Whitaker, b. 25 Dec 1887, d. 22 Jun 1970. Twin of Jesse.
v. Nora Cordelia Whitaker, b. 8 Jan 1890, d. 17 Oct 1978.
vi. Earl Whitaker, b. abt 1898, d. ?.
vii. James Whitaker, b. 8 Feb 1900, 13 Sept 1992.
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Due to considerable confusion caused by similar names, I've made this chart to show the relationship between James Mize and Elisha Whitaker. Hily Ann Whitaker married a man named James Mize, but this was not the same man who killed her father Elisha. The man who killed Elisha was the son of Humphrey Mize (see James Mize that is underlined in the chart). Hily Ann's husband was the son of John Crawford Mize.
Note: I haven't done as much work on verifying the line of Paulina Whitaker, but instead relying on the work of others, it appears that the wife of George W. Decker is related to this Whitaker tree thusly: Paulina Whitaker was the daughter of Giles Whitaker and Paulina Evans, and Giles Whitaker as the son of Mills Whitaker and Sidney Arnold, and Miles Whitaker was the son of Giles Whitaker, and this Giles Whitaker was also that father of the James Whitaker who was the grandfather of Elisha Whitaker, meaning Teddy C. Decker and Nora Whitaker were third cousins, if this is accurate.
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You can see two photos of Elisha Whitaker on http://www.jeffrenner.net/.
[1] United States Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Burdine, Pulaski, Kentucky; Roll: M593_496; Page: 178B; Image: 42; Family History Library Film: 545995.
[2] United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Precinct 13, Pulaski, Kentucky; Enumeration District: 091; Roll: 440; Page: 206B; Image: 0419; Family History Film: 1254440.
[3] Dodd, Jordan, comp. Kentucky Marriages, 1851-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. J. W. Arthur married Sarah Whitaker on 24 Nov 1862 in Rockcastle County, KY.
[4] Case file transcript obtained from the Kentucky Department of Archives and Libraries for Ky. Court of Appeals case: Mise v. Commonwealth,
[5] United States Federal Census,Year: 1880; Census Place: Rock House, Laurel, Kentucky; Enumeration District: 058; Roll: 427; Page: 296D; Image: 0398; Family History Film: 1254427.
[6] Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records – Microfilm (1852-1910). Microfilm rolls #994027-994058. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky. [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. Elisha Whitaker, age 26, married Elizabeth Stogsdill, age 20, in March of 1856 in Pulaski County, KY.
[7] United States Federal Census, Year: 1850; Census Place: not stated, Laurel, Kentucky; Roll: M432_209; Page: 33B; Image: 352 and 353. Second Whitaker family on 352, continues onto 353.
[8] Case transcript for: Mise v. Commonwealth,
[9] United States Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Dallas, Pulaski, Kentucky; Roll: M593_496; Page: 190B; Image: 66; Family History Library Film: 545995.
[10] United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Precinct 13, Pulaski, Kentucky; Enumeration District: 091; Roll: 440; Page: 210A; Family History Film: 1254440.
[11] Excerpt from "Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle County." Semi-Weekly Interior Journal, Stanford, KY. February 14, 1888. Page 1. LOC. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85052020/1888-02-14/ed-1/seq-1/
[12] Dodd, Jordan, comp.. Kentucky Marriages, 1851-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001.
[13] United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Precinct 1, Rockcastle, Kentucky; Enumeration District: 096; Roll: 440; Page: 378B; Image: 0765; Family History Film: 1254440.
[14] United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Dallas, Pulaski, Kentucky; Enumeration District: 113; Roll: 549; Page: 5B; Family History Library Film: 1240549.
[15] Case transcript for: Mise v. Commonwealth,
[16] United States Federal Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Knox, Knox, Kentucky; Enumeration District: 0111; Roll: T624_489; Page: 16A; Image: 905; Family History Library Film: 1374502.
[17] United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Walnut Grove, Rockcastle, Kentucky; Enumeration District: 236; Roll: T625_595; Page: 8B; Image: 296.
[18] Ibid; Page: 9B; Image: 298.
[19] United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Precinct 13, Pulaski, Kentucky; Enumeration District: 091; Roll: 440; Page: 210A; Family History Film: 1254440.
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Elisha Whitaker is my great-great-grandfather. If you have any questions, comments, or corrections, please email me at papershake.blogspot@gmail.com or contact me through facebook. Again, please link to this website rather than reposting the above information wholesale on another website, so that I can update it or add to it if I should come across any new information. Thank you.
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