These are corrections to Uncle Murell’s Family History. In Chapter One he states that Rachel Whitaker’s family left Virginia in 1880. I was unaware that it was that early. It must have been right after the 1880 census was taken that listed them in Virginia. Her two oldest brothers, Adison and Franklin, are listed as already living in Indiana in the 1880 census, Franklin having had a child in 1877 in Indiana. So they must have come on ahead of Landay Whitaker (great grandfather) and the rest of the family. I also did not realize it took over two summers to arrive in Indiana. What a journey that must have been!
In the middle of the page he lists the names of some of the people that apparently came with this group. The first person listed is “Samuel Whitaker in his late 30s, our Great Grandfather”. This should be Landay Whitaker, not Samuel. Also, Landay was born in 1832 so by 1880 he would have been in his late 40s, not 30s. I don’t know why Murell listed his grandfather’s name as Samuel. Landay did have a son Samuel who would have been 14 at this time. Landay’s wife, Sarah, was Murell’s great grandmother. She would have turned 42 during their first summer on the journey. There was a sister Margaret Ann who was 16 at this time who is probably “Minnie”. Murell has Rachel’s birth date as July 11, 1867. The correct birth date is June 11, 1868.
Other children that are not mentioned that would surely have been traveling with them were Mary Francis “Fanny” age 10 and Henderson age 6. Mary Francis was the one who married a Taylor. She married James Henry Taylor in 1887 in Delaware County, Indiana.
Murell’s mother, Ethel Clouse, was born on 20 Oct 1890, in Jay County, Indiana.
Ancestors Across the Ages 