Genealogy: Finding Your Folks

Whaley, Lashley, Mann and associated south metro families

By Judy Fowler Kilgore
Genealogy Columnist

Judy Fowler Kilgore is the religion editor and genealogy columnist for The Citizen. She regrets that time does not permit her to do personal family research for others. She may be reached at jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Senia’s gold mine was finding several old obituaries taped to the front of her family Bible. There are no dates on most of them, but the genealogical information contained within them is priceless. One is from 1877. Senia scanned the front of the Bible and sent it to me and I was able to add more names to my Whaley family tree.

This Whaley family is associated many times with the Mann family of Clayton County and many of them are buried in the Mann cemetery near Jonesboro.

According to the Whaley book and census information I have found, Samuel and Minerva Whaley, who were married 31 Jan. 1847 in Fayette County, had nine children. This matches with what Minerva told the census taker in 1900 and 1910 — nine children and five still living.

Their children were Charles W. Whaley, Nancy Whaley, Elizabeth L. Whaley, Joseph Whaley, Martha J. Whaley, Emeline M. Whaley (Senia’s ancestor), Amanda Whaley, Eveline N. (Emily) Whaley, and Susan J. Whaley. The last child, Susan, was born six months before her father died in a Union Army prison camp in Illinois.

Samuel and Minerva Whaley’s first child, Charles, was born in December of 1847 and married Mary L. Mann in 1871. Charles moved to Cullman, Ala. where he died in December of 1942.

Nancy Whaley, second child of Samuel and Minerva, was born abt. 1849 and never married. Her obituary says she was 72 when she died in Jonesboro at the home of her sister, (Susan) Mrs. A.C. Harris. Nancy is buried in the Mann Cemetery.

Elizabeth L. Whaley, third child of Samuel and Minerva, was born about 1851 and died in Putnam County, Ga. in 1877, at the age of 26. Elizabeth’s obituary also was taped to the front of the Bible. This was the only one with a date.

Joseph Whaley, fourth child of Samuel and Minerva, was born about 1853 and appears in the 1860 Clayton County census with his parents. There is no further info on Joseph.

Martha J. Whaley, fifth child of Samuel and Minerva, was born about 1855 and died after 1921. She is buried in the Mann Cemetery also, but there are no dates on her grave. It appears that Martha married E.D. Lashley in 1896, possibly following the death of her sister, Emeline, who married E.D. Lashley in the 1870s.

Emeline M. Whaley, the sixth child of Samuel and Minerva, was born about 1856 and married E.D. Lashley. I have a marriage date of 1878, but Emeline and E.D. are listed in the 1880 Clayton County census with one son, Joe, age seven. This leads me to believe the marriage date may have been misread. One might want to check the original marriage book at the courthouse for the correct information. Senia tells me that Emeline and E.D. also had a daughter, Bena, born in 1885, who is her ancestor. Bena married James Walter Mann.

Amanda Whaley, seventh child of Samuel and Minerva, was born about 1857 and married J.W. Bailey in 1872. Amanda died 21 May 1891 and is buried in the Mann Cemetery.

Eveline N. Whaley (may have been called Emily), the eighth child of Samuel and Minerva, was born about 1858 and married T. Eli Lawrence in 1883. Eveline died 6 Nov. 1956 and is buried in the Adamson Cemetery in Jonesboro.

Susan J. Whaley, ninth and last child of Samuel and Minerva, was born 20 June 1864 and married Alonzo C. Harris in 1884. Susan died in 1935 and is buried in the Adamson Cemetery.

Obituaries of members of this family which Senia found on the Bible include those of E.D. Lashley (buried in the Mann Cemetery); Milton L. Lashley (E.D.’s son ... probably by E.D.’s second wife, Martha J. since he was survived by his mother but not his father), buried in East Point Cemetery; Miss Lizzie Whaley who died in 1877; Miss Nannie Whaley (buried in the Mann Cemetery); James Pinkney Lashley, another son of E.D. who died from “tuberculosis of the bones” (buried in the Mann Cemetery); and a memorial to Emeline Lashley. There are no dates on these obits, except the one on Elizabeth who died in 1877. Still, they are valuable records and, by doing a little math and figuring, dates, or at least, years, could probably be ascertained.

Minerva Whaley never remarried after the death of her husband in 1864, and appears to have lived in the Jonesboro area all her life. She died 23 Dec 1911 and was shown in the 1910 census living with her daughter, Susan (Mrs. Alonzo C.) Harris. Minerva is buried in the Mann Cemetery.

I really appreciate Senia’s sharing her family information with me. We still have a lot more to unravel, but I believe we have made a very good start.

If you are connected to the family of Samuel and Minerva Whaley, you may contact Senia at greymistlady@hotmail.com.

I welcome your letters about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Any letters and/or e-mails I receive are subject to being used in the column.

Until next week, happy hunting!