The Whigham Report Newsletter of the Whigham Family Association Vol. 6, No. 1 January 2, 2005 Fourth Biennial Reunion, June 24-26 Gathering Scheduled for Daphne, AL As hard as it is to believe, the time is rapidly approaching for the Whigham clan to gather again. I am so looking forward to seeing you all again. Planning has already begun for the reunion at the Daphne Convention Center. Kathy Hall and her crew are busy planning for the food. Lenon and Nancy Whigham’s daughter is planning activities for the children. The facility is already rented, and Myron and I have begun planning other aspects of the reunion If any of you have suggestions or ideas you’d like to make for the reunion, now is the time to send them in. You may either email me at [email protected], or mail them to me at the following address: Joyce Whigham Dorrycott, 6454 Village Park, San Antonio, TX 78250-4053. We really want this to be your reunion, so let us know what you think. So set your vacations to be in Daphne the last weekend in June. Some of us will once again be staying at the Eastern Shore Motel in Daphne. The phone number there is 251-626-6601. Others may prefer to stay somewhere different. I know a number of our members were disappointed that there was no swimming pool. A check on the internet tonight showed that the hotels there are filling up, so I would encourage you to make your reservations soon. There are RV parks nearby in Bay Minette and near the Causeway. Further information will be available in the reunion brochure which should be out in early February. If you know anyone else you would like to receive a reunion brochure who is not currently a part of our Whigham Association, send me their name and address, and I will see that they receive a brochure. There are so many of you who have never attended a reunion. You are missing such a great opportunity to get to know some really grat people. Why not make this the year you join us at the reunion? Bought Your Copy of the Chronicles Yet? Two more books to sell, and the proceeds will begin going into the Whigham Association treasury. We hope to have this accomplished by the time of the reunion. To order your copy or to order one for your library , simply make your check to: Joyce W. Dorrycott, and mail it to me at: 6454 Village Park San Antonio, Texas 78250-4053 A Trip Back in Time Ever since I first heard about Moneyslane and County Down as a possible location for Thomas Whigham’s days before coming to Georgia, I have wanted to visit there. So, when the candidate I was working for offered me a trip to go anywhere I wanted to go, I chose to go Scotland and Northern Ireland. Though the trip didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped, we were so glad to get to Moneyslane. As you stand there, you see the Mourne Mountains in the distance. And the countryside remains rural. Remembering that the Whighams who came to America were Presbyterians, we had to take a picture of the Moneyslane First Presbyterian Church. So, here are some pictures to give you a bird’s eye view - .
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The Whigham ReportNewsletter of the Whigham Family Association Vol. 6, No. 1 January 2, 2005
Fourth Biennial Reunion, June 24-26
Gathering Scheduled for Daphne, AL
As hard as it is to believe, the time is rapidlyapproaching for the Whigham clan to gather again. Iam so looking forward to seeing you all again.
Planning has already begun for the reunion at theDaphne Convention Center. Kathy Hall and her crew
are busy planning for the food. Lenon and NancyWhigham’s daughter is planning activities for thechildren.
The facility is already rented, and Myron and Ihave begun planning other aspects of the reunion Ifany of you have suggestions or ideas you’d like tomake for the reunion, now is the time to send them in.You may either email me at [email protected], ormail them to me at the following address: JoyceWhigham Dorrycott, 6454 Village Park, San Antonio,TX 78250-4053. We really want this to be yourreunion, so let us know what you think.
So set your vacations to be in Daphne the lastweekend in June. Some of us will once again bestaying at the Eastern Shore Motel in Daphne. Thephone number there is 251-626-6601. Others mayprefer to stay somewhere different. I know a number ofour members were disappointed that there was noswimming pool.
A check on the internet tonight showed that thehotels there are filling up, so I would encourage you tomake your reservations soon. There are RV parksnearby in Bay Minette and near the Causeway. Furtherinformation will be available in the reunion brochurewhich should be out in early February.
If you know anyone else you would like to receivea reunion brochure who is not currently a part of ourWhigham Association, send me their name and address,and I will see that they receive a brochure. There areso many of you who have never attended a reunion.You are missing such a great opportunity to get toknow some really grat people. Why not make this theyear you join us at the reunion?
Bought Your Copy of the Chronicles Yet?
Two more books to sell, and theproceeds will begin going into the WhighamAssociation treasury. We hope to have thisaccomplished by the time of the reunion.
To order your copy or to order one foryour library , simply make your check to: Joyce W.Dorrycott, and mail it to me at:
6454 Village ParkSan Antonio, Texas 78250-4053
A Trip Back in Time
Ever since I first heard about Moneyslane and CountyDown as a possible location for Thomas Whigham’s daysbefore coming to Georgia, I have wanted to visit there.So, when the candidate I was working for offered me atrip to go anywhere I wanted to go, I chose to go Scotlandand Northern Ireland.
Though the trip didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped,we were so glad to get to Moneyslane. As you standthere, you see the Mourne Mountains in the distance. Andthe countryside remains rural. Remembering that theWhighams who came to America were Presbyterians, wehad to take a picture of the Moneyslane First PresbyterianChurch. So, here are some pictures to give you a bird’seye view -
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A Few ‘Joyce’ Words
I’m sure many of you must havewondered if I had dropped off the
face of the earth. Well, not really, but almost.Last summer, in late June, Don and I went to
Alabama to attend the Whigham-Johnson reunion inGeneva. We also visited a few days with my sister inLake Mary, Florida.
While we were in Alabama, we went to Eufaula tomake arrangements for the repair of the graves of theThomas Whigham family at Pea River PresbyterianChurch. The ironwork fence around the gravesite hadcome apart, but the pieces were still there. We visitedwith J.J. Jackson in Eufaula who said he and his wifewould paint the fence once it was repaired. He directedus to the Eufaula Iron Works where the owner agreedto go look at it and give us a figure on its repair
After making arrangements with both men, Donand I started home feeling good about the beginning ofthe Association’s efforts to restore the graves of ourancestors. Though we didn’t know it as we pulled outof Myron’s driveway, our lives were about to take adownhill turn - at least as far as distractions go.
As we entered Hwy. 90, my cell phone let me knowthat I had a message (I’d had it off at Myron’s as wewere in a “roaming” area.). The message was thatDon’s only brother had died in Connecticut the daybefore, and they were trying to reach Don about thefuneral. That instituted a rush back to Texas and aquick flight to Boston the next day.
After the funeral, we stayed a couple of days withour daughter in Maine, then flew back to San Antonio.As most of you know, I ran a political campaign forstate representative from June 2003 to this November2nd. Boh Don and I worked day and night as we werescheduled to leave for Scotland on July 26 . We onlyth
had two weeks to make sure everything was togetherbefore we flew to Edinburgh.
We arrived in Edinburgh, July 27 , very tired.th
Stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast there, but wewere so tired that the first three days we mainly ate,slept and took short trips downtown. Since we hadvisited Edinburgh before and would be back again atthe end of our vacation, we saved most of oursightseeing for the last part of our vacation. We didvisit the Botanical Gardens, where Don had the worstcoffee he had
We left Edinburgh on Saturday and went toAberdeen where we spent the weekend. As always, wereally enjoyed the beautiful flowers. On Mondaymorning, we took the train to Stranraer, where we tookthe ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Arriving late inthe evening, we took a taxi to Ashberry Cottage, the bedand breakfast where we spent the next week.
Northern Ireland was wonderful, and our hosts weremarvelous. We had a downstairs room, next to thebathroom and chose to stay in it when given theopportunity to move upstairs. That was to turn out as avery wise decision. Of course, the first place on ouragenda was to go to Moneyslane. Sam, our host, helpedus to get the proper bus routes, and off we went. At thebus station, they kept having trouble finding“Moneyslane”. Finally, someone said, “It’s calledMcBride’s Corners now.” And, we needed that namefor the rest of the trip.
When we arrived at “McBride’s Corners”, the signfor Moneyslane was still there. We walked around asmuch as we could, but there was very little to see. We
t o o k s o mep i c t u r e s ,walked up anold road to“MoneyslanePresbyterianChurch?”, andstopped alongthe way to askquestions. No
one really seemed to know much about the history ofMoneyslane. So, we took the bus back to Belfast andmade plans to visit libraries there. The next day, Sam took us on a trip around the northeastcoast of Northern Ireland. It was very beautiful, and wecould certainly appreciate how difficult it would be toleave such a beautiful land. When I wanted to buy somesouvenirs, Don persuaded me to wait for later. Thatproved to be a very bad decision.The next couple of days we visited Belfast looking forinformation on the Whigham family, as we were leavingfor Dublin on Sunday morning. On Saturday morning,we went downtown to visit the library where we did getmore Whigham information, had lunch and then walkedto Royal Street to a linen shop I had wanted to visit.
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While looking around, I noticed a lower level andslipped away from Don to look around. As I went downthe steps, I slipped on the bottom step. My reaction asalways was to protect my left hip, so I planted my rightfoot to cushion my fall. I was so proud that I hadn’tseemed to hurt myself - until I tried to get up. That’s whenI realized I no longer had any control over that foot. Anambulance was called, and I was taken to the RoyalHospital. After X-rays, I learned that I had broken bothbones going into the ankle - and our vacation was over.On Monday, we began the flight home. In Chicago, as wewere getting ready to change planes, my left hip (theprosthesis) came apart - and, again, an ambulance wascalled. Luckily, I was able to roll on the seat enough to getit back in place so we could continue our journey. Wearrived home late that night, and I went to the orthopedicsurgeon the next day. Due to swelling, etc., he scheduledsurgery for the next week.
The recovery, as usual, was long and difficult -especially since I was still running the campaign. Luckily,we won on November 2 , which made all the long daysnd
and nights worthwhile. I’d thought to get right to thenewsletter, but closing down campaign offices, setting upa state representative’s district office and the holidays allgot in the way.
This is a very long-winded way of telling you why ithas been so long between newsletters. Oh, and just in caseyou are still reading, on Tuesday (December 28 ), I wentth
back to the hospital for a few hours to get the screws onthe inside of my foot removed. The plate on the outside ofmy foot remains. So, as I recover, I thought there had beenenough excuses. It’s time to get the newsletter out.PS. One of the things I most regret is that I didn’t get tovisit with John Whigham who had put together a group ofWhighams to visit with us when we got back toEdinburgh.
Have not heard anything about the repair of theThomas Whigham gravesite, so I plan to call the IronWorks on Monday. Since they haven’t asked for a check,I tend to think the work hasn’t been done. If there are anyof you who live nearby who could help me out on this, Iwould really appreciate it.
I did manage to get Virginia Whigham and family’sgravesites near Waynesboro, MS raised and stabilized.This was something I paid for personally as she was mygreat-grandmother. Now, they need to be cleaned. Coulduse a little help from her descendants in paying for this.Graves involved are those of Virginia Whigham, wife ofThomas Marcus Whigham, Evelyn Hawkins Whigham,
wife of Andrew Nathan Whigham, and Justin EarlWhigham, son of Evelyn and Andrew. Cost will be$210 if any of you wish to contribute.
ANNUAL REUNIONS??
As many of those who attend our reunions arepast sixty, the question has arisen as to whether or notwe should have annual reunions. Perhaps some of usare feeling our mortality, but every year more of usare leaving this earth. Many more of us areexperiencing health problems that slow us down andmake traveling more difficult.
And, so, I have been asked, “Why not have annualreunions? Why not get together more often so that wehave greater opportunity to get to know one another?”While it is true that those who come from greaterdistances might find it difficult to come every year,those who want to do so can get together more often.Some have even suggested that we have our reunionsin a different month - when it is cooler. I’ve evenbeen told, “Who wants to go to Alabama in thesummer?” (Of course, when you live in Texas,summer in Alabama may be sultrier, but it isn’thotter!)
In any event, think about it. We’ll discuss it at thereunion.
I wish you all a wonderful new year, a winterthat’s not too cold, and a healthy and happy life tillwe meet in Daphne.
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“I’m Not Dead Yet”
One of the most interesting letters I have everreceived concerning Whigham genealogy arrivedseveral weeks ago from Tommie Jean OverstreetBrown
After introducing herself, Tommie Jean said,“According to your Chronicles, I am in this (Ellisville,MS) cemetery - I was tempted to call you onHallowe’en and report I was calling from the EllisvilleCemtery . . I am very much alive.” On checking theChronicles, I found that I had indeed “buried” her, butI had no record of her death. I hope I haven’t buriedanyone else prematurely.
She sent a number of corrections. One group I can’tmake - that of the 1880 census for Joseph Whigham.However, these are changes you may wish to have:
Pg. 202 - Olie Warwick’s real name was Ellene.Pg. 206 - Sarah Frances Hollomon should be Sarah
Catherine.Pg. 350 - Robert Preston Graves married Esther
McSwain not Ester McSwayne. They had two children- Mary Esther Graves who married Wiley J. Sullivan,and William Preston “Bill” Graves who died in WorldWar II at the age of 20. He was a gunnery sergeant ina B-17.
Robert Preston remarried to Ruth Metcalfe ofGreenville, MS. Both died in New Orleans; Preston isburied in Ellisville, MS, cemetery. Esther died inJackson, MS, and is buried there as are Mary Estherand William Preston.
Mary Esther and Wiley Sulivan had one son -William Banker Sullivan, an attorney, now deceased.He married Cynthia Meade of Birmingham. They hadtwo children, David, a cardiologist, in Laurel, MS, andLaura, married and living in Texas.
Out of space, so I’ll tell you about Tommie Jean’sfamily in the next newletter.
SOME ARE GIVEN . . .
A new little Whigham entered this world on June 21,2004. Our historian, Robert Elmore Whigham, Jr., is theproud grandfather of a new granddaughter.
Robert, III, and his wife, Josephine, are the proudparents of their first child, a daughter, Allie Josephine,born in the Mobile Infirmary in Mobile, Alabama. Allieweighed 8 lbs. 7 oz., and was 20" long.
. . . AND SOME ARE TAKEN
Cleston Oree Whigham Jr.
MILLRY, Ala. - Services for Cleston Oree “Bunk”Whigham Jr. will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at MillryBaptist Church with the Revs. Billy Kendricks andKenneth Hinton officiating. Burial will be in KimbroughCemetery in Millry. Phillips Funeral Home is in chargeof arrangements. Mr. Whigham, 74, of Millry, died Saturday, June 26,2004, in his home.Survivors include his wife, Louise Whigham of Millry;sons, Bruce Whigham, Bryant Whigham and Stony B.Whigham, all of Millry; a brother, Hannis Whigham ofMillry; sisters, Stella Bryson of Mobile, Ardith Carlisleof Millry and Elsie Morgan of Mobile; eightgrandchildren and three great-grandchildren.Visitation will be today 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home
(This was an especially hard death for me. We werechildhood playmates, and I have many great memories ofBunk. He was present at our last reunion.)
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* Obligated, but checks not written yet**$227.68 is allocated to cemetery fund
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newsletter and had itprinted, I realized therewere a number of things Ihad failed to include.Hence this insert.)
The Cemetery Fund
I spoke to Herman Collier at Eufaula Iron Worksearlier this week. He told me that the work on theThomas Whigham plot in Pea River Cemetery will becompleted in the next few weeks. I shall follow up thefirst of next month so that we will know when the fenceis repaired so that it may then be painted.
Now it is time to raise more money so that we maycontinue our efforts to repair these graves of ourancestors which have been so long neglected. Often allthe family has moved away, and no one remains to carefor them.
So, get out the hammers and saws, the knitting andcrochet needles or whatever tools you need to createthose items you plan to donate for the Silent Auctionat our June reunion. Perhaps we’ll get more jams andjellies or whatever your particular talents cause you towant to donate.
We had such a wide variety of items at our 2003reunion. I look forward to seeing what will be therethis time.
Missing Piecesof the Puzzle
Tommie Jean Overstreet Brown sent a number ofcorrections to our book in her letter. One set ofchanges I can’t make - those due to the 1880 census forthe family of Joseph Whigham. This is an officialrecord and must stay as it was recorded at the time.However, these are changes she sent that you may wishto have:
Pg. 202 - Olie Warwick’s real name was Ellene.Pg. 206 - Sarah Frances Hollomon should be Sarah
Catherine.Pg. 350 - Robert Preston Graves married Esther
McSwain not Ester McSwayne. They had two children- Mary Esther Graves who married Wiley J. Sullivan,and William Preston “Bill” Graves who died in WorldWar II at the age of 20. He was a gunnery sergeant ina B-17.
Robert Preston remarried to Ruth Metcalfe ofGreenville, MS. Both died in New Orleans; Preston is
buried in Ellisville, MScemetery. Esther died inJackson, MS, and is buriedthere as are Mary Esther andWilliam Preston.
Mary Esther and Wiley Sullivan had one son -William Banker Sullivan, anattorney, now deceased. Hemarried Cynthia Meade of
Birmingham. They had two children, David, acardiologist, in Laurel, MS, and Laura, married and livingin Texas.
Tommie Jean Overstreet married Jerome ThorpeBrown who was born April 20, 1912 (not 1915). He diedAugust 23, 1986, and is buried in the Ellisville, MS.cemetery. Children of Tommie Jean and Jerome are:
(1) Jerome Thorpe Brown, Jr., born in Laurel, MS,April 21, 1941. (Jerry is his nickname.)
(2) William Thomas Brown (not “Tim” which is anickname), born September 23, 1945, in Havre de Grace,MD.
Pg. 558 - Walter Byron Crowder, Jr., marriedMargaret Jean Thompson in 1956. She is still living.However, Walter died September 8, 1995, and is buriedin Ellisville Cemetery. Their children are: Susan Jo whomarried Ray Lott; Margaret Jean “Meg” married DavidBryant and Rebecca Ann “Becky” married MichaelBourdreaux.
If you have any new information on members of ourWhigham family, please send it to me. We want to haveas complete and accurate a record of the family as wepossibly can to leave behind for those who come later.
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DUES TIME AGAIN
It’s time once again for us to pay our dues tothe Association. Our dues are only $10 a yearand are used to pay the costs of the newsletter
and to help defray costs of the reunion. This year we will also be beginning thepubli shingo f t h epictu r ea lb u m .So, if y o uhave n ’ tjoine dbefor e orsimp l yhave n ’ tp a i d y o u rdues in thelast couple of years, this year is a great year to doso. Just make your check out for $10, payable to“The Whigham Family Association,” and mail thecheck to: Lance Russell, 18744 Founders Drive,Fairhope, AL 36532.
Frank Whigham Injured
In a recent boating incident near Naples,Florida, Frank Whigham, son of J.B. and MildredWhigham, was injured. While fishing with his two
sons, Jack and Shea, another boat came around thebend and ran into the Whigham boat. Frank wascaught between the two boats and received anumber of injuries Thankfully, Jack had a satellite cell phone andwas able to call 911. Within 15 minutes a helicopterarrived and took Frank to the hospital. He is nowhome, recovering, and might appreciate some getwell cards from us. Frank’s address is: 250 Van Buren Avenue,Lake Mary, FL 32746. Jack and Shea who were not injured havereturned to California where Jack is an agent for oneof the major talent agencies, and Shea is continuinghis movie career. Look for Shea soon in the newTommie Lee Jones movie. (Two connections for me
here - Shea is our “cousin,” and Tommie Lee Jones lives
in San Antonio. Jones was formerly married to the
daughter of a friend of mine who is currently running for
Mayor of San Antonio.)
Last Call for Pictures I know you are probably tired of my asking youfor pictures for the photo album. But, we are finallyat work putting the Whigham Family Picture Albumtogether. Again, it appears as if this will turn out to be abigger volume of work than we had originallyanticipated. However, Don and I are committed tohaving it ready for the June family reunion. As we get nearer to the completion date, we willlet all of you know its approximate cost - which wewon’t know until it is almost ready. Just as we didwith the Chronicles, we will keep its price close tothe production costs. We’re not trying to make aprofit here; just trying to put together as much arecord of our Whigham family as we haveinformation to do so. So, please, if you have pictures of yourancestors, yourselves, your children or yourgrandchildren - send them in. Please put the namesof the people in the photos on the back or on aseparate sheet of paper. If it is a group picture,please make a diagram or in some way let us knowwho is who. It wasn’t until we began putting this togetherthat we realized we had pictures with only sketchyinformation as to who was in the picture. If youhave previously sent in pictures without thisidentification, now is the time to let us know whothey are.
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We will do our best to put together an albumthat will provide you much pleasure in later yearsas well as leaving a record behind for yourchildren’s children. By the way, in your own private albums, besure to put the names of the people on thepictures. Our grandchildren have no way ofknowing who is who. and I, for one, am tired ofseeing the picture’s of people’s ancestors hangingin restaurants and similar places to simulate homeatmospheres.
Whigham’s Running for Public Office A number of our current family members have
run for elective office. This was certainly not a
new phenomenon for Whighams. As early as
1771, Robert Whigham of Scotland was elected
Provost of Sanquhar, a post he was re-elected to
until 1789. But, more about him next time.
Whigham’s Running for Public Office A number of our current family members have
