Family:Whitney, Samuel (c1765-a1820)

Samuel's Locations

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Samuel Whitney, parentage unknown, was born before 1775, and died after 1790.

Samuel Whitney and Francis Whitney first appear, about 1785-1786, on land records in Edgefield County, South Carolina. Part of this area ultimately became Aiken County, South Carolina. The Whitney name was mentioned in the History of the Town of Salley (South Carolina): "In the late 1700 and early 1800 other families began moving into this area. Namely: Able, Brodie, Boylston, Cooper, Corley, Courtney , Clark, Caughman, Davis, Douglass, Fanning, Fergerson, Ginyard, Gleaton, Holman, Jordan, Johnson, Jones, Kitchings, Kennerly, Knotts, LeCroy, Milhous, McQueen, Mackey, O'Dowd, Porter, Prothro, Peeples, Riley, Sawyer, Stroman, Tyler, Toole, Vann, Wooley, Whitney, and Walker." ^[1]

By the time of the 1790 South Carolina Census (actually done/completed in 1792), Samuel Whitney, Francis Whitney, Francis Whitney (Jr.) and their presumed families had relocated several miles to the east into, closely neighboring, Orangeburg County.

Note: A detailed and definitive history of the Whitney's found in Edgefield and Orangeburg Counties of South Carolina 1785-1840 will never be written due to the loss of records during the Civil War. The Edgefield County records were only partially destroyed; however, the Orangeburg County records are particularly problematic since they no longer exist. Sometime in January 1864, the Orangeburg County officials, anticipating the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction, packed ALL of their records and loaded them on a train to be shipped to the capital in Columbia, South Carolina for 'safe keeping'. These records represented the history of the huge Orangeburg District from the earliest settlement in the early 1700's to 1864. They included all land records, court records, tax records, marriage records, and slave schedules. The train arrived, in Columbia, and was sitting in the rail yard waiting to be unloaded when, on February 17,1865, General Sherman and his Union Forces arrived. General William Tecumseh Sherman had stated, prior to his arrival, in South Carolina, that "...when I go through South Carolina it will be one of the most horrible things in the history of the world. The devil himself could'nt restrain my men in that State." It is not surprising, therefore, that the city of Columbia was almost totally destroyed. Photographs taken that day show only standing chimney stacks and smoking rubble. The train with the Orangeburg records was burned, where it sat, in the rail yard.

A few remaining land, census, church, and private family records are all that is left for research, in Orangeburg, South Carolina. These records provide brief sporatic 'snapshots' of individual Whitney's, but unfortunately, they do not provide specific documention of births, marriages, deaths or enough information to determine, even the basic family structure, of any Whitney individual.

Samuel Whitney initially appears in the archived records of Edgefield County, which at that time was a part of the Ninety Six District, with several curious survey records, the earliest of which was 6 December, 1786:

Note: Dates on the archived land records in South Carolina represent the recording dates. The actual purchase date could have been much earlier.

21 Feb 1789 Lewis, Joseph, Plat for 246 acres on waters of Turekey Creek, Ninety Six District, Surveyed by Howel Fort for Samuel Whitney. ^[2]

19 Jan 1791 Rottan, Tarleton Plat for 244 acres on Rockey Creek, Ninety Six District, Surveyed by Howel Fort for Samuel Whitney on December 6, 1786. ^[3]

15 Feb 1794 Gamalan, Andrew, Plat for 259 acres on waters of South Edisto River, Edgefield County, Ninety Six District, Surveyed by Howel Fort for Samuel Whitney on December 20, 1787 ^[4]

7 November 1791 Fley, Samuel, Plat for 449 acres on Edisto River Edgefield County Ninety six District Surveyed byRobert Anderson for Andrew Gomalan Names indexed: Samuel Fley/Andrew Gomalan/ Smith/ William Coursey/ Bibby Bush/ Samuel Whitney ^[5]

Sometime, in 1790, Samuel Whitney was licensed to preach at Cloud's Creek Baptist Church. ^[6] Cloud's Creek was, at that time, in the Old Ninety Six District. The church itself was begun in the mid 1700's as a Tunkard/Dunkard Church. By 1790, it was in decline and being used by a small congregation of Seven Day Baptist. It was one of the four Seven Day Baptist churches in South Carolina at the time. "This region, as documented in the notes of Reverend Morgan Edwards in his History of the Baptistsc1772 and sourced in Peacock's work, and was the center of four churches known as Seven Day Baptists. Coosawatchee Church..... Cloud Creek Baptist Church .... Wateree River and Edisto Creek churches." ^[7]

Census

• 1790, Orangeburg South Co., SC: Samuel Whitney, 1 males over 16, 1 males under 16, 2 females.

References

1. ^  History of the Town of Salley; internet link is non-functional.

2. ^  South Carolina Archives, Joseph Lewis, Series: S213190, Volume: 0024, Page: 00214, Item:002

3. ^  South Carolina Archives, Tarleton Rotan, Series: S213190, Volume: 0025, Page: 0036 Item: 001

4. ^  South Carolina Archives, Andrew Gamalan, Series: S213190, Volume: 0029, Page: 00237,Item: 001

5. ^  South Carolina Archives, Samuel Fley, Series: S213190 Volume - 0027 Page - 00387 Item - 01

6. ^  Townsend, Leah, South Carolina Baptist 1670-1805, Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., 1974, P. 367.

7. ^  Externral link.

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Copyright © 2007, Tim Doyle and the Whitney Research Group