Allen Whittington (1801-1899) obituary

My 3rd great-grandfather, Allen A. Whittington, lived almost the entire 19th century. Born in 1801, he died on July 25, 1899, in Wilkes County, NC. 

This chart shows Allen's immediate family - parents, wives, and children. He was widowed twice and married his third wife when he was 93 (she was 41). According to family lore, his sons had to help Allen mount his horse to go courting.  They questioned why he wanted to get married at the age of 93. He said "Surely to God I will live ten more years."

On the day he died, the local newspaper The Chronicle published a quickly written obituary. It promised a fuller obituary later but I never found one (some issues of the paper are missing).

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References:

Family story was shared by Carrie Disher (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) to Barbara McGeachy, letter, 27 Dec 1999; privately held by the author.

I created the chart using PowerPoint. My family often does not fit into standard charts!

"Allen Whittington Dead.," (Wilkesboro) The Chronicle, 26 Jul 1899, p. 4, col. 2.; online image, Newspapers.com, accessed 11 Apr 2018.