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a. Note:   Hi all, Here is another tid-bit passed on to me by Mildred (Whittaker) Griffith. I asked her if she knew anything about Thomas William Whittaker's first wife. She said her name was Malissa Ann Whittington. I responded: "I thought that was the name of his second wife." She said: "It was. When the first Malissa died, he had very young children and thought they should have a mother. The second Malissa was a cousin to the first Malissa and he had met her. She lived in Popular Bluff, Missouri and he went there to see if she would consider becoming his wife. She, obviously, accepted." This does add evidence to what I had thought. It explains why there is two different Malissa's on the census records. I also noticed that the first Malissa was born in Tennessee according to the census records. The second one was born in Missouri - which would fit it. A few years ago, I had found a record at the Mormon "Family History Census" for a marriage between Thomas Whittaker & Malissa Whittington". When I went back to look it up again, I could not find it. However, it is probably there and that is probably the marriage record for the second Malissa & Thomas. Thomas certainly would not travel back to Arkansas with the second Malissa unless they were married first. (Not like modern times :)) My own reasoning: Migrating from Kentucky to Arkansas, it does seem almost likely that the Whittaker family passed through the Popular Bluff, MO area. There probably are some records there somewheres that tie to our Whittakers. Well - that is about all that I have from Mildred so far. - I can't wait to find out what else she knows!!! :) :) :) Dave We finally heard from Mildred. The envelope was dated the 13th and we got it on the 15th. Wow - I didn't think our mail service could be that fast. Takes longer than that for a letter to get from my house to Sioux City and that is only 15 miles away. The mailman must have known I was waiting for that letter <smile>. She wrote a nice long letter, but I will pass on only parts of it - relating to our research. Mildred has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Southern California and majored in English. She is married to William Griffith and they have three children, three grand children and two great grandchildren. I do have some info on her children. They are William Thomas Griffith born 29-May-1952, Cheryl LeAnn Griffith born 8-Aug-1953, and Susan Lovitta Griffith born 29-Jul-1960 in the Phillipines. Susan is married to (I am not real positive on the spelling) Louwellen Jones. This is all the info I have on Mildred's family so far. Hope to get the rest soon. Mildred says "I know the Whittakers were English, I think originally from Yorkshire. They knew how to breed thorough-bred horses and wanted to get some of the blue grass land in Kentucky, but were too late. The English Royals had all of it. They made sure of that before they let the common people know it existed. The queen has a stable in Lexington now and comes for the races as a private citizen." "Talamachus was my dad's grandfather and the story I heard is that his father went on west to Paducha (Kentucky) and established a stable. Talamachus was engaged and his fiance was killed in a riding accident. He left (Paducha) and came to Arkansas. After some time it seems he recovered and married. I hear twice, but Eddie Conley (I think she must mean Eddie Conrey) told me he married three times and each of his wives died. Eddie was a 1/2 cousin. My dad was named Tal Andrew in his memory. My dad was born in 1890." (I need to confirm this as the records I have say he was born in 1889 - pretty close though) I have left out some parts here --- "My uncle Jeff was the oldest. His name was Thomas Jefferson. Uncle John was next. His name was John Henry. Next in order was aunt Martha Ann, (she said in the letter that Martha Ann told her about the family) and then Uncle Max , then my dad. Everyone called him Jack. Next was Charles who died as a child and then Aunt Effie. My grandfather (Thomas William Whittaker) said that Tal and Charles were wild just like his two mules -Jack and Pete- and so that is what he called them. Everyone in Arkansas called my dad Jack. The kids called him uncle Jack - so the name stuck." (For those who asked about Jack & Pete - there is your answer - Jack was Tal and Pete was Charles - nick-named after Thomas William's mules <smile>.) Mildred also said in the letter that her son was a computer programer. She has a new computer and is learning how to use it. Her son helps her, but he has a full time job and can "spare only so much time for his mom". She also said "I have been writing the family stories that my grandmother told my mother and my mother told me. I am beginning to feel a little rushed because I think I may be the last of the Whittakers who knows them." She said in another part of the letter "My uncle Max was said to have a club foot. When I saw him, I looked, but couldn't tell. So it wasn't very bad, but he was excused from a lot of work when they were growing up." That is about all she wrote in this letter. I, for one, am really looking forward to more. When we write back to her, I will ask if she knows anything about a brother to Talamachus. If Talamachus' father owned a stable in Paducha, there surely must be some kind of records someplace. Our first real clue!!!!!! I feel we are getting a whole lot closer to going back one more generation. Dave (Source: David Marotz) << Previous Next >> David Marotz - Jun 14, 2006 View | Edit | Delete | Viewers Categories: Genealogy Info Mildred Whittaker Griffith was the daughter of Tal Andrew Whittaker, better known as Jack Whittaker. Jack Whittaker was the son of Thomas William Whittaker and the second Malissa Ann Whittaker. I received a phone call tonight from California and talked almost two hours with William Griffith, Mildred's husband. He informed me that Mildred had passed on last November 14, 2005 at almost 86 years of age. He was such a nice old man!! Very bright and educated. Mildred had developed Alzheimer's and had a stroke a few years ago that left her completely incapacitated. Until she was unable, she had done a lot of writing on what she knew about the Whittaker family. Her husband is getting together some of her stuff and sending it to me. This may be very interesting. He is also going to send the family pictures - the old Whittaker ones!!!! Among them is a picture of Mildred's grandmother, which would be Malissa Ann Whittington Whittaker #2. Mildred was cremated and will be buried along with her husband, when he passes, in a miltary cemetery. Mildred was one of the teachers at Whittaker School one year. She also served in the Philippines and taught there. William said she had a bunch of old family pictures (unidentified, of course - no names on them) that he is also going to send along. Maybe now with all the old pictures we are accumulating on this site, we might be able to put names to some of them. Needless to say, Alice and me are quite excited and will be checking our mailbox for a package from California. Mr. Griffith also said that Mildred's sister Lovitta Mae Whittaker passed on two years ago. Social Security Death Index Record about Mildred I. Griffith Name: Mildred I. Griffith SSN: 432-24-8158 Last Residence: 92117 San Diego, San Diego, California Born: 31 May 1920 Died: 14 Nov 2005 State (Year) SSN issued: Arkansas (Before 1951 )


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