My 5th great-grandfather is John Whitehurst (Whitis). He and his brother, Batson, were both listed on the 1775 Pitt County census. Batson had a large family and remained in Pitt County his entire life. He left quite a legacy in North Carolina.
John sold his land in Pitt and Martin Counties and migrated to Greene County Georgia in the late 1780’s with Henry Tripp. His son, (?), had three sons, Willoughby, Pelatiah, and John Wesley Whitehurst. Pelatiah and John Wesley moved to Georgia when John Whitehurst died about 1812.
John Wesley and Pelatiah were among the early settlers of Henry County, Alabama, while Willoughby remained in Pitt County close to his Uncle Batson until Pelatiah convinced him to join him in the new territory of Florida about 1829. Unfortunately, they both died early in the 1830s along with Elizabeth Crisp, Willoughby’s wife, and their daughter, Malala. Their minor sons went to Henry County to live with Uncle John Wesley and their older brother, Micajah.
