My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Coffee County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

* * * *

E. M. Whitworth, a farmer of Coffee County, was born August 3, 1840, in Bedford County. His father, Benjamin F., was born in Marshall County January 8, 1814, and died October 12, 1876. In the fourth generation back were three brothers who were among the famous Jamestown, Va., settlers, and the next generation came to Tennessee. His mother, Minerva L. (Morton) Whitworth, was born in 1820, in Tennessee, daughter of Jacob and Annie (Fisher) Morton; the former was in the war of 1812 under Gen. Jackson. Reared on his father’s farm until of age he then began his present successful career as farmer. From 1862 until the surrender he was a Confederate soldier. He married Hattie Johnson, of Rutherford County, February 1, 1860. Six children— four living—were born to them. His wife died November 8, 1874. June 25, 1876, he married Virginia Thompson, daughter of George Thompson, of English blood and a descendant of Pocahontas, through his grandparents, Burwell and Nancy (Wafford) Thompson. A Democrat in political faith, he has been elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for twenty-five years, a member of the Masonic order, and served as superintendent of public instruction for two terms.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 59 biographies included in The History of Coffee County, Tennessee published in 1887.  The History of Coffee County was included within The History of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren & White Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren, White Counties of Tennessee

To view additional Coffee County, Tennessee family biographies, click here

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.