Lincoln County KyArchives Biographies.....Whitley, Col. William August 14, 1749 - October 5, 1813 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ky/kyfiles.html ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Rick Sparks rwsparks2004@hotmail.com March 8, 2005, 8:01 pm Author: Rick Sparks COL. WILLIAM WHITLEY Early Ky. Pioneer, Patriot and Statesman William Whitley was born Aug.14,1749 in Augusta County, Va. Colony. He was the son of Solomon Whitley and Elizabeth Barnett, who immigrated to America from Ireland. William Whitley married Esther Fullen, who was from the same area of Va. William and Esther Whitley started their journey to the Ky. frontier in November 1775. On horseback, it took the Whitley's 33 day's to make the trip, which included crossing the Cumberland Gap. They had two daughters when they made the trip. In total, the Whitley's had 11 children. As the first house was being built "Whitley's Station", the Whitley's stayed within the protection of 3 forts in the area; Fort Logan, Fort Harrod and Fort Boonesborough. "Whitley's Station" was in sight of the Wilderness Road. From 1785 to the early 1790's, Whitley had the brick house built, which is now a Ky. State Historic Site. In 1937, the Whitley House and about 10 acres were deeded over to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and became part of the KY. Parks system. The house was restored in the 1940's, and in 1952 opened to the public as a State Historic Site. William Whitley served in the Revolutionary War, fought and was killed in the War of 1812. On Oct.5,1813 Whitley was killed in the "Battle of the Thames", which occured in Ontario, Canada. This was the same battle that Chief Tecumseh, chief of the Shawnee Tribe was killed. William Whitley served in the Ky. Lower House of Represenative's in 1797, when Ky.was only 5 years old. In 1818, Whitley County, Ky. was named for Whitley. Whitley Co. Indiana was also named for William Whitley. In 1788, Whitley had a circular "race path", which is beleived to be one of the first circular race tracts in the area. The Whitley House represents the early example of a formal brick structure on the frontier, and has been deemed the "first brick house west of the Allegenies. The house is known for it's 2 different brick patterns on the exterior, the initial's W.W. over the front door, and E.W.(for Esther) over the original back door. Inside, there are 13 carved "S" shaped figures above the mantle, and 13 carved eagles on the stairway, in honor of the 13 Colonies. The house had 2 secret hiding areas inside, in case of Indian attacks. The list of known visitor's the Whitley's had, reads like a "who's who" of early Kentucky pioneers. From Daniel Boone, Gov. Isaac Shelby, Benjamin Logan, George Rogers Clark and James Harrod, to name a few. Additional Comments: I am employed by the Kentucky Dept.of Parks at the William Whitley House, and the site genealogist for the Whitley Family. This information come's from an interview of William Whitley in 1812, and contained in the booklet "The William Whitley House", printed by The KY. Dept. of Parks, assisted by the late John Buchanan (descendant) Hours of operation can be found on the Ky. Dept. of Parks website, or by contacting the Whitley House. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/lincoln/bios/gbs220whitley.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/