Kentucky: A History of the State, Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 2nd ed., 1885, Butler Co.

PRESLEY WHITAKER was born in Butler County, Ky., July 10, 1826. He is a son of Johnston Whitaker, a native Kentuckian and a farmer, who died in 1872, aged eighty years, and who married Charlotta Sheletta Hiletta Carolina Matilda Brown, a lady of English lineage, and descended from the Morgans, who were connected with the royal line of England. She died in 1840, leaving seven children, of which number Presley Whitaker is the second. Mark Whitaker, subject's grandfather, was a native of Rowan County, N.C., and a grandson of an English marquis. He held the rank of major in the war of 1812, and was with Gen. Jackson in the battle of New Orleans. Presley Whitaker was reared on the farm where
he was born. He never received any school education in early life excepting three terms in subscriptionschools; his education is self-acquired. Between the age of eighteen and twenty-seven, he
worked in different occupations, and in that time he acquired a knowledge of the principles of music, which he taught for several years. He has been twice married; first in 1853, to Talitha Ann, daughter of Amos Russ, of Butler County. She was a music teacher by profession, and a lady who did much to assist her husband through life. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and died June 17, 1869, leaving ten children: Presley G., James E., Quinturah F., Sirilia V., Laura J., Robert P., Lorenzo A., Luzetta P., Lizetta E. and Monroe B.; his second wife, whom he married September 28, 1870, was Sarah C. Brown, widow of Hamilton Brown, of Ohio County, a woman of sterling integrity, who commands the respect and confidence of all who know her. Mr. Whittaker, after his first marriage, bought fifty-two acres of land, and commenced life on a $7 order to a store; he erected his cabin himself; also manufactured his own furniture; his bedstead was constructed by fastening a couple of poles in the corner of the room,
and supporting the angle by the leg; the cord was of hickory withes woven in; his trips to the mill were made on foot, and often after the day's work was finished he would carry his peck of corn seven miles, and wait for it to be ground. By luck and pluck and the help of an excellent wife he is now in good circumstances; his farm of 600 acres is in high cultivation and well improved. Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker are members of the Baptist Church, in which he is a deacon, and in which he takes a great interest. In politics he was an old line Whig; is now a national Greenbacker, a Master Mason, and a member of the
Woodbury Lodge. As a public-spirited citizen he takes an interest in the good of the community, in which he resides.