| Sources |
- [S75] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume II, 1955-1973, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 23 Sep 1966.
Rufus Whaley obituary
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 20 Dec 1992.
Hazel Pauline Lindsey Whaley obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 7 Nov 2011.
Meet Your Neighbor: Whaley of Bradley as Sevier as it gets
by DEREK HODGES
David Whaley, in the garb of a Revolutionary War militiaman, explains the utensils those warriors carried into battle to folks during the Sevier County Public Library System s Genealogy Conference over the weekend.
A body doesn't get much more Sevier County than David Whaley. He's got Atchleys, Ogles, Whaleys, Lindseys, Murhpys and almost every other name that's common in these parts running through his veins.
His parents, both natives, are buried in a cemetery called Eden, just off Atchley Road. Those who are keen on geography will recognize that eternal resting place as being just a little jog outside the county line.
"My mother would turn over in her grave if she knew she was buried a few feet inside Jefferson County," Whaley says with a deep belly laugh and a twinkle in his eye.
Despite all the past, thing is Whaley isn't actually from Sevier County. He lives in Cleveland, where he was born to a couple of local natives who were part of a great migration of folks, mostly those chased out of homes in what became the national park, to Southeast Tennessee.
"Outside of Sevier County, Bradley County has the highest number of Sevier County people," he explains. "We've got Whaleys, Ownbys, Reagans, even a few Ogles. There's even an Elkmont Baptist Church there that was named by people who came out of a church with that same name here. Word just spread there were jobs to be had in that area, so the people came."
You may already be getting the sense that Whaley knows a bit more about history than the average person. As further proof of that, he stood for the interview for this story in the full garb of a typical Revolutionary War militiaman, from knee socks to hunting frock, behind a table of recreated relics. He was part of the Sevier County Public Library System's Genealogy Conference, a presentation of history that gave local residents a chance to look into the area's past.
Whaley may not be aware of his connections to Sevier County if it weren't for a curiosity that started in elementary school and a man named Thomas Atchley.
"I've always liked history and it was one of those things that sort of fascinated me in school," he says. "When we came back to Tennessee after I retired about 10 years ago, I really started to dig into it."
Whaley and his wife lived in a quartet of states and all over East Tennessee, along the way chasing his career as an engineer and raising four children. When they settled back in Cleveland, Whaley really got into researching his family tree and that's where he found Thomas Atchley. And his brother Joseph Atchley, though he plays a supporting role here.
Both men were fighters in the Revolutionary War, with Thomas one of the key players in the Battle of Boyds Creek, a small skirmish that loomed large among the mostly union-loyalists of Sevier County. He went on to fight alongside Gen. Andrew Jackson, who would later become president, in Alabama and to father, as was custom then, a considerable brood.
From there, his family's story intertwines will all those Sevier County names Whaley mentioned earlier, the ones that trace back to the beginning of recorded history in this area.
Thomas also helped Whaley track his lineage in an indirect way. As it happens, he also bore blood shared by the sons of Atchley Funeral Home founder Jim Atchley, who traced their own family tree back to and past Thomas, even beyond the time when the Atchleys migrated from New Jersey to East Tennessee, Whaley says.
"They came down after they had served in a Revolutionary militia in New Jersey, stopped to fight a while in the Army of Northern Virginia, stopped again between there and here and finally ended up in Sevier County," he explains. "I reckon they were just fighting folks, that branch of the family."
Because of the work those earlier Atchleys did, Thomas now holds a record for having the most members of the Tennessee Society of the Sons of the Revolution claim him as an ancestor. That number includes Whaley, who serves as the group's president. He's also a member of a competing group, the Sons of the American Revolution, but he doesn't mention that a lot to his SOR brethren.
In joining the organization, Whaley found a band of brothers, which now includes his two sons, who share his love of history and lineage. Whaley dedicates much of his time to studying the Revolutionary period and sharing his knowledge with anyone who will listen, including those who turned out for this weekend's local event and about 10,000 school children every year.
"They don't teach Tennessee history in the schools anymore and that's a shame," he says. "If you don't know where you came from, you don't know where you're going. So, anything we can do to help educate kids on that we do.
"Of course, the kids always assume because of the way I look [he motions to his outfit and strokes his gray beard] that I was actually there. And you always have some who see this and think I'm a pirate. I don't know why that is."
Whaley takes it all with a good-natured smile, determined not to let "Captain Jack" references or the assumption he is at least 250 years old deter him from sharing his love of history.
dhodges@themountainpress.com
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