Benjamin Franklin (Frank) Whitworth

My Great, Great Grandpa Frank, (Benjamin FRANKlin Whitworth), was a Methodist Episcopal (South) minister & started the Methodist Church on Culpepper Mountain. The building stood on the site of the present day 'Community Building'.

He was a minister, school teacher, corn & cotton farmer. Many people mistakenly tell that someone else (on my Dad's side) donated the land for the Culpepper Cemetery. That is totally erroneous. GG Grandpa Frank donated this land as HE had built the original Culpepper Mountain ME (South) church building on his original land.

Grandpa Frank & Grandma Elizabeth [Susan Elizabeth (Eikner) Whitworth were one couple of 4 siblings who married, that is 2 Whitworth brothers married 2 Eikner sisters & 2 Eikner brothers married 2 Whitworth sisters.

One of the Eikner boys, Philip Eikner, III (who married Lucinda Whitworth) was a member of the MS Infantry (CSA) & was killed in a skirmish at Chattanooga, TN prior to the main battle. Both are buried in Monroe Co., MS near Old Hamilton, MS in the Sardis Cemetery on Old Sardis Cemetery Road.

The Sardis Cemetery Road has been moved away from the Cemetery & the original road where one can park, is now known as old Sardis Cemetery Rd. A row of trees, still at the date I visited the cemetery in July 2013, separated the 2 sections of the cemetery.

As of 2013, local black residents still bury in the back portion. In the early 1980's an old friend Reva (Thomas) Battles discovered that she & my Momma, Johnnie MARIE (Whitworth) Bowling were 6th cousins. According to her this cemetery was originally on the Whitworth plantation of John Hood Whitworth & Mary Robertson (Hutchinson) Whitworth.

My double cousin, Marvin Bowling <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36728242/marvin-bowling> related the following story from his G Grandpa Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Whitworth, (my GG Grandpa) re: his Mother, Mary Robertson (Hutchinson) Whitworth.

She had herself inherited 5 slaves to take care of her. ( Story of my Nanny, ESTHER Grace Whitworth that was told to her by Benj. FRANKlin Whitworth, Pa Pa's (JOHN Henry Whitworth's Grandpa).

Mary Robertson (Hutchinson) Whitworth wanted NO ONE & I mean NO ONE in her kitchen except the following:

1. Mother, Mother-in-law, Sisters, Sisters-in-law, Daughters, Daughters-in-law, Granddaughters or any other female of the family. Neighbor ladies who were close friends, were also commonly allowed in each others kitchen to help out with the cooking & cleaning as needed.

2. She did not allow ANY men nor did she want any servants in HER kitchen unless she asked them to do a particular duty, such as the boys or men: "Frank, draw me some water for the kitchen" (to cook or make coffee or tea or for cleaning).

3. Visiting neighbor ladies or family would out of courtesy ask, "Is there anything I can help you with in the kitchen or Do you need any help in the kitchen". This was proper etiquette in the South among farming families & their descendants & still is as of 2013.

When you are called by your full name, to this day, you KNOW, you are in trouble!!

4. A common sore point when the house servants (or anybody else for that matter) attempted to help in the kitchen. without being asked or without asking & being given permission, was met with "Get out of my kitchen, NOW!" She was busy having to cook for the entire plantation every day. With >25 servant slaves, hired help (freed slaves) & the family so goes the saying "a woman's work is never done!"

Another common conversation is as follows: House servants are in the kitchen & 3 Greats Grandma Mary Robertson (Hutchinson) Whitworth speaks, or rather barks orders. (All speaking with Mississippi accents.

Grandma: "Get out of my kitchen!"

House servant(s) (Male or Female): "Miz Mary. We're your house servants. We supposed to help you do the work in the kitchen."

Grandma: "I said get out of my kitchen!!! You're not my daughter, my granddaughter, my sister, my sister-in-law, my Momma, my Mother-in-law, my Grandma, & I don't want you in my kitchen at all. Nobody but (women family members named) are allowed in my kitchen! Do you understand? Now get out of my kitchen."

I never heard, but I can picture either that right index finger pointing, a #9 iron skillet, a rolling pin, or even a dish towel, depending on what she was doing at the time when interrupted from her work. Just like my Momma or my Mother-in-law would have done (or did do) when we kids would do when stealing an index finger's worth of apple or coconut or pecan pie that was cooling on the counter.....then turning her head & grinning all the while and growling "you get out of that pie, it's not cooled yet").

House servant(s): "Oh Miz Mary, but, we're supposed to ......".

Grandma: "I don't care what you're supposed to......JOHN HOOD WHITWORTH!!!!!.....GET THESE DAMNED DARKIES OUT OF MY KITCHEN!!!!!AND I MEAN NOW!!!!"

Grandpa J.H.W.: "Now Miz Mary. These folks are your house servants. They're supposed to help you in the kitchen and...."

Grandma: "JOHN HOOD WHITWORTH!!!! I SAID GET THESE DAMNED DARKIES OUT OF MY KITCHEN RIGHT NOW!.....I'M NOT TELLIN' YOU AGAIN, AND YOU TO!!! SO SKEEDADDLE, & I MEAN RIGHT NOW!!!"

SERVANT(S): "Mr. John we're supposed to....."

JHW: (under his breath, speaks) "Come on lets go before we're both in the dog house. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned in love or whose baby has been wrongfully attacked or a mad woman who.....".

SERVANT: "Or a mad woman whose kitchen has been invaded without permission."

JHW: "Go help (name of servant or servants) who were doing the washing or ironing or some other daily chore."

SERVANT: "Yes sir!"

[Author's note: "Darkie" was a non-offensive term used to describe the black servants or black folk of that day. Sccepted in Van Buren Co., AR up through the 1940's. Currently, 2018 that is offensive to the black folk. Some source material definitions on Oral Black history is listed at the end of this article. See below.]

One son of John Hood's & Mary's, Benjamin FRANKlin Whitworth married my Great, Great Grandma Susan ELIZABETH (Eikner) Whitworth who were the parents of my Great Grandpa, William Laney (BILL) Whitworth. Momma remembers well, Grandpa Bill & Grandma Florence [FLORENCE Alice (Greenlee) Whitworth] as they were her grandparents.

My sister BRENDA & our cousin now Dr. BILLY D. Shipp, Ph.D. remember well Grandma Florence. Billy couldn;t say "Grandma Whitworth"; he would say "Grandma OOO OOO!"

She would look sternly at him & say: "My name's not OOO OOO!!! It's Whitworth!!! then, turn around & try to keep from laughing.

Dictionary of terms used throughout the South during the Whitworth time frame, Monroe Co., MS to Van Buren Co., AR. Some offensive, some not. Some now considered to be offensive that were NOT in the days they were used.

Darkie: Term used in describing black people. Not offensive. NOTE: My Momma, Marie, recalls you never referred to black people as Black, Colored, Negro, etc. "They would tell you very forthright: 'I'm not a (term you happen to use), I'm a Darkie & don't you forget it!!!'

Colored: Term used when referring to black troops in the US military. It was a high order of respect to be a member or have a member of your family who was U.S.C.G. or U.S.C.T. "U.S. Colored Group" or "U.S. Colored Troops". Many Black US Calvary or Army Infantry (see Buffalo Soldiers) who died in battle or retired from the U.S.A. are buried in Arlington National Cemetery as their final honor.

Buffalo Soldiers: "Term used by American Indians of the Plains Nations or now politically correctness referred to as Native Americans."

Negro: "Latin term for the color black & non-gender specific. Correctly pronounced with the 'r' trilled as do the Hispanic of Central & South America & Cuba". Once used in description of the black race of peoples from Africa & other parts of the world. Ex. Negro Leagues of baseball pre-desegregation days.

Niger: "French term for the color black, pronounced "Nye-JEAR'" as in the country in Africa. "NYE'-gur", mispronounced term of the Latin & Greek words for the color black. Greek spelling "NU, IOTA, GAMMA, EPSILON, RHO". Pronounced the same as the term 'NIGGER'. Difficult to distinguish & mistakenly taken as offensive to American Black people who do not know better. Used in the Greek Biblical Text & the King James translation of ACTS 13:1, referring to "Simeon who was called Niger". In today's Anglicized translations to American English would read: "Simon, who was called Black" as people were & still are referred to by their surname or their last name!"

The Greek alphabet has no Y or LONG I. The word in Greek are pronounced with the letter iota being (ih) & the letter gamma, as the hard gutteral G (GUH).

Nigger: Term taken as offensive by American Black people. Origin: Misspelling of the Greek & Latin words Niger pronounced. Both of which are pronounced the same.

Niga: Pronounced "NIH'-guh". Latin & Greek pronunciations of the femine word for the color black.

Nigus: Pronounced "NIH'-gus". Latin & Greek pronunciations of the masculine word for the color black.

Black: English word for the color which absorbs all colors of the visible spectrum.

Afro-Americans: American term used in the 1960's & 70's by young black people for all peoples whose heritage is assumed to be from the continent of Africa. Incorrect as many black peoples have lineage from Europe, etc. yet do not have ANY lineage from the African continent.

African-Americans: Terms used by the peoples of Black skin tone in the U.S.A. who assume their ancestral heritage is from the African Continent & who assume they are the descendants of black slaves/servants in the USA prior to the end of the US Civil War (1861 - 1865). Actually includes all peoples who were born on or who can trace their ancestry to one whom is or was born on the African Continent.

Uncle Tom's Cabin: Book by American author and abolitionist of the 1860's, Harriet Beecher Stowe, who assumed & who portrayed ALL slave owners ad being mean & oppressive of their slaves or their servants, as was the character, "Simon Legree" in her book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

Simon Legree would not have been tolerated on the Whitworth plantation in Mississippi. Policy was, if anyone was mean to or whipped a Whitworth worker or servant, chances are pretty good, they would be whipped with the same instrument they were whipping the Whitworth worker or servant with. Servants & hired help made money for the family & were not to be mistreated. When sick, they were taken care of by a physician or by those qualified as best as could be, whether family or not.

Any discipline was administered by the parent or other elder persons on the plantation. If it took a frown, an open hand across the buttocks or a belt. Whatever it took, that is what was administered, but not physical abuse.

A single school house was furnished on the plantation for all who lived there & church was attended on Sunday (ME--South) with as little work on Sunday as could be gotten by with, although Hogs had to be slopped, the teams fed, & eggs gathered for cooking, especially breakfast. Sunday was a strict day of rest!!!

East of the Mississippi, it was required that no slave could be enslaved for more than 7 years, so they became sharecroppers after that time. Some having been bought from evil masters, dead, or other owners. Many were bought so a male servant who wanted to marry his girlfriend &/or free a family member from another plantation & become a free landowner.

Slaves freed on the Whitworth plantation were given the Whitworth surname on their free papers, unless they already had a surname.

After the Civil War, when the Whitworth's Family members crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas, before they went in separate directions for an uncertain future, the former slaves crossed the "Big Muddy" with them, as neighbors would in the day & wanted to go with their former employers/owners. This was denied.

They were told, "the Yankees & Carpetbaggers, (along with the Scaliwags) took everything in the War" (the "Civil War" or the "War Between the States" or the "War of the Rebellion" or thereafter) with the so-called "Reconstruction" policies of Secretary of War Stanton. They were also told, "We can't take you with us. We don't know if we can make it ourselves, you got to do like us & fend for yourselves. You're still free to go where you want to go; but, we don't have anything to help you or ourselves. You're all free to keep your own names or change them as you wish & is legal."

These & other stories of Life on & after the Whitworth Plantation, Monroe Co., MS near Old Hamilton were related to me by "Nanny" ESTHER Grace (Burns) Whitworth from Pa Pa's parents & Grandparents Oral History:

1. Wm. Laney "Bill" Whitworth & wife FLORENCE Alice (Greenlee) Whitworth (parents of JOHN Henry Whitworth).

2. Benjamin FRANKlin Whitworth & wife Susan ELIZABETH (Eikner) Whitworth (grandparents of JOHN Henry Whitworth).

3. Also from my double cousin Marvin Bowling son of JOHN Gordon Bowling & Mary (Taylor) Bowling.

Aunt Mary [Mary (Taylor) Bowling] was the daughter of Aunt "Sis" Blankenship from a previous marriage to a Mr. ???? Taylor. Aunt "Sis" last marriage was to Uncle Dick Blankenship. Aunt Sis (Whitworth) was Pa Pa's sister Maude Whitworth. Aunt Mary was raised by her grandparents, William Laney "Bill" & Florence Alice (Greenlee) Whitworth.

Uncle John (JOHN Gordon Bowling) & Uncle Clint "Buster" Bowling, were the full brothers of my paternal grandpa, William FRED Bowling, my Daddy's Dad.

Marvin & his sister Zona Bowling neither married. Zona had polio at about age 13 or 14 & was bedridden for the rest of her life.

On our respective Dad's side, Marvin & Zona were 2nd Cousins to my sister Brenda & I by virtue of being a 1st Cousin to our Dad, OUTHER Fred Bowling.

On our respective Mom's side, Marvin & Zona were our 3rd cousins to my sister Brenda & I by virtue of being the grandchildren of Pa Pa's sister, Maude "Sis" (Whitworth) Taylor [1st marriage].

Double cousins are common in America whereby a pair of siblings marry a pair of siblings from another family, neither couple being any blood relation; but, possibly being neighbors.

Example of Double Cousins in this case 4 couples of Eikner's & Whitworth's.

1. William Andrew Jackson Whitworth and Sara Ann Eikner were married on 24 Oct 1844 in Monroe,

    Mississippi, United States. 

2. Elvira R Whitworth and William H. Eikner were married in 1846.

3. Benjamin Franklin Whitworth and Susan Elizabeth Eikner were married in 1852.

4. Lucinda Arilla Whitworth and Phillip Eikner, III were married ????.

This information should also be added to the page for John Hood Whitworth & wife Mary Robertson (Hutchinson) Whitworth, husband & wife, both buried in Sardis Cemetery. Old Sardis Cemetery Road, next to Sardis Cemetery Road in Old Hamilton, MS.

s/RANDY Oather Bowling. Subscribed to this page at Greenbrier, AR September 22nd, 23rd, 24th, & 25th, 2018 (oh my aching back, the hours sleep I've lost & hours I've typed this 4 days & nights).

R.O.B./

• Military service: Between 1893 and 1905 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: May 7 1895 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: May 7 1895 - Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Sep 2 1895 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Sep 2 1895 - Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Sep 3 1896 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Sep 3 1896 - Arkansas, United States
• Military service: 1897 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Sep 2 1897 - Arkansas, United States
• Military service: 1898 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Sep 3 1898 - Arkansas, United States
• Military service: 1899 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Sep 1899 - Arkansas, United States
• Military service: 1900 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Sep 1901 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: 1902 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Between 1907 and 1909 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: Between 1907 and 1916 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: 1915 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: 1920 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Military service: 1923 - Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Residence: 1850 - Monroe county, Monroe, Mississippi, United States
• Residence: 1860 - Eastern Division, Monroe, Mississippi, United States
• Residence: 1870 - Arkansas, United States
• Residence: 1880 - Griggs, Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Residence: 1900 - Choctaw & Culppeper Townships, Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Residence: 1910 - Culpepper, Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
• Residence: 1920 - Choctaw, Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
  • Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Apr 16 2020, 3:33:42 UTC