Rufus C. Whitley

The Whitley’s settled on a farm about three miles south of what is now Keller, but their residence there was broken during the Civil War period.  Because of his southern sympathies, Rufus C. Whitley enlisted in the Confederate Army.  During his war time absence, his wife and two children lived where the Keller Methodist Church stands now.  Their situation was typical of many families, as the head of a household went away to war.  Mothers and their children were left with the responsibilities of carrying on the economic and social life of the community.  Necessarily, entertainment was of a homemade variety.

When the young people round about heard there was to be a Christmas program at Birdville, they asked Elizabeth Whitley to take them to the celebration.  With her consent, a farm wagon bedded with straw and drawn by a team of horses, was loaded to capacity with merrymakers.  The Christmas tree, lacking in seasonal trimmings, had only one ornament, a stuffed bird on the top branch.  An ample supply of local talent and the traditional spirit of the season minimized the evidence of wartime economy.  The wagon trip, which might be considered a hardship by present day standards, was a long remembered joy ride.

When Rufus C. Whitley was mustered out at the close of the war, his first wish was to get home to his family.  He solved this problem by stealing a one eyed mule and riding him back to Tarrant County.  Like many Confederate soldiers, his uniform was badly worn and the sections of his shoes were wired together to keep them on his feet. 

When his children saw him approaching, they thought a tramp was coming.  The wife recognized him, jumped over the rock garden fence and ran to meet him.  The end of the war freed the slaves and reunited a soldier with his family.

Two more children were born to the Whitley’s, making a total of four.  Three of the four children lived to maturity.  Their names and dates are as follows:

1) Mary L., born June 10, 1853.  She married John McMurray.  Their children      are:  Holland, Lewis, twins, Oscar and Hugh, and Charlie.

2) Charles Tiffany, born February 27, 1859 and died August 19, 1911.  He married Nannie Meacham on October 9, 1887.  Nannie was born August 30, 1866 and died March 25, 1938.  They had eight children, four lived to maturity.

3) James Rufus, born August 26, 1866 and died October 10, 1853.  He married Mary Josie Chesser on September 26, 1888.  They made their home in Buffalo Springs.  They were the parents of seven children:

a) James Rufus, born September 11, 1889.

b) Cora Elizabeth, born May 19, 1891, died June 9, 1928.

c) James George, born June 12, 1893, died December 26, 1944.

d) Charles William, born September 30, 1895.

e) Paul, born May 14, 1904.

f) Virginia Emaline, born October 8, 1906.

g) Loretta, born March 11, 1909 and died May 19, 1911.

4) John L., born January 28, 1876 and died November 11, 1877.

Elizabeth Gregory Whitley passed away October 5, 1901 and was buried in the Smithfield Cemetery.  Her husband continued to make his home with the family of a married son, Charles Tiffany Whitley. 

The passing of years could not dim Rufus C. Whitley’s love of the Confederacy.  At the sound of his favorite war ballads, he never failed to shout and throw his hat into the air.  On a train trip to Dallas to attend a soldier’s reunion, his expression of boundless enthusiasm all but stopped the music when a band played Dixie.

He chided his children and grandchildren about their dislike or intolerance of various foods, reminding them that when he was a soldier, there were times when he had nothing to eat but parched corn.

He was not favorably impressed with modern methods of warfare.  During World War I, he made his home with a widowed daughter-in-law, Nanny Meacham Whitley and her teenage son, Ollie.  This was a time when aviation as a part of our national defense, presented problems for fledgling pilots.  With terrifying frequence, training planes from Hicks Field crashed in fields and pastures around Keller.  Nannie Whitley and son, Ollie, always joined the crowd as the almost total population of the village rushed to see the wreck.  This irritated Grandpa Whitley.  He expressed his disapproval by saying he wouldn’t be surprised to see the two of them take off in one of those “flying jennies”.

Rufus C. Whitley passed away January 23, 1918, sixteen days before his ninety-third birthday.  He was buried beside his wife at Smithfield.