Franklin H. (Francis) WHITAKER¹ {M} = Claranda BROWN {F}

Married BEF 1875

Franklin H. (Francis) WHITAKER:

Born 19 April 1831
Birth: Date of death is unknown. He and his wife are buried at the Dotson church cemetery, Prestonsburg, KY.

Steve WHITAKER² {M} = Margaret (Prater) GEARHEART\GAYHART {F} > Family

Married ABT 1907

Steve WHITAKER:

Born 27 June 1875
Died 4 January 1971
Buried 10 January 1971, Prestonsburg, Floyd Co, KY in the Jack Arnett Cemetery
*Steve Whitakers livelihood was a horse trader and a store merchant.

He was pastor of the Dotson Pentecostal Church, (without pay), for 50 years. As a pastor he also was a circuit rider pastor, traveling on horseback to conduct religious meetings for other areas where no pastor was available.

He thrived as a store merchant. One of the tricks he used as a store merchant, was he paid $.99 for 25 pound of cornmeal and sold it to his customers for $.99. Because he sold cornmeal so cheap, he said that people would ride thier horses from Puncheon Creek and Salt Lick and do all of thier trading for groceries with him. Since money was hard to come by in those days, he would swap groceries for eggs or chickens and then trade the eggs or chickens to the "Drummer" to restock his groceries.

One of the things he told me about was that his grandfather, (he said his last name was Higgenbottom), was hung for stealing horses.

By Belvard Gene Shepherd, Steve Whitaker's grandson.


Margaret (Prater) GEARHEART\GAYHART:

Buried Prestonsburg, Floyd Co, KY in Jack Arnett Cemetery

1 : "gero1475@bellsouth.net, Grandson of Steve Whitaker"
2 : "gero1475@bellsouth.net, Grandson of Steve Whitaker"