Thomas Whitehead (1825 - 1901)

Born 27 Dec 1825 in Lovingston, Nelson, Virginia, United States

Husband of Mary (Irving) Whitehead — married 12 Feb 1851 in Lovingston, Nelson, Virginia, United States

Husband of Martha Henry (Garland) Whitehead — married 15 Jun 1854 in Amherst, Virginia, United States

Died 1 Jul 1901 at age 75 in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States

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Thomas Whitehead was born in Virginia.

Biography

Nelson County was created in 1807 from Amherst County.

Thomas Whitehead is the son of John Whitehead III and Ann Mahoney, born 27 December 1825 in Lovingston, Nelson, Virginia, USA. ^[1]

• 1st Marriage

Thomas Whitehead married Mary K Irving 12 February 1851 in Lovingston, Nelson, Virginia, USA. ^[2]

His second marriage was to Martha Henry Garland.

Born in Lovingston, Virginia, Whitehead received a limited education as a child, later engaged in mercantile pursuits, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1849, commencing practice in Amherst, Virginia. During the Civil War, he served in the Confederate Army as captain of Company E, 2nd Virginia Cavalry from 1862 to 1865, was twice wounded and was promoted to Major on April 15, 1865. Afterwards, he was elected to the Virginia Senate, but Reconstruction prevented him from taking seat. Whitehead was elected prosecuting attorney for Amherst County, Virginia in 1866 and again in 1869, resigning in 1873. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1872, serving from 1873 to 1875 and afterwards was editor of the Lynchburg News in 1876 and of the Lynchburg Advance in 1880. Whitehead resumed practicing law and was elected commissioner of agriculture for Virginia in 1888, serving until his death on July 1, 1901 near Lynchburg, Virginia. He was interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg. ^[3]

Thomas Whitehead died, aged 75, 1 July 1901 in Lynchburg, Campbell, Virginia, USA. Buried in Spring Hill Cemetery, Lynchburg. ^[4]

Notables

Major Thomas Whitehead and Martha Henry (Garland) Whitehead are the parents of Irving Powell Whitehead who represented Carrie Buck in the historic Buck v. Bell US Supreme Court Case. The decision of the Buck v. Bell case opened the door to one of America's darkest medical histories, i.e., eugenics and the forced sterilization of citizens without their consent.

Footnotes

1. ↑ See Find A Grave biography.
2. ↑ "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRZT-4W1 : 29 January 2020), Mary K. Irving in entry for Thomas Whitehead, 1851.
3. ↑ Wikipedia
4. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVH-GJX1 : 4 August 2020), Thomas Whitehead, ; Burial, Lynchburg, Lynchburg City, Virginia, United States of America, Spring Hill Cemetery; citing record ID 6862678, Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6862678/

Sources

• "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 18 July 2022. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6862678/

• Wikipedia