He was possibly the Thomas Whitley of Tyrrell Co., NC in 1747 who, along with Samuel Whitley and wife Mary; William Archdeacon and wife Lydia; and John Whitley, sold 500 acres of land, it being part of 640 acres granted to James Black in 1726 and deeded by James Black to Samuel Whitley and by Samuel Whitley to his lawful children.
My ancestor Thomas Wheatley was definitely the Thomas who resided on Log House Branch in Tyrrell County which would later become Martin Co., North Carolina from 1749 until 1771 when he and his wife Mary sold land on Log House Branch to Benjamin Wheatley, excepting 1 acre for possession of a burying place.
Thomas and his family moved to Pitt County, North Carolina and settled on Coneto Creek, very near the present-day town of Bethel where he and wife Mary lived out their lives. He died about 1789 and she about 1793.
I have combed the records of all relevant counties trying to determine the ancestral line of Thomas Wheatley with no luck. If you are a Wheatley male whose early lineage comes from North Carolina or Virginia and your line hasn’t been y-DNA tested, PLEASE y-DNA test. The only way I will ever connect Thomas with an ancestral line is through y-DNA testing.