William M Whaley a Prominent Forefather of "Sevier County History" . William M Whaley was born Jun 15, 1788 in South Carolina. One record gives the name of his father as Alexander and another gives the name as John-no verification of either has been found yet. Family traditions say William M. Whaley, his two brothers, John and Middleton, and a sister, Delania, came to Sevier County, Tennessee from South Carolina.

William M Whaley married Mary Ann Ogle the daughter of William "Billy" Ogle and Martha Jane Huskey. William and Mary were married Dec 26, 1811 in Sevier County, Tennessee

William M Whaley and Mary Ann "Ogle" Whaley had the following children:

1. Alexander Whaley
2. William M. Whaley
3. John H. "Bullhead" Whaley
4. Martha Whaley,
5. Elizabeth Whaley
6. William Isaac Whaley
7. Jane "Jennie" Whaley
8. Perry Commodore Whaley
9. Adeline Whaley
10. Ira Whaley
11. Rebecca Whaley
12. Colonel Preston Whaley
13. Rev. George Bradford Whaley
14. Elijah Whaley

Around early 1800's William M Whaley (1788-1880) and his brother Middleton Whaley (1793-1850) became the first permanent Euro-American settlers of "Greenbrier". By 1818 the family of John Ownby (1781-1859) settled downsteam from the Whaleys..The Whaleys and the Ownby families spread quickly throughout the Valley. In the early 20th Century a map of Greenbrier showed the location of 26 homes 11 were Whaleys and 10 Ownbys *source wikipedia

Records of William M. Whaley's military service in the War of 1812 were found in the National Archives, Washington, D.C. He enlisted on 13 November 1814 as a Fifer in Captain John Porter's Company, Colonel Edwin E. Booth's Regiment, East Tennessee Drafted Militia

November 4, 1850, age 62 and 2 April 1855, age 66 William M. Whaley filed applications and received bounty land grants as a result of his service in the War of 1812.

December 1817 when the White Oak Flats Baptist Church was formed as an arm of the Fork of Little Pigeon Baptist Church in Sevierville, William Whaley and his wife were listed as charter members.

In July 1833 meeting of White Oak Baptist Church, William M Whaley said "he had been led to think it his duty to Exercise a public gift were upon the Church grants to him the privileges of Exercising where in the County as duty my call him" At this meeting, William M Whaley was ordained as moderator, and on future census listings show his occupation as a Minister

William M Whaley and Mary Ann "Ogle" Whaley are listed on United States Federal Census from 1830 to 1870 in Sevier County, Tennessee

On the 1880 Mortality Schedule for Sevier County, Tennessee gave the birthplace of William M. Whaley's parents -- father and mother were born in South Carolina

William M Whaley died May 30, 1880 in Greenbrier, Sevier, Tennesseee. William is buried next to his Wife Mary Ann "Ogle" Whaley at Plemmons Cemetery

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Reference: "Smoky Mountain Clans", Donald B. Reagan, 1978, p 138-139.
"Sevier County, Tennessee and Its Heritage", 1994, p 229.
"Mountain Ways", Gene Aiken, 1983

Sources: 1. Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 188.
2. A Place Called Home: Our Story, David L. Popiel, Duay O'Neil, et. al., (2006, The Newport Plain Talk / Jones Media Inc.), [email protected]., 114