There were eight Whitehead family members baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Blount County from 1904 to 1921. They moved to Texas and helped grow the newly-formed branch there.
Timeline of Baptisms
12 Jun 1904: David Whitehead
1st-Generation
15 Nov 1914: Mary Tefeteller
1st-Generation
15 Nov 1914: Cora Whitehead
2nd-Generation
15 Nov 1914: Stella Whitehead
2nd-Generation
15 Nov 1914: Rhoda Whitehead
2nd-Generation
7 Oct 1919: Lewis Whitehead
2nd-Generation
David Lafayette Whitehead (1869-1945)
12 June 1904: David Lafayette Whitehead was baptized by David Samuel Warren and confirmed by Wilford Woodruff Freeman
Elder David Samuel Warren (1882-1965)
David Samuel Warren served in the Middle States Mission and Southern States Mission from 1902 to 1904. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph F. Smith, he wrote: “I will say that with the help of god i (sic) will be ready to start.” He married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1906. They raised four children together in Utah while he worked as a deputy sheriff for Davis County. He served two stake missions. In 1904, Elder Warren baptized General Washington Harmon, in Cades Cove, David Lafayette Whitehead, in Happy Valley, and confirmed the first named and Lucinda Josephine Burchfield, in Walland, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Wilford Woodruff Freeman (1880-1939)
Wilford Woodruff Freeman served in the Middle States Mission and Southern States Mission from 1903 to 1905. When he was called to serve, he had already been married eight years and had three children. Elder Freeman returned home early due to a family illness and wrote a letter to Joseph F. Smith to report on his labors in East Tennessee: “The people of East Tennessee are very hospitable and in the main (sic) I received very kind treatment. The work is progressing nicely in that section.” He and his wife had ten children together. Elder Freeman baptized Lucinda Josephine Burchfield and Pearl Woody in Tuckaleechee Cove, whom he also confirmed – as well as David Lafayette Whitehead in Happy Valley – as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mary Lucinda Tefeteller (1873-1930)
15 November 1914: Mary Lucinda Tefeteller was baptized by Charles Clifford Robertson and confirmed by William Stanton Hamblin
Elder Charles Clifford Robertson (1892-1982)
Charles Clifford Robertson served in the Southern States Mission from 1913 to 1916. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph Fielding Smith, he wrote: “I received your letter and consider it an honor to have the privilege to serve a mission.” He was known for “his kind and gentle ways and concern for the people he served.” He returned home to Blackfoot, Idaho to farm the land where he left off before his mission. In 1920, he married in the Salt Lake Temple. They raised four children together. He held many positions in the Church, including home teacher, Bishop, and Scout leader. Elder Robertson baptized Mary Lucinda Tefeteller, Rhoda Anna Whitehead, Stella Mae Whitehead and Cora Elverta Whitehead, and confirmed the last two named as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder William Stanton Hamblin (1893-1987)
William Stanton Hamblin served in the Southern States Mission from 1914 to an unknown date. Elder Hamblin would go on to serve as a stake missionary and again as a Mission President. He married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1918 and raised four children together. Elder Hamblin confirmed Mary Lucinda Tefeteller and Rhoda Anna Whitehead members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Happy Valley, in 1914.
David Lafayette Whitehead was born and raised in Happy Valley, Tennessee. He was the mailman, court clerk of the 3rd District, which is Happy Valley, and a judge of the same district. The Whitehead families were well known in the community. In 1894, Mary Lucinda Tefeteller and David Lafayette Whitehead married in Blount County. They had ten children together, nine lived to adulthood. Six of their children were baptized in Happy Valley. In missionary journals, beginning in 1892, the Whiteheads of Rasor and Happy Valley are mentioned a number of times as beings hosts of the elders as they labored without purse or scrip; however, David Whitehead is not mentioned by name until after his baptism in 1904. In 1911, Elder John Isaac Morley, mentions David Lafayette Whitehead and family by name in six short journal entries during his brief time in Blount County.
Tuesday – 7 March 1911 Left Bro[ther Joseph John Calvin (JC)] Garland’s at 7 AM for Happy Vallie (sic). Elder [Heber Ewer] Palmer fell in the creek. Walked 10 miles and canvassed on way. Got dinner and [arrived at] William [Edgar] Tucker’s about 2 PM. Come down to David [Lafayette] Whitehead’s. Had supper and talked on gospel until 9 PM…
Wednesday – 8 March [1911] Left Bro[ther David Lafayette] Whitehead in morning. Went down to Chill Howie (sic). Was invited and had dinner with Dr. George Bobbins. Saw Tennessee River. Canvassed on way back to Bro[ther David Lafayette] Whitehead. Met some good friends. Walked about 10 miles.
Thursday – 9 March 1911 Went over across Abraham’s Creek canvassing. Walked about 6 miles. Met Isaac Bomer. Had a long gospel conversation with him. Come back to Bro[ther David Lafayette] Whitehead’s. Held a cottage meeting in evening. Not many come.
Friday – 10 March 1911 Ate breakfast with Bro[ther David Lafayette] Whitehead, after which we blessed Layman (sic) Ralph [Whitehead], their baby [of Mary Lucinda Tefeteller and David Lafayette Whitehead]. From there went to Ms. Mary [Jane Harmon] Tucker’s and blessed Earnest Adam, her baby [and of William Edgar Tucker]. Walked about 5 miles and was invited and took dinner with Mr. Spencer [illegible]. Was treated well. Walked another 3 miles to M[ary] J[ane Davis] Harmon’s. Had supper and held a cottage meeting after which we walked 1 mile to Bro[ther Joseph John Calvin(JC)] Garland’s to sleep. Reed (sic) and read letters from wife, sister, Mary, mother and Delena.
Monday – 22 May [1911] Left Bro[therJoseph John Calvin (JC)] Garland’s [at] 8 AM. Walked to Happie (sic) Valley to Bro[ther David Lafayette] Whitehead’s. Helped set out some sweet potatoes.
Tuesday – 23 May [1911] Left Bro[ther David Lafayette] Whitehead’s at 7:30 AM. Walked about 17 miles canvassing. Am stopping tonight with Mr. Ale Mackenturf.
By the time David, Mary, and three of the Whitehead children joined the church, in 1914, there remained about 40 members of the Church in Blount County; some members had already emigrated West or moved out of the county. David Whitehead sought to gather with a larger community of Saints and moved to Texas, in 1925. His granddaughter, Grace, shared the below memory of David Lafayette Whitehead.
“I remember him [David Lafayette Whitehead] as being a tall man and slender. He had the biggest hands of anyone I knew. He was a real good storyteller. Sometimes in the evenings he would sit on the porch where he had a large rocker and with Louis on one knee and me on the other knee he would tell list ghost stories… He would keep us spellbound… Granddad Whitehead was also smart about astronomy. He could point out the stars and name them. He was also a woodsman. As we would walk in the woods he could tell us the name of all the trees, wildflowers and different kinds of grasses that were growing around there. When he would hear a bird in the trees granddad could imitate it. I couldn’t tell which was the bird and which was granddad. Granddad never learned how to drive a car. He always said he would rather fight a bear than try to drive a car. He was born in Happyvalley (sic) Tennessee. Almost everyone living in the valley there were of the Baptist faith. There were two churches there, one at each end of the valley and only one road through. He was the mailman and he went to Maryville once a week on his mule . He would go one day and return with the mail the next day. He was also the justice of the peace in Happy valley. He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1904. He was the only one of his family to join. I don’t know how often the missionaries came to visit him, but in 1914 my grandmother Mary Tefeteller Whitehead and all the children old enough to be baptized were baptized. They were Fred, Karsen, Stella, Rhoda and my mother, Cora, were baptized at the time in 1925 my granddad decided to leave Tennessee and relocate where there was a branch of the church. My mother was 21 years old and she decided to go with them even though it meant leaving her longtime boyfriend behind. Mama’s older brothers and sisters were already married. So granddad and grandma took the younger children and moved to Kelsey, Upshur, Texas. The children were mama, her brothers Ralph, Bill, Kyle, and Porter. At Kelsey he bought 48 acres with a large six bedroom two story house. He was a farmer. I know he raised corn and had a vegetable garden for the family. I don’t know what else he raised. He had a peach orchard and some other fruit trees. He also had the nickname of buddy while they were in Tennessee. I don’t know if he was ever called that at Kelsey. During the World War II, granddad used to come down to our house to listen to the news on the radio. The news came on at 5 PM. Mama would always warn Bennett and Louis that they must be quiet while the news was on so granddad could hear. Bennett and Louis, being very mischievous boys would see how much racket they could make. Granddad always brought a keen switch with him for he knew how the boys were. He would sure get after them with the switch but they always managed to stay just out of his reach. Granddad Whitehead had a real sense of humor. One day when the menfolk we’re getting ready to butcher the pigs he asked Louis if he knew how to measure a pigs tail. Louis was about five years old and of course he didn’t know. Granddad took the pigs curly tail and pulled it out straight. He put Louis’s forefinger at the end of its tail and started moving his finger toward the pig, when his finger was close to the pigs rear end, granddad jabbed his finger into the pig-yuck! Granddad just whooted with laughter! I can almost see him with his head leaned back-and-forth laughing real hard.”
– David Lafayette Whitehead’s granddaughter, Grace Muckleroy
In 1925, when the Whiteheads arrived in Kelsey, Texas, a chapel had already been built in 1909. The Whiteheads became a part of the rapid growth in Texas that continued through the last century. Mary Tefeteller died in 1930, at the age of 57, less than five years after the Whitehead family moved to Texas to begin a new life and gather with a larger community of Saints. She is buried in the Kelsey Cemetery. When the Whiteheads moved to Texas they were limited in what they could take with them. They only took that which was most important. One of those items was her baptismal certificate that is still in the family’s possession today.
Four years after Mary’s death, David Whitehead married Grace Stone, in 1934, with whom he would spend the remainder of his life, which ended in 1945, at the age of 75. He is buried with his first wife in Kelsey Cemetery in Texas. Like Mary, David also safeguarded items of great personal value. One of which was his ordination of the Melchizedek Priesthood, signed by Samuel Otis Bennion, President of the Central States Mission, headquartered in Independence, Missouri.
Lewis Carson Whitehead (1897-1945)
7 October 1919: Lewis Carson Whitehead was baptized by Roy West and confirmed by Oswald Jensen
Elder Roy West (1898-1993)
Roy West served in the Southern States Mission from 1918 to 1920. He served again in the Northern States Mission in 1941. He married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1929. They raised seven children together. He was a pioneer for the Church Education System (CES), beginning as a seminary teacher in 1928. He earned a B.A. and M.A. from Utah State University and conducted his Ph.D. work at Duke and the University of Wisconsin. He shaped the seminary and institute programs in the early days, writing many of the manuals and outlines. He also taught at and was the director of LDS Business College for many years. He said, “My special interests have always been in helping the youth of Zion to adjust themselves to the world they live in.” Regarding his work for CES, Harold B. Lee said Roy was a “tremendous influence.” He wrote “Family Eternal,” “Introduction to the Book of Mormon,” “Messages of the Early Apostles,” and “Choose Your Pathway to Eternal Happiness,” which he finished when he became blind at 93. Elder West baptized Lewis Carson Whitehead in Happy Valley and confirmed Leroy Morley Russell, in Maryville, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Oswald Jensen (1899-1925)
Oswald Jensen served in the Southern States Mission from 1919 to 1921. He married in the Salt Lake Temple shortly before leaving for Tennessee. They did not have any children together. He died only a few years after returning home from his mission, tragically, in an auto accident when the driver of a vehicle attempted to pass another car with its lights turned off. Elder Jensen baptized Leroy Morley Russell in Maryville and confirmed Lewis Carson Whitehead a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Happy Valley, in 1919.
Lewis Carson Whitehead was born in Happy Valley Tennessee and raised in the same home when he was baptized in 1919, at the age of 34. In 1923, he enlisted in the military, which took him to New York, where he married Kathryn Rita Fitzsimmons, in 1925. Together they raised three sons, all of whom also served in the military. Lewis died in 1945, at the age of 47, and is buried in Long Island National Cemetery in New York. Kathryn died in 1991, at the age of 85, and is also buried in Long Island National Cemetery.
Stella May Whitehead (1899-1952)
15 November 1914: Stella May Whitehead (Myers) was baptized and confirmed by Charles Clifford Robertson
Elder Charles Clifford Robertson (1892-1982)
Charles Clifford Robertson served in the Southern States Mission from 1913 to 1916. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph Fielding Smith, he wrote: “I received your letter and consider it an honor to have the privilege to serve a mission.” He was known for “his kind and gentle ways and concern for the people he served.” He returned home to Blackfoot, Idaho to farm the land where he left off before his mission. In 1920, he married in the Salt Lake Temple. They raised four children together. He held many positions in the Church, including home teacher, Bishop, and Scout leader. Elder Robertson baptized Mary Lucinda Tefeteller, Rhoda Anna Whitehead, Stella Mae Whitehead and Cora Elverta Whitehead, and confirmed the last two named as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Stella May Whitehead was one of three sisters baptized with her mother in 1914. She was born and raised in Happy Valley and married Ezra Drewie Myers in Maryville, in 1919. The couple had been married six years when they followed Stella’s parents and moved to Texas. They would eventually move to Arkansas and then Oregon. In 1950, Ezra was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1951, the couple traveled to Salt Lake City and were sealed for time and eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. Stella died the following year, at the age of 53, and is buried in Oregon. In 1984, Ezra died at the age of 91, and is also buried in Oregon.
Rhoda Ann Whitehead (1901-1944)
15 November 1914: Rhoda Ann Whitehead was baptized by Charles Clifford Robertson and confirmed by William Stanton Hamblin
Elder Charles Clifford Robertson (1892-1982)
Charles Clifford Robertson served in the Southern States Mission from 1913 to 1916. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph Fielding Smith, he wrote: “I received your letter and consider it an honor to have the privilege to serve a mission.” He was known for “his kind and gentle ways and concern for the people he served.” He returned home to Blackfoot, Idaho to farm the land where he left off before his mission. In 1920, he married in the Salt Lake Temple. They raised four children together. He held many positions in the Church, including home teacher, Bishop, and Scout leader. Elder Robertson baptized Mary Lucinda Tefeteller, Rhoda Anna Whitehead, Stella Mae Whitehead and Cora Elverta Whitehead, and confirmed the last two named as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder William Stanton Hamblin (1893-1987)
William Stanton Hamblin served in the Southern States Mission from 1914 to an unknown date. Elder Hamblin would go on to serve as a stake missionary and again as a Mission President. He married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1918 and raised four children together. Elder Hamblin confirmed Mary Lucinda Tefeteller and Rhoda Anna Whitehead members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Happy Valley, in 1914.
Rhoda Ann Whitehead was baptized with her mother and sisters the same day in 1914. She married James Avery Williamsen in Maryville, in 1920, and moved to Knoxville where the couple raised three children. She died in 1944 following a brief illness, at the age of 42. Homicide detectives launched an investigation with an unknown result after her death as she complained of feeling sicker immediately after taking her prescribed medicine for the illness. James died two years later. Both are buried in Lynnhurst Cemetery in Knoxville.
Cora Elverta Whitehead (1904-1984)
15 November 1914: Cora Elverta Whitehead was baptized and confirmed by Charles Clifford Robertson
Elder Charles Clifford Robertson (1892-1982)
Charles Clifford Robertson served in the Southern States Mission from 1913 to 1916. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph Fielding Smith, he wrote: “I received your letter and consider it an honor to have the privilege to serve a mission.” He was known for “his kind and gentle ways and concern for the people he served.” He returned home to Blackfoot, Idaho to farm the land where he left off before his mission. In 1920, he married in the Salt Lake Temple. They raised four children together. He held many positions in the Church, including home teacher, Bishop, and Scout leader. Elder Robertson baptized Mary Lucinda Tefeteller, Rhoda Anna Whitehead, Stella Mae Whitehead and Cora Elverta Whitehead, and confirmed the last two named as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Cora Elverta Whitehead was also born and raised in Happy Valley. She was baptized with her mother and sisters, following the example of her father who was baptized ten years earlier. Unbeknownst to Cora, her future husband, Martin Allen Muckleroy, was also baptized in Texas that same year. In 1925, she moved with her family to Texas, where she met Martin. They married in 1927 and traveled to St. George, Utah, in 1951, where they were sealed together in the temple. Cora and Martin raised seven children in the Church.
Kelsey was a farming community… laid out like Salt Lake City, with the church and school being in the center. The roads were all dirt and the road grader came by every few months to keep it smooth… There was no electricity in the homes at that time and no indoor plumbing. We drew our water from the well and carried it into the house. I remember how cold the water was coming right out of the well. My mother [Cora Elverta Whitehead] cooked on a wood stove and boy could she cook good food. The biscuits and cornbread would just melt in my mouth…
When I was growing up we always had a cow. Mama always did the milking. We always had fresh milk, butter and buttermilk. Mama always had us kids go to the barn with her to hold the cows tail so the cow would not switch her in the face. The cow switched her tail to get the flies off her back. The cats always liked to show up at milking time because they knew mama would give them a squirt of fresh milk… I started school when I was 6 1/2 years old. We didn’t have kindergarten in those days… There was also a cafeteria, which the women in the community volunteer their time to do the cooking. I remember mama used to take her turn when I was too young to go to school. The teachers at Kelsey school with missionaries sent from Utah. Mama did washing and ironing for the missionaries. She earned the money for our first radio by doing laundry… In the community of Kelsey the LDS church was where most of the social pleasures took place and also at the old school building. On 24 July we held the pioneer Day celebration. I remember how we looked forward to the festivities. We would have a parade in the morning and the children would pull their wagons. The girls wore bonnets in the summertime, so we really didn’t have to do much as far as dressing up goes. It was a lot of fun. They always have big tubs of ice cold sodas on sale for five cents. The men sat up tables and the women brought potluck for lunch. There was always a lot of fried chicken, potato salad and cake for dessert. The children played games. Kick the can, Annie over, scotch, tag and what ever we could think of. The women and men sat around and visited. In the afternoon around 3 PM the men and boys played softball and the women and girls were there to cheer them on. It was good fun. On Friday nights there was always a dance at the old-school building. They took the walls out that divided the rooms and had one big room. One night they would do square dancing and the next Friday they would have round dancing. In those days these events were a family affair. All the children went too.
Cora and Martin served a mission together in California in 1958. Like Cora’s parents, Cora and Martin also kept their prized possessions that remain with their family to this day – their baptismal certificates from 1914. In 1983, Martin died in California, at the age of 77, and is buried in Rose Hills Cemetery in Whittier. Cora passed away one year later, at the eight of 80, and is also buried in Rose Hills Cemetery.
The Whiteheads were regular caretakers of the missionaries as there were no church buildings in East Tennessee at this time. Cora Whitehead was given the below photograph from one of these missionaries who was friends with the Whitehead family. His name is Elder Charles Love Flake. Elder Flake was asked by President Callis to extend his mission by six months, when he was drafted for service during World War I. In 1918, Elder Flake returned home and married his wife in the Salt Lake Temple. In 1919, he was killed while serving in Siberia, attempting to rescue a company of soldiers who were captured by the Bolsheviks.
Ralph Lamon Whitehead (1909-1951)
29 November 1921: Ralph Lamon Whitehead was baptized and confirmed by Alden Conrad Sorenson
Elder Alden Conrad Sorenson (1897-1989)
Alden Conrad Sorenson served in the Southern States Mission from 1919 to 1921. In his mission acceptance letter to Heber J. Grant, he wrote: “I received your expected letter and was very much pleased. I am well satisfied with my appointed place… hoping I will fufill (sic) an honorable mission.” He had recently married in the Salt Lake Temple when he received his call to serve. He was described as “a wonderful man, very kind, and helpful.” He was self-made, being kicked out of school at a young age and made a name for himself with his hands, laboring in the Ogden Iron works. He and his wife raised two children in Utah. He baptized – in Cades Cove, Maryville and Happy Valley – Ralph Lamon Whitehead, Pearl Edith Wilcox, William Moses Whitehead and Horace Lester Wilcox, and confirmed the first two named and Mack Davis as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Ralph Lamon Whitehead was born and raised in Happy Valley. He was baptized with his brother, William Moses, in 1921, and moved with his family to Texas. He returned to Tennessee and married Bertha King, in 1939. Bertha was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nine year later in Mesa, Arizona, in 1948. They raised three children together while living in Tennessee, Arizona, and California.
In 1911, Ralph was not yet two years old when Elder John Isaac Morley was laboring in Happy Valley and visiting with the Whiteheads. He gave Ralph a baby blessing and documented it in his journal in the following entry:
Friday – 10 March 1911 Ate breakfast with Bro[ther David Lafayette] Whitehead, after which we blessed Layman (sic) Ralph [Whitehead] their baby [of Mary Lucinda Tefeteller and David Lafayette Whitehead]. From there went to Ms. Mary [Jane Harmon] Tucker’s and blessed Earnest Adam, her baby [and of William Edgar Tucker]. Walked about 5 miles and was invited and took dinner with Mr. Spencer [illegible]. Was treated well. Walked another 3 miles to M[ary] J[ane Davis] Harmon’s. Had supper and held a cottage meeting after which we walked 1 mile to Bro[ther Joseph John Calvin(JC)] Garland’s to sleep. Reed (sic) and read letters from wife, sister, Mary, mother and Delena.
Ralph died in California in 1951, at the age of 42, and is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Bertha died in 1973, at the age of 57, and is buried in New Gray Cemetery in Knoxville. They have left a legacy of faith that continues today with many grandchildren and great-granchildren. Their kids were baptized members of the Church and two married in the Washington D. C. Temple.
William Moses Whitehead (1911-1977)
29 November 1921: William Moses Whitehead was baptized by Alden Conrad Sorenson and confirmed by Marius Fred Hansen
Elder Alden Conrad Sorenson (1897-1989)
Alden Conrad Sorenson served in the Southern States Mission from 1919 to 1921. In his mission acceptance letter to Heber J. Grant, he wrote: “I received your expected letter and was very much pleased. I am well satisfied with my appointed place… hoping I will fufill (sic) an honorable mission.” He had recently married in the Salt Lake Temple when he received his call to serve. He was described as “a wonderful man, very kind, and helpful.” He was self-made, being kicked out of school at a young age and made a name for himself with his hands, laboring in the Ogden Iron works. He and his wife raised two children in Utah. He baptized – in Cades Cove, Maryville and Happy Valley – Ralph Lamon Whitehead, Pearl Edith Wilcox, William Moses Whitehead and Horace Lester Wilcox, and confirmed the first two named and Mack Davis as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Marius Fred Hansen (1899-1971)
Marius Fred Hansen served in the Southern States Mission from 1919 to 1921. He married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1923. They raised two children in Utah. Elder Hansen baptized Mack Davis in Happy Valley and confirmed Rosie Davis in Happy Valley, William Moses Whitehead in Happy Valley, and Horace Lester Wilcox in Maryville members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
William Moses Whitehead was baptized with his brother Ralph in 1921. He moved with his family to Texas in 1925. He married Anna Mae Stone in 1935. He enlisted in the Army and served in WWII. In 1977, he died in Norwalk, California, at the age of 65, and is buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Anna died in 1969, at the age of 49, and is buried with William in Rose Hills Memorial Park.
| 1st Generation Members: |
| David Lafayette Whitehead |
| Mary Lucinda Tefeteller (Whitehead) |
Smoky Mountain Ward 