William Whitley - Settlement in Kentucky

Settlement in Kentucky

Shortly after his marriage, Whitley began to talk with his wife about moving to the western frontier. When she approved this pursuit, he organized an expedition with his brother-in-law, George Clack. Shortly after their departure, they met another party of seven pioneers; the two parties combined and continued with their expedition. After scouting a location near a branch of the Dix River called Cedar Creek, they returned to Virginia to prepare their families for a permanent relocation. The families left Virginia in November 1775. Upon their arrival, Whitley planted 10 acres (40,000 m2) of corn to establish his claim to the land. Then, he and his family moved to the safety of the fort of St. Asaph's (present day Stanford, Kentucky).

Dissatisfied with the protection afforded by St. Asaph's (a complete stockade having not yet been erected), Whitley's family and the family of Benjamin Logan further removed to the protection of Fort Harrod near present-day Harrodsburg, Kentucky. It was during this time that Whitley saw the mutilated body of William Ray. Whitley would remark many years later when he dictated his memoirs to his son-in-law, Phillip Soublett, that Ray's body was the first time he had ever seen a man scalped. This mutilation remained indelibly etched into Whitley's perception of Indian brutality for the remainder of his life.