A Literary Achievement

A Whitney Place Resident’s Noteworthy Accomplishment

Jerrene White Worthington is a Whitney Place at Natick Resident who lives in the Sassamon neighborhood with her husband, George Worthington. Jerry spent nineteen years tracing the history of her ancestors. In 2005 she published a book, Traces from the Cotton Patch, written in memory of Millie (her Cherokee ancestor) and her parents Chester White and Effie Sullivan White. Recently, Jerry held a discussion on her book. Her son, Mark, and granddaughter, Nikki, joined us for Jerry’s big day.

Jerry grew up in the cotton fields of Henderson and Hill counties (in north central Texas). She would listen to stories her “Papa” told her as she worked alongside her siblings, Eldon, Etheridge and Deita. As Jerry reported, “Papa also told me how Millie became part of the family. He said that a band of Cherokees attacked a small North Carolina village killing all but two young boys who were taken to live with the Indians. Some years later, the Cherokees were attacked and the boys were brought to live with a family named White. One of the boys, my ancestor, returned to the Cherokees and married a beautiful young Cherokee woman named Millie.”

Jerry’s parents did not know how to trace their lineage when they were alive. “The publication of Roots by Alex Haley in 1976 provided me the key knowledge to begin the search that resulted in this book. The search led me back through the War Between the States, the Revolutionary War and back to Scotland and Ireland.” Jerry wrote her cousins asking for details about their families and Millie. She received some information, including that Millie was buried in Liberty Grove Cemetery in Texas.

“Before Mama (my mother) died in 1971, she gave me the names of her parents, her maternal grandparents and their children. On her father’s side, she had the names of two uncles and an aunt. All the other relatives of Papa’s side were the names of his brothers and a sister, his parents, an uncle and an aunt. Research beyond the cousins began in 1977.” Jerry vowed to leave no stone unturned as she spent many hours and many days gathering information from the library, ordering microfilm, and looking through Census records and her mother’s vast collection of photographs.

“Not all the book is about Millie. There are many stories—some humorous, some sad, and some of historical interest. Papa told many amusing and bittersweet stories of himself. As an aside, my son Mark gave me genealogical software so I could organize all of the information I was collecting. In the process, I was able to prove to the Daughters of the American Revolution three lines of my ancestors dating back to the American Revolution. They have a copy of my book. The Library of Congress has two copies. I have sold copies to several public libraries.” Jerry donated a copy of her book to Whitney Place at Natick where Residents can look through the book at their leisure.

Jerry’s son, Mark, recalled that his mother told him when the book was finally published that she felt like she was in labor for thirty years and the book being published was like giving birth. After a round of applause, Residents were able to ask questions and compliment Jerry on a job well done. Each Resident shook hands with Jerry, thanking her for her presentation and congratulating her on such a major accomplishment. One Resident mentioned that she had looked into finding an uncle who was buried in a cemetery in France and it took her six months, so she could only imagine how long it took Jerry to gather all the information she included in her book. Clearly, it was a worthwhile pursuit!

—Olivia Swanson

Recreation Coordinator

Whitney Place at Natick