Whittaker family

Last updated
Whittaker family
CountryUnited States
Place of origin Odd, West Virginia, U.S.
Members
  • Betty Whittaker (b. 1952)
  • Lorene Whittaker (b. 1946)
  • Timmy Whittaker (b. 1979)
  • Ray Whittaker (b. 1953)
  • Larry Whittaker (b. 1956)
  • Kenneth Whittaker (b. 1957)

The Whittaker family is an extremely inbred American family [1] [2] from Egeria, West Virginia. They first gained public attention in 2020, when they appeared on the Soft White Underbelly YouTube channel as part of a series of video interviews conducted by American film producer Mark Laita. [3] [ third-party source needed ]

Contents

As depicted in the video interviews conducted by Laita, there are three communicative members of the family: Betty, Larry, and Kenneth. Most notably, a brother, Ray, can only communicate by grunting. [2]

Discovery

In an episode with podcaster Joe Rogan, Soft White Underbelly host Mark Laita explained how he discovered the Whittaker family while exploring Raleigh County in 2004. Laita noted in the episode that due to the Whittakers' popularity in the area, a Raleigh County sheriff's deputy referred him to the Whittakers while he was searching for "interesting people" around the area to photograph for his upcoming book, Created Equal, which was released in 2008. [4] [5] [ third-party source needed ]

Laita described a Whittaker brother, Ray, in the interview with Rogan:

Ray was uncontrollable, he would stand right next to my camera, like right next to it, two inches away from the lens, I said [sic] I needed him to stand with his brothers, and then as soon as I corrected him, he would just flip out and start [sic] screaming, running off. His pants would fall down around his ankles, then he would go and kick a metal garbage can. This would happen over and over and over again. [6] [ third-party source needed ]

Response

Laita's videos on YouTube featuring the Whittakers have garnered a total of 74.2 million views as of June 2023.

In 2022, Mark Laita started a GoFundMe page for the Whittaker family and as of August 2023, had raised almost $75,000. [7] [ third-party source needed ]

Members

Known family members

Known deceased family members

Genealogy

The reason for the family's inbreeding has been up for discussion and debate by numerous sources. Betty Whittaker revealed that she, Lorene, Ray, Larry and Kenneth were only five of 15 children born to Gracie and John Whittaker, double first cousins (meaning that Gracie and John had the same sets of grandparents). Gracie and John's fathers, Henry and John Whittaker were identical twin brothers. [12] [13] John Whittaker was a coal miner, and Gracie Whittaker was a homemaker. Timmy is the son of Lorene, born in 1979. Timmy was born as a result of Lorene being raped by an unidentified man. The official family tree of the Whittakers was released in 2022. [14]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Cost, Ben (April 3, 2023). "Meet the Whittakers: Inside 'America's most inbred family'". New York Post . Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Jacob, Paul (April 2, 2023). "Inside the most inbred family in the US that communicates by grunting". Express.co.uk. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  3. ↑ Laita, Mark (July 4, 2020), Inbred Family-The Whittakers, Soft White Underbelly, retrieved April 8, 2023
  4. ↑ Laita, Mark (2008). Created equal. Ingrid Sischy (1st ed.). Göttingen: Steidl. ISBN   978-3-86521-709-7. OCLC   317750837.
  5. ↑ Joe Rogan: How Did Mark Meet The Whittakers? INSANE Story!!, JRE Daily Clips, retrieved April 8, 2023
  6. ↑ Joe Rogan: FILMING The Whittakers for the FIRST TIME!! SoftWhiteUnderbelly Explains , retrieved April 8, 2023
  7. ↑ "Inbred Family-The Whittakers (follow up)" . Soft White Underbelly. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Inside America's Most Inbred Family And How It All Started". It's Gone Viral. July 24, 2023.
  9. ↑ "The Whittakers: Experts reveal secret behind America's most inbred family's barks and grunts". MEAWW.
  10. 1 2 3 Mcmanus, Leigh (September 4, 2023). "America's most inbred family unveil adorable blue-eyed great grandson". Dailystar.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Obituary for Barbara E. Whittaker at Beckley Peace Chapel". Rose and Quesenberry. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  12. ↑ "'America's most inbred family' began 'over a century ago with identical twin brothers whose children married'". LBC.
  13. ↑ https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/us-most-inbred-family-started-with-twin-brothers-whose-kids-married/ar-AA19qZtg
  14. ↑ Dr. Andras Wong. "Whitaker family tree". The DNA Tests. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
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