Whittaker family

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

Whittaker family
CountryUnited States
Place of originEgeria, 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)
Whittaker family
Related articles

As depicted in the video interviews conducted by Laita, there are three communicable 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 Whittaker's 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]

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]

A 2004 portrait of the Whittaker brothers by Mark Laita

Impact

The videos on YouTube featuring the Whittakers have garnered a total 66 million views as of April 2023.

In 2022, Mark Laita started a GoFundMe page for the Whittaker family and as of April 2023, has raised over $57,000.[7][8]

Members

Known family members
  • Betty Whittaker (born 1952)
  • Lorene Whittaker (born 1946)
  • Timmy Whittaker (born 1979)
  • Ray Whittaker (born 1953)
  • Larry Whittaker (born 1956)
  • Kenneth Whittaker (born 1957)

Known deceased family members
  • Barbara Whittaker (1940–2008)[9]
  • Freddy Whittaker (1944–2013)
  • John Whittaker (1950–2022)
    The Whittaker's family tree

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. Gracie and John also had the same sets of grandparents. 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. [10]

See also

References
  1. Cost, Ben (April 3, 2023). "Meet the Whittakers: Inside 'America's most inbred family'". New York Post. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  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. Wade-Palmer, Charles (October 18, 2022). "'Deliverance' inbred family show off new cabin after incredible act of kindness". Dailystar.co.uk. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  8. "Inbred Family-The Whittakers (follow up)". Soft White Underbelly. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  9. "Obituary for Barbara E. Whittaker at Beckley Peace Chapel". Rose and Quesenberry. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  10. Dr. Andras Wong. "Whitaker family tree". The DNA Tests. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
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