Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube
Grand Nephews Reveal What It’s Really Like Growing Up In America’s ‘Most Inbred Family’
Two grand nephews of ‘the most inbred family in America’ have talked about what their life has been like.
The Whittakers hail from West Virginia and have become the subject of a documentary made by YouTuber Mark Laita, who has been filming and interviewing the family since 2020.
Isolated in a backcountry shack in a hamlet called Odd, the Whittaker family have built a relationship with Laita over the last six years, even though some of them cannot actually communicate verbally.
Grunts and Barks
Some members of the Whittaker family rely on grunts and barks to communicate, unable to talk or use sign language. It is believed they do understand what people are saying to them, however.
Some of the younger members of the family are now attending high school, according to Laita’s documentary, ‘Soft White Underbelly.’
The Whittaker’s inbreeding is believed to date back well over 100 years, as far back as the mid 1800’s, which is believed to have contributed to the problems that many members have faced over the years.
The private family cemetery
Since the 1970s, the Whittakers have been making their own concrete headstones, which adorn the graves in their private family cemetery. Only Gracie has a professionally made headstone.
In one of Laita’s YouTube videos, he takes the famil to the cemetery and then treats them to a meal at Burger King afterwards.
Mark Laita’s bond with the Whittakers
Since 2020, filmmaker and photographer Laita has developed a close bond with the family, through his multitude of visits to record videos with them for his YouTube channel. By documenting the Whittakers unique way of living, Laita has been accepted by the family.
Laita often takes the Whittakers on trips to the supermarket and the fair as well to the aforementioned family cemetery.
The filmmaker not only helps the famil out with errands and days out, he has since set up a GoFundMe page to help fund the purchase of a new home for the Whittakers.
A statement on the GoFundMe page reads: “Soft White Underbelly is trying to help the Whittaker family of Odd, West Virginia purchase a new home. This GoFundMe campaign was created to avoid confusion with the previous campaign which was created in 2022 to help with the Whittaker family’s expenses. $12,000 has already been donated towards the house on that campaign.”
The Whittaker family tree
In the 19th century, a set of identical twins, Henry and John, both had children, who then got married and had their own children together.
Harry and Sally (sort of takes the shine off one of the greatest films of all time, doesn’t it?) would go on to have seven children together, one of whom would be John Isom Whittaker, born in 1882.
John would then have nine children with Ada Rigg, his first cousin, including their daughter Gracie Irene Whittaker, who was born in 1920. Gracie would also marry a cousin, her double cousin, John Emory Whittaker, in 1935. Gracie and John shared both sets of grandparents and would have 15 children together.
Many of Gracie and John’s children were born both physically and mentally impaired, believed to be a direct result of inbreeding. The eldest child of the 15, Aileen, died in 1997, following a heart attack.
Oldest son Emery tragically passed away only a month after his birth, due to a bout of pneumonia.
The current head of the family is Betty, born in 1952. Betty promised her mother she would never marry, instead devoting her life to looking after her 14 siblings, including Ray, Larry, Freddy and Lorene.
Ray and Lorene are seemingly unable to speak and instead rely on a series of grunts, barks and movements to communicate with others.
It is revealed in ‘Soft White Underbelly’ how Lorene gave birth to a son, Timmy, in 1979 as a result of sexual abuse from an unidentified male. Timmy became the only member of the family who graduated from high school.
Betty has confirmed in Laita’s documentary that her mother and father are indeed double cousins. One relative explains of Ray and Lorene: “They understand what you’re talking about. If they don’t like it, they start yelling- they let you know they don’t like that idea.”
Grandsons of Larry Whittaker, including Brandon and Luis, help protect the rest of the family, as do some of their neighbours in Odd, who are often wary of strangers turning up. Some neighbours even threatened Laita when he showed up to visit in 2020.
Brandon and Luis reveal what it’s like to be a Whittaker
But how do Brandon and Luis feel about being part of ‘America’s most inbred family?’
Laita spoke to the brothers for a video on his YouTube channel, where Brandon and Luis discussed what growing up Whittaker had been like and how they had dealt with the opportunities they had missed out on spending their lives in Odd, per the Mirror.
Brandon, 21, reveals in the video that his auntie Betty raised him between the ages of three months and seven-years-old due to the fact his mother, also named Betty, had moved to North Carolina.
Luis, 19, explains, “I stayed in North Carolina until I was about two. Then she [his mum] brought me back up here [to Odd] and I stayed with my grandpa. I’m a lot closer to him. [I grew up with] no dad and barely saw my mum.
“I plan on getting away [from Odd] soon. I’m pushing for Indiana right now [as there’s more opportunities]. There are fewer opportunities living here. Every day you’ve got to think if you’ll pull through or not – and make it until the end of the day.”
Laita then adds to Luis’ comments: ”And then what happens to some people is the weekend comes around and drugs are being offered.” Nodding, Luis responds, “That’s what I’m scared of every day. I don’t want to see myself doing that. I saw my mum doing it too much and it’s just something I don’t want to do.”
Brandon, who already has two children, with another on the way, added, “I worry about them [growing up here]. It’s one of my biggest worries. I honestly don’t think I’m going to stick around here too much longer. I’m working on getting a place. As soon as I can get enough saved up, I’ll probably get away from here. There isn’t anything here for me, really, except for them [the Whittakers].”
Reminiscing about family history
Despite wanting to get away from Odd, Brandon still had plenty of fond memories to share, even if he is only currently sticking around the West Virginian hamlet to ensure no one exploits his auntie Betty and other family members.
“Freddy (his late uncle) and I used to fish around here all of the time. He’d always have a can of worms and a fishing pole every week and come up here. He’d want to go behind the chicken pen and fish. I miss that sometimes.”
Luis also fondly remembered some of his childhood memories, saying, “Freddy was a lot calmer than Ray (his uncle) until you really pushed him. If Betty went out and you told him she wasn’t getting any chicken, he’d trash the house apart. That was his favourite part about every month because he got fried chicken.
“Ray was nuts. He used to run off all the time and everything. He actually got lost for about three days, Ray did.
“I remember when he was walking up there [up a hill], and he got bit by a copperhead. He walked down the road, got a shovel, walked back up there and brought the snake back down alive on the shovel to show us what he was talking about. He kept pointing to his hand and his shovel.
“They let him keep the snake. They killed it and put it in a little tube for him and he kept it for the longest time.”
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