Seeking male descendants of Francis Marion Whelchel Sr. who had four sons; Davis, Francis M.Jr, John and William.  Descendants of these four men have spread far and wide across the United States.  The Whelchel surname from this family includes several known spelling variations: Welchel, Welkel, Wilkey, Wilkie, sometimes it appears with double “ll.”  I’m sure there may be others.

Francis Marion Whelchel born 6 Sep 1720 most likely in Germany, died 7 Aug 1796 in Gaffney, Cherokee, South Carolina.  Francis Marion Whelchel and his wife, Ann Stockton, had four sons and five daughters. The sons were Davis, Francis M. Jr, John and William.  Francis M. Whelchel Sr. immigrated to Virginia where he married Ann Stockton and where the children were born.  They left Virginia for South Carolina.  Davis eventually moved on to TN then IN,Francis Jr. stayed in Cherokee, SC, John went to Hall Co, GA and William, who died as a result of Revolutionary War injuries, was in Pendleton, SC.   

According to https://forebears.io/surnames/whelchel#similar

The last name Whelchel is mostly found in The Americas; 99% are found in North America with the last name most commonly occurring in The United States where the Whelchel surname is mostly found in Georgia where 23% reside, California has 9% and South Carolina has 8%.  Besides the United States, this surname can also be found in nine other countries.