Heartwarming moment 'America's most inbred family The Whittakers' hit the bowling alley in pre-Christmas day out

THE Whittakers, who have been popularized as America's most inbred family, have hit a bowling alley as a part of their Christmas festivities.

The outing comes after filmmaker Mark Laita brought the Whittaker's complex family history to light after meeting them for the first time in 2004.

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Upon revealing their interwoven family tree, the West Virginian family quickly rose in notoriety and have drawn the attention of many.

Laita recently posted an hour-long video titled Christmas Season With The Whittakers to his YouTube channel (@SoftWhiteUnderbelly).

He captioned the footage: "Soft White Underbelly takes the Whittaker family of Odd, West Virginia bowling and Christmas shopping."

The video, shared on December 9, 2023, features Betty, Ray, Kenneth, Larry, Lorraine, and Timmy.

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Ray's first shot managed to knock down nearly all of the pins, a true display of beginner's luck and the helpfulness of bowling bumpers.

For his second turn, Ray was less lucky but let out a whoop of excitement just before the ball hit the pins.

On one of Betty's turns, she took a shot with Lorraine's help and felled one of three pins that stood.

Lorraine's son, Timmy, excitedly ran to go next, and launched the ball via the rolling method from about 10 feet away from the start of the lane.

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Timmy could be heard vocally expressing his excitement and then hollering in triumph while clapping.

The family continued to play, taking turns and developing their strategy.

Kenneth and Larry opted for more traditional bowling techniques, using a finger hold in the ball.

The rest of their clan opted for different variations of granny-style rolling the ball.

'TEARS IN MY EYES'

While the final scores and winner were not revealed, it was clear that all six of the family members were having a great time.

There was plenty of clapping, yelps of celebration, and excited grunts.

After their bowling session was over, they hit a photo booth in the arcade and had some fun taking pictures.

The Soft White Underbelly channel has multiple videos featuring the Whittaker family, and the host, Laita, has formed quite a bond with them after 20 years of familiarity.

Commenters were quick to share their warm feelings on the video.

"The level of love, empathy, and respect you have shown this family is immeasurable. They genuinely love you and we all know you love them," wrote one viewer.

"I ended this video with tears in my eyes. Merry Christmas Mark, Lauren, and the Whitakers. And may God bless you all," another wrote.

"I love the pure joy and excitement they have when seeing their ball roll down and hit the pins. Mark, you are bringing mere joy to people's lives," a third commenter said.

"This is where you have the greatest impact. Right here with the Whittakers," they further applauded.

FAMILY TREE EXPLAINED

The family tree of this clan is hard to track and dates back to the 1800s as the inception of its inbreeding.

Henry and John Whittaker were twins born to Thomas and Eliza Whittaker in 1887.

Eliza's sister, Mary Perkins, married Samuel Riggs and they had one daughter, Ada Riggs.

Ada married her first cousin John Whittaker, and they had nine children including Gracie Irene Whittaker in 1920.

Meanwhile, the other twin, Henry, married Sally Burton and they had seven children, including John Emory Whittaker, in 1913.

John Emory ended up marrying his double first cousin Gracie in 1935 and they had Aileen Violet Whittaker in 1937.

Aileen was the first of 15 children by the couple, they then had Emory Lee who died just a month after his birth in 1938.

He was followed by: Barbara Ellen, Nannie Lou, Connie Jean, Freddy Kee, Lorainne Sue, Mary Madeline, John Wade, Betty Ann, Danny Ray, Larry Eugene, Kenneth Waye, Judy Kay, and Michael Steven.

Lorainne Sue is the only member of the Whittaker clan to have a child, Timmy Allen, who also has been severely impacted by poor genetics.

DANGEROUS DEALINGS

When Laita first set out to meet and document the Whittakers' lives, he had no idea just how dangerous it would be.

Laita said arriving at the Whittaker home was like a scene out of the 1972 thriller Deliverance.

Both the family and members of their community were fiercely protective of the clan's privacy due to previous harassment.

He had to be escorted by police since after receiving threats from the family's neighbors.

One such threat occurred when he traveled to the family's home on his own and was met by a neighbor with a shotgun forcing him to leave.

"We came around to this road, which turns into a country road, which turns into a dirt road, and we come to this trailer and then a little shack on the other side of the road," Laita previously said.

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"And there are these people walking around and their eyes are going in different directions and they are barking at us."

Laita has since formed a strong bond built on trust with the family, helping them raise money for home improvements.

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