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Register covers the years from 1723 to 1758, the period from 1723 to 1738 was
cobbled together from fragmentary records. William F. Boogher, Esq., who
published a transcription in 1899, warns in his Preface that the Register
“contains innumerable errors and omissions. ... The presence of many blank
spaces and pages for the period 1723-1738 strengthens this assumption.”
Genealogists will find the wedding date of John Alridge and Anne Hamilton
variously reported as 11 June 1728, 11 June 1730, or 11 June 1738. The
difference is important, because the land records in North Carolina establish
the latest possible birth dates for three of the four men believed to have
been their children (see below). Solomon was born no later than 10 March
1731. John was born no later than 15 March 1734. William was born no later
than 13 November 1735. Thomas received no land grant, buying his land from
his brother John instead, so we have no evidence of his birth date. A
wedding date of 11 June 1728 for Annie Hamilton is entirely logical, as she
was recently orphaned, her parents having died in rapid succession. Her
father’s will was dated 17 November 1726, her widowed mother’s will was
dated 11 February 1727, and both wills were probated on 29 March 1727.
The first documented evidence of the “original” Allreds in North Carolina
is in the land records. These land grants were in the “Granville District”
of North Carolina – a sixty mile wide strip of land next to the Virginia
boundary, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Appalachian Mountains
(and, in theory, to the Pacific Ocean). A man could purchase as much land
as he could afford, in parcels not exceeding 640-700 acres. The process
involved a written application called an “entry,” a survey and a plat, and
the actual grant of a deed, or patent, to the land. The Granville District
land office was open from 1748 to 1763, and it is unlikely that the
“original” Allreds would have come to North Carolina before that time.
The first of the Allred land entries were made by Solomon. They are dated
10 March 1752, which fixes his birth date as no later than 10 March 1731.
One grant was for 640 acres along both sides of Cain Creek (now Cane Creek),
which runs along the Orange, Alamance, and Chatham county lines. The other
was for 640 acres located at the mouth of Sandy Creek where it enters Deep
River, between the towns of Ramseur and Franklinville in Randolph County.
The second grant included “improvements by Solomon Aldricks,” which implies
that Solomon had been living on the land long enough to build a house.
Both land grants are described at http://www.allredfamily.com/solomon.htm
Solomon Allred is mentioned in a land grant entered by Herman Husband on 15
March 1755. This was for “640 acres on the head of a branch of Sandy Creek
called Mount Pleasant on the east side of Deep River including a cabin built
by Solomon Allred and claimed by Zach. Martin.” The land was contiguous to
the land entered by John Allrid on 15 March 1755, containing both “his and
Thomas Alldrid’s improvements,” surveyed by Thomas Allred and Harmon Husbands
for John Allred on 2 May 1755, and for which John Alred received a Land
Patent on 15 March 1756. John, Thomas and Solomon were located next door
to each other, lending credence to the belief that they were brothers.
Not until 1 Aug 1760 did Solomon Alred receive a Land Patent for the grant he
had entered on Sandy Creek on 10 March 1752. The Land Patent was issued to
“Solomon Alred of Orange County in the Province of North Carolina, Planter.”
The description on the surveyor’s plat reads as follows:
11
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