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On 11 December 1762, William Alred Jr. received a land grant for 296 acres
on both sides of Bush Creek, tributary of Deep River. The surveyor was
W. Churton, and the chain carriers were Major Lea and William Alred Sr.
The mark on the grant matches that of a William Alred who sold land in 1752
in Frederick County, Maryland (more on this below), but it does not match
the mark on the Last Will and Testament of William Allred dated 1822.
On 14 November 1755, Hermon Husband entered “640 acres in Orange County in
the Parish of St. Matthew on the Head Branches of a Run Called mount pleasant
a fork of Sandy Creek, the Waters of Deep River, joining William Oldridge.”
This, of course, is adjacent to lands held by John, Thomas and Solomon.
On 13 November 1756, William Aldridge entered “256 acres in Orange County in
the Parish of St. Mathew on a Branch of Sandy Creek the waters of Deep River
called Mount Pleasant, joining Hermon Husband and a Hill.” The chain
carriers were Seymore York and Hermon Husband. Seymore York was the father
of Jeremiah York, to whom Thomas Aldred sold 144 acres of land on 10 April
1788. This land grant to William Aldridge is also adjacent to lands held by
John, Thomas and Solomon. The four of them must have been related. The date
of the land grant fixes William’s birth date as no later than 13 November
1735. Note that his name is spelled Aldridge on the land patent, and Aldrige
on the tax list. Together with the spellings of Aldricks, Allrid, Alldrid,
Allred, and Alred that appear elsewhere in the land records, it is obvious
that these were attempts by clerks to spell the surname phonetically. When
a man is illiterate, there is no correct spelling. Adding to the confusion
is the belief that Sylvania Aldridge, wife of Seymore York, was the daughter
of William Aldridge of Anne Arundel County, Maryland (more on this below).
Note: Harmon Husbands surveyed hundreds of these parcels in what was then
Orange County (including present day Randolph County), not only to help
perfect the land titles of the purchasers, but for speculation also. Between
1755 and 1760, usually in the name of “Hermon Husband,” he claimed 14 grants
amounting to 7,727 acres in Patent Book 14, Pages 407-411.
According to family tradition, the father of the “original” Allreds (John,
Thomas, William and Solomon) was John Aldridge (Aldred, Alred), born 16 May
1706, Wicomico Parish, Northumberland County, Virginia, to William Aldridge
and Alice Fallin. The birth records for Wicomico Parish have suffered damage
to the margins of the first page, and the records read as follows:
... Aldridge sone Wm Aldridge was born May 16 170 ...
... ent Aldridge Son to Clement Was Borne Sep ...
... d Aldridge Daughter to Do was borne Mar ...
... ce Aldridge Daughter to Do was borne Oct ...
... m Aldridge Son to Do was borne Feb ...
... aac Aldridge Son to do was borne S ...
... hn Aldridge Son to Do was borne Feb ...
From these records it has been deduced that John Aldridge, son of William
Aldridge, grandson of Clement Aldridge, was born on 16 May 1706. However,
I am unable to ascertain the letter “n” or the number “6” when looking at
the original birth record for the son of William Aldridge.
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