Beeks line: John Simpson Aldridge Jr. 1798-1842

 I sure hope someone who knows this family reads this blog post, because I have a burning question in my mind.  Was John Simpson Aldridge Jr. married twice?  If so, who was "Elly Folsom"?  Was she the sister of Leah Folsom, who married John's son Darlington?  Those are significant questions, but first, a little bit of background.

John S Aldridge was born February 27, 1798 in Clermont County, Ohio, the son of John Simpson and Mary Lakin Aldridge.  His parents had not lived long in Clermont County, and the area was still a frontier land, with the Treaty of Greenville which gave ownership of the southern half of Ohio to the United States, having just been signed less than 2 1/2 years earlier.  John's father was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and may well have been in the area during that time, which could explain why the family had settled there.

Except, they didn't really settle for good in Clermont County.  John Jr. married Lucinda Wheeler, daughter of Jason and Patience or Palina (maiden name not known) Wheeler, on July 22, 1819 in Clermont County.  He may or may not have had an adventure before that, because there is record in Indiana of a John Aldridge who was a lieutenant in Indiana's early military in 1818, and there is a John Aldridge in Ohio in the war of 1812.  John would have been very young to have been in the War of 1812, and it is possible that these records refer to his father, or to a different man altogether.  Both of our Aldridge's frequently used the middle initial "S", and that is not listed on either of these records.

I am not sure that I've located John and Lucinda in the 1820 census records, but there is a couple of the right age, with no children, located in Posey County, Indiana.  They are listed directly above a William Simpson, whether by coincidence or not.  (I've never found a family connection with a Simpson family but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist.) 

John Sr was in what became Rush County, Indiana, but was then Fayette County, in 1822, and our John owned land there as of July 29, 1824.  Nathan had purchased land in 1823.  John Aldridge in shown on the 1830 census in Rush County, living near John Sr. and John Sr's son Nathan.  They are the correct ages, and they already have six of their ten children.  The 1840 census shows John with no spouse of the appropriate age, but nine children.  Lucinda had died in 1836, in Orange Township, Rush County.  Nathan is still living nearby and the there are two elderly people living with Nathan, who would be John and Mary.  So was it this John who had married Elly Folsom in 1838, and if so, what happened to her?  And was she Leah's sister? (If so, Leah's sister would have been her stepmother, which is a bit odd but not unheard of.)

John lived less than two years after the 1840 census, dying on February 22, 1842.  His father died before the end of the year.  John Senior had lived a good, long life but John Junior was a few days short of his 44th birthday.  I don't know his cause of death.  Was it an illness, heart disease, cancer, an accident?  I've been unable to locate a will, so I don't even know if he had time to write a will.  

Isaac Conde and Daniel Camerer were appointed administrators of the estate, and they advertised on March 10th, 1842 that people who owed John money, or to whom John owed money, should present their claims within one year.  Then on March 18, 1842, the same men advertised a public auction for the personal property of the deceased, "consisting of Horses, Cattle, Hogs,Corn, household and kitchen furniture, farming utensils, &c.  A credit of nine months will be given on all sums over three dollars, the purchaser giving his note with approved security". 

As it happened, there were only three items sold at a value of over $3- a side saddle, a bureau, and a clock.  Joseph, Nathan, and Darlington Aldridge bought several items each and Erasmus bought a box of gears.  These were brothers and sons of John.  Interestingly, Austin Clark purchased a bull plow and a lot of geese.  Austin was the guardian of the Folsom children, including Leah who became Darlington's wife.  

This is just a brief picture into the life of John Simpson Aldridge Jr.  I have questions beyond the possibility of a second (brief?) marriage.  Was he a religious person?  The 1840 census says there is one person above the age of 20 who couldn't read or write.  I'd like confirmation that this was John.  And I'd like to know whether he was in the war of 1812, and whether he was the Indiana lieutenant of 1818.  (I suspect this was another John Aldridge, as there were several in the state of Indiana by 1820, but I'd like to know for sure.

The line of descent is:

John Simpson Aldridge Jr-Lucinda Wheeler

Darlington Aldridge-Leah Folsom

Harvey Aldridge-Margaret Catherine Dunham

Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks

Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger

Their descendants