The family of Harvey Aldridge 1857-1930

There's something I haven't mentioned about the Aldridges, which I should have mentioned several generations ago.  At some point, many of them were known only, or primarily, by their middle names.  I have generally used the names as given on the first record I located, which may or may not be the name they typically used.  And I haven't included very many middle names, unless I knew that was the name they themselves used.  So, it's a confusing mix and this family of Harvey Aldridge illustrates that well.  

Harvey Homer Aldridge (I've not seen him use the middle name, but it's possible) was born in 1857 to Darlington Dart and Leah Folsom Aldridge in Rush County, Indiana.  His parents moved to Rush County, Indiana, and Harvey met and married Margaret Catherine Dunham, the daughter of Samuel Goodnight and Eliza Matilda Reese Dunham, there in 1880.  Harvey died in 1930, soon after he and Margaret (or Catherine, I usually see both of her names in records) had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  They had eight children together, with two dying as infants or toddlers.

Bertha was the first born, in 1882.  She married Ora B. Rector, son of Anderson and Ruth McHatten Rector, and they had at least three children: Leona, who was born in 1902 and died the following year, Flossie, and Von Garrett.  Sadly, she died in 1909, of tuberculosis.  Harvey and "Kate", as shown on Bertha's her death certificate, helped raise the two children, as grandparents too often need to do.

Frank (Ralph Franklin, officially) was born in 1885. His wife is Florence Rude, the daughter of George and Mary Jane Starr Rude.  Their children are Mary, Bernice, Lorene, Beatrice, and Paul Max.  Frank died in 1956.

Samuel Newton was born in 1887 and died in 1968.  He married Irene Hyatt, the daughter of Thomas and Evva Trowbridge Hiatt.  Their children are Pauline, Madeline, Ralph, Glen, Herman, Philip, and Chester.

Next was Lula, who was born in 1889 and died in 1890.

Della (I have seen her referred to as Selena Della, but Della is the name she used) was born in 1891.  She married Clyde Harrell, the son of Charles and Delilah Moore Harrell.  Their children are Herman, Ernest, Herbert, Lester, and Dickie.  Della died in 1943.

Dorothy was born in 1894 and died in 1940.  She married Francis Edward Huston, the son of James and Elizabeth Wood Huston.  Their children are Leroy, Guilford, Doris, Walter, Burnetta, Lois, and Marvin.  

Gretta Cleo was known as Cleo, and to her nieces and nephews was known as "Aunt Dutchie".  She was born in 1896 and died in 1980, having said final earthly farewells to all of her siblings.  She married Wilbur Beeks, the son of John and Elizabeth Wise Beeks, and together they had 16 children, eight of whom lived to adulthood.  Their children are Charles, Vivian, Kenneth, Evelyn, Eldon (those being twins), Maxine, James (the first to live to adulthood), Raymond, Anna, Mary, Norman, Norma, Bonnie, Donald, Barbara, and Phyllis.  Two of those who lived to adulthood died at an early age, so Cleo and Wilbur had a lot of sorrow in their lives.  

Harvey and "Kate" had one final child, Roy, who was born in 1899 and died in 1901.  All of the children were born in Tipton County, Indiana, and several were buried there.  Others are buried in Andrews, Indiana, in Servia, and in South Whitley.  The children lived fairly close to each other and, as evidenced by the gossip columns in the Huntington, Indiana, newspapers, saw each other frequently as adults.  

By this count, Harvey and Kate had 43 grandchildren.  43 times they, or later just she, would have answered the phone or received the message of a new member born into the family.  Despite the sorrows of their own losses, and those early losses their children had, they must have had great joy in their lives, as well as much hard work.  

This is the last post in the Aldridge family line, at least for now.  I have found no evidence that any of these Aldridge fathers I've written about worked at jobs other than farming, although Harvey did take occasional other jobs when necessary, and perhaps some of the other men had side jobs.  This family was hard-working, and contributed to the growth of America.  Their descendants have reason to be proud.

The family of Darlington Dart Aldridge 1821-1859

Darlington, apparently known as Dart, was born in 1821 in Clermont County, Ohio and died in 1859 in Rush County, Indiana.  His parents, John Simpson and Lucinda Wheeler Aldridge (John was John Simpson Jr.) moved to Rush County in the middle 1820s and so Darlington probably had no memories of the early years in Ohio.  He married Leah Folsom, daughter of Jeremiah and Sally Lock Folsom, in 1841, when he was just 20 years old, and they were married for 18 years when he died just two days past his 38th birthday.  But in those 18 years of marriage, Dart and Leah had at least 10 children to love, provide for, and raise.

Mary was the first born daughter, in 1842. She married Samuel Walker, whom I am not yet able to further identify, except for a possibility that he was living in the home of Elisha and Mary Bever in 1850 in Rush County, Indiana and was fifteen at the time of the census. (I have not proven that this is Mary's Samuel, only that it is a possibility.) Their children are Joseph, Thomas, Richard, Mary, Francis, James, Emma, and Amy.  Mary died in 1878, so her life was a short one also.

Next born was Lucinda, born in 1845.  Lucinda married John E. Spurgeon, the son of Joseph and Fanney Lane Spurgeon.  Their children are Leah, Ida, May, Alma, Joseph, Asa, Minnie, Richard and Frederick.  Lucinda lived until 1920 in Hamilton County, Indiana.

Francis was the first born son, in 1846.  Sadly, he lived just 22 years.  He married Mary Jane Campbell, the daughter of James and Rebecca Wasson Campbell.  Their children are Leah and Pearl, Pearl being born a month after her father died.  (Mary Jane then married Sanford Spurgeon, the brother of John above, and had several children with him.)

Next born was son, John, in 1847 or 1848.  He married Sidenia Innis, the daughter of Thompson and Sarah Askren Innis.  Their children are Elva, Myrtle, Sarah, and Leah.  He died in 1924 in Hamilton County, Indiana.

Jeremiah was born in 1849.  He married three times.  His first marriage was to Synthia Francis Jones, the daughter of Thomas and Zerilda Montgomery Jones.  They had a daughter, Hannah, but Synthia died shortly after her birth.  Jeremiah then married Julia Hemerly, who I cannot yet further identify.  Their children are Newton, William, and Dudley.  Sadly, Julia died giving birth to Dudley.  Jeremiah's  last wife was Anna Marie Wheeler, the daughter of Evan and Christina Runshe Aldridge.  Their children are Howard, Ethel, Irene, Hazel, and Emery. Jeremiah died in 1920 in Huntington County, Indiana, where he had lived for about six years.  

Next was James, born in 1851.  He married Rebecca Deal, the daughter of Henry and Anna Stroup Deal.  Their children are Cora, William, Edward, Maggie, Blanche, and Carl.  James died in 1924.

Alonzo was born in 1853 and died in 1924.  He married Hannah J. Watson, the daughter of William and Lavina Chaney Watson.  Their children are Rosetta, Walter, John, Philip, Curtis, and Nina.  

A mystery surrounds their son Richard.  He was born in 1854 and is noted on the 1860 census, but after that I haven't been able to locate him.  He may have died at a young age, or left home and was not heard from again.  His name is intriguing though, because some have suggested that Richard was the name of Jeremiah Folsom's father, with no proof that I can find.

Harvey was the last son, born in 1857.  He married Margaret Catherine Dunham, the daughter of Samuel G and Eliza Matilda Reese Dunham, who is the family connection to the common ancestor to former President Barack Obama.  Their children are Samuel, Frank, Lula, Della, Dorothy, Gretta Cleo, and Roy.  Harvey died in Huntington County in 1930, and I will write more of his family in my next post.

Finally, there was an unnamed daughter who was born in 1858 and died before the 1860 census.  Leah, Dart's widow, was left with a houseful of children, and grief for both Dart and the unnamed daughter, but eventually Dart and Leah's grandchildren totaled at least 51, and surely Leah took joy in them.  

The family of John Simpson Aldridge Jr.

Well, I thought that the family of John Simpson Aldridge Jr was well documented.  As it turns out, only most of the children are well documented, or at least, the documents for the others haven't been located yet.  However, I've found enough to help us understand a little of the family, even if we can't understand all the dynamics or interactions that this family experienced.  

John Simpson Aldridge Jr is the son of John Simpson and Mary Lakin Aldridge.  He was born February 27, 1798 in Clermont County, Ohio and married Lucinda Wheeler, daughter of Jason Wheeler and his mysterious wife, who may be Patience or Palina, and who may be a Swan, Tracy, Hamblin, or someone else entirely.  There are records showing him as a soldier in the War of 1812 in Ohio, but he would have been pretty young (not yet 16 when the war ended) so I'm not sure we are talking about the same man.  Of course, he could simply have lied about his age, particularly if he had the appearance of a robust young man.  

John and Lucinda were married in 1819 in Clermont County, and stayed there for a few years.  Sometime in the 1820s, probably before 1823, they were in Rush County, Indiana, where they stayed the rest of their lives.  Lucinda died in 1836 and John in 1842.  In their not quite 17 years of marriage, this couple had 10 children, which may have been one reason Lucinda died at such an early age.  I am not absolutely positive about the birth order of some of the children, as there are at least two who likely died as infants or children, and no records have yet been located for them.  

The first child was Darlington Dart, born in 1821, likely in Clermont County, and died in 1859 in Tipton County, Indiana.  He married Leah Folsom, the daughter of Jeremiah and Sally Lock Folsom.  Their children are Mary, Lucinda, Francis, John, Jeremiah, James, Alonzo, Richard, and Harvey.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

Eliza, also seen as Elizabeth, was born in 1822.  She married Uriah Bozell, who may have been the son of Henry and either Catherine Ninon Bozell or Lucinda Brandon Bozell.  Their children are John, James, Henry, Eliza, Melinda, Leah, and Sarah.   She died in 1905. 

Joseph was born in 1824, probably in Clermont County, Ohio per his Find a Grave memorial.  He married Susan Stiers, who was the daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Creviston Stiers.  If those names seem familiar, Joseph's uncle, Nathan Aldridge, also married a daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth, as mentioned in my last post about the family of John Simpson and Mary Lakin Aldridge.  Joseph and Susan's children are Marshall, Mary, Dailey, Patience, Ada, and Rhoda.  He died in Rush County in 1903 or 1909; there seems to be conflicting information on his grave stone.

Next born may have been Mary, who seems to have no further record.  It is not unusual for children who were both born and died between census years, to not have left a record in that time period.  All we can say is that she was likely named for her grandmother, Mary Lakin Aldridge.

Jason Lafayette Aldridge was born in 1825 and died in 1888.  He married Rebecca Sapp, the daughter of George and Sarah Canter Sapp.  He spent his adult life in Clermont County, Ohio, for reasons I have not yet determined (were the Sapps family friends from when his parents lived there?), and he was a Civil War veteran.  Jason and Rebecca had no children.  

Next born was Isam Philander, generally known as Philander, in 1829.  He married Nancy Borden, the daughter of William and Rachel Corn Borden.  Sally Lock Folsom, mother in law of Darlington, married a Stafford Borden after the death of her first husband, but I have not yet made a connection between the two Borden families.  Isam's children are Sarah, Lea, Mary, Melissa, James, Sandy, and Charles.  

Ruhamah was born about 1831.  There may or may not be a hint of scandal about her.  She first married, in 1848, Oliver Abernathy, the son of Randall and Rebecca Moore Abernathy.  They had two children, Isaac and Richard.  I have not yet found record of it, but there seems to have been a divorce because in 1868 she married James W. Toler.  The Abernathy boys are living with the Tolers in Illinois, along with Susan Toler, who is one year old in the 1870 census.  The interesting thing that makes me raise one eyebrow, just a little, is that Ruhamah is 10 years older than James.  Also, Oliver died in 1880.  It would be interesting to see the divorce records in the late 1860s, but Oliver seems to have moved frequently so we don't even know which county to search.

Next born, was John Simpson Aldridge III, about 1832.  He married Mary Toler or Toller, so far not further identified.  Their children are Mary, Frank, and Joseph.  John died in 1880 in Rush County, Indiana.

Here we come to another bit of confusion.  Apparently there was a son, Barr E., born in 1835 or 1836.  At least one tree gives his mother as Mary Henderson, and his father as John Simpson Aldridge, Jr, with no supporting documentation.  I could not find any record of Barr, so he may well have lived and died between the census years.  

To further confuse matters, the last known child was Marcellus, born in 1835 and died in 1882.  Some show his middle initial as E, and some say it was B, for Barr.  It's possible that Marcellus and Barr were one and the same person, but I tend to think there were two babies.  I have no idea whether the Mary Henderson idea is correct, but Marcellus is only shown as the son of John and Lucinda.  He married Hester Beaver, the daughter of Elisha and Mary Ann Walker Beaver.  Their children are Frank, Dailey, and Winfield Scott.  

By my count, this gives John and Lucinda 38 children, assuming Barr was real and was the child of John and Lucinda.  Most of the family stayed in central Indiana, so there are still a lot of Aldridge family members nearby.  

 

The family of John Simpson Aldridge 1761-1842

At last, we are coming to an Aldridge with fewer mysteries to solve.  No, we don't have all the answers, but at least we have some, and I've solved, to my satisfaction at least, a confusing statement I've seen written about three Aldridges marrying three native American women.  It wasn't quite that way, so read on.

John Simpson Aldridge is the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Soper?) Aldridge.  He served in the Revolutionary War for six months in 1776-1777, and enlisted again for three years in  1777, serving until 1780.  During his first enlistment, he was at the Battle of White Plains and possibly other battles.  At least one source (but not the on line muster rolls) says he was at Brandywine and at Valley Forge, and that he spent the last part of the war in Ohio at forts there, protecting against the British but mostly against the native American allies of the British.  He would certainly have some stories to tell!  

John's wife was Mary Lakin, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Fee Lakin.  They married in Frederick County, Maryland in 1783 and were in Clermont County, Ohio by 1802.  The 1820 census shows them still there, with 7 children.  At least two of the older ones had already left home, and there is a female under the age of 10 that I can't currently account for. John and Mary, and most of their children, moved on to Rush County, Indiana about 1825, and that is where they spent their remaining days. John and Mary's children are:

Joseph, born in 1784, and died in 1816 in Clermont County. He married Rachel Stiers, the daughter of Jacob and Ruhama Stiers.  Ruhama is said to have been a member of the Delaware tribe, but little more is known of her than that.  Joseph and Rachel had as many as seven children: Ruhama, John, Mahala, Henry, Mary, William, and John.  

Rachel, their first daughter, was born in 1786 and died in 1826 in Rush County, Indiana.  She married Samuel Stiers, who was the son of Jacob and Ruhama Stiers mentioned above.  They probably had more children than I have located, as the 1820 census shows them with 6 children under the age of 16.  (Or possibly one or both of them brought children to the marriage.  The children I have more or less located are John, Alva, Cyrus, and an unnamed daughter who was born in 1820.  

The next born was Erasmus, known as Raizy or Raisy, born in 1789 and died in 1844 in Rush County, Indiana. He married Sarah, possibly Sarah Holmes, but I could locate no further information about her.  Thier children are William, Mickley, Nackey, Joseph, John, Lucinda, Leroy, and Samuel, with a question in my mind about Leroy "Swampstead" Aldridge.  I will discuss this further when I write about Sarah.

Elizabeth was the next born, in 1791.  She married Ralph (Rafe) Stiers, who was also the son of Jacob and Ruhama Stiers.  They stayed in Clermont County, where Elizabeth died in 1868.  Their children are Malinda, Sarah, Mary, Joseph, Euseba, Martha, and John.  

Mary was born in 1793 and married William Smith in Clermont County in 1817.  She is one who has left more questions than answers.  I find just two children attributed to her, Anna and Mahala.  She apparently died in 1842, or 1844, in Rush County or elsewhere.  There is so far not much documentation about her life.

Sarah is another person with poor documentation.  She was born in 1795 and was living, apparently not married, in 1823, when she and a son "Leroy Swampstead" were listed as dependents in her father's pension application.  "Leroy Swampstead" is not a common name, and Erasmus had a son by the same name.  Were the two Leroy's one and the same, with Erasmus raising Leroy as his own?  Or were there two young men, each named for a possible friend/lover/husband of Sarah?  I've not found anything to prove or disprove any of this, nor have I found marriage or death records for Sarah.  She is a mystery.  

John Simpson Aldridge Jr is their next child.  He was born in 1798, and died in Rush County, Indiana in 1842, just a few months before his father's death.  He married Lucinda Wheeler, the daughter of Jason and Patience or Palina (maiden name unknown; Tracy and Hamblin have been suggested but neither is proven) Wheeler.  Their children are Ruhamah, Mary, Eliza, John Simpson III, Isam, Barr, Jason, Marcellus, Darlington, and Joseph. I will write more of this family in my next blog post.

Delila or Delilah was born in 1799.  She married Arthur Layton, not further identified.  He died in 1834.  Their children are Joseph, Arthur, Louisanna, and Missouri.  There are marriage records for Delila Layton in 1835 and again, later, but if she married again, it was a short marriage and she retained the name of Layton, for she is found in 1860 in Rush County, Indiana, living with her son, A. Layton.  It's possibly that there is a Delila Layton who was a daughter to this Delila, but if so, it is news to family historians.

The last known child was Nathan, born in 1803, probably in Clermont County, Ohio, and died in 1884 in Rush County, Indiana.  He married Nancy Kitchen, not further identified yet, and had at least two children with her, Mahala and Dulcina known as Sina.  Martha died in 1831 and Nathan then married-wait for it-Rachel Stiers.  This Rachel was not the daughter of Jacob and Ruhama, but was the daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Creviston Stiers.  This Stiers family was from New Jersey and I have not found a connection to the Jacob Stiers family but that doesn't mean there isn't a connection.  The children of Nathan and Rachel are William, Leroy (there's that name again!) John, Nathan, and Charles.

This brings us back to the kernel of truth in the story that three Aldridge children married three native Americans.  The truth is that three Aldridge children married three children of one native American, woman, Ruhama, who had married Jacob Stiers.  Perhaps DNA testing could show whether she was truly a native American, or whether she may have been one of those who was captured and then adopted by members of the Delaware, or other, tribe.  Such things happened.  

John and Mary, by my count, had at least 50 grandchildren, and only one of the families is known to have stayed in Ohio.  They surely enjoyed their life as grandparents, and great grandparents, and we can appreciate the sacrifices made by John in serving his country, and by both John and Mary in raising a large family. 

The family of Jacob Aldridge died 1815

 Yet again, we have a man of mystery.  Was he born in 1732, or 1741?  There was more than one Jacob Aldridge, of course. I think it's more likely that he was born in 1732, because the first reported child was born about 1759 and 18 would have been young to have been a father. But 1732 leaves his father, John Aldridge, having a child at age 20, so it's not totally impossible.  

This Jacob was the son of John and Eleanor possibly Watkins Aldridge.  He married Elizabeth Soper, the daughter of John and Martha Guttridge Soper, or he married Elizabeth Simpson, as yet unidentified, or he married both ladies.  Or perhaps he married Elizabeth Simpson Soper.  There are a lot of possibilities, and as yet I have not seen anything that cites a definitive record.  

Thanks to the will of James Aldridge, their first son and brother of Jacob, we do know something of the family of Jacob and Elizabeth.  And thanks to Michael Hait, who posted the will on June 23, 2011 in his post A Friend of Friends Friday: James Aldridge of Prince George's County, Maryland.  James died after April 16, 1833, the date he added a codicil to his will. 

James named his brother Andrew as one of the executors, (Andrew refused) and left bequests to the children of two of his deceased siblings, and settling the estate revealed their names.  So we have something to go on here.  

Jacob and Elizabeth had the following children:

James was born in 1759.  Based on his will, if he had ever married, his wife and any children had died previously, and he had no direct descendants.

John, born in 1761, is not mentioned in James's will, probably because he was living in Indiana by 1833 and was more or less able to take care of his family.  However, we know that John, known as John Simpson Aldridge, was married to Mary Lakin, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Fee Lakin.  John was a Revolutionary War veteran and is better documented than those Aldridges who stayed in Maryland.  His children are Joseph, Rachel, Erasmus, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, John Simpson Jr., Delilah, and Nathan.  I will follow this family in my next post.

Andrew Aldridge was born about 1763.  He was alive in 1834, when he wrote to the co-executor of James's will, declining to serve as executor.  The post mentioned above doesn't indicate where Andrew was living at the time, and I've not found any other information that clearly is this Andrew.  

Jacob was born in 1768 and married Martha Jones, so far not further identified. He had died by the time James wrote his will, and so we know his children, at least the ones living as of 1833.  They are Ann, Caroline, Christy (also seen as Christiana), Martha, and Washington.   

Eleanor was born about 1772 and married Richard Belt, who may have been the son of Edward Belt.  She lived until 1857 but the only child I can find listed for her is Louisa.  It is possible that this family went to Missouri, as a man by the name of Richard Belt is buried there.  

The final child was Elizabeth, known as Betsy.  She married an as yet unidentified man named Jones, and their children are William, Matilda, Samuel, and Pamela. 

This list, if complete, gives Jacob at least 19 grandchildren, but research is continuing.  

I would be remiss if I didn't include a tip of the hat to James, who in his 1833 will freed his slaves, at least the females, and left them a small sum of money besides.  I don't know whether James is the last Aldridge to hold slaves, but we can hope this is the case.