Nathaniel Aldridge Jr.

Name:	Nathaniel Aldridge Jr.
Born:	circa 1760s probably North Carolina
Died:	circa 1830s probably Lawrence County, Alabama
Married:	uncertain
Parents:	Nathaniel Aldridge Sr.
Children:	John Franklin Aldridge, Elizabeth Aldridge, Benjamin Aldridge, James Armstrong Aldridge, Jesse Washington Aldridge, Mary Aldridge, William Aldridge

Overview

Nathaniel Aldridge Jr., the son of Nathaniel Aldridge Sr., was born in the 1760s, probably in North Carolina. Nathaniel Aldridge Sr. was in modern-day Person County as early as 1761, and moved to Tryon County (modern-day Mecklenburg County) by 1770. Nathaniel Jr. moved to Tennessee by 1800, and by Lawrence County, Alabama, by 1830. He died in Lawrence County sometime after 1830.

Name

Nathaniel Aldridge Jr., like his father, is commonly referred to in online trees as Nathaniel Benjamin Aldridge. All extant primary sources, however, identify him as only Nathaniel Aldridge. There appear to be several cases of conflation between men named Nathaniel Aldridge and other, separate men named Benjamin Aldridge — Nathaniel Jr., in particular, being conflated with his son named Benjamin Aldridge — so it is very important to properly document the origin of this middle name, and be sure it is not based on an improper conflation.

Spouse

Online trees commonly identify the spouse of Nathaniel Aldridge Jr. as Jane Armstrong or Jane Brandon Armstrong. To the best that I've been able to tell, this identification is based on family tradition, and may or may not be based on a creeping tradition. By that, I mean, a tradition originated at some point that "the wife of Nathaniel Aldridge was an Armstrong"; later on, this was may have been joined with another, unconnected fact, "the wife of Benjamin Aldridge was named Jane." Later on still, the name "Brandon" was attached from some other source, and from several unconnected assumptions, Mrs. Aldridge now has a full name. Franklin Rudolph Aldridge wrote in Aldridge Records, vol. 2 (1975):

The wife of Nathaniel Aldridge, Junior is said to have been an Armstrong, however this may not be true. ... James Sidney Aldridge [born 1878, interviewed in the 1950s] said his Great-Grandfather's full name was Nathaniel Benjamin. [We feel sure that the] Benjamin Aldridge [who] died in Lawrence County, Alabama, about 1827/28 ... was a son of Nathaniel [Aldridge], Junior. Jane Aldridge [was the] widow of Benjamin Aldridge, deceased.

So it appears quite likely that the identification of Nathaniel Aldridge's wife as "Jane" is based on a probable conflation of Nathaniel (presumed to be "Nathaniel Benjamin") with Benjamin, his son, who died about 1826/27. Nathaniel Aldridge is not the same person; he was clearly still alive in 1830, per the 1830 census.

Per F. R. Aldridge, Jane, the wife of Benjamin, was also supposed to be an Armstrong, and this appears to be his reason for discounting the tradition that Nathaniel Jr.'s wife was an Armstrong. But it seems more likely to me that Nathaniel's wife was an Armstrong than Benjamin's, since Nathaniel did name a son James Armstrong Aldridge. In any case, a tradition is not documentation. Noting that Nathaniel's wife "was said to have been an Armstrong" is very different than giving her a full name without documentation.

Life

Nathaniel Aldridge Jr. was probably born after 1760 in North Carolina. He was aged between 60 and 70 on the 1830 census, and Nathaniel Aldridge Sr. was in North Carolina by about 1761.

Nathaniel Jr. probably married his wife in the 1780s. It is uncertain whether this took place in North Carolina or South Carolina, but the lack of a marriage record may argue for a South Carolina marriage (since South Carolina did not require marriage licenses).

South Carolina

Nathaniel Aldridge Jr. first appears in a record in his own right in the 1790 census of Abbeville County, South Carolina, alongside his father:

• Nathaniel Aldridge Sr.
  • 2 free while males over 16
  • 4 free white females
  • 2 slaves.

• Nathaniel Aldridge Jr.
  • 1 free while male over 16
  • 2 free while males under 16
  • 2 free white females.

Between 1790 and 1800, Nathaniel Aldridge Sr. is believed to have died. Nathaniel Jr. was still living in Abbeville County in 1800:

• Nathaniel Aldridge
  • 1 free white male aged 26 to 44
  • 1 free white female 26 to 44
  • 2 free white males 10 to 15
  • 3 free white males under 10
  • 2 free white females under 10
  • 3 slaves.

Tennessee

F. R. Aldridge records:

Nathaniel Aldridge and family, some time before 1800, removed to Tennessee, what was then Bedford County. [This date may be incorrect since it appears to be the same Nathaniel on the 1800 census in South Carolina. —JTR] 1812 Tax List for this county lists Nathaniel and John, who was a son. Nathaniel Aldridge to Malcomb Gilchrist 1812 (Deed) to Robert Manison 1821 (Deed) (Bedford Co. Deeds v1. bk. C&N pp. 287 & 20) Williamson County was formed from Franklin and Franklin from Bedford. After this formation from Bedford he ended up living in Williamson, or he may have moved there from old Bedford. In Williamson County he was ordered to work on road in 1804 and again in 1805 under the direction of John Williamson. (Wm. Co. Court Min. 180-1812 p. 86.) He was still living there in 1820 with a family of four.

I will do my best to run down these primary records and cite them here.

Alabama

F. R. Aldridge records:

Some time after [1820] he removed to Lawrence County, Alabama, where he died in the 1830s.

Nathaniel appeared on the 1830 census in Lawrence County:

• Nathl. Aldridge
  • 1 free white male aged 60 to 70
  • 1 free white female aged 60 to 70
  • 1 free white male aged 20 to 30
  • 1 free white female aged 20 to 30
  • 1 free white female under 5
  • 3 male slaves aged 24 to 36.
  • 2 female slaves under 10.
  • 1 female slave aged 16 to 24.
  • 1 female slaved aged 24 to 36.

It would appear from this listing that one of Nathaniel's children, and their spouse and young child, were living with Nathaniel and his wife.