| Name: | Nicholas Aldridge (or Alldredge) |
| Born: | before 1660 probably England |
| Died: | about 21 November 1708 (buried 21 Nov) |
| Buried: | All Hallows' Chapel Churchyard, Anne Arundel County, Maryland (grave now unmarked) |
| Married: | Martha Besson before 1680, probably in Anne Arundel County, Maryland |
| Children: | Thomas Aldridge, William Alldredge (b. 1702) |
Overview
Nicholas Aldridge is the immigrant ancestor of our Aldridge family. He entered a land grant in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, of 300 acres on the south side of the Magothy River, surveyed for him on 20 August 1680. The grant was issued by Charles Calvert, Lord Baltimore on 11 July 1681, a tract called "Aldridge's Beginning."[1] Like the other elements in my Aldridge-Alldredge tree, Nicholas Aldridge is the subject of a lot of extravagant and poorly supported claims. On this page, I will document what we know for certain, and do my best to distinguish fact from speculation.
Name
There is evidence from records that Nicholas's son William and at least two branches of his descendants (William b. 1729 and Nathan) spelled their surname Alldredge. Of Nicholas's other descendants, his oldest son Thomas's family appears to have kept the spelling Aldridge. Traditionally, Nicholas Aldridge's name was been spelled Aldridge by Memory Aldridge Lester and other researchers. For now, I will stand by this tradition.
Ancestry and birth
It is widely asserted online that Nicholas Aldridge was christened 28 December 1653 in Wellow Parish, Hampshire, England, the son of Nicholas Aldridge. I have seen no documentation to convince me this is correct. There are many Nicholas Aldridges appearing in English birth registers in this time period; on what evidence do we presume this is the right one?
We can assume that our Nicholas was born before about 1659–60, since he was able to receive a proprietary land grant in 1680. We know he was in Maryland by 1678, so perhaps that pushes the probable birthdate back to before about 1656–57. Within the parameters of a Nicholas Aldridge born in England between 1637 and 1657, only one Nicholas Aldridge appears in a search of the birth registers available on FamilySearch, the one asserted above, christened 28 December 1653 in Hampshire. A second appears if I push the search back to 1627, christened 15 December 1633 at St. Margaret's, Westminster, Middlesex, the son of Thomas Aldridge. But how do we know these records are complete? How do we know Nicholas was born in England and not in Scotland, Wales, or anywhere else? We do not. Unless there is some record connecting Nicholas Aldridge in Maryland back to a specific location in England or wherever, I will not make an assumption.
Marriage and spouse
Nicholas Aldridge marriage a woman named Martha, probably about 1679–1680. Their oldest child, Thomas Aldridge, was born 5 November 1680.
I have found a fairly strong case for the assertion that Nicholas's wife was Martha Besson, daughter of Thomas Besson. Two records in particular demonstrate this case:
- In the will of Thomas Besson, he names his daughter Martha, leaving to her a mare named Nobsey and a heifer named Eareling:
- Item. I give and bequeath unto my daughter Martha, to her and her heirs forever, the young Mare Nobsye Coult with all her Increase,
but if in caseand the heifer Eareling which was cavd in the yeare 1676 with all her Increase but if in case she my said daughter dyes before she comes to Age to fall to the next heir.[2]
- Item. I give and bequeath unto my daughter Martha, to her and her heirs forever, the young Mare Nobsye Coult with all her Increase,
- In the account of Besson's executrix, Nicholas Aldridge is paid a sum of money. The last item in the account contains a petition for an allowance for the heifer and mare due to Martha Aldridge:
- The Executrix further prays allowance these following particulars: To Martha Aldridge a heiffer given by will appraised to 500. To 1 Mare called Nobsey as 700.[3]
This indicates that Martha Aldridge is the daughter of Thomas Besson, the same daughter Martha to whom he bequeathed the mare Nobsey and heifer Eareling.
Children
These children of Nicholas Aldridge and Martha Besson are documented by parish birth records:[4]
- Thomas Aldridge, born 5 November 1680, married Elizabeth Purdy on 15 July 1703.
- Ann Aldridge, born 6 November 1684, married Richard Richeson in 1707.
- John Aldridge, born 31 August 1688, married Susannah Jones on 1 April 1719.
- Joane Aldridge, born 10 September 1689.
- Sendy Aldridge, born 9 August 1693, baptized 19 May 1700.
- Jane Aldridge, born 3 April 1696, baptized 19 May 1700.
- Nicholas Aldridge, born 11 May 1698.
- William Aldridge, born 30 October 1700. Buried 26 September 1702.
- William Aldridge, born 13 Mar 1702.
- James Aldridge, born 1 July 1706, married Mary Gassaway.
Death
Nicholas Aldridge died in November 1708 in All Hallows' Parish, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and was buried 21 November 1708 in the churchyard. His grave is no longer marked.
- ↑ Memory Aldridge Lester, Alldredge-Aldridge-Bracken-Nesmith Families and Their Kin (Chapel Hill, N.C.: privately printed, 1957), available on Ancestry, Internet Archive, and FamilySearch, 5 (Ancestry, Internet Archive, [www.familysearch.org/library/books/idviewer/541095/16 FamilySearch]); Franklin Rudolph Aldridge, Aldridge Records, vol. 2 (Nashville: self-published, 1975), 22 (Ancestry, [hwww.familysearch.org/library/books/idviewer/34303/26 FamilySearch]); Maryland Historical Magazine, vol. 26 (1931), page 273 (Internet Archive).
- ↑ Ancestry.com, Maryland, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777, Wills, Vol 4-10 (1670, 1676-1679, 1682-1700) (Ancestry).
- ↑ Maryland, Prerogative Court, Inventories of accounts and estates, volume 7, pages 125–127, at 127 (FHL Film 12919, Image Group (DGS) 7737555, Image 679, FamilySearch).
- ↑ This reading is aided by the transcriptions of F. R. Aldridge, Aldridge Records, vol. 2, 25–26, and Lester, 5.