Friday, July 28, 2017

Alford Generation #3: Julius Alford, 1717 VA - 1771 NC


I am currently working on 'Our Brown Roots' which will be a book about my father's family. 
This is a small portion of that book.
Note: This is a work in progress & may be changed as more evidence is collected.





Julius Alford

Sep 1717 VA - Nov 1771 NC
Son of James Alford

Julius Alford, born September 1717 in New Kent, Virginia, was the youngest son of James Alford and the grandson of John Alford.[i] He was in his teens when his father died. By the time Julius was 30 he was in North Carolina with his wife, Lucy and their first child, John. He and Lucy had seven children: John Alford, Isaac Alford, Goodrich Alford, Polly Alford, Sarah Alford, Jacob Alford[ii] and Job Alford.

            Like his older brothers, Lodwick and Goodrich, Julius lived in Saint Peter’s Parish, New Kent County, Virginia. His name is in the records of the parish. He was there in October 1735.[iii] Also, like his brothers, Julius migrated south to North Carolina. In March 1753 he was in Granville County when he witnessed a deed for his brother Lodwick.[iv]

The land known today as Granville County was once the home of many Indian tribes, dominated mainly by the Tuscarora. After the Tuscarora War of 1711, settlers mostly from Virginia began to populate this area, attracted by the abundant game, well-watered woods, and rich land. By 1746, the area had a population sufficiently large enough to merit becoming an independent county, separating itself from Edgecombe County's western frontier.[v]

            Difficulties with the Tuscarora were not over. More people moved into the area. There was less land and resources. The Indians were pushed out of their home. In 1754 there was an Indian uprising “which affected the progress of the commercial life.” Governor Dobbs arrived from England and found a war in progress and the county’s “affairs in deplorable condition.” The Governor called for the militia.[vi]

Edgecombe responded, reporting 1,317 men. On Roanoke River in Bertie and Edgecombe there were still a hundred warriors of the Tuscaroras and about two hundred women and children. In Granville County on the west there were the Saporas with only fourteen men and fourteen women. The long struggle with the Indians terminated after about seventeen murders and ten or twelve captives being carried away.[vii]

            Both Julius Alford and his brother, Lodwick, were a part of that militia.

October 1754 saw both Lodowic [sic] and Julius Alford marching and drilling as Privates in the Granville County Militia. In those days every able-bodied free man was obligated to own a rifle or musket and serve in the Militia. Judging by the trouble that the Colonies were having with raiders, especially the Indians and the Spanish privateers around the Sound, it’s probable that they saw some fighting.[viii]

In 1769 Julius Alford is among a list of taxpayers in Granville County.[ix]

            County borders changed. Edgecombe County had been divided to form Granville County. In 1764 a portion of Granville County became Bute County. The county was short lived and abolished in 1779 when it was divided into Warren County and Franklin County.[x]
            Julius Alford can be found in Bute County in 1769 in a land deed and in a description of the location of a road. In 1771 his will was presented in court.[xi]

Are you connected to this family? I'd enjoy hearing from you.



[i] National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia, The Parish Register of Saint Peter's New Kent, County, Virginia 1680-1787 [Parish Record Series, No. 2] (Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc.) 73.
[ii] Saunders, C. A., My Alford Heritage [Limited Edition] (Texas: Morgan Printing, 2005).
[iii] The Vestry book of Saint Peter's Parish, 1682-1758; New Kent County, Va., (Parish Record Series, No. 3). (1905). The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia. Reprint by Southern Historical Press, Greenville, SC, 2006. Page 172.
[iv] Alford, James P., Alford and Their Kin in Early North Carolina, Part I, (AAFA Action, March 1990, Issue 8).
[v]Pam Thornton, Granville History, The Early History; Granville County Museum; (granvillemuseumnc.org/granville.html: accessed 2016).
[vi] Turner, Joseph Kelly and John L Bridgers Jr., History of Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Reprint (London: Forgotten Books, 2015) 34.
[vii] Turner, Joseph Kelly and John L Bridgers Jr., History of Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Reprint (London: Forgotten Books, 2015) 34.
[viii] Alford, James P., Alford and Their Kin in Early North Carolina, Part I, (AAFA Action, March 1990, Issue 8).
[ix] Ratcliff, Clarence E., North Carolina Taxpayers 1701–1786. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984) 3.
[x] Corbitt, David Leroy. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663 – 1943 (Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1987).
[xi] Holcomb, Brent. Bute County, North Carolina Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions 1767–1779. (Columbia, SC: no publisher, 1988).



1 Julius Alford b: Sep 1717 New Kent, VA, d: Nov 1771 Butte Co, NC
 +Lucy Newton b: 1720, d: 1790
2 John Alford b: Abt. 1747 Bute Co, NC, d: Aft. 1830 Greene, AL

+Chloe Pope b: 1756
2 Isaac Alford b: 1748 Bute County, NC

2 Goodrich Alford b: c. 1750 NC
2 Polly Alford b: c. 1753 NC

2 Sarah Alford b: c. 1756 NC

2  Jacob Alford b: 15 Aug 1761 Granville, NC, d: 16 Jul 1824 Washington Parish, LA
+Elizabeth Bryant b: 20 Jun 1765, d: c. 1793, m: c. 1785 NC
+Frances Seaborn b: 29 Sep 1766 V, d: c. 1860 Washington Parish, LA, m: c. 1792 Cumberland, NC
2 Job Alford b: Abt. 1763 NC


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3 comments:

  1. Another book already? I bow to the master! You are getting it done. I'm jealous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is in very early stages. Still much work to be done.

      Delete
  2. I have yet to finish any of the books I've started. Hahaha - I just can't seem to stop finding things to add. One of these days I need to actually finish one. I suppose having a preschooler at home isn't helping... :) Good luck with your book!

    ReplyDelete

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