Elias Sr. Report – The Allred Family

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Elias Allred Sr.
by: Donald Forbes Forsyth, Sr.
Certified Genealogist

Elias Allred, Sr. and several members of his family were among the early pioneers of
Hall County, Georgia. He was born on May 6, 1758 the son of Thomas and Elizabeth
Allred of Orange (now Randolph) County, North Carolina. Elias died in Hall County circa
1844. He probably grew to manhood on his father's farm and in 1778 married Mary (Polly)
Rigby, the daughter of John Rigby, an English emigrant. She was born circa 1757 in
Virginia and died circa 1835 in Hall County. They are both buried in Bethany Baptist
Cemetery.
According to professional genealogist Archibald Bennett, who did extensive research in
the 1940's, the Allreds were of English descent.
During the Revolution, Elias served two terms in the Continental Army in Capt. John
Hind's Cavalry Company and Col. Littrell's Regiment. He was first drafted on December
1, 1780 and discharged in March 1781. He served his second term (April 1, 1781-July 1,
1781) in place of John Sitton who was married to Sarah (Sally) Rigby, Polly's sister.
According to his application for a federal pension in 1833 Elias' unit was marched to the
Cheraw Hills in South Carolina where they joined Gen. Nathaniel Greene's army. His unit
was then ordered to march along the Peedee River to Salisbury, North Carolina to meet
and assist Col. Daniel Morgan who had just defeated Col. Bonastre Tarleton at the Battle
of Cowpens and was being pursued by Lord Cornwallis. Elias' unit slowed Cornwallis'
approach firing several rounds while Col. Morgan's men escaped across the river. The rest
of Elias' service was spent marching back and forth across North Carolina "keeping down
Tories" and being on call as a "minute man." After the war he returned home and
continued to farm his land and was involved in several legal actions in which he lost part
of his real and personal property in order to pay judgements assessed against him for
trespassing. On several occasions the court in Randolph County ordered the sheriff to seize
and sell property belonging to Elias. In 1782 along with John Aldridge and George Julian,
Elias was charged with "having joined the British and was bound to the court." Upon
appearance in court they were all discharged by proclamation.
Since things were not going so well for Elias, apparently he thought it was time to leave
Randolph County and in 1815, he and Mary and the children who remained at home, along
with son William, moved to Pendleton District, South Carolina where sons Elias, Jr. and
Levi had migrated to as early as 1807. On January 10, 1815 Elias witnessed William's
purchase of a farm from John Turner. The property was located on Busby's Mill Creek,
a branch of the Saluda River and is near the present site of Easley, South Carolina in
Southern Pickens County. The Indians in Georgia ceded some of their lands to the United
States in 1818 opening up new opportunities to the west. Elias, Jr. and William set out as
early as 1819 for Hall County. Elias, Sr. and Mary followed in 1827. In the early 1830's
the Cherokees were forced to sell their remaining tribal lands in Northwest Georgia. The
land was surveyed and distributed to Georgia residents in 1832 in the Cherokee Gold and
Land Lottery. Elias, Sr., as a Revolutionary War veteran was allowed 2 draws in the
Lottery and was fortunate in drawing both gold and land lots as a resident in Griffin's
District. He was awarded land lot 298, 4th District, 2nd Section located in present Cherokee
County and gold lot 1151, 21st District, 2nd Section located in present Bartow County. He
apparently claimed both lots, but never moved from Hall County. Elias, Jr. and his family
claimed the land lot and moved to Cherokee County circa 1838 about the time the
Cherokees were removed to Oklahoma.
Elias, Sr. applied for a federal pension on July 10, 1833 and was awarded $22.50 per
annum to be paid semi-annually during his natural life. The same year on December 28 he
bought 200 acres (lot 50, land district 9) in Hall (now Banks) County from David Hyde. He
added 196 acres to his farm on October 22 1838 when he bought lot 66 in land district 9
from William Saye. This property which is in present Hall County near the town of Lula
was sold to William Sitton on February 24, 1841. Elias and Mary lived in Hall County
until their deaths. Elias' attorney J.K. Tefft picked up his final pension payment in
Savannah in September 1844. As part of his estate, the gold lot in Bartow County was sold
on May 30, 1849. In recent years the DAR placed a stone at Elias' gravesite to honor his
service in the Revolution.
Elias and Mary had the following children all born in Randolph Co., NC: (1) Thomas
b. 1779; d. 11 Jan 1861 Chatham Co., NC; m. 9 Sep 1803 Randolph Co. Sarah York
daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah Allred York. (2) Son, b. abt. 1781. (3) Levi b. abt. 1784;
d. after 1860. (4) William b. abt. 1787; d. aft. 1840; m. Mary Nicholson, daughter of John
Nicholson. (5) Elias, Jr. b. 9 Jun 1789; d. 12 Jun 1870 Pickens Co., GA; m. 15 Feb 1807
Pendleton Dist., SC Mary A. Harrison. (6) Son, b. abt. 1791. (7) Daughter, b. abt. 1793.
(8) Margaret b. abt. 1794; d. aft. 2 Jun 1880. (9) Mary b. abt. 1796; d. aft. 1880. (10) Son,
b. abt. 1798.
Very little is known about Polly Rigby. According to daughter Margaret in a deposition
in Pickens County in 1875, she was one of two children born to John Rigby, whose father
was William Rigby. There are rumors that John never received his share of his father's
English estate and Margaret was deposed hoping to claim a part of it in her latter years.

Submitted to: The Heritage of Hall County, Georgia - 2000
by: Donald Forbes Forsythe, Sr.
Certified Genealogist
915 Garden Meadow Dr.
Georgetown, TX 78628-2947

ELIAS ALLRED, SR. SOURCES

WILLS

1. Will of Thomas Allred, 8 Nov 1809, Randolph Co., NC Will Book 3, pp. 188-189.

PENSION RECORDS

1. Elias Allred Pension Papers File No. S16307, U.S. Revolutionary War, National Archives and Records Administration.
2. Ledgers of Payments to Pensioners, Invalids, Widows, 1818-1878, National Archives Microfilm No. T-718, Roll 5, p. 402.
3. "Revolutionary Claim," Pension Payment File No. 4673, Box 20, Record Group 217, Entry 724, Records of the Accounting Officers
of the United States, Settled Accounts for Payment of Accrued Pensions Aug 1838-Sept 1865; NARA.

BOOKS

1. Martha Lucille Allred Pyatte, Some Early Families of Pickens County, Georgia (Published by author, 1980).
2. Luke E. Tate, History of Pickens County (Atlanta: Walter W. Brown, 1935), pp. 38-43.
3. James F. Smith, The Cherokee Land Lottery (New York: 1838), p. 72. Reprinted (Baltimore: Clearfield Co., 1994).
4. Secretary of War, Report in Relation to the Pension Establishment of the United States (Washington, DC: 1835), p. 6.
5. Secretary of State, A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Service (Washington, DC: 1841), p. 146.

DEEDS

1. Deed of Sale from Thomas Allred to Jeremiah York," 10 Apr 1788 (recorded Apr 1788), Randolph Co., NC Deed Book 4, pp. 56-57.
2. "Deed of sale from John Turner to William Allred," 15 Jan 1815 (Recorded 26 Jul 1819), Anderson Co., SC Deed Bk O, p. 407.
3. "Deed of sale from Clement Mullins, Power of Attorney for Elias Allred", 30 May 1849 (recorded 30 May 1849), Bartow Co. Deed
Bk I, p. 53.
4. "Deed of sale from David Hyde to Elias Allred, Senr," 28 Dec 1833 (recorded 11 Feb 1836), Hall Co., GA Deed Records & Mortgages
1833-1836; LDS Family History Library Microfilm No. 454861.
5. "Deed of sale from William Saye to Elias Allred, Senr," 22 Oct 1838 (recorded 21 Aug 1872), Hall GA Deed Bk J, pp. 640-641.
6. "Deed of sale from Elias Allred to William Sitton," 24 Feb 1841 (recorded 21 Aug 1872), Hall GA Deed Bk J, pp. 638-639.
7. "Deed of sale from Elias Allred to John Turner," 30 May 1849 (recorded 30 May 1849), Bartow Co., GA Deed Bk I, p. 53.

CIVIL SUITS

1. "William York vs. Elias Allred", 25 Jul 1786, Randolph County Civil Action Papers 1786-1787 NC State Archives Library, 109 E.
Jones St., Raleigh, NC 27611 CR.081.325.4.
2. "Isaac Pennington vs. Elias Allred", 12 Mar 1787, RCCAP 1786-1787, NCSAL, CR.081.325.4. Photocopy is in possession of author.
3. "William York vs. Elias Allred", 14 Jun, RCCAP 1786-1787, NCASL, CR.081.325.5.
4. "William Richards vs. Elias Allred",25 Jun 1790, RCCAP, NCSAL, CR 081.325.6.
5. "Elias Allred vs. Isaac Pennington",7 Sep 1790, RCCAP, NCSAL, Cr 081.325.6.
6. "William Dix vs. Elias Allred", 6 Jun 1792, RCCAP, NCSAL, Cr 081.325.6.
7. "David Meredith vs. Elias Allred",21 Sep 1795, RCCAP, NCSAL, Cr 081.325.8.
8. Court of Pleas & Quarterly Sessions, Randolph Co., NC., February Session, 1782., Randolph County Genealogical Society, The
Genealogical Journal, Vol I, No. 2, 1977 Fall & Winter, p. 31.

U.S. CENSUS RECORDS

1. 1790 Randolph Co., NC, p. 98; NAM No. T-498, roll 3
2. 1800 Randolph Co., NC, p. 300; NAM No. M-32, roll 32.
3. 1810 Randolph Co., NC, p. 156, NAM No. M-252, roll 38.
4. 1810 Pendleton Dist., SC, p. 158, NAM No. M-252, roll 61.
5. 1820 Pendleton Dist., SC; p. 225; NAM M-33, roll 120.
6. 1820 Hall Co., GA ; p. 141; NAM M-33 roll 6.
7. 1830 Hall, GA; p. 99, NAM M-19, roll 18.
8. 1840 Hall, GA, p. 184; NAM M-704, roll 42.

TAX LISTS

1. 1779 Tax List, Randolph Co., NC, Capt. Joseph Hind's Dist., published in The North Carolinian, p. 180, original on file in State
Department of History & Archives, Raleigh, NC.
2. 1785 Tax List Randolph Co., NC, Robert McClain, Esq.'s Dist., RCGS, The Genealogical Journal, Vol II, No. 2 Winter 1978, p.
22.
3. 1795 Tax List Randolph Co., NC, James McBain's Dist., RCGS, The Genealogical Journal, Vol I, No. 2 Fall & Winter 1977, p. 14.

MISCELLANEOUS

1. "Affidavit of Margaret Allred",12 Aug 1875, given in Pickens Co., GA to W.C. Simmons, Clk of the Ordinary, Loose Papers, Pickens
Co. Courthouse, Jasper, GA
2. "Power of Attorney from Elias Allred, Sen. to J.K. Tefft," 14 Sep 1844, given in Hall Co., GA before H.J. Morris, J.P. Hall, GA
Loose Papers, Hall County Courthouse, Gainesville, GA.