Solomon born 1680 England
.....William #1 c. 1715 - c. 1781
..........William #2 c. 1742 - 1825
...............Sarah c. 1771-c.1801
...............John 1764-1849
....................Elisha Allred 1803-1854
....................Jane Allred Carter abt 1794-1849
....................Sarah Allred Free b 1795-aft1849
...............William #3 1765-1849
...............Elizabeth 1769-1848
...............Nancy c. 1767 - 1827
...............Mary "Polly" 1774-1843
...............Samuel 1777-1848
John Allred 1764 - August 1849
Reports on some of John's children:
Jane Allred Carter
Sarah Allred Free/Feree
Elisha Allred
John Allred's Revolutionary War Pension Application
Transcription
John's War Stories
1843 Letter written by John's brother, William, tells of John and some of his children.
John was 58 years old when his father, William #2 died. Per William’s will, dated October 14, 1822, his oldest son, John, received the largest portion of the estate, as was tradition. John received 1/3 of his father’s land plus an additional 30 acres more than his brother, William #3, received. John and his brother, William #3, were also charged with taking care of their mother and making sure that she was provided for. John received the western most portion of the land bordered by the Deep River where he was already living with his wife, Sarah Spencer with whom he had 13 children. John had purchased this land, 5 1/2 acres, on August 15, 1820 from Archibald Ellison for $60.
On April 11, 1846, an elderly John filed his Revolutionary War Pension Application. As part of the application process, the applicant is asked to describe his service during the War and the resulting papers usually give us a wonderful account. However, when asked to tell about his years of service, John replied that he was 82 years old and "from old age and infurmity of body and sence he suffers a loss of memry and he can not state in detail his Revlutionary services as mite be expected or required....". The pension application lists that John entered the service in 1781 as a Private, serving under Captain Thomas Doogan. Their main duty was "puting down Col. Fanning, a tory...". John also said that he gave his discharge papers to his father, but they were "long since mis lade." A few stories of John's Revolutionary War service have survived over the generations and are still re-told today.
Within 2 years, John’s mental capacity had failed so much that his son, Elisha, and son-in-law, Solomon Free, petitioned the court to be appointed his guardians, equivalent to today’s Power of Attorney. The court papers, filed November 8, 1848, state that Elisha and Solomon had declared John "non compus mentis" and the Sheriff was ordered to summon 12 jurors to look into the matter. The sheriff acted quickly and court papers dated the next day (November 9, 1848) state that the 12 jurors agreed, John was mentally incapable of handling his affairs and they declared him a "lunatic". The jurors also estimated that John owned land worth about $1,000 and personal property worth about $1,000-1,200. Solomon Free was appointed John’s guardian.
I wondered why John’s son-in-law (Solomon) was appointed guardian instead of his son (Elisha). After careful study, I have decided the court chose Solomon for two reasons:
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From land records I learned that Solomon lived in Cedar Falls on land bordering John’s and was within walking distance of John’s home. Elisha lived about 20 miles south, closer to today’s Coleridge.
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Although Elisha was literate, he wasn’t very well educated, probably only having received the basic skills from his parents while growing up. Solomon, on the other hand, had been raised in a fairly wealthy and very influential family in Randolph County. The Free/Feree family were well educated and many were mill/factory owners, lawyers, and court officials. Solomon was, most likely, better able to deal with the business affairs than Elisha.
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Also, a letter written in 1843 by John's brother William #2, states two of John's sons, John and Claiborne, were not doing well and John was having financial difficulties. Sounds like John had his hands full, so Solomon Free was a better candidate for guardian.