Solomon #2 Report – The Allred Family

Solomon Allred #2
c.1731 - 1782

Written August 2001 by: Linda Allred Cooper

(Many, many thanks to Solomon's descendant, Ralph Allred, of Greensboro, NC, who spent countless hours with his cousin, Fred Allred, researching Solomon and very generously shared his findings with me.)

In the 1750's, four men named Allred received land grants. The first man to receive a land grant was Solomon Allred, making him the very first Allred documented as living in North Carolina. Certain clues, however, lead me to believe they, especially Solomon, were living in North Carolina several years prior to that.

Solomon received his first land grant (Granville Grants, NC State Archives, filed by county and recipient’s name) 10 March 1752. At the time the grant was given, County lines were rapidly changing and the court clerk apparently wasn't sure which county the land was located in at that exact moment, so he wrote "Bladen or Anson County". The description on the land grant was for 640 acres along both sides of Cane Creek. Cane Creek runs along today's Orange, Alamance and Chatham County lines, but the vague description in the land grant doesn't allow us to pin-point exactly where this land was located.

Solomon received his second land grant (Granville Grants, NC State Archives, filed by county and recipient’s name) on the same date, 10 March 1752. This grant was also for 640 acres, again in either Bladen or Anson County. But, this time an important landmark and clue was given. The grant was for acreage located at the mouth of Sandy Creek and included "improvements by Solomon Aldricks". Today, the exact spot where Sandy Creek branches away from Deep River is located at the western edge of the town of Ramseur in Randolph County. By this description we know exactly where Solomon's land was located. Using this description, Ralph Allred was able to use his engineering skills and draw a plot map showing us the exact location of Solomon’s land.

By the words "improvements by Solomon", we know Solomon had been living on the land long enough to build a house, maybe some barns or other buildings, and possibly cleared farming land. This means he had been there for some time prior to March 1752, lending credence to the theory that the Allreds were in central NC possibly as early as the mid 1740's.

We can use these land grants to estimate Solomon’s age. Then, as now, men needed to be at least 21 years of age or older before owning land. Since Solomon’s first known land grant was dated 1752, we can safely assume he was at least 21 years old at the time making his birth year about 1731.

Solomon didn’t remain on his land for very long. A visit to this land today proves that it is very rocky and, in spots, swampy, not a very good choice for a farm. The dirt is poor, very sandy, and would not produce a very good crop. This may explain why on August 12, 1771 (Guilford County, NC, deed book 1, pg 58-60), Solomon and his wife, Mary, sold his 400 acres on Sandy Creek to John Lewis for 125 Pounds . He seems to disappear from land and court records for about 3 years, then shows up again on September 10, 1774 (Anson Co., NC, deed book K, pg 249) when he bought 100 acres located in Anson County, NC from Stephen Touchstone. Using clues in the land records which mention Mountain Creek and Buffalo Creek, we know this land is located in today’s Richmond County, NC just south of the Montgomery County line.

After a visit to this land in the early 1990’s, Solomon’s descendant, Fred Allred, noted: “After the trip to North Carolina one thought occurred to me. While the topography of the land does not lend to farming, it is ideally located near the confluence of the Pee Dee River and Mountain Creek so serve as a landing for river traffic. Possibly it derived some of its value from this aspect. However, in the inventory of chattels listed for Solomon’s estate settlement in Probate Court, only tools, farm equipment, livestock and house keeping furnishings were listed.” Once again, it looks like Solomon chose a very bad spot to have a farm.

Papers filed in Richmond County, NC courts (Estate Files, filed by county and person’s name, NC State Archives, Raleigh, NC) show Solomon died intestate sometime prior to December 26, 1782 and the court appointed Benjamin Beard to administer the estate. The only family members mentioned in the estate settlement are Mary Allred and Solomon Allred. Click here to see Solomon's estate papers and transcriptions.

Popular theory and family legend says Solomon’s wife was named Mary Hayes, but to my knowledge, no one has ever documented what Solomon’s wife’s surname really was.

A Richmond County, NC land record (Dec 7, 1797, Richmond Co., NC, deed book C, pg 806) dated 16 years after Solomon’s death, shows a younger Solomon and his wife, Mary, were taking possession on the same land the deceased Solomon owned at his death. This leads me to conclude that there were 3 generations of men named Solomon (grandfather, father and son). To make things confusing, from this document we know the younger Solomon was also married to a woman named Mary.

Another confusing factor is this land record was witnessed and signed by Frances Allred. Was he the son of the Solomon who died 1782?

Popular theory and family legend also tell us that Solomon had a large family, but again, I have not seen any documentation of this. What I have found is the above mentioned land record, proving one son named Solomon, another land record (May 25, 1800, Richmond Co., NC, deed book G, pg 54) showing Jonathon Allred selling land to Phoinas/Phoenis Allred; and a court judgement (March 10, 1790, Court of Pleas and Quarters Sessions, Richmond County, NC) listing Jonathan Allred and John Allred. Using all this information, we can extract the names of some of Solomon’s children: Solomon, Jr., Frances, Jonathan, John, Phineas and possibly Mary. Were there other children? Another one of those mysteries that remains to be solved.