Bethbirei Presbyterian Church – The Allred Family

Bethbirei Presbyterian Church

An Early House of Worship and Schooling for an Allred Family in Bedford County, Tennessee
by Alice Allred Pottmyer
descendant of William and Elizabeth Thrasher through two of their children, Sarah Allred Ivie and James Allred

In 1805, members of the family of William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred began to move to land in Bedford County, Tennessee. The land is approximately 50 miles south of Nashville. The land, just south of the Duck River along Rock Creek, was recently opened for settlement just prior to their arrival.

Eighteen Allreds moved to Bedford County and began buying land for their growing families. They moved from Franklin County in Northeast Georgia. This is the list of the adults and their young children who moved from Georgia to Tennessee.

William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred were the parents of Sarah, Mary, James, Isaac, William, Martha and John. About 1800/1, Sarah/Sally Allred married Anderson Ivie. Their first three children were born in Georgia: Polly Ann Ivie was born in 1801; James Russell Ivie was born in 1802, and John Anderson Ivie was born in 1804/05. They moved as a young family to Bedford County.

About 1802, Mary/Polly Allred married David Sanders: Their first two children were born in Georgia: Moses Martin Sanders was born in 1803 and William Hamilton Sanders was born in 1805. They purchased land in Bedford County. In 1803, James Allred married Elizabeth Warren: Their first child, William Hackley Allred was born in 1804 in Georgia. This young family moved on to Kentucky where James worked to earn money to move back to Bedford County with other family members. This he did about 1811.

The younger children, Isaac, William, Martha and John moved with their parents to this area of Tennessee. Shelbyville the Bedford County Seat, was approximately 15 miles east of their land. The Bethbirei Presbyterian Church small town of Farmington, was approximately five miles south of their land.

On June 1, 1810, the Rev. Samuel Finley of Kentucky organized the Bethbirei Presbyterian Church just east of the land owned by the Allred, Ivie, Sanders families and their neighbors. None of these Allred names appear on the list of charter members, but names of many of their neighbors are on the list. The church also housed the Bible Society on Rock Creek. This was a non-denominational group that distributed Bibles “by gift.” The Bibles were obtained from the Society headquartered in Philadelphia. The Bibles came from Philadelphia via boat to Nashville and then by wagon to the small town of Farmington. For many years, Bibles were distributed in that area of Tennessee. Many of the families wrote births, marriages, deaths and other family information in their Bibles. None of
the Allred family Bibles from Tennessee are known to have survived.

The Rock Creek Sabbath School was established August 27, 1827. The Sabbath School was held at the log Bethbirei church building.
Children were instructed in reading and writing through the Bible.

1. John C. Allred was a member of the 4th Testament Class. John Calvert Allred was the son of Isaac and Mary Calvert Allred.

2. Ruben W. Allred was a member of the 5th Testament Class. Rueben Warren Allred was the son of James and Elizabeth
Warren Allred.

3. Wm. Allred was a member of the Easy Spelling Class. William Moore Allred was the son of Isaac and Mary Calvert Allred.

The church held yearly camp meetings and there are references to these meetings by William Moore Allred in his autobiography: “I was born on the 24th of December 1819 in Bedford County, fifty miles south of the City of Nashville, [Tennessee]. My parents were very religious. I believe they belonged to the Presbyterian Church. I never had much chance for an education, and it was very old fashioned (education) at that. I remember of going to Sabbath school a few times where I was born and went a few times to the
camp meetings, but yet I was too young to understand much about doctrine.”

The small log church was both a house of worship and a school for children. Other events were held there such as a harmonic society.
In 1829, the family of Anderson and Sarah Ivie moved from Bedford County to eastern Missouri along the Salt River. The Ivie heads of
households appear on the 1830 Federal Census in Ralls County, Missouri. The Allred heads of households appear on the 1830 Federal Census in Bedford County, Tennessee. Apparently soon after this census was taken, most of the Allreds moved to Missouri and
joined the Ivie families along the Salt River. Soon after their arrival, the area where these families lived became Monroe County.

Tennessee was very important to this branch of the Allred family. Eighteen members of the family moved there about 1805 and by 1830 the family of William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred had grown to 89 people. William Allred died there between 1825 and 1830. Many genealogy records have his death date as 1808. However, his father, Thomas Allred, died in 1809 and left him 12 shillings. Also, he is recorded on the 1812 tax records in Bedford County as well as other later records.

Elizabeth Thrasher Allred moved to Missouri. She died there in 1841. She was living with Sarah Allred and Anderson Ivie at the time of her death.

In 1836, several years after these Allred families left Tennessee for new lands in Missouri, the area where they lived in Bedford County
became Marshall County, Tennessee. Below, beginning in the left column, is the listing of the family of William and Elizabeth
Thrasher Allred and their growth over a 43 year period from North Carolina to the time the growing family left Tennessee.

Who Left North Carolina?

In 1787, William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred left Randolph County in Central North Carolina and traveled to Pendleton County, South Carolina, with their first four children. Pendleton County then covered most of Western South Carolina. It has been divided into several counties and Pendleton County no longer exists.

The first four children were:
1. Sarah Allred: Born about 1781/82.
2. Mary Allred: Born about 1783.
3. James Allred: Born in 1784.
4. Elizabeth Allred: Born in 1786.

6 people left North Carolina for South Carolina
Who Left South Carolina?

The family of William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred lived in Pendleton County, South Carolina, for approximately three years. William Alred (Allred) was on the 1790 Federal Census for the Pendleton District of South Carolina. This was the first Federal Census.
On this census, only the name of the head of the household is listed. However, this indicates that the young Elizabeth was not alive at the time the census was taken. Also, there is debate as to whether the son, William, was born in South Carolina or Georgia. The census indicates, William was born in South Carolina.

The family in 1790:
Parents: William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred and children:
Sarah, Mary and James born in North Carolina.

Born in South Carolina:
Isaac Allred: Born in South Carolina in 1788.
William Allred: Born in South Carolina in January 1790.
Note: The census was taken in August of 1790.

In the early 1790s, William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred, moved from South Carolina into the old Franklin County, in Northeast
Georgia. With them were their children:
Sarah
Mary
James
Isaac
William

Born in Georgia:
Their daughter, Martha was born there in 1794
and their son, John was born there in 1796.

Georgia Marriages

About 1800/1, Sarah/Sally Allred married Anderson Ivie. Their first three children were born in Georgia:
Polly Ann Ivie was born in 1801
James Russell Ivie12 was born in 1802
John Anderson Ivie13 was born in 1804/05

About 1802, Mary/Polly Allred married David Sanders. Their first two children were born in Georgia:
Moses Martin Sanders15 was born in 1803
William Hamilton Sanders16 was born in 1805.

In 1803, James Allred married Elizabeth Warren. Their first child, William Hackley Allred was born in 1804 in Georgia.

18 people left Georgia for Tennessee
Who Was Married in Tennessee?

1. Isaac Allred married Mary Calvert, daughter of John and Mary McCurdy Calvert. Married in 1811.
2. William Allred married Sarah Warren, daughter of John and Sarah Warren. 03/05/1814.
3. John Allred married Nancy Warren. About 1818.
4. Martha Allred married William A. Ivy/Ivie.
5. Polly Ann Ivie, daughter of Sarah Allred and Anderson Ivie, married Ezekiel Billington. About 1819.
6. John Anderson Ivie, son of Sarah Allred and Anderson Ivie, married Anna Robinson. About 1824.
7. James Russell Ivie, son of Sarah Allred and Anderson Ivie, married Eliza McKee Faucett, daughter of Richard Faucett and
Mary McKee. About 1824.
8. First cousins, William Hackley Allred, son of James and Elizabeth Warren Allred, and Elizabeth Ivie, daughter of Sarah Allred and Anderson Ivie, were married March 25, 1824.
9. Martin Carroll Allred, son of James and Elizabeth Warren Allred married Mary/Polly Heskitt. About 1825.
10. Moses Martin Sanders, son of Mary Allred and David Sanders, married Amanda Armstrong Faucett, daughter of Richard Faucett and Mary McKee. About 1826.
11. William Hamilton Sanders, son of Mary Allred and David Sanders, married Mary Elizabeth Hooper. About 1826.
12. Hannah Caroline Allred, daughter of James and Elizabeth Warren Allred, married Andrew Whitlock. 09/30/1827.

12 couples were married in Tennessee and 11 new in-laws were added to the growing
Allred family. Note: First cousins, William Hackley Allred and Elizabeth Ivie were counted earlier as children.

Who was Born in Tennessee?
Children of Sarah Allred and Anderson Ivie
Elizabeth Ivie, 02/27/1807
William Shelton Ivie, 08/16/1811
Joseph Martin Ivie, 1816
Isaac Ivie, 05/03/1818
Thomas Chelton Ivie, 08/25/1820
Sarah Ivie, 1822

Children of Mary Allred and David Sanders
Sarah/Sallie Sanders, about 1807
Nancy Sanders, April 1811
David James Sanders, 06/14/1815

Children of James Allred and Elizabeth Warren
Sally Allred, 04/13/1811
Isaac Allred, 06/28/1813
Reuben Warren Allred, 11/18/1815
Wiley Payne Allred, 05/31/1818
Nancy Chummy Allred, 09/10/1820
Eliza Maria Allred, 10/28/1822
James Tillman Sanford Allred, 03/28/1825
John Franklin Lafayette Allred, 06/26/1827

Children of Isaac and Mary Calvert Allred
Elizabeth Martin Allred, 01/06/1812
John Calvert Allred, 10/05/1813
Nancy Weakley Allred, 11/09/1815
Sarah Lovisa Allred, 11/14/1817
William Moore Allred, 12/24/1819
Reddick Newton Allred, 02/21/1822
Reddin Alexander Allred, 02/21/1822
Mary Caroline Allred, 12/09/1824
James Riley Allred, 01/28/1827
Paulinus Harvey Allred, 01/21/1829

Children of William and Sarah Ann Warren Allred
Mary Ann Elizabeth Allred, 07/06/1815
Martha Gibson Allred,12/04/1817
James Anderson Allred, 11/22/1819
John Jones Allred, 09/01/1821
Green Warren Allred, 09/16/1823
David Harden Allred, 08/26/1825
Barton Brown Allred, 12/30/1827
Isaac Newton Allred, 03/25/1830
William Lafayette Allred, 12/27/1833
Sarah Elizabeth Allred, 11/05/1836

Note: The family of William and and Sarah Warren Allred remained in Tennessee until 1836. They then moved to Missouri to join with other Allred family members.

Children of Martha Allred and William A. Ivie
No information available

Children of John Allred and Nancy Warren
Thomas Allred, born about 1819
Tillman Allred, born about 1821
Rhoda Allred, born about 1823
Tensa Allred, born about 1824

Children of Polly Ann Ivie and Ezekiel Billington
Sally Diane Billington, 07/12/1820
Elias Billington, 10/28/1821
James Anderson Billington, 11/24/1824
Elizabeth Billington, 02/15/1826
Mary Ann Billington, 06/01/1828

Children of Moses Martin Sanders and Amanda Armstrong Faucett
William Carl Sanders, 12/04/1826
Richard Twiggs Sanders, 05/31/1828
John Franklin Sanders, 03/05/1830

Children of Elizabeth Ivie and William Hackley Allred
Matilda Katherine Allred, 02/19/1825
Delila Mildred Allred, 11/02/1826
Wilson Monroe Allred, 12/01/1828

Children of John Anderson Ivie and Anna Robinson
John Anderson Ivie, born in 1825
Sally Ivie , born in 1828

Children of James Russell Ivie and Eliza McKee Faucett
Richard Anderson Ivie, 02/10/1825
William Franklin Ivie, 12/18/1827
Sarah Ann Ivie, 04/23/29

Children of William Hamilton Sanders and Mary Elizabeth Hooper
Richard H. Sanders, 10/13/1827
David M. Sanders, 08/15/1829
Mary Ann Sanders, 10/18/1829
(note: listed on the Allred Roster that she was born three months after her brother—no other information available)

Children of Martin Carol Allred and Mary/Polly Heskitt
Eliza Elvira Allred, 08/31/1826
Reuben Warren “Black Reuben” Allred, 11/09/1827

Children of Hannah Caroline Allred and Andrew Whitlock
•Sally Ray Whitlock, 10/09/1828

63 Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren of William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred were born in Tennessee.

Who Died in Tennessee?
• Elizabeth Martin Allred, daughter of Isaac and Mary Calvert Allred died in 1812
• David Sanders, husband of Mary Allred, died in 1815
• Mary Allred Sanders Wright died in 1820
• William Allred, the father, grandfather and great grandfather, died between 1825 and 1830.
• William Carl Sanders, son of Moses Martin and Amanda Armstrong Faucett died in 1827

5 Allred family members died in Tennessee.

How Many Left Tennessee for Missouri in 1829/30?
+18 moved to Tennessee from Georgia
+11 in-laws joined the family in Tennessee
+ 2 children (Martin Carrol and Hannah Caroline) of James and Elizabeth Allred were born in Kentucky, but the family soon joined
the other Allreds in Tennessee.

+63 children born in Tennessee or Kentucky
94
-5 family members died
89 total

89 family members moved to Missouri. On January 14, 2006, the Allred Family Roster listed 47,589 descendants of William and Elizabeth Thrasher Allred. The Roster is the source for all the information in this report. Unfortunately the Allred Family Roster no longer exists. It was taken off line shortly after this report was written. The owner has refused all contact efforts.