I am looking for information that confirms / disproves any of the info below or can shed
light on the descendants of these families.
According to the Avery County Heritage Biographies,Genealogies, & Church Histories,
vol. II, it is believed that Deliah BEARD was the first (of three) wife of my ancestor,
James "Jimmie" ALDRIDGE. She was known to be from VA.
This James "Jimmie" ALDRIDGE was well-known for his fiddle-playing and bear
hunting.
Together, I believe they had 5 children: Sam, Frank, James, Betsy, Rachel -- all
ALDRIDGEs
The story (unverified) goes that after his wife "became untrue", he left with
his gun for NC, settling in the Upper Foscoe section of Watauga Co., NC. It was there
that he met the daughter of James CALLOWAY, Elizabeth "Betsy" CALLOWAY.
Not being aware of a previous family back in VA, Betsy "married" the
aforementioned Jimmie ALDRIDGE. Together they had 9 children including: Harrison E.
(1923), Jane (1924), Temperance "Tempie" (1827), Viney (1827), Sarah Ellen or
Elenger (1828), Benjamin C. (1932), William "Bill" H. (1833), Emaline
"Emmy" (1835), and (my direct line) Waitstill (05 Oct 1842).
Eventually, the story goes that Deliah BEARD made her way to Watauga Co., NC looking for
her husband and found Jimmie. Betsy was furious and kicked him out. Many of their
children then began using the CALLOWAY surname rather than ALDRIDGE. And, Jimmie left
with his first wife, Deliah.
It is told that he returned to NC 2 years later but his "second" family ran him
off. The story goes that he then took up with (married?) a 21 year old girl and lived to
be 110 years old.
Two other women's names have been provided as possibly being tied to Jimmie but I have
no verification of either. One is Margaret MUNCY and the other is Sally GRAGG. The
latter was known to reside in VA.
I have been told that James "Jimmie" ADLRIDGE alone in Green Brier, VA.
I am happy to share additional info and sources.
Tamara G. Suttle, M.Ed., LPC
www.tamarasuttle.com<http://www.tamarasuttle.com/>