John Henry Alberty was the 3x great grandfather of my husband, Dave. He was the son of Revolutionary War soldier Frederick Alberty who had settled in the Rowan County, North Carolina area.

John Henry, or Henry as he was also called, lived to be enumerated in the 1850 census of Washington County, Arkansas.

John Henry was already in his senior years when he was living with an apparent son’s family. Daniel Alberty is 39, born in North Carolina. The relationship of the other Albertys to Daniel is a question mark. Next under Daniel is Nancy  Alberty,  who is only thirteen years old. George Alberty is eleven. I would surmise that Daniel may be a widower and Nancy and George are his daughter and son. My main focus right now, though, is on John Henry and Rebecca.

Next are John Henry and Rebecca Alberty. He is 78 and she is 68. Rebecca is probably his wife and is old enough to be the mother of all his children. However, with the ten year gap in their ages and no marriage records to be found for her, I am unsure if Rebecca is a first or second wife. The adults were all born in North Carolina.

In 1840, Henry Alberty is still found in Washington County, Arkansas.

One final document found pertaining to Henry is his service in the War of 1812 when he served in a unit from Stokes County, North Carolina:

Henry Alberty, War of 1812 Service

Images all from Ancestry.com

Putting all this census data together produces the following:

Henry Alberty, born about 1772, North Carolina. The earlier censuses all support his 1850 report of being 78 years old.

Rebecca, born about 1782, North Carolina. Her age is a bit more problematic. The adult female in Henry’s household in 1820 was 26-45, so born 1776-1794. That fits. In 1830, the adult female was 40-50, so born 1780-1790. That also fits. However, in 1840, the female is also 40-50, so born 1790-1800. That doesn’t fit. The unanswered question is whether Rebecca’s age is off – it  is possible the census taker ticked the wrong column – or might Rebecca even be a second or even third wife? As of now, there is no answer to that question.

Children in the household from 1820-1840:

1. Male, born 1802-1804                   Male, born 1800-10, still home in
2. Male, born 1805-1810                   1830
3. Male, born 1810-1820
4. Male, born 1810-1820
5. Male, born 1810-1820                  Died young. 2 in this range in 1830
6. Male, born 1810-1820                  Died young. 2 in this range in 1830
7. Female, born 1810-1820
8. Female, born 1820-1825
9. Female, born 1825-1830
10. Female, born 1830-1835         No further record.
11. Female, born 1835-1840         No further record.

Another issue is the fact that the 1840 household includes a male born 1825-1830 who is not in the 1830 censuses and it appears that the remaining children born after 1830 were all girls. Where does this ten to fifteen year old male fit in?

Matching the children up with Henry’s known children fits nicely. Before I list the spouse’s names with the children, be forewarned that when the Alberty family found another family they liked, they stuck with them!

1. Samuel Alberty, born c1806, NC; married Sarah (?Agnew)
2. Daniel Alberty, born c1811, NC; married Valinda Douthit
3. Henry Alberty, born 15 July 1815, NC; married Nancy Douthit
4. John Alberty, born 7 April 1818, NC; married Susannah Douthit
5. Eliza Alberty, born abt 1820; married John Douthit
6. Sarah Alberty, born 11 April 1824, NC; married Thomas Douthit
7. Mary Alberty, born abt 1826, NC; unmarried in 1860

With the exception of Samuel’s age being off by perhaps two years, these children all match earlier censuses. Two sons apparently died between 1820 and 1820 and no further record has been found for the male 10-15 years old in 1840 or for the females under 5 and 5-10 years old in 1840. They, too, may have died young.

Back to the first question – what is Rebecca’s maiden name and, more importantly, was she the mother of all the children? There is a mention in family trees on line that her maiden name was Bryant. I had seen that years ago, but have never found anything to support or disprove it. There were Bryants living near the Albertys in North Carolina, but it isn’t a rare surname.

Henry left no will or probate and there is a scarce paper trail, aside from census records.

One last twist to this story is the ever-present family lore that there is Cherokee blood in the family. If so, then the mother of Henry’s children had to be the link. In this case, I have to say it is a possibility for a couple of reasons. First, the Albertys were from North Carolina and one of Daniel’s children was born in Georgia. They ended in Washington County, AR, which fits with the push westward and the Trail of Tears. The strongest reason for my belief, though, is that Henry’s half-brother, Moses Alberty, did marry a Cherokee and the family appears on the Dawes Rolls. Moses died in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

If any descendants of Henry Alberty read this and you have theories, clues, documents or solid proof of Rebecca’s maiden name and the identity of the mother of Henry’s children, please contact me.