John Alberty was born on 7 April 1818 in Rowan County, North Carolina, the son of John Henry Alberty and grandchild of Frederick Alberty, the Revolutionary War soldier. John’s gravestone calls him “John S.” and his wife’s gravestone says “J.S.,” but I have never seen a document giving his middle name.

The name of John’s mother is unknown. In 1850, his father was enumerated in Washington County, Arkansas with Rebecca, apparently his wife, but Rebecca is a full ten years younger than Henry, as he was called, and could be a second wife. Adding to this theory is the fact that John named a son Henry, but had no daughter named Rebecca. Was Rebecca of Cherokee ancestry? I don’t know, but no marriage record has been found for her, either.

The Alberty family history has a number of questions surrounding it. First, Henry was enumerated in Rowan County, North Carolina in 1820, which is where he is expected to be.

However, where he was before that time is unknown as he doesn’t appear in any earlier census records. His half-brother, Moses, married into the Cherokee Nation and is well documented. There are stories about Cherokee blood in John’s family, too, and it is possible that Henry was living among the Cherokee as a young man. He might have married there, too, and this possible Cherokee wife could be John’s mother.

In 1830, young John was still living at home and Henry’s family was enumerated a bit north of Rowan County in Surry County, North Carolina, which borders the state of Virginia.

During the 1830s, the family moved westward. Coincidence or not, they appear in Washington County, Arkansas in 1840. Washington County was in the path of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, which happened in 1838-1839.

Fayetteville, a connecting point of the various trails, is the county seat of Washington County, home to Henry and John Alberty, along with other family members.

John Alberty was a young married man in 1840 with no children yet in the household. However, no marriage record has been found for him and his wife, Susannah Douthit.

Susannah, or Susan as she was often called, was born 3 July 1821 and, like her husband, in Rowan County, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Abraham Douthit and Valinda Jarvis.

Between the births of their first two children, Julia and Sarah, the Albertys left northwestern Arkansas and settled permanently in southwestern Missouri in Newton County.

John and Susan Alberty were the parents of eight children:

1. Julia, born 24 September 1841, Washington County, Arkansas; died 16 May 1901, Newton County, Missouri. She married William Stanberry about 1856, probably in Newton County, Missouri. He was born in 1831 and died in 1910.
2. Sarah Elizabeth, born 2 April 1843, Newton County, Missouri; died 25 September 1905, Newton County, Missouri. She married Rufus Easton Armstrong, about 1862, probably in Newton County, Missouri. He was born in 1826 and died in 1912.
3. Nancy Jane, born 15 May 1845, Newton County, Missouri; died 23 July 1923, Newton County, Missouri. She married (1) Thomas Benton Hall (1843-1861), about 1861 (2) Nathan Jarvis (1824-1880) and (3) John W. Yeoman (1840-1924) on 13 May 1882 in Lawrence County, Missouri.
4. Henry, born 24 February 1847, Newton County Missouri; died 18 December 1864; unmarried.
5. George Andrew, born 13 February 1849, Newton County, Missouri; died 6 October 1906, Newton County, Missouri. He married Martha Pryor (1854-1920) on 26 December 1869, Newton County, Missouri.
6. Mary, born about 1851, Newton County, Missouri; died after her husband and before the 1910 census, possibly in Carroll County, Arkansas, where Riley Stites is buried. She married George Riley Stites (1842-1904) on 10 June 1868 in Barry County, Missouri.
7. Eliza, born 10 February 1854, Newton County, Missouri; died 28 April 1909, probably in Newton County, Missouri. She married John Thomas Douthit on 23 November 1869, Newton County, Missouri.
8. Martha Susannah, born 15 June 1858, Newton County, Missouri; died 10 July 1916, Barry County, Missouri. She married (1) Abijah Houston Sturgell (1855-1905), on 5 June 1876, Newton County, Missouri (2) Benjamin Wagner, 29 November 1905, Barry County, Missouri and (3) J.A. Clevenger, 19 July 1911, Barry County, Missouri.

John Alberty died on 28 August 1861, although I can find no reports of the cause of his death. There is no documentation that he served during the Civil War. He left no will and his probate was not begun until 19 September 1865, likely due to war time circumstances.

Susannah’s brother, Andrew Douthit, was appointed administrator. Final settlement was made on 14 April 1870 and the estate closed.

Susannah Douthit Alberty married (2) Isaac Sturgell, future father-in-law of her daughter, Martha Susannah, on 30 September 1867 in Newton County, Missouri. She divorced Isaac in 1874. Susannah died on 19 October 1883 in Newton County, Missouri.

John and Susannah  Alberty are both buried in Van Buren Union Cemetery in Newton County, Missouri. They are my husband’s 2X great grandparents:

1. John Alberty & Susannah Douthit
2. Martha Susanna Alberty and Abijah Houston Sturgell
3. Oscar Eldon Sturgell and Ethel Anne Nation
4. Ruby Jewel Sturgell and Edward Earl Stufflebean
5. David Lee Stufflebean