Baldridge Mystery James Baldridge 1735-1812 to either James or Thomas Baldridge

Question

I have a schism in my research and the more I dig the more it gets confused.  Family information (backed by research) confirms lineage up through James Baldridge 1735 (Virginina)-1812(Westmoreland, PA).  Married to Elizabeth Wilson 1740 (Va.)- 1823 (Westmoreland Pa).  All family notes, including some anectdotal letters say the family decends from EITHER James or Thomas Baldridge who came over on the ship the Ark in 1634 with the Maryland Expedition.  Their names appear on the manifest.  However the generations between and unaccounted for and Im having difficulty linking the two up.  

I do find mention of James having a son with wife Dorothy  William Baldridge married to Elizabeth, but cannot find further information on William.  I also find mention of Thomas (wife Grace Isham 1615-1657) having a son named James who's wife is Elizabeth.  

Also when I search for James and Williams parents I do find Thomas Baldridge d. 20 Aug 1654 in Charles Md. born 1580 ish in London.  BUT it says he married a Grace Bowman (b.11 mar 1662 ) and they married 1651.  States they landed in Maryland 1658ish.  Does not track with her being James and Thomas's mother. I have not found an earlier wife listed.

Other sites frequently link the family with William Baldridge and Jannette Holmes but Im told this is incorrect.

https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I025435&tree=Tree1

Answer 1

That is quite the tangle! I would recommend going over to AmericanAncestors.org and doing some source searching there - they have excellent records, as they're part of the NEHGS. Hopefully you can find something useful there.

https://www.americanancestors.org/index.aspx

Answer 2

Check out William Baldridge profile. Baldridge-1028.Son of James and Elizabeth. James and Dorthey have a different William. He was born around 1631.

Answer 3

Other sites frequently link the family with William Baldridge and Jannette Holmes but Im told this is incorrect.

I'm not sure I can help with your Baldridges, but I can confirm you are probably not looking for the William Baldridge-Janette Holmes clan. They are believed to have come from Ireland about 1737 with adult children (John already married to Rebecca Clark, etc.). They first settled in Lancaster County. Some of John's descendants stayed in Pennsylvania, but John's brother Alexander, some of John's older children and later Rebecca Clark and her 2nd husband all moved to North Carolina. There is no Virginia connection.

I think you meant to write Westmoreland County, Virginia in your post, by the way. There is a connection to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania with these Baldridges. If you are looking in Pennsylvania, that does change things.