Enoch Albritton (1771 - 1834)

Enoch Albritton and Penelope Frizzle were born near each other in Pitt County, North Carolina in about 1771 and 1772, respectively. ^[1] All we know of their early lives is that they presumably married by about early 1794, for the birth of their eldest-known child, Allen Albritton, reportedly occurred on 17 November 1794. ^[2] Repeated claims that Enoch and Penny married in January 1794 have proliferated since at least 1979, but we do not know of any documentation for this claim. ^[3]

In the latter 1790s and early 1800s, Enoch and Penny Albritton lived in Pitt County near Peter Albritton Sr., ^[4] east of Greenville and south of the Tar River on Cow Swamp. They sold his 51 acres there on 20 February 1802. ^[5] On 7 April 1803, he purchased a tract of 412 acres of land nearby on Swift Creek for $100, ^[6] but he sold it that winter, on December 3rd, and is not known to have owned other land in North Carolina. ^[7] Enoch witnessed a deed in Pitt County on 2 August 1806, his last known record in North Carolina. ^[8] On 20 October 1808, the Pitt County Sheriff advertised a sale planned for December 17th of lands seized for the nonpayment of 1807 taxes, including fifty acres he had seized as the property of “Enock Albrittain.” Enoch is not documented as owning Pitt County land then, and he had probably already emigrated from North Carolina before his 1807 taxes were due. ^[9]

Between late 1806 and about 1808, Enoch and Penny moved their family to Georgia, probably settling in the original Wilkinson County, recently created from lands that the Creeks ceded to the State of Georgia in 1802 and 1805. By 1811, Enoch had purchased a farm that now lay in Laurens County, formed on 10 December 1807 from Wilkinson and Washington Counties. ^[10] He had numerous relatives in Laurens, with his first cousin, Baptist minister John Albritton, and his adult sons already settled there, and another first cousin, Zachariah Albritton, living in neighboring Washington County. Enoch and Penelope lived in Laurens County until September 1815, when Enoch sold their farm, ^[11] after which they moved across the county line into Wilkinson County. ^[12]

Enoch and Penny Albritton remained there until at least early 1821, when he registered for the 1821 Georgia Land Lottery which dispersed the lands ceded to Georgia by the Creek Indians earlier that year to white settlers. Although Enoch was a fortunate drawer, he failed to pay the grant fee, and so the land reverted to the State of Georgia. ^[13] Since the grant fee was a nominal cost, this suggests Enoch had already left Georgia, moving his family in late 1821 to Alabama. ^[14] They may have gone directly to Wilcox County upon their arrival in Alabama, but certainly by September 1824, Enoch and his relatives had settled a short distance off the Federal Road on the west side of Cedar Creek, at the location that soon became Snow Hill Village, Wilcox County, Alabama. ^[15]

The United States Government did not place the Snow Hill lands on the market as early as they did some of the surrounding lands, and so unlike many early settlers of the south/central Alabama region, Enoch and his sons did not make early Alabama land purchases from the Government. During this period, eastern land speculators battled with western settlers over the rights of land speculators vs. “squatters,” those like the Albrittons who settled on and cultivated tracts of public land before purchasing it from the government. The conflict became a serious political issue that led to much haggling in Congress. The Federal Government finally offered western settlers some relief to the uncertainty of land titles by passing the Preemption Act of 1830. This gave settlers who established residence on and cultivated public lands the right to purchase it before the government put it on the market for speculators [16]. ^[16] This act allows us to conclude that Enoch Albritton established residence on and cleared fields for crops at Snow Hill soon after his arrival in the early 1820s, for when he finally purchased his farm from the Government on 25 May 1831, he claimed the “Right of Preemption,” giving him the right to purchase it before anyone else, including land speculators. ^[17]

In 1800, Enoch Albritton’s household in Pitt County, North Carolina included one slave, but that is the only record of his owning slaves during his lifetime. In both 1820 and 1830, his households included only him, Penny, and their children, while after his death, records also show Penny not having any slaves in her household. This seems somewhat unusual, given that most of Enoch’s brothers owned several slave families. ^[18]

In late 1832, Wilcox County residents elected Enoch Albritton as constable, and he began serving in this capacity beginning in January 1833. ^[19] On October 2nd, Enoch and Penny sold their 141.8-acre farm for $350. ^[20] It is unclear if he health had begun to fail, causing them to dispose of it prior to his demise, or if perhaps he had fallen into debt. Enoch Albritton died four months after selling his farm, on Valentine’s Day, 1834. His family buried him in what is now known as the Old Snow Hill Cemetery. ^[21] His original tombstone still stands, reading

"SACRED
to the memory of
ENOCH ALBRITTON,
a native of N.C.,
who died
Feb. 14th 1834
aged about 63 years
Let me die the death of the righteous
and may my last end be like his."

While Enoch’s eldest son, Allen, initially served as his administrator, he resigned in December 1835, perhaps over the insolvency of Enoch’s estate. The Court appointed commissioners to examine all claims against the estate, and at the final settlement in April 1838, the Court authorized payment to all creditors of 85¢ on the dollar. ^[22]

Penelope Frizzle Albritton remained near her children in Snow Hill for the next fifteen years, living with her youngest son, George, in 1840. ^[23] A severe drought perhaps prompted several of her children, Lavincy Albritton Lee, Mary Albritton Stokes, and George, along with a group of other Snow Hill residents to move to Union Parish, Louisiana in 1847. It appears that George’s wife had died about 1846, and he left his two young sons in Alabama, possibly in his mother’s care, while he made the initial trip to Louisiana with his relatives in late 1847. George returned to Snow Hill in late 1849, married again in January 1850, and then took his new wife, young sons from his first marriage, and possibly Penelope (unless she made the trip with her children in 1847) with him back to Louisiana. ^[24] In mid-1850, Penelope lived in Lavincy’s household in Union Parish. ^[25] By 1860, Penny had returned to Snow Hill and lived on the farm of her son, Silas W. A. Albritton, in the household of her granddaughter, Elizabeth Albritton Skinner. ^[26] She died sometime after 1860, but the precise date of her demise is unrecorded.

While in 1987, well-meaning descendants placed a tombstone for Penelope beside that of her son, George W. Albritton, in the Taylor/Liberty Hill Cemetery northeast of Farmerville, in Union Parish, Louisiana, it did not indicate precise knowledge of her burial there. Considering her age and onset of the Civil War, it is more likely that Penelope remained in Snow Hill until her death and was buried beside Enoch in the Old Snow Hill Cemetery. Someone removed the marker for Penelope placed in 1987 from the cemetery about 2017.

Children of Enoch Albritton & Penelope Frizzle

The evidence described in an earlier section indicates that Enoch Albritton (1771–14 Feb 1834) was a son of Peter Albritton Sr. Like his brothers, William and Peter Albritton Jr., Enoch’s name was omitted from the list of Peter’s children whose precise birthdates were communicated to Fran Lomas in the 1960s or 1970s and included in her 1979 work on the Albritton family. ^[27]

Enoch Albritton married Penelope Frizzle (27 Jan 1772–after 1860), daughter of John Frizzle and Mary Rountree. ^[28] According to a descendant writing in 1925, John Frizzle was born about 1717. ^[29] Probably a native of Isle of Wight County Virginia, Frizzle had served in the Virginia Militia in 1746 during King George’s War, seeing service in Canada. ^[30] It appears that John Frizzle arrived in Pitt County, North Carolina between 1763 and 1764, and in the latter year he lived on the plantation of James Latham. ^[31] Frizzle presumably lived in the southwestern portion of the county, near Little Contentnea Creek and the family of Jesse and Rachel Rountree, whose daughter, Mary, married John Frizzle about 1770. ^[32] In the early 1770s, Frizzle purchased a farm near Little Contentnea Creek and lived there for the next forty-seven years, the approximate location of modern Rountree Crossroads. ^[33]

Based upon the birth of their eldest known child in November 1794, Enoch and Penelope married no later than early 1794, probably in Pitt County, North Carolina. Many modern Albritton researchers insist that Enoch and Penelope married in January 1794, but this claim appears to have no documentation. ^[34] Documentary evidence points to the births of eight children to Enoch and Penelope Albritton between November 1794 and October 1810. ^[35]

Throughout the last half of the twentieth century, numerous Albritton researchers consistently made undocumented claims regarding Enoch and Penny’s children. The three Albritton books in print and an increase in interest in Albritton ancestry caused these claims to proliferate, now found in innumerable online sites and stated as if based upon firm documentation. The three most common unsubstantiated claims regarding Enoch and Penny’s children are [10]: ^[36]

1. They had sons Enoch and James Albritton who died young.
2. They had a daughter, Louisa Albritton.
3. Jesse Albritton, born about 1804 in Georgia and living in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana in 1850 and 1860, was a son of Enoch and Penny Albritton.

Given the high fatality rates from stillbirths, childhood diseases, etc. that plagued humanity in that era, Penny undoubtedly gave birth to more than the eight children attributed to her below. The 1800 Federal Census points to one young son born to Enoch and Penny prior to 1800 who presumably died young. Based upon the naming patterns of their children and grandchildren, the three names for any other male children we would expect would include “Enoch,” “James,” and “Jesse,” with Enoch and James coming from the Albritton side and “Jesse” coming from the Frizzle side. The issue is the utter lack of documentation that any of Enoch and Penelope’s sons had these names. Just because we have evidence for at least one son who died young does not prove they had a son with any of those names. It is very presumptive and historically inaccurate to assign the presumed third male child born to Enoch and Penelope prior to 1800 any one of these names without specific documentation. ^[37]

Regarding Enoch and Penny’s purported daughter, “Louisa,” the only known evidence for this is the 1850 Federal Census. Enoch and Penny’s eldest daughter to survive childhood, Levincy, was born in 1800 and married Martin Batte Lee. Mr. George A. Hammond, the man who enumerated the 1850 Union Parish, Louisiana Federal Census, recorded her given name as “Louisa.” However, we cannot accept this alone as reliable evidence of her first name, given the known mistakes he made in his work. Although an educated printer and newspaper editor who founded the parish’s first newspaper, Hammond made numerous mistakes in recording the given names of adult females in his enumeration of the parish. All other sources refer to her as “Lavincy” or “Levincy.” ^[38]

We can easily dismiss claims that Jesse Albritton of Catahoula Parish, Louisiana was a son of Enoch and Penny. East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana court records prove that he was the son of James Albritton who died there in 1833, making Jesse the grandson of Richard Albritton Sr., a younger brother of Peter Albritton Sr. ^[39]

Finally, a recent published work on the Southern Albrittons makes undocumented and somewhat bizarre claims about Enoch and Penny’s children, none of which should be considered legitimate. ^[40]

Enoch and Penny’s sons are documented by Bible records and his estate records following his death in 1834, while strong circumstantial evidence identifies three daughters. The known and presumed children of Enoch Albritton and Penelope Frizzle include:

1. Allen Albritton (17 Nov 1794–8 Dec 1861). ^[41]
2. John Frizzle Albritton (15 Sept 1796–2 June 1843). ^[42]
3. [male] Albritton (1790/1800–after 1800). ^[43]
4. Levincy Albritton Lee (15 Mar 1800–12 June 1864). ^[44]
5. Silas White Arnett Albritton (2 July 1802–17 July 1888). ^[45]
6. Mary Albritton Stokes Funderburk (19 Sept 1804–15 Sept 1856). ^[46]
7. Susannah Albritton [Susan] Skinner (1807/1809–c1844). ^[47]
8. George Washington Albritton (23 Oct 1810–28 Oct 1867). ^[48]

Sources

1. ↑ Old Snow Hill Cemetery (Furman, AL), tombstone of Enoch Albritton, which carries the inscription, “Sacred to the memory of ENOCH ALBRITTON, a native of N.C., who died Feb. 11th 1834 aged about 63 years.” John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible entry: “Penelope, daughter of John Frizzle and Mary his wife born 27 January 1772.” Pitt County NC Deed Book F, pp. 10–11, 119–120, 155–156. These land transactions of John Frizzle in 1771 and 1774 prove his residence near Little Contentnea Creek in southwestern Pitt County at the time of Penelope’s birth. Arguments presented elsewhere show that Enoch’s father lived in Pitt County at the time of Enoch’s birth. It is not clear exactly when Enoch Albritton’s family placed his tombstone in the Old Snow Hill Cemetery, but it was presumably shortly after his death. We presume that Penny told her children what to put on it, and that she believed that at his death Enoch was “aged above 63 years.” This puts his birth in about 1771.
2. ↑ Lomas, Fran Wylie. Book of Albrittons: 1609–1979. San Angelo, TX, 1979, pp. 57–58. McSwain, Eleanor Davis. Some Descendants of Francis Albrighton (1609–1667), Mathew Jones of Mulberry Island, Virginia (1643–1712), and Ralph Albritton of York County, Virginia (1656–ca1701), and Connecting Families. Macon, GA: Jones and Grissom, 1984, p. 136. Albritton, Bobby G. Albrittons of the Second Millennium. Revised ed. Alpharetta, GA: Balbritt, 2004, p. 115. Lomas states that Allen Albritton’s birth occurred on 17 November 1794, while McSwain merely states that Allen was born “about 1793 or 1794” and Bobby G. Albritton gives his birth on 7 June 1794, “in Snow Hill, Greene County, North Carolina.” Lomas’ precise dating of Allen’s birth has become almost uniformly accepted, even though the earliest-known survey of the Old Snow Hill Cemetery fails to show an accurate reading from what is believed to have been his original tombstone. It is unclear if Lomas had access to accurate records from the Allen Albritton family that truly gave his date of birth, or his original tombstone was engraved with it. The source of the 7 June 1794 given in Mr. Albritton’s work is unknown, but his claim that Allen’s birth occurred in Snow Hill, Greene County North Carolina is totally without merit. No known record places Enoch and Penny in Snow Hill, although Lomas, p. 58, states incorrectly that Allen’s birth occurred in “Snow Hill, Pitt County” (Snow Hill is the county seat of Greene County and does not lie in Pitt).
3. ↑ Lomas, p. 56. Albritton, p. 61. Fran Lomas’ work is the earliest-known source of the claim Enoch and Penny married in January 1794. McSwain does not mention when they married, and Bobby G. Albritton claims that they married in January 1793.
4. ↑ Pitt County NC Deed Book O, pp. 85–86 (Peter Albritton Sr. to Enoch Albritton, 6 February 1797). 1800 Pitt County NC Federal Census, p. 256, line #9: Peter Albritton, p. 257, line #1: Enoch Albritton.
5. ↑ Pitt County NC Deed Book P, pp. 126–127 (Enoch and “Peny” Albritton to Moses Moore Sr., 20 February 1802).
6. ↑ Pitt County NC Deed Book P, pp. 381–382 (Joel Dickinson to Enoch Albritton, 7 April 1803).
7. ↑ Pitt County NC Deed Book T, p. 14 (“Enock” Albritton to John Stocks, 3 December 1803).
8. ↑ Pitt County NC Deed Book Q, pp. 341–342 (Sheriff Cannon Smith to Peter Cannon, 2 August 1806; witnesses: “Enuck” Albritton, Gardner Moye). Moye was Enoch's brother-in-law, the husband of Peter Albritton's daughter, Elizabeth.
9. ↑ “The Minerva” (Raleigh, NC), 20 October 1808, p. 3, column 4. In his advertisement of the impending sale, the sheriff indicated plans to offer for sale 50 acres of land belonging to “Enock Albrittain” of Capt. Sherwood Hine’s District. Enoch Albritton sold his last known land on 3 December 1803, and so it is unknown what land the sheriff actually seized.
10. ↑ Laurens County GA Deed Book C, p. 191 (Enoch Albritton to Jonathan Jones Jr.). Albritton sold 101.25 acres in Land Lot #264.
11. ↑ Laurens County GA Deed Book G, pp. 158–159 (Enoch Albritton to Namon Picron (Packren)). Albritton sold 80 acres of land in Lot #264.
12. ↑ 1820 Wilkinson County GA Federal Census, p. 217, line #33: Enoch Allbriton.
13. ↑ Lucas, Rev. Silas Emmett Jr. The Fourth or 1821 Land Lottery of Georgia. Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1986, p. 2.
14. ↑ Martin B. Lee family records (the Lee “slat-book”). The precise date of the extended Enoch Albritton family’s trip from Georgia to Alabama is uncertain. Based upon the birth dates of Enoch’s eldest three Lee granddaughters and their places of birth given in census records, his daughter, Levincy Albritton Lee, had daughters Lavincy born 4 August 1818 and Penelope born 3 May 1820 in Georgia, and Nancy born 1 January 1822 in Alabama. If accurate, and if the entire extended family made the journey at the same time, this suggests that they left Alabama in late 1821 and had arrived in Alabama by New Year’s Day, 1822. Note that this presumes that Enoch and Penelope made the trip with their daughter, Levincy Albritton Lee. Other records show that their son, Allen Albritton, remained in Georgia for a few more years, for he had children born in Georgia on 17 October 1822 and 16 December 1823, if we can believe census records and family data that gives the latter birthdate.
15. ↑ Barefield, Marilyn Davis. Records of Wilcox County Alabama. Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1988, p. 4 (Wilcox County AL Marriage Records (1820-1826), John Stokes to Mary “Allbrittain,” 8 September 1824). This marriage documents that Enoch had settled his family there by that date, and this is the earliest-known Wilcox County record verifying their residence there, although it seems likely they had arrived by January 1822.
16. ↑ Gates, Paul. History of Public Land Law Development. Wm. W. Gaunt & Sons, Inc., Holmes Beach, Florida, 1968, pp. 224–226. </li>
17. ↑ Cahaba, AL Land Office Cash Entry #7947 (1830 Pre-emption Act), Enoch Allbritton (25 May 1831, for the SW¼ of Section 4, Township 12, Range 11, 141.8 acres). The Cahaba, Alabama Land Officer who handled the land purchase by Enoch <i>“Allbritton” in 1831 issued him a receipt on a pre-printed form verifying that Enoch made the purchase via the 1830 Preemption Act, and “Preemption” was written on the standard Cash Entry form prepared that day. However, “Preemption” was not written on the official land patent issued by the government a few years later, as it was for the Preemption claims of Enoch’s son, Silas.
18. ↑ 1800 Pitt County NC Federal Census, p. 257, line #1: Enoch Albritton. 1820 Wilkinson County GA Federal Census, p. 217, line #33: Enoch Albritton. 1830 Wilcox County AL Federal Census, p. 173, line #13: Enoch Albriton. 1840 Wilcox County AL Federal Census, p. 330, line #27: G. W. Albritton.
19. ↑ Wilcox County AL Will Record (1820–1849), p. 95 (Enoch Albritton Constable Bond, 28 January 1833).
20. ↑ Wilcox County AL Deed Book C, pp. 93–94 (Enoch and Penny Albritton to William Drake, 2 October 1833).
21. ↑ Old Snow Hill Cemetery (Furman, Wilcox County AL), tombstone of Enoch Albritton.
22. ↑ Wilcox County AL Probate Minutes Book 2, pp. 316, 319, 338, 413, 415, 490, 498, 512, 521; Probate Minutes Book 3, pp. 151, 156, 181, 187, 231, 241, 245, 254–255 (Enoch Albritton Estate, 1833–1835).
23. ↑ 1840 Wilcox County AL Federal Census, p. 330, line#27: G. W. Albritton.
24. ↑ Union Parish LA Conveyance Record A-1, pp. 149–150, Book C, p. 130. Ouachita, LA Land Office Cash Entry #9304, Noah Scarborough, 22 February 1848, and Cash Entry #10018, Geo. W. Albritton, 12 July 1849. Ouachita, LA Military Warrant #54487, Martin B. Lee, assignee, 25 Sept 1849. Louisiana Confederate Pension Applications of Enoch R. Albritton (filed 12 April 1911), and of his first cousins, Samantha Elvyann Scarborough Ham (filed 6 Dec 1909 and 30 Aug 1920) and Susan Malissa Scarborough, widow of George N. Scarborough (filed 24 Nov 1928; Susan married her own first cousin). The facts are: George W. Albritton first married Milly Fowler, and they had two sons born in 1843 and 1846. Lavincy Albritton Lee’s husband, Martin B. Lee, bought land in Union Parish on 23 August 1847, and George W. Albritton purchased land in 1847 or 1848 (record undated). Albritton’s brother-in-law, Noah Scarborough, purchased land in Union Parish in February 1848. Sisters Samantha Elvyann and Susan Malissa Scarborough are the daughters of Samantha Fowler Scarborough, whose sister, Milly, first married George W. Albritton. The Scarborough sisters stated in their applications that they had resided in the State of Louisiana since the year 1847. However, Enoch Albritton stated in his application that he had lived in Louisiana “since I was seven years old.” Since he was born in June 1843, this indicates that he did not arrive in Louisiana until 1850. These facts suggest that George W. Albritton left his young sons in Alabama while he accompanied the families of his sister, Lavincy, and sister-in-law, Samantha Fowler Scarborough, to Union Parish. This would further suggest that Albritton’s first wife, Milly Fowler Albritton, died about 1846–1847 in Alabama, following the birth of her second son, and the boys remained in Snow Hill with either her parents, Richard and Sarah Fowler, or their paternal grandmother, Penelope Frizzle Albritton, while their father went to Louisiana. George W. Albritton returned to Snow Hill during the winter of 1849–1850, married his first wife’s younger sister, Sarah Ann Fowler, on 3 January 1850 in Wilcox County Alabama, and then took his new wife and two sons to their new home in Union Parish Louisiana. It is unclear whether Penelope came to Louisiana in 1847, or if she remained in Alabama with George’s sons until early 1850 and then accompanied George to Louisiana.
25. ↑ 1850 Union Parish LA Federal Census, p. 358a, Household #127: Martin B. Lee.
26. ↑ 1860 Wilcox County AL Federal Census, P.O. Rehoboth, pp. 1057/43–1058/44, Household #296: S. W. Albritton, Family #331: Louis Skinner.
27. ↑ Lomas, Fran Wylie. Book of Albrittons: 1609–1979. San Angelo, TX, 1979, pp. 164–165. McSwain, Eleanor Davis. Some Descendants of Francis Albrighton (1609–1667), Mathew Jones of Mulberry Island, Virginia (1643–1712), and Ralph Albritton of York County, Virginia (1656–ca1701), and Connecting Families. Macon, GA: Jones and Grissom, 1984, p. 149. Mrs. McSwain republished the same dates that Lomas did, adding (without documentation) the birthdate for Peter Albritton Jr.
28. ↑ Pitt County NC Deed Book CC, p. 39 (Elizabeth Frizzle, widow of John Frizzle, vs. John Frizzle’s heirs, February 1820). John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible (photocopies published in both McSwain, pp. 126–129, and Albritton, pp. 120–121). </i>“The Star, And North-Carolina State Gazette,”</i> December 24 (p. 1, column 4) and 31 (p. 1, column 3), 1819, and 28 January 1820 (p. 4, column 3). An entry in the John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible records the birth of his mother: "Penelope, daughter of John Frizzle and Mary his wife born 27 January 1772." Three sources prove that Penelope was John Frizzle’s daughter: the February 1820 court settlement between his widow and heirs, the newspaper advertisement announcing the settlement, and the Bible record of Penelope’s son.
29. ↑ DAR Application of Mrs. Mary Hancock McNatt, National Number 215981, approved 22 October 1925.
30. ↑ Clark, Murtie June. Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732–1774. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983, p. 262. John Frizell was listed as a private on the muster roll of Capt. Beverly Robinson’s Company, Virginia Militia, serving during the sixty-day period from August 25th through October 24th, 1746. In Mrs. McNatt’s DAR Application, she stated:

    "Mary Frizzle's father John Frizzle (my great great grand father [sic]) was in [illegible word] Battle of Quebec 1759, between the English & French. His sword of [illegible word] war is in Ayden N.C. with his descendants. He went to the war from Virginia and came back to N.C.; died at the age of 101 years old."

    Her statement appears to have confused when John Frizzle saw militia service in Canada. No Virginia Militia units are known to have served during the Battle of Quebec in 1759. However, Virginia did sent militia to serve in Canada during an earlier French and Indian War, specifically during King George’s War in 1746. Since Frizzle is documented as serving in the militia in 1746, presumably his unit went to Canada that year. Frizzle’s sword was passed down to his descendants and reportedly was last known to be in the possession of a descendant living near Ayden, Pitt County North Carolina.

31. ↑ Secretary of State Records, State Archives of North Carolina. SSXVIII, Recordkeeping (Misc.): Tax Lists, Box 2, 1762, 1763, 1764. Pitt County NC Tax Lists. John Frizzle did not pay taxes in Pitt County in either 1762 or 1763, but in 1764, John Frizell and James Perkins appear to have lived, and probably worked, on the plantation of James Latham, who paid for three white poll taxes, his own and those of Frizell and Perkins, and one black poll.
32. ↑ Craven County NC Wills, 1777, Jesse Rountree. The 1777 will of Jesse Rountree names his daughter as Mary and names John Frizzle as one of his executors. John Frizzle witnessed a deed of Jesse Rountree on 25 October 1774 (Pitt County NC Deed Book F, pp. 81–82).
33. ↑ Pitt County NC Deed Book F, pp. 10–11 (Absolam Kitterell to John Frizel, 26 June 1771); Deed Book F, pp. 119–120 (Moses Manning to John Frizle, 8 December 1774); Deed Book F, pp. 155–156 (Peter and Elizabeth Digens to John Frizzle, 1774). North Carolina Grant Book 20, p. 641; Grant #379, File #135; grant issued 24 December 1770 (200 acres granted to Peter Diggins, “on the middle prong of the Hencoob [sic] Branch”). These records prove John Frizzle’s residence near Little Contentnea Creek in southwestern Pitt County between 1771 and 1774:
    • 26 June 1771: John “Frizel” purchased a 290-acre tract of land on Little Contentnea Creek and Glohon’s Marsh.
    • 8 December 1774: John “Frizle” purchased a 160-acre tract on the east side of Little Contentnea, on “Macklains” pond and Key and Turkey Branch
    • 1774, John Frizzle purchased a 200-acre tract of land on Hencoop Branch from Peter “Diggens”
34. ↑ Lomas, p. 56. Albritton, Bobby G. Albrittons of the Second Millennium, Revised ed. Alpharetta, GA: Balbritt, 2004, p. 61. Lomas writes that Enoch and Penelope married in January 1794, and Albritton researchers began communicating this as an indisputable fact in widespread correspondence beginning at least as early as 1980. The source of the January 1794 marriage date is unknown, for no marriage records exist for Pitt County during the 1790s, and the region had extremely limited newspaper coverage throughout this period. Mr. Bobby G. Albritton states, without any source, that Enoch and Penelope married in January 1793 in Pitt County. Given the other documented factual mistakes in his data on Enoch and Penny, his statement should be disregarded (he also stated that Penelope’s birth occurred in Goldsboro, Wayne County North Carolina, which is impossible, as Wayne County was not formed until 1779, seven years after her birth, and Goldsboro was not formed until 1847).
35. ↑ 1800 Pitt County NC Federal Census, p. 257, line #1: Enoch Albritton. 1820 Wilkinson County GA Federal Census, p. 217, line #33: Enoch Allbriton. 1850 Union Parish LA Federal Census, p. 358a, Household #127: Martin B. Lee. Wilcox County AL Probate Minutes Book 2, p. 316. John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible (copies published in both McSwain, pp. 126–129, and Albritton, pp. 120–121). On 3 October 1834, John Stokes applied to the Wilcox County Alabama Orphans Court to be appointed administrator of the Estate of Enoch Albritton. Instead of approving his request, the Court issued summons to Enoch’s widow (unnamed) and to John F., Allen, Silas W. A., and George W. Albritton “& any & the next of Kin,” presumably including all of Enoch’s surviving sons. Penelope’s residence in the house of Martin B. Lee in 1850 helps verify well-known Lee family tradition that his wife, Levincy, was a daughter of Enoch and Penelope. John Stokes had married Mary Albritton in 1824, while John Skinner married Susannah Albritton in 1836. Other records quoted later provide further evidence that Mary and Susannah were Enoch and Penny’s daughters.
36. ↑ Lomas, pp. 57–58. Albritton, pp. 63–64.
37. ↑ 1800 Pitt County NC Federal Census, p. 257, line #1: Enoch Albritton. Lomas, pp. 57–58. McSwain, p. 136. Albritton, pp. 63–64. Lomas and McSwain both include Enoch, James, and Jesse among the sons of Enoch and Penny.
38. ↑ Wilcox County AL Deed Book H, pp. 187–188 (Martin B. and Lavincy Lee to William Parrott, 13 January 1841). Taylor/Liberty Hill Cemetery (Farmerville, LA), tombstone of “Levincy, Consort of M. B. Lee” (15 Mar 1800–12 June 1864). 1850 Union Parish LA Federal Census, p. 358a, Household #127: Martin B. Lee; line #21: “Louisa Lee.” Martin B. Lee Family Records. Lomas, pp. 57–58. McSwain, p. 136. Albritton, pp. 63–64, 118. Based upon the spelling of her name on her tombstone and Wilcox County deeds, her given name was clearly “Levincy,” a name repeated often among her nieces and granddaughters. Fran Lomas and Eleanor Davis McSwain refer to her as “Lavinia,” a variation not found in the documentation contemporary with her lifetime and include “Louise” as another daughter in addition to “Lavinia.” In Albrittons of the Second Millennium, Mr. Bobby G. Albritton combines these purported daughters into one with the absurd given name of “Lavinia Louisa Ann Albritton,” a variation entirely unsubstantiated in the records.
39. ↑ East Feliciana Parish LA Probate Papers, James & Delany Albritton, File #7, 9, 12. On 20 February 1833, Jesse Albritton of East Feliciana Parish Louisiana petitioned that James and Delany Albritton had recently died, leaving five minor heirs, “all brothers and sisters of the petitioner.” The court ordered a family meeting “at the late residence of James & Delany Albritton in the parish.” James Albritton was the son of Richard Albritton, a brother of Peter Albritton Sr., making James a first cousin of Enoch. A perfunctory examination of other records show Jesse could not possibly be Enoch’s son. Federal Census records show Jesse’s birth in Georgia in 1806 (1850 Catahoula Parish LA Federal Census, p. 85a, Household #555: Jesse Allbritton; 1860 Catahoula Parish LA Federal Census, Pine Woods Dist., P.O. Greer Creek, p. 482/58, Household #434: Jesse Allbriton), whereas Pitt County deeds show Enoch Albritton’s residence there through 2 August 1806, when he witnessed a deed (Pitt County NC Deed Book Q, pp. 341–342).
40. ↑ Albritton, pp. 63–64, 118. Mr. Bobby G. Albritton makes numerous undocumented, incorrect, and even bizarre claims about Enoch and Penny’s children, a few of which border on the preposterous:
    • Assigned the middle name of “Kendrick (Ford)” to their eldest son, Allen, while the Kendrick connection came from Allen Albritton’s mother-in-law, Nancy Kendrick, and Ford was his wife’s maiden name. Although Allen’s son was named “Allen Kendrick Albritton,” there is absolutely no evidence that Enoch and Penny’s son had a middle name.
    • Listed “Enoch Albritton,” born 1795 and died 1796 as their second child, even though he admitted “Enoch Albritton is believed to be one of the unlisted children of Enoch and Penelope Frizzle Albritton...There has been no proof of such found to date. He was mentioned in several early records of his family as being a child.” He provided no documentation for this statement, and no known early records mention a son of Enoch and Penelope Albritton by this name.
    • Listed “James R. (Russell) Albritton,” born 1798 and died in Union Parish Louisiana as their fourth son. He continued by claiming that the James R. Albritton who purchased land in Lincoln and Union Parishes in 1852 and 1859 “is believed to be a son of Enoch and Penelope Albritton. His son, James William Albritton was born in Wilcox County, Alabama in 1825.” This is utterly false. The man who made these purchases was James Rountree Albritton, a grandson of Enoch and Penelope, the son of Allen Albritton and Susannah Ford. James Rountree Albritton followed his relatives to Union Parish about 1854 and later moved to Navarro County Texas.</li
    • Listed one of their daughters as “Eunice Albritton,” born 1801 and died 12 October 1842 and buried in the Old Snow Hill Cemetery. This woman is Enoch and Penelope’s daughter-in-law, Eunice Polk, the wife of their son, Silas White Arnett Albritton.
    • In addition to listing their eldest daughter as “Lavinia Louisa Ann Albritton,” he lists another daughter, “Louise Albritton,” born about 1804 and died about 1806 in Wilkinson County Georgia. He admits, “However, no proof or record has been found to verify her name. Census records do indicate that a female child close to her age was alive at one time. She was not present when Enoch and family moved to Alabama.” As he states, there is no justification for his claim that they had a daughter named “Louise.”
    • Claimed that Jesse Albritton, born and died in 1807, Wilkinson County Georgia, was Enoch and Penny’s tenth child. He gives no documentation for this child who was born and died in the same year, other than to state, “An examination of early census data indicates that Enoch and Penelope Albritton had additional male children. The name of Jesse has been listed by some as a son.” This statement is bizarre, as any infant who was born and died in 1807 would not have ever appeared on a federal census taken in the United States, anyway.
    • He does not include Susannah Albritton as a daughter. While the evidence for Susan is admittedly circumstantial, it is sufficient to give strong indication that she was Enoch and Penelope’s additional daughter implied by the 1820 and 1830 Federal Censuses (see below for references).
41. ↑ Wilcox County AL Probate Minutes Book 2, pp. 316, 319. Wilcox County AL Probate Court Loose Estate Case Files, Allen Albritton, Petition of George W. Albritton, 20 January 1862. On 3 October 1834, John Stokes applied to the Wilcox County Orphans Court to be appointed administrator of the Estate of Enoch Albritton. In response, the Court ordered notice issued to “John F. Albritton, Allen Albritton, Silas W. A. Albritton & George W. Albritton & any & the next of Kin…” On October 20th, Allen Albritton applied for letters of administration on Enoch’s estate, which the Orphans Court granted. This proves that Allen, as well as the three others, were sons of Enoch and Penelope Albritton. In January 1862, George W. Albritton petitioned the Wilcox County Court that his father, Allen Albritton, had died on 8 December 1861. The source of Allen Albritton’s precise date of birth is unknown, but presumably came from descendants. He has no tombstone in the Old Snow Hill Cemetery today.
42. ↑ Wilcox County AL Probate Minutes Book 2, p. 316. John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible (copies published in both McSwain, pp. 126–129, and Albritton, pp. 120–121). Two entries in the John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible records his birth, death, and parents:

    "John F. Albrittain the Son of Enoch Albrittain and penelope his wife was born the 15th of September 1796
    John F. Albritton Son of Enoch Albritton and Penelope his wife Departed This Life June 2nd AD 184_"

    Although his death year is not legible in the Bible, family records give his death in 1843.

43. ↑ 1800 Pitt County NC Federal Census, p. 257, line #1: Enoch Albritton. Enoch’s household had three males under ten years of age, or rather born between 1790 and 1800. We only have evidence for two, Allen and John Frizzle Albritton. This other male child must have died young, for he does appear in their household in 1820, nor do we have any other evidence that he survived childhood.
44. ↑ Martin B. Lee Family Records (the Lee “slat-book”). 1850 Union Parish LA Federal Census, p. 358a, Household #127: Martin B. Lee; line #21: “Louisa Lee;” line #26: “Penelopy Alberton.” Wilcox County AL Probate Minutes Book 3, pp. 245 (date only), 254–255 (Enoch Albritton Estate). Wilcox County AL Deed Book H, pp. 187–188 (Martin B. and Lavincy Lee to William Parrott, 13 January 1841). Taylor/Liberty Hill Cemetery (Farmerville, LA), tombstone of “Levincy, Consort of M. B. Lee” (15 Mar 1800–12 June 1864). The Lee slat-book, a record of the ancestors of Levincy’s grandson, John Martin Lee Jr., records her name as “Lavincy Albritton.” On 16 April 1838, the Estate of Enoch Albritton, deceased, had a debt to Martin B. Lee of $11.20, but as the estate was insolvent, the administrator paid Lee only $9.52. John F. Albritton also had a claim.
45. ↑ John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible (copies published in both McSwain, pp. 126–129, and Albritton, pp. 120–121). Old Snow Hill Cemetery (Furman, AL), tombstone of Silas W. A. Albritton, which carries the inscription, “Capt. S. W. A. Albritton, Born July 2, 1802; Died July 17, 1888.” An entry in the John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible records his birth and parents:

    "Silas W A Albritton was the sun [sic] of Enuch [sic] Albritton and penny albritton his w[ife] was born July the 2 1802."

46. ↑ John Washington Auld Family Bible. Union Parish LA Marriage Book 1, p. 92 (Henry Funderburk to Mary Stokes, 23 October 1851). Entries in the John Washington Auld Family Bible give Mary’s birth, death, parents, and marriage:

    "Mary Albritton the Daughter of Enoch Albritton and penelopy his Wife Was born in the year of our lord 1804 September the 19th
    John Stokes and Mary Albritton Was married in the year of our Lord 1824 September th 9th
    Mary Funder Burk Departied [sic] this life September the 15 1856"

47. ↑ 1830 Wilcox County AL Federal Census, p. 173, line #13: Enoch Albriton. 1840 Dallas County AL Federal Census, p. 68, line #4: John Skinner. Wilcox County AL Marriage Records (John Skinner to “Susanah Albritton,” 26 June 1836). Wilcox County AL Deed Book G, p. 30 (John and Susannah Skinner to Martin B. Lee, 17 December 1836). Old Snow Hill Cemetery (Furman, AL), tombstones of Susan Skinner and John Frizzle Albritton [stones adjoining, no dates]. John Skinner made these cash purchases at the Cahaba, Alabama Land Office:
    • Cahaba, Alabama Land Office Cash Entry #31501, 15 Sept 1836, SE¼ of NE¼ of Section 18, Township 12North, Range 11East, 39.31 acres in Wilcox County.
    • Cahaba, Alabama Land Office Cash Entry #32615, 9 Nov 1836, W½ of SW¼ of Section 4, Township 7North, Range 11East, 77.25 acres in Conecuh County.
    • Cahaba, Alabama Land Office Cash Entry #34377, 19 Aug 1837, SE¼ of NW¼ of Section 4, Township 7North, Range 11East, 38.62½ acres in Conecuh County.

    Enoch Albritton’s 1830 household included a female aged 20–30, otherwise unaccounted for, whose age matches that of the adult female in John Skinner’s 1840 household. A few months after his marriage to Susannah Albritton, John Skinner purchased a 39.31-acre tract of land adjoining the plantation of Allen Albritton and William H. Gulley, the son-in-law of Martin B. Lee. A few months after that, on 17 December 1836, for $53, John and Susannah Skinner sold that tract of land to Martin B. Lee, the husband of Levincy Albritton. On 7 November 1836 at the Cahaba Land Office, George W. Albritton purchased 80 acres of land some distance south of Snow Hill, in Conecuh County, and two days later, John Skinner “of Conecuh County” purchased 77.25 acres there. The following August, John Skinner purchased another 38.62½-acre tract there, and his land adjoined that of George W. Albritton. Susan Skinner is buried beside John Frizzle Albritton in the Old Snow Hill Cemetery, with both perishing within a year of each other. After their deaths, both of their surviving spouses and families moved to Pontotoc County Mississippi. Finally, Susan Albritton Skinner named one son “Enoch A. Skinner,” believed to be Enoch Albritton Skinner. This body of circumstantial evidence points to Susannah Albritton Skinner being the daughter of Enoch Albritton and Penelope Frizzle.

48. ↑ Wilcox County AL Probate Minutes Book 2, p. 316. John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible (copies published in both McSwain, pp. 126–129, and Albritton, pp. 120–121). The Wilcox County Orphans Court issued a summons to George W. Albritton along with other sons of Enoch Albritton, deceased, as they prepared to appoint an administrator of his estate. This entry in the John Frizzle Albritton Family Bible gives George’s birthdate and parents:

    "George W. Albritton the Son of Enoch Albritton and penelope his wife was born october the 23d 1810"