Alexander Gilreath Sr. (1755 - 1853)

Born 15 Nov 1755 in Granville, North Carolina

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Souther) Gilreath — married 17 Jun 1781 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, USA

Descendants

Died 11 Nov 1853 at age 97 in Wilkes, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

Alexander Gilreath is an American Patriot (see sources below)

Alexander Gilreath was born November 15, 1755 in Granville county, North Carolina a son of William Wesley Gilreath Sr and Mary Arrington. During the American Revolutionary War, Alexander enlisted as a Private in Captain Richard Allen’s company. He attained the rank of Sergeant, under the command of Colonel Hampton, Colonel Benjamin Cleveland and Colonel Locke. In his pension application made October 30, 1831 he tells of the events of the Battle of Ramsours Mill (Lincoln County), North Carolina. He and others were traveling on foot because they had lost their horses. They arrived after the actual battle but before the wounded and dead had been moved from the battlefield. His name is listed among those of Captain William Lenoir's Company at the Battle of Kings Mountain, South Carolina. In papers found at the N.C Archives, Alexander Gilreath said he was at the Battle of Charleston, South Carolina when that city was captured. ^[1][2]

Alexander is honored for his military service by the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution as DAR Ancestor #A045292. DAR records indicate that he died before February 1854, in Wilkes county, North Carolina and that his wife’s name was Elizabeth Souther. Applications for membership in the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution have been made by the descendants of their son, George Gilreath, who married Sally A. Wallin; Noah Gilreath, who married Elizabeth Allen; and Jeremiah Gilreath, who married Mary (?nee); and of their daughter, Rhoda Gilreath, who married Richard Cook. ^[3]

Alexander married Elizabeth Souther on June 7, 1781, in Wilkes county, North Carolina. ^[4] Children of ALEXANDER SR. and ELIZABETH SOUTHER are:

1. MARY GILREATH, b. 1782, Wilkes,NC; d. Aft. 1860, Wilkes,NC; m. JAMES MARLOWE, July 30, 1834, Wilkes, North Carolina; b. August 25, 1789, Iredell, North Carolina; d. September 30, 1861, Wilkes, Wilkes Co, NC.
2. WILLIAM JERIMIAH GILREATH, b. 1785, WILKES CO., NC; d. July 03, 1849, Union Co., Ga..
3. GEORGE GILREATH, b. 1786; d. 1860, Morgan Co., TN
4. RHODA GILREATH, b. 1787, WILKES CO., NC.
5. LUCY GILREATH, b. November 13, 1793, Wilkes Co.,NC.; d. July 03, 1877; m. ROBERT G. MARTIN, December 16, 1815.
6. LARKIN GILREATH, b. 1796, Wilkes Co., NC; d. 1850, Carroll Co., MO
7. JAMES HARVEY GILREATH, b. 1798, Wilkes Co., NC; d. 1860, Cumberland Co., Ky.
8. NOAH JR. GILREATH, b. 1801, NC; d. February 1854.
9. ELIZABETH GILREATH, b. 1806; m. ABRAHAM SUDDERTH, April 20, 1843

Alexander died November 11, 1853, at the age of 97 years, in Wilkes county, North Carolina, ^[5] and is buried in the Alexander Gilreath Family Cemetery, Wilkes County, North Carolina, USA ^[6]

Alexander’s estate was filed in 1854, in Wilkes county, ^[7] and probated in August, 1858, in North Carolina. Noah Gilreath was his executor. ^[8]

Researchers Notes

Alexander Gilreath migrated from Bute County, NC to Wilkes County, NC with his brother William Gilreath, Jr. and, perhaps, three Jones brothers, William, Thomas and James. After arriving in Wilkes County he became active in land transactions, making several land entries for land in what became the town of Wilkesboro, NC.

IGI info-film # 538040 Alexander served in the Revolutionary war as a private and a sergeant in both North and South Carolina. He also performed duties as a tax collector, constable, justice of the peace and as a member of the school board for County of Wilkes, NC town of Wilkesboro during his long lifetime. Most of his life in Wilkes Co. was spent in the area of Bushy Mountain near the crossroads still marked as ' Old Gilreath ' on current maps.

An esteemed man of the Brushy Mountain section of Wilkes County, Alexander was described as "a temperate man who lived well", who in his old days was considered to be strong of mind and stature. A farmer, large land and slaveholder, he operated a gristmill and blacksmith shop. He was active in many of the affairs of the county, elected a Justice of the Court, Constable and Postmaster of the first post office in this section. The post office was called Gilreath. In 1818 he deeded one acre of his land for a meetinghouse "for the Public Worship of Almighty God....to be free for preaching by any Christian Denomination" (Wilkes Deed BK K:306). The church was called Liberty Meeting House in 1847 and stood on the site of the present day New Hope Baptist Church. He died in November 1853 at the age of 98 years. Recently a g-g-g-g-g-grandson, Todd Priest placed a marble gravestone in this cemetery to his memory. The old chimney of his large home still stands a short distance from this church. The family burying ground with only rock headstones is some yards away on the ridge.

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Sources

1. ↑ Application for Revolutionary War pension, #S8564: pdf, transcribed by Will Graves, posted by Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters.
2. ↑ "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGZG-RL6J : 22 August 2019), Alexander Gilreath, 1 Jun 1840; citing Military Service, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States, Citing various published state rosters, United States; FHL microfilm 103140737.
3. ↑ Sergeant Alexander Gilreath, DAR Patriot Ancestor #A045292.
4. ↑ "North Carolina Marriages, 1759-1979", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8RM-FZD : 14 February 2020), Alexander Gilreath, 1781
5. ↑ "United States Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24Q-PMBY : accessed 5 September 2020), Alexander Gilbreath, ; citing North Carolina, United States, NARA microfilm publication T718 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1962), roll 9; FHL microfilm 1,319,389
6. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18346126/alexander-gilreath
7. ↑ "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKBP-TF3Z : 16 March 2018), Alexander Gilreath, 1854; citing Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 2,317,595.
8. ↑ North Carolina, State Supreme Court Case Files, 1800-1909, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK11-9PTX : 7 January 2016), Alexander Gilreath, Aug 1858; citing Probate, , North Carolina, United States, Division of Archives and History, North Carolina State Archive, Raleigh; FamilySearch digital folder 004764562

• "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKB-RQT : accessed 5 September 2020), Alex Gilbreath, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 164, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 7; FHL microfilm 568,147

• "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRW-D9R : accessed 5 September 2020), Alexn Gilreath, Morgan, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 40, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 33; FHL microfilm 337,909

• "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2V-CC1 : accessed 5 September 2020), Alexander Gilreath, Wilkesborough, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 856, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 43; FHL microfilm 337,916

• "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPV-K34 : 30 October 2019), Alexander Gilreath, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States; citing 394, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 125; FHL microfilm 18,091

• "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYJ-JN8 : 19 May 2020), Alexander Gilreath, Gilreath, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 64, NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Gilreath-69 created through the import of 8gd725_7494185825b708dfa1ur4x 1-12-13update.ged on Jan 12, 2013 by Russell King