Matthew A. Albritton

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Notes for MATTHEW ALBRITTON:

Matthew Albritton was one of the first Baptist ministers to come to the Wiregrass area of south Georgia. He was born about 1785 in Effingham County, the son of John Albritton, a Revolutionary soldier, and Averilla Atherton Albritton. His elder brother was Thomas Albritton born 1776. He grew up in Bulloch County and met and married Ann Bulloch, the daughter of James and Dinah Bulloch. She was born in Bulloch County in 1792 and they were married about 1805. Rev. Albritton and his wife lived in Bulloch, Bryan, Laurens, Irwin counties. He became a Justice of the Inferior Court of Lowndes County and served in 1826-27. He served many Baptist churches in the area and was a member of Union Church in Lowndes County at his death in 1850. He is buried at Bethany Church in present day Brooks County. Ann Albritton was a member of Bethany Church. She lived with her daughter Sophronia, in Madison County, Florida, but later moved back to Brooks County and lived with her daughter and son in law, Martha Ellen and John W Allen until she died. Ann Albritton died in 1871 and is buried on the old John W Allen place one mile east of Dixie.

Children of ANN BULLOCH and MATTHEW ALBRITTON are:

i. ABIGAIL9 ALBRITTON62,63, b. 1807; m. CORNELIUS ENGLISH64,65.

ii. JESSE J ALBRITTON66,67, b. 1810; m. CATHERINE HOLLOWAY68,69.

Notes for CATHERINE HOLLOWAY:

Catherine Holloway, daughter of William Holloway.

iii. JAMES BULLOCK ALBRITTON70,71, b. 1813; m. MARIAH LASTINGER72,73.

iv. GEORGE W ALBRITTON74,75, b. 1815; m. JANE ALLEN76,77.

Notes for JANE ALLEN:

Jane Allen, daughter of Isaac Allen.

16. v. WILLIAM THOMAS ALBRITTON, b. April 9, 1823, Bulloch County, Georgia; d. September 1, 1904, Valdosta, Georgia.

vi. MATTHEW HENRY ALBRITTON78,79, b. 1826; m. MARY AMANDA TURNER80,81.

vii. MARTHA ELLEN ALBRITTON82,83, b. 1832; m. (1) UNKNOWN WOODS84; m. (2) JOHN W ALLEN85,86.

viii. SOPHRONIA ALBRITTON87,88, b. 1834; m. WILLET F N KIRKLAND89,90.

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Rev. Matthew Albriton, one of the first Baptist ministers to move to this section of South Georgia, was born in Effingham County about 1795, son of John Albritton, a Revolutionary soldier. He grew up in Bulloch County, which was created partly out of Effingham County, and was married about 1805 to Ann Bulloch, daughter of James and Diana Bulloch. She was born in that county (Bulloch) in 1792 and died in 1871 in Brooks County. After marriage, Matthew Albritton and wife lived in Bulloch and Bryan counties, then moved to Laurens County. After a few years' residence there, they moved back to Bulloch County where they appear in the 1820 Census. About 1824-25, the family moved to what was then Irwin County, the territory a short time later being made into Lowndes County. He became one of the first five Justices of the Inferior Court of Lowndes County, serving 1826-27. The 1830 tax-digest of Lowndes County shows he owned and lived on lot of land 446, 12th district of Lowndes, now Brooks County.

Elder Albritton first united with some Baptist Church in Bulloch or Bryan County. He entered into the organization of Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Laurens County in 1807. His father was also a charter member of that church and served as the moderator at its first conference August 22, 1807. When the deed to the church property was made August 26, 1809, it was made to Matthew Albritton and Joseph Yarbrough as Deacons of Poplar Springs Baptist Church (see deed book "A" page 207, Laurens County). His subsequent membership until his removal to Lowndes County in 1825 cannot now be traced.

He was one of the presbytery which organized Union Church, the first Baptist Church in old Lowndes County, October 1, 1825. He was its first pastor and served until his death in January, 1850. Mrs. Albritton was a charter member of Union Church, coming by letter. She was dismissed by letter August 12, 1826, and she and her husband became charter members of Bethel Baptist Church on the western side of Lowndes County (territory now Brooks), September, 1826. On September 6, 1833, he transferred his membership to Union Church where it remained until his death. In February, 1829, Mrs. Albriton was dismissed by letter from Bethel to join in constituting a new church at "Albritton's Meeting-house" which was named Bethany; this was near the Albritton home.

At its October, 1827 session, the Piedmont Baptist Association received the request of seven infant Baptist churches lying between the Alapaha River, the Flint River and over into Florida to constitute them into a separate association. Elders Albritton and Fleming Bates were sent to organize the new association which was done at Bethel Church in present Brooks County, November 17, 1827. It was named the Ocklochnee Baptist Association. Union Church, of which Elder Albritton was pastor, was the only one belonging to the Piedmont of the seven petitioning churches, and it was granted a letter of dismission to enter into the new association. The other six churches had joined no association.

Elder Albritton was a well-known Baptist minister of his day. He seems to have been an able preacher of the Gospel and was in great demand among the churches. He was active in spreading the Baptist faith and in forming new churches. He was moderator of the Ochlochnee Baptist Association for several years and prominent in its councils. He served a number of churches all over old Lowndes, Ware and Thomas Counties, and over in Florida. He was pastor of Columbia Church from its organization in 1833 until 1847, pastor of Bethel Church at various times, and pastor of Bethany Church (Bethel, Columbia, and Bethany Churches are now in Brooks County). When the division occurred in the ranks of Baptists in the latter 1830's and 1840's over missions, Sunday-schools, and state conventions, he cast his lot with the anti-missionaries, or "Primitives" as they named themselves. When he died in the midst of a very busy ministry, his passing was the occasion of widespread sorrow among his brethren. He was buried at Bethany Church; his grave marked by a brick wall about it but no other marker. Mrs. Albritton lived twenty-one years longer, died in 1871, and was buried on the old John W. Allen place one mile east of Dixie. She spent her last years with Mr. and Mrs. Allen. The children of Elder and Mrs. Albritton were:

1. Abigail b. 1805, m. Cornelius English. Moved to Florida 2. Jesse J. b. 1810, m. Catherine Holloway, daughter of William 3. James B. b. 1813, m. Mariah English. 4. George W.b. 1815, m. Jane Allen, daughter of Isaac. 5. William T.b. 1823, m. Adeline Griffin. 6. Matthew Henryb. 1826, m. Mary Amanda Turner. 7. Martha Ellenb. 1832, m. (1) ______Woods; (2) John W. Allen. 8. Sophroniab. 1834, m. Willet F. N. Kirkland from Florida.

Matthew H. and Jesse J. Albritton were administrators of their father's estate. The estate was appraised in April, 1850 by Jeremiah Wilson, Wilson Johnson, and Thomas E. Hardee, appraisers.

Bryan County records show that in 1809, Mrs. Ann Albritton joined with her mother, Mrs. Dinah Bulloch, and her sister, Mrs. Abegail Hilliard, in making a deed to 100 acres of land in Bryan County that had been granted her father, James Bulloch. (Note: Some records refer to Mrs. Albritton as "Nancy" and other places she is referred to as "Ann".)

Reference: POWG Volume 1 VII--ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS To Volume I Census References: 1820, Bryan; 1830, 1840, 1850, Lowndes.

ALBRITTON, MATTHEW (p. 4): (1st) His son, James B. Albritton, married Mariah English, daughter of Cornelius English; she was born Mar. 13, 1813. (2nd) A deed appears of record in Bulloch County, in deed book 5, page 41, from Matthew Albritton "of Lowndes County, state aforesaid," to Edmund Burnsides, dated Jan. 23, 1827, conveying 398 acres "where the grantor formerly lived" on Ash's Branch in Bulloch County. (3rd) The old minutes of Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Laurens County, examined by the Compiler in May, 1953, shows that Elder Albritton and his wife were constituent members of the church when it was constituted August 22, 1807; it was not shown where they were formerly members. At that time he was a layman. On Nov. 7, 1812, he was licensed to preach by Poplar Springs, and on the same date he and his wife were granted letters of dismisson