On these pages we plan to share with you some of the letters received as part of our Alford
effort over the last quarter century. They may include letters sent to Gil Alford and his
"About Alfords" newsletter which was a forerunner of the Alford Association as well as letters
to the association. Most of Gil's letters will be found with the letters of others.
These are not transcripts, but scanned images of the original letters. In some cases their
pedigree form or attachments may be included. In other cases copies of Gil's related drafts
will be included. In those days he did not print a final copy for his files, but for the
sake of economy used the draft. You'll see those mark-ups. We apologize for the mark-ups
and highlighting found on some of the documents. At the time he never imagined this would
be happening and part of his administration of the Alford effort involved marking up and
highlighting.
It is important to remember that just because a reputable member of our group wrote something
in a letter does not make it true. In this phase of our work we are making no effort to
debunk what some think is questionable. You are on your own in this regard.
Letters are being selected for one of three reasons: they are informative, they are interesting
or they are important to the history of AAFA.
Sections or letters will be added slowly but regularly. It would pay to come back often to see
what is here. Additions will be announced weekly on the UPDATES page.
LETTERS THAT PERTAIN IN GENERAL TO A PARTICULAR ANCESTOR OR BRANCH:
CHARLES ALFORD, b. 1790 NC:
COMPILATIONS OR GROUPS:
Involving more than one correspondent.
From the time AAFA was established up until the mid 1990s most contact was by the then popular
"letter." In AAFA ACTION from March 1992 through March 1993 several exchanges between Jim
Alford of Houston, Gil Alford, Capt. Lodwick Alford, etc. were published. These letters,
though published, did not reflect AAFA position and some were wrong when written or proven
wrong later. We want to share those letters here and revisit some of the situations and
include new AAFA NOTES by one or more member. If you have something to say we might even
include your comments.
If you see a link to a bubble note it is a good idea to click and read it.
LETTERS OF:
(Arranged alphabetically by first name regardless of surname.)
Alicia Roundy Houston, AAFA 0001, an early correspondent
and the AAFA outstanding Census Project Manager for the last 20 years.
Christie Alford Baldwin, AAFA 0006
(on her home page).
Eileen Alford (1913-1985) who died before the AAFA was
created. She was an early correspondent, from an obscure limb of our Alford tree,
and you might say she marched to the beat of a different drummer.
Guy Alford who started a work similar to AAFA in 1950
and expired before it was completed.
James P. Alford [Jim/Houston], AAFA 0115, one of our
more active members from 1988 to about 1994.
Dr. James M. Edwards (1914-1992), AAFA 0008, an early
correspondent and made significant contributions to AAFA anf our Alford effort.
Landon Alford, AAFA 0002, an early participant in the
Alford work and one of the main leaders in the planning, preparation & financing
of the 1989 Houston meeting. He has made significant contributions of articles,
Alford data, and funds.
Lewis Emerson "L.E." Alford who died the
month the creation of AAFA was announced. His correspondence with Gil Alford began
in 1982, but L.E. shared with Gil his correspondence files with others from many
years before.
Captain Lodwick H. Alford (1914-2007), AAFA 0011, a
member of the original board of directors and the first president.
Lucille Mehrkam (1923-2011), AAFA 0032, a member of
the AAFA Hall of Fame and a major contributor of Alford information.
Lucy Shull Stevens (1919-1992), AAFA 0094, is the daughter
of Tressie Nash Shull Bowman, AAFA #0039, who published the "Alford Family Bulletin"
during the 1970's. During the 1960's Lucy was one of several involved in what you
might call "round robin" correspondence. At the time of her death Lucy was the AAFA
DAR Project Officer.
Orville Alford (1947-2008), AAFA 0390.
Pat Brock Smith, AAFA 0064.
More information on Pat.
Randall L. Alford, PhD, AAFA 0052, began his Alford search
at a young age.
Robin "Bob" A. Sterling, AAFA 0320
(on his home page).
Ruth Eager Moran, AAFA 0622. is an attorney from a
family of attorneys in Oklahoma City. She has held several leading positions in
local Genealogical Societies.
William A. Mitchner (1911-2006), AAFA 0010, was a certified
professional genealogical researcher and the AAFA genealogist for a time. He was
present at the two North Carolina meetings in Raleigh.
