41. Documentation for Elizabeth Frye
(Bef 1799 to Bef 1850)
mother of John Worth
(Abt 1817 to Aft 01 Feb 1886)
Download Adobe Acrobat File - 41. Elizabeth Frye - (The file has the following text plus images.)
Presently, there is no other supporting record or document to show that Elizabeth Frye married Charles Worth other than the Folger Manuscript in the Nantucket Historical
Association. In other words, the Folger Manuscript could be in error regarding the marriage of Elizabeth Frye and Charles Worth.
Elizabeth Frye was the daughter of Michael and Nancy Frye.(1) Michael Frye died in the vicinity of Germantown, Stokes, County, North Carolina in 1815.(2)
"Stokes County, North Carolina, was formed when Surry County was divided in 1789. The Stokes county seat was set at Germantown on 23 acres on Town Fork and Buffalo Creeks bought from Michael Frey and Henry Frey that lay on the Great Wagon Road. The thirty-eight town lots of a half-acre each sold immediately, and adjoining land owned by the Freys also sold quickly. The county seat was moved to Danbury on the formation of Forsyth County from Stokes County in 1849."(3)
Elizabeth Frye married Charles Worth, probably in early 1799.(4) Charles Worth, a Quaker until his marriage to Elizabeth, was dismissed from the Deep River Monthly Meeting in Guilford County, North Carolina, for marrying out of unity March 4, 1799.(5)
Charles Worth was born on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts on, June 17, 1761.(6) He was the son of Joseph Worth Jr. and Judith Starbuck.(7) Joseph and Judith (Starbuck) Worth were Quakers. They were received as members of the Center Monthly Meeting in Guilford County, North Carolina, 20th 9 mo. 1774.(8) Joseph Worth died in New Garden, Guilford County, North Carolina, before May 1816, the date his will was proved.(9) Judith (Starbuck) Worth died in 1830 in Guilford County, North Carolina.(10)
Charles Worth and Elizabeth Frye were the parents of nine children: Lydia, Levi, Seth, Rachael, Elizabeth, Paul, Lucinda, John, and Rhoda.(11)
1) Lydia Worth was born September 20, 1799, in Surry County, North Carolina. She married John Rigsbee on November 13, 1818, in Guilford County, North Carolina. John Rigsbee was born August 12, 1793, in Chatham County, North Carolina and died May 30, 1851, in Rush County, Indiana. Lydia died September 22, 1873, Rush County, Indiana.
2) Levi Worth was born about 1802. He married Jane Glendening on July 18, 1833, in Rush County, Indiana. Levi married second, Ursula Baker on January 11, 1837, in Rush County, Indiana. The minister for the wedding was Drury Holt, a Baptist Minister. Levi committed suicide on April 29, 1837, in Rush County, Indiana.
3) Rachel Worth was born about 1803. She married Joseph Rigsbee on January 01, 1822, in Randolph County, North Carolina. He was born July 26, 1795, in North Carolina and he died July 19, 1871. Rachel died March 22, 1888, in Shelby County, Indiana.
4) Seth Worth was born about 1805 in North Carolina. He was a blacksmith. Seth married Helen Mary Baker on February 26, 1835, in Rush County, Indiana. She was born about 1816 in Tennessee. Seth died April 2, 1873, and was buried in Andover Cemetery in Harrison County, Missouri. Helen died May 3, 1878, and also was buried in Andover Cemetery in Harrison County, Missouri.
5) Elizabeth A. Worth was born about 1806 in North Carolina. She married David German on December 19, 1824, in Randolph County, North Carolina. David German was born about 1796 in North Carolina. He died August 12, 1867, in Johnson County, Indiana. Elizabeth died November 27, 1886, near Boggstown, Shelby County, Indiana, and was buried in the Old Boggstown Cemetery.
6) Paul Worth was born about 1811 in North Carolina. He married first Rebecca Baker on February 2, 1840, in Rush County, Indiana. Rebecca was born about 1818 in Tennessee. She died after 1860. Paul married second Nancy Merritt on June 12, 1861, in Hendricks County, Indiana. Nancy Merritt was born about 1834. She died on November 1, 1894, in Middle Township, Hendricks County, Indiana.
7) Rhoda Worth was born May 30, 1816, in North Carolina. She married William Hiatt on November 7, 1837, in Rush County, Indiana. William Hiatt was born about 1814 in Kentucky. Rhoda died on December 30, 1854, in Shelby County, Indiana, and was buried in Hanover Cemetery. William died before September 1858, in Shelby County, Indiana.
8) John Worth was born about 1817 in North Carolina. John was a blacksmith and wagon maker. He married first Elizabeth Hyatt about 1835. He married second Julia Ann Drysdale on June 1, 1837, in Rush County, Indiana. Julia was born January 27, 1814, in Kentucky. She died April 10 1856, "Aged 40 Yrs 2 mo & 13 ds.," in Shelby County, Indiana, and was buried in the Old Boggstown Cemetery. John Worth married third Mary Jane Lemon on January 1, 1857, in Shelby County, Indiana. Mary Jane Lemon was born October 24, 1824, in Akron, Ohio. She died October 22, 1913, in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana.
9) Lucinda Worth was born about 1820 in North Carolina. She married Henry Wesler on September 9, 1860, in Rush County, Indiana.
On October 9, 1802, Charles Worth of Stokes County, North Carolina, purchased 230 acres in Surry County, North Carolina.(12) The U. S. Census for North Carolina for 1810, Surry County, lists one male of age 45 and up. Charles was born in 1761. This would make him over age 45 by 1810. The Charles Worth household included 2 free white males under age 10, 1 free white male at least 10 and under 16, 1 free white male age 45 and up; 2 free white females under age 10, 1 free white female age 10 and under 16, 1 free white female age 26 and under 45.(13) Elizabeth (Frye) Worth must have been born between 1865 and 1884.
Charles Worth does not appear in the 1815 Surry County tax list.(14) According to records of the May 1819 Randolph County Circuit Court, Charles Worth posted bond for a son, Levi Worth.(15) The 1820 U. S. Census of Randolph County, North Carolina, is missing and thus there is no record of the Charles Worth household at that time.(16)
Charles Worth bought 121 acres of land in Randolph County, North Carolina, from John Reese, on August 20, 1822. Charles also purchased a tract of 440 acres from John Reese in the same year.(17) Charles Worth sold 121 acres of land in Randolph County, North Carolina, to Thomas Hancock on November 29, 1824, and to Jonathan Lewallen, the 440 acre tract, in 1824.(18)
Three daughters of Charles and Elizabeth (Frye) Worth married in Randolph County, North Carolina. A marriage bond for Lydia Worth and John Rigsby was posted in Randolph County, NC, on November 13, 1818.(19) A marriage bond for Rachel Worth and Joshua Rigsby was posted in Randolph County on January 1, 1822.(20) A marriage bond for Elizabeth Worth and David German was posted in Randolph County, NC, on December 19, 1824.(21)
Many Quakers or former Quakers in the Guilford County area of North Carolina moved to Indiana in the early 1800s. The exodus to Indiana was due to the problems caused by the institution of slavery in North Carolina.(22) Charles Worth and most of his children and their spouses moved to Rush County, Indiana, during the 1820s.(23) Elizabeth Worth, Charles' wife, probably was alive and probably moved to Indiana with Charles.(24) A sister and brother-in-law of Charles Worth, Matilda and Latham Folger, also moved to Indiana. Latham Folger died September 15, 1833, in Union County, Indiana. Matilda (Worth) Folger died July 6, 1843, in Rush County, Indiana.
No record has been found in the U. S. Federal Census of 1830 for Charles Worth or his children. The U. S. Census of Indiana, 1840, Rush County, Jackson township, lists the Charles Worth household as consisting of one male age 70 and under 80, one female age 60 and under 70, and one female age 20 and under 30.(25) Seth Worth, a son of Charles, appears in the 1840 census in Rush County, on the line above the Charles Worth household. The U. S. Census of Indiana, 1850, Daviess County, lists Charles Worth, age 90, living in the household of one of his sons, Seth Worth.(26) The 1850 census record is the last record in the life of Charles Worth. It is not known when he died, where he died, or where he was buried. Elizabeth (Frye) Worth is most likely the female, age 60-70 is the Charles Worth household in the 1840 census, but by 1850 she is presumed to be deceased, since 90 year old Charles is living in his son’s household and there is no sign of Elizabeth.”
A February 1, 1886, letter written by John Worth, the youngest son of Charles Worth, is an important document that lists the children of Charles Worth. The letter to Hiram C. Worth of Greensboro, North Carolina, was written at New Ross, Indiana.(27) John Worth lists the names of Charles Worth's children in the letter as: Lida, Levi, Rachel, Seth, Betey, Paul, Lewcinda, John (himself), and Rhoda. This list concurs with that found in the Folger Manuscript identified previously which listed the children of Charles Worth.
Hiram C. Worth, to whom the letter was sent, was associated with the New Garden area, now Guilford College, on the west side of Greensboro, North Carolina. Hiram C. Worth is buried in the New Garden Cemetery adjacent the Guilford College campus.(28)
Laura D. Worth was a granddaughter of Hiram C. Worth.(29) As the keeper of Quaker records at Guilford College for many years, she compiled much of the North Carolina data for the William Wade Hinshaw book, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy.(30) She was the foremost authority in the early 1900s on Quaker genealogy in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, according to Hinshaw.(31) Laura D. Worth is buried at the New Garden Cemetery at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.(32)
Children (Worth), all born in North Carolina:
i. Lydia, born September 20, 1799
ii. Levi, born about 1802
iii. Rachel, born about 1803
iv. Seth, born about 1805
v. Elizabeth, born about 1806
vi. Paul, born about 1811
vii. Rhoda, born May 30, 1816
viii. John, born about 1817
ix. Lucinda, born about 1820
ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL to support the RELATIONSHIP between
ELIZABETH FRYE and her son JOHN WORTH
1) Letter from John Worth (New Ross, Indiana) to Hiram C. Worth (Greensboro, North Carolina), dated 1 February 1886. Original letter at Hege Library, Friends Historical Collection, Guilford College, Greensboro, NC. A typewritten transcript of the letter dated was made in January 1915 from original letter on loan from Laura D. Worth of Guilford College to Herbert Folger, California Mayflower Society Historian. A copy of the transcript was in the lineage documents of Arlie L. Rigsbee, General Number 4071, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, Massachusetts. The names of the nine children of Charles Worth listed in the 01 February 1886 letter written by John Worth which was sent from New Ross, Indiana, matches the names of the nine children of Charles and Elizabeth Worth listed in the Folger Manuscript.
2) Folger Manuscript, Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket, Massachusetts, Collection 118, Book 7, page 142, which lists a Charles Worth as the son of Joseph and Judith, the marriage of Charles Worth and Elizabeth Frye/Frey, and the names of the nine children of Charles and Elizabeth. The record also identifies the parents of Elizabeth Frye/Frey as Michael and Nancy Frye/Frey. The document was recorded prior to 1850. The first child of Charles and Elizabeth Worth is listed as Lydia and the record indicates she was born in 1799, the same year Charles was removed from the Quaker Church for marrying out of unity. The Nantucket Quakers who moved to Guilford County, North Carolina, in the late 1700s sent reports of family births, marriages, deaths, etc. back to Nantucket where they were recorded. The record also identifies the family as "Descendants of the New Garden Emigrants." New Garden, North Carolina, was at the present site of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.
3) 1914 Affidavit of Marshal Benton Rigsbee which is part of the application papers to the Society of Mayflower Descendants of Plymouth, Massachusetts, for Arlie L. Rigsbee. This affidavit states his knowledge of the descendants of Charles Worth. Affidavit states that the grandfather of Marshal Benton Rigsbee was John Rigsbee who was born in North Carolina on the 12th
day of August 1793 and died in Rush County, Indiana on the 30th day of May 1851, and was married to Lydia Worth who was born in Guilford County, NC on the 20th day of September 1799 and died on the 22nd day of September 1873. Affiant also believes that Charles Worth was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and was married in North Carolina to Elizabeth Frye/Frey and had the following children: Lydia, Levi, Seth, Elizabeth, Rachael, Paul, Lucinda and Rhoda. He omits John Worth. Affiant states that Rachael Worth married Jehu Rigsbee. The names of the children of Charles and Elizabeth Worth agrees with both the Folger Manuscript and the 01 February 1886 letter of John Worth, excepting the fact that the Affidavit does not list a John Worth as a son of Charles and Elizabeth Worth.
4) Various census records related to Charles Worth, John Worth, and Seth Worth: Census record of 1850 for Indiana, Davies County, Van Buren Township, p. 187, which lists a Charles Worth in the household of a Seth Worth. The 1850 census record for the Seth Worth household lists the age of Charles Worth as 90 years. This would agree with the birth year for Charles at Nantucket, Massachusetts, as 1761; the 1840 U.S. Census of Indiana, Davies County, page 64, which lists a family for John Worth; the 1840 U.S. Census for Rush County, Jackson Township, page 399, which lists the Charles Worth household and appears one line below the household of a Seth Worth. 1850 Census of Indiana, Rush County, Jackson Township, page 556, which lists a family for John Worth. These census records support the Folger manuscript and the 01 February 1886 letter of John Worth as to John Worth having a brother named Seth and a father named Charles. John Worth also named one of his sons Seth.
REFERENCES
1. Genealogical Records of Nantucket Families, William C. Folger, MS, 3 vols., Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket, MA, vol. 3, p. 2,077.
2. "List of Dead in the Vicinity of Germantown, Stokes Co., NC, in 1815", Will proved Jun ___. 26 Mar 1815, Mich. FRY Snr., 27 Mrs. Fry, Filed in Stokes County records (Miscellaneous- #C.R. 090.928.10), NC State Archives.
3. Endnotes, number 1, page 37, (?NCGSJ? Month? Year?) - from a Hist - Gen magazine at Greensboro Library
4. Genealogical Records of Nantucket Families, Folger, vol. 3, p. 2,077.
5. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, William Wade Hinshaw, (1936, rpt, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969), Page: 1:846.
6. Nantucket, Mass., Vital Records to 1850, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 5 vols. Boston, 1925-28, page 2:622.
7. Randolph Co., N. C., (Original) wills, 1775-1899, North Carolina State Archives (Joseph Worth); "Joseph and Lydia (Gorham) Worth of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Their Wandering Children", Elizabeth Pearson White, C.G, F.A.S.G, F.N.G.S., and Edwin W. Coles, National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 76 (December 1988), pp. 268-288; Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library, A Genealogical History of the Clark and Worth Families, Carol Clark Johnson, privately printed, 1970; John Howland of the Mayflower, Volume 1, by Elizabeth Pearson White, Picton Press, Rockport, Maine.
8. Starbuck, Alexander. The History of Nantucket, County, Island and Town. 1969; rept. Rutland, Vt., 1976, p. 828; Sallie W. Stockard, Hist. Of Guilford County, North Carolina (Knoxville, Tenn. 1902), 193.
9. Randolph Co., N. C., (Original) wills, 1775-1899, North Carolina State Archives (Joseph Worth).
10. Raleigh Register, Raleigh, NC, November 11, 1830, obituary for Judith Worth; Nantucket VR 5:615, but gives date newspaper was published instead of actual date of death; NEHGR 100:286.
11. Genealogical Records of Nantucket Families, Folger, vol. 3, p. 2,077; Letter from John Worth (New Ross, Indiana) to Hiram C. Worth (Greensboro, North Carolina), 1 February 1886. Original letter at Hege Library, Friends Historical Collection, Guilford College, Greensboro, NC. Transcript of letter dated January 1915, made from original letter on loan from Laura D. Worth of Guilford College to Herbert Folger, California Mayflower Society Historian. A copy of the transcript was in the lineage documents of Arlie L. Rigsbee, General Number 4071, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
12. North Carolina Division of Archives and History, Surry County Deeds, 14:64, microfilm copy.
13. U. S. Census of North Carolina, 1810, Surry County, unknown townships.
14. North Carolina Division of Archives and History, Surry County tax list, 1815, microfilm copy.
15. Randolph County, NC Genealogical Journal, Volume XXVII, No. 1, Spring 2003, Presentment May 1819 of Levi Worth, Charles Worth bound surety for Levi Worth, p. 23.
16. U. S. Census of North Carolina, 1820.
17. General Index to Real Estate Conveyances, Etc., Randolph County - Grantees, Book 14, Page 398, John Reese to Charles Worth, 121 acres, 1822; Randolph County Grantees, Book 16, Page 56, John Reese to Charles Worth, 440 acres, 1822.
18. General Index to Real Estate Conveyances, Etc., Randolph County - Grantors, Book 16, Page 34, Charles Worth to Thomas Hancock, 121 acres, 1823; Randolph County Grantors, Book 16, Page 41, Charles Worth to Jonathan Lewallen, 440 acres, 1824.
19. The Genealogical Journal, Vol. VII, No. 3, 1983, Randolph County Marriage Bonds, Bride Index, W's, 13 November 1818, Lydia Worth and John Rigsby, Paskel Cole bondsman, p. 41.
20. Ibid. 1 January 1822, Rachel Worth and Joshua Rigsby, Lancy Moore bondsman, p. 42.
21. Ibid. 19 December 1824, Elizabeth Worth and David German, William German bondsman, p. 41.
22. Hinton Rowan Helper, The Impending Crisis of the South: How to Meet It, New York: Burdick Brothers, 1857, p. 305; Hinshaw, vol. 1, pp 488 and 773.
23. U. S. Census for Indiana, 1840, Rush County.
24. U. S. Census of Indiana, 1840, Rush County, Jackson township, p. 399, Charles Worth 0000000001-000010001 (next line after Seth Worth).
25. U. S. Census for Indiana, 1840, Rush County, Jackson Township, p. 399, Charles Worth household.
26. U.S. Census of Indiana, 1850, Davies County, Van Buren Township, p. 187, (Note: Charles was listed as part of the Seth Worth household.)
27. Letter from John Worth (New Ross, Indiana) to Hiram C. Worth (Greensboro, North Carolina), 1 February 1886. Original letter at Hege Library, Friends Historical Collection, Guilford College, Greensboro, NC. Transcript of letter dated January 1915, made from original letter on loan from Laura D. Worth of Guilford College to Herbert Folger, California Mayflower Society Historian. A copy of the transcript was in the lineage documents of Arlie L. Rigsbee, General Number 4071, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
28. Gravestone Inscription, Hiram Coffin Worth, 8/22/1886, New Garden (Cemetery), b. Apr. 8, 1809. The New Garden Cemetery is at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.
29. Laura Delphina Worth obituary, Guilford newspaper, January 17, 1945; U. S. Census of North Carolina, 1850, Guilford County, dwelling 27, family 27, Hiram C. Worth, age 41, carpenter; Gravestone Inscription, Hiram Coffin Worth, 8/22/1886, New Garden (Cemetery), b. Apr. 8, 1809; Laura Delphina Worth was a daughter of Daniel and Eunice Worth. Daniel Worth was a son of Hiram Coffin Worth.
30. North Carolina Friends Historical Society Newsletter, Fall 2003, No. 14, The Meaning of L. D. W., pp. 3-4; Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. 6 vols. 1936; rept. Baltimore, 1969, Vol. 1, Forward, p. vi; Laura Delphina Worth obituary, Guilford newspaper, January 17, 1945.
31. Ibid.
32. Laura Delphina Worth obituary, Guilford newspaper, January 17, 1945; tombstone photograph taken Monday, March 8, 2004, by Curtis L. Older at New Garden Cemetery adjacent to Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina. Tombstone of Laura D. Worth includes the words, "Quaker Genealogist".
