A Salute to Ancestors and Family Members Who Served in the Military

Veterans' Day is a special day for honoring men and women who have fought and continue to fight for our country's freedom. And I thank each one of them for their service to this country. Beginning with the American Revolution, at least one of my ancestors or other relatives has served in each of this country's major wars, declared and undeclared. Two of my sons served a total of ten years in the United States Air Force, and the younger of the two served in the war  in Afghanistan. This post includes the names of my known ancestors and other relatives who were members of the military and includes the wartime period during which they served.  

Francis Baldridge - American Revolution

John T. Baldridge - War of 1812 (NY Infantry)

Edward Tillman Branch - War of 1812 (VA Militia) 

Asberry Gibson (Carroll County, MS) - Civil War

William Bailey Netherland (Holmes County MS) Civil War (Red's Co. MS)

Woodard Young (Holmes County MS) - WWI

Elton Young  (Holmes County MS) - WWII 

Walter Young (Holmes County MS) - WWII

William ("Billy") Young - (Holmes County MS) WWII - killed during USAF training mission

James Porter (Attala County) - Served in WWII in Europe

E. T. Branch (Holmes County) - WWII 

E. T. Branch, Jr. (Attala County) - WWII

J. L. Branch (Humphreys County) - WWII

J. L. Branch (Hinds County) - served in U. S. Army during Vietnam Era

Today, I honor them.

The Baldrige/Baldridge Family Moves to NC

Some of the children of William and Janette Holmes Baldridge, when they reached adulthood, moved to western Pennsylvania. One of the sons, Daniel, married someone from the Lancaster area and moved with his wife from Lancaster County to Orange County, North Carolina, about 1770. Daniel later served in the Revolutionary War and was listed in the First Census of the United States in 1790. After John Baldridge died, Rebecca Clark Baldridge, left the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania area with several children who were still considered minors, and joined the Baldridge relatives in Orange County, NC. She later re-married and died about 1823 when she was said to have been been 103 years old, perhaps the mother of 21 children.

Several books have been written that chronicle the Scotch-Irish Baldrige/Baldridge family and their descendants. One particular book, "Our Baldridge Forbears" written by Dr. Chester C. Kennedy, himself a Baldridge descendant, specifically traces the entire ancestry of William Baldridge and Janette Holmes and their descendants from Ireland to Pennsylvania, and their migration into the Carolinas, and on to Tennessee and beyond.

Another of Dr. Kennedy's books is entitled "Francis Baldridge, His Wife, Turrentine In-Laws and Their Families." This book details the lives of Daniel Baldridge and Francis, one of his brothers, and their migration from North Carolina to Nashville, and on to the Mississippi Territory.

Francis Baldridge is shown on original land grand records in the Mississippi Territory dated 1799. The location of the land was near Cole's Creek, near the Natchez Trace, north of what is now part of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Francis Baldridge would become the ancestor of many Baldridge family members who would be born later in the State of Mississippi.