Individual Details

Will written 6 DEC 1807 Smithfield, Providence, RI
Aldrich, Caleb, of Smithfield, Esq. Will dated 6 Dec 1807, proved 25 Nov 1809, he died 8 Nov 1809, pgs 343-346. Mentions: Wife Mary Aldrich. Sons Thomas Aldrich, William Aldrich late of Smithfield deceased, Naaman Aldrich, Joel Aldrich, Augustus Aldrich, Moses Aldrich, Arnold Aldrich, & Caleb Aldrich Jr. Daughters: Hannah White, Mary Paine, Lydia Paine, & Susanna Mowry deceased leaving unnamed children who have had their portions. The children of my son William Aldrich late of Smithfield deceased, viz: my grandsons Welcome Aldrich who has had, William Aldrich who has had, & Joel Aldrich under 21 and my 2 granddaughters: Lydia Whipple & Katherine Aldrich. Granddaughter Margery Aldrich wife of Dexter Aldrich. Land I bought of Daniel, Hannah, & Isaac Phillips. Witn: Jonathan Mowry, John Coe, Walter Allen, Eliab Wilkenson.


Caleb is sometimes seen with two successive wives named Mary - this seems to have been an error in the recording of the Vital Records of Smithfield.
Post found in Aldrich-L Archives dated 22 Feb 2002
In a message on the above subject posted to this list on 26 Jan 2002, I
reviewed the claim (made here on 17 Aug 2001 by another subscriber, whom
I will call the "claimant") that Caleb-4 Aldrich (Moses-3, Jacob-2,
George-1) had married twice. (Copies of these messages and the follow-up
messages on this subject are available at the ALDRICH-L Archives:
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/aldrich.) I believe it is now time
to "lay to rest" this claim, but to do so, we should first consider all
aspects of the question.
It has been known for years that there are two records for Caleb's
marriage at Smithfield (RI) on 1 Jan 1747/8. Both records--transcribed
of course--may be found in James N. Arnold's "Vital Record of Rhode
Island, 1636-1850" [hereafter "Arnold's VR"], 21 vols. (1891- 1912),
vol. 3 (part 6), p. 6. One record says he married Mary Aldrich on that
day; the other record says that the bride was Mary Arnold. The original
source for the marriage to Mary Aldrich is an entry, recorded by the
town clerk on 17 Nov 1752, on page 79 of vol. 1 (1725-1820) of
Smithfield's vital records, available on FHL microfilm 0959589. James
Arnold's source for the record of the marriage to Mary Arnold on 1 Jan
1747/8 has not been found, but I believe it is safe to assume that there
is--or was--a source, and probably a reliable source.
I might add at this point that it has been generally accepted (until
last August!) that the bride on 1 Jan 1747/8 was Mary Arnold, not Mary
Aldrich. Even now everyone agrees that Mary Arnold, a daughter of
Thomas-4 (Richard-3, Richard-2, Thomas- 1) and Susan (Comstock) Arnold,
was married (on some date) to Caleb. (Thomas-4 Arnold mentioned his
daughter "Mary Aldrich" in his will of 16 Apr 1765 [RI Gen. Register,
5:302, citing Smithfield Council & Probate, 2:481-484].) On the other
hand, no one, not even the claimant, has produced any evidence for the
identity or parentage of the Mary with the maiden name Aldrich who
(supposedly) married Caleb Aldrich. But how can we explain the existence
of the two records for his marriage on 1 Jan 1747/8? It seems likely
that the record written in the town book on 17 Nov 1752 (the marriage to
"Mary Aldrich") was the earlier of the two. A simple explanation then is
that the bride on 1 Jan 1747/8 was Mary Arnold, whose maiden name was
incorrectly written as "Aldrich" in the first record but was corrected
to "Arnold" in the later record.
The claim made last August went further, however. The claimant announced
that he had discovered a later date, specifically 28 June 1753, for the
marriage of Caleb to Mary Arnold. The source of the record was said to
be "Smithfield Probate Records, vol. 1." (Note that a record of a
marriage of Caleb Aldrich on this date is not in Arnold's VR.) In an
e-mail message to me, the claimant wrote that his source, "Smithfield
Probate Records, vol. 1," was the volume on FHL microfilm 0959528. [This
film is described in the FHL catalog as "[Smithfield] Probate Records,
vol. 1, 1733-1754 (includes some births, marriages and deaths)," but the
precise title of the original volume is "Council Book No. 1 Vital
Statistics No. 3."] The claimant did not respond to my request for the
page number of the record in this volume.
As noted in my message of 26 January, I have completed a careful search
of each and every page on film 0959528, and I can say with some
confidence that this volume (film) does not contain any record of a
marriage for Caleb Aldrich on 28 June 1753 (or on any other date). In a
message to this list on the same day, the claimant responded by stating
that "I am rechecking the paper piles to locate this one record." In
turn, in a message on 27 January, I wrote the following to the claimant
(and the list): "I hope you can resolve this whole matter in the near
future and will report your findings to these mailing lists [this list
and the National Aldrich Association list]. If after a reasonable period
of time, you can not identify a valid source (properly cited so that
anyone could locate the source) for the 28 June 1753 marriage record (or
provide other evidence for another wife), then I believe that we must
conclude that Caleb was married only once--to Mary Arnold on 1 January
1747/8."
Nearly a month has passed (a reasonable period of time in my opinion),
and the claimant has yet to identify to me or the lists a source for the
28 June 1753 marriage date. Therefore, I believe it is time to repudiate
the claim that Caleb had two wives, and (if I may repeat myself) we must
conclude that Caleb was married only once--to Mary Arnold on 1 January
1747/8.
I would hope that the data for Caleb (in the "Descendants of George
Aldrich") at
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~aldrich/george/aqwg12.htm#811 would be
changed to conform with this conclusion. [2015 - this page no longer exists]
May I also point out that the birth dates for Caleb's children do not
support the idea of a second marriage on 28 June 1753. Consider the
following four birth dates, those of the two children born just before
this date and the two born just after: (Altogether Caleb is reported to
have had twelve children, but these four will demonstrate my point.)
Thomas b. 7 Apr 1750
William b. 3 Apr 1752
Hannah b. 2 Feb 1754
Naaman b. 6 May 1756
Note that the period between the births of William and Hannah (the
period which encompasses the 28 June 1753 date) was only about two years
(actually only 22 months), which is about typical for consecutive
children by one wife. Also, Hannah's birth on 2 Feb 1754 follows the
supposed marriage on 28 June 1753 by little more than seven months.
Judge Caleb Aldrich wouldn't be happy about that!

Birth	14 Jan 1726	Mendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts
Marriage	1 Jan 1747/48	Smithfield, Providence County, Rhode Island - Mary Arnold
Death	8 Nov 1809	Smithfield, Providence County, Rhode Island

Spouse	Mary Arnold (1730 - )
Child	Thomas Aldrich (1750 - 1800)

Father	Moses Aldrich (1690 - 1761)
Mother	Hannah White ( - )
Sibling	Mary Aldrich (1714 - 1805)