In his genealogy, Riggs, Baldridge, and Agnew Families (1915), Henry Earle Riggs, a descendant of Alexander Baldridge, gives the following information extracted from letters from members of the Baldridge family to a relative, the Reverend William Baldridge:
William Baldridge, son of Richard Baldridge of County Tyrone, Ireland, was born in Ireland in 1689. He married June 16, 1714, Janet Holmes, who was born in Ireland in 1694. Their children, all born in Ireland, were:
John, born 1715, married Rebecca Clark • Alexander, born 1717, married Jane Ramsey •
Margaret, born 1719, married John Poston
(“left issue”) • Janette, born 1721, married Matthew Atchison • Elizabeth, born 1723, married John Brownlee •
Michael, born 1725, married Mabel Wilson •
William, Janet, and their children came to America in the ship Queen Margaret and settled in Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1726. William died November 25, 1772. Janet died July 28, 1768, and both are buried in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.[9]
In his will, drawn January 9, 1767, probated January 14, 1773, William “ordain and allow my son, John Poston, five pounds” (Lancaster County Wills, Book C, Vol. 1, page 124). Since Margaret was not named in the will, the compiler concluded that Margaret Baldridge Poston had died before her father made his will and her share of the estate was left to John Poston and Margaret’s children. [10]
The Holmes Family
Sir James Holmes, a well-known merchant and trader of Belfast, Ireland, married Jane Jennings, also of Belfast. Their children were Thomas, Charles, Robert, William, and a daughter, Janet. Sir James died June 1, 1727. His will was probated in Ireland June 14, 1727.
In almost every family, there springs the legend of a fabulous fortune left, and still waiting for the heirs, in the “old country.” And so it was with the Baldridge family. It seems that Jane Jennings had inherited a fortune from her father and Janet Holmes Baldridge had been willed her share of her mother’s inheritance, plus her share of her father’s fortune in Sir James Holmes’ will.
Tradition in the Baldridge family was that when William and Janet Holmes Baldridge came to America in 1726, Sir James persuaded them to leave their oldest son, John, with him in Ireland. John grew to manhood in Ireland, married Rebecca Clark, and brought her to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to be near his family. He brought with him a will which was supposedly his grandfather’s will. Many attempts were made by the Baldridge family to claim the fortune before lawyers in England proved the will to be a forgery. And so the fabulous Holmes fortune turned out to be a myth.
Citations in this section
References used in this section are linked to the book’s source layer. Source descriptions preserve the published wording and evidence cautions.
- Endnote 9 — Published genealogy described in compilation: Riggs, Baldridge, and Agnew Families (1915), Henry Earle Riggs; immigration in ship Queen Margaret (1726); settlement in Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; deaths of Janet (July 28, 1768) and William (November 25, 1772).
- Endnote 10 — Probate reference described in compilation: Lancaster County Wills, Book C, Vol. 1, p. 124; will drawn January 9, 1767; probated January 14, 1773; bequest to “my son, John Poston” of five pounds; inference that Margaret predeceased the will.