Clement (Aldredge) Allred Sr

  General Notes:

CLEMENT ALDRICH OR ALDRIDGE, son of John Aldrich and Agnes Rolfe, was born about 1601, at Worstead, Norfolk, England. He was married at Worstead, 7/12/1626, to SUSAN BOSWELL. He many have gone to Northumberland Co., Va. His wife may have been the daughter of Christopher Boswell wife may have been the daughter of Christopher Boswell and Margery Lambert, married at Worstead in 1577, and a sister of Edmund Boswell who married Susan Compton there in 1612.


The Allred Family In America - The Other Side of The Storyby Athlene M. AllredSurely, no thought of publishing an "Allred Family In America" was in the struggling young doctor's mind as he slowly collected his own ancestral names back in the "30's" during his service as Stake Genealogy Leader in Long Beach, California. The records at the Huntington Library in Los Angeles proved to be a gold mine. No doubt he was also inspired by the compilation of Allred ancestry by Archibald F. Bennett, his genealogical hero. After moving to Utah about 1937, Dr. Allred was able to share information with many family members, including Uncle Louis Allred and Aunt Mary Viola Stout. As his own records accumulated, he became convinced that such valuable information should be correlated into usable form for posterity. By 1963, Rulon's journal notes indicate that he was already busily engaged in preparations for a book. Dozens of inquiries were being sent to Allreds all over America asking for current and expanded family information. Deadlines (rarely written in stone) were postponed more than once in order to include all possible up-dates from interested parties. Later, of course, mistakes were found, but at the time, he could only work with the data at hand. Genealogy classes were organized where willing friends and family extracted, sorted, typed, and proof-read. A trained librarian helped set up alphabetical and numerical index files, and workers often labored diligently far into the night. When the basement work-room became too small, a "new department" was created in the living room or carefully transferred to another home. Some did "piece-work" in their own homes. And friends, caught up in the exciting momentum of creating A BOOK, often came straight fromwork to type or lend a hand for a few hours. Dr. Allred had already assumed a sizeable personal loan for the project and the financial records, already organized, soon included the vast correspondence network that developed as pertinent information was received, recorded, and exchanged. During this stage, updated information could still be worked into the process, so birth and obituary columns from local papers were carefully studied. Slowly, component parts of the book took shape, and by early Spring of 1965 enough organizational work had been completed that proper formatting became the next major step. Financial negotiations, completed with Bischoff Printing in the early spring of 1965, included typesetting and printing as well as material costs and arrangements for publication. In addition to the regular binding, books with expandable pins were also ordered. Mr. Bischoff purchased a larger offset press (an ATF 22 x 28 Chief), and Dr. Allred purchased a new IBM typewriter (B model) for typesetting. Mrs. Bischoff, an experienced type-setter, arranged to devote full time to this complicated process. The page detailing the Allred Coat of Arms required six separate colors and had to be run through the press for each color change. Extra copies are always made of color registrations work, and the printers scrutinized each page for detailed accuracy. Computers, of course, were not available in 1965 and since the right hand margin had to be justified. Separate notations of the number of spaces -- plus or minus -- were counted and recorded for every single, individual line. The typist then had to mark in the appropriate number of spaces to justify every single line before the manuscript could be re-typed with all appropriate adjustments in spacing. Obviously, the slightest change required complete re-typing of the whole page once again. During the summer, helpers sometimes stayed until the wee small hours, and by September of 1965 the largest family group, Thomas, was organized. Family members were busy with the final manuscript typing, and towards the last of October, the final proof-reading was finished and all names were properly indexed. Now time became a major factor. Week 1: Several pages were completed and ready for editing. After analyzing the manuscript, including all changes, they were returned to the typist for re-typing. Week 2: The corrected manuscript, plus additional pages, were delivered to the editor for perusal. When returned, even more changes were charted on the first pages as well as the succeeding ones. Week 3: All indicated changes were made and more newly completed pages were taken to the editor. Again, all the pages were returned, with changes once again requested on the first page. Three weeks had passed, yet not even the first page had been approved. The Bischoffs were unable to make any progress with type-setting as long as the editor continued to make additional formatting changes. Gradually the whole process slowed down and the printers, crowded with other deadlines, could not continue the "snail's pace" of waiting for the editor to make a definite decision about formatting patterning. Still, the promised Christmas deadline could not be postponed, so type-setting continued. All questions were cross-referenced so corrections could be made. Homes took on the appearance of libraries as thousands of names, indexed on 3 x 5 cards, filled countless boxes and overflowed onto every available flat space. In order to finish one phase of the work, near the end of the summer Dr. Allred engaged Mrs. Bischoff to type-set several finished sections of the book on her own typewriter so the actual printing could begin. Volunteers continued working while Rulon checked and approved their work, and the presses were soon rolling. Seven-foot stacks of printed and wrapped pages stood in the print shop -- a remodeled garage heated by a coal-burning stove. In December a visiting friend interested in the process noticed stacks of finished pages ready for folding, collating, and binding. Feeling uneasy about so many finished pages being held in one place, he offered to store them in his home for safe keeping. A few weeks before Christmas the printing was nearly finished and the negatives, from with plates are made to print, were completed. However, a number of them still had to be masked up and opaqued so they could be "burned" for the last runs on the press. But fate was lying in wait. An early morning fire broke out in the print shop. The press-cleaning solvent inside soon ignited and within moments the shop was an inferno. Water from the garden hose was pitifully inadequate, and though seasoned firemen directed a huge stream of water into the shop, there was soon only a heap of steaming rubble. Mr. Bischoff hurried home to assess the damage and noticed that the telephone had actually melted into the wall where it hung. Since the presses were damaged from heat and water, there was no possible chance to use them until they were entirely reconditioned. Later, while sifting through the ashes, they discovered every single negative of the book was intact! Not only that, but as Mrs. Bischoff carefully washed each separate negative and hung it on a line to dry, she found that one after another had miraculously escaped damage. Needless to say, the inspiration that had earlier prompted the earlier removal of the then-finished pages seemed like part of an on-going miracle. While searching through the stacks of wrapped, finished pages that had again accumulated in the shop, the packages in the middle of the stacks were also found to be preserved. Many of the pages were still intact, even though the edges of the wrappings were discolored form the heat. But time had run out. Mr. Bischoff hurriedly contacted another experienced printer, and found that if the negatives were taken to Hofhine Printing at once, their schedule would allow Bischoffs to use the equipment for 24 hours -- enough to complete the job! With the printing completed, a rental truck was hired, all printed pages were gathered together, loaded into the truck, and taken to the binders who finished their portion of the work. Though the timing was close, the completed, bound books were ready for the Christmas deadline. Personal telephone calls notified local Santas to pick up their copies, and mail orders were soon on their way. So, as the printer noted, "1965 was the banner year -- the publication of the extensive work of Rulon C. Allred -- ‘THE ALLRED FAMILY IN AMERICA' ". In 1965 the combined Allred research and that of Archibald F. Bennett were the most extensive Allred records known, and Brother Bennett graciously consented to have his compilation included in the book so the final product would be as complete as possible. "THE ALLRED FAMILY IN AMERICA" is currently in use at public libraries across the nation. L.D.S. Genealogical Library copies are replaced as needed -- courtesy of Dr. Rulon C. Allred." Ordinary people doing extraordinary things, donated countless hours to this project. Once again, though not named personally, we thank each one for their treasured friendship and bless the willing hearts and hands that helped make this dream a reality. Copied from the Allred Family Newsletter, October 1995, Issue #25, pages 10-11.

Clement married Susan Boswell on 2 Jul 1626 in Worstead, Norfolk County, England. (Susan Boswell was born in 1605 in Worstead, Norfolk County, England and died in 1641 in Worstead, Norfolk County, England.)