Ralph Albritton was born in 1656. As a young adult, he lived in York County, located in Virginia's Tidewater region on the north side of the Virginia Peninsula, sandwiched between the York and James Rivers that empty into Chesapeake Bay. About 1680, Ralph Albritton married Mary, and they settled in the portion of York County designated by the Anglican Church as Charles Parish. Between 1682 and 1700, the parish register recorded the births and deaths of their children.

Despite intense research efforts, details about Ralph Albritton's origins have proved elusive. He was probably related to other Albrittons who lived in York County during that era. In particular, although not a son, Ralph may have been a nephew or other close relative of Francis Albritton (or Albrighton) who died in York in April 1667. However, we currently have no documentation to prove Ralph's relationship to Francis or the other Albrittons of York.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Ralph Albritton's progeny spread throughout the South and then westward across the continent, with concentrations of Albritton descendants in Pitt and Greene Counties, North Carolina, eastern Georgia, Wilcox County, Alabama, and in various locales in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Several family historians researching Ralph Albritton's descendants published family histories in the 1970s and 1980s that focused on Ralph's grandson, James Albritton Sr., and his descendants. These works included unproven hypotheses proposed as test questions for future research. However, once in print, casual researchers took these undocumented theories as fact, resulting in a proliferation of inaccuracies and misinformation, both in recent publications covering the Albritton family and also in the family trees now commonly found on commercial genealogical websites.

This webpage focuses on the descendants of Ralph Albritton during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its goal is to disseminate accurate and thoroughly documented information on these early Albrittons in hopes of dispelling these common misconceptions. By its nature, family research is a constantly evolving process, with an unpredictable ebb and flow of revised information as researchers make new discoveries. The material presented here is based upon interpretation of the documentation currently available. Future discoveries might warrant a reinterpretation of the facts.

The expertise, advice, and encouragement offered by Annie Crenshaw in prepartion of this Albritton material is greatly appreciated.