The Alexander Forsyth Family

The following is a list of Alexander Forsyth's family based on primary and secondary sources only. No genealogies or descendant recollections were used. The children are listed in the order they appeared in Alexander Forsyth's will.

There are five individuals listed at the bottom whose relationship, if any, to Alexander Forsyth is not yet known. Two of them, Jacob and Alexander Forsyth (C), are known to have lived near him and are assumed to be related somehow, but are not named in his will. Jacob was dead by the time the will was written, but if he were a son of Alexander, we would expect Jacob’s son to have been mentioned in Alexander's will, and his is not. Alexander is found along with Isaac Forsyth (not his son) in Carlisle, Cumberland County Pennsylvania in 1778. This Isaac is not seen therafter. If Isaac were a brother of Alexander who died, Jacob and Alexander (C) may have been that Isaac's sons. Jacob was charged with assault and battery alongwith Alexander's son Isaac in York County, Pennsylvania in 1796, so there is undoubtedly a familial connection.

There is also a Sarah Forsythe who married James Pringle in Baltimore in 1785. I have not found her or her husband in any other records. According to one online source, she was the daughter of Robert Forsyth and Mary Randolph, was born in 1765 and died on December 23, 1833. Her husband, Captain James Pringle, died in Calcutta, India in 1804. There is a Robert Forsyth found in the 1776 census for Deptford Hundred in Baltimore County, Maryland. In the Papers of Major Mordicai Gist of Baltimore for 1783 [ http://www.mdhs.org/findingaid/gist-papers-1772-1813-ms-390 ], a Robert Forsyth is mentioned. It is not clear from the biographical information whether this Robert Forsyth was in Baltimore or not. Regardless, It is seems likely that Sarah Forsythe was not related to Alexander Forsyth.

Alexander Forsyth (abt 1747 - 23 Apr 1829, age 83)                                 [obit,will,tax]
  m. bef 1770, Rachel Lindsay (abt 1750 - 2 May 1840, age 90)                      [court,obit,will,deaths,tax]
  1. Isaac Forsyth (bef 1766 [1810 census], bef 1774 [1790,1800 census] - )        [will,1790,1800,1810census]
    m1. 22 Dec 1792, Frances Brown ( - bef 1802)                                   [marriages]
      1a. Bethildy Forsyth (10 Apr 1792 - )                                        [baptism]
      1b. Augustus Forsyth (7 May 1794 - )                                         [baptism]
    m2. 19 Jun 1803, Nancy Anne Litton/Letton                                      [marriages]
      1c. Avelina Forsyth (abt 1804 - )                                            [court]
  2. John Forsyth ( - )                                                            [will]
    m. 22 Jun 1796, Catherine Swyman/Suyman                                        [marriages]
    2a. Mary Forsyth                                                               [will]
  3. Rachel Forsyth (1771/84 - bef 1840)                                           [will,marriage,1810census,1840census]
    m. 17 May 1800, Joseph Goldsmith                                               [will]
  4. Jane Forsyth (abt 1772 - abt 26 May 1834, age 62)                             [will,deaths]
    m. 19 Nov 1795, Josias Thompson                                                [will,marriages]
  5. William Forsyth (abt 1779 - 14 Apr 1839, age 60)                              [will,deaths]
    m. 10 Jun 1802, Lydia Everson/Emmerson                                         [marriages]
    5a. Caroline (abt 1809 - 11 Oct 1839, age 30)                                  [deaths]
  6. Alexander Forsyth Jr. (abt 1780 - aft 1850)                                   [will,1850census]
    m. 3 Jun 1809, Hetta/Helty/Hetty Zell (abt 1791 - 22 Nov 1874, age 83)         [marriages,obit]
    6a. Jane Forsyth (abt 1831 - )                                                 [1850census]
  7. Elijah Forsyth (bef 1784 - bet 20 Dec 1828 and 1829)                          [will,1810census,1822dir]
    m. 5 Apr 1810, Mary A. Zell (bef 1794 - bet 1829 and 1831)                     [marriages,1810census,1829dir]
  8. Elizabeth Forsyth (abt 1790/1 - bet 1860 and 1870)                            [will,1860census,1790census]
    m. 23 Sep 1809, Arthur Rider (abt 1782 - 15 Apr 1839, age 57) (4 sons, s daus) [marriages,deaths,1830census]
    8a. Albert D. Rider (abt 1820 - )                                              [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
      m. 29 Aug 1847 Mary Ann Tibbles (abt 1827/28 - )                             [1860,1870,1880,1900census,marriages]
      8a1. Emma Rider (abt 1850/51 - )                                             [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
      8a2. Theodore Ryder (Jun 1854 - )                                            [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
        m. 1880, Margaret _____  (Oct 1858 - )                                     [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
        8a2a. Mary E. Ryder (Dec 1883, D.C. - )                                    [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
      8a3. Ann A. Rider (abt 1856/59 - )                                           [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
      8a4. R. Quinton Ryder (abt 1858 - )                                          [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
        m. bef 1880, Margaret _____                                                [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
        8a4a. Rachel Ryder (abt 1880 - )                                           [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
      8a5. Lida Rider (abt 1861 - )                                                [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
      8a6. Jennie Rider (abt 1867 - bef 1880?)                                     [1860,1870,1880,1900census]
  9. Mary Forsyth (bef 1790 - )                                                    [will]
    m. John Hitselberger                                                           [will]
     9a. Joseph J. Hitselberger ( - 6 Oct 1840)                                    [deaths]

  A. Sarah Forsythe m. 9 Nov 1785, James Pringle                                   [marriages]
  [not mentioned in the will]

  B. Jacob Forsyth ( - bet 1819 and 1822)                                          [1819dir]
  [not mentioned in the will]
    m. 22/25 Nov 1797 Sarah "Sally" Cooper ( - 10 Mar 1834)                        [marriages,deaths,1822-1831dir]
    10a. Jacob J. Forsyth (bef 1806 - aft 1827)                                    [1827dir]

  C. Alexander Forsyth (abt 1797 - bu 22 Dec 1837, age 40)                         [1827-1837dir,deahts]

  [These must have arrived after 1831 as they do not show up in the directories prior]
  D. Alexander Forsyth (1758, Tyrone, Ire - 11 Jul 1838, age 80)                   [deaths,obit]

  E1. Alexander Forsyth ( - 1839) [not Alexander Jr. as deaths assumes]            [deaths]
  E2. Alexander E. Forsyth  (abt 1808 - 13 Jun 1839, age 31)                       [deaths,obit]