David Ralston and Alexander Reid Connection

Some old land survey records will list a couple of people as C.B., C.C., or S.C.C.  These are people who carried the measuring chain for the surveyor.  According to The Legal Genealogist, this is usually done by kin of the person whose plot was being surveyed.

David Ralston’s land was surveyed in 1787 in Davidson County, TN (then NC).  One of the people listed as C.C. was Alexander Reid.

(David’s second wife, per genealogical records was Mary Reid. Some of his sons by Mary Reid were Alexander, John, and George.)

Three land survey records in Davidson County, for Alexander Reid had these C.C. or S.C.C (chain carrier or sworn chain carrier.)

1796, Alex Ralston and David Ralston

1808, John Ralston and William Hutchison

1813, George Ralston and John Ralston

So, it can be concluded that Alexander Reid was a relative of David Ralston, likely connected to his wife, Mary Reid.

Following is a 1774 passenger list for Alexander Reid:

Name: Alexander Reid
Arrival year: 1774
Arrival Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Primary Immigrant: Reid, Alexander
Family Members: Wife Katherine Hutchison; Child Alexander; Child Mary; Child John; Child Henry; Child Katherine; Child David; Child George; Child James; Child Isobel

(William Hutchison on the property record was a relative of Reid's wife Katherine Hutchison.) 

Mary was listed as being 17 when they arrived.  Her brother Alexander was 19.  Father, Alexander, was 45. 

The elder Alexander died in Kentucky before 1789. His son, Mary's brother, Alexander, died in Tennessee in 1818.  The Tennessee land records were those of the younger Alexander, David Ralston's brother-in-law and uncle to the boys.

A descendant of the elder Alexander Reid has confirmed a DNA match to a descendant of David Ralston and Mary Reid, with confirms David’s father-in-law was Alexander Reid, Sr.

Pennsylvania Tax records show David Ralston, Alexander Reid, Sr., and Alexander Reid, Jr., lived in Milford Township, (then) Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, between 1779 and 1782 (Alex, Jr., in 1778, also.) (See Milford Township.htm)