Blocked

                   NOTE:
      Discussion on the different possibilities of her ancestry is found in PAF Notes.

Although family history relates that Ann Ailer came from somewhere along the Neuse River in North Carolina, no record of her or of any family by the name of Ailer, has been found in that area. The Neuse River extends from the North Carolina Coast all the way to Durham, North Carolina. Most researchers list her as coming from New Bern, Wake County, NC, but the Genealogy Society in that area could find no record of any families by the name of Ailer, or any variations of the spelling of the name, in that area. The only Ailer listed in the North Carolina archives is a William Ailer who lived in Dobbs County, NC, but there was no record of him having a wife or family. This William Ailer was apparently a land surveyor. Ann Ailer remains somewhat of a mystery.FROM THE FILES OF LYNN SHULER TEAGUE: According to family oral tradition, Thomas met Ann on a visit to her home area on the Neuse River area in North Carolina. It is sometimes said that he was visiting family there, again raising the possibility that Joseph was from the NC Duke family. Unfortunately, attributing a family to the Neuse River area is approximately the same as associating them with the Edisto River; both cover considerable area. The Neuse River begins in Craven County, near the south point of Cape Hatteras, and extends us through Lenoir County and Wake County to the southern boundary of Orange County. The NC Dukes family is heavily concentrated in Warren, Orange and adjacent counties, in the north central portion of the state along the Virginia border. --- One source gives Ann's home as "New Bern, Wake County, NC." the problem with this is that New Bern is not now, nor has it ever been, in Wake County. New Bern is in Craven County. Both Craven and Wake counties are on the Neuse River, but at opposite ends. However, Wake County is one of the home counties of the NC Duke family. Several Branchville area families closely associated with the Dukes and Syphrett families, the Risher and Byrd families, are from the Neuse River area in Lenoir County, NC, obtaining their earliest grant in the Orangeburgh, SC area in 1785. However, the earliest known marriage that would have created a family relationship for Thomas with those families is later than his marriage to Ann. Lenoir County does not seem to have had a Duke family in residence at this early period. It is possible that the Dukes family story about Thomas Dukes' trip to the Neuse River area was speculative, arising when James Buchanan Duke became famous for founding Duke Power and endowing Duke University, thus drawing the Orangeburg family's attention to the existence of a NC family. Ann survived Thomas E. Dukes II, and is recorded in the 1850 U. S. Census at the age of 60 with $1500 real estate, 5 household members, and 7 slaves.NOTE OF ROSE M. KENDRICK: I have recently found on the internet that there were some Ailer familiesamong Indian Tribes that lived on the Neuse River in North Carolina. Is it possible that our Anne Ailer is from one of these families? Her daughter, Eliza Alloy Dukes, who married John Samuel Collier always claimed, according to Collier family records, that she was of Indian descent. Since it is known that Thomas was not of Indian descent, could it be that Anne Ailer was of Indian descent? Certainly worthexploring.