Nelson W. Aldrich - Family Background

Family Background

Aldrich was born into a family descended from John Winthrop, William Wickenden, and Roger Williams. His branch passed through generations of declining circumstances. His mother was Abby Burgess and his father was Anan E. Aldrich, an industrial mill hand. The first of the American Aldrich ancestors was the immigrant George Aldrich, who settled in Mendon, Massachusetts in the 17th century. The Aldrich Family Association, and family cemetery, was located in the neighboring community of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, once part of Mendon, on the Rhode Island border. It was in Rhode Island that Nelson Aldrich grew up and prospered. He attended the East Greenwich Academy. The Aldrich family has grown to become a political dynasty on the American landscape, with senators, a vice president, and various political figures in a number of states.