He got his grant from the King of England defining the boundary of his strip as from latitude 35° 34' to the Virginia line at 36°31‘ and the same year hired a survey of his southern line, which from the maps seems to have been surveyed at about 35°30‘,a strip somewhat over 70 miles wide, surveyed from the Atlantic to the Alleghenies and running theoretically to the Western sea (the Pacific).
He granted Tract #9 of a million acres around the Yadkin River, which included most if not all of the present Rowan, Davidson and Davie Counties to a land holding syndicate headed by a London merchant, Henry McCulloh. The early deeds to the Days, Leonards, and others were from McCulloh and by 1753 enough people were settled along the Yadkin to petition for a new county which was set up that year and named "Rowan", whose southern boundary was to be the Granville line north to Virginia and including the present Guilford, Randolph, and other counties.
Deeds from McCulloh became less frequent and about 1760 the deeds to lands are direct from Granville (through his agents) until Granville's death in 1763. From then on there are few recorded deeds until 1783 at the end of the Revolutionary War. The new STATE of North Carolina voided all previous deeds but apparently providcd that all previous land owners might buy the land they already had from the State at 10 shillings per hundred acres, and many of the old lands deeds from McCulloh and Granville were re-purchased from the State.
We know that Wooldrich took the Oath of Allegiance to the State of North Carolina on August 5, 1778. He is listed as Frederick Fritz and with him taking the Oath were Jacob Lopp and Michael Day, among others. Two days later Valentin Day took his oath to the State. Wooldrich's son Henry (1770) was bound out as an orphan to this Valentine Day on February 4, 1783.18 We also found where Frederick Fritz and Valentin Leonhardt are both listed on a tax list in Capt. Lopp‘s District of Rowan County, North Carolina for August term 1778.19
Wooldrich, like others in the area, was a member of the Pilgrim Reformed Church. This church was established in 1757 or earlier on a track of 50 acres, the original place of worship was picked, according to tradition, by Jacob Berrier, with the aid of neighbors:
The story goes that..."old man Berrier and two or three companions were riding through the country between the Yadkin River and Abbott's Creek...Mr.Berrier and his companions had visited several settlers on the lands between and on the waters of these two streams...About three-quarters of a mile west of Abbott's Creek, these gentlemen came to a beautiful spot in a grove of oak, hickory, and sugar-maple trees, where a spring of sparkling water was bubbling up. Here they paused, and Jacob Berrier said to his companions: "Got hat diese Stelle zur verchrung sines Namens geschafien: hier mussen wir ein Versamm-lungshaus haven." ("God fashioned this place for a house of worship; here we must have a meeting-house.")Thus was established the "Church of the Pilgrims." It has had several names; today it is called the Pilgrim Reformed Church (United Church of Christ).20
There have been several church buildings located on the site since the church was established more than 245 years ago. The first church structure was a crude shelter, known as a brush arbor. The first church building was erected during the pastorate of Rev. James Martin in 1759. This church stood on an elevated spot at the northeast comer of the cemetery. The second church was built in 1807 jointly with the Lutheran's. It was used until the third church building was built in 1882. In 1903, the Lutheran and Reformed groups split, with the Reformed coming into possession of the church property. This third church served the Pilgrim Congregation until Easter Sunday, 1971. On May 2, 1971, Ground Breaking Services for the new Sanctuary were held. The fourth house of worship was completed in March 1972 with the Rev. J. Everette Neese, as its minister. This church also overlooks the cemetery; it is a beautiful church, warm and inviting to its members as well as to the many visitors that have come over the years to visit.
At the time of the Revolutionary War the Rev. Samuel Suther was pastor of the Pilgrim Church. He was a strong patriot, who strongly and successfully urged his members to serve in the cause for American independence. Wooldrich, who was in his forties, and his sons, George (1753) and John (1762) served in this cause. During the early part of the revolution, the war was mainly fought in the northern section of the Colonies, but after a few years, the fighting was in the South. The British campaign began with the occupation of Georgia and the seize of Charleston, South Carolina, which left Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis in command of the Southern forces. The battles of Camden, King's Mountain, and Cowpens followed, while a new American Officer, Major General Nathaniel Greene, became the Commander of the South. Just after the battle at Cowpens, Greene‘s army, retreating and collecting reinforcements along the way, lured the British Army to Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina.” Among the men who joined Greene's army were Wooldrich and son, John; and Valentin Leonard and his son, Jacob.
