John Albright (fl. 1810s-1820s), carpenter and joiner, was among the first builders to appear regularly in Rowan and Davidson counties’ apprentice bonds and other records. These documented references coincide with the decades from which far more buildings survive than from earlier years. Albright was probably of German background, for the name Albrecht as well as Albright appeared among the early settlers in the German areas of the western Piedmont. There was more than one John Albright living in the area during this period. In any case, in Rowan County John Albright apprenticed James Wiseman as a carpenter and William Dunn as a joiner in 1811, and in 1816 his apprentice Andrew Gilliam ran away. Indicating that he was busy at his trade, in 1821 Albright advertised in the Salisbury Western Carolinian for two or three journeymen for “constant employment” and two or three sober, industrious apprentices. In 1825 he sold his house on Main Street in Salisbury and moved to Lexington in Davidson County, where he took apprentices in 1825 and 1826. Although no specific buildings have been attributed to him, Albright doubtlessly erected several houses and other structures during his years in the western Piedmont, and it is possible that some of his works will come to light.

• James H. Craig, The Arts and Crafts in North Carolina, 1699-1840 (1965).
• Raleigh Star, Oct. 11, 1816.
• Research Files, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
• Salisbury Western Carolinian, July 24, 1821; Oct. 9, 1821; Mar. 11; 1823; Jan. 25, 1825.