Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):
1) Thinking about your direct ancestors back through 2nd great-grandparents – in other words, ancestors #2 to #31 on your pedigree chart – how many children did they have? How many lived long enough to marry? How many died before age 10? 2) Tell us all about it in a blog post of your own, in comments on this blog post, or in a post on Facebook. Be sure to link to them in a comment on this blog post.
#4-5: Leon Russel Crawford (1894-1976) and Winnie Letha Currey (1903-1992) – had three children, 2 males and 1 female with only 1 male who married
#6-7: Edward Osmond Briles (1891-1956) and Pauline Edith Mentzer (1896-1984) – had five children with 1 male dying young and 1 male and 3 female marrying
#8-9: Judson Foster Crawford (1866-1949) and Josie Winifred Hammond (1874-1954) – had 7 children with 1 male dying as a young adult and 2 males and 4 females marrying
#10-11: Hiram Miles Currey (1866-1943) and Winnie Mae Hutchinson (1871-1913) – had 9 children with 3 males dying young and 2 males and 4 females marrying
#12-13: Edward Grant Briles (1869-1951) and Frances Artlissa Ricketts (1868-1947) – had 4 children, 2 males and 2 females, who all married
#14-15: Charles Oliver Mentzer (1869-1955) and Nettie Adell Wells (1873-1939) had 5 children, 3 males and 2 females, who all married
#16-17: Washington Marion Crawford (1838-1889) and Mary Foster (1842-1929) had 5 children with 1 daughter dying in her teens and 2 males and 2 females reaching adulthood and marrying
#18-19: Richmond Fisk Hammond (1840-1928) and Sarah Ellen Ralston (1849-1892) – had 9 children with 4 males dying young, 1 unmarried adult male, 1 married adult male and 3 married adult females.
#20-21: Hiram M Currey (1835-1901) and Angelina Jane Burke (1836-1901) has 10 children with 2 males dying young, 4 married males and 4 married females.
#22-23: Albert Hutchinson (1838-1896) and Julia Harding (1840-1892) – had 10 children with 3 males and 1 female dying young along with 3 married males and 3 married females
#24-25: Noah Washington Briles (1840-1879) and Sarah Jane Thompson (1843-1930) – had two children, a male and a female, both of whom married
#26-27 James Marshall Ricketts (1847-1920) and Rachel Elmeda Christy (1845-1927) – had 8 children with 2 females dying young, 2 married males and 4 married females.
#28-29: George Mentzer (1838-1912) and Emeline Minnick (1848-1927) had 8 children with 6 married males and 2 married females
#30-31: Thurston Kennedy Wells (1821-1893) and Salome Adell Crandall (1836-1893) had 4 children with a male and a female dying young and 2 married females
From my 2nd great-grandparents, I have 41 potential DNA lines where I need to track descendants.
A search of my RootsMagic data for the CRAWFORD surname with events occurring in Botetourt County, Virginia produced the following list of families. A search for the CRAWFORD surname with events occurring in Montgomery County, Virginia and/or Augusta County, Virginia still needs to be done.
ALEXANDER CRAWFORD / POLLY CARPER
Crawford, Alexander (M)
Spouse Polly Carper
ALEXANDER CRAWFORD / MARY McPHEETERS
Spouse: Mary McPheeters
Child: Lt. John Crawford (1741-1832) md Margaret Crawford / Sally Newman / Mary Craig
Child: William Crawford md Rachel Sawyers
Child: Rev. Edward Crawford (1745-1822)
Child: Martha Crawford (1752-1823) md Alexander Craig
Child: Rev. James Crawford (1752-1803) md Rebecca McPheeters
Child: Rebecca Crawford (1753-1841) md Col. John Sawyers
Child: Alexander Crawford (1753-1830) md Elizabeth McClure / Elizabeth Hopkins
Child: Elizabeth Crawford (1754-?) md Humphreys
Child: Robert Crawford (1757-1810) md Sarah Crawford (daughter of George Crawford)
Child: Samuel Crawford (1759-1822) md Elizabeth Craig
Child: Margaret Crawford (1761-1786)
Child: Mary Crawford (1763-1777)
Son: Crawford, Lt. John Crawford (1741-1832)
Spouse: Sarah “Sally” Newman (1767-1850)
Child: John Crawford
Child Samuel Crawford md Polly Dudding
Child: William Crawford
Child: Nancy Crawford (1800-1864)md Leroy Newman
Child: Fanny Crawford md Henry Rippetoe
Child: James Crawford (1802-1872)md Eleanor “Ellen” Welch and Mary Ann Poage
Son: Crawford, Alexander (M)
Parents Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters
Spouse Elizabeth McClure
Child James E. Crawford ( – )
Child William Crawford ( – )
Child George Crawford ( – )
Child Robert Crawford ( – )
Child Samuel Crawford ( – )
Spouse Elizabeth Hopkins
Child Kitty Crawford ( – )
Child Sally Crawford ( – )
Child Polly Crawford ( – )
Child Betsy Crawford ( – )
ANDREW CRAWFORD / EUPHUS BATEY
Crawford, Andrew (M)
Spouse Euphus Batey
Child Margaret Crawford (1789- )
Child Phoeba Crawford (1789- )
Child John Crawford (1789- )
Child Theba Crawford (1789- )
Child James Crawford (1789- )
Child Eunice Crawford (1789- )
ANDREW CRAWFORD / AGNES BATEY
Crawford, Andrew (M)
Spouse Agnes Batey
Child Margaret Crawford ( – ) md Elisha Vansant
Child James Crawford (1757-1836)md Sarah Vansant
Son: Crawford, James (M)
Parents Andrew Crawford and Agnes Batey
Spouse Sarah Vansant
Child Jane Crawford ( -1836)
Child Mary Crawford (1787-1865)
Child Alexander Crawford (1789-1851)
Child Crawford Crawford ( -1836)
Child Ann Crawford ( -1836)
Child Sarah Crawford (1795-1827)
Child John L. Crawford ( -1836)
Child Henry Crawford (1790-1835)
Child Margery Crawford (1793-1836)
Child Josiah Isaiah Crawford (1792-1861)
Child Samuel Crawford (1799-1838)
Child Joshua Crawford (1804-1836)
Grandson: Crawford, Alexander (M)
Parents James Crawford and Sarah Vansant
Spouse Rebecca Alexander
Child Mary Crawford (1813-1842)
Child Alexander C. Crawford (1826-1851)
Child Thomas Crawford (1828-1902)
Child Martha Crawford (1832-1905)
Child Rebecca Crawford (1833-1909)
ANDREW CRAWFORD / JEMIMA WILSON
Crawford, John (M)
Parents Andrew Crawford and Jemima Wilson
Spouse Mary Weirs
Child Mary Jane Crawford (1828- )
Child Elizabeth Crawford (1828- )
Child George W Crawford (1814-1869)
ANDREW CRAWFORD
Crawford, Andrew (M)
Spouse Unknown
Child John Crawford ( – )
Child Phoebe Crawford (1782- )
Child James Crawford (1795- )
DAVID CRAWFORD / ISABELLA MAINE
Crawford, James (M)
Parents David Crawford and Isabella Maine
Spouse Jean Poage
Child Ellen Crawford (1799-1841)
Child Ann Crawford (1800-1871)
Child Jane M Crawford (1795-1854)md James Ledbetter
Child James Crawford (1802-1871) md Elisa Deyerle
Child Mary Crawford (1792-1844)md Thomas Goodson III
Child Samuel Crawford (1791-1879)
Daughter: Crawford, Mary (F)
Parents James Crawford and Jean Poage
Spouse Thomas Goodson III
Child Rebecca Goodson (1823-1867)
Child Samuel C Goodson (1825- )
Child George W. Goodson (1818-1888)
Child William Goodson (1828-1860)
Child James Goodson (1813- )
Child Robert Goodson (1815- )
GEORGE NIMROD CRAWFORD / ELIZABETH GRAY
Crawford, George Nimrod (M)
Spouse Elizabeth Gray
Child Madison Beale Crawford (1808-1891)
Child Ann Crawford (1810-1880)
Child Sarah Crawford (1808-1880)
Child Nimrod T Crawford (1802-1865)
JAMES CRAWFORD / JEANNE McCLELLAN
Crawford, James (M)
Spouse Jeanne McClellan
Child Jemima Crawford (1808-1836)
Child John Crawford (1811-1871)
Child James Wilkinson Crawford (1807-1883)
Child Nancy Crawford (1811-1834)
Child William Crawford (1805- )
Child Robert Crawford (1801- )
Child Elizabeth Crawford (1802-1834)
JAMES CRAWFORD / MARGERY
Crawford James (1724-1765
Spouse: Margery
Child: William Crawford (1748-1809)
Child: John Crawford (aft 1748 – 1779)
Child: James Crawford (1758-1836)
Son: Crawford, James (M)
Parents James Crawford and Margery
Spouse Rebecca Anderson
Child Anne Crawford (1780- )
Child William Crawford (1784-1864)
Child Mary Crawford (1786-1834)
Child Isaac Crawford (1790- )
Child James Maxwell Crawford (1790-1856)
Child Elizabeth Crawford (1792-1866)
Child Jane Crawford (1796- )
Child Cynthia Crawford (1802- )
Son: Crawford, William (M)
Parents James Crawford and Margery
Spouse Elizabeth __
Child William Crawford (1771-1855)
Child William Crawford (1771-1855)
Child John Crawford (1774- )
Child James Crawford (1782-1839)
Child Margaret Crawford (1784- )
Child Becky Crawford (1785- )
Child Thompson Crawford (1786-1851)
Child Robert H. Crawford (1783-1833)
Child Nancy Crawford (1790- )
JOHN CRAWFORD ISABELLA FULKERSON
Son: Crawford, John (M)
Parents John Crawford and Isabella Fulkerson
Spouse Margaret
Child James Crawford ( – )
Child William Craford (1774- )
Child Samuel Crawford (1777-1854)
Child Helen Craford (1770- )
Child Janet Craford (1766- )
Child William Craford (1768- )
Child Forster Crawford ( – )
Spouse Margaret Black
JOHN CRAWFORD / MARGARET
Crawford, John (M)
Parents John Crawford
Spouse Margaret
Child James Crawford (1770- )md Elinor Hunter
Child Samuel Crawford (1772- )
Child John Crawford (1774- )
Child Andrew Crawford (1776- )
Child William Crawford (1778- )
Child Margaret Crawford (1780- )
COL. JOHN CRAWFORD / MARGARET JANE BROWN
SAMUEL CRAWFORD / JANE MASON
Crawford, Samuel (M)
Parents Col John CRAWFORD and Margaret Jane Brown
Spouse Jane Mason
Child Janet Crawford ( – ) md John Pate
Child Samuel C Crawford (1781-1824)
Child Lucretia Crawford (1778-1864)
Child Mason Crawford (1783-1865) md Mary Jane McCreery
Child Elinor Crawford (1777-1817)
Child Eleanor Crawford (1776-1857)
Child Margaret Peggy Crawford (1774-1862)
Child Sarah Sally CRAWFORD (1785-1802)
Child Archibald Crawford (1772-1866)
Child Lucretia Crawford (1789-1787)
Child William H. Crawford Sr (1771-1845)
Child Mary “Polly” Crawford (1771-1854) – Edwin Pate
Son: Crawford, Mason (M)
Parents Samuel Crawford and Jane Mason
Spouse Mary Jane McCreery
Child Emily Ann Crawford (1818-1903)
Child Robert Mason? Crawford (1819-1848)
Child Eleanor Jennings Crawford (1815-1911)
Child James McDowell Crawford (1814-1878)
Child Harrison Perry Crawford (1813-1887)
Child Cordelia C. Crawford (1821-1881)
Child Elvira Crawford (1812- )
Child Elvira Crawford (1812-1866)
Child Margaret Crawford (1811-1889)
Child Morgan Crawford Sr. (1822-1906)
Child Jane McCreery Crawford (1808-1890)
Child Joseph Allen Crawford (1824-1848)
Child Barton Samuel Crawford (1807-1887)
Child John McCreery Crawford (1805-1865)
SAMUEL CRAWFORD / NANCY FORGEY
Crawford, Andrew (M)
Parents Samuel Crawford and Nancy Forgey
Spouse Jane Weirs
Child Matilda Crawford (1820-1870)
Child Alzira M Crawford (1823-1869)
Child John C. Crawford (1819-1864)
Child James W. Crawford (1832-1870)
Child Solomon Knox Crawford (1818-1847)
Child Julia Ann Crawford (1817-1858)
WILLIAM CRAWFORD / MARGARET KILPATRICK
Crawford, William (M)
Spouse Margaret Kilpatrick
Child Ufus Crawford ( – ) md John Eager
Child Margera Crawford (1783- )
Child Thomas Crawford (1786- )
Child Elizabeth Crawford (1789-1844) md Thomas Hardy
Child Jane Crawford (1775- ) md Andrew Kirkpatrick
Child Eunice Crawford (1775- )
Child John Crawford (1781- )
Child William Crawford (1762-1835) md Margaret Kirkpatrick
This week’s Saturday Night Genealogy fun challenge is to identify my top fee-based genealogy websites. I’m going to modify this slightly and list both my top fee-based and top-free sites.
Fee-Based
Ancestry – I use Ancestry almost daily to research my family tree and to manage DNA results for myself, my brothers and my mother.
Newspapers.com – This is my number one resource for obituaries, wedding announcements and other family news.
Historygeo.com – First Landowners database: Since many of my lines were among the first settlers in several states, I find this site useful to locate their land on a map and to see their neighbors.
Family Tree DNA – I manage my brother’s yDNA on Family Tree DNA and am checking our yDNA matches and the CRAWFORD yDNA project on a regular basis. The CRAWFORD project has a fantastic manager!
Legacy Family Tree Webinars — When you live 75 miles from the nearest genealogy society or library, you seek out opportunities for genealogy education and this is one of the best.
Free
Google — Google is my go-to search engine for everything, including locating more information on members of my family tree and/or information on their communities
FamilySearch – I love the access to records, particularly deeds, that FamilySearch provides. I also use their family tree to check my research against the community consensus.
Mapsofus.org – I love this website! I first started using this with Kentucky to try and figure out how county boundaries changed in early Kentucky.
Facebook – I belong to a lot of different Facebook genealogy and history groups and find them very helpful. I love reading the historical posts and learn tons from posts on the genealogy community
YouTube – lots of great genealogical and historical information here
Local Genealogical Societies – The Topeka Genealogical Society and Peoria County Genealogical Society have really stepped up during this time of Covid. Both are offering programs over zoom for their members. This is a great resource – especially for people like me who don’t live close to a society. I also have to give a shout-out to the Kentucky Genealogical Society for their recent digital conference that was fantastic and very economical!
RootsTech — I’ve been ‘not at RootsTech’ for the past several years and encourage everyone to sign up for this winter’s Virtual RootsTech.
A couple of weeks ago, my mouse started ‘misbehaving’. The first thing I noticed was the inability to highlight text. Instead of highlighting what I wanted highlighted, it would jumb somewhere else and start the highlighting. Even if I could get the section of text highlighted that I wanted highlighted, it wouldn’t ‘stop’ highlighting. Then it started creating a ‘double-click’ when I only clicked once.
The obvious solution was to replace the mouse. Since I live with someone who hangs onto older hardware, we tested several different mice. We found that a wired mouse worked as well as a different branded wireless mouse worked.
So, I was ready to order a new mouse. However, my husband was still trying to figure out why my mouse – and other mice – were not functioning correctly. He ran the diagnostics and discovered that my hard drives are failing. Yes, that is plural. Both the C and D drives are failing.
Thus, all of my genealogy files are at risk! Even though I am working with a dying computer, I am thankful. I am thankful for the lessons learned about backing up and restoring files while working as a high school technology coordinator. I am thankful for the monthly reminders from Dick Eastman and other genealogists to back-up my genealogy files. I am thankful for Cousin Russ and his reminders to test your backups to make sure files can be retrieved.
Thus, I do have back-ups — and I have redundancy.
I use a cloud backup service to backup both drives to the Cloud.
I use the program, Second Copy, to set up tasks to run overnight to copy my data files to a USB drive
I use a cloud service to store most of my files in the cloud
I copy my genealogy files – especially pictures — to a portable USB drive.
Knowing that my computer could stop at any moment, I have spent the last couple of days verifying that my genealogy files are backed up to multiple locations. (I also have new hardware on order.) Having all of this redundancy will make it easy to transfer my files to the new hardware.
Now, I need to verify the list of installed software and make sure I have installation files and serial numbers.
Even though the thoughts of a crashed computer is disturbing, I am thankful that my computer is still running. I’m also thankful for the chance to improve the organization of my files.
If you don’t currently automatically backup your files, take this post as a warning to backup your genealogy files — and listen to the monthly reminders to backup your data!
I’m struggling with ‘same name’ issues. Particularly in regards to Alexander Crawford. I believe there are two different Alexander Crawfords.
Alexander Crawford who married Margaret McElwee in Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1788 and likely lived in Pulaski County, Kentucky
Alexander Crawford, son of Rev. James Crawford of Fayette County, Kentucky and grandson of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters
Other researchers disagree with me. Thus, I’m on a quest to locate documentation to hopefully resolve this issue.
Today, I’m working with census records. Since these are all pre-1850 census listings, they can’t be depended upon to prove family relations. However, they can help establish places of residency.
Using the family information for Rev. James Crawford from the book Descendants of Alexander and Mary (McPheeters) Crawford, I can determine approximate ages for the various census years.
Name
Birth Year
Death Year
Sex
Age 1810
Age 1820
Age 1830
Age 1840
Rev James Crawford
1752
1803
m
Rebecca McPheeters
1755
1830
f
55
65
75
Martha Crawford
1775
1831
f
35
45
55
Alexander Crawford
1782
1845
m
28
38
48
58
Mary Crawford
1784
f
26
36
46
56
Elizabeth Crawford
1789
1845
f
21
31
41
51
Sarah Crawford
1801
1841
f
9
19
29
39
Rebecca Crawford
1805
1830
f
5
15
25
35
Using the above chart, I can then look at the census records for Fayette County and compare the tick marks to potential family members.
In the 1810 census for Fayette County, Kentucky (where Rev. James Crawford lived), I was able to find a Rebecka Crawford as the head of household on the census with 12 total people in the household:
Free white males 26-44: 1 – son – Alexander Crawford – age 29
Free white females 10-15: 1 – daughter Rebecca Crawford – wrong age – she would have been 5
Free white females 16-25: 3 – daughters Sarah age 9, Elizabeth age 21, Mary age 26
Free white females 45 and over: 1 – Rebecca Crawford
Number of slaves: 6
number of household members under 16: 1
Number of household members over 25: 2
number of household members: 12
In the 1820 census for Fayette County, Kentucky, I was able to find Alexander Crawford listed as a 26-44 year old male head of household.
Males 26-44 — 1 – Alexander age 38
Females 16-25: 2 – sisters Sarah age 19 / Rebecca age 15
Females 26-44: 2 – sister Mary age 36 / Mother Rebecca age 65
Slaves – Males 26-44: 2
Slaves Female under 14:5
Slaves Female 14-25: 2
number of persons engaged in agriculture: 3
Free White persons over 25: 4
total free white persons: 6
Total Slaves: 9
Alexander Crawford again appeared as the head of household in the 1830 census for Fayette County, Kentucky.
Males 40-49: 1- Alexander age 48
Females 20-29: 1 – sister – Rebecca age 25
Females 30-39: 2 – Sisters Sarah age 29, Mary age 46
Females 70-79: 1 – Mother Rebecca age 75
Free colored persons Females 24-35: 1
Slaves Males 24-35: 1
Slaves Males 36-54: 1
Slaves Females under 10: 3
Slaves Femlaes 10-23: 2
Slaves Females 24-35: 2
Free white persons 20-49: 4
Total Free white persons: 5
Total Slaves: 14
Total free colored persons: 1
The 1840 census of Fayette County, Kentucky also lists Alexander Crawford as a head of household.
Males 50-59: 1 – Alexander age 58
Females 30-39: 1 – Sister Rebecca age 35
Females 40-49: 1 – Sister Sarah age 39 or Mary age 56
Free colored persons – males 36-54: 1
Slaves males under 10: 9
Slaves males 10-23: 2
Slaves Males 36-54: 1
Slaves Females under 10: 7
Slaves Females 10-23: 2
Slaves Females 36-54: 2
Persons employed in agriculture: 4
No. white persons over 20 who cannot read and write: 1
Free white persons 20-49: 2
Total free white persons: 3
Total free colored persons: 1
Total slaves; 23
Total all persons – free white, free colored, slaves: 27
The above census records support an Alexander Crawford living in Fayette County, Kentucky between 1820 and 1840. Although there are a few discrepancies, the tick marks appear to line up with the Rev. James Crawford family structure. Thus, there is support – but not definitive proof – for the theory that the Alexander Crawford in these census records is the son of Rev. James Crawford.
If there are two separate Alexander Crawfords, then there should be a second set of census records. I used the information I had compiled on the family of Alexander Crawford of Pulaski County, Kentucky to create a similar table showing ages of the family members in the various census records.
Name
Birth Year
Death Year
Sex
Age 1810
Age 1820
Age 1830
Alexander Crawford
1767
1823 / 1838
m
43
53
63
Margaret McElwee
1766
1832
f
44
54
64
Adams Crawford
1789
1869
m
21
31
41
Andrew Crawford
1791
1878
m
19
29
39
Martha Crawford
1801
f
9
19
29
John A. Crawford
1803
1838
m
7
17
27
Shelby Crawford
1805
1870
m
5
15
25
Harrison Crawford
1808
1870
m
2
12
22
Unfortunately, the census records for Alexander Crawford in Pulaski County, Kentucky are more difficult to line up with these known family members. In the 1810 census, this could be explained if one of the sons and his family was also living in the household
Free males under 10: 4 – ? grandsons?
Free males 10-15: 3 – sons John, Harrison, Shelby
Free males 16-25: 1- son Adams or Andrew
Free males: 45 and over: 1- Alexander
Free females under 10: 1 – unknown
Free Females 10-15: 2 — ? granddaughters?
Free females 10-15: 2 – unknown
Free females 16-25: 1 – daughter Martha or wife of Adams or Andrew
Free females 26-44: 1 – wife Margaret
Number of household members under 16: 10
Number of household members over 25: 2
Number of household members: 14
The 1820 census of Pulaski County, Kentucky showing an Alexander Crawford is even more confusing. If this is the same family, then Alexander likely has at least one if not two daughters-in-law living with him along with several grandchildren.
Free white males under 10: 2 – ? grandsons
Free white males 10-15: 2 – ? grandsons
Free white males 45 and over: 1 – Alexander Crawford
Free white females under 10: 1 – ? granddaughter
Free white females 10-15: 1 – ? granddaughter
Free white females 16-25: 2 – daughter Martha Crawford and 1 daughter-in-law or 2 daughters-in-law
Free white females 45 and over: 1 – Margaret McElwee Crawford
Free white persons under 16: 6
Free white persons over 25: 2
total free white persons: 10
Total all persons: 10
A search of the 1830 Pulaski County, Kentucky census for Crawford does not include an Alexander Crawford in the results.
This study of Kentucky census records does support
an Alexander Crawford living in Fayette County, KY at the same time as an Alexander Crawford lived in Pulaski County, KY.
the Rev. James Crawford family unit living in Fayette County under the name of Rebecka Crawford in 1810 and Alexander Crawford in 1820, 1830 and 1840.
Since the Pulaski County, Kentucky census records are hard to match up with the family unit of Alexander Crawford and Margaret McElwee, it is hard to conclude that the Alexander Crawford shown in these records is the husband of Margaret McElwee.
Thus, I need to locate more records to support my position that these are two different Alexander Crawfords.
Do you struggle with ‘same name’ issues in your genealogy research? I know that over the years I have struggled to either separate two people or prove that the records I found apply to my ancestor and not to someone else of the same name.
My newest struggle is with someone that I currently can’t even connect to my tree. I found an Alexander Crawford who married Margaret McElwee in Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1788. This marriage is one of four Crawford marriages that occurred in early Lincoln County:
1788 – Alexander Crawford married Margaret McElwee
1791 – Mary Crawford married James Sellers
1793 – James Crawford married Martha Knight
1796 – Sarah Crawford married William David Sellers
My ancestor, James Crawford married Sally Duggins in 1799 in Garrard County, Kentucky. Garrard County was formed from Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1796 — the year Sarah and William Sellers were married.
Thus, these 5 Crawford couples were married in the area of 1788 Lincoln County, Kentucky within an 11 year time period. Based on the marriage bonds and some land records, it is believed that Mary, Sarah and the James that married Martha Knight are all children of Rebekah Crawford who purchased land in Garrard County from George Douglas.
Since my ancestor, the James Crawford who married Sally Duggins, lived in the same area as the James Crawford who married Martha Knight, it is thought that they are somehow related, possibly cousins.
So that leaves Alexander Crawford. Is Alexander a sibling to Mary, James and Sarah? Or, is he possibly a sibling to my James Crawford?
In hopes of proving that Alexander Crawford is a sibling to one of these two families, I’ve done some research on Alexander. Although I haven’t done extensive research on Alexander, I have established a basic timeline for him.
Birth
abt Jan 1767
Augusta County, Colony of Virginia, British Colonial America
Mount Pleasant Baptist Cemetery, Pulaski, Pulaski, Kentucky, United States
Since my goal was to figure out whether this Alexander Crawford was related to any of the other Crawford families in early Garrard County, Kentucky, I started looking at trees hoping to find someone with parents for Alexander Crawford.
And I found several trees showing Rev. James Crawford and Rebecca McPheeters as the parents of Alexander. This lineage would make the Alexander Crawford who married Margaret McElwee a grandson of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters.
Although Rev. James Crawford may have been an itinerant minister, he did not live in the Garrard County area. Instead he raised his family in Fayette County. Thus, I decided to look at information about the descendants of Alexander and Mary (McPheeters) Crawford to see if the Alexander Crawford of Pulaski County was a grandson.
Thus, I turned to the book, Descendants of Alexander & Mary McPheeters Crawford: Pioneer Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia by Amanda Crawford Arbogast Forbes and Lucetta Crawford Smmis. This book identifies the children of Rev. James Crawford as
Mary Crawford – died unmarried
Martha Crawford (1775-1831) married Charles McPheeters
Alexander Crawford (1782-1845)
Elizabeth Crawford (1789-1845) married Joseph Galloway
Sarah Crawford (1801-1841) unmarried
Rebecca Crawford (1803-1833) unmarried
p. 205.
Also in the book is some information from the Fayette County, Kentucky will of Alexander Crawford.
p. 206.
Comparing the information I have compiled for the Alexander Crawford of Pulaski County, Kentucky with the information in the book about descendants of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters, I don’t believe these two Alexander Crawfords are the same person.
However, I am basing my conclusion on one book. Since that isn’t sufficient evidence to convince others, more research is needed to support my conclusion. Perhaps in the process, I will stumble on something that leads to information connecting the Alexander Crawford of Pulaski County to the Crawfords of Garrard County.
Sources for Alexander Crawford who married Margaret McElwee:
1. Dodd, Jordan R., Kentucky Marriages Early to 1800 (: Precision Indexing Publishers, ), p. 49.
2. “Family Tree”, database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online November 2016), Alexander Crawford / Margaret McElwee Family; undocumented and unnamed family tree submitted by wendyhar, [contact information for private use]; Crawford Tree.
3. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 September 2020), memorial for Alexander Crawford (1767-1823), Find a Grave Memorial no. #186274065, created by Sandra Lytch, citing Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky;, Alexander Crawford.
4. Kentucky, Lincoln County. Tax Books, 1787-1875. Film #DGS 007834472. Alexander Crofford, 1789 : image 104; digital images, Family Search http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 4 September 2020.
5. “Kentucky, Tax Lists 1799-1801,” database online, Genealogy Publishing Company, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online August 2019), Alexander Crawford.
6. “Kentucky, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes ndex, 1810-1890,” database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2019), Alexander Crawford.
7. 1810 U.S. Census, Pulaski County, Kentucky, population schedule, Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky, image 16, Crawford Alexander; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online August 2019).
8. 1820 U.S. Census, Pulaski County, Kentucky, population schedule, Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky, image 7, Alexr Crawford; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online August 2019).
9. “Family Tree,” database, Ancestry.com, Alexander Crawford / Margaret McElwee Family.
10. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 September 2020), memorial for Alexander Crawford (1767-1823), Find a Grave Memorial no. #186274065,
11. “Family Tree,” database, Ancestry.com, Alexander Crawford / Margaret McElwee Family.
12. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 September 2020), memorial for Alexander Crawford (1767-1823), Find a Grave Memorial no. #186274065,
Do you ever find yourself so engrossed in researching those 6th and 7th generation brick walls that you overlook documenting earlier generations with obvious sources? That’s what I’ve found to be true with my research.
I recently read the post, 7-gen-1-sheet that suggests using a spreadsheet of ancestors to look at one’s data in a different manner. Thus, I decided to look at the sources I’ve attached to death facts to see whether I have sourced an obituary and their Find a Grave site.
See all of that red? Needless to say, I’ve failed! A few of these don’t have known death dates/locations – but I’ve been to some of the other graves shaded red.
Before shading the 7th generation, I’m going to try and turn more of these yellow.
To start turning the red to yellow, I started by checking the burial fact . For many of these 6th generation ancestors, I had attached the Find a Grave source to the burial fact but not to the death (or birth) fact. Thus, I simply had to memorize the source on the burial fact and paste it onto the death fact. That simple task changed a lot of the red to green.
For those still shaded red, I do not know a death date or place. Thus, they will likely remain shaded red until such time that I can verify their death date and place.
I doubt I would have ever gone back to update these death facts if I hadn’t looked at my data in this way.
Are you overwhelmed with DNA data? Have you ever tried looking at the data in a different way to see what you can learn from it?
The Leeds method of looking at DNA matches is often used for this purpose. Today, I read the blog post, 7-gen-1-sheet, by Ann Raymont. In this post, the author explains how to set up a spreadsheet to display 7 generations of ancestors. Once the spreadsheet is created, color coding can be used to identify patterns such as European roots, lineage society lines or whether a specific source has been used.
Intrigued by how this spreadsheet could be used, I decided to create the page of ancestors. As I was creating the spreadsheet, I decided to use it to look at my ThruLines data. Since I’ve tested myself, my two brothers and my mother, I have four sets of ThruLines. Even though I’ve looked thru this data for each match, I’ve never compared the results.
By adding columns for each of my DNA tests, I was able to record the number of matches for each ancestor from the 4 DNA tests.
Having this data all in one place will help me evaluate my tree in relation to my DNA results. For example, does it indicate an error in my tree if I only have a few matches for that ancestor? Having this data side by side has also allowed me to see that even though I might only have a few matches with descendants of a particular ancestor, my brothers or mother could have quite a few more matches. In those cases, the probability that my tree is accurate increases when I look at all four tests versus looking at just my results.
Now that I have 9 generations of ancestors on my spreadsheet, there are several other ways that I hope to utilize this sheet.
Color code states of residence in 1850
Color code ancestors whom I have found an obituary
Color code ancestors whom I have a Find a Grave source for
Color code potential DAR ancestor lines
Thank you Ann Raymont for sharing your 7-gen-1-sheet method of looking at our ancestors.
In your genealogy research, do you have a FAN (Family Associates, Neighbors) club? If so, do you ever see a name and question whether to add him/her to your FAN club? If so, that’s how I felt about Moses Dooley.
It was like that name, Moses Dooley, kept cropping up in different places and times. My first notes for Moses Dooley are from tax records for Preble County Ohio — living in the same community as my ancestor, James Crawford (wife Sally Smith Duggins) and ‘big’ James Crawford (wife Martha Knight).
Thinking that I should find Moses Dooley in Kentucky with these same Crawford families, I looked back at my Kentucky notes and discovered that I didn’t record anything about Moses Dooley. Rechecking the tax records, I found Moses Dooley in 1794 Madison County, Kentucky — on the same page as several Crawfords. [Kentucky, Madison. Tax Books, 1787-1874. Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, KY. Film #8126 DGS 7834478. Crawford James, William, 1794 Tax bookx 1787-1797, 1799-1807: image 197; digital images, Family Search http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online February 2019.]
Assuming the Moses Dooley of Preble County, Ohio is the same person as the Moses Dooley of Madison County, Ky, that places Moses Dooley traveling a similar migration path as that traveled by the two James Crawford families.
A brief study of the information about Moses Dooley on the FamilySearch tree [L66r-BYH] revealed other connection points with my research:
Moses Dooley was born in Augusta County, Virginia in 1748. Augusta County, is where my ancestor, James Crawford, is said to have been born.
Moses Dooley died in 1822 in Preble County, Ohio. James Crawford was living in Preble County, Ohio in 1822 and died there in 1854.
Moses Dooley’s grandson, Silas Dooley married Isabel McCracken. Isabel’s grandparents were Nathan Sellers and Sarah Finley. The Sellers family is part of my Crawford FAN club.
Moses Dooley’s son, Abner married Nancy Douglas. Nancy is the daughter of George and Rebecca Douglas. George Douglas is believed to be the brother of Rebekah Crawford. Rebekah Crawford is believed to be the mother of Sarah Crawford (md Williiam Sellers), Mary Crawford (md. James Sellers) and James Crawford (md Martha Knight)
With all of these loose connections to my Crawford family, I decided to see what else I could learn about Moses Dooley and his family. Digging thru Google searches, I stumbled upon a biography of Reuben Dooley, son of Moses Dooley.
Not only does this biography provide a lot of detail about Reuben Dooley and his parents, but it provides details for their migration path. This path took the family from Bedford County, Virginia to Madison County, Kentucky in 1781. From there the family moved to Barren County, Kentucky and then to Preble County, Ohio.
This migration path is very similar to that of the Preble County Crawfords. Deeds place James and Martha in Barren County, Kentucky prior to moving to Preble County, Ohio. Marriage records place both James in early Kentucky. James and Martha were married in Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1793. James and Sally were married in Garrard County Kentucky in 1799. Both James are believed to have been born in Augusta County, Virginia, one in 1770 and the other in 1772.
Although I haven’t found any relationship between my Crawford line and the Dooleys, this biography provides support for the migration of the Preble County James Crawfords South onto the Marrowbone out of the Garrard County Kentucky area prior to the migration North into Preble County, Ohio.
I am glad I followed that ‘nudge’ to do more research on Moses Dooley. He is now an ‘official’ member of my Crawford FAN club.
If you search your DNA matches for a member of your genealogy FAN (family, associates, neighbors) do come up with results? Do you ever scratch your head trying to figure out how they fit in your tree?
I’m sure scratching my head trying to figure out the over 300 DNA matches to my brother who have SELLERS in their tree. (Note the number goes higher if I click on ‘Include Similar Surnames’.)
I do have Sellers in my database. I have a whole lot of them in my database. Since the Sellers family is part of my Lincoln County, Kentucky FAN club, I have tracked the descendants of Nathaniel Sellers (1720-1795) for several generations.
Two of his sons, James and William, married into the Crawford family in Lincoln County, KY. The marriage records for these Crawford sisters, Mary and Sarah, suggest a relationship with the widow, Rebekah Crawford. Rebekah is also thought to be the mother of the James Crawford that married Martha Knight in Lincoln County, KY.
Based on the research of Rebekah and Mary, Sarah and James, the working theory is that Mary and Sarah are sisters to James Crawford (1770-1833). This is NOT my Crawford line. My Crawford line goes thru my father to James Crawford (1772-1854).
Thus, the mystery: Why do I have so many SELLERS DNA matches?
The search of my brother’s matches for Sellers yields one explanation: I need to look for the SELLERS surname on both sides of my tree.
Looking at the matches with a common ancestor, it appears that I may need to look for the SELLERS surname as ancestors of the following:
4th great grandparents: John Reed (1800-1864) and Mary Buckles (1792-1867) on my mother’s side of the tree
5th great grandmother: Mary Wright on my mother’s side of the tree
5th great grandparents: Jacob Iglehart (1774-1856) and Ann Beall (1777-?)on my mother’s side of the tree
5th great grandparents: Jeremiah Browning (1744-1834)and Cassandra Foster (1767-1830) on my father’s side of the tree
4th great grandmother: Sarah Smith (1770-1856) on my father’s CRAWFORD line
If I go to my set of DNA matches and do the same search for the SELLERS surname, I come up with even more confusing information. I match descendants of James and Mary (Crawford) Sellers and his brother / her sister William and Sarah (Crawford) Sellers.
Not only do these Sellers/Crawford matches appear, but they have quite a few shared matches.
Thus, all of the confusion: lots of Sellers matches with possible connections to BOTH sides of my tree. I’d love to connect with other SELLERS researchers to try and figure out how all of these matches connect.
