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,
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.
We finally have DNA evidence of a relationship between our James Crawford (md Sally Smith Duggins) and his neighbor, James Crawford (md. Martha Knight). In addition, we have evidence of a DNA relationship with the James Crawford who owned land on Paint Lick Creek in Kentucky.
However, this DNA evidence does not tell us HOW we are related. It might also be telling us that we are not as closely related as we thought.
Below is a diagram of what the yDNA tree probably looks like.
The bright yellow boxes represent the ancestors of other yDNA testers. The light orange box represents the yDNA tester of my line. This diagram supports an uncle/nephew relationship between the James of Paint Lick area and the James that married Martha Knight. Even though a will for John Crawford has been found that identifies his wife as Rebekah and names sons James and Nathan, documentation has not been found to help prove that the family in Kentucky is the same family named in the Virginia will.
For a time, it was believed that our James (md Sally Duggins) was also a nephew of the James Crawford that married Rebecca Anderson Maxwell thru James’ brother, Andrew. However, the yDNA information does not support that close of a relationship. Thus, Andrew is no longer considered a potential ancestor.
Since we are all in the same yDNA haplogroup, we are related. However, it appears that our James (md Sally Duggins) is possibly a cousin to the James Crawford that married Rebecca Anderson Maxwell.
More research both with DNA and with records needs to be done to prove these relationships and to identify that elusive common ancestor. Thus, your help is needed.
If my previous posts and Ancestry tree caused you to add Andrew Crawford as the father of James Crawford (1772-1854), please remove Andrew as the father of James at least for now. This will hopefully help Ancestry ThruLines search for someone besides Andrew as a potential father.
If you have tested your DNA with Ancestry, please look for matches that have the Crawford surname who were born in Preble County, Ohio or Garrard County, Kentucky. These matches are likely related on our Crawford tree somehow.
If you have tested your DNA with Ancestry, please look for matches that have the SELLERS surname. There are two SELLERS marriages in Lincoln County Kentucky to CRAWFORDs. These Crawford women are likely sisters to James Crawford (1770-1833). Even though my Crawford line has no known Sellers ancestor, I have lots of Sellers DNA matches. Thus, these Sellers matches might be a key to figuring out our Crawford relationships.
Please help by poking holes in my research or making suggestions for further research.
Since we should protect the privacy of our DNA matches, we should not publicly share the name of our matches or shared matches. Instead, please invite them to join this conversation.
If you are willing to be part of a collaborative group to further research these Crawford families, please leave a comment on this post or message me on Facebook (Marcia Crawford Philbrick).
Below are some links to these various families on FamilySearch
James Crawford (1758-1836) – md Rebecca Anderson Maxwell
The ‘Collaborate’ menu allows one to add a discussion to an individual on FamilySearch. This is a way to ask questions or make suggestions for individuals on the FamilySearch tree.
Below are links to these same people in my Ancestry tree.
James Crawford (1758-1836) – md Rebecca Anderson Maxwell
The comment feature on Ancestry should allow anyone to leave a comment on my tree. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how I would figure out that you had left a comment. If you wish to leave a comment on my tree, please do so, but please also notify me somehow so that I can read your comment.
Please help us take advantage of all of this DNA information by asking to join the Crawford Facebook group and by collaborating on this research. Together, let’s figure out who those question marks at the top of he chart represent!
My mind is ‘jumping up and down’ with joy this morning. Another CRAWFORD researcher contacted me this morning to let me know he had found out his haplogroup: R-Y88686. That is the SAME haplogroup as my brother.
We FINALLY have some evidence that we are related!
We both descend from James Crawford of Preble County, Ohio. His James Crawford was born in 1770 in Augusta County, Virginia and died in 1833 in Warren County, Indiana. My James was born in 1772 in Virginia and died in 1854 in Preble County, Ohio.
Both men were living in Kentucky prior to 1800. His James married Martha Knight in 1793 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. My James married Sally Duggins in 1799 in Garrard County, Kentucky. (Garrard County was formed in 1797 from Lincoln and Madison counties.)
In 1811, his James filed land entry papers showing he had made the final payment for the SW 1/4 of Section 14, Township 7 Range 2 East in Preble County, Ohio. In 1816, my James filed similar land entry papers showing he had made the final payment for the NW 1/4 of Section 14, Township 7, Range 2 East in Preble County, Ohio. Yes, they owned adjoining land.
These two families appear to have migrated together for over 100 years. Thus, we have long suspected a relationship.
Not only has our yDNA tests shown us that we need to keep looking for that relationship, but it has added a third James Crawford to the mix. This James was also in Garrard County prior to 1800. James was born in Augusta County, Virginia in 1758 and died in Jefferson County, Indiana in 1836. In 1779, this James Crawford married Rebecca Anderson Maxwell in Montgomery County, Virginia.
So that’s three members of our haplogroup:
three James Crawfords
all in Garrard County, Kentucky prior to 1800
all born in Virginia – likely in early Augusta County, Virginia
no father/son relationship between any of the three James Crawfords
The fourth member of our haplogroup descends from William Nelson Crawford. William was born in 1829 in Ohio. Little information about William has been found prior to his marriage to Julia Ann Decious in 1864 in Lassen, California. By 1877, William and Julia were living in Klickitat County, Washington. William died in Klickitat County in 1907.
This William Crawford may have been the 21 year old William Crawford listed in the household of William Crawford (son of James and Martha Crawford) on the 1850 census in Pike Township, Warren County, Indiana.
If so, that would place William Nelson Crawford in Warren County, Indiana along with James and Martha Crawford and their children and with my ancestor Nelson G. Crawford, son of James and Sally Crawford.
This new haplogroup information says these four families are related. We just need to do more digging to figure out how!
One of my favorite Facebook groups is the Clan Crawford Association Ancestry & DNA Research Forum. If you are a Crawford researcher and NOT a member of this Facebook group, I strongly encourage you to ask to join the group. A lot of the discussion in this group is about DNA results – particularly yDNA. However, some of this discussion is about our Crawford brick walls and resources, including DNA, that we can use to help break down those brick walls.
Recently, there was a discussion about yDNA tests with Virginia roots. In the list of these tests with Virginia roots is a test showing Alexander Crawford b1715-d1764 as the earliest known ancestor. Since this person is one of my yDNA matches, I was able to view the pedigree and see that this Alexander Crawford is the Alexander Crawford of Augusta County, VA who was married to Mary McPheeters.
Recently, I was asked by an administrator of the Crawford project about the ancestry of Alexander Crawford.
Do you know if Alexander’s ancestors are documented, and if so, how far back? That R1b-01F kit’s tree lists this:
1 James Crawford b.1588 Glasgow, d.1660 Scotland, m. Margaret Maxwell 22 Patrick Crawford b.1628 Glasgow, d. 1656 Garrive, m. Jean Hamiltoun 333 Robert Crawford b.7 Sep 1656 Glasgow, d.30 Nov 1703 Glasgow, m. Mary Shaw 4444 William Crawford b.7 Jun 1691 Glasgow, d.1761 Ohio River, m. Mary Ann Douglas 55555 Alexander Crawford b.1715 Clydesdale, d.29 Sep 1764 Mountain View, VA, m. Mary McPheeters 666666 William Crawford b.1 Jun 1744 Mountain View, VA, d.15 Oct 1792 Mountain View, VA, m. Rachel Sawyers
I used several comments to answer this query. Below is a copy of my answers.
Part 1: The kit in R1b-01B that identifies Alexander Crawford (1715-1764) as his most distant relative goes thru Alexander’s grandson, James Crawford (1772-1854) who married Nancy Ann Sawyers in 1797. I have done some research – mostly in Ancestry records – on the descendants of James and Nancy Crawford and have documentation that supports that lineage. I haven’t done much research on William Crawford (1744-1792), but there is quite a bit of information on William and his descendants in the book, Descendants of Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford: Pioneer Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia (pages 57 to 203). This book includes quite a few references to original records. Pages 5 thru 12 of this same book discuss Alexander Crawford (1715-1764).
Part 2: William Crawford m Mary Ann Douglas – I haven’t done much research on Alexander’s parents but the first few pages of the book, Descendants of Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford does provide some information. Col. William Crawford (1691-1761) on the FamilySearch tree has quite a few sources attached. Unfortunately, some FS users are confusing this Col. William Crawford with the Col. William Crawford who was killed in Ohio. Thus one would have to sourt thru the sources to isolate those for the Col. William Crawford of Scotland. Looking at the record of changes for him, it appears that there are some serious researchers that one could contact to see if they have more information. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LVQ4-928
Part 3: Robert Crawford md Mary Shaw – Again, I haven’t done much research on this couple. However, a researcher of the William Crawford (1748-1809) who was in the Garrard County, KY area at the same time as my ancestor says that Robert Crawford and Mary Shaw are the great grandparents of his William Crawford. He also believes that William Crawford is a brother to James Crawford (md Rebecca Anderson). [A descendant of this James Crawford has completed a big Y test and is a match to my line]. I believe this other researcher has at least some documentation to support his theory. He has 32 sources attached on Family Search. Most of those resources are from Scotland Births… and some may be duplicates. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L5B1-L8Y
Part 4: Patrick Crawford (1628-1656) – This is where I have to totally rely on the research of others. On FamilySearch, there are a few sources attached and several active researchers. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L6XY-SV8
Part 5 – And then we get to James Crawford (1588-1660) and his wife Margaret Maxwell. Again I have not done any research. However, I do have records placing MAXWELLs in the same vicinity as the CRAWFORDs in Virginia and Kentucky. Bazeleel Maxwell is a brother-in-law to James Crawford (1758-1836) [BigY test]. I have found the Maxwells on the same tax records where I have found the CRAWFORD families of Lincoln/Garrard/Madison counties, Kentucky. Below is a link to James Crawford (1588-1660) on FamilySearch – https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/93KH-WV2
Part 6 – The book, Descendants of Alexander Crawford, contains some info on his ancestry on pages 1 thru 4.
Part 7: At first, I researched Alexander Crawford (1715-1764) in hopes that my line connected. However, it became fairly obvious that my line does not descend from Alexander. However, I’ve kept that original research and keep referring back to his line since his descendants seem to cross paths with the research of my line. Another source that provides info on Alexander’s descendants and possibly some info on his ancestry is the following book: William M. Clemens, Crawford Family Records: An Account of the First American Settlers and Colonial Families of the Name of Crawford (New York: William M. Clemens, 1914), This book is available as full text on FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/…/218570-crawford-family…
As pointed out in a reply to my posts, the Clan Crawford Association maintains an archive of Crawford family resources. This archive is one of the benefits provided to members of the Clan Crawford Association. Please consider joining the discussion – both on Facebook and as a member of the Clan Crawford Association.
When researching a surname, do you ever encounter a ‘famous’ individual who seems to illogically appear in a lot of trees? With colonial CRAWFORD research, we have two such individuals. One is Col. William Crawford who was burned at the stake in the area that became Ohio. The other is Alexander Crawford and his wife Mary McPheeters Crawford who were killed by Indians in 1764.
In my research, I have had to sort out my line from the line of Alexander and Mary (McPheeters) Crawford. For a long time, I just assumed that Alexander’s line was ‘not my line’. However, with yDNA it appears that my line might have a common ancestor with the line of Alexander Crawford. My James Crawford line has been placed in the R1b-01B group while a descendant of Alexander Crawford has been placed in the R1b-01F group. Even though we aren’t closely related, it appears like we do have a common ancestor.
Since this suggested relationship is dependent on both of our trees being accurate, I decided to do some research on the tree posted by the Alexander Crawford descendant.
This tree goes thru Alexander’s son, William who married Rachel Sawyers and their son, James Crawford who married Nancy Ann Sawyers. These generations match up with the research included in the book, Descendants of Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford by Amanda Crawford, Arbogast Forbes and Lucetta Crawford Sammes.
Knowing the tree aligned with the research found in this book, I started researching James Crawford and Nancy Ann Sawyers, and their descendants. Below is the family group sheet that I have compiled for James Crawford and his wife Nancy Sawyers.
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online November 2016), memorial for James Crawford (1772-1854), Find a Grave Memorial no. #41243396, created by Debbie Crowder, citing Prairie Grove Cemetery, Prairie Grove, Washington County, Arkansas;, James Crawford.
Helen McPheeters Rice, The McPheeters Family (Winter Park, FL: No publisher, 1956), p. 168.
William M. Clemens, Crawford Family Records: An Account of the First American Settlers and Colonial Families of the Name of Crawford (New York: William M. Clemens, 1914), p. 10[AccessType] [AccessDate].
Arkansas, Northwestern Counties History, 1889, James Crawford, 1830; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online September 2019). Original Source: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas published in 1889.
1830 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Washington County, Arkansas, image 11 of 24 , James Crawford; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online September 2019).
History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas (Chicago, IL: Goodspeed Publishing, 1889), page 147; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 26 May 2020.
1840 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, image 1 of 6 Image , James Crawford; digital iamge, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online September 2019).
1850 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marshill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 330 (stamped), family 20, E. M. Crawford; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online September 2019).
Dodd, Jordan, “Virginia, Compiled Marriages, 1660-1800,” database, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (: viewed online September 2019), James Crawford.
Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940, James Crawford, 31 January 1797; database online, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online September 2019).
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7836/). Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900.
“Virginia, Land, Marriage and Probate Recrods, 1639-1850,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online September 2019), James Crawford.
First Marriage Record of Augusta County, Virginia 1785-1813, James Crawford – Nancy Sawyers, 31 January 1797; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online September 2019). Original Source: compiled by Col. Thomas Hughart Chapter, D.A.R., 1979.
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 6 June 2020), memorial for Nancy Ann Sawyers Crawford (1771-1854), Find a Grave Memorial no. #41243397.
Edmund West comp., Family Data Collection – Births (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001), Nancy Ann Sawyers.
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 June 2020), memorial for William Crawford (1797-1889), Find a Grave Memorial no. #25935730.
Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982, Silverton, Briscoe, Texas, Pleasant Lafayett Crawford, 15 April 1912; database on-line, Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com . viewed online 3 June 2020.
1850 U.S. Census, Washington County Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 332 Image 9 of 15, family 59, William Crawford; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 June 2020); NARA microfilm publication M432.
1860 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 74 Image 16 of 23, family 106, William Crawford; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 June 2020); NARA microfilm publication M653.
1870 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hills Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 25 Image 25 of 32, family 164, Crawford Wm; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 June 2020); NARA Microfilm Publication T132.
1880 U.S. Census, Stephens County, Texas, population schedule, , ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed ); NARA microfilm publication T9.
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 June 2020), memorial for Lucinda “Lucy” Crawford Moore (1799-1881), Find a Grave Memorial no. #41243580.
1850 U.S. Census, Washington County Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 7, , Lucinda Moore.
1860 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Cane Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 84, family 15, Lucinda Moore.
1870 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 11, family 83, Lucy Moore.
1880 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Prairie Grove, Washington County, Arkansas, ; digital imags, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed ); NARA microfilm publication T9.
“Local News,” Fayetteville Weekly Democrat (Fayetteville, Arkansas), 20 October 1881, page 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspaper.com : viewed online 3 June 2020).
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 4 June 2020), memorial for Hannah H. Crawford Divin (1805-1882), Find a Grave Memorial no. #44083700.
“Arkansas, Compiled Census and Census Substitutions Index, 1819-1870,”Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online (4 June 2020), Hannah Divin; Jackson, ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp., Arkansas Census, 1819-1870.
1840 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 21, , Hannah Divin.
1850 U.S. Census, Washington County Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 8, family 53, Hannah Devin.
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 4 June 2020), memorial for Mary Armstrong Crawford West (1810-1849), Find a Grave Memorial no. #41243675.
U.S. Federal Census Mortlaity Schedules, 1850-1880, Mary A. West, 1850; database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online 4 June 2020).
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 4 June 2020), memorial for George Alexander Crawford (1812-1875), Find a Grave Memorial no. #27157185.
Oregon, Biographical and Other Index File, 1700s-1900s, George Alexander Crawford, database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online 4 June 2020). Original Source: Oregon Historical Society.
1850 U.S. Census, Washington County Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 378, family 131, George A. Crawford.
1860 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 58, family 1, George Crawford.
1870 U.S. Census, Clackamas County, Oregon, population schedule, Hardings Precinct, Clackamas County Oregon, page 3 Image 9 of 11, family 716, G. A. Crawford; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 4 June 2020); NARA microfilm publication M593.
“Tennessee, Marriage Records, 1780-2002,” database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 4 June 2020), George A. Crawford.
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 5 June 2020), memorial for Robert Donald “Bob” Crawford (1816-1899), Find a Grave Memorial no. #41684621.
1850 U.S. Census, Washington County Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, family 62, Robt D Crawford.
1860 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 78 and 79, family 139, Robert Crawford.
1870 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 25, family 170, Crawford R D.
1880 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, ED 203, Page 18, family 156, Robert D Crawford.
“Arkansas, Compiled Marriages, 1779-1850,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 5 June 2020), Robert D Crawford.
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 5 June 2020), memorial for Edward McLin Crawford (1818-1862), Find a Grave Memorial no. #27157163.
1860 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 58, family 2, Edward Crawford.
Rice, The McPheeters Family, page 172.
Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 10 February 2020), memorial for John Irbin Crawford (1801-1876), Find a Grave Memorial no. #39058782.
1830 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas Territory, population schedule, Washington County, Arkansas Territory, ; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed ).
1840 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, , John Crawford.
1850 U.S. Census, Washington County Arkansas, population schedule, Marshill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 336, family 89, John Crawford.
1860 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 35, family 241, John Crawford.
1870 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Marrs Hill Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 9, family 61, S R Crawford.
1850 U.S. Census, Washington County Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 8, family 51, William Morton.
1860 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 36, family 10, William Morton.
1870 U.S. Census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas, page 15, family 108, Wm Morton.
Based on this brief research of James Crawford and his wife Nancy Sawyers and their descendants, I believe that the tree for the Alexander Crawford yDNA test is valid. Thus, even though my line isn’t closely related to that of Alexander Crawford, we do share a common ancestor, somewhere back in the tree. As I learn more about Alexander, his siblings and his parents, I might find information that helps me identify my Crawford heritage.
Do you use siblings and their descendants to help you locate information on one of your ancestors? Over the years, I’ve found that following these siblings and their families has led me to information I would never have found by just tracking my ancestoral lines.
Thus, I have decide to re-study Nelson G. Crawford’s sister, Polly and her family. Nelson and Polly are the only children that I’ve been able to verify as children of my brick wall ancestor, James Crawford.
James Crawford’s will actually identifies one of Polly’s children in his will: Martha Jane Stoner.
James Crawford will naming Martha Jane Stoner
Even though Martha Stoner is identified in James’ will, tracking her descendants has proven difficult. I believe Martha married Jonathan Sheffer in 1862 in Preble County, Ohio.
Marriage record Jonathan Sheffer and Martha Stoner (Stover)
An 1870 census record for a household of Jonathan Shaffer in Preble County, Ohio includes four children: Emma, Albert, Laura and Charles.
Finding documents to tie Jonathan Sheffer (Shaffer) and his family to other descendants of James Crawford has proven to be difficult. Even proving that the Laura Shaffer shown in the census is the wife of Abner Needham is tricky.
Researchers of FamilySearch have identified the children of Abner Needham. However, the current consensus for his wife’s name is Laura Scheffler. So not only is there a question of who Laura’s parents are, but also how her surname is spelled.
Thus, I decided to look at some of the original records to see how the name is spelled. First, the marriage record for Jonathan and Martha (shown above) uses the SHEFFER spelling for the name. However, this same record also appears to spell Martha’s name as STOVER and not Stoner.
The marriage record for Abner Needham shows Laura’s name as Laura Sheffer and identifies Jonathan D Sheffer as her father.
Marriage record Abner Needham and Laura Sheffer
So, where is the Schlepper spelling coming from? My guess is that it is coming from a birth record for one of Abner and Laura’s children. The index for Preble County birth records shows the variation in the spelling of Laura’s surname.
Abner Needham children in birth records
However, viewing the actual documents, I believe that the name does not have an ‘L’ in it.
Chester Needham’s birth recordLavina Needham’s birth recordRussel Needham’s birth record
Additional records that show the parents of the Needham children include the marriage record and the death certificate for Chester Needham.
Chester Needham’s marriage recordChester Needham death certificate
Based on these various documents, I believe that the spelling of Laura’s name is Sheffer or Shaffer and not Scheffler.
However, I can’t prove that Laura Sheffer descends from James Crawford. I am missing document tying the Sheffer family to other descendants of Polly Crawford and John Stoner. In addition, I have not been able to identify any DNA matches thru this line.
Thus, I’m inviting readers to prove me wrong — to provide proof that I’ve made a wrong conclusion regarding Martha Jane Stoner and her family.
1. Martha Jane Stoner was born about 1837 in Ohio, United States.1
She was listed on the census as a 13 year old white female born OH and was listed as Martha Stover at Gasper Twp. in Gasper Township, Preble, Ohio, United States on 2 Aug 1850.2
She was on the census as a 33 year old female born Ohio and was listed as Martha Shaffer in Preble, Ohio, United States on 1 Jul 1870.3–4
Martha was also known as Martha Jane Sheffer.
Martha Jane Stoner and Jonathan Sheffer were married on 27 Mar 1862 in Preble, Ohio, United States.5–10
Jonathan Sheffer, son of Samuel Shaffer and Mary Ann Donahoo, was born on 8 Jul 1840 in Highland, Ohio, United States.11
He was on the census as a 32 year old male born Ohio and was listed as Jonathan Shaffer in Preble, Ohio, United States on 1 Jul 1870.3,12
He died on 4 Jun 1930 at the age of 89 in Detroit, Pike, Illinois, United States.11
Jonathan was buried on 6 Jun 1930 at Blue River in Detroit, Pike, Illinois, United States.11 Martha Jane Stoner and Jonathan Sheffer had the following children:
11. Emma Shaffer was born about 1864 in Preble, Ohio, United States.13
She was on the census as a 6 year old female born Ohio and was listed as Emma Shaffer in Preble, Ohio, United States on 1 Jul 1870.12,14
She lived in Twin Township, Preble County, Ohio on 11 Jun 1880.15–16
12. Albert F. Shaffer was born on 18 May 1866 in Preble, Ohio, United States.13,17
Hewas listed as a 4 year old male born Ohio and was listed as Albert F. Shaffer in Preble, Ohio, United States on 8 Aug 1870.12–13
He lived in Twin Township, Preble County, Ohio on 11 Jun 1880.18
Albert died on 4 Nov 1894 at the age of 28 in Eaton, Preble, Ohio, United States.17
He was buried at Preble County Home Cemetery in Eaton, Preble, Ohio, United States.17
13. Laura A. Shaffer was born about 1869 in Preble, Ohio, United States.13
She was listed as a 1 year old female born Ohio and was listed as Laura A. Shaffer in Preble, Ohio, United States on 1 Jul 1870.12–13
She lived in Lanier Township, Preble, Ohio, United States on 15 Jun 1880.19
Laura lived in Harrison Township, Montgomery, Ohio in 1900.24
She died on 9 Jul 1901 at the age of 32 in Montgomery, Ohio, United States.25–26
She was buried at Greencastle in Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States.25–27
14. Charles E. Sheffer14 was born in May 1870 in Preble, Ohio, United States.14
He lived in Lanier Township, Preble, Ohio, United States on 8 Aug 1870.12
Sources:
1. 1850 U.S. Census, Preble County Ohio, population schedule, [CivilDivision], [ED], [PageID] Image [Image] of [ImageTotal], [HouseholdID], [Person]; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : [AccessType] [AccessDate]); National Archives Publication M432. [FileNumber] [WebAddress].
2. 1850 U.S. Census, Preble County Ohio, population schedule, Gasper Township, Preble County, Ohio, image 4 of 23, household 577, James Crawford.
3. Gilbert, Audrey, 1870 Preble County Ohio Census (: , ), (Doc. #: CRAWFORD.OH.086).
4. 1870 U.S. Census, DeKalb County, Indiana, population schedule, Jackson Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, page 315 (image 1 of 29) Image [Image] of [ImageTotal], household 7, John Sheffer; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2017); NARA microfilm publication T132. [WebAddress].
6. Gilbert, Audrey, Preble County, Ohio Marriages: 1860-1898 (: , ), p. 96 (Crawford.OH.085).
7. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7836/). Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 : [AccessType] [AccessDate]; [Page].
9. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1774-1993,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online March 2018), Martha Stover / Johnathan D. Sheffer.
10. “Ohio, Compiled Marriage Index, 1803-1900,” , Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online February 2019), Martha Stover – Jonathan Sheffer.
11. “Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947,” database on-line, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2017), Jonathan Shaffer.
12. 1870 U.S. Census, Preble County Ohio, population schedule, Lanier Township, Preble County, Ohio, page 156, household 90, Jonathan Sheffer; digital image, Ancestry.com(www.ancestry.com: viewed online July 2017); NARA microfilm publication T132. Found online at [WebAddress]
13. Gilbert, Audrey, 1870 Preble County Ohio Census (: , ).
14. Gilbert, Audrey, 1870 Preble County Ohio Census (: , ), p. 70 (Crawford.OH.086).
15. Preble County, Ohio 1880 Census (Uttica, KY: McDowell Publications, 1983), page 25, ED 2, SD 203 (Ancestry image 22 of 32). Hereinafter cited as Preble County, Ohio 1880 Census.
16. 1880 U.S. Cneus, Preble County, Ohio, population schedule, Twin Township, Preble County, Ohio, ED 203, Page 25, household 231, Emma Sheffer; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2017); NARA microfilm publication T9.
17. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online July 2017), memorial for Albert F. Sheffer (1866-1894), Find a Grave Memorial no. #115425935, created by Historybuff, citing Preble County Home Cemetery, Eaton, Preble County, Ohio;, Albert F. Shefffer.
18. 1880 U.S. Cneus, Preble County, Ohio, population schedule, Twin Township, Preble County, Ohio, ED 203, page 25, household 228, Frank Sheffer.
19. 1880 U.S. Cneus, Preble County, Ohio, population schedule, Lanier Township, Preble County, Ohio, ED 200, page 24, , Laura Sheffer.
20. “Abner D Needham,” Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), 14 September 1930; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online February 2018).
21. “Ohio, Births and Christenings INdex, 1774-1973,” database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : viewed online February 2019), Chester Dare Needham.
22. Ohio, Montgomery. Birth and Death Records, 1866-1910. Film ## 4017450. Chester Dare Needham, 29 apr 1889 Vol. 4digital images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 3 July 2020.
24. 1900 U.S. Census, Montgomery County, Ohio, population schedule, Harrison Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, ED 87, Sheet 16 A Image [Image] of [ImageTotal], family 423, Abner Needham; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed onlnie February 2019). https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7602/4117773_00433?pid=41239697.
25. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 July 2020), memorial for Laura Alice Needham (? – 1901), Find a Grave Memorial no. #102071608,
26. “Needham- Laura,” The Dayton Herald (Dayton, Ohio), 10 July 1901, page 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 4 July 2020).
27. “Local news,” Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), 10 July 1901, page 7; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 4 July 2020).
28. Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1940, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, Chester Needham, 11 April 1910; database with images, Ancestry ancestry.com . viewed online 3 July 2020. Original Source: Marriage Records. Michigan Marriages. FamilySearch.
29. Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952, Chester Needham, digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 July 2020). Original Source: Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952.
30. Genealogical & Historical Records of Preble County, Ohio (http://gen2.pcdl.lib.oh.us : viewed online 3 July 2020), Laura Shefffer.
31. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1774-1993,” database Laura A. sheffer.
32. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1774-1993,” database Laura A. Sheffer – Abner Needham.
33. “Abner D Needham,” Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), 13 September 1930; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online February 2019).
34. “Michigan, Death Records 1867-1952,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 July 2020), Chester D Needham.
35. “World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database, Ancestry (Ancestry.com : viewed online 3 July 2020), Russell Jacob Needham.
36. Ohio, Montgomery. Birth and Death Records, 1866-1910, Russell Needham, Jan 1892; .
37. “Ohio, Births and Christenings INdex, 1774-1973,” database Russell Needham.
38. “U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942,” digital images, NARA Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 July 2020), Russel Jacob Needham; citing .
39. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 July 2020), memorial for Russell Jackson Needham (? – 1964), Find a Grave Memorial no. #139773720,
40. “Needham, Russell J.,” The Journal Herald (Dayton, Ohio), 25 July 1964, page 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 3 July 2020).
41. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 July 2020), memorial for Caroline B Hammer Needham (? – 1954), Find a Grave Memorial no. #139773675,
Have you ever gone back thru some old research to discover that you’ve missed some details that might help break thru a brick wall?
Well, I decided to review my research of Polly Crawford and her family. Polly is the sister of my ancestor, Nelson G. Crawford. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of research for Polly and her family.
I decided to begin my review by looking at marriage records from Preble County, Ohio to see what I could learn about Polly and her children.
In looking thru my notes, I discovered that I had pulled records for Crawford, Duggins, and Sellers surnames from Ancestry’s database Marriage Records Vol. I 1808-1830 and Vol. II 1831-1840 for Preble County, Ohio.
In looking thru this data, I recognized names for children of several known residents of Preble County Ohio: James and Sally Crawford (my ancestor, James and Martha Crawford, Nathan Sellers, and William and Sarah (Crawford) Sellers.
However, there were several Crawford and Sellers names that I didn’t recognize. Thus, I decided to use the tree on FamilySearch to see whether I could figure out who all of these people are. To my surprise, I discovered some additional families whose children were married in early Preble County, Ohio.
Joseph Sellers / Rachel Summers – Joseph is a brother to Nathan Sellers and William Sellers (Joseph Sellers FamilySearch LBK3-VH6)
David Lloyd Daniel Crawford (FamilySearch L2QD-4RS)
William Crawford / Isabella McClure (FamilySearch L8WF-J2M)
Thomas L. Crawford (FamilySearch KZYF-WRL)
Even though I can connect Joseph Sellers and his family to other Sellers families in my data, I don’t know enough about these three Crawford families to place them in my vast pool of Crawford data.
Information on FamilySearch for David Lloyd Daniel Crawford and Thomas L. Crawford indicates that these two families had at least some tie to Maryland. FamilySearch has both of these men as sons of David Crawford II (1740-1812) and Lydia Loyd and grandson of David Crawford I (1710-1785) and Jane Douglas.
On the other hand, William Crawford has Virginia ties – BOTETOURT Virginia ties. FamilySearch shows William as the son of John Crawford (1720-1796) and Margaret Jane Brown.
At this point, I have nothing to tie these three Crawford families to the other Crawford families living in Preble County, Ohio prior to 1830: James Crawford and wife Sally Duggins and James Crawford and wife Martha Knight.
So now, I not only need to update my research of Polly Crawford Stoner and her children but I need to research these other Crawford families in early Preble County, Ohio.
Below is a listing of the various families. Bold text indicates that their marriage record was found in the Ancestry resource.
Nathan A. Sellers / Sarah Finley
Mary Sellers md 1797 Benjamin Neal Bourbon KY
Elizabeth Sellers md 1797 William Snodgrass Bourbon KY
Flones Eleanor Sellers md 1807 Daniel McCoy Bourbon KY
Jannet Jane Sellers md 1811 Henry Duggins Preble OH
Sally Sarah Sellers md 1805 Bourbon KY
Margaret Sellers md 1809 John Bell
Nancy Sellers md 1810 John Hawkins
Elsa Ann Sellers md 1810 Preble James Cox
Nathaniel Finley Sellers md 1822 Mary Barnes Preble OH
Rebecca Finley Sellers md 1818 Alexander McCracken Preble OH
William David Sellers / Sarah Crawford
Nathan Douglas Sellers md 1818 Susanna Hawk Preble
Anna M Sellers md 1840 George Morrow Preble
Rebekah Crawford Sellers
Nancy Sellers md 1817 John Scott Sellers Preble
John Howard Sellers md 1825 Catharine Auter Preble
Mary (Polly) Sellers md 1830 Jacob Swihart Preble
Margaret Sellers md 1832 Harvey Wilson Preble
Celia Amanda Sellers md 1837 William West Preble
Jane Hunter Sellers
Joseph Sellers (FS LBK3-VH6) / Rachel Summers
Mary Elizabeth Sellers md 1810 George Hardy ?Preble
Mary Sellers
Sally Sellers md 1818 Jacob Hawk Preble
Nathan Sellers
Robert A Sellers md 1819 Elizabeth Ward Preble
John Scott Sellers md 1817 Nancy Sellers Preble
Joseph Sellers Jr md 1821 Elizabeth Ward
Jane Sellers md 1821 Ebenezer Bridge Preble
Nancy Jane Sellers md 1820 Benjamin Goldsmith Preble
David Sellers md 1838 Isabella Shields Preble
Elizabeth Sellers
Orpha B. Sellers md 1837 David Johnson Cass IN
William B Sellers md 1831 Rebecca McLane Cass, IN
James Crawford / Martha Knight
Elizabeth Crawford md 1816 Moses Lincoln
Sarah Crawford md 1817 David Shankland Preble, OH
Mary Polly Crawford md 1831 Oliver Swank Warren IN
John Douglas Crawford md 1819 Mrs. Sarah Crawford 1819 Preble
William Allen Crawford md 1827 Letitia Snodgrass Preble
Rebecca Crawford md 1854 William Hatton Warren IN
Nancy Crawford md 1832 Washington Pugh Warren IN
James S. Crawford md 1835 Rachel Shelby Knox IN
Harvey Harrison Crawford md 1834 Mary Pugh Warren IN
Celinda Crawford md 1840 John French Warren IN
James Sellers / Mary Crawford
John Crawford Sellers md 1821 Fannie Brown Garrard, KY
Rebecca Sellers md John Finley Seller (son John Selelrs & Elizabeth Finley) Garrard, KY
Nathan Sellers me 1824 Mary Yowell Lincoln KY
Sarah Sellers md 1826 William Elder Garrard KY
William Harvey Sellers md 1830 Mariah Williams Putnam, IN
Harrison Perry Sellers md 1833 Margaret Vanlandingham Putnam, IN
James Nelson Sellers md 1838 Matilda McCoy Missouri
James Crawford / Sally Duggins – my line
Nelson Crawford md in Warren County, IN
Polly Crawford md in Preble County, OH
Henry Duggins md in Preble County, OH
William A. Duggins md in Preble County, OH
David Lloyd Daniel Crawford (FamilySearch L2QD-4RS)
Elizabeth Betty Crawford md 1825 Robert Webb Rush IN
Lydia Crawford md 1826 James McManus (no place given)
David Henry Crawford md 1834 Nellie Eleanor Roberts Clinton OH — NOT SURE HE BELONGS IN THIS FAMILY
Sarah Crawford md 1831 Samuel Stallard Rush IN
David Aperman Crawford md 1835 Margaret Cassady Rush, IN
William Crawford (FamilySearch L8WF-J2M)/ Isabella McClure
Elizabeth Crawford md 1809 Jacob Lybrook Preble, OH
Mary Crawford md 1811 Samuel Hanna no place given
Eleanor Crawford md 1813 James Hanna Franklin, IN
Phoebe Crawford md 1819 William Hanna Franklin, IN
Anna Crawford md 1819 Jacob Miller Franklin, IN
Sarah Crawford md 1821 John Hanna Franklin, IN
Martha Crawford
Maria Crawford md 1824 John Shultz IN
Isaac Crawford md 1829 Mary Ann Shroyer Union, IN
Martha Crawford md 1825 Samuel Eikenbary Franklin, IN
Rebecca Crawford md 1827 Thomas Wolverton, Union, IN
Isabella Crawford md 1832 Jeremiah Bake Union, IN
Thomas L. Crawford (FS KZYF-WRL) md Mary “Polly” Carney
John Crawford – possibly John Crawford who married Polly Hawk in 1817
Mary Crawford md 1822 Joseph Olmstead Preble, OH
Susanah Crawford md ~1820 George Loy OH
Samuel Crawford md 1823 Elizabeth Loy Preble, OH
Evan Crawford
Sarah Crawford
Thomas Crawford md ? Delilah Teford
Below is the data I abstracted from the Ancestry record for Preble County Ohio marriages. I have added probably family ties based on my the family structures found on FamilySearch.
Ancestry.com. Preble County, Ohio Marriage Records Vol. I 1808-1830 and Vol. II 1831-1840 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data: Short, Anita. Preble County, Ohio Marriage Records, 1808-1840 2 vols. in 1. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994.
Image 19 0f 161 — Image saved to Crawford\Ohio folder OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-VolOne-image19-Crawford Crawford, Evan A. to Allillia Roebuck 11-13-1823 by George Chideler, M G. page 119 [FS Evan Crawford LZ69-FZC Evan is son of David Lloyd Daniel Crawford]
Crawford, Jacob to Polly Miller 2-12-1818 by Richard Shourt, J. P. page 72 [FS Jacob Crawford LK7S-QH6 Jacob is son of David Lloyd Daniel Crawford]
Crawford, John to Polly Hawk 11-13-1817 by John Hardy, M. G. page 60 [FS John Crawford KCHX-RHV]
Crawford Samuel to Elizabeth (no last name given) 4-6-1823 by Peter Banta, J. P. page 118 [FS Samuel Crawford LTSL-DXY], Samuel is son of Thomas L. Crawford and Mary Carney]
Crawford William, A [FS 2SHS-ZG6] to Luticia Snodgrass 3-15-1827 by Robert Rhea, J.P. page 157 [William son of James and Martha]
Image 35 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im35-Crawford Huet, Philip to Hannah Crawford 11-4-1813 by Martin Ruple page 34 [FS Philip Huet KZDJ-6Q2]
Image 40 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im40-Crawford Lincoln, Moses J to Elizabeth Crawford [FS 4JKG-G67] 9-19-1816 by R. Dooly page 54 (Elizabeth Crawford is the daughter James and Martha)
image 50 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-IM50-Crawford Olmsted, Joseph to Polly Crawford 3-21-1822 by Isaac Stephens, J. P. page 108 [FS Joseph Olmsted LK7D-2ZR Mary is daughter of Thomas L. Crawford and Mary Carney]
Image 52 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im52-Crawford Philips, Valentine to Abigale Crawford 11-6-1817 by John Quinn, J. P. page 63 [FS Valentine Philips LK7S-CZP Abigail is daughter of David Lloyd Daniel Crawford]
Image 59 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im59-Crawford Shanklin, David to Sally Crawford [FS K2CT-K2Z] 9-27-1817 by John Hardy, M. G. page 66 (Sally Crawford is the daughter James and Martha)
image 23 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im23-Duggins
Duggin, Willian to Sally Neal 4-29-1819 by John Hardy, M. G. page 89 [William Duggin is step-son of James Crawford, son of Sarah Smith Duggins Crawford]
Dugin, Henry to Jannet Sellers 5-16-1811 by John Hardy page 19 [Henry Dugin is step-son of James Crawford, son of Sarah Smith Duggins Crawford] [Jannet Sellers is daughter of Nathan A. Sellers and Sarah Finley]
Bridge Ebenezer to Jane Sellers 4-5-1821 by Isaac Stephens, J.P. page 103 [Jane Sellers (FS K2MJ-ZXM) is daughter of Joseph Sellers and Rachel Summers]
image 19 (saved with Crawford surname) Cox, James to Elsa Sellers 1-2-181- by James Crawford, J. P. page 8 [Elsa Sellers is daughter of Nathan A. Sellers and Sarah Finley]
image 28 saved as Oh-Preble-Marriage-Records-vol1-im28-Sellers
Goldsmith, Benjamin to Nancy Sellers 3-16-1820 by James Crawford, J. P. page 94 [Nancy Sellers (FS LHRG-WGJ) is daughter of Joseph Sellers and Rachel Summers]
Hardy, George to Polly Sellers 1-16-1810 by Samuel Westerfield page 8 [Polly Sellers is Mary Elizabeth Sellers (FS MVRB-7LX) daughter of Joseph and Rachel Sellers]
Image 32 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-IM32-Sellers
Hawk, Jacob to Sally Sellers 9-1-1818 by James Crawford, J. P. page 77 [Sally Sellers (FS LWBM-2JD) is daughter of Joseph Sellers and Rachel Summers]
Hawkins, John to Nancy Sellers 7-9-1810 – lisc [Nancy Sellers (FS LKT4-GHD) is daughter of Nathan Sellers and Sarah Finley]
image 35 OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im35-Sellers Huffman, Simeon to Nancy Sellers 12-14-1828 by Thomas Winters, M. G. page 173
Image 42 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im42-Sellers McCracken, Alexander to Rebecka Sellers 4-16-1818 by John Hardy, J. P. page 72 [Rebecka Sellers is dauther of Nathan A. Sellers and Sarah Finley]
Image 58 OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im58-Sellers Sellars, Nathan D to Susanah Hawk 9-22-1818 by James Crawford, J. P. pag e78 [Nathan D Sellers (FS LWBM-R9L) is son of William David Sellers and Sarah Crawford]
Sellers, Ephrain to Katharine Boffworth 1-9-1817 by William Williams, M.G. pge 56 [Ephraim Sellers may be Ephraim Zellers (FS LCPK-6WC)]
Sellers, John to Nancy Sellers 12-11-1817 by John Hardy, M.G. page 69 [John Sellers (FS 27FC-TWH) is son of Joseph Sellers and Rachel Summers] [Nancy Sellers is daughter of William David Sellers and Sarah Crawford]
Sellers John H to Catherine I Auter 3-8=1825 by Robert Rhea, J. P. page 136 [John Sellers (FS L4TB-PGX) is son of William David Sellers and Sarah Crawford]
Sellers, Joesph to Elizabeth Sellers 7-27-1821 by James Crawford, J. P. page 108 [Joseph Sellers (FS L8Q1-LV3) is son of Joseph Sellers and Rachel Summers; Elizabeth Sellers is widow of Robert Sellers] Sellers, Nathan F to Mary Barnes 11-5-1822 by Isaac Stephens, J. P. page 106 [Nathan F. Sellers is son of Nathan A. Sellers and Sarah Finley]
Sellers, Robert to Elizabeth Ward 5-13-1819 by James Crawford, J. P. page 90 [Robert Sellers (FS L8Q1-LVL) is son of Joseph Sellers and Rachel Summers]
Image 63 – page 57 Swihart, Jacob to Mary Selelrs 6-24-1830 by David Bridge, J.P. page 201
image 132 OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol2-Im132-Selelrs Sellers, David to Isabella Shields 1-23-1838 by Henry Kumler, M. G. pge 360 [David Sellers (FS L8QR-KPZ) is son of Joseph Sellers and Rachel Summers]
image 142 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol2-Im142-Sellers West, William H. to Celia Amanda Sellers 8-3-1837 by I. Stephens, J. P. page 334 [Celia Amanda Sellers (FS L4TB-5DY) is daughter of William David Sellers and Sarah Crawford]
image 144 saved as OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol2-IM144-Sellers Wilson, Harry H. to Margaret Sellers 2-2-1832 by David Bridge, J. P. page 234 [Margaret Sellers (L4TB-5Q4) is daughter of William David Sellers and Sarah Crawford]
image 145 saved as Oh-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol2-im145-Sellers Zeller, Isaac (FS KH4V-2GF) to Levinia Enochs 3-1-1838 by Henry Kesling, J. P. page 347
Zellers, David A to Susan E Sellers (FS KHH7-KNG) 11-17-1840 by George Bonebreak, Eld. page 384
image 122 saved as Oh-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol2-Im122-Sellers Morrow, George [FS LCXK-QR5] to Anna M. Sellers 11-5-1840 by John M. Gray, J. P. (no page # 390-391) [Anna M. Sellers is Fannie Marie Sellers (FS LK5P-Q3C), daughter of Nathan Douglas Sellers and Susanna Hawk]
Image 61 OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im61-Crawford Stoner, John to Polly Crawford 1-18-1821 by R. Dooley, M.G. page 109 [Polly Crawford is daughter of James and Sally Crawford]
Image 41 OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im41-Crawford Lybrook, Jacob to Elizabeth Crawford 8-17-1809 by Train Caldwell page 6 [FS Jacob Lybrook KD71-FPZ Elizabeth is daughter of William Crawford and Isabella McClure]
image 17 OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im17-Crawford Casada, Thomas to Rachel Crawford 12-23-1817 – lisc [FS Thomas Cassady Jr LK7S-Q13 Rachel is daughter of David Lloyd Daniel Crawford]
Bride’s Index image 74 – OH-PReble-Marriage-Records-Im74-BridesIndex Bride’s Index image 75 – OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Im75-BridesIndex
Image 11 OH-Preble-Marriage-Records-Vol1-Im11-Crawford Black, Jacob to Sally Crawford 1-1-1829 by N. Benjamin, J.P. page 174 [FS for Jacob Black LZXB-W85]
