Crawfords in Early Kentucky

Do you have family in early Kentucky? If so, have you wished for a statewide census to help you locate various family members? Unfortunately, those early statewide census records don’t exist. Instead, various sources used the county tax records to create a list of inhabitants.

While looking for books for Nemaha county, Kansas, I stumbled across the book Crawford Family History [Genealogical Research Institute, c1973] on my bookshelf. In that little book is a chapter titled, 1790 Census. This chapter includes a list of CRAWFORDs arranged by state.

While the chapter implies that these names are from 1790 records, a reading of the chapter indicates differently for Kentucky.

Additional names from a reconstructed 1800 census schedule (compiled from lists of taxpayers) for the state of Kentucky are also included.

Thus, the names listed for Kentucky are for 1800 and not 1790.

While the above list is helpful, it is also deceiving. Since the list was created from tax lists, one is dependent on the availability and legibility of those tax lists.

For example, based on other research, I’m aware of a David Crawford in Barren County. However, there isn’t a David Crawford on the compiled list. The 1799 tax list for Barren County includes a David Crawford.

There is also only one James Crawford in Barren County and none in Garrard or Madison counties.

1800 Tax list Barren County Kentucky

In 1801, the tax list again shows a David Crawford along with James Crawford with multiple parcels of land.

1801 Tax List Barren County, Kentucky

By 1802, there are now two James Crawfords but David is missing.

1802 Tax List Barren County, Kentucky

Since I was aware of several James Crawford families in early Kentucky, I also wanted to identify those in Kentucky around 1790. I found a copy of the book, “First Census” of Kentucky 1790 on the FamilySearch site. This book is a compilation of residences from tax records. It lists the following CRAWFORDs living in Kentucky.

page 24
Craford, James Fayette 11/16/1790
Craford, James, Sr. Fayette 1/11/1790
Craford, William Fayette 1/11/1790
Crawford, Hugh Nelson 11/26/1792
Crawford, Hugh, Sr. Nelson 12/3/1792
Crawford, Isaac Fayette 2/27/1790

page 25
Crawford, James Madison 4/28/1789
Crawford, Jno. Lincoln 4/21/1790
Crawford, John Nelson 10/24/1792
Crawford, Joseph Jefferson 4/30/1789
Crawford, Mary Madison 4/22/1789
Crawford, Mary Madison 4/22/1789
Crawford, Robert Jefferson 5/2/1789
Crawford, Samuel Nelson 12/3/1792
Crawford, William Madison 4/29/1789

Heinemann, Charles B., compiler. “First Census” of Kentucky 1790. Provo, Utah: Stevenson’s Genealogical Center, 1940. available online at FamilySearch.org.

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Since I had already done a bit of research in Kentucky tax records for the early counties, I decided to check the remaining counties that were present in 1789. (map on mapofus.org/kentucky)

Based on that search of Kentucky tax records, I came up with the following CRAWFORD listings.

1787
• Lincoln County, KY Image 5 — Crofford John – 4 horses, 4 cattle
• Lincoln County, KY Image 21 – Crawford Rebekah (widow) – recorded on July 5th – no horses or cattle
• Madison County KY – Image 10 – Crawford Mary – 3 horses, 11 cattle
• Madison County, KY – image 10 –Crawford James – 6 horses, 15 cattle
• Madison County, KY – Image 11 – Crawford Willm – 6 horses, 8 cattle

1788
• Madison County, KY – Image 63 Crawford William – 1 white male taxable – 6 horses
• Madison County, KY – image 63 – Crawford, James – 1 white male taxable – 5 horses
• Madison County, KY – image 62 – Crawford Mary – 2 horses

1789
• Jefferson County, KY – image 9 – Crawford, Joseph 1 horse
• Jefferson County, KY – image 9 – Crawford, Robert, 1 male 16-21, 2 horses
• Lincoln County, KY Image 61 – Crawford Rebeca – 1 male 16-21; 6 horses
• Lincoln County, KY Image 104 – Crofford, Alexander – 9 horses
• Lincoln County, KY Image 117 – Crawford, John – 5 horses
• Madison County, KY – Image 82 – Crawford, Mary – 1 white tithable >16, 3 horses
• Madison County, KY – Image 82 – Crawford, James – 1 white tithable >16 – 7 horses
• Madison County, KY – image 82 – Crawford, William – 1 white tithable > 16, 4 horses
• Mercer County, KY – NIL

1790
• Lincoln County, KY Image 128 – Crawford John – 4 horses
• Lincoln County, KY Image 140 – James Crofford – 3 horses

1791
• Jefferson County, KY – image 40 – Crawford, Joseph – no horses (nothing)
• Madison County, KY image 123 – Crawford William – 2 [tithables] 5 [horses]
• Madison County, KY – Image 123 – Crawford James – 1 [tithable] 7 ]horses]
• Madison County, KY – image 123 – Crawford Mary 1 [tithable] 3[ horses]
• Mason County, KY – Image 17 – Crawford John 1 male > 16, 1 black > 16
• Woodford County, KY – image 54 – Josiah Crawford – 1 titheable, 2 horses

1792
• Bourbon County, KY image 134 – Crofford William – 1 male > 21, 2 horses. 5 cattle
• Madison County, KY Image 132 – Crawford William – 1 male >21; 2 males 16-21; 13 horses; 16 cattle; 180 acres
• Madison County, KY Image 132 – Crawford Mary — 1 male 16-21; 4 horses; 10 cattle; 100 acres
• Madison County, KY Image 132 – Crawford James – 1 male > 21; 2 horses – 1 cattle
• Madison County, KY Image 132 – Crawford James – 1 male > 21; 9 horses; 25 cattle; 150 acres
• Madison County, KY Image 133 – Crawford Alexander – 1 male >21; 1 horse; 9 cattle; 64 acres
• Nelson County, KY – Image 7 — Crawford John – 1 male > 21, 1 horse
• Nelson County, KY – Image 7 — Crawford Hugh – 1 Male > 21, 1 black < 16, 2 horses, 9 cattle, 112 acres

• Nelson County, KY – Image 7 — Crawford Hugh Snr – 1 male > 21, 4 horses, 11 cattle
• Nelson County, KY – Image 7 — Crawford, Samuel 1 male > 21, 1 horse

Mercer County missing 1790-1794

1795
• Mercer County, KY – Image 12 Crawford Jas 1 white male > 21, 1 horse, 5 cows
• Mercer County, KY Image 23 Crawford William 1 male > 21, 2 horses, 9 cows

As with the 1800 list, I found people in the earlier tax lists that are not in the “First Census” book. The most obvious discrepancy is Rebekah who is found on the 1787 and 1789 tax lists in Lincoln County, Kentucky.

Rebekah purchased 100 acres of land on the headwaters of Boone and Sugar Creeks in 1786. This land in Garrard county isn’t sold until after 1800. Thus, one would think there would be a tax record for this land.

This study of census/tax records will help me figure out the various Crawford families in early Kentucky and their migration.

Low Dutch

Have you ever felt like finding one ancestor opens a door to an abundance of historical information about a group of ancestors? That’s the experience I’m having after finding a small thread of information connecting Rachel Harris Currey to her father, Peter Harris and grandfather, Daniel Harris.

While the HARRIS surname is likely of English origin, many of Rachel’s ancestors trace their roots back to the Dutch settlement of New York. Several of these Dutch settlers appear to have migrated together, going first to New Jersey. From New Jersey, they migrated to the Conowago settlement in Pennsylvania and then to Kentucky where they are known as the ‘Low Dutch Settlement’.

Using the term, ‘low dutch’, I was able to locate a wealth of information about these settlements and the families in The Gettysburg Times on Newspapers.com. While there could be more that I didn’t find, I’ve identified three different sets of articles published in 1925, 1942 and 1961. Below is a list of what I found. (Note: I took liberty with some of the references to identify the subject of the article.)

1925

• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 1,” The Gettysburg Times, 31 Aug 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of The Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 2,” The Gettysburg Times, Sept 7, 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 3,” The Gettysburg Times, 14 Sep 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 4,” The Gettysburg Times, 21 Sep 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of The Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 5,” The Gettysburg Times, 28 Sep 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 6,” The Gettysburg Times, 5 Oct 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of The Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 7,” The Gettysburg Times, 12 Oct 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 8,” The Gettysburg Times, 19 Oct 1925 page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 9,” The Gettysburg Times, 26 Oct 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev., Dr., “History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago: Chapter 10,” The Gettysburg Times, 2 Nov 1925, page 4
• Demarest, Rev. Dr., “History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago,” The Gettysburg Times, 3 Nov 1925, page 3

1941-1942

• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County: No. 196” The Gettysburg Times, 14 Jun 1941, page 4.
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 223 The Children of the Fifth David Demaree,” The Gettysburg Times, 10 Jan 1942, page 4
• MacPherson, B. V., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 224 Last of the Demarees,” The Gettysburg Times, 17 Jan 1942, page 4
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 225 – The Bard Family Captured by Indians,” The Gettysburg Times, 24 Jan 1942, page 4
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 230 More Indian History,” The Gettysburg Times, 28 Feb 1942, page 4
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 231 Ancestry of Mary Cassatt,” The Gettysburg Times, 7 Mar 1942, page 4
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County: Odds and Ends of Low Dutch History- Cosine” The Gettysburg Times, 14 March 1942, page 4.
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County: No. 235 – The Monfort Brothers,” The Gettysburg Times, 4 Apr 1942, page 6.
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 236 The Monfort Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 11 Apr 1942, page 8
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County: No. 237 Monfort Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 18 Apr 1942, page 6.
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 238 – The Lashells Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 25 Apr 1942, page 6
• MacPherson, B. V., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 139 More about the Lashells Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 2 May 1942, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County: No. 240 Families in the Low Dutch Settlement,” The Gettysburg Times, 9 May 1942 page 6.
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 241 Jan and Catriena Kouenover,” The Gettysburg Times, 16 May 1942, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 242 Wilhelmus and Elizabeth Hooghtelain,” The Gettysburg Times, 22 May 1942, page 14
• MacPherson, B. F., “Backgrounds of Adams County, No. 243 Two Thomas Barton Letters,” The Gettysburg Times, 6 Jun 1942, page 8

1952

• “A Bit of History about Your Own Adams County,” The Gettysburg Times, 4 Dec 1952 page 15.

1960-1961

• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Indian Captives Returned,” The Gettysburg times, 28 Mar 1960, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: The ‘Low Dutch’ Settlement,” The Gettysburg Times, 4 Apr 1960 , page 4.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: The Holland Dutch and French Hugeunots,” The Gettysburg Times, 11 Apr 1960, page 6.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Brikerhoff,” The Gettysburg Times, 18 Apr 1960, page 6.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Low Dutch Burials,” 23 Apr 1960, page 3
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: The Lashells Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 30 Apr 1960, page 4
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Big of History about Early Settlers: Buffalo Crossroads Graveyard,” The Gettysburg Times, page 7.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Lashells,” The Gettysburg Times, 14 May 1960, page 8.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of Early History about Early Settlers: Cossart,” Teh Gettysburg Times, 21 May 1960, page 5.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Cassatt” The Gettysburg Times, 30 May 1960, page 7.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Cassatt,” The Gettysburg Times, 4 Jun 1960, page 7.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Osborn Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 11 Jun 1960 page 3.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Fled Wyoming,” The Gettysburg Times, 18 Jun 1960, page 7
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Frontier Warfare,” The Gettysburg Times, 16 Jul 1960, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Gen Hand,” The Gettysburg Times, 23 Jul 1960, page 10
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Coleman Tragedy,” The Gettysburg Times, 15 Aug 1960, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Low Dutch,” The Gettysburg Times, 23 Aug 1960, page 5
• MacPherson, B. F. M. “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Osborn,” The Gettysburg Times, 31 Aug 1960 page 10.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Van Arsdal,” 2 sep 1960, page 8
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Demaree,” The Gettysburg Times, 12 Sep 1960, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Demaree,” The Gettysburg Times, 17 Sep 1960, page 4
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Girty,” The Gettysburg Times, 26 Sep 1960, page 12
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Girty,” The Gettysburg Times, 22 Oct 1960, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Fort Granville,” 30 Oct 1960, page 7
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: The Graves of the Demaree Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 5 Nov 1960, page 23.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Demaree,” 5 Nov 1960, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Monfort Family,” Gettysburg Times, 12 Nov 1960 page 3.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Monforts,” 19 Nov 1960, page 2
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Random Low Dutch Notes,” The Gettysburg Times, 28 Nov 1960 page 6.
• MaPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Van Arsdal,” The Gettysburg Times, 3 Dec 1960, page 2.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Johnson-Van Arsdal Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 14 Dec 1960, page 10.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Bercaw,” The Gettysburg Times, 19 Dec 1960, page 8.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Bercaw,” 28 Dec 1960, page 8
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers; Bercaw,” 31 Dec 1960, page 3
• MacPherson, B. F. M. “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: The Kouenover (Conover) Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 7 Jan 1961, page 9.
• MacPherson, B. F.,M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Again – The Low Dutch (Conover),” The Gettysburg Times, 25 Feb 1961, page 6.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about early Settlers: The Brinkerhoff Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 10 Mar 1961, page 10
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Brinkerhoff,” The Gettysburg Times, 13 March 1961, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History About Early Setters: More Brinkerhoff Genealogy,” The Gettysburg Times, 20 Mar 1961 page 7.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: The Low Dutch Move On (Brinkerhoff),” The Gettysburg Times, 29 March 1961 page 7.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History About Early Settlers; Brinkerhoffs,” The Gettysburg Times, 10 Apr 1961, page 10
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: More Brinkerhoffs,” The Gettysburg Times, 19 Apr 1961, page 6
• MacPherson, B. F. M. “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Jan, Pieter, and Cornelius Cosine,” The Gettysburg Times, 4 May 1961, page 12.
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers; Cosine Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 11 May 1961, page 17
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Marie (Cox) Penn,” The Gettysburg Times, 13 May 1961, page 10
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Robeson,” The Gettysburg Times, 29 Jul 1961, page 12
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlrs: The Saltzgiver Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 7 Aug 1961, page 7
• MacPherson, B. F. M. “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Van Duyn Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 14 Aug 1961, page 7
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Grave Charles Thomson,” The Gettysburg Times, 19 Aug 1961, page 11
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Lt. Wilhelmus Houghton, ” The Gettysburg Times, 25 Oct 1961, page 9
• MacPherson, B. F, M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: Hooghtelin Family,” The Gettysburg Times, 26 Oct 1961, page 8
• MacPherson, B. F. M., “A Bit of History about Early Settlers: The Hooghtelin Famaily,” The Gettysburg Times, 26 Oct 1961, page 8

The ‘low dutch’ search term also found articles in Kentucky papers.

• Edwards, Brenda S., “Dutch Left Marks on Mercer,” The Kentucky Advocate Magazine 15 May 1983 page 3
• Crawford, Byron, “Remnant Survives of Dutch Settlement,” The Courier-Journal, 20 Aug 2003, page B6.
• Crawford, Byron, “Low Dutch Meeting House Rises Again,” The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) 5 Nov 2004 page B1.
• “Dutch Cousins to Gather in Mercer: Early Kentucky History to Be Studied,” The Advocate-Messenger, 31 Aug 2005, page 2.
• “Dutch Treat: Cousins Plan Reunion in September,” The Advocate-Messenger 18 Mar 2007 page 30.
• “Dutch Cousins Coming to Harrodsburg,” The Advocate-Messenger” 18 Aug 2009, page 2
• Leonard, Carolyn B., “Low Dutch Gather in Kentucky This Week,” The Advocate-Messenger, 27 Sep 2011, page 2.
• Leonard, Carolyn B., “The Low Dutch Cousins Are Coming,” The Advocate-Messenger, 4 Aug 2013 page 23
• Auchampaugh, Laurel, “From Conewago to Owasco and Back,” The Citizen (Auburn, NY), 23 April 2017, page C1.

Anyone with ancestral lines going back to the Dutch settlement of New York may find a wealth of historical and family information in these articles. My dream is to find similar articles about the Crawford family’s settlement in western Virginia and Kentucky!

Corn Stalk Militia

As you’ve watched one of the many genealogy videos on YouTube have you ever heard a reference to a uniquely named source that you thought ‘I just have to check that’! That was my experience as I watched video of a webinar discussing Kentucky records prior to 1850.

While the webinar mentioned many sources that I need to research, the book Corn Stalk Militia caught my attention. The preface of this book discusses the organization of the militia prior to 1811. The bulk of the book identifies the commissioned officers in the militia from 1792 thru 1811.

Hoping that I could learn a little more about the Crawford lines I’m researching in early Kentucky, I searched this book for the Crawford surname and found the following serving as an officer in the militia.

Page 21
Madison County Regiments
[19th Regiment laid off March 2, 1795]
page 22
Crawford, Edward Ensign, 19th Regiment May 20, 1795

page 101
Henry County Regiment
[Laid off December 11, 1799]
page 102
Crawford, James Lieutenant, 2nd Battalion, 38th Regiment April 9, 1800
Crawford, James Captain 38th Regiment March 23, 1801

page 134
Nelson County Regiments
Crawford, Hugh Ensign, 2nd Regiment July 27, 1801

page 137
Ohio and Breckinridge Regiment
[Laid off December 13, 1800]
[Designated as Ohio County Regiment December 10, 1804]
Crawford, Mason Ensign 49th Regiment August 3, 1802
Crawford Samuel, Lieutenant, 49th Regiment October 10, 1802

page 148
Warren County Regiments
[61st Regiment created December 10, 1804]
Crawford, Anthony Lieutenant, 25th Regiment July 4, 1804

My search also turned up two members of my James Crawford FAN Club: Thomas Kennedy, Moses Dooley and John Anderson.

Page 1
General Officers
Kennedy, Thomas Brigadier General, 2nd Brigade Disqualified

page 7
Madison County Regiment
Page 8
Commissioned Officers
Dooley, Moses Captain, 7th Regiment August 9, 1792

While I don’t know whether the John Anderson serving as a lieutenant in the 19th regiment from Madison County is the father of Rebecca Anderson, it is possible the militia officer is her father. He is listed on page 21 in the same regiment as Edward Crawford whose entry is on page 22.

Not only does the preface contain historical information for the formation of these militia companies, it also contains information to access the original sources for the commissioning of the officers.

So, if you have ancestors in early Kentucky, remember to check out the Corn Stalk Militia book!

Fort Ruddell

Since I’ve been updating my research of several SELLERS bushes in my tree, I decided to look at some of my old files and found information about a Sellers family and Fort Ruddell in early Kentucky. My photocopies from the book, Paris (Hopewell) Sesquicentennial, provides a list of the inhabitants of the fort when Captain Bird, his British troops and Indian warriors attacked the fort.

Page 13
Forts
Ruddles Fort
Built 1779 by Isaac Ruddel one mile from Lair Station near Bourbon County line, now Harrison County.
The following list of persons resided at Ruddle’s Station at the time that fort was taken by Captain Bird and his British and Indian warriors. Ref.: Draper Mss. and Depositions filed in suits.

Capt. Isaac Ruddell
Elizabeth Bowman Ruddell
John Rudell, son of Isaac
Isaac Ruddell, Jr., son of Isaac
Stephen Ruddell, aged 8, Son of Isaac
Elizabeth Ruddell, small child
Capt. Jhn Hinkson
Lieut. __ Ravenscraft
Capt. John James Trabue
Nicholas Hart
John Burger
Samuel VanHook (later at Martin’s)
James Ruddle
John McFall
Mrs. John McFall
Robert McDaniel
Mrs. Robert McDaniel
McDaniel Children
Martin Toffelmire
Mrs. Toffelmire
Six Toffelmire Children
Jacob Markle
Christian Spears
Anna Maria — his fiancee
John Long
Mrs. John Long
Rhoda Long, young child
Four other Long children
Michael Goodnight
Peter Goodnight
John Goodnight
Misses Goodnight
David White
John Conway
Mrs. John Conway
Seven Conway children
Samuel Brook
Thomas Davis
Sarah Ruddle Davis
Capt. John Duncan
Nellie Sharp Duncan
Master Duncan, son
Frank Berry — tradition
Nelly Sharp Berry
Patrick Mahan taken to Detroit
John Mahan
Thomas Mahan
Miss Mahan — married Wilson
Wm. Mahan, youth, kept journal at Wilson’s station when he returned from Montreal, about 18 years old
Margaret Mahan
Isabella Mahan
Jane Mahan
Isabella Mahan Morrow
James Mahan
James Morrow
Mrs. Agnes Mahan
Mrs. Lapost
Master Lapost
Judy Lapost
Wm. Whitesides
Mr. Purseley
Henry Groff
John Denton
Miss Denton
Mrs. Denton
Mrs. Horn

PAGE 14

Catherine Horn
Mr. Sellers
Mrs. Sellers
Sellers children
Samuel Conway
Miss Conway
Mrs. Samuel Conway
Two Misses Conway
Mr. and Mrs. Lail
Capt. Charles Gatliffe
Give Gatliffe children
Robert (or Charles) Knox
Wm. Marshall
*Gasper Casner, 1780
George Finley, 1780
Benj. Harrison, 1780
George, Givens
Samuel Givens

* Capser Karner ?

Ardery, Mrs. Wm. Breckenridge. Paris (Hopewell) Sesquicentennial. np: Mrs. W. B. Ardery, 1939.

While the book indicates Fort Ruddle was attacked, it does not provide details about the attack or what happened to the occupants. Fortunately, a detailed account of this attack was published by the Kentucky Historical Society in the October 1956 edition of their Register.

Below is an account of the capture and plundering of Fort Ruddle.

Lafferty, Maude Ward, “Destruction of Ruddle’s and Martin’s Forts in the Revolutionary War” The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Vol. 54, October, 1956, No. 189.

Many of the captured prisoners were marched from Kentucky to Detroit, with some going on to Montreal.

Lafferty, Maude Ward, “Destruction of Ruddle’s and Martin’s Forts in the Revolutionary War” The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Vol. 54, October, 1956, No. 189.

Captain Bird related the conditions of the march to Detroit in his letter written in July of 1780.

Lafferty, Maude Ward, “Destruction of Ruddle’s and Martin’s Forts in the Revolutionary War” The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Vol. 54, October, 1956, No. 189.

While the article in the Register does not discuss their release, the book, The British Invasion of Kentucky , by Winston Coleman provides details about their release in 1782 with some held prisoner until 1795.

Coleman, Winston. The British Invasion of Kentucky. Lexington, KY: Winburn Press, 1951.

While Nathan Sellers of Preble County, Ohio is said to have migrated to Preble county from Bourbon County, Kentucky, I currently have no record indicating that the Sellers family at Fort Ruddle was Nathan Sellers – or even related to him.

Since Nathan Sellers of Preble County, Ohio has a DAR marker on his grave, I decided to look up his military record to see if he was serving in 1780. That’s when I discovered that the DAR has indicated that future applicants must prove correct service for Nathan Sellers of Preble County, Ohio. While it is possible that Nathan Sellers was at Fort Ruddle, one would think that there would be mention of this in county histories.

Until I find more information, the identity of the SELLERS family at Fort Ruddle will remain a mystery.

Sources:

• Coleman, Winston. The British Invasion of Kentucky. Lexington, KY: Winburn Press, 1951.
• Lafferty, Maude Ward, “Destruction of Ruddle’s and Martin’s Forts in the Revolutionary War” The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Vol. 54, October, 1956, No. 189.
• Ruddle’s Station Historical Marker
• British Invasion of Kentucky (Wikipedia)
• Ruddell’s and Martin’s Station Historic Association

County Boundaries

How adventurous were your ancestors? Would they be considered pioneers? Did they seek out new homes in the territories formed as the United States expanded westward? If so, have you paid attention to the changing boundary lines for the counties?

Since my genealogy research started in Kansas where it wasn’t impacted by changes in county boundaries, I wasn’t aware these changes could impact my research. That all changed when I traced my CRAWFORD family back to Kentucky. My ancestor, James Crawford, married Sally Duggins in 1799 in Garrard County, Kentucky. Thus, I tried to find his parents and siblings in Garrard County.

This quest to locate CRAWFORD relatives in Garrard County expanded to include Madison and Lincoln counties. In that quest, I found a James Crawford with land on Paint Lick Creek in Madison County. I also found a Rebekah Crawford who witnessed marriage bonds for Mary, Sarah and James Crawford in Lincoln County. It was only after getting a map of the early land owners of Garrard county, that I realized that the land owned by both James Crawford (on Paint Lick Creek) and Rebekah Crawford (on headwaters of Sugar and Boone’s creeks) is located in Garrard County.

When another genealogist introduced me to the site, Map of US, the interactive map for Kentucky helped me understand how the changing county boundaries affected my research.

Since the 1780 counties of Kentucky were formed from Kentucky county which was originally called Fincastle county, there are five counties that I have to research for my Garrard county CRAWFORD family: Fincastle, Kentucky, Lincoln, Madison and Garrard.

Thanks to the 1850 census, I believe that James Crawford was born in Virginia. There are clues that the family goes back to Augusta County, Virginia. Research of collateral lines has uncovered other CRAWFORD lines in Amherst and Rockbridge counties. From my Kentucky experience, I know that I have to pay attention to the possibility of changes in the county boundary lines.

Thus, I go to the Map of US site to visualize the changing boundary lines for Augusta County, Virginia.

1738 – Augusta County formed from Orange County

In 1761, the map shows the formation of Amherst County. While Amherst was not formed from Augusta county, it borders Augusta county.

1769 – Botetourt County formed from Augusta County

1772 – Fincastle County formed from Botetourt County

1776 – Kentucky and Montgomery counties formed (along with Washington county)

1778 – the western portions of Botetourt and Augusta counties are split off into new counties and Rockbridge county is formed between Botetourt and Augusta counties.

This map study has revealed that my CRAWFORD research in Virginia needs to be very broad! I need to look at records and histories for the following counties:

• Amherst
• Rockbridge
• Augusta
• Botetourt
• Montgomery
• Fincastle
• Kentucky
• and possibly all of the western counties formed from Augusta (including portions of Pennsylvania)

This also will likely mean broadening my FAN club to include the various CRAWFORD lines in these counties.

For it will likely require researching all of these places and all of these people to figure out my CRAWFORD line!

Expanding the FAN Club

Have you ever gone back thru your sources for a person to discover that the source contains more information about your family and their FAN club than you originally realized? That’s the situation as I’m updating sources for Henry Duggins. Henry Duggins [KGM3-TX3] is the stepson of my 4th great-grandfather, James Crawford.

Because of this relationship, I expect to find some of my CRAWFORD FAN club members: the CRAWFORD and DUGGINS surname along with the SELLERS surname.

• DUGGINS — Henry and William — stepsons of my ancestor James CRAWFORD
• CRAWFORD — James and James — the two CRAWFORDs married in Garrard County, KY who seem to migrate together
• SELLERS — Nathan – Father-in-law of Henry DUGGINS
• SELLERS — James and William — brothers of Nathan who married Mary and Sarah CRAWFORD respectively
• DOOLEY — land owner in Garrard County KY who appears to have followed same migration path as the two James Crawfords

Thus, when I find all of these surnames in a piece on the Religious History of Preble County in the 1881 History of Preble County, Ohio, I wonder how many of them may have also been in the area of Garrard county, Kentucky prior to 1800.

page 103
Religious History
The pioneer religious organization of Eaton, and, for that matter, of Preble County, was that of the Christian church. The Eaton church of this denomination was first organized at the house of Nathan Sellers, about one mile south of the village in the year 1807. The organization grew out of a camp meeting held on the premises of Mr. Sellers and conducted by Reuben Dooley, Barton W. Stone, David Purviance and William Kinkade. Elders Dooley and Stone had at this time just commenced their labors. The following, from Stone’s Biography, affords a glimpse of the manner of religious work then carried on and the difficulties which had to be surmounted. Stone says:

“We preached and baptized daily in Eaton for many days. No house could contain the people that flocked to hear. We had to preach in the open streets to the anxious multitude. At night, after service, the cries and prayers of the distressed in many houses around were truly solemn. Almost the whole town and neighborhood were baptized and added to the Lord. We left this place and preached and baptized in many others. We were poorly clad and had no money to buy clothes. Going on at a certain time through the barrens, a limb tore Brother Dooley’s striped linen pantaloons very much. He had no other, nor had I a pair to lend him. We consoled ourselves that we were in the Lord’s work and that He would provide. He tied his handkerchief over the seat, and we went on and preached to the people. That night we lodged with Brother Samuel Wilson, whose wife presented Brother Dooley a pair of home-spun linen pantaloons.”
Soon after the organization was effected in Eaton the public church was built in the southwest part of the village. That structure, which long remained standing, and became widely known as “the old Public church,” was used by the Christian church in common with other religious organizations. The church appears to have prospered for the first fifteen years of its existence, and to have numbered among its members many of the pioneer families of Preble county, among whom may be named the Sellers, Dooleys, Crawfords, Bruces, Brubakers, Hardys, Duggins, Bantas, Shidelers, Flemings, Baileys, Bloomfields, and Vanausdals. The early ministers of the church were Reuben Dooley, William Kinkade, David Purviance. John Hardy was pastor of the church at the time of his death, in 1819.

History of Preble County, Ohio: with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches (N.p.: H. Z. Williams & Bro., Publishers, 1881), Page 103 – Religious History; digital images, Archive.org, http://www.archive.org viewed online 13 August 2022.

Wondering whether these four ministers had connections to my FAN club in Kentucky, I searched Google for each of them.

• Reuben Dooley — son of Moses Dooley who settled in Madison County, KY in 1781. Reuben Dooley migrated to Preble County, OH in 1808 where his father lived. (History of the Restoration Movement).
• William Kinkade, author of the book, The Bible Doctrine, was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Kentucky. His memorial on Find a Grave provides details about his life.
• David Purviance’s biography indicates that he moved his family from Tennessee to Bourbon County, Kentucky in 1792, where his path would have crossed with the host of the 1807 Preble County, Ohio, camp meeting, Nathan Sellers.
• Barton W. Stone may have also crossed paths with Nathan Sellers in Kentucky when Barton Stone was one of the ministers at the Cane Ridge Revival in Bourbon County, KY in 1801.

While I don’t know anything about the other pioneer families who were members of ‘the old public church’, two surnames caught my attention: Bantas and Vanausdals. These two surnames are in my tree — just not in my CRAWFORD branch of my tree. The Banta family was part of the Low Dutch Colony of White Oak Station in Madison County, Kentucky. (Wiki-Tree: Low Dutch Settlements in Kentucky)

Boyle’s Company

When researching your family history, have you ever read a county history? I’m not referring to browsing those sections where you think your family might be found but actually reading the history starting on page 1. Well, I have to admit that I’ve fallen into the ‘browser’ method in the past.

As I’m trying to find connections between my Crawford family in Kentucky and Crawford families in Virginia, I decided I needed to read some histories. I was going to start with a history of Montgomery County, Virginia but decided that I need to learn more about early Kentucky history first. Thus, I found a downloadable version of Collins’ History of Kentucky on FamilySearch and started reading it last night.

I only get to page 12 before I find something that may connect with my Crawford research. At the bottom of the page is a list of the members of Captain John Boyle’s Company, April 1, 1780. Included in this list is one ‘Wm. Crawford’. Now, I have no idea which William Crawford this might be. However, there are a couple of other names on the roll that might help me figure this out. The one that stands out the most is Basil Maxwell. The Basil Maxwell in my file is married to Margaret Anderson, daughter of Col. John Anderson. Also in the company are two Andersons: Jacob Anderson and James Anderson.

Not only is the Anderson and Maxwell connections a clue that this Wm Crawford might be the William Crawford who was in early Garrard County, but the description for the company places them in early Garrard County.

Thanks to a deed I discovered years ago, I’ve been able to piece together at least some of the Anderson family. That John Anderson deed identifies his legatees:

This indenture made this third day of October one thousand seven hundred and ninety eight between Samuel Campbell and Mary his wife of the County of Madison, Bez’ l Maxwell and Margret his wife, James Crawford and Rebeca his wife of the County of Garrard, James Anderson and Hannah his wife of the county of Madison, John Gap and Anne his wife of the County of Bourbon and William M. Morrison and Betsey his wife of the County of Madison and all  of the State of Kentucky being the part of the  legatees  to the estate of John Anderson Dec’d  

Three of the names on the list of Captain John Boyle’s company are also found on the list of ‘Early Settlers of Boonesborough‘ including John Boyle, James Anderson and William Hicks. Even though no Crawfords are found on this list there several Andersons on the list.

• Anderson, James – 1775
• Anderson, Jemima
• Anderson, John – 1780
• Anderson, Mary – married Captain John Kennedy
• Anderson, Nicholas

Besides the Anderson children, several Anderson spouses are also on the list:

• Gass. John – 1775 — s/o Capt. David Gass
• Morris, William
• Campbell, Samuel

This list of members of Captain Boyle’s company is just one more clue that may lead to confirming these Crawford relationships. However, It provides additional names for my fan club! It looks like more research and more reading is in my future!

Crossing Paths 2

As you are researching your ancestors do you ever find a family living in the same county as ancestors or cousins from a totally different branch of your tree? That’s been my experience recently.

Yesterday, while following up on a comment on a blog post about a reader’s potential connection to my Garrard County, Kentucky research, I stumbled upon such a situation. I discovered a reference to Osbourn Bland as one of the survivors taken prisoner at Blue Licks in the Winter 2006 issue of Kentucky ancestors.

Trowbridge, John M. “‘We Are All Slaughtered Men’: The Battle of Blue Licks,” Kentucky Ancestors. Winter 2006 Vol. 42, No. 2 p. 61.

This would place an Osburn Bland in Madison County, Kentucky a little before my Crawford line. Now this may not be my Osburn Bland, but it might be. I have tax lists showing an Osborne Bland living in Nelson county prior to 1800. Much more research will need to be done to figure out if this is the same person – or NOT.

Again, my Bland line is on my dad’s mother’s side of the tree while my Garrard/Madison County, Kentucky research is on my dad’s dad’s side of the tree, my Crawford line.

Because of this instance where one branch of my tree seems to cross paths with another branch, I decided to investigate the ‘Who Was There’ report in my genealogy software. I’ve used this report to identify people in Kansas in 1950. However, I’ve never run the report for a specific county or for a range of time or both. Thus, I decided to try this report for Kentucky prior to 1800.

Because I have a relatively large database with lots of facts, this report takes a long time to create. To help speed up the process, I created a marked group using the option to ‘select people by data fields’

Then I configured the ‘Search for Information’ to find ‘Any Fact’ with the ‘place’ containing ‘Kentucky’.

After saving the group, I can now go back to the ‘Who Was There List’ Report and use that marked group instead of ‘Everyone’ for the people to include.

The report still takes a bit of time to generate results, but it produced a 24 page report of the individuals with a fact placing them in Kentucky between 1750-1799. To narrow that down to the area of Garrard, Madison and Lincoln Counties, I created a new marked group. (Note: This uses OR between each of the statements.)

Using this new ‘AnyFact Garrard Madison Lincoln’ group, I re-created the ‘Who Was There’ Report.

This produced an 8 page report.

I thought I was finished. That was until I scanned this report and discovered it didn’t pick up Osborn Bland. After much hair pulling, consultation with others and more hair pulling, I discovered that Osborn Bland wasn’t included on the ‘Who Was There’ report because I didn’t have a birth fact and a death fact for Osborn Bland.

This discovery led me to the ‘Missing Information List’ report. To start with I selected the ‘death’ fact and set the criteria to either be missing or with a blank date. I then changed the people to include to my marked group for Garrard, Madison and Lincoln counties.

I discovered three pages of people in the marked group for Garrard, Madison and Lincoln counties that don’t have a death fact. Thus none of these people will show up on a ‘Who Was There Report’ for Garrard, Madison and Lincoln Counties.

_, Hannah-10231 Abrams, Elizabeth-10219 Adams, Jane Jean-13252 Adams, Reuben-13286 Anderson, Anne-10225 Anderson, Betsey-10224 Anderson, Isaac-10227 Anderson, James-10226 Anderson, Mary-10223 Anderson, Samuel-10228 Banta, Hendrick-16927 Brown, Aristippus-13500 Brown, Margaret-10210 Campbell, Susannah-10212 Clark, William-10383 Crawford, Anne-1447 Crawford, Archibald-10209 Crawford, Elizabeth-10380 Crawford, Elizabeth-13499 Crawford, Isaac-1454 Crawford, James-8577 Crawford, Jenny-10217 Crawford, John-1412 Crawford, John-8574 Crawford, John-10062 Crawford, John-10071 Crawford, Joseph-10211 Crawford, Milton-10218 Crawford, Molly-8579 Crawford, Oliver-10220 Crawford, Rebecca-8578 Crawford, Sarah-6761 Crawford, Sarah-10384 Crawford, William-10385 Croucher, Edward-14946 Crutcher, Absolem-14949 Crutcher, David-14951 Crutcher, Elizabeth-14948 Crutcher, Lucinda-14950 Crutcher, William-14945 Davis, Betsy-10386 Davis, Elizabeth-9980 Dooley, Henry-13306 Elder, William-5260 Ellis, Sally-10382 Estes, Delina-10221 Garrett, Ignatius-10379 Gass, John-10232 Harris, David-16730 Harris, Leah-16734 Kennedy, Elizabeth-14971 Maxwell, Bazeleel-10229 McAlester, Sarah-6762 McClary, Samuel-172 Miller, Elizabeth-13541 Miller, Jacob-13498 Montgomery, Benjamin-10206 Moore, Alexander-11622 Morrison, William M.-10478 Reed, Joseph-14024 Rolston, Andrew-10216 Seever, Annie-16797 Sellers, John Finley-5252 Sellers, Nathan-5257 Sellers, Samuel-10381 Shuck, Sally-16928 Smith, Polly-10207 Yewell, Mary-5258

Thus, I have work to do if I want this report to include everyone in the region. I will probably use FamilySearch to figure out approximate birth and death dates.

Ham Crawford Connection

A few weeks ago, the following comment was posted on my ‘About’ page.

Hello, I’m a descendant of Joseph B. Ham and Dolly Crawford of Madison County KY. Married in 1795. I am at a brick wall trying to find Dolly’s ancestry. All I have is that she listed her mother as Molly on the marriage record. I can’t find any Molly in Madison County KY at this time. Only the Mary that you write of who based on her marriage and timeline seems to be too young. Any help is appreciated.

I do have Dolly Crawford and Joseph Ham in my database. According to the book, Madison County Kentucky Marriage Records Vol. 1 1786-1822 by Bill and Kathy Vockery, they were married in Madison County in 1795.

Since I don’t have any other information on this couple, I decided to see what tax records for Madison County might reveal. Since I’ve already used these records for my CRAWFORD research, I was primarily looking for the HAM surname. However, when I found Joseph Ham, I also located known Crawford family members and associates in that year’s tax record.

Madison County Kentucky
Tax Books, 1787-1874

Tax Books, 1787-1797, 1799-1807
FamilySearch Film 8126 DGS 7834478

1787
Image 15 – ‘H’
Nil Ham

Image 30
Nil Ham

Image 40 – ‘H’
Ham Wm Wm Ham – 0 – 1 – 0 – 6 – 18

Image 55 0 1788

Image 65 – ‘H

Image 73 – 1789

Image 77
Ham William 1-1-? – 11 – left at 10/

Image 82 – ‘H’
NIL

Image 90
Mary Crawford
No Ham

Image 99 – 1790

Image 103 – ‘H’
Nil Ham

Image 111 – 1791
Image 115 – ‘H’
Ham, William – 1white- 1 Black > 16- “ – 5 horses – Stud 15
Image 124 – ‘H’
NIL – Ham

Image 129 – 1792
Image 134 – ‘H’
Hamm Drury – 1 – blank – blank – blank – 6 – 6
Image 141 – ‘H’
NIL Ham
Image 150 – ‘H’
Ham, William – 2 (or possibly 7) white > 21- dash white above 16 – 3 total blacks – 2 blacks > 16 -7 horses – 30 cattle- – – 100 Acres of Land- 1 stud – 6 rate

Image 157 – 1793
Image 163 – ‘H’
Ham Wm – 1 – dash – 4 – 2 – 8 – 31 – 100

Image 170 – 1794
Image 176 – ‘H – faded
William Ham may be on this page
May be another Ham toward bottom of page – can’t decipher first name
Image 187 – ‘H’ starts
Image 198 – ‘H’
NIL Ham

Image 206 – 1795
Image 214 – ‘H’
Nil Ham
Image 227 – H
Ham William Madison County Silver Cr 100 acres
Do do do 150 acres
Do Mason Lee Cr 1400
Image 239 – H
Image 259 – H
Ham William – 1 white over 21 – . – 5 total blacks – 3 blacks under 16 – 5 [H H) Colts & Mulres – 33 Cattle
Ham Drury – 1 white over 21 – . White over 16 under 21 – 1 total blacks – 1 blacks under 16 – 5 [H H] Colts & Mules – 8 Cattle

Image 266 – 1796
Image 271 – Edward Crawford
Image 277 – H
Ham Joseph – 1 male over 21 – 2 horses – 2 cattle (no land listed)
Ham Drury 116 – Paint Lick Madison from Elijah Kritly 1white >21 -. Above 16 under 21 – . Black above 16- 1 total blacks – 5 horses mares – 5 cattle
Image 278
Ham William – 300 acres – Silver C – Madin – G Clay & Hancock -1 white male > 21- . white males > 16 – 2 blacks > 16 – 5 total blacks – 5 horses – 33 cattle
Image 310 – H
Image 333 – Crawfords (James, William and sons) — NO Rebecca or Mary Crawford
Image 334 – Duggins / Dooley
Image 337 – H
Image 340 – Alexander Moore (Mary Crawford’s husband)

Image 353 – 1797
Image 360 – H
Image 382 – H
Image 406
Crawford Edwd
Image 410 – H
Image 412
Ham Drury – 116 acres Paint L Madn C Elijah Kurtley – 1 male > 21 – 1 total black – 6 horses
Ham William – 450 acres – Silver C Madn C – Green C Hancock – 1 male > 21, 1 male 16-21, 1 black > 16, 4 total blacks – 7 horses
Do – 700 acres – Lees Creek – Mason C – Wm Tomlin

Even though tax records do not prove relationship, they can provide some clues.

• William Ham is the first Ham family member shown on the tax list
• William Ham owned at least two parcels of land: one on Silver Creek in Madison County and one on Lees Creek in Mason County
• Drury Ham appeared on the tax list in 1792 with no land suggesting a possible relationship between William Ham and Drury Ham
• Joseph Ham appeared on the tax list in 1796 in the same assessment district as Drury Ham and William Ham also suggesting a relationship between Joseph Ham and William Ham
• In 1796, the three Ham households were not in the same assessment district as the Crawford families I’ve been researching suggesting that these two family groups did not live near each other. [My Crawford research involves William Crawford, James Crawford (wife Rebecca Anderson), James Crawford (wife Martha Knight), James Crawford (wife Sally Duggins), Mary Crawford (husband James Sellers), Sally Crawford (husband William Sellers), widow Mary Crawford and widow Rebekah Crawford.]
• There is an Edward Crawford in the same assessment district as the HAM families. [I don’t know much about this Crawford family.]

So, back to the question. Could Dolly Crawford be the daughter of Mary Crawford? Could Dolly Crawford be a sibling to my James Crawford? Yes, that is possible, but I will have to do more digging to find a connection between the two families.

Could Dolly Crawford be a sibling of the James Crawford who married Martha Knight. This is very doubtful. James and Martha were married in Lincoln County. James’ suspected siblings, Mary and Sally, were also married in Lincoln County.

Could Dolly Crawford be a daughter of James and Rebecca (Anderson) Crawford. Again this is doubtful. None of my research of this family has any records connecting the Crawford and Ham families.

Could Dolly Crawford be a daughter of William and Elizabeth Crawford. This is possible but doubtful.

Based on the tax records, I would look for a connection between Dolly Crawford and the Edward Crawford on the 1796 tax list.

Curious as to what others have concluded about Dolly Crawford, I looked at trees on Ancestry and FamilySearch. The FamilySearch tree has a Dolly Crawford [LLHZ-852] married to Joseph Ham [M76X-C5Z]. Dolly is shown as the daughter of Alexander Crawford and Molly Burris. However, there are no sources attached to Dolly, Alexander or Molly. Ancestry has over 200 trees for Dolly Crawford and Joseph Ham. I have not looked at all of them, but I looked at several that indicated they had multiple sources attached to Dolly. Those ‘multiple sources’ turned out to be multiple other Ancestry trees.

Thus, more information (documentation) is needed for the Joseph Ham family. To attack this problem, I would

• Thoroughly research all of their children.
• Locate land records for William and Drury Ham to see if they provide a clue to family relationships.
• Identify locations where Joseph Ham resided.
• Locate land records for Joseph Ham.
• Search for county histories or family genealogies that have information on the Ham family.
• Keep an open mind. The trees may all be wrong.

Disproving Same Alexander – Census Records

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.