Do you ever feel like DNA results are adding to a problem versus helping solve a problem? Well, that’s how I feel after the BigY results came back for my fourth cousin. I was hoping that his results might help connect our James Crawford line to descendants of James (and Martha Knight) Crawford or James (and Rebecca Anderson) Crawford.
Instead, my 4th cousin ended up in his own haplogroup. The Time Tree shows the three of us in the R-FT369906 haplogroup (orange icon).
The BigY tree shows our segment of the tree in a different way.
While I don’t know how the Edward Crawford lines might connect, paper research strongly suggests a relationship between my James Crawford lines and the other James Crawford lines. Below is a diagram of the various lines.
Everything I’ve read about yDNA and mutations, the results would suggests that to find a common ancestor between my brothers and my 4th cousin, one would have to go further back in our line. So what could explain a recent germline mutation?
My theory is that the yDNA mutation occurred between my 2nd great grandfather, Washington Marin Crawford and his son, Judson Foster Crawford. This theory is based on the fact that Washington Marion Crawford was captured and spent time in prisoner of war camps, including Andersonville, during the civil war. While I haven’t been able to locate any research supporting this theory, I did come across an article supporting the possibility: Civil War Data Reveals that Trauma Can Be Passed on to Sons.
While I have a theory that might explain the mutation between my brothers and my 4th cousin, I don’t have a theory to explain why our James Crawford branch is separate from the other James Crawford branches. Since I have to go back to at least the 9th generation to identify a common ancestor, this does fit with the Time Tree which estimates a common ancestor between 1500 and 1770.
Thus, the mystery of my James Crawford ancestors still exists.
Are you the manager of a yDNA test? If so, has it helped you figure out your paternal lineage? I know that I began this yDNA journey hoping that the results would break down my Crawford brick wall. Even though my brick wall is still solid, clues are emerging thanks to an excellent Crawford project administrator and many who have completed BigY testing.
My brother’s yDNA test has placed our branch of the Crawford tree in the R1b-01 supergroup. Testers in this group are all under
Unfortunately, most of the others in this supergroup have brick walls hinting at a connection to Augusta County, Virginia.
Breaking down my Crawford brick wall likely means researching several of these lines. Unfortunately that also means
dealing with multiple men named James Crawford
dealing with trees determined to link to Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters
dealing with the very large area that original Augusta County covered, including Botetourt and Montgomery counties in Virginia
Early Botetourt County, Virginia
Thus, when I saw a post by Lucas McCaw in the R1b Y DNA Project group on Facebook about steps one could take to ‘maximize yDNA matching and genealogy’ I was challenged to see if I could use some of these steps – particularly steps 2 and 3 – to help with research in Augusta county.
Instead of contacting (re-contacting) my 37-111 yDNA matches, I started by building a spreadsheet for my matches. Fortunately, many of my matches have a tree attached to their test. This allowed me to put information about their Crawford line into the spreadsheet.
I plan to contact those who do not have a tree attached to see if they can provide enough information to fill in the blanks for their test. Surprisingly, very few of these lines have an obvious connection.
In creating this spreadsheet, I also discovered seven of my matches that do not have an ‘earliest known ancestor’ configured for their test. Nor, does it appear that they are part of the Crawford project. Thus, I plan to contact the managers of these tests to encourage them to attach an ancestor and to also join the Crawford yDNA project.
As a future task, I’m hoping to create a document containing links to these earliest known ancestors on sites such as FamilySearch, WikiTree and Geni.com. Since I have researched at least four of these lines, I will also include a link to those ancestors in my Ancestry tree.
With some of these lines appearing to converge in early Augusta County, I’m hoping that figuring out these various lines will help me sort out the various families in the records.
I’m sure we can all agree that each of us needs to work toward having as accurate a family tree as possible. However, I’m willing to admit and hopefully you are too that there could be a mistake or two or several in my tree. Even with an effort to separate out people of the same name and to carefully document findings, those mistakes can still creep in.
Since I have a large database, the chances for such a mistake in my work is high. I hope that when someone else discovers that error in my tree they tell me about it and point me to sources to correct that error.
When it comes to my CRAWFORD research, there are a lot of common given names such as James, John, William, Alexander and Edward that make it difficult to distinguish families. Most of my CRAWFORD research traces the family from early Kentucky back to Montgomery, Botetourt and Augusta counties in Virginia. Augusata County, Virginia is where the family of Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford raised their family.
And it is when Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford get attached to many many many Crawford trees that other CRAWFORD researchers get frustrated. This is particularly frustrating when working with yDNA tests to help identify family lines.
Several of the Kentucky CRAWFORD lines have participated in the CRAWFORD yDNA project. I believe all five of the Kentucky James Crawford families I’ve worked to untangle are all found in the R1b supergroup.
Crawford yDNA project – part of R1b group
The three families from the area of early Garrard county, Kentucky are in the same haplogroup: R-Y88686.
James Crawford b1772VA m1799Ky d1854OH – My line – in the R1b-01B Ardmillan group R-Y88686
James Crawford b1770 VA M Knight 1793 KY d1833 IN – in the R1b-01B Ardmillan group R-Y88686 — the Crawford family that was neighbors to my Crawford line for over 100 years
James Crawford b 1758 VA; d1836 IN – in the R1b-01B Ardmillan group R-Y88686 — the James Crawford married to Rebeccca Anderson Maxwell; this James owned land along Paint Lick Creek in Garrard County, Kentucky prior to migrating to Indiana.
I believe the James Crawford of Fleming county, Kentucky is represented on the project in the R1b-01C group as James Crawford b1758. This family also likely has roots in Montgomery, Botetourt and Augusta Counties in Virginia.
So where do descendants of Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford fit in this yDNA study? There is one R1b test that indicates Alexander Crawford b1716 d1764 as the earliest known ancestor. Working with this tester, it appears that his line does descend from William Crawford and his wife Rachel Sawyers, making it a legitimate Alexander Crawford line. Currently this tester is in group R1b-01F. Based on this test, that would put Rev James Crawford of Lexington, Kentucky in the R1b-01F group.
However, there are several other yDNA testers claiming Alexander Crawford as their earliest known ancestor.
I1-D5 group
I1-D9 group
I1-12 group
R1a-5 group
Granted, I’m not sure all four of the above tests are referring to the Alexander Crawford that was killed by Indians in 1764, but I’m guessing at least three of them are claiming Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford as their ancestors.
So which is it? Do Alexander Crawford’s descendants fall in the R1b-01F group? Or are they in the I1-D5 group, or the I1-D9 group, or the I1-12 group? Or what about the R1a-5 group? I don’t believe they can be in all FIVE yDNA groupings.
These examples from yDNA testing are just a small portion of the issue. A search of Ancestry trees for Alexander Crawford and his wife Mary McPheeters reveals 5869 public trees contain this couple. Now, not all of those trees will represent descendants but many of them will. (My tree would be included in that count and I don’t descend from Alexander and Mary.)
Since I’m fairly certain that the James Crawford (1758-1836) who married Rebecca Anderson does not descend from Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford, I did a search for such a combination: James Crawford b1758, d1836, father Alexander Crawford, mother Mary McPheeters and spouse Rebecca. That search resulted in 2282 trees. Looking at the results, I found the James Crawford of Fleming County, KY (wife Sarah Van Zandt) on that list many times. Browsing down the list, I found James Crawford who married Rebecca Anderson.
Even though the DAR records for these two James Crawford have been confused over time, they are two separate families. Since they were both born in 1758, they can’t both be sons of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters.
Below is what I have for the family of Alexander and Mary Crawford.
If the above family is correct, then neither the James who married Rebecca Anderson nor the James who married Sarah Van Zandt are sons of Alexander and Mary Crawford.
There are a few books that I’ve used to figure out that my James Crawford does NOT descend from Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford:
Helen McPheeters Rice, The McPheeters Family (Winter Park, FL: No publisher, 1956). There is an digital edition of this book on FamilySearch.
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 also available on FamilySearch.
Amanda Crawford Arbogast Forbes and Lucetta Crawford Sammis, Compilers, Descendants of Alexander & Mary McPheeters Crawford: Pioneer Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, 1980). The Family History Library has the book on microfiche. Microfiche of this book can be found at Midwest Genealogy Center (and possibly other major genealogy libraries). This book outlines descendants for several generations and includes lots of source references.
My Crawford family has roots in the same area that descendants of Alexander and Mary Crawford lived. Thus the records for my family line will be intermingled with the records for Alexander’s line. I’m guessing that there were other Crawford family lines also living in that area of Virginia prior to 1800.
Thus, a lot of work will need to be done to try and identify these various Crawford family lines in early Augusta county. If you have Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford as ancestors in your tree, are you willing to use the above resources and the documents mentioned in them to verify your descent? Until we get these family lines sorted out correctly, our DNA results won’t help identify that next generation. Are you willing to help sort these early Augusta County, Virginia Crawford families out?
Do you ever look at a genealogy resource with rose colored glasses? In other words, do you perceive that resource as the one resource that will break thru brick walls? That is how I approached DNA testing.
Unlike many people who are testing their DNA, I already knew a lot about my ancestors. Even though the following chart was recently created with the preview edition of RootsMagic 8, I had most of these ancestors in my file when I started working with DNA over 5 years ago.
So, learning that autosomal DNA goes back 6 to 8 generations or 150-200 years was a disappointment. (information from Mark McDermott’s blog, How Many Generations Does DNA Go Back)
Even though DNA likely won’t help me identify that ‘next’ generation, I am finding that it is providing ‘Supporting Evidence’ for my current research.
For example, my Currey line goes thru several generations of Hiram Curreys to the Hiram Mirick Currey who was the treasurer of the state of Ohio in 1819. Through the years, I’ve worked with other researchers and collected documents that appear to support the lineage. However, I don’t have a deed, will or probate record that ties one generation to the next.
Thanks to Ancestry ThruLines, some of my matches show up as descendants of Hiram Mirick Currey thru his other children.
Not only do I look for descendants thru other children, I also look for descendants thru a different spouse. For example, my 2nd great-grandfather, Richmond Fisk Hammond, remarried after his wife, my 2nd great-grandmother died. He had a daughter thru this second marriage. ThruLines supports this second family.
Another example is my ancestor, James Crawford’s wife, Sarah Smith Duggins. Since she had a previous marriage, I’m hoping to use her ThruLines to learn more about my Smith ancestors.
I’ve found that my Ancestry ThruLines data can also point out spots in my tree that might be incorrect. For example, I have James B McCormick and Sarah Hall as the parents of Nancy Jane McCormick Ralston (1818-1907). When I look at ThruLines, James B. McCormick has 4 matches with two of those being my brothers. That’s not a lot of support for him being the father of Nancy, especially when compared to his wife Sarah Hall who has 30 DNA matches.
I’ve taken advantage of the ability to download my Ancestry DNA and upload my results to other sites, including GedMatch and My Heritage. Because my ancestry is basically colonial, my Ancestry results are providing more connections than My Heritage. Thus, I spend most of my ‘DNA time’ working with Ancestry data.
Not only was I wearing rose colored glasses when doing autosomal DNA testing, but also when having my brother do yDNA testing. I was hoping that this test would identify my Crawford ancestors. Unfortunately, that hasn’t proven to be true to date.
Even though yDNA hasn’t helped identify the parents of James Crawford, it has proven a connection with the other James Crawford families in Garrard County, Kentucky.
As pointed out by several genetic genealogists, tools such as triangulation or segment data are needed to prove a genetic relationship. These tools are not available on Ancestry where the majority of my DNA data resides. With an over-abundance of DNA data, I’m content (for now) with not being able to use my DNA data as scientific proof of a relationship. Instead, I will continue to use it as a tool to evaluate my tree and as a way to connect with cousins who might have additional information.
Do you track your DNA statistics? At times, I’ve tried keeping track of these statistics but got frustrated when the way the information was reported would change. Thus, it became difficult to compare current data with previous data.
When it comes to ‘common ancestors,’ I couldn’t find the number reported by Ancestry. Since I don’t want to have to try and count them, I’m going to guesstimate. I recently posted my ThruLines Summary thru my 4th great grandparents. For my ‘guesstimate,’ I’m going to use 1/2 of the total number of ThruLines thru my 4th great grandparents. This isn’t an accurate calculation.
Me
Brother 1
Brother 2
parent
1/2 ThruLines thru 4th Great Grandparents
1065
1013
926
787
MY HERITAGE
Me
Brother 1
Brother 2
Matches
14,725
10,746
10,281
Theory of Relativity
28
30
31
Smart Matches
3
5
4
GEDMATCH
Me
Brother 1
Brother 2
Parent
64 cM or closer
12
13
11
17
34 cM or more
95
91
70
127
FAMILY TREE DNA
Total autosomal matches to my DNA – 6257
Total autosomal matches to brother 1’s DNA – 1677
FAMILY TREE DNA – yDNA results for brother
yDNA matches at 111 markers with genetic distance of 4 – 1
yDNA matches at 111 markers with genetic distance of 6 – 8
yDNA matches at 111 markers with genetic distance of 7 – 4
yDNA matches at 111 markers with genetic distance of 8 – 6
yDNA matches at 111 markers with genetic distance of 9 – 3
yDNA matches at 111 markers with genetic distance of 10 – 1
Big Y R-^88686 haplogroup matches – 3
With over 100,000 matches for one DNA test, there is NO WAY I’m going to be able to document all of those matchers. However, I’m using the ThruLines matches to help support my paper research. Thus, all of those matches are important to me.
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.
In your genealogy research, have you ever suspected a relationship but never could find evidence to support your suspicions?
Well that’s been the case with my James Crawford research and I now have yDNA evidence to support that suspicion!
My brothers yDNA has been placed in the R-Y88686 haplogroup. My first match was to descendants of Edward Crawford of Tennessee. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to verify that our two lines resided in the same area at the same time let alone discover a family connection.
With today’s notice of a new Big Y match, I now have a match with a familiar line. The new match is a descendant of James and Rebecca (Anderson) Crawford.
The James and Rebecca Crawford family is one of several Crawford families in the Garrard County area of Kentucky prior to 1800 that I’ve been researching. Although I have been able to piece together a lot of information on these various Crawford families, I’ve never been able to find anything connecting my James Crawford who married Sally Duggins in 1799 in Garrard County, KY to any of these other families.
These DNA results not only support my suspicions but give me incentive to continue researching these various Crawford families in hopes of someday figuring out how my Crawford line connects.
These families include:
My line: James and Sally (Smith Duggins) Crawford who migrated from Kentucky to Preble County, Ohio. Their son, Nelson Crawford, migrated from Ohio to Warren County, Indiana around 1830. Most of Nelson Crawford’s children, including my ancestor, Washington Marion Crawford, migrated from Indiana to Dodge City, Kansas.
James Crawford and Martha Knight – James and Martha were married in 1791 in Lincoln County, KY. They owned land in Barren County, KY before migrating to Preble County, Ohio. Around 1830, James and Martha and their children migrated to Warren County, Indiana. Their grandson, Harvey Harrison Crawford, migrated to Ford County, Kansas and eventually settled in Dodge City, Kansas.
James Crawford and Rebecca Anderson were married in 1779 in Montgomery County, Virginia. James purchased land from Thomas Kennedy along Paint Lick Creek in what was Lincoln County, Kentucky at the time. By 1811, James and Rebecca along with most of their children and families had migrated to Jefferson County in Indiana Territory. THIS IS THE LINE WITH A yDNA MATCH.
Rebekah Crawford purchased 100 acres of land on the headwaters of Sugar and Boons Creek in 1786. She is listed as a widow on the Lincoln County tax records in 1787. Rebekah is believed to be the mother of the James Crawford who married Martha Knight along with Mary Crawford who married James Sellers and Sarah Crawford who married William Sellers. It is also believed that Rebekah was the sister of George Douglas and widow of John Crawford. More evidence is needed to prove all of these relationships.
Mary Crawford is listed as ‘exempt’ on various tax records in Madison County, Kentucky prior to 1800. In 1791, Mary purchased 100 acres of land on Sugar Creek in what became Garrard County, Kentucky. In 1793, Mary married Alexander Moore in Madison County, KY. Alexander and Mary Moore migrated to Fleming County, Kentucky, which is where it is believed that Mary died.
Perhaps with the help of the Crawford yDNA project and other Crawford researchers, we will be able to figure out this branch of the Crawford family!
Heartland Genealogy 