Name Date of Birth Spouse
1 Thomas Aaron 12 October 1866 Sidney Raulerson
2 Alice ca. 1867 David Tanner
3 Niram V. 1869 Ada Bennett
4 George W. ca. 1871 Luvenia Futch
5 Gideon ca. 1873 Rosie Larramore
6 Jefferson ca. 1876 ?
7 Ruebin Carl 2 June 1877 Lee Larramore
8 John C. 25 December 1879 Bertha Mae Bennett
9 Martha ca. 1884 ?
The author accepts the hypothesis that there were nine children of John C. and Elizabeth Crawford, seven males and two females, and that James C. was not their son. These nine children and their dates of birth are shown in Table 1. Note that John C. and Elizabeth Crawford had sons named Thomas, Gideon, John, and Ruebin. The unusual names of Gideon and Ruebin will provide a link with earlier generations of the Crawford family.
The various facts that were discovered in this investigation are
generally consistent among themselves and with the remembered family
history. It seems reasonable to accept John C. and Elizabeth Roberts
Crawford as the first link backward in time in this Crawford family chain.
From this research, the following points form a reasonable profile of
John C. Crawford:- he was born in 1835 or 1836 in Georgia to parents also born in
Georgia;
- he served as a Primitive Baptist minister for a period as an adult;
- he was married first to Mariann by 1859, with whom he had a son,
Harly, born in 1859;
- he was living with his wife Mariann and son Harly in Pierce County,
Georgia in 1860;
- he served in the Confederate Army from 1861 through April, 1863,
when he furnished a substitute;
- his first wife died between 1860 and about 1865;
- he married Elizabeth Roberts after the death of his first wife but
prior to about 1866;
- he and Elizabeth had nine children, with the first child born in
1866;
- he and Elizabeth were living with their children in Charlton
County, Georgia, in 1870;
- he and his family moved to Baker County, Florida, in the late
1870's;
- he and Elizabeth lived in Baker County, Florida, until his death
in 1912 and her death by 1920; and,
- he and his spouse are buried in unmarked graves in Woodlawn
Cemetery in Macclenny, Baker County, Florida.
The Next Step in Research
As the first step in identifying the father of John C. Crawford, vital
records for the State of Florida were searched for a death certificate.
Unfortunately, no death certificate was found.
In the very useful series, Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, a large Crawford
family of seven brothers was identified [25, p. 81; 27, pp. 83-84;
and, 28, pp. 108-111]. The seven brothers were James, John, Gideon, Ruebin,
Thomas, Ezekiel and William, with birth dates given for these brothers
ranging from about 1790 until about 1807. James, Ruebin, and Thomas were
also identified as Primitive Baptist ministers. The parents of these seven
brothers were listed in one entry of this reference as James and Polly
Crawford [25, p. 81]; elsewhere in the reference, Marcilla is identified
as the mother of the seven brothers, while the father is not identified
[27, p. 83].Several factors about these seven brothers link them to John C. Crawford.
The occurrence of the names John, Thomas, Ruebin, and Gideon, particularly
the latter two unusual names, in the names of the seven brothers as well as
in the names of John C. Crawford's children, seems more than coincidence.
The seven brothers occur in time and geography as they should to be plausible
candidates for the previous generation of John C. Crawford's family. Lastly,
the Primitive Baptist religious affiliation and pastoral role of John C. Crawford
and of several of the seven brothers provide additional evidence. Based on these
links, these seven brothers appeared to be attractive candidates for the next earlier
generation in the Crawford family genealogy. The hypothesis was formed that one of
these seven brothers was the father of John C. Crawford.
A Digression about Marcilla, Mercilla, Micella or Priscilla
As mentioned in the previous section, the mother of the seven brothers has
been identified as Marcilla, which is a very unusual name. Her name has
been rendered elsewhere as Micilla [16, 27, p. 83] and Mercilla [89], two
more very unusual names. While the original list of winners of the 1820
lottery [16] is "nearly" a primary source -- presumably, it was compiled
and copied from lists in various counties -- some potential for error or
inaccuracy exists. Her identification is further complicated because,
other than the three references given, no mention can be found of any
Crawford with one of those given names. This lack of any corroborating
identification in primary sources was particularly troubling. Priscilla
is the given name most similar to Marcilla, Micilla, or Mercilla that has
been discovered in primary records. Priscilla was the wife of John
Crawford of Effingham County. Fortunately, this Priscilla Crawford
lived in Effingham County and is of the appropriate generation and
chronology to be the mother of the seven brothers. An hypothesis was
formed that Priscilla was the correct name for this individual, and that
her name had been somehow incorrectly transcribed as Micilla, Mercilla,
and Marcilla.
In the course of a review of deeds for Crawford land, a clue was found as
to the source of this discrepancy concerning the name of the mother of the
seven Crawfords. In one of the deeds in which Priscilla Crawford appears
[63, p. 10], her name is written in the flowing handwriting of the time
such that its first letter appears as an "M". Careful review of an
enlargement of the name confirms that what appears as the letter "M" is
actually the two letters "Pr". Examination of other documents
[60, pp. 425, 455] in which the name Priscilla occurs yield the same
conclusion that the first few letters of the name can be easily misread.
Therefore, the hypothesis was accepted that the correct version of the
name was Priscilla, and that its other forms were incorrect transcriptions.
For this point on, this person will be referred to as Priscilla, if the
name appears as such, or as Priscilla followed by the version of the name
as it was actually transcribed, as in Priscilla/Micilla.
Search for the Father
John M. Crawford, born in 1834 and married to Charity Winn, was a child of
the brother, Thomas, a Primitive Baptist minister [28, pp. 110-111]. Since
John C. Crawford's oldest son was named Thomas, since the older Thomas was
a Primitive Baptist minister, and since the listed date of birth of 1834
was identical to the handwritten date on the family photograph of John C.
Crawford and was close to the birth date derived from census records, the
working hypothesis was refined by tentatively accepting this Thomas Crawford
as the father of John C. Crawford. The inconsistency of middle initial was
assumed to be an error, while the inconsistency in the name of the wife was
thought to be either an error or the earlier marriage remembered by some
members of the family. The census records were consulted to see if this
hypothesis could be proven.
Ultimately, this revised hypothesis had to be rejected. The older Thomas
Crawford was traced through several censuses. He was found in the 1850
U. S. Census of Ware County, Georgia [51, pp. 89-90] with a son, John,
age 16. He was next found in the 1860 U. S. Census of Charlton County,
Georgia [52, p. 43], living next to John M. Crawford, age 26, wife Charity,
and three daughters named Melvina, Nancy, and Sarah. In 1870, he was
again found in Charlton County, living near a J. W. Crawford, who had a
wife Charity and children Melvina, Sarah J., Mary E., Avey A., Elim, and
Anna L. [54, pp. 38, 40] This J. W. Crawford was surely the John M.
Crawford of the 1860 Census. An important person missing from the 1870
census listing for John M. or J. W. Crawford is the child Thomas Aaron,
who would have been 3 or 4 years old at the time of the census, and should
have been present if J. W. Crawford was one and the same as
John C. Crawford. From this evidence, the hypothesis that Thomas Crawford
was the father of John C. Crawford was rejected.Finding the Father of John C. Crawford
The rejection of Thomas Crawford as the father of John C. Crawford does not mean the rejection
of the previously stated hypothesis that one of the seven brothers was the parent of
John C. Crawford. Instead, the hypothesis was refined again to include John C. Crawford as a
member of the same family as the seven brothers, and to assume that his father was one of the
brothers other than Thomas. A search of census records and other sources for the offspring of
the other six brothers was begun.
Based on census records [51, pp. 91-93] and other sources [25, p. 81; 27, pp. 83-84; 28,
pp. 108-111], the brothers Ruebin, William, and John could be excluded as the father of
John C. Crawford because they did not have any sons named John; the brother, James, also could
be excluded because he had no children. However, both of the remaining brothers, Ezekiel and
Gideon, had sons named John. In the 1850 census of Ware County, Georgia [51], Gideon had a son
named John, who was listed as age 14. In the same census, Ezekiel had a son named John, who was
listed as age 12. In the relevant censuses of 1850 [51] and 1860 [53], Gideon Crawford's wife
was listed as Irene, and her birthplace was listed as South Carolina. Irene's age was fourteen
years younger than Gideon's age. Several children named Clark were living with Gideon and Irene
Crawford. Both of these points suggest that Irene was Gideon's second wife, who brought children
from a previous marriage into her marriage with Gideon.
According to Huxford [29, pp. 108-109], Ezekiel Crawford's son, John, married Mary Ann Davis.
Given a birth year of 1838, this John Crawford should have been 22 in 1860. However, the
previously mentioned John C. Crawford and John M. Crawford are the only John Crawfords near that
age in the 1860 censuses for the Georgia counties that this Crawford family was living in.
Both of these Crawfords were discussed in the previous section. In the 1870 censuses, only John
C. Crawford [married to Elizabeth] and J. W. Crawford [married to Charity] can be located.
As mentioned earlier, J. W. Crawford is almost assuredly John M. Crawford. At the time of the
1880 census, John C. Crawford had moved to Florida, but a John Crawford, age 45 and married to
Mary, is found in the census for Charlton County, Georgia. Several children surnamed Davis were
living with John and Mary, as were several children surnamed Crawford. His age of 45 suggests
that he is more likely John M. Crawford, son of Thomas, rather than John Crawford, son of Ezekiel.
The change in name for his spouse was puzzling until further research turned up evidence to
support a reasonable hypothesis. In referring back to the 1870 census of Charlton County, J. W.
Crawford lived near a Jeremiah Davis, age 63, who had a spouse named Mary, age 27, and several
children. The given names and ages of the children of Jeremiah and Mary Davis match with the
names and ages of the Davis children living with John and Mary Crawford in 1880. Furthermore,
the names and ages of the older Crawford children living with John and Mary Crawford in 1880 are
consistent with the names and ages of children living with J. W. and Charity Crawford in 1870.
Apparently, Jeremiah Davis and Charity Crawford both died in the 1870's, and their surviving
spouses subsequently married. The identification recorded by Huxford [29, pp. 108-109] is
apparently an error. Instead, John M. Crawford first married Charity Winn, and after her death,
married Mary Ann Davis, widow of Jeremiah Davis. The whereabouts and other particulars of the
adult John Crawford, son of Ezekiel Crawford, have not been found at this point.
In choosing between Ezekiel and Gideon as the father of John C. Crawford, two additional facts
are important: 1] John C. Crawford had a son, Gideon, but no son, Ezekiel; and, 2] the ages of
the two sons named John. Gideon's son John has a birth year imputed from census records that
more closely matches John C. Crawford's age in later records than does Ezekiel's son John. Both
of these facts favor Gideon as the father. However, Irene's birthplace contradicted John C.
Crawford's report [30, 31] that his mother was born in Georgia. A possible explanation was that
Gideon Crawford was married twice, with John C. Crawford the offspring of his first wife, rather
than Irene. So the hypothesis was formed that Gideon Crawford was married twice, with his first
wife being the mother of John C. Crawford.
This hypothesis was confirmed when Gideon Crawford's War of 1812 pension application [12] was
found and reviewed. In his application, Gideon Crawford stated that he enlisted as a private at
the age of 18 in Captain Samuel Owens/Owings' company of the Georgia Militia. Captain
Owens/Owings' was Captain of the 24th Militia District, which was in McIntosh County [73].
Gideon Crawford also said that he was born in Effingham County, Georgia. He said that he
married Orenna Stone or Slone on 1 October, 1844, after the death of his first wife, Sarah
Burgess Crawford, who died in 1843 in Ware County, Georgia. The information in this application
removed the last remaining obstacle to accepting Gideon, rather than Ezekiel, as the father of
our John C. Crawford. Therefore, it seems reasonable to accept Gideon Crawford as the father
and Sarah Burgess Crawford as the mother of our John C. Crawford.
A Brief Digression on Sarah Burgess
In the 1820 census of McIntosh County [42], a Moses Burgess, age 26-45, is the only Burgess
appearing. He is shown in a household with four females of ages 26-45, over 45, 10-16, and under
10, and a male under 10.
In about 1822, Moses Burgess married Olivia Rozier. This marriage can be reasonably inferred by
considering the following chain of events. Olivia Rozier had filed in 1821 to be named
administrator of Luke Rozier's estate [43], so she was probably Luke Rozier's widow, or perhaps
his daughter. In 1823, Moses and Olivia Burgess filed various notices in the Darien(Ga) Gazette
concerning their administration of Luke Rozier's estate. The conclusion regarding a marriage
between Moses Burgess and Olivia Rozier between the event in 1821 and the events in 1823 is
reasonable. This marriage was probably a second marriage for Moses Burgess. No Luke Rozier
is named in the 1820 McIntosh County census. An Olivia Rozier is the only Rozier appearing
in McIntosh County in the 1820 census.
This Burgess family is perhaps the family of Sarah Burgess. Moses Burgess is possibly Sarah
Burgess' father, or perhaps her brother. She may have been the female age 10-16 or even the
female under 10 in the 1820 census listing for the Moses Burgess household. Since a Burges[s]
family was among the original Highland Scots who emigrated from around Inverness, Scotland, to
settle in Darien, Georgia in the 1730's [44], further investigation of this Burgess family could
provide a direct link between the Crawford family of this article and Scotland.Tracing the Life of Gideon Crawford
In 1820, Gideon Crawford probably lived in McIntosh County, Georgia, in a family household
headed by his brother, James. In the 1820 census of McIntosh County [45], a James Crawford is
found as a head of household. His age is listed as "between 26 and 45". Some researchers have
apparently assumed that this James Crawford was the elder James, brother of John and husband of
Mary Crawford. This incorrect identification of James has led to James and Polly Crawford being
identified as the parents of the seven brothers. Even if James were 45 years old, it is unlikely
that he had fathered a child born in 1790, the approximate year of birth of the oldest of the
seven brothers. Therefore, this James is not likely to be the father of the seven Crawfords.
He is more likely the oldest of the seven brothers, James, who would have been about 30 at the
time of the 1820 census. His father, John, had died prior to 1820. Additional evidence
supporting John's death by 1820 is that Priscilla/Micilla Crawford from McIntosh County drew as
a widow in the 1820 Georgia Land Lottery [75].
Living with James were six other males ranging in age from "under 10" to "between 26 and 45", a
female "under 10", and an older female "over 45" [probably Priscilla.] The ages of the males
and the younger female do not match exactly the ages computed from other census records of the
seven Crawfords. In spite of this inconsistency, the seven males were most probably James and
the other six brothers, including Gideon. The female "under 10" was probably another younger
sister of the seven Crawfords.
In 1820, Thomas, Ruebin, Ezekiel, and William drew as orphans in the Georgia Land Lottery of that
year [75, p. 91; 84]. Their drawing in the lottery as orphans raises an interesting
inconsistency that will be discussed in more detail below. James Crawford drew in the same
lottery. Another person who drew in this lottery was Priscilla/Micilla Crawford [75, p. 91],
who is a central figure in the mystery of the Crawford family. Gideon Crawford drew in the 1821
Georgia Land Lottery [30, p. 52].
The 1830 census of Lowndes County, Georgia [46] includes Ruebin, Gideon, Thomas, and James.
In this census, Gideon appears as between 30 and 40, living with a female of age 20 to 30, a
female of age 5 to 10, and two females of age less than 5. Also in 1830, the four Crawfords
were indicted in Lowndes County for "riot, revolt, and tumult" [38, p. 102]. In the Lowndes
County tax digest of 1830 [77], James Crawford lives on land next to the land drawn by
Priscilla/Micilla Crawford in the 1820 Georgia Land Lottery.
By 1840, Ruebin, Ezekiel and William Crawford had returned to McIntosh
County [48], and Gideon and Thomas Crawford had moved to Ware County [49],
part of which later formed part of present-day Pierce County.
James Crawford continued to live in Lowndes County [47]. In the 1840
census [49], Gideon Crawford's household consisted of himself, of age 40
to 50, a female of age 30 to 40, two females aged 10 to 15, one male and
one female from 5 to 10 years in age, and one male and two females under 5.
In the 1850 census of Ware County [49], Gideon is shown as age 56, with
wife Irene shown as age 40. Listed with them were Gideon, age 15, another
son, John, age 14, a daughter named Earline or Eveline, age 12, and
several other children with the surname of Clark.Table 2
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