Which James Is the Son of Alexander?

Do you ever look at someone else's tree? Do you trust other trees? Do the number of sources attached to the tree matter? Do you trust Ancestry public member trees more than the global tree on FamilySearch?

For the most part, I look at trees and I use them for hints. I prefer trees with sources other than other trees but will look at any tree that seems to match what I know about a family. I also use the tree on FamilySearch for hints.

Recently, I've been frustrated when looking at trees for any of the James Crawford families with roots in early Kentucky. For some reason, many of them seem to lead back to Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters as parents.

To see if my impression was wrong, I decided to do a search of Ancestry's public member trees for a James Crawford with parents of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters. My search turned up 50 trees.

Assuming I counted correctly, I found the following:

• 12 trees showing a James Crawford who died in 1803 in Fayette County, KY
• 3 trees showing a James Crawford born in 1752 and dying in 1753
• 3 trees showing a James Crawford who married Jean and died in 1791
• 1 tree showing a James Crawford who married a Llewellyn and died in 1847
• 9 trees showing a James Crawford who married Rebecca Anderson and died in 1836
• 1 tree showing a James Crawford who married a Vansandt and died in 1836
• 6 trees showing a James Crawford who married a Frazier and died in 1811
• 2 trees showing a James Crawford born in 1748
• 3 trees showing a James Crawford born in 1735 and dying in 1825

A search of My Heritage resulted in an even broader selection of James Crawfords linked to Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters.

Finding this many different sons of Alexander and Mary (McPheeters) Crawford named James made me curious if I would find the same type of results on the collaborative sites.

When I searched FamilySearch for James Crawford with parents Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters, the results contained only one James Crawford -- the one who died in 1803 in Kentucky.

A search of WikiTree for James Crawford, son of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters also resulted in only 1 result. Again the resulting James Crawford was the one who died in 1803 in Kentucky.

When I did a search on Geni.com for a James Crawford with a parent named McPheeters, I again only got one James Crawford. However, this James Crawford was born in 1710 and died in 1753.

The Find A Grave memorial for Alexander Crawford who died in 1764 contained a link to the James Crawford who died in 1803. A search for some of the other James Crawfords in the Ancestry trees did not locate a memorial with a connection to Alexander Crawford and/or Mary McPheeters.

I find these results intriguing! The colloborative trees - especially FamilySearch where anyone can change anything - have come to a consensus as to which James Crawford is the son of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters. In contrast, the member trees of Ancestry and MyHeritage appear to connect any and every James Crawford born in Virginia around 1750 as a son of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters.

So, which one is correct? Right now, I'm siding with the Rev. James Crawford who died in 1803 in Fayette County, Kentucky as the son of Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford. My position is based on several biographies identifying this James as the son. The book, Memoir of Rev. Samuel B. McPheeters, is one of the sources connecting the James Crawford of Fayette County to Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford. 

Unfortunately, I haven't found a deed, probate record or court record to support these biographies. I also haven't found any record connecting any of the other James Crawfords, including my ancestor, to Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters.

This confusion around the various James Crawfords and his parents not only makes it harder to make sure one isn't making a 'wrong turn' in a tree, but it also affects DNA results. 

Perhaps if we could assemble all of these James Crawford researchers in one location we could figure out the puzzle of who the parents are for each of these men. Then I might be able to figure out where my James Crawford fits in. I can only dream!