Who Is this James Crawford?

Have you ever run across a record in a county you've been researching and have no idea how the person in the record fits with known families in that area? Well, that's my situation -- and it is anoter James Crawford.

James and Martha Crawford sold land in Barren County, Kentucky. Tax lists for Barren County show a James Crawford with 200 acres on the Marrowbone River. These tax lists also show another James Crawford with 50 acres on the Marrowbone. This second James Crawford is thought to be James and Sally (Smith Duggins) Crawford.

I've also identified the family of David Crawford who died in Barren County, KY in 1812.

Now, I've found a deed for a James Crawford and Patsy his wife selling land in Wythe County Virginia to Peter Kinson. This 1806 deed indicates that James and Patsy were living in Montgomery County, Ohio at the time.

Using Land to Verify Heirs

One of the challenges I regularly face when researching my Crawford brick wall is trying to verify the identity of a James Crawford. That is the case with my attempt to rule out David Crawford of Barren County, KY as the father of my ancestor, James Crawford.

The 1812 will of David Crawford indicates he had a son named James, James Fisher Crawford to be exact. I believe that the James F Crawford in the 1860 and 1870 census records is this same James Crawford.

Unfortunately, I haven't found a record that clearly proves that the James Crawford in the census record is the same James Crawford in the will. However, I have found three land records that may provide supporting evidence. One is a partition of land by the sons of James F Crawford. Another deed is the purchase of land by the 'Heirs of David Crawford.' The third deed is the sale of land by Polly Crawford to James Crawford. I believe the partition deed is referencing the land from these other two deeds.

Deed Crawford to Kinson

I found the following deed in Barren County for a James Crawford and his wife, Patsy. This James Crawford was living in Montgomery County, Ohio in 1806. I currently do not know anything about this James Crawford.

Vols. Before A 1798-1807 Vol. A 1799-1899
FS Film 209719 DGS 7899149

Vol. A page 277 Image 270

Page 277
Crawford to Kinson

Will David Crawford of Barren County, Kentucky

One of the tasks handed me during my 'Brick Wall' Consultation was to review all of my data and document the elimination of individuals as potential fathers to James Crawford (1772-1854) of Preble County, Ohio.

Thus, I'm digging thru both my memory and my files. My memory was telling me that I had found a will for a Crawford in Barren County, Kentucky that eliminated this person as a father to James. Digging thru my files, I found some handwritten notes about a will in Barren County, Kentucky.

Dooley

Have you ever seen a name in a deed or court document and thought to yourself, 'Hey, I've seen that name before?' Well that was my situation when I was looking at tax records for Barren County, Kentucky.

Since I found James Crawford with 200 acres of land on the Marrowbone listed on the 1800 tax list for Barren County, KY, I started looking for other people owning land on the Marrowbone. That's when I found Moses Dooly Junr also owning 200 acres of land on the Marrowbone.

Not only was Moses Dooly Junr in Barren County, but so was his father and brothers.

Barren

Have you ever re-looked at some tax records and discovered that you can now figure out who these people might be when before they were just a list of names found in that county?

Well, that has been my experience as I'm going back thru some of my Crawford Kentucky research in hopes that it leads me back another generation.

I've recently re-looked at Madison, Lincoln and Garrard county tax lists and combined with land records, I have a much better understanding of who the various Crawfords listed in these tax roles are. Since I have deeds indicating James Crawford (husband of Martha Knight) lived in Barren County, Kentucky, I decided to re-look at those tax records.

I first searched the Barren County KY tax lists some time ago. Based on the "V20-0014" notation on my notes, I'm guessing I used the American Genealogical Lending Library to research these records at home.

Barren County Connection

Have you ever questioned whether an ancestor lived in a certain place because the migration path was illogical?

Well, that is the case with our Crawford research. James Crawford and Martha Knight were married in Lincoln County, KY in 1793. James Crawford and Sally Duggins were married in Garrard County, KY in 1799. Both families migrated to Preble County, Ohio.

So when clues pointed to at least one of them being in Barren County, KY (South of Lincoln and Garrard), those clues were questioned because it seemed illogical for these couples to migrate South before migrating North to Ohio.

That gut feeling was proven incorrect when a Barren County deed was discovered. This 1821 deed was for the sale of land by a James Crawford of Preble County, Ohio. Records place both James Crawfords in Preble County, Ohio at the time. So far, no record has been found for a third James Crawford in Preble County, Ohio in 1821.

Since the deed identifies the wife of James Crawford as Martha, this deed places James and Martha owning land in Barren County, KY. Another set of deeds for the sale of land in Garrard County, KY by Rebecca Crawford and James Crawford, both of Barren County, provide additional evidence that James Crawford was in Barren County, KY (See Rebekah's Land)