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--WILLIAM CRAWFORD--  from "God Feeds the Crows" written by Myra Singleton Johnson

Just when William and his family left Ireland for America cannot be proven with certainty but it is believed that it was about 1810. Few passenger lists survived the passage of time; however perusal of ships' passenger lists during this era yields several Crawford men bearing the first name of William, thus making the task a difficult one of determining which of these men is our William. 

The decision to leave his homeland of Ireland must have been a difficult one, but also one which became more and more intriguing to William as his family gathered around the warmth of the hearth in their Irish home on cold wintry evenings reading letters and discussing news received from family members and friends who had already made the long journey to America. News was widespread that the Colony of South Carolina was offering 100 acres of free land to each head of household who brought his family to settle there! A century was coming to a close and 1798 was a year of changes as the Irish began pressing the issue of freeing themselves from England's rule and such rebellious organizations as the secret society calling themselves "The United Irishmen" was formed. This Society instigated a revolt of the Irish against England, but when France failed to come to their aid the attempt proved futile. The revolt was viewed harshly by the English who proceeded to hand out severe punishment to those who had participated. In defiance, many Irishmen began to flee Ireland by booking passage to America. 

The Crawford family had received news and letters from members of the Whiteford, Nichols, Hunter, McGowan and McWilliams families who had already ventured abroad. These letters urged them to consider making the journey. David Whiteford was among the first to go, having arrived in South Carolina by 1790 and settling along Cane Creek, a tributary of the Saluda River about 5 miles north of the Laurens-Newberry District line. Three years later, Irish brothers, James and Matthew Hunter, arrived and began acquiring large amounts of property on Mudlick Creek and Little River. John McGowan immigrated about the same time, arriving in 1791. By 1801 his brother, Patrick McGowan had arrived along with Samuel and Alexander McWilliams. These men traveled to America aboard The Sallie which sailed from Belfast in the Fall of 1800. The journey was long and treacherous; The Sallie being delayed at one port for several long months while repairs had to be made. They finally reached the American coast and departed at Port Charleston. Soon they had settled into farming the South Carolina soil. Records are on file which show that on February 22, 1806, Alexander McWilliams purchased 253 acres of land from John and Matthew Hunter for $493.33 "on a branch of Mudlick waters of Saluda River." He established his family a home there and began to build a life in a new and promising land. Soon he was sending letters back to Ireland with boasts about his new prosperity.  

William Crawford's life is as filled with mystery and legend as that of his youngest son, Robert would, years later, prove to be. One old family legend says that William A. Crawford was stirred by the rumors and letters arriving from America and made the decision to leave Ireland's County Antrim about the year 1810, bringing with him his wife and at least five small children. 

Crowded and unsanitary conditions in the cramped passenger quarters aboard those small ships caused diseases to run rampant and William's wife fell victim to this hardship. She became desperately ill and, lacking proper medical care, died before the ship reached land. As her body was being lowered overboard, William suddenly remembered that she had hidden in a pouch pinned inside her bodice the family's small savings. Realizing this fact too late to retrieve the pouch, he had no choice but to stand watching as his wife was buried at sea taking with her all means of his family's financial support. William was left financially destitute to begin a new life in a strange land for himself and his children.  

After docking at Charleston Port in South Carolina, again according to legend, he made his way to a settlement where friends from the old country in Ireland would offer assistance and aid. William found work and settled his children on land near Liberty Spring, named for its significant part in the War for America's Independence. His homestead was near the farm of Alexander McWilliams, and perhaps he even worked for the McWilliams family. This move proved to be a fateful step for William as Alexander's sixteen year old daughter, Esther, soon fell in love with him. By the following year, she had become the second Mrs. William Crawford and step-mother to his small children. As Esther and William began their life together, they also began a family of their own, as on July 8, 1812 Esther presented William with a son, whom they named John Alexander. The next year a daughter, Jane Lyle Crawford was born. Ten more children would be born to the couple by 1835.  

William must have been a great help to his father-in-law and evidently earned his respect as Alexander mentioned William, along with his own children, in his will. The will written and dated March 30, 1813 was proved on April 4 that year and reads as follows: 

[Note: the above is the grammar, spelling and punctuation as it appears in the will.] 

Esther's father evidently died within a few days after writing his will as it was proved only five days later. The following week on April 9, 1813 four men (most likely neighbors) were appointed by the Court to appraise Alexander's estate. These men were Samuel Goodman, Alexander Austin, Thomas Ligon and David Reed. The men went quickly about their task and their report listing Alexander's belongings was submitted the same day they were appointed and read as follows: Swine $17.25; One Mare $40.00; Saddle and Bridles $2.00; Plantation Tools $10.00; Empty Barrels $1.50; Household Furniture $26.05; Seed Cotten $16.00; Some Plank $1.00; Body Clothing $4.00; 1 Darey and Bacon and Hoges Lard $12.00; Pottery $1.00; A quanitty of Corn Fodder and Oats $27.00; Wheat and Oats Growing in the Ground $7.00; and Horned Cattel $38.00. The total appraised value of Alexander McWilliam's estate amounted to $203.86. 

On the last day of April two of the Executors of the will, Samuel Leeman and John Wiseman, conducted the public sale of the belongings. The sale brought in $177.77, considerably less than the appraised value; the major difference being in the mare which, with the saddle and bridle included, only produced $26.36 in cash. Names of the buyers were not set down in writing and there is no further information on the estate settlement until almost two years later when the Executors submitted a final report to the court. On 7 January 1815 Samuel Leeman and John Wiseman made oaths to the court that all debts and demands against the estate had, at long last, been settled. 

Just how the children of Alexander McWilliams accepted the fact that their brother-in-law was mentioned in the will cannot be assumed*; however, William Crawford did obtain a portion of his father-in-law's land, but not through inheritance. Records of land purchases show that on October 13, 1813 (six months after Alexander's death) "....we the heirs of Alexander McWilliams....in consideration of the sum of $56.40 paid by William Crawford....have granted, sold...to said Crawford 40 acres on waters of Mudlick Creek...being part of a tract of land originally granted Matthew Hunter and by him sold to Alexander McWiliams." The deed was signed by Andrew and John McWilliams and "X'd" by Jane and Mary, their sisters. John Wiseman, Samuel Leeman and Thomas Ligon, witnessed the transaction.

(*Noteworthy, however, is the fact that the heirs listed were either sons or unmarried daughters.  William's wife, Esther, is not mentioned in the will other than the fact that she is William's wife.  It's a pretty good guess that Esther's inheritance was merely in her husband's name.  -- Carol Ann Crawford Guilbert)  

Lacking today's landlot numbering system makes it difficult to pinpoint with certainty where William and Esther's forty acres were located but the transaction description of the time stated "...it being bounded on the east by Nicoles and south and west by the said McWilliams land and west by William Ligon's land and north by Obd Meshecks..." This meant that just to their western boundary on William Ligon's land was the establishment known as Ligon's Private Enterprise, a combination general store/blacksmith/and tavern. This business was owned and operated by William and Thomas Ligon and was a gathering place for those residents who lived between Cane Creek and Mudlick Creek. Up until 1814, the post office for the area was at Black's Store and Mill, about two miles east of Mudlick Creek's headwaters, where a bridge had been constructed across Little River. The stagecoach route from Columbia to Greenville and from New Orleans to Washington ran past this store and mill. [Note: In 1814 the post office was moved to Huntsville (named for the prominent Hunter family)]. It was in this general vicinity described above that William and Esther Crawford resided and went about the tasks involved in their daily lives. 

For whatever reason, several years after acquiring the forty acre parcel of land, William and Esther decided to move across the Saluda River into South Carolina's Abbeville District. They made a nice profit on the sale of the forty acre plot of land to Samuel Austin which was  

recorded on August 9, 1823. The deed reads, "I, William Crawford of the county of Abbeville....for the sum of three hundred and thirty two dollars....paid by Samuel Austin....do grant bargain sell....forty acres of land situate & being in District of Laurens aforesaid on waters of Mudlick bounded by Andrew McWiliams south west lines by Hugh Lemans north by Obediah Mesaks east....it being part of a tract of land originally granted to Matthew Hunter and by him sold to Alexander McWiliams and sold by his heirs to Wm Crawford aforesaid...signed sealed and delivered, Willm Crawford." The deed of sale was witnessed by William Whiteford and Esther's brother, Andrew McWilliams. William Whiteford was the son of David Whiteford of Cane Creek. David, had been one of the 1790 emigrants from Ireland's County Antrim. William had married a daughter of Alexander Austin, a neighbor of both William Crawford and the McWilliams family. 

Just what prompted Samuel Austin to pay this high price for land which William Crawford had purchased for only $56.40 is most likely because it adjoined property already in his family's possession. When Samuel's father wrote his will in 1826 he mentioned the tract of land as "Crawford's tract" even though it was already in ownership of his son by that time. 

William and Esther's family was expanding at an almost yearly basis. The sale of his forty acre tract at such a good profit probably afforded them a means of obtaining a larger house for their family. In addition to the children who made the voyage from Ireland with their father, and the children, John Alexander and Jane Lyle, who were born in the early years after the marriage of William and Esther, three more daughters and four more sons had arrived by 1825. Patrick had been born about 1815; Matthew about 1818; Mary L in 1820, a girl whom they named Esther and a son named William soon after that. Then, David and Anna followed as members of this already large family. Martha made her debut about 1827; with Elizabeth being born three years later. The last child of Esther and William was born about 1834. He was given the name Robert. 

By 1836, when baby Robert was about two years of age, the Indians in Georgia and Alabama were being removed from their homelands to reservations west of the great Mississippi River. This removal of the Indians opened vast territories of choice land to settlers who migrated by the hundreds arriving in wagon trains, on horseback, and by foot into the newly opened areas to claim homesteads. Whole communities sometimes grouped together to form wagon trains and move their families into the new territories in Georgia and Alabama. William, Esther and their children were among these adventurous frontier families. This time, they crossed the Savannah River and ventured about 150 miles from their home in Abbeville District, South Carolina into the State of Georgia near where the Henry and DeKalb County line is located today. They were joined in the move by their family, friends and neighbors. Esther's brother, John McWilliams, moved with them and settled his large family in the same vicinity. Rumors of "rich land along the Chattahoochee and South Rivers which could produce 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of cotton per acre and being worth up to $25 per acre" was quite a lure for farmers who saw a means of being given free land for fields on which they could grow very productive crops. 

On arriving on Georgia soil, the Crawford and McWilliams families settled about ten miles southwest of a massive formation of exposed rock. These pioneers named their new settlement, New Gibraltar. This name was later changed and the community is today known as "Stone Mountain". 

The Crawford and McWilliams families moved yet again and the decade from 1840-1850 found them living at a community called Panthersville, which is located about four miles south of Decatur, the county seat of DeKalb County. The hills and river bottom lands along the South River had long been home to very large cats who had lived in harmony and mutual respect among the Indians of the area. These animals were still found in abundant numbers after white settlers invaded the area; in such quantities in fact that the settlement was named for them. 

DeKalb County records give us information recounting the marriages of at least five of William and Esther's children; however since no will has been found among these records for William; his death date cannot be determined exactly. That he died sometime between 1840 and 1850 can be assumed since Esther is listed as head of household on the 1850 Georgia, DeKalb County, census. Some family historians claim that William lies buried in the Decatur, Georgia City Cemetery. Still living at home with their mother when the 1850 census was taken were, Mary age 27, Martha age 25, Elizabeth age 20 and young Robert, age 17.  

Esther was enumerated in 1850 as the owner of the fifty acre farm on which she lived with ten of those acres listed as "improved". She owned one horse, three milch cows, which had supplied fifty pounds of butter over the year, two other cattle and eleven swine, all valued at $100. She had harvested 150 bushels of corn, 4 bales of wheat, and 6 bushels of sweet potatoes. Two bales of cotton had been ginned which produced about $90 to $100 in cash; money which made it possible for Esther to provide for her family the things they could not grow or make for themselves. 

William and Esther provided for their children as parents throughout time have strived to do-- provide them with love, religious guidance, food, shelter, clothing, discipline and an education. From my grandmother, Mary Etta Wilson Taylor, I came to possess a book which had belonged to her grandmother, Martha Jane Jones Crawford. This cardboard covered book has a handsewn binding holding the covers together. There is no date for publication but the book is titled, The Christian's Consolations Against The Fears of Death. Today, it rests on a shelf of an armoire in my bedroom, a silent witness to many Crawford family secrets. It is proof that at least some of William and Esther's children obtained an education as several of their names are written on its pages. It also bears witness that religious instruction was a part of this Presbyterian couple's daily life.  

The margins of this book's pages yield several intriguing entries. One reads "William Crawford Book 1843". The date of William's death is not known and this could provide proof that he was still alive on that date which would place his death sometime in the next seven years, as we know that Esther was a widow by 1850. However, in 1843 Esther had a teen-aged son also named William and this entry may refer to him. On the page opposite this entry is written "Georgia Henry Co April the 30 1843". Evidently, the family lived for a period of time in Henry County before crossing the border into DeKalb. The handwriting on these two entries appears to be of the same hand. 

Someone, perhaps William or Esther, or maybe one of their children made several entries inside the book's cover pages. "Sunday the last day of October 1841", the word "Our" and "1825" directly beneath "1841", then a line and "16". This may have been the calculation of someone's age. Then "365" and "19 '", written beneath. The names "Martha Crawford" and "R M Crawford" are written; then "Robert" is written three times below these names. This is interesting, as it could have been one of the parents writing the names of two of their children, Martha and Robert; or, these entries may have been made years later after the book came to belong to Robert, youngest son of William and Esther, who married Martha Jane Jones. Perhaps this is the handwriting of Martha or Robert himself.  

Another name found among these writings is "Richardson". The name "William" is visible above the first "Richardson", probably this is William Richardson who married the young Esther Crawford. Near the center of this page, smudged and barely visible is the name "Anna", another child of William and Esther. Anna also married a Richardson boy. 

Still another page's margin has the name "David A. Crawford", another of the sons of William and Esther McWilliams Crawford. Page 476 bears the name "Robert M Crawford" twice in the margin. Another page, the year "1847"; yet another, the words, "Esther Crawford Drilincourt". The meaning of this is a mystery as Esther married a Richardson and the name Drilincourt has not appeared in any family search. 

How the book came into the Crawford family's hands is not proven. It would be a romantic notion to believe that William brought it with him as he crossed the Atlantic leaving the shores of Ireland far behind. It could have been purchased in America, or perhaps given to the family by their friend and neighbor, William Whiteford as page 21 of the book has an interesting notation handwritten in the bottom margin, "William Wightford book." Remember that William Whiteford was a close neighbor of William Crawford when he lived on Mudlick Creek, and he witnessed the sale of William's land to Samuel Austin in 1823. His father had migrated from Ireland in the 1790's and settled in South Carolina.  

After all speculations are taken into account, what remains are the facts that this irreplaceable family heirloom has survived at this date more than 157 years, we know by calculating today's date (1998) less the earliest entry (1841). It passed into Martha Jones Crawford's hands as a result of her marriage to Robert and from her to her youngest daughter, Theodocia. From Theodocia it passed to her daughter, Mary Etta; then to her daughter, Grace and finally to myself, the daughter of Grace.  

The question of whose handwriting is shared with us on these old pages will forever remain a mystery but I am most grateful to the person or persons who penned them as they gave me positive proof that I was on the right track as I began the research into this family's history and began to uncover the names of the members of Robert's family.  

Research and shared genealogical information from other Crawford sources can account for a dozen of William and Esther's children. Those whom no data is available for are Caleb, Mark, Samuel, Thomas and Rebecca. 

Family legend again takes precedent in the case of Rebecca and belief is that she died at the young age of fourteen. No birth or death dates are available.  

In the story involving Caleb, it is doubtful if there was a child of William and Esther by that name. In the 1880's a descendant of the couple, named William Caleb Crawford, tried to reach members of his family by writing several letters from Texas to relatives still living in South Carolina and Georgia. It is quite possible that through the passage of time some family researcher heard of these letters and assumed he was a son, thus adding his name to the list of children, when, in fact, he was a grandson. 

Mark Crawford is even more elusive. In the early census indexes for South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas there is no listing for Mark. A number of Martin Crawfords are found, but no Mark.  

In the search for Thomas Crawford, attention is drawn to a news article printed in The South Carolina Temperance Advocate on July 6, 1848. It reads..... "Another outrage. We are sorry to learn that Mr. Thomas Crawford, a citizen of this neighborhood, but the present overseer for Mr. B. F. Sloan, at his plantation on the Georgia side of Tugalo River, was on Saturday last, struck by one of the negroes, a severe blow on the head, with a hoe, which fractured his skull in a dreadful manner. Mr. Crawford lingered in great pain til Tuesday, at which time he died..." Perhaps this man who died so tragically was William and Esther's son. 

As for Samuel, more information has been discovered but with questions. A Samuel B. Crawford resided near Panthersville at the same time William and Esther lived there. On the 1850 census, Samuel Crawford, age 56, born in South Carolina lived in Henry County, Georgia. If this Samuel B. Crawford is William and Esther's son, he was born about 1794 and would have been one of the children making the sea voyage with his parents. The South Carolina birthplace reported on the census record is probably in error [a well accepted fact among genealogists], so this could well be the missing Samuel. 

Caleb, Mark, Thomas, Samuel and Rebecca are claimed by earlier family historians to be among the children of William Crawford. They are assumed to be the children of William and his first wife and were born in Ireland. Genealogy is an on-going research and perhaps more can be discovered about the lives of these five in coming years. We cannot rule out the possibility that these children may not have lived to reach adulthood or another possibility is that they returned to Ireland, the land of their birth, and joined family members who still resided there. 

Learning the names of the known children (there may have been others), we know that William Crawford had fathered at least 17 children. To try to chronicle the history of such a large family as this using a method which would follow all their lives simultaneously from year to year would be difficult for any reader to follow because they became scattered across the southeastern United States as they reached adulthood. I have decided that the most productive and coherent approach will be to set forth the known facts and information about each child of William and Esther Crawford in a chapter to be devoted to each one.