USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > Annals of Augusta county, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871 > Part 23
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suade him from it. Mr. Craig therefore raised a sum of money for him, and giving him a letter to the Hon. Robert Carter, of West- moreland county, then living in Williamsburg, sent him on his way. Mr. Carter did all that was asked of him, furnishing more money to Selim, and securing for him passage to England.
Some time after this Selim returned to Virginia in a state of insanity. In lucid intervals he stated that he had found his way home, but had been rejected and driven off by his father when he learned that the son had abjured Mohammedanism and become a Christian. He came again to Captain Dickinson's, and from thence wandered to the Warm Springs, where he met a young clergyman named Templeton, who put a Greek Testament in his hands, which he read with great delight. From the Warm Springs he went to Mr. Carter's residence in Westmoreland. He awakened the sympathy of all who knew him. Governor Page, while a member of Congress at Philadelphia, took him to that city, and had his likeness taken by the artist Peale. From Philadelphia he went home with a South Caro- lina gentleman. He was also once, or oftener, in Prince Edward county, where he learned to sing Watts' hymns. For a time he was confined in the Lunatic Asylum at Williamsburg, but he finally died in a private house, where and at what time are not mentioned.
The November term, 1764, of the County Court of Augusta was a very busy one. It began on the 20th and continued five days. The proceedings cover seventy-six folio pages. At this term, Silas Hart qualified as high sheriff, and Dabney Carr, of Albemarle, as attorney- at-law. The estates of John Trimble and Alexander Crawford, both of whom had been killed by Indians in October preceding, were com- mitted to their respective administrators. William Fleming, Sampson Mathews, George Skillern, Alexander McClanahan and Benjamin Estill were recommended for appointment as justices of the peace.
Among the orders we find the following : "Jacob Peterson hav- ing produced a certificate of his having received the Sacrament, and having taken the usual oaths to his Majesty's person and government, subscribed the abjuration oath and test, which is, on his motion, ordered to be certified, in order to his obtaining Letters of Natural- ization."
The clerk who wrote the orders sometimes set the rules of gram- mar and spelling at defiance, as witness the following, which we copy literally :
"On complaint of Patrick Lacey, setting forth that his master, William Snoden, doth not provide cloaths for him, nor will Imploy him as his servant : It is ordered that the said Snoden be summoned to
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appear here the next Court, to answer the said complaint ; and it is further ordered that the Church - wardens provide him Necessary Cloaths and that they in the meantime hire him out to such persons that may think proper to Imploy him."
Patrick was no doubt a white "indented servant." His com- plaint came up at March court, 1765, and was dismissed, very likely to the relief of the master, who thus escaped being clothed and hired out by the church - wardens, as the order required he should be.
Another order of November term, 1764, is equally curious : "Ordered that the church - wardens of Augusta Parish bind Michael Eagin of the age of nine years in September last, son of Patrick Eagin, to John Patrick, the father of the said Michael having runaway ac- cording to law."
THE CRAWFORDS.
Alexander and Patrick Crawford, brothers, were among the ear- liest settlers in Angusta county. They are presumed to have been natives of the north of Ireland, like most of their cotemporaries in the county, but nothing can be learned about their early history. The descendants of bothi say there was a third brother who also came to the Valley, but whose name they do not know. It may be that this third brother was the grand father of William H. Crawford of Georgia, whose father, Joel Crawford, removed from Nelson county, Virginia, to South Carolina, in 1779.
Alexander Crawford, the older of the two, married Mary Mc- Pheeters, but whether in Ireland or America is not known. It is re- lated that he was ambitious to be the founder of "a clan," such as we read of in Scottish history, and impressed it upon his children that they must respect the right of primogeniture then existing by law. His oldest son, William, did not approve of the scheme, and thus his father's wishes were defeated. The latter was a skilled worker in iron.
The children of Alexander and Mary Crawford were-
I. William Crawford, who is named first in every list. In an old grave-yard, on a high hill overlooking Middle river, on the farm of the late Ephraim Geeding, is an ancient sand-stone, flat on the ground and broken in two. The inscription npon it, which is nearly illegible, is as follows :
"Wm. Crawford, departed this life October 15, 1792, aged 48 years."
He was therefore twenty years old when his parents were massa- cred. His will was proved in court at December term, 1792. In it he mentions his wife, Rachel, and his children, Alexander, James, John, William, George, Polly, Nancy, Jenny and Rachel. He also alludes
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to James Elliott as a neighboring land-owner, and from this person, probably, the highest point of the Great North Mountain was named.
II. Edward Crawford, second son of Alexander and Mary, gradu- ated at Princeton College in 1775, and was licensed as a preacher in 1777. He was a member of Lexington Presbytery at its organization, Septem- ber 26, 1786, and was appointed to preach for a month in Tygart's Val- ley and Harrison county. At the meetings of Presbytery, in April and September, 1792, at Lexington and Harrisonburg, respectively, he was the Moderator. Subsequently, he became a member of Abingdon Presbytery, living in Southwest Virginia or East Tennessee.
III. John Crawford, third son of Alexander and Mary, was mar- ried three times successively. His first wife was Peggy, eldest daugh- ter of his uncle, Patrick Crawford, by whom he had one daughter, who married Daniel Falls and went to Ohio. His second wife was Mary Craig, by whom he had a son, Samuel, and five daughters. Samuel went to Illinois, and is said to have had sixteen children. Nothing is known of the five daughters, except that one of them, Polly, was the wife of the Rev. Samuel Gillespie of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The third wife of Jolin Crawford was Sally Newman of Fred- ericksburg, and she had five children who lived to maturity : James, William and John, all of whom emigrated to Missouri, abont 1838 ; a daughter, Nancy, wife of LeRoy Newman, her first cousin ; and another, Fanny, wife of Henry Rippetoe, who still survives, (1888. )
John Crawford was a man of great energy and activity. It is said that he was engaged in all the expeditions of his day against the Indians, including Point Pleasant. He was a soldier during the whole Revolutionary war, and when not in the field was employed in making guns and other weapons, having acquired his father's skill as an iron- worker. The day after the battle of the Cowpens, in which he par- ticipated, he was promoted from the ranks to a first lieutenancy on ac- count of his gallantry in that celebrated battle. He was also at Guil- ford, and with General Greene in all his southern campaign. Yet he never would accept pension or bounty lands.
Like his father, however, John Crawford was desirous of acquir- ing a large landed estate, and there was a brisk competition between him and his neighbor, Francis Gardiner (pronounced by tlie old peo- ple "Francie Garner") as to the ownership of the Little North Mountain range. As related, each discovered about the same time that a certain tract of a hundred acres had not been patented, and both sought to acquire it. Gardiner got ahead of Crawford by start- ing to Richmond first, but the latter mounted a blooded mare and never rested till he reached the capital, passing his rival on the way. Crawford emerged from the land office with his title complete, and met Gardiner at the door going in. The mare, which was no doubt worth much more than the land, died from the effects of the trip.
It is a pity to spoil a good story by suggesting a doubt in refer- ence to it, but it must be mentioned that such a trip to Richmond could hardly have been necessary in order to obtain title to vacant land, as the county surveyor was authorized to make the entry. Nevertheless, the main portions of the story are well authenticated.
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The rivalry between the two neighbors waxed hot, and meeting one day while prospecting on the mountain, they became engaged in a fight, of which one or both, no doubt, duly repented.
John Crawford died at his home on Buffalo branch, in January, 1832, and was buried in Hebron church-yard. His tombstone gives his age as ninety-one years, and, if correctly, he was the oldest son of Alexander and Mary, instead of the third.
IV. James Crawford, fourth son of Alexander and Mary, became a Presbyterian minister, and was licensed to preach in 1779. He re- moved to Kentucky, and was for many years pastor of Walnut Hill church, near Lexington. In 1792 he was a member of the convention which framed the first constitution of Kentucky.
V. Alexander Crawford, fifth child of Alexander and Mary, was at the battle of Point Pleasant. His first wife was a Miss Hopkins, and his second a Mrs. McClure. The children of the first wife were Polly, Betsy, Kitty and Sally ; and of the second, James E., William, George, Samnel and Robert. He lived on Walker's creek, Rock- bridge, and was for many years an elder in New Providence church. His death occurred June 19, 1830. Three of his sons .- William, George and Samuel,-died young. Robert lived and died on his father's homestead in Rockbridge. A grandson of his, Rev. Alexan- der Crawford, is now (1888) pastor of a church at Campbellsville, Kentucky. James E. Crawford spent the latter years of his life in the Great Calf Pasture, Augusta. His children are Baxter Crawford and others.
Other children of Alexander and Mary Crawford were, 6. Re- becca, wife of John Sawyers ; 7. Bettie ; 8. Samuel ; 9. Robert ; 10. Martha, who married Alexander Craig of the Little Calf Pasture; and II. Mary.
Patrick Crawford lived on the farm lying on Middle river, east of the macadamized turnpike, now owned by his descendant, John H. Crawford. His wife was Sally Wilson. They had nine children, - four sons and five daughters. In 1756, Patrick Crawford was a inem- ber of Captain James Allen's company of militia, and at a court-martial held September 2, 1757, he was fined for not appearing at a general muster. His will was proved in the County Court, December 18, 1787, and his personal estate, including slaves, amounted to £2,462, 35, 7d, about $8,216.
In regard to several of his daughters, much confusion and uncer- tainty exists. Elizabeth, the oldest child, and wife of Alexander Rob- inson, is said to have been born October 18, 1751, although the Rev. John Craig baptized Martha, daughter of Patrick Crawford, in Novein- ber, 1748. The probability is that this child, Martha, died in infancy and that another born later was called by the same name. The next daughter, Margaret, or Peggy, was the first wife of her cousin, John Crawford, of North Mountain. One daughter is said to have married a McChesney, -her father refers in his will to his grandson, George McChesney. Another daughter, Sarah, married Robert Crawford. Martha, born May 10, 1761, was the second wife of Colonel Andrew
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Anderson; Mary, or Polly, the youngest daughter, was the wife of James Crawford, who will be mentioned hereafter.
The sons of Patrick and Sally Crawford were :
I. George Crawford, to whom his father left the plantation on which he resided. He was born October 1, 1754, and married Nancy Winter. Mrs. Crawford's parents were William and Ann Boone Win- ter, the latter an aunt of Daniel Boone. Elizabetlı Winter, a sister of Mrs. Crawford, married Abraham Lincoln, the grandfather of Presi- dent Lincoln ; and Hannah Winter, another sister, married Henry Miller, the founder of Miller's Iron Works, on Mossy Creek, Angusta county. It may be mentioned that the grandfather of President Lin- coln, then living in the part of Augusta county which is now Rock- ingham, attended a court-martial at Staunton, March 13, 1776, as captain of a militia company. His name was written "Abraham Linkhorn."
All the children of George and Nancy Crawford were daughters, viz : 1. Nancy, wife of John Miller ; 2. Hannah, wife of Harry Mil- ler ; 3. Sally, second wife of James Bell, died childless ; 4. Jane, first wife of Franklin McCue ; 5. Martha, wife of Peter Hanger ; 6. Polly, wife of James Bourland ; 7. Rebecca, died unmarried ; and 8. Marga- ret, wife of James Walker, died childless.
II. John Crawford, second son of Patrick and Sally and known as Major John Crawford, was born March 29, 1764. His wife was Re- becca Allen, daughter of Captain James Allen, and his children were : I. Elizabeth, wife of Captain William Ingles ; 2. Sally, wife of John Hyde ; 3. Margaret, first wife of Cyrus Hyde : 4. James, known as Major James Crawford, married Cynthia McClung, of Greenbrier, whose son, John H., owns the Patrick Crawford farm ; 5. John, mar- ried Harriet McClung, of Greenbrier ; 6. George W., died unmarried ; 7. Ann, or Nancy, second wife of Franklin McCue ; 8. Mary, wife of Dr. Edward G. Moorman ; and 9. Rebecca, wife of Stuart McClung, of Greenbrier.
III. William Crawford, son of Patrick and Sally, was born Au- gust 6, 1767. His wife was Nancy Smith. He lived in Rockingham. and was the father of the late Benjamin Crawford, of Staunton, Wil- liam Crawford, of Fort Defiance, and others.
IV. James Crawford, twin brother of William, died unmarried.
The James Crawford who married Mary, daughter of Patrick Crawford, died in 1798, leaving to survive him his widow and six children. A seventh child was born after her father's death. His sons were George, William, James and John; and his daughters, Sarah, Elizabeth and Polly. George died unmarried and under age ; William also died unmarried, as did James, who was known as "Jocky Jim Crawford ;" John married Margaret Bell, daughter of Major Wil- liam Bell, and died in 1819, without issue; Sarah Crawford married Charles McClung, Elizabeth married Colonel Samuel McClung, and Polly, (the posthumous child), was the first wife of John Allen.
We have found it impossible to obtain any satisfactory account of the parentage of the late Colonel James Crawford or of his relationship with the Patrick Crawford family. His father, said to have been
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named Jolin, died while a young man, leaving two children,-James and Samuel. These boys were reared by a paternal uncle called " Robin," who removed to Kentucky. James Crawford, recently men - tioned, who died in 1798, is said to have been a brother of John and Robin. Colonel Crawford was a lawyer in Staunton for many years. After retiring from the bar to his farm, he was an efficient justice of the peace, president of the county court, etc., etc. His first wife was a sister of Erasmus Stribling, and his second, the widow of his cousin, John Crawford. Captain Samuel Crawford, brother of James, was the Lieutenant Crawford of the war of 1812. His wife was a daughter of the Rev. William Wilson.
THE FLOYDS.
The first Floyds in America were two brothers who came from Wales to Accomac county, Virginia. William Floyd, a son of one of these brothers, married Abilcah Davis, of Amherst county, who was of Indian descent. John Floyd, a son of this couple, was born about 1750. At about eighteen years of age he married a Miss Burwell, or Buford, who was fourteen years old, and died in twelve months, Soon after his wife's death young Floyd went to the new county of Botetourt and engaged in teaching school. When not thus engaged he wrote in the office of Col. William Preston, the County Surveyor, and acted as deputy for Col. William Christian, the High Sheriff. He lived with Col Preston at Smithfield till 1773, then in Fincastle county. Col. Preston was surveyor of Fincastle, which embraced all of Kentucky, and, in 1775, appointed Floyd one of his deputies and sent him to survey lands on the Ohio river. Returning to Smithfield, Floyd formed a matrimonial engagement with Jane Buchanan, daughter of Col. John Buchanan, grand-daughter of Col. James Patton, and second cousin of
Col. Preston. After the Declaration of Independence, several gentle- men, including Dr. Thomas Walker, Edmund Pendleton, and Colonel Preston, purchased a schooner, had it fitted out as a privateer called the Phoenix, and gave the command to Floyd. The schooner started on a cruise to the West Indies, and soon captured a merchantman with a rich cargo. Thinking his fortune made, Floyd retraced his course, and when about in sight of the capes of Virginia, was over- hauled and captured by a British man-of-war. He was taken to England in irons and confined in prison nearly a year. The jailor's daughter obtained the keys and let him out. Begging his way to Dover he found a clergyman, who as his habit was in such cases, con- cealed him and procured a passage for him to France. The French people gave him bread and grapes, aud Dr. Franklin, at Paris, fur- nished him means to return to America.
Floyd arrived at Smithfield to the surprise and joy of his friends, just after Miss Buchanan had agreed to marry Col. Robert Sayers ; but she broke off that engagement and married Floyd in November,
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1778. About 1779, Floyd and his wife went to Kentucky and settled there.
On the 12th of April, 1783, while John Floyd, his brother Charles, and Alexander Breckinridge were returning from Salt River to Floyd's Station, they were attacked by a party of Indians, and Floyd was shot and mortally wounded. His brother leaped on his horse behind him, and supported him in his arms till they reached a house. He died the next day, leaving two sons and a daughter. Just twelve days after his death, a third son was born, whom his mother called John, after his father.
The second John Floyd was born near Louisville, Kentucky, April 24, 1783, as stated. He came to Virginia when he was twenty- one years of age, studied medicine, married Letitia Preston, daughter of Col. William Preston, (to whose narrative we are indebted for these facts,) served in the Legislature and Congress, was Governor from 1829 to 1834, and died in 1837. John Buchanan Floyd, also Gover- nor, etc., was a son of the first Governor Floyd. Their home was in Washington county.
The widow of the first John Floyd married Alexander Breckin- ridge, and became the inother of James D. Breckinridge and other so11s.
THE MCKEES.
Ten or eleven brothers named McKee came from Ireland to America in 1738, and settled near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Three of these,-Robert, William and John, -came to Augusta county, but at what date is uncertain. Their descendants state that it was about 1760, but the records of the county show that John McKee purchased a tract of land in the forks of James river, on August 16, 1752.
I. Robert McKee died June 11, 1774, aged eighty two years, and his wife, Agnes, January 29, 1780, aged eighty-four. They had two sons, William and John.
1. William McKee, son of Robert and Agnes, was born in 1732, and, probably while living in Pennsylvania, was, with his father, at Braddock's defeat. He married his first cousin, Miriam, daughter of John McKee, Sr. His residence was a few miles west of Lexington, and the farm is now (1892) owned by descendants of the Rev. Dr. Baxter. It is said that he was at the battle of Point Pleasant, and if so, probably belonged to Colonel Fleming's Botetourt regiment. He represented Rockbridge repeatedly in the Legislature, and in 1788 was the colleague of General Andrew Moore in the State Convention which ratified the Federal Constitution. He was also one of the first trustees of Liberty Hall Academy. In 1796 he removed to Kentucky, and died there in 1816. He was known in Virginia as Colonel Mc- Kee.
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Samnel McKee, the fifth son of Colonel William McKee, was born in 1774. He was a member of Congress from Kentucky from 1809 to 1817, a State judge, and also Judge of the United States dis- triet court. His sons were Colonel William R. McKee, who was killed at the battle of Buena Vista in February, 1847 ; Judge George R. McKee, and Dr. Alexander R. McKee. Lieutenant Hugh W. McKee, of the United States Navy, a son of Colonel William R., was killed May 11, 1871, in a fight between the men of several war steamers and the Coreans, of Southeastern Asia.
James McKee, the thirteenthi son of Colonel William McKee, was the father of the Rev. Dr. J. L. McKee, Vice-President of Centre College, Kentucky.
2. John McKee, the other son of Robert and Agnes, married Esther Houston, aunt of General Sam Houston. A son of his, also named John, was a member of Congress from Tennessee, and one of the first United States Senators from Alabama.
II. William McKee, the pioneer, died in Virginia. His family moved to Kentucky about 1788-'90, and most of his descendants live in that State.
III. John McKee, the youngest of the three brothers who came to the Valley, lived on Kerr's creek, now Rockbridge. His wife was Jane Logan, and was killed by Indians, as heretofore related. He married a second time, as appears from a deed executed Marchi 14, 1774, by "John McKee and Rosanna, his wife, of Kerr's creek, Angusta county," conveying two hundred and eighty-one acres of land, part in Augusta and part in Botetourt, Rockbridge not having been formed at that time. He died March 2, 1792, aged eighty-four. Several of his eight children went to Kentucky, others remaining in Virginia. His descendants are numerous.
The Rev. Samuel Brown, in his account of the murder of Jane Logan McKee, says : "She besouglit her husband to leave her to her fate, and make his own escape, if possible. This he refused to do ; when she appealed to him for the sake of their children to leave her. If he stayed, being unarmed, they would both be killed ; but if he escaped, their young children would still have a protector. Can we conceive of a more trying condition for a husband ?"
Major George W. McKee, U. S. A., in his account of the McKee family, printed in 1890, vindicates John McKee from the charge of abandoning his wife as related, while he acquits Mr. Brown of any in- tention to misrepresent. He publishes other traditions in regard to the matter, which give a different version of the story. The family account of the death of Mrs. McKee is that she was "milking cows some little distance from the house and, when she discovered the In- dians, gave the alarm in time to have her house closed, then fled in an opposite direction and jumped into a sinkhole. The Indians, who were in pursuit, overtook and tomahawked and scalped her. She lived, however, about two hours and was found and carried into her house before she expired."
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Another version of the story, given by an aged citizen of Kerr's Creek, is as follows :
"When John McKee first discovered the Indians approaching, he and his wife, followed by their dog, left their house and endeavored to reach a thickly wooded hill near by. They had not gone far before Jane McKee, who was in a delicate condition and soon to become a mother, became exhausted and begged her husband to leave her to lier fate and make his own escape. This he refused to do. Seeing, how- ever, near them a sink-hole surrounded by an almost impenetrable thicket of privet and briar bushes, in a hollow in the field, out of view of the Indians, he placed his wife in this and started to give the alarm to the other settlers down the creek. The Indians were about to abandon the pursuit, when one of them, attracted by the barking of the dog, which had remained with her, discovered Jane McKee's hid- ing place. She was scalped and left for dead."
Henry Bouquet was a native of Switzerland. He entered the military service of Great Britain, as colonel, in 1756, was made a Brigadier General in 1765, and died at Pensacola, Florida, in 1766.
CHAPTER VIII.
TEN YEARS OF PEACE.
From 1764, for about ten years, no war or runior of war disturbed the inhabitants of Augusta. They appear to have pursued the even tenor of their way in comparative security. On court days Staunton was doubtless crowded with people. Litigation was brisk ; the nun1- ber of causes tried in the county court exceeded anything known in modern times. Hunting or trapping wolves was one of the most im- portant industries. Every year the court granted certificates for hundreds of wolf heads, and for more or less winter-rotted hemp, for which also the law offered a bounty.
The last hostile inroad by Indians into the Valley occurred, it is said, iu 1766 .* We mention it because it was the last, although it did not occur in Augusta. A party of eight Indians and a white man crossed Powell's Fort mountain to the south fork of the Shenandoah river, now Page county. They killed the Rev. John Roads, a Mennonist minister, his wife and three sons. A daughter, named Elizabeth, caught up an infant sister and escaped by hiding first in a barn and then in a field of hemp. Two boys and two girls were taken off as prisoners, but one of the boys and both girls were killed while crossing Powell's Fort mountain. The other boy returned home after three years. The place where one of the lads was killed while endeavoring to escape is still called Bloody Ford.
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