Notes for DAVID CRAIG:

Known as THE OLD SOLDIER, from Shirley McNeely

Shirley also lists his birth date as aroung 1720 born either in Scotland or Ireland.

DAVID CRAIG'S FAMILY IN MAURY COUNTY, TENNESSEE

From Mrs. Craig R. Daly

Craig-Links Vol. VI No. 2

June 1985

In 1806 Mrs. David (Eleanor Johnston) Craig and four of her five sons moved from Orange County, N.C. to what is now Maury Co., Tennessee to claim a 3,200 acre grant given to the late Capt. David Craig. This grant was located in the Southern part of the county, three miles from where Mt. Pleasant is today on the West Side of Big Tom Bigby Creek. (Family records.)

At the time they came, not a tree was marked where Mt. Pleasant now stands. Wolves, bears, panthers and other wild beasts infested the country. They bought salt, sugar, and coffee from Franklin on horseback. This was taken from "The History of Hunter Meeting House and its Cemetery Records" by McKennon & Hendrix, 1984, p. 44. (Note: Franklin is at least 35 miles north and is the County seat of Williamson Co. from which Maury was carved in 1806 or 7.)

Before they left North Carolina, Mrs. Johnston Craig, my great, great, great, grandmother baked sacramental bread to use on their journey. A piece of this bread was handed down in my branch of the family. I vividly remember the day in the late 1920's when I opened the trunk where it was kept and discovered it had completely disintegrated.

During the fall of 1810 the Craigs had the grants surveyed. Two hundred acres were set aside to be sold to pay the surveyor, the remaining three thousand acres was divided in five as equal as possible parts. Captain David Craig had stated in his Will that each son was to receive an equal share of his land. Book A, Page 361, Orange County, N.C. On December 17, 1810, Johnston Craig, William, Samuel and David Craig, the sons of David Craig, met at the Court House in Columbia and signed an agreement to stand by the tract they drew of pay a $5000.00 penalty. Samuel signed for John. Then they drew. The lots they drew were recorded. Maury Co. Tenn. Abstract Book C, p. 130.

Tennessee Genealogical Records, p. 226, 28 Jan. 1813: John Craig of Orange Co., N.C. by his atty. Samuel Craig, conveys 585 acres on Bigby Creek to David Richard and Jennings. (Samuel) 28 Jan., 1813: Samuel Craig conveys 500 acres on Big Tom Bigby Creek, being part of tract granted to David Craig to William and Alexander Glass. March 1813, Johnston Craig conveys 130 acres (being part of a 3200 acre tract granted to David Craig by N.C. Grant #40) to William Stockard.

Mrs. David Craig, nee Eleanor Johnston was born 1744 (DAR record) in Anandale, Scotland and married David Craig in 1768. Lost-Links p. 30. she is buried at Hunter's Cemetery just southeast of Mt. Pleasant, Maury Co. Tennessee. Her tombstone reads: "Ellender Craig, departed this life 13 Nov., 1831 in the 88th year of her age." I'm not who her parents were. George Johnston and Catherine McNeil were the names handed down to me, but I can't find proof of this. Henry Johnston in his book Gentle Johnstons & Their Kin, says "I cannot positively identify the parents of this Eleanor Craig, but Mrs. Farris H. Craig informs me she was born in Scotland, the daughter of a John Johnston who moved to Mecklenburg Co., N.C. and it is believed that Eleanor was living there when she married David Craig." No source of information given, but Marjorie Barkley sent me this copy. Mrs. Dora Whisenant of Haymarket, Virginia recently sent me this information: John Johnston, 1740-1818, brother of Eleanor Johnston Craig, married in 1774 Martha Allison 1758-1850, son Alexander Johnston married Eleanor Craig, dau. of William and Mary Blackwood Craig. Alexander b. 1791, died 1832. Eleanor Craig 1795-1824. John Johnston was in the Battle of Hanging Rock and Kings Mountain. he was born in Scotland and died in Maury Co., Tennessee. His widow applied for a pension in 1841 in Maury Co. and stated her husband was a Rev. War Soldier serving in Col. Watrous Regiment. The above was found in Mt. Pleasant Library in the Hugh Cooper Family Book.

William Craig, son of Capt. David and Eleanor Craig was born 18 Nov., 1773, Orange Co., N.C. died 13 Oct., 1840 in Maury Co., Tenn. In 1794 he married Mary Blackwood, dau. of William Blackwood II and Margaret King, dau. of John and Hannah King. John King's will can be found in Book A, p 290, Orange Co., N.C. William II, (Will Book E, p. 229, Orange Co. N.C.) was a son of Wm.. Blackwood I, emigrant (Will Book A, p. 129, Orange Co., N.C. 1772 ) and Elizabeth Craig, thought to have been the sister of William Craig the emigrant.

According to the Rev. David Craig, William and Mary had 13 children. Mary is buried at Hunter's Cemetery. Her tombstone reads: Mary Craig, consort of William Craig, dau. of Wm. Blackwood, died 31 January 1835, aged 58. No doubt William Craig is buried there also, but his grave is not marked. There are hundreds of unmarked graves there. His will is on file in Maury County. William is the only one of the sons that remained in Maury County for the rest of his life.

Johnston Craig, 1774-1848 married Martha Blackwood, 1781-1856. They were married by Rev. Wm.. I. Thompson, Presbyterian Minister, New Hope, Orange Co., N.C., 3 May, 1798. Martha was a sister of William Craig's wife, Mary. In 1806 they moved to Tennessee with Mrs. David Craig.

Johnston and Martha had 14 children and they lived to see them all married. Very few of the children remained in Maury County. Seven of them moved to Lebanon, Missouri, and after the death of Elizabeth, her husband Alex Pickard and family moved to Parker Co., Texas.

In Goodspeed's HISTORY OF TENNESSEE, Hickman County, p 912, in a writeup of Sidney A. Craig, son of James, grandson of Johnston....: Johnston Craig was a successful farmer and stock raiser, was a Whig in Politics and was many times solicited to represent his county in the state Legislature, but having no political aspirations always declined. He was a member of the Old Presbyterian Church, and was prominently spoken of as "The Noblest work of God" and "an honest man".

In 1838 Johnston sold his land in Maury County with the idea of moving to Mississippi-- maybe to join his brother David. However, his health began to fail so he moved to a farm out from Summertown, Lawrence Co., Tenn.--perhaps ten miles south. Here he remained the rest of his life. Johnston is buried at Hunters Cemetery in Maury County. He was 73 yrs., 9 mo. and 29 days old.

Martha lived until 1865. the story goes that she was attending a church camp a Mt. Joy, Maury Co. After a particularly emotional service she was found dead in her chair. She is buried beside her husband.

My great grandfather Capt. Peyton Henry Craig was raised by Wm. Blackwood III, a younger brother of Martha and Mary B. Craig. Peyton's mother Amanda Copeland Craig died two or three weeks after his birth. At her death Martha left Peyton, Johnston's Bible -- Published in 1791. Johnston wrote in front that he purchased the Bible in Hillsboro, N.C. 1799. Inside this only notations are the date of his and Martha's birth, when they were married, and by whom. this Bible was handed down to my Great Aunt Sallie Craig Boyd, daughter of Peyton. she gave it to me -- along with much family history and old pictures. Aunt Sallie died in Waynesboro, Tennessee in 1970 at the age of 102. Peyton also got a beautiful Grandfather's clock that Johnston and Martha brought with them from N.C. This clock was in our home for over 20 years before Great Uncle William Blackwood Craig decided he wanted it after all. His daughter, Lilliam Kirk of Winter Haven, Florida has the clock now. Uncle Will died in 1979 in Winter Haven.

John James Craig b. 1779, Orange Co., N.C. died 1838, Florence. Alabama. He married first Mary Wood. John was the son that did not move to Tennessee when his mother and brother moved out. He did move to Tennessee later, but I do not know when, where, or for how long. John and Mary had six children. One of them, Rebecca, was born in Tennessee in 1817. The next child John Jr. was born in Alabama in 1820. His second wife was Mrs. Eleanor Thompson Cox. They had 4 children. Lost Links p.103.

David Craig, Jr. was born in Orange county, N.C. in 1783. he married first Nancy Stockard 1783-1828 (Hunter's cemetery, Maury Co., Tenn.) sister of Robert Stockard 1775- 1837, and buried beside his sister. Nancy and David had nine children. After her death, David married Mrs. Mary (Gale) Isom. David and Mary did not have any children. She had two by a previous marriage, Sarah and Dr. Thomas Dudley Isom. Sarah married David's son John Johnston by first marriage. some time after 1831, David and all of his family moved to Lafayette Co., Miss., the County seat of Oxford, Miss.

Col. Jas Corbitt of Martin, Tenn. wrote me that there is a Craig Cemetery near Oxford where David Craig, Jr. and family are buried. Col. Corbitt and his wife made a trip to Oxford one year for a "Pilgrimage of Homes". On this tour was Dr. Thomas Dudley Isom's house. Dr. Isom moved to Miss. when it was Indian Country. He built the inner part as a log cabin and later added to it. It is a very beautiful ante bellum home now.

Samuel Craig was born 25 December, 1785 almost two months after the death of his father, Capt. David Craig. He married Philadelphia Gordon. The Gordons moved out to Maury County from Orange Co., N.C. about the time the Craigs did.

Samuel sold 500 acres of his share of the Craig grant in 1813. The same year he moved to Lauderdale County, Ala. and had a log cabin built (9 miles north of Florence) for a dry goods store to secure the Indian Trace. (See History of Florence Alabama by Jill Garrett.) They had several children. Samuel's brother, John moved to Florence a few years later.

James Mitchell 1765-1843, Rev. soldier was the son of Andrew Mitchell and his wife Mary McCowan who were married in County Limerick, Ireland, came to America, lived in Pennsylvania for a while then moved to Orange County, N.C. James married Mary Craig 1771-1844 dau. of Capt. David and Eleanor J. Craig. They were married in 1789, he in his 24th. year and she in her 18th. James and Mary Mitchell had 14 children--11 of whom lived to marry.

In 1803 James sold the family home he had inherited from his father and he and the family headed West. First they stopped in Buncombe County, N.C. From there they moved to Logan County, Ky. (now Todd Co.) In 1808 James Mitchell visited the Craig family in Maury County, Tenn. He went back to Ky. sold his land and moved to Tennessee the same year. he got a warrant for 640 acres of land on the west boundary of the Craig Grant. Here James and Mary Mitchell spent the rest of their lives.

Only two of their sons and one daughter remained in Maury County. One of the sons died at the age of 25, a few months after his marriage. The daughter died a few months before her mother. The others moved to Alabama, New Orleans, Hot Springs, Arkansas, Missouri, Memphis, Tenn., and my great great grandfather Sam Craig Mitchell to Ashland, Wayne Co., Tenn.

Parts of this information from Autobiographical Sketches of Rev. George W. Mitchell, 1900. He was the 14th. child of James and Mary Mitchell.

(imported from WFT #796 - 2 Feb 1998)

first to PA then to NC

Was 2nd Lt. in Captain William Cole's company during the American Revolution. Ultimately promoted to Captain. (from North Carolina Colonial Records, Vol. 10, pp. 518, 759) From Patrick Craig Conway

520 Myers Lane

Lebanon, KY 40150-9540

Feb. 1998

Notes for ELEANOR JOHNSTON:

Buried in Hunter Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.

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