William Hamilton Crawford
and Family of Woods Creed,
Tyler County, Texas
Submitted by Carolyn Willson
Why The Crawford Family?
William Hamilton Crawford, who migrated to Texas in the 1850s settling in the Woods Creed area of Tyler and Polk Counties, comes from a proud and noble Scot heritage. The Crawford family can trace its lineage to the Norman Conquest of England and even further to Charlamagne, Holy Roman Emperor. My Mother, Dollie Mae Parrish Willson is descended from this family, and it was because of my Grandfather, Shine Parrish that I began to research this line in 1992. Many members of the family are easily researched because of contributions made to the history of not only the United States, but also other areas where they lived.
Origins of the Crawford Surname
The name Crawford is thought to be of Norman origin. Originally, the name, "Crawford," was identified as an actual place in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The area located where the Clyde River winds down through the high moors of a marshy valley toward the Irish Sea. The area received its name according to legend, when a common ancestor of the Crawfords, Mackornock, who during the battle on the waters of the Cree in Galloway, enabled his allies to gain the advantage by discovering a ford.
The actual meaning of the name has several suppositions. The name Crawford literally means in Galelic, "The Pass of Blood." Cru translating to bloody, and a ford being a pass or way. The name could also be derived from Crodh and port, pronounced crofort signifying in the ancient language of the Scots, " a sheltering place for cattle." Therefore, the name Crawford or Crauford is territorial in origins as a Scottish surname, from Crawford in the upper reaches of Lanarkshire.
Alan Crawford, one of the earliest of this surname according to the research of E. J. Clements was married to Bertha (Berta). Bertha was the daughter of Conan, the Duke of Brittany in France. Bertha was the great-granddaughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. Matilda was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, who was a descendant of Alfred the Great and Charlamagne. If the Crawford coat of arms and the Brittany coat of arms are compared there is a definite resemblance.
. The Crawford name appears in early Scottish documents, the first time in the mid 12th century when John de Crauford witnessed Abbot Arnold’s charter to Theobald Flamaticus of the land on the Douglas Water. It is believed that John de Crauford was the stepson of Baldwin de Bigir who also witnessed this charter.
Another Johannes or John Crawford was the lord of the fief of Crawford and the one of the earliest ancestor of the Crawford name. In the year 1140, he took as his surname that of the land he held as a feudal lord. His descendants did the same.
It is to be noted that another Sir Reginald Crawford was appointed sheriff to Ayr in 1296. Reginald Crawford died at the hands of the English King Edward I on June 15, 1297. His sister, Margaret was the mother of Sir William Wallace (Braveheart), the famed Scot patriot. The Crawfords rallied with Sir Wallace in his fight against English domination.
The three main branches of the Crawford Clan of Scotland have descended from the family of sheriffs of Ayr. In 1320, a brother of the second Sheriff of Ayr received a grant of lands of Auchinames from Robert the Bruce. A younger son to the first mentioned sheriff gave rise to the Crawford of Craufordland, and Robert confirmed his claims to this fief in 1391. The third family, that of Kilburnie is derived from Sir John Crawford, who acquired estates of that name in 1499.
Famous Crawfords
The most historically colorful marriage by a Crawford woman is that of the granddaughter of Ranald or Reginald Crawford of Corsbie in Ayrshire. This marriage has already been mentioned. Margaret Crauford (Crawford) married Sir Malcolm Wallace of Ellerslie in 1297. The children of this marriage included Malcolm, John, and William as well as two daughters. The daughters were much older than their famous brother, William. Each had a son, Tom Halliday and Edward Little; who became William Wallace’s faithful companions, although they were his nephews.
The most politically advantageous marriage was that of Sir John Crawford’s daughter to David Lindsay, ancestor of the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, the chiefs of the Clan Lindsay. This is where the associations between the Crawford name and that of Lindsay originate. Sir David Lindsay became the first Earl of Crawford in 1398, and the coat of arms derives from this period.
The marriage of Margaret Crawford to Sir Malcolm Wallace has led to a renewed interest in this branch of our family due in most part because of the renewed interest in William Wallace after the debut of the Mel Gibson movie, "Braveheart". According to James Macray, Wallace’s biographer, the family of Crawford traced it origins to Thorlongus; an Anglo-Saxon chief who was expelled from Northumberland during the Norman invasions by William the Conqueror. Thorlongus was able to obtain a fief from King Edgar of Scotland at the beginning of the twelfth century in Merse. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, Sir Reginald de Crauford married the heiress of Loudoun. This Loudoun heiress became the grandmother of Sir Ranald or Reginald Crawford, who was the grandfather of William Wallace. It is from Sir Reginald Crawford and his sons that the branches of our family are descended.
Some of the more notable Crawfords in the United States include Colonel William Crawford, Pennsylvania pioneer and Indian fighter. Colonel Crawford was a close friend of George Washington; Indians murdered Crawford in the Ohio Territory in 1782. Another family member is William Harris Crawford who ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in 1828 against Andrew Jackson. Ironically, Andrew Jackson was distantly related to the Crawford family also. Dr. William Crawford Gorgas, who as a army doctor was responsible for the eradication of the mosquito that caused yellow fever in the Panama Canal Zone. Dr. Gorgas’ work enabled the United States to successful build the canal.
Eighteen Generations To Jesse Howell Crawford
There are eighteen generations between Sir Reginal Crawford and Jesse Howell Crawford, the father of William Hamilton Crawford. Jesse Crawford was born February 4, 1795 in Effingham County, Georgia. His parents were William H. Crawford and Martha Bailey.
Jesse Howell Crawford was married four times. By two of his four marriages he produced thirteen children. Jesse married Florah Graham the daughter of Flora (Scruggs?) and Archibald Graham circa 1814 in Georgia. They were the parents of the following children:
Jesse married Hettie Clark on June 3, 1839. Hettie was the daughter of James Clark. She was born sometime before 1815 and died circa 1848 in Mississippi. The children of this marriage were:
Jesse’s third wife was Terry Gin, the daughter of Jeptha Ginn and Penina Magee. She was born circa 1801 in North Carolina and died on July 23, 1858 in Washington Parish, Louisiana. Jesse married fourth, Caroline Rails circa 1859; she survived him as a widow when he died on March 11, 1869 in Pile County, Mississippi.
William Hamilton and Charles Felder Crawford’s families both migrated to different areas of Texas. William Hamilton Crawford’s family is listed as residents of Tyler County in the 1860 census for the state of Texas. The census lists William Hamilton Crawford as being 48 years old, while his wife is 38. Sarah Ann Strahan was born in Mississippi; her parents were John A. Strahan, Jr. and Susannah Slater. There are four children listed in the census; E. A. (Eliza Ann Hasseltine), J. R. (Jesse Reeves), S. U. (Susannah Unicy), and C. A. The two youngest children were born in Texas, while the birthplace of Eliza Ann and Jesse is given as Mississippi.
Levicey W. Crawford and Florah Evelyn Crawford, also daughters of this family were married by the 1860 census and listed in separate households with their husbands.
Levicey W. Crawford was born on May 30, 1836 according to her tombstone at the Mt. Hope Cemetery at Chester. She married Calvin A. Barnes on December 3, 1856 in Tyler County, which means that the Crawford family was living in the area at least by that date. Florah married the nephew of Calvin Barnes, Eli James W. Barnes on August 17, 1859. Florah was born circa1844. She was fifteen when she married and her husband was twenty-five.
In 1861, another daughter was born the William H. Crawford family, Theodocia Elizabeth. Theodocia married James Davis Harbison, September 10, 1887. About one year later, the last child in the Crawford family was born, Lenora J. Lenora later married Jeff D. Strahan on December 12, 1887.
The census for 1870 lists the Crawford family as residents of Polk County, even though they had not moved. The county line had been adjusted. William Crawford’s age is 60, and by 1870 his wife Sarah Ann is deceased. William Hamilton’s occupation is listed as farmer with taxable property worth $500.00. Crawford was also a Primitive Baptist minister in Mississippi and Texas, following the occupation of his father, Jesse Howell. Living with William in 1870 are his children, Jesse, Nisa (Susannah Unicy) Dossia (Theodocia), and Norah (Lenora). Jesse is twenty years old in this census. Eliza Ann became the second wife of William Lowe on April 12, 1866. Sarah Ann and William are probably both buried in graves in the Crawford Cemetery which is located just inside the Tyler County line, where the family lived until the deaths of Jesse Reeves Crawford and his wife, Sarah Hardy.
In the 1880 census of Polk County shows that William H. Crawford is deceased because Jesse Reeves Crawford has become the guardian of his younger sisters, Susannah, Theodocia, and Lenora. Jesse Reeves Crawford married Sarah Hardy, the daughter of Redirk (Richard R.) and Angelina George Hardy on April 21, 1874. Jesse was born October 23, 1849 and died January 29, 1910. Sarah was born June 1, 1851 in Tyler County and died on August 16, 1886 in Tyler County.
The Crawford family is recorded as part of Supervisor’s District No. 7--Enumeration District No. 71--Precincts 4 and 5. The family lived at Woods Creek.
The Jesse Crawford household was definitely full and must have been very lively. Jesse was married, twenty-five years old and guardian of three younger siblings, as well as the father of four. Also living with the family was an aunt, Eliza Ann Strahan Hyde Miller, who is listed as divorced. Mrs. Miller was Jesse’s maternal aunt. Mrs. Miller had married a Mr. Pleasant Miller on July 21, 1854 in Tyler County, and sometime before 1880 they were divorced. A cousin, age ten, named Lula Gore is also living with Jesse and his family. I have assumed this must be Mrs. Miller’s grandchild.
Jesse Reeves Crawford was the father of seven children. Those children were
The Siblings of Jesse Reeves Crawford
Levicey W. Crawford married Calvin Barnes the son of James Barnes in 1856. Both of these individuals were born in Mississippi. Children in this family include William James Addison Barnes, Milton Barnes, Mary Elizabeth Barnes, Sarah Adaline Barnes, Eliza E. Barnes, Laura Vista Barnes, Levicey Virginia Barnes, and Virginia Barnes.
Eliza Ann Hasseltine Crawford married William Lowe in 1866 in Tyler County. She was his second wife. According to the 1870 census the following people were members of the William Lowe household: Susana Lowe, John B. Lowe, Sarah Lowe, William J. Lowe, Frances Lowe, Irene Lowe, and Eliza Lowe. Only Frances, Irene, and Eliza are the children of Eliza Ann and William Lowe.
Florah Evelyn Crawford married Eli James W. Barnes on August 17, 1859 in Polk County, Texas. Their children include
Susannah Unicy Crawford (circa 1854-Uknown) was a spinster living with her brother until 1885, when she married Peyton Pullen. She was his second wife. The Pullen family was early pioneers of Tyler County.
C. A. Crawford, the youngest son of the William Hamilton Crawford family died as a child. He died before the 1870 census and is probably buried in one of the unmarked graves at the Crawford Cemetery.
Theodocia Elizabeth Crawford married James Davis Harbison on September 10, 1887. Both Theodocia and James died within days of each other in August of 1888 during a fever epidemic. Their children were Vina Harbison and Eliza Jane Harbison. Eliza was born on May 20, 1888. Eliza and Vina were raised in Alabama by their paternal uncle, William Harbison. An aunt of the girls, Martha Calvert Hales cared for the orphans until their uncles, William and John Harbison could come from Alabama to take the girls back to their father’s childhood home. Their great-grandmother, Elizabeth McCutchen Calvert and William Harbison raised them. Both Vina and Eliza Jane died never knowing anything about their mother’s family, except that she did have a brother named Jesse Crawford.
Lenora J. Crawford married Jeff D. Strahan on December 13, 1887.
Susannah Unicy Crawford Parrish
My great-grandmother grew up on Woods Creek in Tyler County, Texas. On January 9, 1901 she married Uriah Hamilton Parrish, the son of Jacob Thomas Parrish and Docian Sims. She and Uriah met when the Parrish family moved to the Polk County side of Woods Creek in the 1880s. Uriah was ten when his family moved from Alabama to Texas.
The Jake Parrish family lived for about four years at Woods Creek. At that time Jake purchased 360 acres on the west side of Hickman Creek near Center Grove in Polk County for $2.00 and acre from the state of Texas. He built a house, and the family farmed and raised cattle. They also had a large fruit orchard, which included an orange tree.
When Susannah Unicy and Uriah married in 1901, the ceremony took place at the bride’s home in Tyler County. The women of the community served a supper after the wedding. Members of the Parrish family provided music, including Jake, who played the fiddle.
The young couple lived with the Crawford family for a short time after their marriage. Jesse R. Crawford gave the couple fifty acres of land and twelve head of cattle. After Jesse’s death the couple sold the land and moved to Center Grove. In 1912, Uriah Parrish purchased five acres for a house place from his father--in a horse trade. Uriah and Unicy built a dogrun style house on this five acres. The house is now the home of Greg and Wendy Parrish. In 1922, Uriah built another house that his son Raymond lived in until his death. This house and seventy-five acres cost $1,000.00. Uriah and Unicy owned cows from the original twelve head until the 1960s. My great-grandmother would never allow my great-grandpa to sell any of the cows without her permission--after all they had originally been from her father. By the time the descendants of the twelve original cows were sold they and their descendants had provided food, clothing, and other necessities for the family for over fifty years.
The children of Uriah and Unicy Crawford Parrish are Othie Parrish Dickens, Eliza Burt Parrish, Shine Parrish, Jesse Jacob Parrish, Raymond Roosevelt Parrish, Edith Parrish Kirkwood, and U. H. Parrish.
Each year the Crawford and Parrish families have a reunion at Center Grove, Polk County, Texas. Many of the William Hamilton Crawford’s descendants still live in the Woodville, and Tyler County area, and they as well as other attend the reunion. I will be happy to share the information that I have on the older branches of this family, but for the purpose of this essay I will discuss only the Crawford family in Texas.
Carolyn Willson
cwillson@livingston.netBack to the Tyler County Links Page