Individual Details
William Craig
(29 Apr 1694 - Abt 1760)
According to family legend, William and Margaret met aboard the ship 'George & Anne' on the way to America, fell in love and were married by the ship's captain. Very romantic but quite probably not true. Research indicates that the Craig's, Logan's, Blackwood's, Kirkland's etc. were probably closely linked all the way back to Scotland and that William and Margaret were married in Scotland or Ireland shortly after George Long's death and at least two, maybe four, of their children were born there. Reverend David I. Craig's 'History of New Hope Church', revised 1891, bears out this research as it is his contention also, that their marriage took place in Scotland and that at least the first two children were born either there or possibly in Ireland. I also tend to refute the shipboard romance tradition as just about every family seems to want a shipboard romance or an Indian princess. I'm not a romantic. Also, I find no record of this group of Craigs sailing on any listed ship in 1729. The ship George and Anne was an ill fated ship and, considering the brutality of the captain and the deaths and disasters the passengers suffered, I would expect family lore to carry these events more than a shipboard romance. Until someone proves to me that William and Margaret sailed on this ship I believe they sailed later on another ship. Many family researchers have indicated that their Blackwood, Johnston etc. family members sailed around 1740. Given the close relations of these families even in Scotland and Ireland I will be researching that avenue.
Probably the most reliable source of information about the early Craigs and their related families is "A Historical Sketch of New Hope Church in Orange County, North Carolina", published in 1886 and revised in 1891 by my cousin, Reverend David Irvin Craig, who was descended on both his mother's and father's side from immigrant William Craige. (Suffice it to say that one of the marriages was so close to both sides that most of us who are descended from William are not only double, triple and quadruple cousins but are also cousins as well as parents to our own children. A tremendous number of marriages between cousins has gone on in the family, primarily, in the early days, to maintain family control of the church.) Some of Rev.Craig's work has been found in error and has been changed by subsequent research but most of it remains valid and the basis for what other researchers have discovered since. Another great source of information on the Craigs, et. al., is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. James Craig, son of John, Grandson of William, made this college a reality and Craig Hall, on the campus, is named for the James Craig family. There is also the "Craig Book" which was last known to be in the possession of Mrs. Mason (Eunice Craig) Seay of Birmingham, AL which was written by her grandmother, Mrs. William Moore(Julia Emmaline Montgomery) Craig.
According to family tradition William and Margaret sailed from Ireland on 5/4/1729 aboard the ship 'George & Ann' and arrived in what is now New Castle, Delaware on 9/9/1729 (According to everything I have learned about the George and Anne our Craiges did not sail aboard her.). According to Rev. D. I. Craig their oldest son, John, was already some 13 or 14 years old at the time. As I have stated before I'm not sure of the accuracy of this. They located for a time in Lancaster, Dauphine County, Pennsylvania where Samuel, the youngest child was born in 1740.They are shown in North Carolina in 1750 in the Old Hawfields. My Uncle Fred Craig has a copy of the original land deed forthe property of William deeded from the Earl of Granville.
Pennsylvania, at that time, was sorely tried by the French and Indian wars and it was chiefly on account of hostile Indians and unforgiving cold winters that they left for North Carolina.William Craige and Gilbert Strayhorn had originally reconnoitered North Carolina sometime earlier before deciding to leave Pennsylvania permanently. It was mid winter, and as they passed through Virginia some of the rivers were so completely frozen that they drove their teams over them on the solid ice. They refused to stop in Virginia because the Church of England was there in full force. They finally reached North Carolina where William obtained a land grant from the Earl Granville in the Hawfields.
About 1750 it was rumored, in the Hawfields Settlement, that the title grants which the settlers had obtained through John, Earl of Granville, were not genuine. The rumor proved to be true and many families left their lands and moved to other localities. This was the case with William Craige who moved from the Hawfields about 1750 or shortly thereafter. He and others, Strayhorns/Streaughns/Strains, Blackwoods, Kirklands etc., came into the neighborhood of New Hope where they saw rich bottoms, numerous creeks and springs, spacious meadowlandsand here, after weary wanderings, untold hardships, and anxieties of body and mind, they were inspired with new hopes and, at once, determined upon their permanent home. They looked upon the prospect and called it "New Hope". New Hope, NC is still in existence to this day and is located on NC highway 86 South, between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. Many of the descendants of these pioneers still reside there today.The New Hope Church cemetery is in wonderful condition out in front of the present day church and virtually all who rest there are our ancestors. When I visited there I didn't have my camera with me but the next time I go I will take pictures of all of the stones.
This was the condition of things in 1750-54 when the lands were purchased directly from the Earl of Granville. The oldest purchase in that vicinity was made by William Craige. In 1752 the area was organized as Orange County, North Carolina. The early deed records of Orange County show that on 9/6/1754 the Earl of Granville sold 237 1/2 acres to William Craige on both sides of Batt Creek. Shortly thereafter the Earl deeded two more tracts to him. A 1755 tax list of Orange County lists William Craige and four sons. This was the original Craige family who settled, lived and died about 2 or 3 miles west ofthe New Hope Presbyterian Church. In 1755, William and Margaret Craige sold a 280 acre tract of land. on 4/3/1758 William sold to John Craige the original 237 1/2 acres which had been granted to him on 9/6/1754, for 20 pounds sterling.
The Orange County minutes reveal that Margaret Craige asked for Letters of Administration to her husbands estate early in 1761 which would indicate that William probably died late in 1760. William and Margaret were buried in the Old Hawfields Burying Grounds which, for all practical purposes no longer exists.The Old Hawfields Church and Cemetery is located on the old Ben Wilson place about three miles east of the current Hawfield Cemetery just inside the Orange County line. It is overgrown with weeds and trees and no visible signs of graves. According to old court records, the reason there is no sign of a cemetery today is because, in the 1880s, the owner of the property at the time, Addison Wilson, had "rudely torn down the tombstones and scattered them across the fields" and then plowed up the cemetery and cultivated it in corn. Addison Wilson was indicted in the courts but I have no information on his punishment although I intend to find it. There is a stone monument with the inscription, 'The Old Hawfields Presbyterian Church and Cemetery - 1755-1926'.
I realize that I do not maintain the dates some other Craig researchers give for the births of many of these original Craiges but after sitting and figuring out where many of these people were born and then adding the dates of arrival on American soil, time spent in Pennsylvania, etc., I can't agree with the dates arrived upon by these other researchers. I'm sure they think they have definitive proof but I believe if they will search a little further they will find that what they have is the proof for subsequent Craigs. Generation after generation they named their children the same over and over.Unless you are very careful you will apply someone where they don't belong simply because of the name. I made that mistake a few times but, fortunately, found the link placing them in the right place later. My uncle also carries some of the Nelson children as Craig children but I have corrected that mistake in this work. If others wish not to correct their works that is their business but I will publish this one as I have it as considerable research and effort went into finding andcorrecting mistakes.
William Craige spelled his name with the final 'e' which was dropped by his children and all succeeding generations.
Probably the most reliable source of information about the early Craigs and their related families is "A Historical Sketch of New Hope Church in Orange County, North Carolina", published in 1886 and revised in 1891 by my cousin, Reverend David Irvin Craig, who was descended on both his mother's and father's side from immigrant William Craige. (Suffice it to say that one of the marriages was so close to both sides that most of us who are descended from William are not only double, triple and quadruple cousins but are also cousins as well as parents to our own children. A tremendous number of marriages between cousins has gone on in the family, primarily, in the early days, to maintain family control of the church.) Some of Rev.Craig's work has been found in error and has been changed by subsequent research but most of it remains valid and the basis for what other researchers have discovered since. Another great source of information on the Craigs, et. al., is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. James Craig, son of John, Grandson of William, made this college a reality and Craig Hall, on the campus, is named for the James Craig family. There is also the "Craig Book" which was last known to be in the possession of Mrs. Mason (Eunice Craig) Seay of Birmingham, AL which was written by her grandmother, Mrs. William Moore(Julia Emmaline Montgomery) Craig.
According to family tradition William and Margaret sailed from Ireland on 5/4/1729 aboard the ship 'George & Ann' and arrived in what is now New Castle, Delaware on 9/9/1729 (According to everything I have learned about the George and Anne our Craiges did not sail aboard her.). According to Rev. D. I. Craig their oldest son, John, was already some 13 or 14 years old at the time. As I have stated before I'm not sure of the accuracy of this. They located for a time in Lancaster, Dauphine County, Pennsylvania where Samuel, the youngest child was born in 1740.They are shown in North Carolina in 1750 in the Old Hawfields. My Uncle Fred Craig has a copy of the original land deed forthe property of William deeded from the Earl of Granville.
Pennsylvania, at that time, was sorely tried by the French and Indian wars and it was chiefly on account of hostile Indians and unforgiving cold winters that they left for North Carolina.William Craige and Gilbert Strayhorn had originally reconnoitered North Carolina sometime earlier before deciding to leave Pennsylvania permanently. It was mid winter, and as they passed through Virginia some of the rivers were so completely frozen that they drove their teams over them on the solid ice. They refused to stop in Virginia because the Church of England was there in full force. They finally reached North Carolina where William obtained a land grant from the Earl Granville in the Hawfields.
About 1750 it was rumored, in the Hawfields Settlement, that the title grants which the settlers had obtained through John, Earl of Granville, were not genuine. The rumor proved to be true and many families left their lands and moved to other localities. This was the case with William Craige who moved from the Hawfields about 1750 or shortly thereafter. He and others, Strayhorns/Streaughns/Strains, Blackwoods, Kirklands etc., came into the neighborhood of New Hope where they saw rich bottoms, numerous creeks and springs, spacious meadowlandsand here, after weary wanderings, untold hardships, and anxieties of body and mind, they were inspired with new hopes and, at once, determined upon their permanent home. They looked upon the prospect and called it "New Hope". New Hope, NC is still in existence to this day and is located on NC highway 86 South, between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. Many of the descendants of these pioneers still reside there today.The New Hope Church cemetery is in wonderful condition out in front of the present day church and virtually all who rest there are our ancestors. When I visited there I didn't have my camera with me but the next time I go I will take pictures of all of the stones.
This was the condition of things in 1750-54 when the lands were purchased directly from the Earl of Granville. The oldest purchase in that vicinity was made by William Craige. In 1752 the area was organized as Orange County, North Carolina. The early deed records of Orange County show that on 9/6/1754 the Earl of Granville sold 237 1/2 acres to William Craige on both sides of Batt Creek. Shortly thereafter the Earl deeded two more tracts to him. A 1755 tax list of Orange County lists William Craige and four sons. This was the original Craige family who settled, lived and died about 2 or 3 miles west ofthe New Hope Presbyterian Church. In 1755, William and Margaret Craige sold a 280 acre tract of land. on 4/3/1758 William sold to John Craige the original 237 1/2 acres which had been granted to him on 9/6/1754, for 20 pounds sterling.
The Orange County minutes reveal that Margaret Craige asked for Letters of Administration to her husbands estate early in 1761 which would indicate that William probably died late in 1760. William and Margaret were buried in the Old Hawfields Burying Grounds which, for all practical purposes no longer exists.The Old Hawfields Church and Cemetery is located on the old Ben Wilson place about three miles east of the current Hawfield Cemetery just inside the Orange County line. It is overgrown with weeds and trees and no visible signs of graves. According to old court records, the reason there is no sign of a cemetery today is because, in the 1880s, the owner of the property at the time, Addison Wilson, had "rudely torn down the tombstones and scattered them across the fields" and then plowed up the cemetery and cultivated it in corn. Addison Wilson was indicted in the courts but I have no information on his punishment although I intend to find it. There is a stone monument with the inscription, 'The Old Hawfields Presbyterian Church and Cemetery - 1755-1926'.
I realize that I do not maintain the dates some other Craig researchers give for the births of many of these original Craiges but after sitting and figuring out where many of these people were born and then adding the dates of arrival on American soil, time spent in Pennsylvania, etc., I can't agree with the dates arrived upon by these other researchers. I'm sure they think they have definitive proof but I believe if they will search a little further they will find that what they have is the proof for subsequent Craigs. Generation after generation they named their children the same over and over.Unless you are very careful you will apply someone where they don't belong simply because of the name. I made that mistake a few times but, fortunately, found the link placing them in the right place later. My uncle also carries some of the Nelson children as Craig children but I have corrected that mistake in this work. If others wish not to correct their works that is their business but I will publish this one as I have it as considerable research and effort went into finding andcorrecting mistakes.
William Craige spelled his name with the final 'e' which was dropped by his children and all succeeding generations.
Events
| Birth | 29 Apr 1694 | East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, Scotland |  | ||
| Marriage | 1 Jun 1729 | Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland - Margaret Logan | | ||
| Death | Abt 1760 | Hawfields, Orange Co., North Carolina, | |
Families
| Spouse | Margaret Logan (1695 - 1760) |
| Child | John Craig (1731 - 1816) |
| Child | David Craig (1733 - 1785) |
| Child | Samuel Craig (1739 - 1790) |
| Child | James Craig (1740 - 1821) |
Endnotes
1. Those Incorrigible Conways, Patrick Craig Conway online [http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/], accessed May 2006.
2. Those Incorrigible Conways, Patrick Craig Conway online [http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/], accessed May 2006.
3. Those Incorrigible Conways, Patrick Craig Conway online [http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/], accessed May 2006.