Our Craig Descendants

(Scotland/Ireland)
 

    Supposedly this line of Craigs is descended from William Craig and his wife, Jean, who came to America from Northern Ireland with three sons:  Robert, James, and John, in 1721-22.  It is believed that William Craig was born near Edinburgh, Scotland in 1685, that he married Jean Stuart, and moved to Antrim, Ireland in 1711, where his three sons were born:  Robert, 1713; James, 1715; and John, 1716.  William came to America with his family, as well as three brothers: Thomas, Daniel, and James, and his three sisters:  Margaret, Jane, and Sarah. 

 

    Also, more information correlates that William Craig is of the Craigs of Craig Castle near Edinburgh.  His brothers and sisters are:  1- Colonel Thomas, 2- James, 3- Daniel (ancestor of President Theodore Roosevelt), 4- Margaret, 5- Jane, 6- Sarah; and that William and his family lived in or near Kennett Square, London Grove, Chester County.  Some speculation places the family coming from County Down as well as County Antrim in Ireland, before immigrating to America.  Also, it is a family tradition that the family was in the siege of Londonderry and also in the Battle of the Boyne (1690).

 

    All sources agree that upon his arrival in America, William and his family resided first in Lancaster or Chester County, PA, then in Augusta Co., VA in 1744-45.  His son, Robert Craig, may have preceded the family by a couple of years.  William settled on Cub Run in present Rockingham Co., VA, which was then a part of Augusta Co., VA, about a mile from the Shenandoah River.  He was a Scotch-Irish Covenanter Presbyterian and that family tradition also states that he and his family helped to construct the Old Stone Church in Augusta Co., VA.  The line of descendants from his son James is better documented than those of Robert and John Craig.
 

**Source: Gleanings of Virginia History by William Fletcher Boogher. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia by Lyman Chalkley. Early Western Augusta Pioneers by George W. Creek, Will Book 7, p. 90, Augusta Co., VA and Augusta Court Order Book No. XV, p. 174, Aug. 1773.

 

Generation 1

 

1 William Craig (b. 1685 Edinburgh, Scotland  d. Nov. 26, 1759 VA) married Jean Stuart.

 

Children of William Craig and Jean Stuart:

 

2   i       Robert  b. 1713  d. 1788  Augusta Co., VA

2  ii       James  b. 1715  d. Feb. 7, 1791

              2 iii       John  b. 1716  d.?

 

 

Generation 2

 

 

2 i  Robert Craig (William ¹ Craig) married Grizel ? (d. before Oct. 1787. 

      *Note:  They resided on Middle River near MT. Meridian, Augusta Co., VA and moved to Greenbrier
        Co., VA (now WVA).  In several records, it states that Robert Craig was in Captain John Smith's                 
        militia in 1742. The Nicholas Co., WVA Craigs claim descent through Robert Craig.

 

Children of Robert Craig and Grizel ?:

 

3    i      John  b. 1741?

             3   ii       Robert II  b. 1750? (named Robert II or Jr. in several sources) d. Sept. 20, 1804
                             Greenbrier Co., VA (now WVA)

              3  iii       William

              3  iv      James

              3   v      Anne

              3  vi       Rebecca

              3 vii       Margaret  (married David Laird)

              3viii        daughter

              3 ix         daughter

              3  x         daughter

 

 

2 ii  James Craig (William ¹ Craig) married ?

 

Children of James Craig and ?

             

             3  xi       James, Jr.

              3 xii        William

              3xiii        George

 

 

Generation 3

 

 

3 ii  Robert Craig, II (Robert ² Craig) married Nancy "Agnes" Johnson.  Nancy Johnson is the daughter
       of James Johnson and Susanna ? 

       *Note:  Robert Craig II is believed from sources to have served in Captain John Given's Company of
        Militia in Augusta Co., VA from Oct. 1777 to Mar., 1782, with two uncles and three cousins.  The
        roster lists the following Craigs:  James Sr. (second son of William ¹ Craig), William (son of
        James ² Craig), James Jr. (son of James ² Craig), George (son of James ² Craig) and Robert.  He fought
        at the siege of Yorktown, VA at the close of the Revolutionary War.

 

              Children of Robert Craig and Nancy Johnson:

 

             4    i                      Robert III  b. Nov. 15, 1772 Greenbrier Valley, WVA  d. Nov. 4, 1858 Braxton Co.,
                             WVA

              4   ii       Mary 

             4  iii       Nancy

             4  iv       Margaret

             4   v       Jane

             4  vi       Elizabeth “Betsey”

             4 vii       Rebecca

           4viii       John  d. in infancy

 

 

Generation 4

 

 

4 i  Robert Craig III (Robert ³ Craig) married Frances Pinnell (b. March 1791, Culpepper Co., VA?  d.
      May 1833) on December 9, 1810 in Greenbrier Co., WVA.

      *Note:  Marriage performed by Frances Pinnell’s brother, Rev. John Pinnell.  Robert Craig III
        bought a farm near Frankford, later known as the Jack Livasy farm.  He moved to Muddlety Valley,
        Nicholas Co., WVA in 1837.

 

              Children of Robert Craig and Frances Pinnell:

 

              5  i         John James   b. Nov. 17, 1817  d. 1912

              5 ii         Elizabeth Agnes  b. April 7, 1828  d. 1949

              5iii         Sarah Frances   b. Dec. 26, 1831

 

 

Generation 5

 

 

5 i  John Craig (Robert ⁴ Craig) married Sarah Frances Hawver (b. 1823  d. 1890) in 1839.

 

              Children of John Craig and Sarah Hawver:

 

              6  i         Robert Armstrong   b. 1840  d. 1841

              6 ii         James Samuel   b . 1842  d. 1914 

              6iii         Peter Hamilton   b. 1844  d. 1939 

              6iv         John Hill   b. 1847  d. 1938 

              6 v         Cynthia Frances   b. 1850  d. 1923 

              6vi         George Washington   b. 1858  d. 1952  m Bettie Ann Robinson 1879 (b. 1861 d. 1954)

 

 

5 ii Elizabeth Craig (Robert ⁴ Craig) married Murray J. Bruffy (b. 1827  d. 1914) in 1849.

 

 

5 iii  Sarah Craig (Robert ⁴ Craig) married John A. Spinks in 1852.

 

 

Generation 6

 

 

6 ii James Craig (John ⁵ Craig) married 1. Elizabeth H. Boggs (b. 1845) in 1862.

 

6 ii James Craig (John ⁵ Craig) married 2. Ellen Frances Miller (b. 1845  d. 1913) in 1869.

 

 

6 iii  Peter Craig (John ⁵ Craig) married 1. Rebecca Ann Rapp (b. 1850  d. 1888) in 1869.

 

6 iii  Peter Craig (John ⁵ Craig) married 2. Delilah Adeline Duffield (b. 1858  d. 1940) in 1891.

 

 

6 iv  John Craig (John ⁵ Craig) married Victoria Williams (b. 1852  d. 1916) in 1870.

 

 

6 v  Cynthia Frances (John ⁵ Craig) married 1. Franklin Atwood in 1869.

 

6 v  Cynthia Frances (John ⁵ Craig) married 2. Francis Marion O’Dell in 1886

 

 

 

Generation 7

 

 

William Henry Craig II married Bettie Frances Watson.

*Note:  They lived in the Sandiges area of VA.

 

Children of William Craig II and Bettie Watson:

 

7i        William Henry III

7ii        Kathleen Watson

 

William Henry Craig II married Lilly Watson Kent (b. Oct. 27, 1882  d. Dec. 29, 1973.)  Lilly Watson Kent is the daughter of Bernice Kent Beall

 

 

Generation 8 

 

 

7i    William Henry Craig III married Jean Drinkwater.

 

Children of William Craig III and Jean Drinkwater:

 

8i        Living son

 

 

7ii    Kathleen Watson (William Craig II) married Benjamin Silas Beahm on March , 1937 in Baltimore, Maryland.

*Note: KATHLEEN WATSON and BENJAMIN S. BEAHM eloped.  For more information on BENJAMIN S. BEAHM, see BEAHM genealogy.

 

Children of Kathleen Watson and Benjamin Beahm:

 

8ii        Living Daughter (married Donald Meadows)

8iii       Temple   (stillborn)

8iv       Living Daughter   b. June 21, 1945 Springfield, VA

 

 

Generation 9

 

8i    Living Son married Bonnie ?

 

Children of Living Son and Bonnie ?:

 

9i        Living Daughter
9ii       Living Daughter

9iii      Living Son

9iv      Living Daughter