John Crow

I have been told John Crow was born February 23, 1736, in Baltimore County, Maryland, the son of John Crow and his third wife, Judith Magee.  I have been told John was my 4th great grandfather.  

(Note: I believe John was born later than 1736.  I base this on census records and the age John would have been when he began his family.  The 1790 census indicates he had 4 sons born 1774-1790 and 3 daughters born prior to 1790.  The 1800 census indicates those 4 sons were born between 1785 and 1790.  We did not find any of his sons listed on the 1800 census, so believe they were all still living at home at that time.  Two of the daughters did not appear on the 1800 census, so they had either died prior to 1800 or had married and left home.  We believe John probably did not start his family before about 1780, at which time he was about 44 years old.)  

John may have served with the Chatham County, North Carolina Militia, in 1772, in Captain Isaiah Hogan's Company.

John married my 4th great grandmother, Sarah (last name unknown).  (Note: By by figures, they probably married about 1779, as I believe their first child was born about 1780.)  Census indicates Sarah was born about 1755-1760. 

Records show that on January 11, 1790, John Crow bought 320 acres of land in Rutherford County, North Carolina, on the waters of Little Hickory Creek "adjoining Harrold's old corner and Batis", from Ruben Crow, a hatter, of Chatham County. John later willed this piece of land to his son James, who was my great-great-great grandfather.

John appears on the 1790 Hillsborough, Chatham County, North Carolina, census. He is shown as free white male 16 and over (b. bef 1774). With him are four free white males under the age of 16 (b. 1774-1790) and four free white females.

 We believe John purchased 150 acres of land at Stumpy Mountain in May 1796, from Stephen Crow and his wife Margaret. We have found a number of land transactions concerning John Crow. At this time we do not know if all these transactions involved our John, or if some of them involved another John Crow. We do know that our John Crow became a wealthy planter, with a great deal of property and a number of slaves. Joy Crow Barnes (now deceased), a descendant of John Crow, indicated in her studies that John also acquired a land grant in 1797.

The 1800 Chatham County census shows John Crow, a male 45 and over (b. 1755 & bef); four males age 10-15 (b. 1785-1790); four males under 10 (b. 1791-1800); one female 26-44 (b. 1756-1774); one female 10-15 (b. 1785-1790) and two females under 10 (b. 1791-1800). He also had one slave.

In February 1806, John purchased 75 acres of land on the north side of Haw River from Josiah Copeland. This was referred to as the "Copeland Place". John later willed this piece of land to his son Jesse.

The 1810 Chatham County census shows John, a male 45 and over (b. 1765 & bef); one male 26-44 (b. 1766-1784); one male 16-25 (b. 1785-1794); two males 10-15 (b. 1795-1800); one female 45 and over (b. 1765 & bef) and one female 16-25 (b. 1785-1794) and one female 10-15 (b.1795-1800).   John's sons, Jesse and Ruben, and their families were living near John at that time.

The 1815 Chatham County tax list shows John Crow paid one white poll tax and two black poll taxes, and paid taxes on 400 acres adjoining George Brewer and 75 acres adjoining John White, called "the Copeland Place".

John Crow signed his will on May 25, 1815, in Chatham County. In it he named his wife, Sarah, and children Ruben, James, John, Jesse, Gabriel, Johnson, Rachel, Elizabeth, and Sarah.

John died between the time he signed his will and the time of the 1820 census. We believe he probably died soon after signing his will.

John's widow, Sarah, appears on the 1820 Chatham County census. She is shown as a female age 45 and over. With her is one male age 16-26 and one female age 26-45. The census also shows two male slaves and five female slaves. The census shows that three people were engaged in agriculture. Living not far from Sarah, was her son James Crow, who was my great-great-great grandfather.

The 1830 Chatham County census shows Sarah, her daughter Elizabeth and her son James and his family all living in the same household.  Sarah is shown to be between 70 and 80 years old.

Sarah died about 1830-1833 in Chatham County.

Census indicates John and Sarah probably had at least thirteen children. Only nine children were named in John's will, which was dated 1815, so we assume the other children died prior to that date and left no heirs to claim their part of the estate.

Although other researchers have provided us with dates of birth for part of those children, our findings do not agree. If all the children listed on the census records were John's children and not other family members, the 1790 census indicates he had 4 sons born 1774 -1790 and 3 daughters born prior to 1790.  (Seven children born prior to 1790.)

The 1800 census shows the 4 sons that were listed on the 1790 census and indicates they were were born 1785-1790.  The census shows 4 more sons were born between 1790 and1800.  The 1800 census shows one of the daughters that was listed on the 1790 census and indicates she was born 1785-1790.  The other two daughters that appear on the 1790 census had either died prior to 1800 or were old enough to have married and left home before 1800.  The census shows 2 more daughters born between 1790 and 1800.   (Six additional children born between 1790 and 1800.)

We are listing only those children of whom we have record.  We will use our dates, as we believe them to be more correct.  We are speculating on the birth order of the children, judging from census records.

Children of John Crow and Sarah