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Note: Three related Crawford men came to NE Mississippi in the late 1830s: old Archibald, John, and Robert.
Robert arrived first as a single man and settled near Old Lamar, Marshall Co, MS (now NW Benton Co). John and his wife Mary Jane and three young daughters, as well as Archibald and his wife Margaret and four daughters in their teens to early twenties plus their young son also named Archibald all settled in the Southern Division of Desoto County (now Tate Co) on the same farm. John Crawford and his wife, Mary Jane Sullivan were married in Robeson Co, N.C. On the 1820 U.S. Census for Robeson Co, N.C. Mary Jane Sullivan's father Isaac Sullivan is listed two names above Archibald Crawford. Thus it is highly probable that all three of these Crawford men were originally from Robeson Co, N.C.
Unfortunately family stories passed down and later recorded confused Robert for old Archibald. In fact, old Archibald had been completely forgotten in these stories. They incorrectly indicated that Margaret Crawford was the wife of Robert Crawford, making Robert the father of the four daughters and son, young Archibald. However, Desoto Co, MS Probate Court Records currently housed in the Desoto Co Genealogy Library in Hernando clearly reveal that Archibald Crawford - NOT Robert Crawford - was the husband of Margaret and father of young Archibald and his four sisters. These Probate Court Records deal with the death of old Archibald shortly before 5 Jan 1845, and the settlement of his estate. Rest assured that Robert was NOT guilty of bigamy when he married Emily Blackwell in 1838! Probably contributing to the confusion was the deaths of both old Archibald and Robert in 1844 and the very similar names of two of the daughters in each family.
On May 31, 1838 in Marshall County Robert married Emily M. Blackwell the daughter of Michael J. Blackwell a land owner and Methodist minister. Obviously Robert had lived in this area for a period of time prior to May 1838 where he met and courted Rev. M. J. Blackwell's daughter.
On 13 June 1838 Robert purchased Lots 64 & 65 in the town of Old Lamar (then NE Marshall Co, MS).
On 14 Aug 1838, 160 acres in Desoto County, Mississippi (SE � Section 12, Township 5, Range 7 West) was patented by Robert Crawford of Marshall Co, MS. This farm was located in then Southern Division of Desoto County (now Tate Co) MS. John and Archibald Crawford each built a dog trot log cabin and lived out their lives on this farm. At, or shortly after, the time Robert patented this farm, John Crawford obtained half ownership in it.
On 29 Jan 1840 Robert purchased 235 acres near the town of Old Lamar in Marshall Co .
1840 Census: Marshall County, Mississippi, Northern Division, Page 11
Robert Crawford1Male Age Range: 20 / 30 1Female15 / 20
1Male<5
The young child listed as a male should be show as a female. Their oldest daughter Margaret Caroline was born in 1839.
On 29 Jan 1841 Robert purchased Lots 19 & 20 in the town of Old Lamar.
On 20 Sept 1842 Robert purchased Block 88 in the town of Old Lamar.
On 28 Sept 1843 Robert purchased Lots 25,26,27, & 28 in the town of Old Lamar.
OLD LAMAR: On the Marshall County, MS website relating to Genealogy, there is an article on Old Lamar. The article is taken from the Southern Reporter, Nov 25, 1965. This town was located about two miles west of the present town of the same name in current NW Benton County. When the old town existed, it was in Marshall County. Benton County was formed in 1870, about 15 years after the dissolution of Old Lamar. It was located on the Holly Springs & La Grange Road at a point midway between the two towns. Construction of the railroad in 1856 spelled the doom of Old Lamar. The site is now a clear field. The old cemetery has many monuments still standing; but the cemetery (in 1965) is a jungle of briars and undergrowth. Occasional references to Old Lamar in Holly Spring newspapers indicate that stores were at one time operated there by W. S. Smith and Robert Crawford.
"Marriages & Deaths from MS Newspapers, Vol 1, 1837 - 1863", compiled by Betty Couch Wiltshire, published by Heritage Books, Inc, states: "April 24, 1844: Died in Lamar, on Saturday the 6th, Mr. Robert Crawford."
Marshall County Probate Records indicate that Robert died leaving no will. Various matters relating to the settlement of his estate and guardianship of his three minor daughters are well documented in various Marshall Co. Probate Court records and in "Marshall County Mississippi Probate and Will Records" compiled by Betty C. Wiltshire.
22 April 1844: Marshall County Probate Court records document the appointment of Emily M. Crawford, widow, as Administratrix of the estate of Robert Crawford, deceased, with Michael J. Blackwell as security.
June 1844. Appraisers inventory of the estate of Robert Crawford, deceased.
August 1844. Account of sales of the estate of Robert Crawford, deceased.
30 June 1847: Michael J. Blackwell was appointed guardian of the three young Crawford girls. The record states that their mother, Emily M. Crawford approved.
February 28, 1848. Gordentia Waite was appointed guardian ad litum of Margaret C. Crawford, Mary E. Crawford, and Sarah R. Crawford, minor heirs of Robert Crawford, deceased.
July 1848, or slightly later. Petition for the sale of land of the estate of Robert Crawford, deceased. He left the following children, all of whom are minors: Margaret Caroline, Mary Elizabeth, and Sarah Robert Crawford, and the widow, Emily W. Crawford.
Newspaper clipping dated May 8, 1848:
Guardian�s Sale
PURSUANT to a decree of the Probate Court of
Marshall Co., State of Mississippi made at the February Term A. D. 1848 thereof the undersigned
Guardian of the minor heirs of Robt Crawford dec�d will on Tuesday the 20th day of June next sell to the highest bidder at public auction on a credit of one and two years in the town of Lamar in Marshall County, between the hours prescribed by law, the following lots in the said town, viz.: No. 64, containing 3 rods and perches; No. 69, containing 1 acre, 1 rood, and 13 perches; No. 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, and 28 each 44 feet square, and No. 88, containing 12 acres, 1 rood, and 17 perches, together with the tenements and hereditaments thereunto belonging.
Also at the court house door in the town of Hernando, De Soto county, on Thursday the 22d day of June next an undivided interest of one half in a certain tract of land, lying in De Soto county State of Mississippi, it being the south east quarter of section twelve of township five of range seven, west, containing 160 34-100 acres. Said land and lots will be sold subject to the lien prescribed by stature, and the purchaser or purchasers there-of, will be required to give bond with the approved security, payable as above limited.
M. J. Blackwell, Guardian.
May 8, 1848 -- 3 MEMO: A perch is 5.5 yards square, or 30.25 square yards.
A rood is an old English unit of area equal to � acre, or 10,890 square feet.
The deed where John Crawford purchased this other half interest in the Desoto Co. land from Robert's heirs is recorded 25 Jan 1851 in Desoto Co. The deed states that notice of this sale was publicly posted in the Holly Springs Gazette as early as 12 May 1848. On 22 June 1848 in Hernando, the heir's half interest was placed for bids. The deed states that John Crawford was the highest bidder for a price of $200. The girls' grandfather, W. J. Blackwell acts as their Guardian in this deed.
August 1848: Marshall County Marriage records indicate that Emily Crawford married James Perkins (Pickins) on August 25, 1848. They had a daughter, Camilla M Pickens born in Fayette County, TN in 1849 as indicated by the 1850 Census.
1850 Census for Fayette Co, TN, District 12, Page 334, Dwelling & Family 1393:
James M. Pickins 36
Emily27
Camilla M9/12
Caroline M CRAWFORD11
Mary E. CRAWFORD9
Sarah R. CRAWFORD7
[Note: Usually his name is shown as Pickins, but at times is shown as Perkins]
According to family trees posted on Ancestry/RootsWeb, Emily Crawford Pickins died in 1851, the year following the above Census.
The three young orphaned Crawford sisters went to live with their grandfather, M. J. Blackwell after the death of their mother. On the 1860 Census, M. J. Blackwell, his wife, and granddaughters Mary E. Crawford and Sarah Crawford are in the same household in Pontotoc, MS where Rev. Blackwell is then preaching. Marshall Co Court records in 1863 reveal that Blackwell is still acting as guardian of the two younger girls; the older having previously married.
Considering the age range of Robert Crawford on the 1840 Marshall County Census, there is a high probability that Robert and John were brothers. Both could have been sons of old Archibald. Family stories passed down state that Margaret was John's step-mother. However, I am unaware of any documentation that clearly establishes the exact relationships between these three Crawford men.
A small concrete tombstone of fairly modern vintage in Crawford-Dean Cemetery in Tate Co, MS indicates Robert's birth and death dates as 1784 � 1844. However, it remains unclear that Robert's body was actually transported from Marshal County and buried in this cemetery. Logically, he would have been buried near his business, farm, and home where his young wife, Emily and three young daughters lived in Lamar, Marshall Co, MS. It is likely that this tombstone was placed in the later half of the previous century by well meaning individuals who did not have access to the more recently available Desoto Co Probate Records from the 1840s. The 1784 birth date listed on this tombstone is highly questionable. The 1840 Census indicates his birth between 1810 and 1820.
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