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Elizabeth E. Crouch, wife of Henry DeLay

Compiled by Judy Griffin, 2007 - email address

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John Crouch + Mary
..... 2 Elizabeth E. Crouch +Henry DeLay
.......... 3 Eleanor DeLay +George Mustard
................ 4 Lydia Mustard +Henry Purget
...................... 5 Mary Jan Purget +Squire H. Laird

Proposed Crouch Lineage

This information is taken from Crouch researchers, the data in the lineage below has not been verified.

John Crouch, Sr. (1720s – 1800) + Mary _?_ (aft 1720 – aft. 1800)
..... 2 Joseph Crouch (ca 1748 - ) + Elizabeth Warwick
........ 3 Jonathan Crouch
..... 2 Andrew Crouch (ca 1750 – ca. 1780) + Judith Westfall (1754 – 1841)
........ 3 John C. Crouch (1773 – 1859) + (1) Mary Fornelson (ca 1775 – ca. 1826)
........... 4 Isaac Crouch (1801 – 1865) + Sarah ‘Sally’ Wamsley (1806 – 1889)
........ 3 Jacob Crouch (1776 – 1867) + Jane Smith
........ 3 Elizabeth Crouch (1779 – 1839) + possibly Samuel B. Wamsley
........ 3 Andrew Crouch (1780 – aft 1870) + Elizabeth Hutton
........... 4 Abram + Elizabeth McNeil
..... 2 Elizabeth Crouch (ca 1752 – ca 1821-30) + Henry Delay (ca1749 – ca 1810) See DeLay history.
..... 2 Sarah Crouch + John Ryan
........ 3 Elizabeth Esabella Ryan (possible) m. _?_ Stalnaker
........ 3 A son (possible)
..... 2 John Crouch , Jr. (ca. 1758 – ) + Sarah Fornelson
........ 3 David Crouch (1782 – 1858)
........ 3 Joseph Crouch (1784 – )
........ 3 Mary Crouch (1784 – 1866)
........ 3 William B. Crouch (1785 – 1870)
........ 3 Ambrose Dudley Crouch (1792 – 1870)
........ 3 Elizabeth Crouch (1793 – bet 1840-1850)
........ 3 Bales Bayless Crouch (1796 – aft 1880)
........ 3 Noah Crouch (1798 – bet 1860-1880)
........ 3 Mahlon R. Crouch (1800 – aft 1860)
........ 3 Anne Crouch (1803 – )
..... 2 Jonathan Crouch ( – 1786)
..... 2 David Crouch (1767 – ca. 1853 + Elizabeth Cassity (1767 – 1853)
........ 3 Jonathan Crouch (1787 – 1860)
........ 3 Garner Crouch (1792 – bef 1850)
........ 3 Mary “Polly” Crouch (1795 – aft 1850)
........ 3 Prudence Crouch (1795 – 1872)
........ 3 Absalom Crouch (1799 – 1891)
........ 3 Catherine “Katy” Crouch (1802 – aft 1880)
........ 3 Jesse Crouch (1804 – 1899)
........ 3 Letty N. Crouch (1807 – 1845)
........ 3 Sarah “Sally” Crouch (1809 – 1850)
........ 3 Eliza Cassity Crouch (1812 – bet 1870-1880)
........ 3 Nancy Crouch
..... 2 Eleanor Crouch (possible) + (1) Charles Fornelson Jr., (2) Edward McCalla, or she may have married John Warwick (ca. 1745 – ca. 1801)
..... 2 Jacob Crouch (possible)

John Crouch

John Crouch, Sr. was born circa 1720s and died circa January 1800 in Ross County, Ohio. He is said to have married Mary (possibly Mary Ashby) and they had at least seven children. Mary was born after 1720 and died after 1800. John Crouch came to Virginia 1749-1750, listed in First Families of America. (1) There are three seminal documents giving information on the Crouch family in Virginia, Origins of the Warwick Family, (2) an interview with John Sr.’s son David Crouch, (3) and the online article, John Crouch, Sr., of Tygart Valley (W) VA & Bourbon Co. KY, (4) the work of a Crouch researcher. These three documents, supplemented with land, tax, court and similar records have been used to compile information on our Crouch family.

Researcher Ms. Stalnaker has stated that John Crouch Sr. was born in 1728, Somerset, Maryland. From David Crouch’s interview, David’s wife stated that John Crouch Sr. was born on the Eastern Shores of Maryland. This means that earlier histories that stated he was one of three brothers that came from Wales were incorrect. Ms. Stalnaker: “We have narrowed our search down to Somerset County, MD, and surrounding counties, which is where we have traced John Crouch Sr., and some of the Crouch associated families, such as Fornelson, Wamsley, Delay, among others.” There were a number of Crouch families in Somerset County, Maryland, but no connection with our John Crouch Sr. has been found. The parents of John Sr. remain a mystery. In Virginia, the family of John Sr. was connected with the Warwick family, among others.

The first record of John Crouch Sr. is his 1750 land entry of 200 acres on the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River in Augusta County, Virginia, which he sold the same day. There is an August 1753 Augusta County record where John Sr. was appointed to be a ‘surveyor of the highway’ in place of Peter Thorn and Lambert Pooper. (5) Thorn and Pooper had been appointed surveyors for a road from Coburns Mill to the County Line in 1750. (6) This was to be regarding a road from Coburn Mill, probably on the South Branch, to the Frederick County Line, where John Sr. probably lived. There is speculation that John Sr. was residing in Lord Fairfax’s South Branch Manor. However, one record of the early residents of Southern Branch Manor does not list any Crouchs or other related family names, except a Samuel DeLay, who is thought to be the father of our Henry DeLay. (7) John Sr. was mentioned as supplying meat, flour and other supplies to Fort Pearsall and other forts from 1756-1758. This fort was located near the South Branch River in present day Hampshire County, West Virginia.

Circa 1755 the Indian situation had become dangerous. The French and Indians attacked in the South Branch area, and it is said that by 1756 a number of the settlers there left, some going south to North Carolina. In 1756 John Sr. purchased 220 acres on the east side of the Yadkin River in Rowan County, North Carolina. The next year he was in court to prove his land rights and was listed with seven whites in his family, possibly two adults and five children. His son David said they were in North Carolina for two or three years, verified by John Sr.’s sale of this 220 acres in July 1760. This deed gave his wife’s name as Mary. John Sr.’s land was described as at the mouth of Reedy Creek on the east side of the Yadkin River. This area was described as a high and dry savanna ground. John Sr.’s land was a well watered location at the junction of the river and a creek. He probably had trees to build his cabin and savanna land to graze his stock.

By 1760, though the French and Indian War was not over, conditions in Virginia had improved. In addition, the previously friendly Cherokees were becoming a bigger problem in North Carolina, killing several settlers near the Yadkin in 1760. Settlers began to leave their homes in this area, and it is likely that John Sr. went back to Virginia at this time. He sold his 220 acres in Rowan County on July 11, 1760 and his wife Mary was named in the deed.

We lose track of John Sr. from circa 1760 to 1766. It has been suggested that John Sr. went back to the South Branch. However, the Warwick family information indicates that he may have gone to what is termed the Calfpasture settlement in Virginia (Cowpasture, Calfpasture, Bullpasture Rivers – wonderful names). James Warwick, son of William Warwick, married John Sr.’s daughter Elizabeth Crouch. In the Warwick article, it was stated that James Warwick met and married Elizabeth Crouch at the ‘Cowpastures’ before this family moved to Tygart Valley. The Warwicks moved to the Cowpasture River area by 1759 and headed west to Tygart Valley circa 1764 where James Warwick and his wife Elizabeth Crouch resided.

When the French and Indian War ended in 1763 people thought that threats from Indians was minimal in the mountains west of the South Branch area and land could be obtained by just settling on it. However, the mountains were difficult to cross and there were only a few Indian trails to travel into the area. In 1766 John Sr., a frontiersman, took his family, probably a few pack horses and some livestock, and moved across two or three mountains into the wilderness. They probably crossed the Cheat Mountains and Shavers Fork and settled in the vicinity of the area of present day Parsons, West Virginia. At the time, this area was in the West Augusta District, Virginia. They settled on the “flat land in lower Blackman Flats, just across the river from Alum Hill.” This is where Shavers Fork and Dry Fork join to form the Cheat River. It was stated in 1962 that “ . . . he [John] built his cabin and parts of the foundation were visible on the site a number of years ago but are all removed at the present time, leaving no trace.”

At this time there were no laws that guaranteed claims on the land. It was not until 1779 that the Virginia General Assembly established the Virginia Land Office that defined settlement and preemption rights for people who had settled and made at least minor improvements on unappropriated lands before 1778. These claims were generally known as ‘tomahawk rights,’ a person only needing to mark out his site with tomahawk slashed or his name carved on a tree. The part of Randolph County that later became Tucker County, was settled by John Crouch. The John Crouch cabin stood a half mile from the forks of the Cheat River, and a half mile from the city of Parsons, in Blackman Flats. The West Virginia Historical Marker, located near the South intersection of First and Main Streets in Parsons reads: “John Crouch, pioneer settler, established ‘tomahawk rights’ here in 1766.” (8)

After the Virginia Land Office was established, John Sr. received title to 400 acres from his 1766 settlement. This was the earliest year that any such titles were granted and there were only seven for this year. They were all scattered far apart and John Sr.’s was the only one on the Cheat River. He was the first permanent settler in this area and had no neighbors for many miles.

Exactly when, or why, John Sr. again moved is not known, but according to his son David, the family was at Tygart Valley by circa 1770. David described his father as living “on the gun and the range. As soon as the range was gone he wanted to move.” However, John Sr. was at Tygart Valley seventeen years before moving on to Kentucky. Moving another forty miles into the mountains, John Sr. settled on 400 acres lying on both sides of the Tygart River, just below the present site of Mill Creek. He was granted this land by right of settlement in 1784, when he also had an adjoing 142 acres surveyed but apparently sold before the grant was issued. His youngest three children, Sarah, Jonathan and David, were probably still at home. Four of his children were now or soon to be married and start families of their own – Joseph, Andrew, Elizabeth and John Jr. According to the History of Tucker County West Virginia, Tygart Valley was thirty miles long and five miles wide – one of the choicest regions in the state due to its expanse of level land and the abundance of wild game, a hunter’s paradise. According to son David, the Crouchs were not farmers, living mostly by hunting and apparently raising stock on the range – what we would later call ranchers in the far west.

The Crouchs lived mostly off the land, getting whatever else they needed by traveling to South Branch. David Crouch said, “We were about 50 miles from the South Branch. No settlement between us and South Branch. We crossed Cheat River in going there 9 times in 2 or 2½ miles. Never saw a crookeder river since I was born. The bed was composed [of] round stones, none less than a cannon-ball, or your hat, and was dangerous for the horses; and I never could see how they could cross on them. Afforded no settlement. Nothing but mountains on each side. We had five mountains to cross in going there that were so steep a horse could hardly carry a man over them. Never a wagon could get to the South Branch then and I don’t know that they could get to it from Tygert’s Valley now. There was not a wagon or wagon rut in Tygert’s Valley.” “Once a year my father would send in to the South Branch and get three bushels (80 pounds to a bushel) of salt. That would last us a year. Packed it over on horses.”

The earliest record for the family in Tygart Valley is a land grant of 1,000 acres surveyed on March 6, 1774. This land was divided between John Sr.’s sons Joseph and Andrew, his son John Jr.’s father-in-law Charles Fornelson, and a James Lackey. Serving in Ralph Stewart’s Tygart Valley men during Dunsmore’s War in 1774 were Ensign Joseph Crouch, Sergeant Henry DeLay, Private Andrew Crouch, Private John Crouch.

John Sr. and all of his sons except David signed a 1776 Tygart Valley inhabitant’s petition asking for three companies of rangers to garrison forts in the ‘Tigers’ Valley to protect the inhabitants from Indians. Our Henry DeLay and John and Andrew Crouch, among others, signed another Tygart Valley inhabitant’s petition in 1777 regarding county formation and their ability to travel to a county courthouse to transact business. This petition read, in part: “. . . your Petitioners Labours under great Hardships from their being obliged to tend Courts at Stauntown in Order to have their necessary business done, at the distance of one hundred & eight Miles from the nearest Inhabitants in the Tigers Valley. One hundred and fifty from the nearest Settlement on the West Fork of the Monangalia and two hundred Miles from the best inhabited part of our Settlement, which great distance & exceeding badness of the Roads, and the Difficulty of Crossing eight Large Mountains, forty Miles of which Road is uninhabited Viz from the Tigers Valley Waters to Powtowmack Waters. We are informed that the old part of Augusta are petitioning to have the same Divided into Smaller Counties for the convenience of the People; We your Petitioners Humbly Pray we may not be joined to any County on the Waters of James River or the South Branch of the Potowmack, nor Monongalia County for we flatter our selves we are able to Build & Support all Public buildings necessary for a County Town - Therefore we your Petitioners humbly request your Honourable House would take their Case under your Consideration & grant them a New County including the Tigers Valley Settlement & the Settlement on the west fork of [torn] Monangalia and also Buckhannan’s Creek Settlement, which will greatly Ease your Petitioners . . .” (9)

Again in 1780 the Tygart Valley inhabitants petitioned the legislature, this time asking to join Monongalia County and again stating travel difficulties. Signers of this petition were John Crouch Sr., John Crouch, Joseph Crouch, Andrew Crouch, and Charles Fornelson, among others. The petition stated that their settlement was 120 miles to the courthouse, requiring travel over eight mountains and many rivers and creeks to cross, often impassable. They requested to become part of Monongalia County, where they would have to travel only ninety miles with only one low mountain to cross.

In 1782 the Crouch families were on the tax list. John Sr. had four in his family, probably only two children still at home, Jonathan and David. In the 1782 Revolutionary War Claim, Monongalia County, a John Crouch was listed as providing 25 rations for the state, possibly John Sr. or John Jr. Son Joseph provided 71 pounds of mutton and 136 rations. By 1785 John Sr. was listed with only three in his household, probably only David was still living at home. Also in 1785 John Sr. was listed as exempt from personal tax. He was again on the tax list for 1786. During the entire time the family was in Virginia there was a constant danger of Indian attacks. Tygart Valley residents built forts, generally four to six miles apart, to protect themselves from the Indian hunting and raiding attacks that generally occurred in the spring. People lived in their cabins, but often moved into the forts when the Indians from Ohio were sighted in the area. Both David and Andrew Crouch’s interviews described these Indian attacks in some detail (online at www.rootsweb.com/~kyharris/crouch.htm.).

By the late 1780s life in Tygart Valley had changed. David Crouch said that new settlers were moving in, draining the swamps and planting corn. The range was probably disappearing as more of it was turned to crop growing. The Crouchs moved on and David stated that a “great part of the old settlers moved out when we did.” John Crouch Sr. and son David, daughter Elizabeth and her husband Henry DeLay, son Joseph’s father-in-law John Warwick, and the family of son David’s future wife, the Cassitys all moved to Kentucky in 1787 (Kentucky became a state in 1792). A few years later sons John Jr. and Joseph followed. They made the trip of about 600 miles by land instead of by water. To reach the Cumberland Gap, they would have had to first travel south, crossing over the Greenbrier River and following that river to where it joined the New River. They then would have followed the New River to Walker Creek, then probably up the valley of Walker Creek to where it joined the Holston River valley. They could pick up Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Trail by following the Holston River. Then it was only a matter of following the Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland Gap, then on northward to Boonesboro, Kentucky and the short trip up to the Lexington, Kentucky area. The Wilderness Trail was still a crude trail at the time and everything had to be carried by pack animals, since the trail was not wide enough for a Conestoga wagon until about 1796. According to David, the families settled about five miles east of Lexington about a mile from Bryan’s Station. In 1787 John Sr. sold his 400 acres at Tygart Valley and moved to Kentucky. By 1789 John Sr. was on the Fayette County, Kentucky tax list.

John Sr., his son Joseph, and son-in-law our Henry DeLay all moved to Ohio (now Ross County, Ohio) in the mid 1790s, less than ten years after their move to Kentucky. It was here that John Sr. died in 1800. After John Sr. died, his wife Mary returned to Kentucky to live with son David where she died about a year later. There is a will for a Mary B. Crouch, dated November 1, 1800, Bourbon County, Kentucky, that mentioned her husband John Crouch and son David. (10)

Most of the Crouchs were probably slave owners in Virginia and Kentucky before moving North. John Sr.’s sons David and John Jr.’s children remained in Kentucky, where they were slave owners. David had four slaves in 1850, six when he made his will in 1845. John Jr.’s son Noah had four slaves. It is quite likely that the Crouchs who remained in the South fought for the Confederate Army. Their cousins, and possibly brothers, who moved North fought for the Union.

These are said to have been the children of John Sr. and Mary:

• Joseph Crouch, born circa 1748, married Elizabeth, said to be Elizabeth Warwick. Elizabeth was probably daughter of John Warwick, who was a neighbor in Tygart Valley and moved to Kentucky with the Crouchs in 1787. There is only one mention of a Joseph Crouch in Hatcher’s Origins of the Warwick Family, stating that a Joseph Crouch was the brother of the wife of James Warwick who moved to what became Concord Township, Ross County, Ohio in 1800. James Warwick’s wife was an Elizabeth Crouch, said to have been Andrew Crouch’s daughter Elizabeth. Joseph Crouch settled near his brother Andrew and his brother John Jr.’s father-in-law Charles Fornelson in Tygart Valley These four men had a joint land grant for 1000 acres near the present site of Huttonville. The land was surveyed in 1774 and granted in 1782. Joseph had 170 acres of this joint land grant. Joseph bought an additional 85 acres adjoining his 170 acre tract, surveyed in 1784, granted in 1786. Joseph’s land was the furthest up the river (south) of any of the Crouch land. Joseph was found in Tygart Valley in 1772 when he was one of the appraisers of the estate of Paul Shaver. Joseph was recommended and qualified as Captain in Augusta County in 1778, probably for the militia. In 1782 and 1785 Joseph was on the tax list (1782, Monongalia County, 1785, Harrison County). At this time Joseph Crouch had ten in his family, probably eight children, indicating he married circa 1766 if all eight were children and were born the usual two years apart. Their child is said to have been Jonathan. It is thought that Joseph had a daughter, Mary, born in 1782 in Monongalia County, died in 1854 in Ohio, married Jacob DeLay, son of the Henry DeLay who married Joseph Crouch’s sister Elizabeth. See DeLay family history. In the fall of 1789 Joseph and his family moved to Kentucky. He sold both tracts of land in October 1789. Joseph and his wife Elizabeth were in Randolph County Court on November 20, 1789 to record the deeds. According to tax records, in 1794 Joseph had 100 acres at Hinkston Creek, Bourbon County, Kentucky. His brothers John Jr. and David and Henry DeLay were also at Hinkston Creek in 1794. Joseph is said to have moved to Ross County, Ohio in the mid 1790s.

• Andrew Crouch was born circa 1750 and died in 1781. He is said to have married to Judith Westfall. Andrew’s portion of the 1000 acre joint land grant was 190 acres, located between his brother Joseph and Charles Fornelson. Andrew left a will naming Joseph Crouch executor, probably his brother. Andrew’s widow Judith was on the 1782 and 1785 tax lists with five in her family. This is the only family of John Sr. who did not move on to Kentucky. Andrew and Judith’s children John, Andrew, Jacob and Elizabeth all appeared in later records of Randolph County. John and Andrew were on the Randolph County tax list in 1802. Undocumented information: (11) Andrew was born September 5, 1750 in Augusta, Virginia and died on July 26, 1780. He married Judith Westfall in 1772 in Ft. Pleasant, Hampshire County, in what is currently West Virginia, daughter of Jacob Westfall and Judike Hornbeck. Judith was born on October 12, 1754 in Hardy County and died on October 6, 1841 in Huttonsville, Randolph County, in what is currently West Virginia. Andrew Couch died during the years the family lived in Tygarts Valley. The children of Andrew and Judith, all born in Huttonsville, are said to have been (undocumented):

• ‘Major’ John C., born July 3, 1773, died April 19, 1859 in Huttonsville, married Mary Fornelson. He served in the War of 1812, 20th Brigade, 107th Regiment. His son Isaac married the daughter of his sister Elizabeth’s daughter, Sarah Wamsley.

• Jacob, born December 28, 1776, died in 1867. Jacob Crouch married Jane Smith, daughter of Jonathan Smith in Randolph County. (12)

• Elizabeth, born May 13, 1779, died December 22, 1839 in Huttonsville. Andrew’s daughter Elizabeth is said to have married Samuel Wamsley. There is a marriage record for a Samuel Wamsley and Elizabeth Crouch in 1806 in Randolph County. (13) Named in Samuel Wamsley’s March 1848 will was a daughter, Sally Crouch. (14) It is thought that this was Sarah “Sally,” who married her cousin Isaac Crouch, son of Major John Crouch.

• Andrew, born May 6, 1780, died after 1870. Andrew married Elizabeth Hutton, daughter of Jonathan Hutton. (15) Biography of Andrew’s grandson: (16) “Lee Crouch, president of the Elkins National Bank, is a West Virginian who was reared in the back country, had no particular advantages beyond those he worked for, and with determination to succeed has achieved something more than the ordinary station in life, not only as a business man but as a citizen. He has held public office, and for two years was a merchant before he entered banking. Mr. Crouch represents one of the oldest families of Randolph County, and was born on a farm in that county July 13, 1859, son of Abram and Elizabeth (McNeil) Crouch. His father was born and reared and spent his life in Randolph County, a practical farmer. The grandfather was Andrew Crouch. Maj. John M. Crouch, a brother of Andrew, is said to have been the first white male child born in Randolph County. Andrew Crouch was also a native of that county, and in 1810 married Elizabeth Hutton, of another pioneer family. The old farm of Andrew Crouch is now owned by his grandsons Lee and Jackson Crouch.”

• Elizabeth Crouch, married, first, Henry DeLay, second William Mustard. See DeLay and Mustard histories.

• John Crouch Jr., born circa 1758, married Sarah Fornelson, daughter of Charles Fornelson Sr. In the 1782 tax list John Jr. had four in his family, indicating his marriage before 1780. Records for Charles Fornelson are found under a variety of spellings, from Forneilson, Fornalon, Firnelson, many others. Apparently many of their children quit using the name Fornelson and changed their name to Nelson before and after their father’s death in 1795 in Randolph County. Sarah’s father’s estate was divided and split between five heirs, sons Jacob and Elisha, daughter Sarah and husband John Crouch Jr., [record specifically states they lived in Bourbon County Kentucky] daughter Mary, married to Major John Crouch, son of John Crouch Jr.’s deceased brother Andrew, and granddaughter Sarah, daughter of Charles’ deceased son John, and husband Samuel Bringham or Bingham. Charles Nelson Jr. son of Charles Sr., also married into the same Crouch family to John Jr.’s sister Eleanor (below), they lived in Bourbon County Kentucky until Charles Jr.’s death in 1802, then Eleanor moved the family to Fairfield County, Ohio closer to her late husband’s brother Jacob, where she remarried in 1803 to Edward McCalla. In 1783 John Crouch Jr. bought 76 acres adjacent to his brothers, Joseph and Andrew’ land in Tygart Valley, near the present site of Valley Bend. He had 135 acres in Tygart Valley, surveyed in 1780, granted in 1784. He was a surveyor of highway in Harrison County in 1786. This was the land John Jr. and John Cassity viewed for a road in 1785. In 1795 John Jr. sold the 76 acres he bought in 1783, when he was living in Bourbon County, Kentucky. In 1789 John Jr. and his wife Sarah sold his 135 acres to John Pancake, which is probably when he went to Kentucky. According to tax records, in 1794 John Jr. had 262 acres at Hinkston Creek, Bourbon County, Kentucky. His brothers Joseph and David and Henry DeLay were also at Hinkston Creek in 1794. The children of John and Sarah are said to have been:

• David, born 1782 Randolph County, died in 1858 in Brandywine, Hancock County, Indiana.

• Joseph, born 1784 in Virginia.

• Mary, born 1784, Nicholas County, Kentucky [family not in KY in 1784], died 1866 in Nicholas County.

• William B., born 1785 in Virginia, died in 1870 at Flat Rock, Bourbon County, Kentucky.

• Ambrose Dudley, born March 29, 1792, Bourbon County, died March 9, 1870, Nicholas County. Biography of Ambrose Dudley’s son: (17) “B. F. Crouch, farmer; P. O. Plum Lick. The early Crouch ancestry of our subject were of English-Welsh descent; came to this country at a very early date, and were among the prominent families near Richmond, Va. His great-grandfather, John Crouch, with his son, John, and his wife, Sarah (Nelson), she a daughter of Jacob Nelson of German descent, came to Bryant’s Station, in Fayette County, in 1787, soon afterwards moving to Nicholas County, on Hinkston. He raised a family of seven sons and four daughters, Ambrose, the father of B. F. Crouch, being one of that number, and was early in life united in marriage to Linchie (Branch), daughter of Pleasant and Jennie (Hall) Branch. They raised a family of eight children – four sons and four daughters – all all of whom are living, the subject of this sketch being the second child and born Nov. 4, 1823; the others are Ambrose D., Thomas Jefferson, Julianna, and Polly, now a Mrs. Isaac Clinkinbeard, residents of Nicholas County; Sallie, a Mrs. John Clinkinbeard, residing at Danville, Ill.; William B.; Jane, a Mrs. Jack Sharp; and B. F., residents of Flat Rock Precinct. Mr. Crouch received limited educational advantages in his youth, but by the aid of an energetic and enterprising disposition, he overreached others of his companions who had had superior advantages, and has won for himself a place among the substantial agriculturists of Bourbon County. He was married Aug. 1, 1847, to Mary Sharp, daughter of Vincent Sharp. The fruits of this marriage were five children – three sons, and two daughters now deceased; the sons are Thomas D., who married a Miss Sarah J. Booth, and resides in Nicholas County; John William and Robert, residing at home. Mr. Crouch is extensively engaged in stock raising and shipping the latter, aggregating about $50,000 annually. He and family are members of the Christian Church at Flat Rock.”

• Elizabeth, born May 1793, Virginia or Kentucky; died between 1840-1850, Montgomery County, Indiana.

• Bales Bayless Crouch, born 1796, Kentucky, died after 1880.

• Noah, born 1798 in Kentucky, died between 1860-1880 in Nicholas County.

• Mahlon R., born 1800 in Kentucky, died after 1860, probably Daviess County, Indiana

• Anne, born 1803 in Kentucky, married Reuben House, lived in Nicholas County in 1840.

These Crouchs were in Nicholas County in 1820: David, Elias, John, Jonathan, and Joseph. In 1830, Nicholas County: Absalom, Ambros D., David, John, and Jonathan. In 1840, Nicholas County: Abrose, Ambrose D., Baylis, David, Harrisson, John, Jonathan.

• Jonathon Crouch, died August 1786 in Randolph County, Virginia (now WV) unmarried. Jonathan was on the Harrison County tax list in 1785 and 1786, with four horses, three cattle. Jonathan was first listed on his own in the 1785 tax list. He must have established his own home at that time. In August 1786 David Crouch and George Westfall were given letters of administration for Jonathon’s estate. Charles Fornelson and others were to appraise his estate. The Harrison County Court Minutes, May 17, 1785, stated that Jonathan Crouch was living in adultery with Catherine Riffle. In these Court Minutes for 1785 there are several mentions of Catherine Riffle. Joseph Crouch was empowered to settle Catherine’s part of her deceased father’s estate and convert it to his own use. Jacob Crouch proved power of attorney for Catherine. Joseph Crouch and Catherine Riffle vs Alexander Maxwell and Jas. Cochran. It appears that these may be related to debts of Catherine’s father Francis Riffle, who had been killed by Indians in 1781.

• Sarah Crouch, married John Ryan, possibly circa 1774. They are said to have settled in Mercer County, Kentucky. Their daughter may have been Elizabeth Isabella who married _?_ Stalnaker. They may have had a son.

• David Crouch was born in August 1767 in Randolph or Augusta County, Virginia and died in 1853 in Nicholas County, Kentucky. David married to Elizabeth Louisa Cassity on December 5, 1786 [1785?] in Harrison County, Virginia, daughter of John Cassity and Garner Ashby. The marriage contract was dated November 30, 1785 in Harrison (Randolph) County, (West) Virginia. (18) Elizabeth was born January 14, 1767 in Augusta County and died in 1853 in Nicholas County. This is the David whose interview is online at www.rootsweb.com/~kyharris/crouch.htm. below. According to David, in 1787 David’s father-in-law, John Cassity sold his 300 acres and moved to Kentucky. David and Elizabeth are said to have moved to Kentucky at the same time. In 1789 and 1791 David was on the Fayette County, Kentucky tax list. According to tax records, in 1794 David had 74 acres at Hinkston Creek, Bourbon County, Kentucky. His brothers Joseph, John Jr. and Henry DeLay were also at Hinkston Creek in 1794. David’s will was dated March 29, 1845 and probated in February 1853:

  &ldquo&In the name of God amen! I David Crouch of the County of Nicholas and State of Kentucky, thinking of my latter and being of sound mind and judgment, and being desirous of disposing of such worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me with in this life do make and publish this my last will and testament as follows to wit: First of all I will my body to the grave to be buried in a Christian like manner, and my soul to God who gave it. Secondly, I will and bequeath to my beloved wife Elizabeth, the third part of my estate and negro woman Seal to wait on her and for her use and benefit during her life provided she should be the longest lived. And thirdly I will to my son Jonathan 50 dollars. And 4thly, my daughter Polly Breckenridge has had her full portion of my estate given her up to this date – therefore I give her nothing but my good wishes. And fifthly, I give unto my daughter Sally, negro Lewis for her to use and benefit during her natural life and after her death said negro Lewis I give unto whomever takes care of her my daughter Sally, after my death. I also give unto her my daughter Sally two beds and their furniture and one cow. Sixthly, I give unto my daughter Garner Gooden, two hundred dollars. And seventhly, I give unto my son Absalom, one hundred dollars. Eightly, I give unto my son Jesse negro boy Alfred. Ninethly, I will at my death that my land and the residence of my personal property and negro Ned be even on divide as the case may best be divided as follows, to my daughter Sally one sixth part, to my daughter Prudence Vanasdal one sixth part, to my daughter Katy Berman one sixth part, to my daughter Nancy Henry’s heirs one sixth part, to my daughter Letty Manary’s heirs one sixth part, to my daughter Eliza Cassity one sixth part, provided herein that I have given previous to this date to my daughter Prudence Vanasdal negro girl Nancy and to my daughter Eliza Cassity negro boy Lofs, which negroes are brought forward at my death and valued and this value to be deducted to each of my daughters towit (Prudence and Eliza) out of their sixth part of the estate foresaid. Negro girl Seal I bequeath to my beloved wife Elizabeth so long as she liveth but then at her death to be sold and divided among my six daughters above mentioned with all and every part and parcel of my estate above mentioned between them equal not forgetting that my daughter Sally is to have negro Lewis exclusive of her sixth part above mentioned. And let it be distinctly understood that at the death of my beloved wife (should she be longest lived) that all of my estate then occurring is to be sold and divided as above mentioned, my just debt to be paid previous to a division. Which I appoint my son in law Isaac Vanasdal and my son Jesse Crouch my executors of this my last will and testament, hereby recording all other wills, this being my first and only will revoking all others. In testimony I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty ninth day of March A.D. eighteen hundred and forty five. David Crouch (his mark)

  The children of David and Elizabeth are said to have been:

• Aaron, born February 2, 1786, Montgomery County, Virginia, died February 8, 1848, Harrison, Bartholomew County, Indiana. There was no Aaron mentioned in David’s will, birthdate earlier than or very soon after parents marriage.

• Jonathan, born March 15, 1787, Virginia, died 1860, Washington County, Kentucky. Another source states Jonathan was born in February 1787. He was mentioned in his father’s will.

• Garner, born 1792, Bath, Kentucky, died before 1850, Sangamon County, Illinois. This is probably the Garner Gooden mentioned in David’s will.

• Mary W., born 1795, Kentucky, died after August 17, 1850, Washington County, Kentucky. This could be the Polly Breckenridge mentioned in David’s will.

• Prudence A., born October 20, 1795, Bath, Kentucky, died 1872, Bath. This is probably the Prudence Vanasdl/Vanarsdell mentioned in David’s will. Wife of Isaac Vanarsdell.

• Absalom, born 1799, Nicholas County, died April 14, 1891 in Kansas. He was mentioned in his father’s will.

• Louisa, born 1801, Bath. She was not mentioned in David’s will.

• “Kittie” Catherine, born 1802 in Kentucky, died after 1880, Nicholas County, married (1) George Burnham, (2) William Hamilton. This is probably the Katy Berman mentioned in David’s will.

• Jesse, born 1804 Kentucky, died February 24, 1899, Fleming County, Kentucky. He was mentioned in his father’s will.

• Letty N., born April 7, 1807, Kentucky, died 1845, Kentucky. This is probably the Letty Manary, deceased, mentioned in David’s will.

• Sarah, born 1809, Kentucky, died 1850, Kentucky. This could be the Sally mentioned in David’s will.

• Elizabeth, born 1812, Montgomery County, Kentucky, died between 1870-1880, Trimball, Kentucky. This is probably the Eliza Cassity mentioned in David’s will.

• Nancy. David named a daughter Nancy Henry, deceased, in his will.

• Eleanor Crouch, married to Charles Nelson Jr. or Charles Fornelson Jr. and second to Edward McCalla. Undocumented information: (19) Eleanor was born in 1760 in Kentucky and died in 1826 in Fairfield, Ohio. She married Charles Nelson Jr. in 1780. Charles, son of Charles Nelson and Elizabeth Tindle, was born in 1745 in Virginia and died in 1802 in Bourbon, Kentucky. Eleanor married Edward McCalla in 1803 in Ohio. Edward died in Fairfield, Ohio. Children of Eleanor and Charles, all born in Kentucky, are said to have been: Elizabeth; John; Levi; Elias, born 1790, died in 1859, Wabash, Adams County, Indiana; Charles, born 1798, died at Wabash; James, born January 12, 1799, Bourbon County, died before 1860, Franklin Township, DeKalb County, Indiana; Caty, born in 1802, Bourbon County; Isaac, born 1802, Bourbon County.

• Jacob Crouch.

Crouch – Warwick mysteries

Elizabeth Crouch, in the Origins of the Warwick Family: Elizabeth Crouch, daughter of Andrew Crouch, is said to have married James Warwick. James, the son of William Warwick, died at Old Town, Ross County, Ohio between 1810-1820. States James Warwick met and married Elizabeth Crouch at the ‘Cowpastures’ before this family moved to Tygart Valley. States their son John was born here 1759-1760. The Warwicks moved to the Cowpasture River area by 1759 and headed west to Tygart Valley circa 1764 where James Warwick and his wife Elizabeth Crouch resided. States circa late 1760s, Andrew Crouch and his brothers, Elizabeth Crouch and husband James Warwick to Tygart Valley – James and Elizabeth resided near Old Brick Church in Huttonsville District, now Randolph County. States that Andrew Crouch, married to Judith, was the grandfather of James Warwick and Elizabeth Crouch. States James Warwick and wife Elizabeth Crouch’s daughter Nancy was born in 1783 in Tygart Valley. James Warwick and wife Elizabeth Crouch were called as witnesses in April 24, 1783 in a case against Amy Bratton suspected of murdering her illegitimate child. In 1857 interview, Andrew Crouch stated that James Warwick was his Uncle and that James Warwick was in Tygart Valley This Andrew also stated he was the son of a John Crouch. 1780 court ordered James Warwick to be a constable in Greenbrier County, Virginia. Then 1781 James Warwick summoned to show cause why he ‘does not qualify as a constable, Greenbrier County.

Eleanor Crouch: According to the Origins of the Warwick Family, Eleanor, daughter of John Crouch, became the second wife of John Warwick in 1786 (son of William Warwick). This document also states that this John Crouch was the brother of Andrew Crouch, which would indicate that Eleanor was the daughter of John Crouch, Jr. John Warwick’s wife Mary had died and sons of James Warwick and Elizabeth Crouch, Jacob and Wyatt brought Eleanor to Kentucky.

James Crouch Mystery: James Crouch was wounded in an Indian ambush in Tygart’s Valley (Withers, Chronicles of Border Warfare, 1895. He was a possible son of John Crouch Sr. In the Origins of the Warwick Family: James Crouch, said to be John Warwick’s Uncle, brother of Elizabeth Crouch. James Crouch moved southward, settled in Washington County, North Carolina (now Tennessee). James Crouch’s sons appear on Washington County tax list as early as 1787. Into upper East Tennessee 1787. The children of James Crouch may have been Joseph and John. The children of these two men may have been James, John Jr., Jesse, Elijah. The John Sr. may have married Elizabeth Cloud Lane.

Tomahawk Rights Settlers (20)

John Crouch was probably one of the first seven tomahawk right men in Western Virginia, called Tomahawk Right Settlers. After the French and Indian War people believed that Indians would no longer be a problem in the region between the mountains and the Ohio River. They believed that anyone who settled on land and improved it could have it. These pioneers did finally get their land if they lived up to what was popularly known as the “tomahawk right.” A tomahawk right meant a small improvement to show that a man had stopped at that place and intended to stay. Some claimants merely hacked a few trees near a spring with their hatchet or ax or cut their name or initials on the bark of trees. In actual practice, most built a cabin, cleared land, and settled down permanently. If he wanted to move away, a claimant could usually sell his right – not called a “right” but a “settlement” in some records – to someone who took a chance that a deed or patent would eventually be given for the land.

The only lists of claims that have been published are for Monongalia County. The Transallegheny Historical Magazine, published at Morgantown in 1901 and 1902, gave the names of those who perfected claims, the location of the land, and the quantity, with date of settlement. It is believed that Monongalia at that time contained about half of the tomahawk rights in West Virginia. These rights, or they might properly be called homesteads, date as follows: In 1766, 7; in 1767, 2; in 1768, 4; in 1769, 22; in 1770, 91; in 1771, 66; in 1772, 143; in 1773, 247; in 1774, 168; in 1775, 227; in 1776, 139; in 1777, 22; year uncertain, 59. John Crouch was one of the seven who made a tomahawk right claim in 1766. The first seven men who located on tomahawk claims in the northern part of the state did not build their cabins near together to form a colony or neighborhood. They lived far apart, and visits from cabin to cabin could not have been frequent. A nearest neighbor could be forty or fifty miles away. It is not known why these men pushed so far into the wilderness, separating themselves from their fellowmen and burying their cabins in unbroken forests, which stretched days’ journeys on every side.

John Crouch’s location was in the present county of Tucker where the town of Parsons now stands, at the forks of Cheat River. He was a Welshman [undocumented] whose descendants have always been influential people in the region. He lived a few years at the forks of Cheat river and sold his claim to Adam Hyder and moved forty miles further and located again, this time in Tygart’s valley near the present town of Huttonsville. He died before the Revolutionary war, and his son John inherited his estate under the English law of primogeniture, as is shown by a reference to the matter in the early records of Randolph county. The son fought Indians and faced that peril for years, only to fall a victim in his own dooryard to the bite of a rattlesnake. [Death information incorrect.] Others were Thomas Merrifield, Richard Merrifield, Moses Templin, James Workman, William Roberts, Nicholas Decker.

Endnotes