| I ran across this document on the
internet. It treats the David Crouch interview as fact and then proves it.
Frankly I never put too much faith in the interview because of the comments
at the end of the statement that indicated Mr. Crouch had a poor memory. I
also though he was wrong about the year that Ben Logan rounded up the
Indians. It turns out that much of the interview can be documented and the
conclusion reached is that the primary books that documented the Crouch
family during this period are simply incorrect in several important areas.
Anyone interested in the Crouch History should read this document. I'm sure
this isn't the final word on the subject, but it is certainly fresh
thinking.
Also did everyone know "that part of Randolph
County that later became Tucker County, was settled by John Crouch (the
father of David 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. WV Historical Marker, located near the South intersection of
First and Main Streets in Parsons reads: I did not post all the research, since my interest is in David Crouch. There is a good deal more at http://patriot.net/~crouch/queries/wva.html
Dorothy Boyd and son Stephen made the trip to Parsons just to get me this picture. Thanks so much. Oddly, historian Hu Maxwell is generally not considered an accurate source of information regarding the Crouch family by the current researchers. See below.
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| From: randystalnaker@webtv.net (Mrs. Randy Stalnaker) {this
email address is out of date] Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2003 Subject: John Crouch Sr, [from Wales] I would appreciate it if you would post the following on the John Crouch Sr. Family, there is alot of confusion on this family, and several documents have recently been located that prove that Maxwell's History of Randolph County, WV, on the Crouch Family was incorrect, and that the information he gives listing John, Andrew, and James as brothers is wrong. Several documents have been found which contradict some of the assumptions made by Hu Maxwell, [ History of Randolph County, WV] and Homer Fansler, [ History of Tucker County, WV], about the family of John Crouch Sr. One document in particular is a record of an interview with David Crouch, son of John Crouch Sr, which substantiates and contradicts Fansler's information, [ David Crouch Interview, Draper Collection Manuscripts, Volume 12CC225-29, Nicholas County, Kentucky] Fansler had no information showing where John Crouch Sr. lived prior to his settlement on Cheat River in present Tucker County. David Crouch stated that his father lived some years on the South Branch, went from there to the Carolinas, lived two or three years on the Yadkin in the same section with Boone, then came back again to the South Branch. David described their settlement as being 50 miles from the South Branch with five mountains to cross going there that were so steep a horse could hardly carry a man over them. David also said that "he was born in August 1767 on the heads of the Monongahela in Randolph County, Virginia and that his father was one of the first settlers there. His father came to Tygart's Valley when David was 3 years old." This part of his statement appears to be in agreement with Fansler's article. John Crouch's settlement in 1766 on the Cheat River, in present Tucker County, WV, would be considered on a head of the Monongahela. According to David his father moved to the Tygart's Valley in 1770 and not 1772 as Fansler concluded. Maxwell's and Fansler's theory that John Crouch Sr., Andrew Crouch and James Crouch were brothers and that Andrew had a mature son Joseph before coming to the area appears to be totally incorrect. The name James Crouch first appears in Alexander Scott Wither's account of an Indian Ambush which occurred in Tygarts Valley,[ Withers, Alexander Scott, Chronicles of Border Warfare, 1895, pg. 287]. Withers states in his book that James Crouch was wounded during an Indian ambush in March 1780 when John Nelson, John McLean and James Ralston were killed. David Crouch named the same men as being killed in an ambush during which his brother Jonathon Crouch was shot through the arm. The name James Crouch does not appear in any of the early records of Randolph County. During the interview David does not mention his father by name, however he does say that "the Commissioners appointed to adjust land claims sat a day or two at my Father's." The records of the Commissioners show that they met at John Crouch's on March 23 and 24 in 1780. David stated that Joseph Crouch was his older brother, therefore Joseph was a son of John Crouch and not Andrew Crouch as Fansler assumed. Fansler's account of the circumstances surrounding the death of John Crouch Sr., also appears to be false. He states that John Crouch Sr. was killed by a rattlesnake bite at his home in Randolph County in 1787. David said that his father lived in Tygart's Valley for seventeen years and that he and his father came to Kentucky in 1787. David also said that when his father came to Kentucky, he bought 5 miles this side of Lexington, moved to Bourbon and from there to Ohio where he died. Fansler's reference to Deed Book 6, pages 659,663, and 665 for information on John Crouch Sr was found to be incorrect. These deeds were recorded in 1815 from John Crouch, [son of Andrew Crouch and Judith Westfall] Sheriff of Randolph County, and do not provide any information about John Crouch Sr. as Fansler states. A petition by the inhabitants of the Tygart's Valley in 1776 shows John Crouch Sr, John Crouch Jr, Joseph Crouch, Jonathan Crouch, and Andrew Crouch were all living in the valley at the time. Records also show that Joseph Crouch was born in 1748, and Andrew was born in 1750, which also shows that they were brothers, not father and son. In the first census of Harrison County in 1785 the following were listed as living in the Tygarts Valley between Petty's Ford [near present day Valley Bend] and the County line, John Crouch Sr., John Crouch Jr., Jonathon Crouch, Jacob Crouch, Judy Crouch and Joseph Crouch. It appears that Judith Crouch, [Judy] was the widow of Andrew Crouch who died or was killed prior to 1782. The exact date and circumstances surrounding the death of Andrew Crouch is not known. The records show that the estate of Jonathon Crouch was settled in 1786 and it was Jonathon, not John Sr. that was killed by a rattlesnake bite as the legend states. Based on the David Crouch interview and deeds recorded in Randolph County all of the Crouch families, except the family of Andrew and Judith Crouch, moved from Tygart's Valley to Kentucky prior to 1800. The 1802 tax records of Randolph County shows only John Crouch, and Andrew Crouch as being heads of households and Jacob Crouch was living with Andrew Crouch, [ John, Andrew, and Jacob were all children of Andrew Crouch and Judith Westfall ]. On June 7, 1786 John Crouch, son and heir of Andrew Crouch received 210 acres of land in Randolph County, [Randolph County Deed Book 1 page 15 ]. John would have been about 12 years of age at that time and this conveyance may have been the land transfer, under the law of "primogenetin" [ giving all of the property to the eldest son ], that Fansler was referring to in his book. On March 28, 1801 John Crouch and wife Mary Nelson Crouch, [ daughter of Charles Nelson Sr. and Elizabeth Fore ] conveyed this same 210 acres of land in Randolph County to Jacob and Andrew Crouch, [ John's brother's ]Fansler states in his book that John Crouch's son, Major John Crouch, was the first white child born in what is now Randolph County. The census records show that Major John was born in 1774, however other recorded documents show that John Crouch's sons, John Jr. and Jonathon, were both born prior to his moving to Tygart's Valley. Their names appearing on the petition in 1776 would indicate that they were both over sixteen years of age at that time. Records show that the following were the children of John Crouch Sr.: Joseph Crouch, married to Elizabeth Warwick Andrew Crouch married to Judith Westfall Elizabeth Crouch, married to Henry DeLay Eleanor Crouch, married to Charles Nelson Jr. John Crouch Jr., married to Sarah Nelson Jonathon Crouch, died 1786 unmarried Jacob Crouch Sarah Crouch, married to John Ryan David Crouch, married to Elizabeth Cassity. For more information see Interview with David and Elizabeth Cassity Crouch Since the above I have received additional information from Ms. Stalnaker concerning her futher studies. John Crouch Sr. born 1728, Somerset MD, died 1800 Ross County Ohio, and wife Mary had the following children: 1. Joseph born 1748 married to Elizabeth Warwick 2. Andrew born 1750 died 1789 married to Judith Westfall 3. Elizabeth, married to Henry Delay 4. John Jr. married to Sarah Fornelson, daughter of Charles Fornelson Sr. 5. Eleanor, married first to Charles Fornelson Jr. and second to Edward McCalla 6. Sarah, married to John Ryan 7. Jonathon, died August 1786 in Randolph County WV unmarried 8. David, married to Elizabeth Cassity I have come across tidbits of information during my research, and have had information sent to me from a Radcliff family researcher that there was indeed an additional son named Jacob, but have never been able to verify it, also, from David Crouch's interview, David's wife states that John Crouch Sr. was born on the Eastern Shores of Maryland, [which meant that earlier histories written about Randolph and surrounding counties in WV which stated he came here from Wales were incorrect,] and in fact, 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. This theory that John Crouch Sr. was born in Maryland is stunning to me and I certainly look forward to further developments. I personally respect Ms. Stalnaker's research abilities and know she always proceeds carefully and with through documentation. A literal reading of Elizabeth Crouch's statement does support this hypothesis. Larry
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| This is a more
recent post by Ms. Stalnaker
Until recently it was thought that
the four children of Andrew and Judith Westfall Crouch were: |