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Samuel Frazee Craig Sr (1731 - 1783)

Captain Samuel Frazee Craig Sr
Born in Warren, Somerset, New Jerseymap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married about 1752 (to about 1766) [location unknown]
Husband of — married about 1757 in Northampton, Pennsylvaniamap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 51 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United Statesmap
Profile last modified | Created 28 Apr 2013
This page has been accessed 1,373 times.

Contents

Biography

1776 Project
Captain Samuel Craig Sr served with Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolution.
Daughters of the American Revolution
Samuel Craig Sr is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A027270.
SAR insignia
Samuel Craig Sr is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: 140328
Rank: Lieutenant / Patriotic Service

Samuel Craig Sr. served as a soldier in Westmoreland County 1776-7, in Colonel John Proctor's Battalion. He was also taken prisoner in Quebec in 1778.[1]

Around 1753, Samuel resided for several years in Belvidere, Warren County New Jersey. He moved to Franklin county, and in 1769 moved to Westmoreland county, settling on a tract of land east of the Loyalhanna. He purchased that land from Thomas Burbridge and it long remained in the possession of the family. (It is unknown, as of 2023, who now owns that land.)

Land and Financial Transactions

In 1760, Samuel sold land in Lamington New Jersey, and he was apparently in Northampton County Pennsylvania before 1766.

On his journey to Westmoreland County in 1766, his horses and cattle were stolen by Indians.

He lived for a time in Lurgan Township, Cumberland, now Franklin County.

In December 1769, he paid 20 pounds for a tract of 33 acres in the "Derry Settlement" in Westmoreland County, and in 1772, he brought his family to live on the east side of the Loyalhanna River opposite the mouth of Crabtree Creek.

Family Life

The first wife of Samuel Craig was Elizabeth McDonald, a lady from Scotland. Their marriage occurred around 1752 in Pennsylvania, British Colonial America[2].

Samuel and Elizabeth were the parents of nine children, two of whom died in infancy. Family history says that Elizabeth and several children, including a child named Esther, died, over a three-day period, due to smallpox. (It would appear that the family used the name Esther more than once.)

The date of Elizabeth's death is not known, but likely around 1803-4, given Samuel's remarriage in 1804. The children of Samuel and Elizabeth were:

Before he moved to Westmoreland county, Samuel married his second wife, an Irish-born Jane Boyd. That marriage occured in Pennsylvania in 1804.

Jane and Samuel also had children (see Research Notes)

Military Service

Samuel Craig served as a lieutenant in Captain Orr’s Company, Westmoreland County Militia in 1782. (Penn Archives).

In the 1st Battalion, Westmoreland Provincials, under the command of Colonel John Proctor, were Samuel Craig and his three sons, John, Alexander and Samuel Jr. [3]

In the Revolutionary War, Craig was lieutenant and color-bearer in the First Battalion, Westmoreland County Provincials. The Battalion fought with George Washington in 1776 and in 1777.

These soldiers were ordered east in 1776 and they suffered great hardship in a terrible march through an almost trackless wilderness, participating in a number of hard fought battles under General Washington.

In 1777, many of the Provincials were sent back to protect the frontier from the depredations of the Indians; they served along the western border until the close of the Revolution.

Mysterious Death

On 1 Nov 1777, while riding toward Fort Ligonier, Craig was waylaid and killed or capture by Indians. His horse was found shot and dead in the road on Chestnut Ridge with no trace of her rider, so the exact day and manner of his death isn't known.

A few years later there was a rumor that Craig had been taken prisoner by Indians, exchanged for a British officer, and died near Philadelphia on his way home.

Estate of Samuel Craig

On April 25, 1783 letters of administration were granted for the estate of Samuel Craig, deceased, by the Register of Wills in and for Westmoreland County to Jane Craig, widow, and John Craig (born 1753), his son.

Research Notes

It is possible that Samuel died during the French and Indian War in western Pennsylvania.

Elizabeth and Samuel were the parents of at least 6 sons and 9 daughters listed on Family Search; these are unconfirmed except as noted:

  • Martha Clark Craig 1744–1822
  • Captain John Craig 1753–1850
  • Brig. Gen. Alexander Craig 1755–1832 (confirmed, birth certificate and WikiTree profile)
  • Rosanna Craig 1757–Deceased (confirmed, birth certificate below)
  • Elizabeth "Patsy" Craig Clark 1757–1826, married (confirmed, birth certificate below)
  • Samuel Craig Jr 1757–1808 (confirmed)
  • John Craig Sr 1761–1848 (married Martha Clark)
  • Mary Craig 1763–1837
  • Twin Craig, Female 1764–1766
  • Twin Craig, Female 1764–1766
  • Jane Craig 1767 (confirmed, birth certificate below)
  • Esther McDonald Craig 1768–1818 (confirmed)
  • Joseph Craig 1770–Deceased (confirmed, birth certificate below)
  • Nancy Craig Moorehead 1773–Deceased (confirmed, birth certificate below)
  • Rebecca Craig Shields 1775–1803 (confirmed)

Children listed for Mary Ann Boyd and Samuel on Family Search:

  • Andrew Craig 1765–1833
  • Jane Craig 1767–1833
  • Joseph Craig 1770–1842
  • William Craig 1772–1795
  • Nancy Agnes Craig 1773–1817
  • Rebecca Craig 1775–1803

Sources

  1. Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 23 June 2022), "Record of Samuel Craig Sr", Ancestor # A027270.
  2. Marriage to Elizabeth McDonald, cited below.
  3. This sketch of Craig's military history comes from his descendent John Edward Craig's Sons of the American Revolution application, cited below.
  • Marriage to Elizabeth McDonald: "Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1512-1989", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CYF-S5RS : 13 January 2021), Samuel Craig in entry for Elizabeth McDonald, 1752.
  • Craig, Jane Maria, Samuel Craig, Pioneers to Western Pennsylvania, 1916.
  • Craig, William, Craig Family, 1956.
  • Westmoreland County PA Records.
  • Beers Project: [1]
  • North American Family Histories: [2]
  • Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Membership Application National number 86071, State number 6299 for John E Craig.
  • Samuel Craig, Sr., Pioneer of Westmoreland County by Jane Marie Craig. Vol 2-page 343 Penn archives, 6 series Vol 1-page 159 History of Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania by John N. Boucher, published 1906
  • Samuel Craig, Senior: Pioneer to Western Pennsylvania, and His Descendants. Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 1915.
  • "United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783," Entry for Craig, 02 Dec 1776; citing 02 Dec 1776, Pennsylvania, United States, citing NARA microfilm publication M246. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Services, 1980. FHL microfilm 830,359.
  • Abstract of the Graves Revolutionary Patriots Volume 1 Serial: 12625 Volume 4
  • U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900
Name: Samuel Craig
Application State: Pennsylvania
Second Applicant Name: Craig
Archive Publication Number: M804
Archive Roll Number: 677
Total Pages in Packet: 162
  • Birth of daughter Elizabeth: "Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Births and Baptisms, 1520-1999", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CTR-WD6W : 11 January 2021), Elizabeth McDonald in entry for Elizabeth Craig, 1757.
  • Marriage of daughter Nancy to Samuel Moorehead: "Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1512-1989", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CYX-FH2C : 13 January 2021), Elizabeth McDonald in entry for Samuel Moorehead, .
  • Marriage of daughter Rebecca to Joseph Shields: "Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1512-1989", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CYX-FHG8 : 13 January 2021), Samuel Craig in entry for Joseph Shields.
  • Marriage of daughter Rose to William Elliott: "Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1512-1989", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CYF-MPZ5 : 13 January 2021), Craig McDonald in entry for Rose Craig, .
  • Marriage of daughter Esther to William McClelland: "Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1512-1989", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CYX-R4W6 : 13 January 2021), Craig McDonald in entry for Esther Craig, .
  • Marriage of daughter Elizabeth to Joseph Thom: "Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Marriage Records, 1512-1989", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CYN-4JDJ : 13 January 2021), Samuel Craig in entry for Joseph Thom, .

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Charles Taylor for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Charles and others Organized and additional sources added by Tani Nicolette Slusser Toussaint, May 2022





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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Samuel by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Samuel:

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Craig-14048 and Craig-1923 appear to represent the same person because: Both Samuel's married Elizabeth McDonald