John Craig (1680 - 1704)

Born 21 Feb 1680 in Essex, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Jean (UNKNOWN) Craig — married 1703 (to 1704) in , , Colony and Dominion of Virginia

Descendants

Died May 1704 at age 24 in Spotsylvania, Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kyle Sell [send private message]

Biography

Gex Warner Craig went to Kentucky in 1950 to research the Craig family tree. He discovered the following information (which needs to be confirmed by sources):

"In the vicinity of Craig Ellachie, a rocky eminence in Scotland John Craig married Jane Taliaferro in 1703, he died shortly after and she with her brother, Captain Robert Taliaferro emigrated to Spottsylvania County, Virginia. She died from grief at the birth of her son Taliaferro (pronounced Toliver), in 1704. In the year 1730 Toliver married Mary (Polly) Hawkins of Orange County Virginia."

He also found this written in the Missouri volume of "The United States Biographical Dictionary", published in 1778:

"Tolliver (sp) Craig , the first of the Craig family in America, was born in Virginia of Italian and Scotch parents -- the father coming from the land of sunny skies, the mother from the "land o' cakes".

The book further lays out the details of Toliver Craig's descendants through Benjamin Craig III.

Said to be from "Craig Ellachie, a rocky eminence in Scotland" [no documentation]. Jane emigrated to Virginia with brothers, Robert & James Taliaferro? Family tradition says Jane was married in Scotland around 1703 to John Craig, Jr, descended (grandson?) from John Craig, a Dominican Friar who read John Calvin around 1600, was condemned to burn at the stake for heresy, but managed to escape with the help of a soldier friend (see Railey, copy of his life). He presumably died before his wife came to Virginia.

However, Francis Craig, Toliver's grandson, said his grandfather told him that he was the illegitimate son of Jane Craig, daughter of John Craig, by a Taliaferro who brought her and her two brothers from Scotland to Virginia. [document in Filson library?]

An autobiographical sketch written by Toliver Craig III begins with "My grandfather was the illegitimate son of Jane Craig who was from Scotland and he married Mary Hawkins by whom he had Twelve Children." However, the word "illegitimate"was erased before it was sent to H. L. Craig, a family genealogist.

Certainly the Taliaferro family, descended from Robert Taliaferro, was long established in the Spotsylvania County area and had several sons who would have roughly been Jane Craig's contemporaries Francis (1654-1710); John (1656-1720); Charles (1663-); Richard (1665-), and Robert (1667-); they also had sons. One son, Richard, wasa sea-captain at this time (and already married) and he had some interesting dealings with at least one successful pirate in Bermuda! Francis Craig also said that Jane Craig "sustained an unblemished character through life", so she may not have died immediately after her son's birth. Could she have been a sister of Dr. Andrew Craig (who was closely associated with the Taliaferro family in Spotsylvania)? Or Rev. John Craig, a Presbyterian minister in the area?

At any rate, even if there isn't a "real" connection, the stories about "Maister John Craig" of St. Giles' Church are fascinating and worth retelling. Born in 1512 (father slain at Flodden) in Edinburgh, he was educated at St. Andrews, joined the order of St. Dominic and went to Bolgna. He married very late in life and had at least one son, William, who taught theology in France (but did he marry and have children?) A colleague of John Knox, John Craig was considered more tolerant and compromising. His widow often told the story of his "salvation" by the dog with a purse. A plaque recounting his accomplishment (and a picture of the dog) is on a column in St. Giles.^{[citation needed]}

Birth

Date: 21 FEB 1680

Place: Essex, Virginia^[1]

Marriage

Date: 1703

Place: South Carolina^[2]

Death

Date: 1704

Place: Spotsylvania, Spotsylvania, Virginia, United States

Sources

1. ↑ Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.) Original data - extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. USE WITH CAUTION; BETTER SOURCE SOUGHT. Source number: 59.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: PJN.
2. ↑ Yates, op cit., Source number: 1634.016; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents

• Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 : Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data - Extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. USE WITH CAUTION. BETTER SOURCE SOUGHT. MH:S20 User ID: 338789E1-0B25-4A52-A0EC-92F88E48D1D0

• From the notes/letter of Gex Warner Craig written approximately 1950, and from the Missouri volume of "The United States Biographical Dictionary", published in 1778.

• Craig, Lillian K.. Reverend John Craig, 1709-1774 : his descendants and allied families. New Orleans, LA: Accurate Letter Company, 1963

• Howard, Virginia W.. Bryan Station Heroes and Heroines. Lexington, KY: Press of the Commerial Print Co., 1932

• Darnell, Ermina J.. Forks of Elkhorn Church. Louisville, KY: Standard Printing Co., 1946.

Acknowledgements

This person was created through the import of Reba Family Tree_2011-03-12.ged on 13 March 2011.

• WikiTree profile Craig-717 created through the import of Hudson.ged on May 29, 2011 by Arletta Hudson. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Arletta and others.

• WikiTree profile Craig-1352 created through the import of KyleSell.ged on May 1, 2012 by Kyle Sell. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Kyle and others.