Croft family seems in a muddle

+4 votes
386 views
Been sourcing the Croft family from earlier to later until I reached this profile. It was unsourced. It now has sources for William son of Herbert. The parents were already attached to the profile. By all accounts William died unmarried and, presumably childless. On Wikitree he has a wife and daughter in an unlikely part of the country. Seems like he has been attached to the wrong parents. Propose to create new William son of Herbert and transfer sources, restoring William, father of a Quaker to his unsourced state and detaching from parents. Seeking input from Quaker project in case someone knows more about this. PM is long gone.
WikiTree profile: William Croft
in Genealogy Help by C. Mackinnon G2G6 Pilot (332k points)

Thanks for bringing the question up, C. I've posted a message to the Quakers GoogleGroup asking that anyone with information regarding daughter Sarah's paternal line please weigh in.

5 Answers

+3 votes

i have found this which might help as it mentions father as Herbert and had 3 sons

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/croft-castle-and-parkland/features/portrait-of-sir-william-croft-returns-to-croft-castle

by Steph Meredith G2G6 Mach 8 (87.2k points)
+3 votes
Col Sir William Croft born about 1579 was the son of Herbert Croft and Mary (Bourne) Croft. William's wife was Maudlin (Whitesyde) Croft.

William and Maudlin Croft had a daughte, Sarah (Croft) Holme. William died about 1645. His WikiTree designation is Croft-796
by Frank Gill G2G Astronaut (2.5m points)
HOP says he died unmarried which is the problem. There's no source for his wife, or daughter that makes him son of Sir Herbert. Seems like two different men.
+5 votes

I agree with your proposal. I can find no evidence that William Croft (father of Sarah Croft, wife of Thomas Holme) is the same person as William Croft MP.

There is a well-researched biography of Thomas Holme at Google Books. On pg 6, it states that his mother is Alice Whiteside. On pg 22, it has an image of the marriage record for Thomas Holme and Sarah Croft, which records Sarah's parents as being William and Maudlin Croft of Tewkesbury. Maudlin's maiden name is not recorded in the biography, so would appear to be unknown. I think that the maiden name of Thomas Holme's mother (Whiteside) has been misattributed to Sarah Croft's mother on the Wikitree profile of Maudlin

Images of the Tewkesbury parish register are available on Ancestry. Unfortunately the index is very poor, with lots of transcription errors. However, I did find a burial record on 12 November 1635 at Tewkesbury for "Willm Croft sen."*, who could well be the father of Sarah Croft. There is another William Croft who had children baptised in the 1650s, who could be son of this William, brother of Sarah. A possible brother William Croft is mentioned on pg 45 of the Thomas Holme biography. 

*Tewkesbury Parish (Gloucestershire, England), Burial Register 1634-1688, p. 7, William Croft buried 12 November 1635; "Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1538-1813," database with images, ''Ancestry'' (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2019), [https://www.ancestry.com.au/interactive/4732/41511_633870_4402-00010 image] 9 of 81 (subscription required); citing P329/1 IN 1/6, Gloucestershire Archives.

Edit: Minor correction to burial source

by Nic Donnelly G2G6 Mach 8 (80.3k points)
edited by Nic Donnelly

And here is a possibility for Sarah's baptism. The surname was mistranscribed as "Enna", so no wonder it didn't show in my initial searches! The entry reads: "6 [May 1621] Sara the dau of William Crafte".

Tewkesbury Parish (Gloucestershire, England), Baptism Register 1607-1629, p. 15, Sara Crafte baptised 6 May 1621; "Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1538-1813," database with images, ''Ancestry'' (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2019), [https://www.ancestry.com.au/interactive/4732/41511_633870_4403-00018 image] 17 of 26 (subscription required); citing P329/1 IN 1/3, Gloucestershire Archives.

Edit: Fixed link in citation

And here is the marriage record for Sarah's parents in the Tewkesbury Register: "13 [September 1613] Willm Crafte and Madlin White"*

There was a second William Crafte in Tewkesbury, who married Jone Clyne on 24 February 1622/23. This William is probably the one referred to in some parish records as "William Crafte jun."

The William Crafte who was the father of Sarah is probably the person referred to as "William Crafte sen."

Both William's had children baptised in the same time period, some with the same names, so care is required. Fortunately, Sarah Croft/Craft was baptised in 1621, before William junior's marriage in 1623, and she seems to be the only Sarah Crafte baptised in Tewkesbury between 1613 and 1634. However the Register is in poor condition in parts and some entries are illegible.

A baptism in 1621 means Sarah Croft would have been 28 when she married and 44 when her youngest child was born, which seems reasonable.

* Tewkesbury Parish (Gloucestershire, England), Baptism, Marriage and Burial Register 1595-1631, p. 83, William Crafte and Madlin White married 13 September 1613; "Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1538-1813," database with images, ''Ancestry'' (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 July 2019), [https://www.ancestry.com.au/interactive/4732/41511_633870_4248-00041 image] 41 of 68 (subscription required); citing P329/1 IN 1/2, Gloucestershire Archives.
Excellent research, Nic. I have just looked to see if I can find a possible baptism for William father of Sarah, but so far found no record that looks likely. I expect you have done the same.
Familysearch has a marriage record for "Hewght Crafte and Jonne Hylle" in Tewkesbury in 1573. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVPY-FYZ. It is conceivable that this is for William Crafte's father, but who knows?
Thanks Michael. That marriage you found encouraged me to read through the register images and I found a baptism (not indexed) for "Willm ye son of Wm Crofte" at Tewkesbury in 1591:

Tewkesbury Parish (Gloucestershire, England), Baptism and Marriage Register 1559-1598, p. 32, Willm Crofte baptised 11 April 1591; "Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1538-1813," database with images, ''Ancestry'' (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 July 2019), [https://www.ancestry.com.au/interactive/4732/41511_633870_4404-00035 image] 34 of 52 (subscription required); citing P329/1 IN 1/1, Gloucestershire Archives.
Excellent, Nic!
+3 votes

Found this for the death of Sir William Croft Battle of Stokesay , helps put the place of death if nothing else

by Heather Jenkinson G2G6 Pilot (122k points)
The Retrospective Review and Historical and Antiquities Magazine published 1827 quotes William born 1593 died at the Battle of Hopton Castle (per his grave stone) though the National Trust site acknowledges that Hopton Castle is written on his Gravestone they say that it is most likely an error due to the battle taking place in 1644 . The Book also mentions another William Croft - child of Edward Croft baptised 5th June 1571 ( Brother of Herbert)
Family legend says he left the field and was shot by pursuing Parliamentary solders and died of his wound in the grounds of Croft Castle. HOP says he was abandoned by his followers and slain.
The Gravestone was altered , due to the villagers being ashamed of their actions so not sure if it's a case of history being altered due to incorrect information or not.

The alteration is mentioned by the National Trust and the Retrospective Review and Historical and Antiquities Magazine.

They would not be the first family to rewrite history, so it is difficult to assess
+1 vote
I think it's quite clear these were two different men. I'm going to create a new profile for Sir William and get it written up then detach the other profile. Seems the Quaker's family was Crafte, not Croft and possibly Maudlin's name was Madlin White. That's another problem.
by C. Mackinnon G2G6 Pilot (332k points)
Thanks C., great bio of Sir William! I've added a little extra to the bio of William, father of Sarah. There should be plenty there to prevent inappropriate merges.

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