William H. Craig (1837)

Born 5 Feb 1837 in Rock Castle County, Kentucky, United States

Ancestors

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Julie Mangano [send private message]

Biography

William H. Craig was born about 1837 in Rockcastle, Kentucky, to parents William Craig and Sarah Joanna Halsted Handley. His father passed away before his birth. His mother remarried on 1 Oct 1838 to David McIntire in Montgomery, Ohio. In 1840, the family lived in Lawrence County, Indiana.

1840 United States Federal Census Match ^[1]

This record is a critical piece of information that shows that David McIntire moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Lawrence, Indiana near the Kentucky border by 1840. This connection to Indiana is important because his first two daughters with Sarah Handley were born in Madison, Indiana. According to googlemaps.com, those two cities are less then 100 miles apart. The census shows that there were four people under the age of 20 living with him.

Name: David Mcintire

Home in 1840 (City, County, State): Lawrence, Indiana

Free White Persons - Males - Under 5: 2

Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9: 2

Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39: 1

Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29: 1

Persons Employed in Agriculture: 1

Free White Persons - Under 20: 4

Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 2

Total Free White Persons: 6

Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 6

Since he had married Sarah Handley Craig in 1838, we know the two youngest children were hers with deceased husband William Craig, James Barnes and William H. The other two children would have been David's, presumably by a first wife, they may have been Sarah Craig McIntire's step children from William Craig, or they may have simply been boarders.

1850 United States Federal Census ^[2]

Census details show that William Craig was born in Kentucky, and at 13 years old that year, that gives him a birth year of 1837. He had an older brother named James, not mentioned in this census. James was living with another family, the Nelsons, in South Hanover, Jefferson, Indiana, while he attended Hanover College at the time of the 1850 census.

Name David Mcintire

Event Type Census

Event Year 1850

Event Place Boyle county, part of, Boyle, Kentucky, United States

Gender Male

Age 59

Race White

Birth Year (Estimated) 1791

Birthplace Ireland

House Number 217

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

David Mcintire M 59 Ireland

Sarah J Mcintire F 34 New Jersey, Usa

Mary C Mcintire F 8 I A, Usa

Jana H Mcintire F 6 I A, Usa

Elisabeth Mcintire F 3 I A, Usa

William H Craig M 13 Kentucky, United States her son

Rebecca Moffatt F 16 Maryland, United States

Ann Mclane F 14 Kentucky, United States

Susan Winchester F 16 Kentucky, United States

In the mid 1850s, William H. Craig studied at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, as had his brother James. ^[3]

In 1858, his step-father David McIntire passed away. After his estate was settled, his mother moved her family back to New Jersey where they lived for perhaps 12 to 18 months. She then moved her family to California. By 1860, the family was settled in Sacramento.

1860 United States Federal Censuses ^{[4] [5]}

William H. Craig apparently traveled with his mother and half sisters to California. He is documented as living with them in 1860, and it indicates that he was studying medicine. At that time his mother Sarah's surname was identified as Davis, so it appears that she had married again, but her husband was not listed in the census with her. It's possible he was in a different location, for example, if he was a miner in California's Gold country. His family may have preferred to live in a larger city. It is also possible that this surname was attached to her in error.

Name Wm H Craig

Event Type Census

Event Date 1860

Event Place Sacramento 4th Ward, Sacramento, California, United States

Gender Male

Age 23

Race White

Birth Year (Estimated) 1837

Birthplace Ky

Page 244

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

S J Davis F 45 N. J. [mother, former Sarah J. Handley]

Wm H Craig M 23 Ky

Mary Mc Intyre F 18 Ind.

Joanna H Mc Intyre F 16 Ind.

Lizzie Mc Intyre F 13 Ind.

Sol H Davis M 25 Mass. [Sarah's stepson?]

Jos Hall M 25 Mass.

There is a second 1860 census that lists William H. Henry; this one lists him at his place of business, Physicians City and County Hospital in Sacramento. Copies of both 1860 censuses are attached to this profile.

Name W H Craig

Event Type Census

Event Date 1860

Event Place Sacramento 4th Ward, Sacramento, California, United States

Gender Male

Age 23

Race White

Birth Year (Estimated) 1837

Birthplace Ky

Page 266

In 1866 he took a leave of absence from medicine to go to South America on a mining expedition. He remained there for three years. Shortly after his return to the United States in 1869, he married Mary A. Carson of Rockcastle, Kentucky. The couple had three children, but none survived. Mary passed away 19 March 1872. ^[6]

1870 United States Federal Census ^[7]

Name: William H Craig

Age in 1870: 33

Birth Year: abt 1837

Birthplace: Kentucky

Dwelling Number: 350

Home in 1870: Stanford, Lincoln, Kentucky

Race: White

Gender: Male

Post Office: Stanford

Cannot Read: Y

Male Citizen over 21: Y

Household Members: Name Age

George O Barner 43

Jane S Barner 43

Maria S Barner 14

Willie C Barner 9

Georgia C Barner 4

Maria S Barner 89

John M Carran 48

William H Craig 33

Sallie Harrison 15

Lettie Carran 95

Marriage Registration ^[8]

Name: Wm H Craig

Gender: Male

Event Type: Marriage Registration (Marriage)

Marriage Date: 22 Dec 1870

Marriage Place: Indiana, United States

Spouse: Mary Agnes Carson

Officiator: William James

Page: 173

FHL Film Number: 001415854

Marriage Record ^[9]

Name: William H. Craig

Gender: Male

Marriage Date: 22 Dec 1870

Marriage Place: Jeffersonville, Clark, Indiana

Spouse: Mary Agnes Carson

FHL Film Number: 1415854

Reference ID: Page 173

Additional searching revealed that he became a medical doctor and settled in Rising Sun, Indiana. ^[10] The town of Rising Sun was located about 110 miles directly north of where he grew up in Boyle County, Kentucky. It was also close to Hanover College in Indiana, where he and his brother went to boarding school. William went on to become a medical doctor after graduating from Center College in Danville, Kentucky, and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.^[10]

Research Notes

One of the sources I used to detail William Craig's life story has incorrect information about his birth that I wanted to address here.

Birth Details

William Craig was not born in 1829. From a medical standpoint, his mother would have been only 13 years of age that year, making it highly unlikely that she gave birth at such a young age. His parents married about 1833 when she was 18, and their first child, James Barnes Craig, was born about 1835. William was born in 1837, after the death of his father William. The ages of her two sons with William Craig were calculated by their ages in the 1850 census. In the 1850 census, William was 13 years old, giving him a birth year of 1837. His brother was 15, giving him a birth year of 1835.

Their father William Craig was 50 years older than their mother. In the 1830 census, he lived with at least one female in the same age bracket as he was, and multiple older children, none younger than about 15. This strongly suggests that Sarah Handley was at least his second wife, and that he had multiple children with his first wife. None of those children are mentioned in any records with Sarah Handley Craig or Sarah Handley McIntire. Most likely none of his children lived with Sarah and their two half brothers after the death of their father. I've not yet been able to find a marriage record for his first marriage or names of his first wife and children.

Excerpt from History of Dearborn and Ohio counties, Indiana ^[11]

"WILLIAM H. CRAIG, M. D., Rising Sun, is a native of Boyle County, Ky., and son of William and Sarah J. (Handley) Craig, the former a native of Rockcastle County, Ky.; the latter of New Jersey. He was born February 5, 1829 [sic]. Before William H. was born, his father died. His mother remarried and died in Oakland, Cal., in July, 1884, at the age of seventy- eight years. Dr. Craig's early years were spent in school at Hanover College, Indiana, and Center College, Danville, Ky. On giving up his literary studies, he began the study of medicine with Dr. William Palding, of Danville, Ky., with whom he remained two years. He then entered the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, where he spent two years, graduating in 1857. After two years in Mexico he went to California, in 1859, and began the practice of his profession in the Sacramento County Hospital, where he remained four years, when he removed to San Francisco, where he continued practice till 1866. At this time he went to South America on a mining expedition in the United States of Columbia and Ecquador [sic], being gone three years. April 1, 1869, he landed in New York, and in June of the same year came West to Stanford, Ky., where he remained about two years, spending a short time later at Petersburg. About 1872 he located in Rising Sun, where he is at present engaged in his practice, taking rank among the best practitioners of the place. Dr. Craig was married in December, 1869, to Mary A. Carson, daughter of Judge William Carson, of Rock Castle County, Ky. Three children were born to them, all of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Craig passed away March 19, 1872. The Doctor is a man of rare good sense and principle, and possesses considerable professional skill. His brother. Gen. James B. Craig (deceased since 1880), was one of the most prominent lawyers of New York City."

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/19077685/person/847904768/facts

This 1880 census does not fit in with what is already known about William H. Craig and may represent another man with the same name. I'm moving it to the Research Notes section until we can confirm or disprove.

1880 United States Federal Census ^[12]

Name: William H. Craig

Age: 51

Birth Date: Abt 1829 [sic]

Birthplace: Kentucky

Home in 1880: Rock Creek, Nemaha, Kansas, USA

Dwelling Number: 210

Race: White

Gender: Male

Marital status: Widower

Father's Birthplace: Kentucky [possible match with father's birth place]

Mother's Birthplace: New Jersey [match with mother's birth place]

Occupation: M.D.

Neighbors: View others on page

Household Members: Name Age

William H. Craig 51

Some researchers show that he married a woman named Alma Young and died in Rising Sun, Indiana. While he did work in Rising Sun, there is no conclusive evidence that this William H. Craig and Alma Young's husband were the same man. It is not a stretch to believe that he may have had a cousin or 1/2 nephew with the same name who lived in the area. More research needs to be done to confirm if the William H. Craig of this profile remarried and where he died.

History of Dearborn and Ohio counties, Indiana

https://archive.org/details/historyofdearbor00chic/page/680/mode/2up

p. 679, 680

The book referenced with the link above was published in 1884. William H. Craig was young enough to start a new family after that date, and that would explain why no reference was made to another spouse and possible children. It is curious, however, that his half siblings, with whom he lived and to whom he was close, never mentioned a remarriage or nieces and nephews through him. I am a descendant of his half sister Elizabeth McIntire Miller. Miller-33353 17:46, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

Unclear death date: 29 Nov 1918 Unclear death place: Sacramento, Sacramento, California, United States

Possible Find A Grave record links to a man who marriage a woman that overlaps with his marriage to Mary Carson. Probably an error. Needs more research.

Find A Grave Burial Record ^[13]

Name William Craig

Birth 1836

Death 29 Nov 1918

Burial Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA

Plot Sec. F Lot 137 Gr 4

Memorial ID 49110513

Sources

1. ↑ 1840 United States Federal Census, Year: 1840; Census Place: Lawrence, Indiana; Roll: 86; Page: 215; Family History Library Film: 0007727. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. See: http://ancstry.me/2E0F2ec.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M65Y-MKX : 9 November 2014), David Mcintire, Boyle county, part of, Boyle, Kentucky, United States; citing family 244, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
3. ↑ History of Dearborn and Ohio counties, Indiana, Published 1885 by F. E. Weakley & Co., Chicago, Illinois. William H. Craig, M. D., pages 679, 680.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDKJ-F7B : 13 December 2017), Wm H Craig in entry for S J Davis, 1860.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDKJ-GJH : 13 December 2017), W H Craig, 1860.
6. ↑ History of Dearborn and Ohio counties, Indiana, Published 1885 by F. E. Weakley & Co., Chicago, Illinois. William H. Craig, M. D., pages 679, 680.
7. ↑ 1870 United States Federal Census, William H. Craig, age 33, born in Kentucky, Year: 1870; Census Place: Stanford, Lincoln, Kentucky; Roll: M593_482; Page: 93A; Family History Library Film: 545981. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. See: https://tinyurl.com/y35xtcov.
8. ↑ Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. William H. Craig married Mary Agnes Carson on 22 December 1870 in Indiana. Ancestry.com. Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. See: https://tinyurl.com/yynfrtho.
9. ↑ Indiana, Marriages. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. William H. Craig married Mary Agnes Carson on 22 December 1870 in Jeffersonville, Clark, Indiana. Ancestry.com. Indiana, Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. See: https://tinyurl.com/y6orp5kt.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} History of Dearborn and Ohio counties, Indiana, Published 1885 by F. E. Weakley & Co., Chicago, Illinois. William H. Craig, M. D., pages 679, 680.
11. ↑ History of Dearborn and Ohio counties, Indiana, Published 1885 by F. E. Weakley & Co., Chicago, Illinois. William H. Craig, M. D., pages 679, 680.
12. ↑ 1880 United States Federal Census, William H. Craig, age 51, born in Kentucky, Year: 1880; Census Place: Rock Creek, Nemaha, Kansas; Roll: 390; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 188. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. See: https://tinyurl.com/y5r3eb2a.
13. ↑ Find A Grave Burial Record, database and images (: accessed 22 January 2018), memorial page for William Craig (1836–29 Nov 1918), Find A Grave: Memorial #49110513, citing Odd Fellows Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum, Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA ; Maintained by Scott Bolliger (contributor 46935216).