McCreight Name Study

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If you wish to contribute, please feel free to add your name (Wiki Link) to the Membership list, add links to any relevant free space pages you're working on or simply leave a message for other researchers at the foot of the page.

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About the Project

The McCreight Name Study project serves as a collaborative platform to collect information on the McCreight name. The hope is that other researchers like you will join the study to help make it a valuable reference point for other genealogists who are researching or have an interest in the McCreight name.

As a One Name Study, this project is not limited to persons who are related biologically. Individual studies can be used to branch out the research into specific methods and areas of interest, such as geographically (England McCreight's), by time period (18th Century McCreight's), or by topic (McCreight DNA, McCreight Occupations, McCreight Statistics). These studies may also include a number of family branches which have no immediate link with each other. Some researchers may even be motivated to go beyond the profile identification and research stage to compile fully sourced, single-family histories of some of the families they discover through this name study project.

Also see the related surnames and surname variants.

How to Join

To join the McCreight Name Study, first start out by browsing our current research pages to see if there is a specific study ongoing that fits your interests. If so, feel free to add your name to the Membership list below, post an introduction comment on the specific team page, and then dive right in!

If a research page does not yet exist for your particular area of interest, please contact the Name Study Coordinator: Vacant for assistance.

... ... ... is a member of the McCreight Name Study Project.

Once you are ready to go, you can also show your project affiliation with the ONS Member Sticker:

Research Pages

Here are some of the current research pages included in the study. I'll be working on them, and could use your help!

Membership

Related Surnames and Surname Variants

Spelling variations are McCright, McRight, McWright, McCrite and possibly McCrea. The purpose of this webpage and the McCreight DNA project is to help the McCreights and McCrights find their correct ancestors with the help of yDNA and autosomal DNA.

Much of the McCreight genealogy has been based on the book “These are the McCreights.” DNA has proven some of the information in this book to be incorrect. The McCreight DNA project has yDNA tests for 3 descendants of David McCreight born 1709 who married Mary Harper and settled in Fairfield County, SC. They are matching one another and also match a subject with the surname McCrea. They are haplogroup I. There are also tests for a descendant of Mathew McCright of Fairfield County, SC, born 1762 who migrated to Jackson Co Georgia and James McCrite born 1758 who also migrated from SC to Jackson County, GA. These two subjects match and are haplogroup R. They also match a descendant of James McCreight of Pennsylvania. This James and Mathew from Fairfield County, SC, are believed to be sons of Quinton McCreight of Fairfield County, SC, based upon their ages, their migration path and their matching DNA. We have two other test subjects who descend from Mathew McCreight who married Charity Nichols, but they do not match the other McCreights or each other. Additional yDNA subjects are needed from this line to test since it is one of the only lines attributed to Quinton McCreight. Any male descendant of the McCreights should be able to determine which group they belong to with only a 12 marker yDNA test, but it would be best to test as many markers as possible to help determine exactly who matches most closely. Autosomal DNA tests are also needed in the project to determine if and how the McCreights and McRights may be related.

Website for McCreight DNA Project https://www.familytreedna.com/public/mccreight/default.aspx?section=yresults

McCreight Immigrants:

There are three early McCreight immigrants to America. David McCreight and Quinton McCreight both landed in Charleston, SC, in 1772 on two separate ships and both settled in Fairfield County, SC. The Pennsylvania McCreights appear to have arrived in PA earlier than the SC McCreights. Anthony McCreight is the earliest known McCreight in PA. The yDNA of the PA McCreights matches the yDNA of the presumed descendants of Quinton McRight, but not YDNA of the descendants of David McCreight.

The records for the McCreights in Fairfield County have been sorted out based on the location and affiliated families on the documents.

David McCreight, born 1709, Ireland, wife Mary Harper

The book, “These are the McCreights” ties many people to David McCreight and Mary Harper that do not belong to this family based on yDNA tests. David McCreight arrived in SC with his three sons, David, Jr, James, and William. Each of them received land in Fairfield County, most of them in the Jackson Creek area. The McCreight book shows David’s son James as going to PA and the PA McCreights descending from him. yDNA proves this cannot be correct and records in Fairfield County, SC, show that James, son of David, lived out his life in Fairfield County, SC. He and his wife are buried in the McCreight family cemetery. See James, son of David, below.

The McCreight book also ties Mathew McCreight, born 1762, to David. yDNA has proven this cannot be true. David did have a son named Mathew, but it does not appear that he or his brother John came to America with David. David’s son, Mathew, was born in 1742 per Irish records that can be viewed at www.McCreight.org. The Gladney family claims that Samuel Gladney married Agnes, daughter of David, but David did not have a daughter named Agnes. William, son of David, married Agnes Smyth and had a daughter named Agnes, but she was too young to be Samuel Gladney’s wife and has been proven to have married Mathew Hayes who later sells the land she inherited from her father. Samuel Gladney probably married Agnes Smyth McCreight, widow of William McCreight, David’s son, after William’s death in 1776. They had two children together, but the rest of his children are not Agnes’s.

Website for McCreight.org documents

http://mccreight.org/mccreight-documents.htm

Wikitree profile for David McCreight

https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=McCreight-34&public=1

Quinton McCreight
Quinton McCreight is underrepresented in “These are the McCreights.” Quinton arrived in SC in Dec 1772 and received 450 acres which means he likely had a wife and six children born between 1757 and 1773. None of his children were old enough to receive their own land. Quinton arrived on a ship with Robert, James and Quinton Craig and James Hoy and his son Quinton Hoy. These families are believed to be closely related and all settled on 25 Mile Creek near the Fairfield-Richland-Kershaw county lines. A deed has been found for a Penelope Lowe, wife of Robert Lowe, who sold 50 acres of Quinton McCreight’s land grant. Penelope is believed to be a daughter of Quinton. Since she only has 50 acres it is possible that Quinton may have had as many as 9 children, but we can be pretty certain it was between 6 and 9. There are two males and three females in Quinton’s household in the 1790 census.

From deed records and DNA we believe the PROBABLE children of Quinton McCreight are:

1. James McCrite, born 1758 died about 1817 Jackson, Georgia (census records and yDNA) 2. Mathew McCreight, born 1762 (census records and yDNA) 3. John McCreight (witness on deed records in Fairfield County, wife possible Jane or Jennet) 4. Jane or Jennet, (shown on deeds in Fairfield County, may be wife of John) 5. Charles McCreight (may be McKnight, left two orphan daughters in Georgia) 6. Penelope McCreight, abt 1775, married Robert Lowe (sold 50 acres of Quinton’s land grant to James Wilson) 7. Daughter McCreight married John Wilson, (John Wilson of Alabama sold 100 acres of Quinton’s land grant, no wife mentioned. 50 acres could have been inherited from James Wilson above) 8. Cynthia born 1765-1770 married first to Isaac Lowe then to William Kiernaghan

We are in need of autosomal DNA tests to verify these relationships. If you descend from any of these people and have done a DNA test or are considering doing a DNA test, please contact Nancy Hoy.

Wikitree profile for Quinton McCreight

McCreight-41

Pennsylvania McCreights

The Pennsylvania McCreights actually arrived before the SC McCreights and the earliest records show an Anthony McCreight receiving land in 1754 and a James McCreight shortly after. This James McCreight has been confused with the other SC James McCreights, but each has their own records at the same time, including military records in the Revolutionary War and census records for 1790 and 1800. There is no reason to believe that this James in Pennsylvania is the James McCreight of SC

McCreight Confusion

James McCreight – James McCrite Confusion

James McCreight of Pennsylvania

The book These are the McCreights says this James was the son of David and Mary Harper, but yDNA proves that he could not have been his son. He is related to the other McCreights of Fairfield County, SC, but not to David’s descendants. There is ample evidence that the Pennsylvania McCreights arrived in the colonies before the SC McCreights. This James McCreight has a Revolutionary War record in PA and is in the 1790 census in PA. James McCreight, son of David, is in the 1790 census in Fairfield County, SC, and James McCreight (later spelled McCrite), son of Quinton, can be found in Fairfield County, SC, living next to Quinton at 25 Mile Creek.

Wikitree profile for James McCreight of Pennsylvania

James McCreight, 1750 -1809, son of David McCreight and Mary Harper

There is ample evidence that James McCreight, son of David, never left Fairfield County. He served in the Revolutionary War in the same company as his nephew, Robert. He is mentioned in his father’s will and was left David’s 150 acre land grant but was required to help with his mother and to split the proceeds with his nephews. He received two 500 acre land grants at Wateree creek and bought lots in Winnsboro. He is on the 1792 tax list with over 1,000 acres of land. He sold David McCreight’s 150 acre land grant along with his nephews. There can be no doubt this is the correct James on this deed. He married Margaret Gray aka Dunlap. They are both buried in the McCreight cemetery on what was David McCreight’s property at Jackson Creek. No children are attributed to James, but he has people in his household in the 1790 and 1800 census. James and his wife, Margaret Gray, had a close relationship with Col William McCreight. In the 1790 census there is a male of the age to be William. James and William both moved into town about the same time and are on many documents together. James left everything to his wife, Margaret, in his will, but Margaret gave Col William McCreight 500 acres at Wateree Creek. She also gave some land to a female who could be a daughter. Col William McCreight named his oldest son, James, and a daughter Margaret Gray and a son John Gray. The name Gray continued to be used in his line for several generations. There is a family story that the children of William and Agnes Smith McCreight did not get along with their stepfather, so this close relationship may be because James McCreight helped raise William, but there is some evidence that William could be his son, not his nephew.

Wikitree profile for James McCreight, son of David McCreight-49

Findagrave profile for James McCreight, son of David

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mccreight&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=43&GScnty=2332&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=66763275&df=all&

James McCrite, son of Quinton McCreight
James McCreight/McCrite, son of Quinton, also had a Revolutionary War record, serving with his brother, Mathew, under Thomas Taylor. He can be found in the 1790 census living next to Quinton at 25 mile creek. He is listed on the 1792 tax list with 150 acres and the only deed associated with him is purchasing this 150 acres from Blakely Shoemaker. Witnesses on this deed were John and Quinton McCreight. His wife was also named Margaret, believed to be a Margaret Anderson by his descendants. There is no proof of her maiden name. He migrated to Jackson County, Georgia, between 1790 and 1800 with Quinton McCreight, Mathew McCreight (born 1762), James Hoy and Quinton Hoy. His descendants believe he died in Jackson County, Georgia, about 1817. His children then migrated to Tennessee and on to Illinois. The spelling of his named was changed to McCrite at some time. A descendant of James has done yDNA and matched a descendant of Mathew McCreight born 1762. Based on their ages, origin in Fairfield County, SC and migration to Jackson County, Georgia, James and Mathew are believed to be brothers and the sons of Quinton McCreight. There are no early census records for Georgia so it is unknown how many children he had. He does have a son and daughter born before 1790 that are unknown at this time.

Wikitree profile for James McCrite, son of Quinton

McCrite-9

Mathew McCreight – Mathew McRight confusion - Coming soon