Whitmel Craft Family research

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

This is a space page created to hold the research notes and un yet documented information on the Craft family of Mississippi.

Research Notes

Information on this family came from a story that was furnished by Mrs. Jean (Norris) Stennett, Rt 1, Box 17, Taylorsville, MS 39168 (dated March 30, 1995)

Craft, MS was founded in 1815 by Whit Craft from SC with his first wife Susie Nub Whitmell Craft of Craft, Mississippi (Family Tree Maker WFT Volume 41-Not considered a source, heresay)

The History of Smith County, Mississippi, WPA, 1935, contains an article on the Craft family, as told by a former slave of Dr. Jesse Craft, Tilda Keys. Tilda states that Whit Craft arrived in Smith County when it was then Indian country and married an Indian woman, Susie Nub. Susie died without issue and was buried on the property in an Indian mound, this Indian mound later being used for burial of slaves. Whit inherited her property, which according to Tilda was comprised of four square miles of land. ^[1]

He then married (2) Nancy Jones and had four children. Dr. Jesse Craft was one of those children and was a prominent member of the community. A pond was built by his slaves and used it to generate energy for a gristmill and gin.

The article also describes Bryant Craft as having a whiskey still. He is not identified in the story as a brother of Jesse, but Harold thinks this is an oversight from Tilda. Bryant and Jesse were married to sisters, both daughters of Joshua Keyes.

• A footnote on the article above. In the early 1830’s, the United States began the process of Indian removal in Mississippi. This began a forced migration to western states commonly known as the “Trail of Tears”. Prior to this time all Indian Land was considered common property of the tribe; therefore, private ownership was unknown to the Indians. Through the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek (and other treaties), Indians could claim land and remain in Mississippi, but only by several legal maneuvers. The fact that Sallie Nub married a white man probably allowed her to claim land and remain in Mississippi, an advantage to both her and Whit Craft. Although not stated in the article, Smith county was part of property of the Choctaw tribe. (Conjecture)

Whit Craft was born abt 1795 in South Carolina. He married (1) Susie Nub (2) Nancy Jones (I have found no records showing he married a Nancy Jones by Lawana) “Amongst the most prominent and important people in Smith County prior to the War between the States was the Craft family, who lived two miles south of Sylvarena at the Hancock Mill and Gin”. ^[2]

The original Whit Craft, a native of South Carolina came to Mississippi about 1815, and located near Sylvarena.^{[citation needed]} At this time the territory was almost solely inhabited by Indians.

Whit married four times during his life.^{[citation needed]} When he died, his entire holdings, which included many slaves, were left to his son, Dr. Jessie Craft.” (From The History of Smith Co., MS 1935 by James Ross Lawson page?)

In the book “Who Married Whom in Covington Co., MS” by Jean Strickland and Patrician N. Edwards, PO Box 5147, Moss Point, MS 39563. Copyright 1991. As stated by the authors, this publication is a useful tool in researching families in/from that area.

According to Whitney Craft/Croft in 1850 Smith County Census born 1795 in South Carolina lived with his wife Susan, born 1812 in Indian Nation (Mississippi Territory). NOTE: According to the ^[3] Susan Craft was a 38 year old Female from the Indian Nation who was living with Whitney Craft, 55 and Elizabeth Craft, 57, both of whom were born in South Carolina. More research is needed about Susan Nub who is the Indian maiden who gave the land which became Craft, MS in 1815, i.e., there is no way she could have been married to Whitmell in 1815 when Craft became a town since she was born in 1812 as confirmed by the 1850 census (Lawana Mills Puderer added this information on July 30, 2017) Note: Smith County, Mississippi was once known as Covington County, Mississippi

The following information was submitted by: Madine Mueller, Leesville, LA, July 26, 2007 (this is not a source, where did she get it from?) A Frederick Craft was granted 150 acres of land in Darlington District, South Carolina in 1785.^{[citation needed]} The county was also known as St. David’s Parish and Cheraw District in the early to mid 1700’s (per Howard Craft ---

Frederick Craft is on the SC census in 1810.^{[citation needed]} He is on record in the minutes of the Silver Creek Baptist Church at it’s establishment in 1814 in Southern MS.^{[citation needed]} This was in Marion County at the time but this area later became Pike County. He and his son, James, are listed on the 1816 MS census in the same area living next to each other.^{[citation needed]} There is a record of James having married Susanna Barnett in Marion County in 1815. On the 1820 United States Census there are seven Craft families recorded in MS. Frederick Sr., born 1760, Whitmill, born 1794 in South Carolina, and James, born 1796, are living in adjacent houses in Covington County, Mississippi.(this census does NOT give exact birth years, so this is presumption) This area later became Smith County. Frederick Jr., is living five houses away. They are all living on land obtained by Whitmill from his marriage to the Indian lady, Susan Nub.^{[citation needed]} There is quite a Craft settlement on this land today.

The Double Church] is also located on this land. The cemetery of this church has a preponderance of Craft graves. I believe this to be a father and three sons. There may have been daughters that moved with them.

The other three Craft families in MS in 1820 were James, Jonathan and Major of Pike County. They all came from Tennessee and are probably related to us but I have not done much research on that branch.

In 1840, James Craft, born 1775 in SC, along with David Craft, born 1810 in KY, and Rubin Craft, born 1810 in KY, show up living in the Whitmill complex.

Samuel Craft, born 1809 in KY, is living in Covington County in 1850. Frederick’s sister, born 1760 in SC, married a Lanthrip and moved to KY in the early 1800’s. Some of the other Crafts may have moved with her.

Marriage 1 Spouse Unknown Children James CRAFT , Sr. b: 1776 in , , SC

The town of "CRAFT", MS, (see source for Trade, MS below) from a 3 page type written file on "Cities, Towns, Communities" dated 8/18/1941. The transcript is as follows :

Craft, Mississippi, 2 miles S. of Sylvarena (Note: Craft, MS was actually West of Sylvarena, MS) Named for : Whit Craft Date formed : 1815 Extinct since : 1860 Formed from: an Indian village, named for Whit Craft from S Carolina, who married his first wife, an Indian maiden named Susie Nub, who owned four acres of land Incorporated : no County : Smith, on Leaf River Population : max 105

Manufacturers etc.: Hancock Mill & Gin, also a watermill was operated where corn & wheat were ground, and a whiskey still..

Schools : A school (extinct).Children attend school at Sylvarena. (See source for Craft School below)

Churches : Baptist Church (actually it is a Baptist and Methodist church combined and called” Double Church” per Lawana Puderer 04/03/2017))

Graveyards : Indian graveyard (named for Susie Nub) (Graveyard once called Craft Cemetery is now called Double Church Cemetery)

Important personalities : Whit Craft settled the place. Dr. Jessie Craft, son of Whit, was known for his kindness & consideration of his slaves. Wiley Keys operated a watermill. Dunk McKenzie, Bright Williamson, and a Mr. Hester were close neighbors of the Crafts.

Points of Interest : Hancock Mill, which is still operating. (NOTE: This mill is no longer in operation, nor are there any remnants that can be found, per Lawana Puderer, 2016.) Indian graveyard named for Whit's first wife, who was Indian. The graveyard is now being used by the white people. (Note: I don’t believe this is being used any longer. However, the hill is still in the graveyard but there are no markers-per Lawana Puderer, 2016.)

Brief History : Craft was founded in 1815 by Whit Craft, a native of South Carolina. This territory was almost solely inhabited by Indians, and Whit married an Indian maid, who was the owner of four square miles of land. (This Indian maid was Susie Nub, for whom the graveyard was named.) A large pond was built by slaves to furnish water for a gin & grist mill. There was also a whiskey still at Craft. There was, at one time, a school. post-office at Craft, but the people kept moving on down toward old Taylorsville until the school & post office were not needed any longer. The Children are now attending school at Sylvarena, & mail is received on a route out from Sylvarena & Taylorsville. There are still several families of Crafts living in this settlement & the old Hancock watermill is still in operation. Mail is received from Raleigh.

(1) Sources for the above were given by Lonny Craft, Raleigh, MS for everything except (1), Rand McNally's census, 1930.

The following is submitted by Lawana Jean Puderer (born Mills), granddaughter of James Corbett Craft and Lula Maranda Craft (born Prine) and daughter of Claudette Craft. Update June 5, 2017

In the summer of 2016, my husband, Fletcher, and I decided to take a trip to find where Craft, MS was located. We live in Amite County, Mississippi, which is only a couple of hours from Smith County, MS. The information I previously read said the mill was still there and operating. Since we couldn’t find any map data on Craft, MS, we stopped in Taylorsville, MS at the power company. I went in and spoke with a couple of women about it who called in a lady from the back. Come to find out that her husband is a Craft. Unfortunately, I didn’t write his name down. She called him and he called his sister who met us at the Double Church Cemetery which is located east of Raleigh, MS. The cemetery is full of Craft family members and those who married into the family. I took several pictures of graves and left disappointed not being able to find exactly where Craft, MS was. Unfortunately, no one has any information at all on Craft, MS, or even knew it existed, except for the information I was able to gather off the internet) I came home and did a little more research and realized that the Double Church Cemetery IS the cemetery that was named for Susie Nub, the Indian Lady who married Whit Craft, and was the original owner of the property. The hill that is on the cemetery grounds actually is the Indian Burial Mound which later became the burial ground for slaves. If you travel a little further east, you’ll come to the town of Sylvarena, MS, where the Crafts were said to relocate. I haven’t been able to return but plan to do so and collect names of those I speak with. However, Double Church, the church located next to the cemetery which is so called this because it is Methodist and Baptist together, has huge volumes of burial records maintained by church members who are also family members. Lawana Mills Puderer visited Double Church Cemetery.

My connection to the two James Craft families I've tried to find how I am connected to the two different James Craft families. My direct relation is to James Craft who married Susannah Barnett and is the brother of Whitmill Craft. James Craft who married Amelia Morris had a daughter named Sarah Sallie Craft who married Joel Simms. Their daughter Mary married Rev James B Craft who is the son of James Craft and Susannah Barnett. This should suffice as more documentation to prove that James Craft who married Susannah Barnett is the son of Frederick Craft Sr and Elizabeth Unknown Craft. by Lawana Mills Puderer March, 2021

UPDATE: I found coordinates for "Craft School" at the link shown in sources below, which are: School Latitude: 32.0562646 Longitude: -89.4603451 USGS GNIS FID: 704922 Smith County. Also according to the source below, the town was called "Trade, MS" and not "Craft, MS". LMPuderer 08/11/2021.

Trip to Smith County, MS to find Trade, MS and Craft School Everyone said the name of the town Whit started was called Craft, MS. However, I found information that said the town was called Trade, MS. But there was a school there called Craft School. I took a trip to Smith County, MS today to try and find Trade, MS and Craft School, which at one time were across the road from each other. I know they are no longer there but I thought perhaps there would be some sign of either or both. According to the map I had, Trade, MS and Craft School were on the same road that Double Church Cemetery is, only further West. My husband and I went to Double Church Cemetery and kept going down the road past the church. The road turned into a dirt road with lots of deep tire marks and was difficult to pass. However, we kept on going and made it to the Longitude and Latitude location as shown on the map for the now defunct Trade, MS and Craft School. There was a lot of overgrown land and absolutely no trace of anything ever being there. I was really disappointed since I know at one time Whit and family lived there. But then, it was 200 years ago... Lawana Mills Puderer 11/18/2021