1 George Crawford and Family: Wife’s name unknown (Ann or Anna) and children Samuel, Joseph, Susanna and Walter) Grantown on Spey 1770 to 1802
The story of our Crawford family begins in the province of Moray, Scotland, in the late 1700’s. Between 1553 and 1845, records of births, deaths and marriages were recorded in parish church registers. Church ministers prepared reports on every parish in the 1790’s and 1830’s, and they claim that the recording of births, deaths, and marriages in these books was very thorough from 1780 onward. Some entries were more detailed than others. An exception however seems to have been with many of the churches in and around Glasgow, where some churches only recorded events, if there was payment made to the church.
There aren’t many records for Crawfords in the parish of Cromedale and Inverallen. A historian in Grantown believes that our family possibly came to Grantown around the 1770’s or 80’s to work in linen production. George Ellis was the weaver in Grantown in 1787, and he sent all cloth to Elin, where the merchant John Ritchie jnr. had it bleached by George Crawford. He bleached all linen produced in the northwest of Scotland, from as far north as Dunbeath 120 miles away by road.
Around two miles from Cromedale, a military road and new stone bridge was built across the Spey in 1754. The Grants also had their castle just a mile from the bridge, and in 1766, Lord Grant built a new town “Grantown on Spey” beside the river. It included mills, factories, a school, hospital and an orphanage.
Sir James Grant, like many highland lords at the time, was moving the farmers off his land, and decided to build a town and linen mill to employ them. He turned his land over to graze sheep, tripling his herds, and established fir tree plantations. Other landowners in the parish also consolidated farms into grazing so that there were some 12,000 sheep and 5,000 black cattle in the parish and the remaining farmers were replacing teams of four draft horses with either just two, or replacing them with oxen as less horses were bred.
Most of the residents of Grantown came from within a 20-mile radius of the new town, as most were reluctant to move too far from their family and friends. Those more experienced in the manufacturing trades tended to be recruited from further afield. Like most of the new towns and villages established in the late 1700’s, Grantown grew to house around three hundred inhabitants within 20 years, and attracted a large amount of immigration. As well as relocating displaced people from the old estates, many of whom it must be remembered did not have any choice in the matter, settlers were recruited through adverts in newspapers in linen producing regions of the United Kingdom. The adverts provided details of the new site, and highlighted any amenities such as new wide access roads, market squares, employment opportunities, housing and the cost of purchasing or leasing land. Some of the new villagers continued to lease houses, whilst others were able to secure tenure of land and build their own. Village plots were often auctioned off to settlers and to manufacturers at the nearest local inn or on the site of the new village. The establishment of these new villages certainly helped to improve the standard of rural housing.
There were 435 people living in Grantown in 1801, however the locals had never taken to weaving and Mrs. Grant recorded that “A Highlander never sits at ease at a loom; ‘tis like putting a deer in the plough”. It did however also support Smiths, Carpenters, Shoemakers, Taylors, Coopers and Bakers
Ours was the only Crawford family in the parish, and having relocated there from Elgin, 36 miles away, it is more likely that George Crawford was originally recruited from either Lanarkshire/Glasgow or Antrim (Ireland). Linen production was new to Grantown and Sir James Grant would have advertised for people with experience to settle there and set up the industry. The final step in linen production was bleaching the cloth, and this was George’s occupation.
It is possible that our Crawfords moved from Lanarkshire/Glasgow to Magherafelt as part of the plantation in the1600s or 1700s, and that George emigrated from there to Grantown in around 1765. His first-born son was named Samuel and therefore he was possibly the son of Samuel Crawford of Magherafelt and Ballymena.
Traditionally, Scottish families named their children to a pattern. The first-born son was named after his grandfather on his father’s side. The first-born daughter named after her grandmother on her mother’s side. The second son was named after his grandfather on his mother’s side and second daughter after her grandmother on her father’s side. If a first-born male died, later males were often given the same name. This explains why our Crawford’s used Robert, James and John Hamilton so often down through the generations.
At Magherafelt in Ireland, in 1776, Samuel, James and Robert Crawford were listed as “Dissenters” and Robert and Samuel were also recorded again in 1782 as supporters of “the Union”. Dissenters opposed interference by the government in church affairs and were Protestants rather than Church of England, as our Crawfords were.
As part of the “Plantation of Ulster in the 17th and 18th centuries, Magherafelt had been given to the Salters Company of London. Many of the London guilds were given lands in Ulster and adjoining the Salters lands were others owned by the Vintners and Drapers companies. Many struggled and in the case of Magherafelt,
Matters began to improve after 1744 when the lease was bought by Belfast merchant, Thomas Bateson, who hoped to foster the spread of the linen industry throughout the Magherafelt area. The tide of emigration to America coupled with the fact that he was unable to grant long leases to tenants, however, meant that these plans were never completely fulfilled. After 1786, Bateson held the lease in partnership with Robert Stewart (later Lord Londonderry), and together they initiated various improvements to the estate including the drainage of land and the construction of new public buildings. In 1830, twenty-three years before the Bateson/Londonderry lease was due to expire, the Salters’ Company set up an Irish Estate Committee to take a greater involvement in the affairs of the lands and so ensure a smooth transfer of ownership. Other more immediate changes were taking place within the estate itself during this period with the introduction of the railways, the establishment of Poor Law Unions and the onset of the Great Famine. The Manor of Sal reverted to the direct control of the Salters’ in 1853 and from 1874 onwards the Company, in common with the other London Companies, began to sell off the estate. Between these dates, however, the Salters embarked upon an extensive building programme which did much to improve the area and the appearance of Magherafelt in particular.” https://iar.ie/archive/salters-company-irish-estate-records/
It is possible that this was when the Crawfords built a house in “The Square”, now known as Market Street, Magherafelt, where George’s grandson Robert and Mary Crawford lived in the mid-1860s.
In 1626 Charles I confirmed the grant of the Ballymena Estate to William Adair, a Scottish laird from Kinhilt in southwestern Scotland. In 1704, Ballymena still only had a population of 800, and not being owned by a London guild, and the Crawfords may have bought land there.
When George Crawfords grandson Robert Crawford died in the1860s, he left an estate of some 650 acres (Lisnahilt and Rathkeel) at Ballymena. This was land leased to tenants who grew flax for linen manufacturing. Robert also owned the house in Magherafelt.
I have researched many Crawford families in Lanarkshire and Glasgow; however I cannot find a convincing link. Similarly, I have researched Crawford families in Antrim and Derry, and while there are numerous Georges, Walters, Roberts, James and Johns and even John Hamilton Crawfords, I cannot prove our links to Magherafelt and Ballymena prior to George’s grandson Robert Crawford and wife Mary (Gibson) living there in the 1850’s to 60’s.
Robert and Mary left Elgin for “Belfast” around 1820 and when Robert died in 1869, he was recorded as the owner of many acres of land around Ballymena, and a house in the center of Magherafelt. Robert’s son James, who emigrated to Victoria and married in 1854, records on his marriage certificate that his father was a “marine or mariner”. Another son, Robert, died in Deniliquin, New South Wales in 1875 and recorded that he was born in “Carik” around 1842. Most likely this was Carrickfergus, which was a major fishing town with a “Scotch-quarter” and just 40km southeast of Ballymena. Either Robert made enough money to purchase the land at Ballymena and Magherafelt between 1854 and 1869 when he died, or he inherited “Crawford” land. There are many records of Crawfords, and specifically John Hamilton, Robert and James Crawfords in the area dating back into the 1700’s, so perhaps this is where George was born.
With the destruction of birth, death and marriage records in the 1922 Four Courts fire in Dublin during the Irish Civil War, we can only speculate. However, I repeat, how else did Robert and Mary come to inherit or acquire so much land and why did they leave Elgin to live in Antrim? Maybe future generations will continue the research.
In a history of Magherafelt written by W.H. Maitland in 1916, he records that Samuel Crawford, James Crawford and Robert Crawford were recorded as residents of Magherafelt in the 1770’s. There were 625 families in the parish. These three are also recorded as having signed a declaration of allegiance to the English crown in 1782. These are the same Samuel James and Robert Crawford mentioned as being dissenters and supporters of the union mentioned above. It is possible that Samuel Crawford was George Crawford’s father, and his son Samuel’s grandfather.
Another factor that might support the theory that our Crawfords are related to these Crawfords of Magherafelt, is that there is a major connection between the families of Hamilton and Crawford. John Hamilton 4th of Grange was born about 1605, in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland as the son of John Hamilton of Grange and Margaret Hamilton of Sandieholm. He married Elizabeth Crawford. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. The Crawfords of South Lanarkshire are recorded as being Scotts involved in the “plantation” in Antrim.
Wherever George came from, he arrived at Grantown to manage the bleachfields. We know the names of his three sons and daughter, however not his wife. His children were Samuel, Joseph, Susanna and Walter
George’s youngest son Walter Crawford and wife Ann Black named their first four daughters Janet, Ann, Marjory and Mary. Samuel Crawford and wife Mary named their only daughter Marjory, however that was for Mary’s mother, Marjory Anderson (ne Geddes). George’s daughter Susanna Crawford and her husband Charles Rose named their three daughters Anna, Sarah & Janet. The only common name was “Janet”, so perhaps this was the name of George’s wife.
In Scotland, it seems that the ministers could elect as to how much detail they wanted to record for each event. For our Crawford’s, the ministers at Cromdale recorded:
“8th February 1798 Were married here by the Rev Mr. William Gordon one of the Ministers of Elgin Samuel Crawford in the parish of Inverallen & Mary Anderson in this parish before a competent number of witnesses.”
In most cases, a wedding took place close to the bride’s family home, so when Samuel Crawford married, he did so in his wife’s church at Elgin.
“Charles Rose, Shoemaker in Forres and Susanna Crawford in Kirktown of Inverallan, daughter to George Crawford, Bleacher there married on the 22nd day of May by the Rev. Grigor Grant, Minister of Cromdale. 17 April 1800”
“George Walter, son to Mr. Joseph Crawford residing at Kirktown of Inverallan and his spouse Anna Fraser born 11th and bapt. 17th April 1800.”
The minister didn’t record the parents of either the bride or groom, however did record that Samuel Crawford was “in the parish of Inverallen. That places him as being a brother to Walter, Joseph and Susanna. A family of two parents and four children was the typical number in the 1700’s. They all married between 1798 and 1805, so seem to have been around the right ages to be siblings. The fact that there were no other Crawford families in the area also supports this.
The next entry in the church records was:
“Margaret daughter to Walter Crawford by Margaret Fraser in Fornication, born 12 February 1805.”
Walter Crawford had a daughter with Margaret Fraser, and the entry “in fornication” wasn’t unusual. On average, of the 60 or so births a year in the parish, seven were illegitimate. In Scotland a marriage, ‘irregular’ but legal, could be constituted simply by the couple consenting to marry, or by a promise to marry followed by sex.
Margaret Fraser may not necessarily have been his sister-in-law as Joseph’s wife Anna Fraser was from a small village near Portsmouth. Joseph met and married her when serving in the army and based there. Then again, she may have been visiting her sister because Joseph and Anna were back living in Grantown by 1800.
Hardwicke’s Marriage Act, which abolished all forms of irregular marriage in England and Wales after 1753, did not apply to Scotland, and Scottish law continued to recognize irregular marriages. If a man denied that he had promised marriage to the woman before she ‘yielded to his embraces’ or ‘granted him all the privileges of a husband’ (the two phrases most commonly used in the records), she could raise a legal action for declarator of marriage and bring evidence that she was his lawful wife. If she feared that the man would lie under oath in court, and she did not have enough evidence to prove a marriage, she could ask for an alternative conclusion of damages for seduction.
Walter Crawford was a bleacher at Grantown, Elgin and other fields like his father. He married Ann Black in 1809, and they later lived in Fordyce where they had 12 children.
So, we have records of these four Crawford children of George Crawford but no record of his wife or parents and grandparents. Maybe future generations will take up the search.
George Crawford was a bleacher, and it was at a time when linen manufacturing in Scotland was expanding and relatively profitable. Technical innovations in spinning and weaving made Scottish linen very competitive with German and Irish linen, particularly in selling to England and her colonies. The technical innovation in bleaching was the use of sulphuric acid and chlorine and in other parts of Scotland, where they employed young Irish immigrant girls, but only for six or so years at a time. Their health deteriorated rapidly. To increase the market for linen in Scotland, and make it sustainable, the government decreed that all bodies be wrapped in Scottish linen for burial. All Irish made linen was excluded.
In George and Walter’s case, they appear to have bleached in the traditional way. This consisted of soaking the linen in lye and rinsing two or three times and then laying out in the fields for the sun to bleach. The fields were called crofts and hence the origin of the Scottish word “Crofters” for the people eventually cleared from the land for grazing sheep and cattle that became more profitable for the lords in the 19th century. Both George and Walter (who also worked a bleachfield near Elgin), refer to the “mill” and this would have been a building or structure beside the river from which they would draw the water. It would have driven machines to move the large sheets of linen around in tubs of lye and other tubs of fresh water to rinse and a windlass to move the materials and to roll it up for moving to the “croft”.
The linen was woven in very long lengths and hence the need for large fields in which to bleach. It was then rolled up and officially inspected and stamped to verify the length and that it was all of the same quality. There was an official inspector who visited all bleach fields to verify that the linen hadn’t been just rolled together in shorter lengths. He would measure the cloth and check the quality before attaching a stamp. In both of his letters to Sir James Grant, George Crawford refers to problems in getting the linen stamped.
It is also interesting to note that George refers to farming as well as bleaching. Like most people at this time, he would have grown as much of the family’s food as possible.
The letters transcribed below have been edited with modern spelling. George’s handwriting and spelling is of a high quality, confirming he had been well educated.
Grantown Bleachfield Sept 15th 1795
Sir James
I could not procure a man servant this summer which has rendered it difficult to carry on the farm and bleaching with so little help as I have at present. I had a letter from my son Joseph last post in which he lamented the distress I was in for want of help to carry on the different businesses I was engaged in, and wished me to write to you to see if it would be possible to grant him a furlough for a few months and he would return and assist me until the businesses of this year would be complete.
Was it a thing you could grant with convenience it would be a singular indulgence, and if not would be sorry to ask such a favour, and he might have a chance of getting some recruits the time he would stay.
I am still labouring under the difficulty of the want of a stamp. Mr Arbuthnot wrote me this summer unless it was made appear that there was a considerable quantity of cloth made for sale about Grantown he would give out no stamp, and my son’s letter was from Hillsea Barracks.
I am respectfully
Sir James
Your most obedient servant
Geo Crawford
Elgin Bleachfield September 12th 1800
Sir James
I received different letters lately from the Intaker west from Forres annexed to the Grantown Bleachfield complaining that he had got no return of white cloth, the owners being out of all patience, supposing the cause to be my being at the field. As soon as possible I went to the Kirktown on Saturday last. I plainly saw that no person could have done more than Walter has done in the present situation of the place, having to labour under the difficulty that would try the most experienced person of advanced age. I saw twelve couples bound for the house which in my humble opinion is on a wrong construction for almost any use. I remember to have often said that the House at the field was exceedingly wasteful. If that is to be the case now would be the time for repairing it accordingly. The lower mill is only about sixteen inches from the lower end, and to have room for the machinery below, from the loft to the setting, to my view would only be about five feet six inches. The most convenient time for fixing the windlass would be the present. From the numerous and adverse dispensations of providence I have not the least view of your Honour’s further indulgence. I will remember that you hoped I would not give it up easily. The reply was that would be ingratitude and that I would not until it would do no longer with me. That time looks to be come as I am well persuaded every mode of industry possible was tried to accomplish the end.
I am verily persuaded there is nothing that I can see at present to enable the family to do justice to you and prove helpful to ourselves than ascending mill. I observe it here that it’s beneficial and all ready money. The wool trade would be helpful to the bleaching. The bleaching account can hardly be got in often until the new year and through the summer cash is too scarce for business. From the small stream of water at Craggan it will not divide to drive two mills unless the one disappoints the other for the most part. I likewise see it’s the height of folly to erect a carding mill on any part of the bleaching machinery. I feel it here by experience that by it alone I am no longer capable to conduct the business of this field to good tenancy. I desire and at present am of the mind to leave it, but there need not be any difficulty of that kind at Craggan. There is as good a site here for such a mill with some particular advantages unobserved as far as I think worth noting, which when there and fully satisfied myself of its suitability — that and learning the land is most certainly the object to be proceeded by whoever occupies the place. The wool mill would not cost so much as I generally thought in such. In times past there would be a good prospect of help from the Trustees. Mr Johnston got Sterling £50. I have only to regret that things has turned out so little to your satisfaction. Whatever is your Honour’s determination will be fully acquiesced by one bound under God to look up to none but yourself, and as I am advanced in life not fit for much exertion, would wish to cast myself upon your care. It would be esteemed a singular favour could I know the result as it would be needful for my future operations and perhaps in my staying or leaving this place.
I am Respectfully
Sir James
Your Most Humble Servant
Geo Crawford
In the above two letters, George refers to his sons Joseph and Walter. At the time of the 1795 letter, Joseph was with a military unit that Sir James Grant had raised, and they were at “Hillsea Barracks” (near Porstmouth). He was with the 97th (Strathspey Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, 1794-1796. Detachments of this short-lived, rather sickly regiment (ill health seeming to feature heavily in their history) had to serve as marines, some to the West Indies. When the regiment was disbanded, many men transferred permanently to the Marines, others to the Black Watch. In Josephs case, he was either discharged or served his term or deserted (there is a record of a Joseph Crawford deserting around this time). In either case, in 1799 there are records of his son Alexander being born at Inverness, so they were back in Scotland.
Britain was at war with France from 1793 to 1815, ending with the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. The records of the 97th show that a large proportion of the 1,000 men enlisted weren’t British. They were from numerous European countries, many of them Polish and Swiss. Grant had difficulty in raising the 97th immediately after raising his “fencible” regiment. The “fencible” regiment was made up of volunteers to train to defend Scotland against a potential invasion by the French. Most of the healthy farming youth from the Strathspey area joined, and that meant that there weren’t many left to join the 97th and explains why George Crawford was having difficulty in finding men to work on the bleachfields.
In the 1800 letter, he names Walter, his youngest son, and suggests that while he was still very young, he did as much work as any mature adult could have done. George himself is exhausted and at the end of his working life. We believe he died in the next year or so.
The population declined slightly from the 1790’s to the 1830’s, with the total population being around 3,000 and 1,000 of these living in Grantown. George and his family lived in Grantown at a time when the town was new. All the buildings and amenities would have been of a good quality and they would have lived a relatively comfortable life. A writer at the time said “no village in the north of Scotland can compare with Grantown in neatness and regularity, and in beauty of situation”
Both Gaelic and English were spoken, however Samuel and his brothers and sister would have spoken English as they attended the local school. The boys studied reading, writing, accounts, Latin and French. Susanna studied writing and “the foundations of the various branches of female education”. All children received an education. Sir James Grant paid the salary of the teacher and provided his accommodation while additional funds came from church collections and the “Society for propagating Christian Knowledge”. Church collections also supported the poor, so that it seems that there were few reduced to begging.
The diet of the family would have been primarily potatoes and oats. Fifty percent of their diet would have been potatoes, supplemented with oats (porridge) and turnips. They would also have had barley and “bere” (a grain like barley), and small quantities of beef, mutton, pork and fowls bought from the town butcher and bread from one of the two bakeries. There was a town brewery, and George Crawford could have frequented one or all of the three “public houses”. The brewery was established to try to keep the people from drinking “spiritous liquors” (whisky). The family might also have supplemented their diet with meat or fish, obtained by poaching, which was still common.
Being a substantial town, it is likely that there would be regular dances and entertainment. Bagpipe and Fiddle (violin) music was extremely popular and widespread in Scotland. Robbie Burns put hundreds of his own, and traditional poems, to music. He also published them, so that it was the most widespread form of entertainment at the time. There would have been performances by traveling musicians as well as locals performing in the “public houses” for their own entertainment.
The fiddles themselves generally carry stories and history with them, and where one received one’s fiddle and how important it is. Thus, when the gypsy fiddler, James MacPherson, from the North-East, offered his fiddle to the crowd before being hanged in Banff in 1700, and no-one accepted it, whereupon he smashed it, he was doing much more than destroying the fiddle itself. The destruction of the fiddle is sacrilegious as far as fiddlers are concerned and mirrors James MacPherson’s own fate. By his action, MacPherson risked putting an end to all the legends and lore that would be passed on with the instrument.
The Rev. Lewis Grant, in the O.S. Account (1792) says that in twenty years Grantown had increased to a population of from 300 to 400 inhabitants, and that there were in it “bakers, shoemakers, tailors, weavers of wool, linen, and stockings, blacksmiths, wrights, and masons, and twelve merchants who kept regular shops,” and “as good tradesmen as any in the kingdom.” In marking the progress of Grantown, he makes the suggestive remark that “herein was irresistible proof how far the country at large was capable of improvement”
Charles Rose was also born in Cromdale and Inverallan and that was where he served his apprenticeship as a shoemaker. Once married to Susanna, they moved to Forres. With just 400 people, Grantown probably couldn’t support another shoemaker, whereas with 3,000 people, Forres could.
The illegitimate Margaret Crawford/Fraser married John Glen. John Glen was born in Ft George, Inverness on 12th Feb 1805. Their son James was born on 19th April 1824 in Largo, Fife and died on 19th December 1901 in Arngask, Fife.
Joseph married and had two children that I have identified, however after leaving the military, I have no record of him other than BD&M records of his children and grandchildren.
The last time any of the Crawfords lived in Grantown was probably 1803. The following letter was sent to Sir James Grant at that time.
14th June 1803
Proposal and Offer Mr Johnstone Junr Bleachfield Elgin for the Bleachfield etc at Craggan
Sir James Grant
Sir
I hereby make offer to you for a Twenty-One Years lease from Whitsunday next of the farm of Kirktown of Inverallan and Bleachfield with the Houses thereon as presently possessed by Walter Crawford.
Sir,
Your most humble Servant
A: Johnston Junr
Walter had for a short period succeeded his father George at the Craggan/Kirkton bleachfield, the lint mill having been gutted by fire in January 1800 (or 1801). George must have died around 1800 or 1801.
Walter moved to the Cullen bleachfields and then to Fordyce where he married Ann Black. She had been born in Grantown but baptized at Fordyce in 1788. They had twelve children, descendants of whom settled in Glasgow, North America, London and South Africa in the late 1800’s.
Samuel, on marrying Mary, moved to Elgin where he is recorded as being a merchant.
Warami Eora:Hello Sydney 