The two most intriguing questions that have plagued Hugh McCrary researchers are (1) when did Hugh come to America and (2) whom did he marry. There have been many theories, substantiated loosely by "facts" that have, in the past, been held to be correct. New information will show that some of the "facts" are in error and will present an entirely new theory.
There has long been two avenues of thought as to when Hugh arrived in America and where. One camp has believed that he arrived in NC directly from Ireland. The other, and more widely accepted theory, is that he brought his family to NC from PA. Many of the families that eventually settled in Rowan Co. came from PA down the Great Wagon Road to find new homes in NC. 1 Current research findings seem to indicate that the latter theory is most likely the correct one. The information for this ties in closely with the other debate among Hugh McCrary researchers, that of Hugh's wife's maiden name.
Some think that Susannah, wife of Hugh McCrary was a Whitaker, others think she was a Boyd or a York. Information now indicates that Hugh McCrary did indeed marry Susannah Whitaker, daughter of William Whitaker and Elizabeth Carleton, in Chester Co., PA. 2
William Whitaker and family were of the Quaker faith 3. Society of Friends records at Swarthmore College reveal that William and Elizabeth Whitaker were married in Chester Co., PA in 1722/3. This marriage certificate as well as other documents can be found in Chester Co. 4.
Examination of the Monthly Meeting records of Chester County, PA reveal that in August of 1749/50, the Women Friends of the Bradford Monthly Meeting were instructed to "prepare a testimony against Susannah, the wife of Hugh McCrery" 5. The complaint was made by representatives of the Caln Meeting against Susannah for marrying a man who was not of the Quaker faith after having been cautioned by Friends against it. According to the Monthly Meeting records, Susannah submitted a few lines of acknowledgment for her offense, which was accepted, allowing her to continue her affiliation with the Friends 6. This means that Hugh and Susannah McCrary were married in Chester Co., PA about 1748/49 indicating that ALL of their children were born in America.
This would seem to be an appropriate place to mention that there has been material written that states that two of Hugh's sons, Hugh, Jr. and John, have stated in Revolutionary War Pension Applications that they were born in Ireland. This is an error that has been widely distributed. The Hugh and John who stated that they were born in Ireland were Hugh and John McCRORY 7 and are in no way related to Hugh McCrary of Rowan Co., NC. Hugh and John McCrory were sons of Thomas and Hannah Crawford McCRORY. Thomas McCRORY 8 arrived directly from Ireland to NC, which most likely gave birth to the story about Hugh of Rowan Co.
All of the McCRORY men had impressive records in the Revolutionary War and their lines have been carefully documented. Applications have been filed and accepted by the DAR for them. Because this McCrory family came from Ireland to Mecklenburg Co., NC, material on them has been mixed with that of the Hugh McCrary line of Rowan Co. However, because of the careful documentation of the McCrory researchers 9, we can now say that the records for Hugh and John McCrory do not belong to the line of Hugh McCrary. No record has been found to prove that any of Hugh McCrary's sons actually served in the Revolutionary War, although there is a family story in the John 2 (Hugh1) McCrary family of Davidson Co., NC which states that he did serve and was wounded 10. No evidence of this has been found.
The exact date of arrival of the McCrary family in NC is not known. Hugh and Susannah Whitaker McCrary may have left PA with her parents. William and Elizabeth Whitaker were granted a Certificate of Removal "to Friends in North Carolina" by the Bradford Monthly Meeting in August of 1751/52 11. No record of it ever being filed with a Monthly Meeting in NC has been found. A check by the Friends Historical Collection at Guilford College, which is the depository for Quaker records in NC, reveals that the names Whitaker and McCrary do not appear in the index of records.
The last record found thus far in PA for Hugh and Susannah McCrary was dated May 1750/51. The first record found so far in NC for Hugh is in the Rowan County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions Minutes. In July of 1757, Hugh was named as security bond along with Adam Butner in behalf of Catherine Elrod, relect of the deceased John Elrod 12. The 1758 tax list for Rowan Co., NC does not list Hugh McCrary, however a 1759 Military list of Militia raised to defend against Indian attack lists Hugh as a lieutenant 13. There has been no information found for Hugh and Susannah for the years 1751 to 1757. Since Rowan Co., NC was formed from Anson Co. in 1753, it is likely that any records for Hugh would be in the Anson Co. records. However, the records for Anson Co. burned in 1868, making it extremely difficult to locate any material on Hugh for this time period.
Land records for Hugh McCrary in Rowan Co., NC begin in November 1760 when Hugh received 467 acres of land on the Rich Fork of Abbott's Creek. Land transactions continue for him until 1783 14.
Hugh McCrary's will was written February 14, 1785 15 and proven in court by Eldad Reed in November of 1785. Sons Boyd and John were named co-executors, Boyd accepting and qualifying, John relinquishing his right of executorship 16.
Hugh McCrary died the day his will was written, February 14, 1785 at age sixty-five. He is buried at the Jersey Baptist Church Cemetery, Linwood, NC next to his wife Susannah, who died October 20, 1800. Both tombstones are still standing and fairly legible as of 1998. Hugh's tombstone bears the epitaph:
It has been established that Hugh and Susannah Whitaker McCrary had at least nine children. The current information for the children include: (1) John McCrary who married Margaret Lusk 17 and remained in Davidson Co., NC 18; (2) Boyd McCrary who married Nancy Anna Merrill and moved to Buncombe Co., NC 19; (3) Elizabeth McCrary who married John Silvers 20; (4) Hugh McCrary, Jr. who married Mary "Polly" Sluder 21 (NOT Jane Clark as previously written. Hugh McCRORY, mentioned earlier, married Jane Clark) and remained in Davidson Co., NC; (5) Susannah McCrary who married Joseph Davis 22; (6) Nancy Ann McCrary who married Gabriel Davis 23; (7) Lydia McCrary who married Joseph Huff 24; (8) Margaret McCrary who married George Thomason, Sr. 25 (NOT Isaac Wilson as previously written); and (9) Reed McCrary who died in his youth 26.
by Leslie McCraryApril 1999
2 "Whitaker Family Papers," first set compiled by Henry Whitaker and Henry Jenkins, completed 10 Jul 1872. Handwritten copy found in family Bible of James Whitaker by Lorah J. W. N. Beeks 14 Jan 1939. Xerographic copy in possession of the author. Henry Whitaker was the brother of James Whitaker. James married as his second wife a Mormon woman and evidently requested that Henry help him compile his lineage. Henry Whitaker complied by interviewing members of the family in NC. The James Whitaker family papers, second set of Whitaker family papers, were compiled from information supplied by Henry Whitaker and can be found in the Mormon Archives. Third set of Whitaker family information from Whitaker family chart prepared by C. Pearle Matthews Burkholder in 1930's and found in the files of the Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, PA. These three sets of papers, two of them written by different lines of the Whitaker family unknown to the other, report identical information naming Susannah Whitaker, daughter of William Whitaker, the wife of Hugh McCrary.
3 Albert Cook Myers,Irish Quaker Arrivals to Pennsylvania 1682-1750, (Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1964), p. 64. William Whitaker was received into the Newkirk/Kennett Monthly Meeting 10th mo. 2, 1721 (December 2--Quaker year began with March until 1752) from Dublin, IRE.
4 "Marriage Certificate for William Whitaker and Elizabeth Carleton, dated 13 day, 12 month 1722" (13 Feb 1722), Kennett Monthly Meeting, PA, Society of Friends Collection, Swarthmore College, PA, xerographic copy in possession of author.
5 "Bradford Monthly Meeting, Men's Minutes 1743-1755", from original records on microfilm housed at the Friend's Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, pgs. 44, 50, 51, 58, xerographic copy in possession of author.
6 "Bradford Monthly Meeting, Women's Minutes 1737-1755", 71, 73, 75, 76, from original records on microfilm housed at the Friend's Historical Society Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, pgs. 71, 73, 75, 76, xerographic copy in possession of author.
7 McCrory research material, Hugh McCrory NSDAR #675265-A664, Revolutionary War Pension Application #S46-254 found in National Archives, John McCrory Revolutionary War Pension Application #S16947 found in National Archives.
8 McCrory research material, Capt. Thomas McCrory NSDAR #104483.
9 McCrory research material supplied by Verna Banes, P. O. Box 7435, Huntsville, TX 77342-7435 includes cemetery records, application affidavits from children of Hugh and Jane Chapman McCrory and DAR membership papers.
10 Davidson County, NC Genealogical Society, Davidson County Heritage Book, from an article by Grace McCrary Lopp, ( Winston-Salem, NC: Hunter Publishing Co.), p. 380.
11 Bradford Monthly Meeting, Chester Co., PA, Certificate of Removal for William Whitaker and family issued 15th day 6th month 1751 (15 Aug 1751) from microfilm collection, Friend's Historical College Library, Swarthmore, PA.
12 Jo White Linn, Abstracts of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Rowan Co., NC 1753-1762, (Salisbury, NC: Salisbury Publishing Co., 1977), pg. 75
13 Jo White Linn, "1759 Rowan County Militia List", from Military Collection of the Treasurer's and Comptroller's Papers, NC Archives, Rowan County Register, Vol. 2, No. 1, (February, 1987) pgs. 273-4
14 McCubbins Collection, housed at the Rowan Public Library, Salisbury, NC, "McCrary File", first entry noted Rowan Co., Deed Bk 6:73, last entry Bk 9:301.
15 "Will of Hugh McCreary", 14 Feb 1785, Rowan Co. NC, Will Bk C, pg. 18.
16 Jo White Linn, Abstracts of Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Rowan Co., NC 1775-1789, Vol. III, p. 135, from microfilm of Bk 4:519.
17 Henry Reeves Collection, "Diary of John Arends", Davidson County Public Library
18 "Will of John McCrary, Sr.", 15 May 1822, Davidson Co., NC, Will Bk I, pg. 158, in which his wife's name (living at time of will) is given as Margaret. No evidence has been found that he ever married a second time to a "Sarah" Lusk, supposedly Margaret's sister as previously written.
19 "Will of Andrew Smith", 16 Oct 1784, Dept. of State of NJ ,Liber 35, folio 114, proved 26 Apr 1794 states "...and to my daughter Jemima's children that she bear to Benjamin Merrill, to wit Samuel, John, Andrew, William, Charles, Elijah and Jonathan Merrill and Anna McCleary."
20 McCubbins Collection, housed at the Rowan County Public Library Salisbury, NC, Silvers file, entry from Rowan County Deed Bk 14:354 and Bk 16:694 in which John Silvers and wife Elizabeth and Boyd McCrary sell land on Abbott's Creek to John Freedle and Frederic Mikel.
21 "Hugh NcCrary marriage bond to Polly Sluder, Rowan Co., NC," 6 Aug 1787.
22 "Joseph Davis marriage bond to Susannah McCrary, Rowan Co., NC", 28 Dec 1779.
23 "Gabriel Davis marriage bond to Nancy Ann McCrary, Rowan Co., NC," 29 Nov 1791.
24 "Joseph Huff marriage bond to Lydia McCrary, Rowan Co., NC," 22 Jan 1791.
25 "Estate of Hugh McCrary", Loose estate papers, CRX Files Rowan County, box 6.
26 Whitaker family papers, op. cit.
Email me:lamccrary@worldnet.att.net