The Cromartie Family
The majority of Cromarties in the United States trace their ancestry to William Cromartie who came to North Carolina from the Orkney Islands of Scotland in 1765 and his wife Ruhamah Doane. She was descended from Stephen Hopkins, who was stranded on Bermuda for nine months after his ship, the Sea Venture, crashed on the reefs near the island. His adventures and the mutiny that he led are believed to have inspired William Shakespeare to write The Tempest.
Although Hopkins was sentenced to death, his life was spared, and he and other survivors completed their voyage to Jamestowne in 1609. He sailed back to England but subsequently returned to America on the Mayflower in 1620.
This lineage qualifies for membership in both the Jamestowne Society and the Society of Mayflower Descendants. William served as a Revolutionary War soldier, and his progeny are eligible for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution.
William was born on the island of South Ronaldshay in the Orkney Islands on May 1, 1731. He worked as a sailor until he met a beautiful woman on a voyage to America. They married and settled on South River in Bladen County, North Carolina. Tradition holds that she was of royal blood in the Stuart family. Her grave was called “the grave of the Princess.” William received numerous grants from the king and owned large tracts of land in eastern North Carolina. Their sole son, William Jr. was born September 10, 1765. As an adult, he took to sea and traveled to Canada and India before settling in the Orkney Islands.
After the death of his first wife, William Sr. on April 22, 1766 married Ruhamah Doane, who had been born October 31, 1745 and died December 26, 1813.
William Cromartie served in Coleman’s Company during the revolution. He and Ruhamah Doane had twelve children: James, Thankful, Elizabeth, Hannah, Alexander, John, Margaret, Catherine, Jean, Peter, Ann, and Mary. He died September21, 1807. Legend dictates that back in Scotland, he was an earl, and his grave is called “the grave of the earl.
For anyone interested in tracing their Cromartie lineage, the best source is the four volume Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane and Related Families by Amanda Cook Gilbert.
Amanda contacted me 12/19/11. I am Larry Vidal. She said our lineages connect somewhere. I gave her my immediate families birth dates and places of birth. Glad I found your website.
I’m glad you have found the website. I hope you enjoy it.
Just wanted to say thank you for your work! I just found out my own direct desendence of the Cromartie’s through Thankful and Alexander Hendry, I was very excited to come across your website!
Welcome to the family, Lyndsay. You should consider coming to the reunion in October in Bladen County, North Carolina. There is always an interesting speaker, and it’s enlightening to meet and learn from the people that attend.
Hello,
I am so curious to know more of my family background. It would be very much appreciated if someone could contact me. I look forward to future devours!
Sincerely,
Madelynn Rochelle Milburn
barbiemadelynn5@gmail.com
Do you know where they are buried. Do you know where they White Oak Plantation Cemetery actually is? I have been asked to photograph the gravesite and can not find it. Any help is appreciated.
My DNA test links me as a 4th cousin to Shirley Hines so we share a third great grandparent…I was told by another fourth cousin that would be Luther and Julia Cromartie
Hi Eloise:
Luther Cromartie (born Oct 12, 1829) was the son of James Cromartie (born March 28, 1767) and Catherine Taylor (born Dec 21, 1788). Luther married his first cousin Julia Clark Cromartie (born Aug 9, 1833) on Nov 7, 1849. She was the daughter of Peter Cromartie (born June 18, 1787) and Sarah Boone Sessions (born 1784). James Cromartie and Peter Cromartie were sons of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane.
I am not Caucasian and I am a bloodline Cromartie…my great great grandfather Richard G. Cromartie is the biological son of someone. Again my third great grandparents are Luther and Julia Cromartie. I spoke with Amanda Cook and I still was left unclear which Cromartie is his Father. She said my great great grandfather mom was a biracial slave…so I assume that is why the Cromartie’s did not keep track of him. So I am sure my great grandmother his daughter Almeta never met her grandparents.
Greetings! I am descended from Stephen Hopkins, Constance Hopkins to my grandmother Annie Irene Cromartie. If you need any information for this line I would be happy and proud to share.
My records show that Annie Irene Cromartie was the daughter of Joel Blake Cromartie who was the son of John Alexander Cromartie Jr, the son of John Alexander Cromartie who was the son of William’s son Alexander. She was born in Florida on August 11, 1904 and died in Tallahassee, Florida August 3, 2001. Please post any information that you have.
Hello Sam,
My line is as follows:
Stephen Hopkins = Mary
Constance Hopkins = Nicholas Snow
John Snow = Mary Smalley
Hannah Snow = Hezekiah Doane
Hezekiah Doane Jr = Thankful Bickford
Ruhama Doane = William Cromartie
Alexander Cromartie = Elizabeth Ann Devane
John Cromartie = Eliza Ann Hendon
John Alexander Cromartie = Ann Elizabeth Blake
Joel Blake Cromartie = Emma Ethel Walker
Annie Irene Cromartie = Jesse B. Hornsby
Jesse Scott Hornsby = Gloria Evelyn Champagne
ME: Janet Suzan Hornsby = 1. James Douglas McAdams; 2. Christopher Donegan
Also need to clear up that my grandmother Annie Irene Cromartie died in Clearwater, Pinellas, Florida not Tallahassee.
DATES OF BIRTH/DEATH:
Alexander Cromartie B: 12 Aug 1772 Bladen Co, NC – 9 Mar 1839 Bladen Co, NC
m: Elizabeth Ann Devane B: 13 Oct 1782 NC – 31 Aug 1822 Bladen Co, NC
John Cromartie B: 15 Mar 1808 Bladen Co, NC – 26 Oct 1864 Micosukee, Leon, FL
m: Eliza Ann Hendon B: 10 Aug 1813 NC – 22 Jun 1831 Bladen Co, FL
John Alexander Cromartie B:14 Aug 1834 Bladen Co, NC – 10 Apr 1908 FL
m: Ann Elizabeth Blake B: 23 Mar 1839 Blakely Plantation, Leon, FL – 10 Apr
1908 Blakely Plantation, Leon, FL
Joel Blake Cromartie B: 30 Jul 1868 Blakely Plantation, Leon, FL – 1 Oct 1943
m: Emma Ethel Walker B: 11 Oct 1879 Lloyd, Jefferson, FL – 25 Mar 1910
Alamagorda, NM
Annie Irene Cromartie B: 11 Aug 1904 Lloyd, Jefferson, FL
m: Jesse B. Hornsby B: 9 Nov 1899 Whigham, Decatur, GA
Jesse Scott Hornsby B: 22 Sep 1933 Clearwater, Pinellas, FL
m: Gloria Evelyn Champagne B: 7 May 1935 Greene, Androscoggin, ME
Janet Suzan Hornsby B: 14 Nov 1953 Gainesville, Alachua, FL
m: Christopher Donegan
I saw your information posted on the Cromartie website for lineage beginning with Stephen Hopkins down through the marriage of Hezakiah Doane and Hannah Snow. Would you please let me know where you found the information that he actually married Hannah Snow and when, if available. My husband is a descendant through that line and I have been told by the Mayflower Society that the absence of verification of that could be a problem.
Thanks for your help!
Hi Millie:
The marriage of Hannah Snow to Hezekiah Doane is covered in Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol 6 Third ed (Stephen Hopkins) page 17 and in Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane and Related Families Vol 1 p 11.
Sorry hit the return before I was finished:
Annie Irene Cromartie: D: 3 Aug 2001 Clearwater, Pinellas, FL
Jesse B Hornsby D: 1939 Clearwater, Pinellas, FL
Jesse Scott Hornsby D: 24 May 2007 (Drowning)
Gloria Evelyn Champagne D: 24 May 2007 (Drowning)
Any other information you need just let me know.
I an Sam Cromartie Jr.’s cousin and have frequent access to internet so please let me know if you have new history or information…I will continue to share our history. Thank you, ML Arterberry
Blue Star Mother of
Senior Airman Mark Stafford
I enjoyed hearing from you. Amanda Cook Gilbert will be publishing an extensive four-volume genealogy of the Cromartie family in the near future. You might find it useful to contact her at aacook@consolidated.net for the most current information and also to give her any information you might want to include in her books.
Sam Cromartie
Hello Sam: Thanks for this site and its several very interesting aspects.
My lineage William Cromartie, Alexander Cromartie, Alexander Bolivar Cromartie, Elizabeth Cromartie Horn, Marcella Horn. My grandmother, Elizabeth Cromartie Horn passed her father’s Bible to me. I am in contact with Robert Cromartie of Mobile who was able to reconstruct our lineage to the Mayflower. My GGF, Alexander Bolivar Cromartie fought throughout the Civil War. I’m grateful for the purpose I see in each generation; even in loss their persistance is formidable. Living up to their standards sets a high bar. I hope to be well enough to travel and see all of you in reunion.
I have found information that directs my (black) ancestors “Cromartie” to the White Oak Plantation, Elizabethtown, NC. I am thinking that my ancestor was a slave to the Cromartie family that lived there and later took on their name when they were freed. Do you have any information regarding the slaves that use to be a part of this plantation and their names?
Hi Phil: William Cromartie (born in 1731 in Scotland) and his wife Ruhamah Doane (born in 1745) had a daughter Thankful who was born April 23, 1768 in Bladen County, North Carolina and died April 28, 1843 at White Oak Plantation in New Hanover, North Carolina. William owned a number of slaves, and in his will, he left a “Negro boy named Cesor” to Thankful. Thankful married Alexander Hendry II who was born about 1760 in Scotland and died Sept. 4, 1819 in Bladen County, North Carolina. He left to his wife all his land on White Oak and the followings Negroes: Harry, Cyar, Peggy, and Jean. He also left her the following slaves until her son Alexander came of age: Sampson, Benjamin, Flora, Rhoda, and Abraham. These were to be divided among her sons Robert and William and her daughters Mary, Thankful, and Hannah Jane. To his daughter Mary he left a “Negro girl named Milly.” To his daughter Thankful he left Negro girls named Maggie and Zilpha. To his daughter Hannah Jane he left a Negro girl named Abby. To his son John he gave a Negro boy named Jack. To his son Charley he left a Negro boy named Toby and to his son Alexander he left a Negro boy named Lewis. A copy of this will is to be included in the Cromartie genealogy to be published by the Cromartie family in the near future.
Hi Mr. Sam,
Thank you for providing this. Harry is my great-great grandfather. Do you have any information on him, such as his birth location or parents’ names, please? Thank you again for this information!
Kay
Just inquiring about the progression of the book. I have lots of information I would be happy to supply. Just let me know!
Hi, I’m hoping you can help me trace the slaves, I’m trying to find out who their children are. Please contact me at 646 418 0350 I am Afro American a descent of the Cromartie and researching my family tree. Thanks!
I don’t have any information on the children of the slaves. I posted today the will of John Cromartie of 1850 which lists his slaves at that time.
My great great grandfather was Richard Cromartie and he was biracial which makes him a blood Cromartie…by either his white father or white mother I do not know. He lived in Bladen County and he married Fannie Hawkins I have a picture of her and she looks white. They had a bunch of children which included my great grandmother Almeta Cromartie and they eventually left the area for Pittsburgh, PA. Trying to find out which Cromartie was my great great grandfathers parent.
Hello Eloise. My DNA test shows my relations are also the same circumstances as yours. I am also DNA connected to Hawkins. I am not yet entirely sure how these connections play out. My Gedmatch id is A210989
I will take a DNA test next month and post my results…my family tree is quite interesting on both my paternal and maternal side. As Cromartie descendant from my father and a Dumas decendant from my mother
I took my DNA test and my third great grandparents are Luther and Julia Cromartie (who were first cousins to each other)…I am a blood relative of William and Ruhamah Doane, they must be my 5th great grandparents…I am 32 percent white and 66 percent african heritage 1.1 percent some other mix of east asian and .9 percent unknown
Sam, thanks for all your interest and work.
Thankful Cromartie was my wife’s 4th Great Grandmother (as you’ve stated above, she married Alexander Hendry), and her 3rd Great Grandmother was Catherine Hendry, who married Hiram Tucker. My wife’s mother was a Tucker. Are you interested in some of these “distant” relatives, and if so, what is the best way to get info to you?
Again, appreciate your website.
The best way to provide the information would be to post it at this website and thus share it with all the readers. Here is some of the data that I have on Thankful Cromartie.
Thankful Cromartie was the second child and first daughter of William and Ruhamah Cromartie. She was born on April 24, 1768 in Bladen County and died August 28, 1843 at White Oak Plantation in New Hanover, North Carolina. Perhaps she was named for her maternal grandmother, Thankful Bickford who was born on August 3, 1714 in Provincetown, Massachusetts and died before 1771 in New Hanover, North Carolina and who married Hezekiah Doane Jr.
In 1784 Thankful Cromartie married Alexander Hendry II who was born on the Isle of Arran, Scotland approximately 1763 and died in Bladen County, North Carolina on September 4, 1819. They had twelve children of whom the third was Catherine Thankful Hendry who was born at White Oak Plantation in New Hanover County, North Carolina on June 17, 1788 and died in Montgomery County, Alabama in 1866. Her husband was Hiram Tucker who was born in North Carolina in 1784 and died in Pike County, Alabama in 1857. Catherine and Hiram had fifteen children who are listed below.
Thankful Jemina Tucker
Anna Jane Tucker
Alexander Tucker
James S Tucker
Elizabeth (Eliza) Margaret Tucker
Charles Tucker
Ira James Tucker
Hiram Cromartie Tucker
Isaac David “Pink” Tucker
Richard Thomas Tucker
Mary “Catherine” Tucker
Harriet Amanda Tucker
John R V Tucker
George Washington Jeff Tucker
Hannah Melinda Tucker
Hello My name is Dana. My Mother, Johanna Cromartie. (She never married nor took her fathers last name) My grandmother was Helen Lee Cromartie. Her father Samuel Lee Cromartie. My Grandmother cared for war Veteran (James Cromartie I believe her brother) for years before his passing in the 1980’s. I believe her Mothers name was Sarah? She had many other brothers and Sisters. (My Grandmother, Helen) I am a part of the Cromartie’s living on the East Coast. Any other information about how our blood lines may connect? I would greatly appreciate the knowledge. Thank you very much for your passing on your Love of Family, Culture, Heritage. Honor, Pride and Truth.
Hi Dana: I’m sorry but I have no information on the people you listed. Do you have any other information such as dates and places of birth and/or death and spouse names?
Hi, Dana here. I believe my maternal Grandmother Helen, and her siblings were born in the 1800’s-1900’s. My Grandmother did marry. (John D. Ransom) marriage date, unknown to me. My Grandmother kept a bible with names, dates. She passed away in the 80’s. Where about of her Bible, unknown? Her siblings were; Hazel, Dorthy, Pauline, Robert, and James Cromartie. They all have passed on as well. Thank You again for any information You may be able to share with me, warm regards.
Hi Dana,
Replying to a very old thread here. My grandfather, (William) Lloyd Cromarty had a cousin named Hazel, and I think Dorothy as well. Did your (great aunt?) Hazel happen to grow up in Easton PA? If it’s the same Hazel, then you and I would be distant cousins.
-Lauren C.
From “The Willaim Cromartie Family” August 1946 …My dad Donald Cromartie notes that his father is Angus,son of Luther…Luther son of James….James is son of William Cromartie.
Looks as though William was born in Scotland May 1st,1731.Native of the Island of Orkney,Scotland.
William Cromartie did come from South Ronaldshay, one of the Orkney Islands. He met a woman on the voyage to American and married her. They settled in Bladen County, North Carolina and had one son William who left America after the Revolutionary War and went to sea. Eventually he settled in the Orkney Islands. The original William married Ruhamah Doane on April 22, 1766. She was a descendant of Stephen Hopkins who came to Plymouth, Mass on the Mayflower. William and she had twelve children (four boys and eight girls). James, the eldest son, was born March 28, 1767 and died June 27, 1845 in Bladen County. He settled on South River and owned large tracts of land in Bladen, Sampson, and New Hanover Counties in North Carolina as well as land in Florida. He also owned interest in the Branch Creek Bank of Cape Fear, North Carolina and the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad. He married Eleanor Hannah Meredith. After she died, he married Catherine Taylor in 1817. Luther was the fifth child of James and Catherine. He was born October 12, 1829 in Bladen County. He married his first cousin Julia Clark Cromartie who was the daughter of Patrick Cromartie and Sarah Boone Sessions. Luther died May 10, 1911 in Bladen County, NC. Angus was the twelfth of their thirteen children. He was born June 22, 1874 in Garland, NC and died October 11, 1934 in Garland. He married Anna Isabella Black on December 23, 1903.
Yes that is the info in the book..Angus had different colored eyes.There is a picture of him that one of my siblings has…it’s supposed to be mine but no one will fess up….! Love that name Angus. Have a great day! Thank You.
Hi, Susie. You asked how we are related in your email.
I am descended from William Cromartie’s son John (your ancestor James’s brother) who was born in Bladen County February 28, 1774 and died September 13, 1850. He married Ann Herrington. They had ten children.
Their son William James Cromartie was born on August 23, 1824 and died on May 5, 1898 in Bladen County. He married Mary Douglas Sloan; and my grandfather Robert Samuel Cromartie M.D. was their son.
He was born in Bladen County November 28, 1869 and died June 13, 1965. He graduated from Davidson College in 1895, completed the program at the University of North Carolina Medical School in 1899, and graduated from the North Carolina Medical College at Davidson in 1900. He played on the University of North Carolina’s only undefeated and untied football team in 1898. He practiced medicine in Bladen County, N.C. and served for years as Bladen County Health Officer. His first wife was Janie Victoria Cromartie who died in 1904.
He subsequently married Mary Blanche Jester and they had six children including my father, Robert Samuel Cromartie, Jr. who was born November 14, 1908 and died January 26, 1983. He married May Hunter Cook, and they made their home in Fayetteville, North Carolina where he owned the Dixie Coal and Oil Company. She was the daughter of John H. Cook, an attorney who served as mayor of Fayetteville, as a representative in the North Carolina Congress for three terms, and served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army in the Pacific theater during WWII.
I was born in Fayetteville, N.C., graduated from the University of North Carolina and from UNC School of Medicine, served as a captain in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, and practiced thoracic and cardiovascular surgery on the faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine and in private practice in Florida. My wife Elaine and I live in Ormond Beach, FL near our three adult children and three grandchildren.
Awesome heritage . Thank you and honored to be related to you!
This is great, but it does not mention any of the Cromartie slaves. They, we carry the Cromartie name as well. Surely some one should have documention on the slaves! I would appreciate it, if someone could help me. I have located all the cromartie black American family, but if want to be able to state the connection!
It’s not fair for you to be able to dig into your pass and we we cannot!
Thanks,
Almeda Terry
Amanda Cook Gilbert’s book should be available soon through the family web site http://www.cromartiefamilyassociation.com. It will contain the wills of a number of Cromarties from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The names of slaves will be listed in them.
Hello:
Just ordered a copy of Amanda’s book on Amazon. My line goes through Catherine, I have a few pictures and a letter or two that was written from when my ancestors relocated to Brazil after the Civil War, also a hand-written genealogy from my grand-father, Albert W. Currie. I wish I had discovered this link and Amanda’s work before publication. Albert (Bertie) Currie was my grand-father, I have a few documents showing slave inventory, property assessments, wills, etc. My cousin, Leta Currie, (deceased) also did a lot of work on our ancestory and much of what I have I owe to her. Want to thank you and Amanda for all the hard work.
Regards,
Ron Currie
Hi Ron. Thanks for the info.
William and Ruhamah Cromartie’s daughter Catherine was born in Bladen County, NC on July 8, 1780 and died Oct 2, 1876. She married Alexander Currie. They had six children:
Loruhamah Currie
William Cromartie Currie
Elizabeth Currie
Jane Currie
Alexander F Currie
John H Currie
William Cromartie Currie was born in Mississippi on June 17, 1810. He died in Carroll Parish, Louisiana on Oct 2, 1876. He married Adeline Whitaker, but after she died of Yellow Fever, he married Hester Ann Selser. William and Adeline had two children: Abraham Whitaker Currie and Huldah A Devine Currie.
Abraham Whitaker Currie was born in Madison County, Miss on March 18, 1838 and died in Santa Barbara D’oeste, Brazil on Sept 27, 1889. He married Adelia F Selser and Helen Paulina Damm. Abraham and Helen had three children who were born in Santa Barbara D’oeste, Brazil and died in Texas:
Bruce Domm Currie
Albert Whitaker Currie (born Nov 21, 1882; died June 15, 1966 in Bridge City, Texas)
Vic Von Rehder Currie
Albert Whitaker Currie married Lettie Leora Admire. They had two children who were born in Houston, Texas on May 27, 1916:
John Admire Currie
Albert Domm Currie
jsut wondering how my line ties into this post i am william cromartie currie the 5th my father william cromartie currie iv his father william cromartie currie III and so on my grand father and great great grandfather were from louisiana.
Hi! I am so excited I found you online and then looked on FB to see if you were there! My mom’s dad is Scott Earl Eubank. His mother is Catharine Irene Cromartie! My mom was just telling me yesterday she didn’t know if my great grandmother (I think) Catharine was actually born in the states or Scotland. I showed her what I had found when I googled my Grandad Eubank….She was so excited to read about her grandmother! What amazing things to read about our family after all of these years! I loved reading about her parents William and Ruhamah!! Would that make them my great, great grandparents? Thank you so much for all of your hard work.
My grandfather is Scott Earl Eubank. His daughter is my mother Dolly Sue Eubank Sims.
I look forward to reading more. I will be getting the book!
Blessings,
Brenda Sims Slaughter
Hello Brenda. I’m glad you enjoy the site. According to Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane and Related Families Vol 1, Catherine “Irene” Cromartie was a descendant of William Cromartie’s and Ruhamah Doane’s sons Alexander Cromartie (born August 12, 1772 in Bladen County, North Carolina) and James Cromartie (born March 28, 1767 in Bladen County, North Carolina.
Daniel Washington Cromartie, son of Alexander Cromartie and Elizabeth Kerr, married Narcissa Elizabeth Faison. They both died in Texas. Their daughter Catherine “Irene” Cromartie was born in Texas on September 20, 1867 and died in Texas on June 16, 1962.
Narcissa Elizabeth Faison was the daughter of Margaret Cromartie and Elias Faison, both of North Carolina. Margaret was the daughter of James Cromartie.
Dear Sam,
I just realized you had written me back. Thank you so much!
Yes, Catherine Irene Cromarty is my great, great grandmother. My aunt that we call Aunt Tommye was named after her..Alice
Irene Eubank Farrell. She is married to Richard Gene Farrell. My mom is Dolly Sue Eubank Sims and was married to James Bernard Sims. He passed away on May 1 of 2013 of cancer.
I have been so overwhelmed with all of the information about our ancestors! What a wonderful family. There is so much information and is so much fun to read! I am so grateful that I found out! Thanks, Sam!
Do you have a way for me to find out more? I would like to give the information my mom has to someone if they would like it.
Brenda
Thank you, everyone, for your quick and very helpful reply to my question. I have been researching my black ancestry for over 30 years, but mainly concentrating on my grandfather’s (Archibald Honduras Gillespie) side whose descendants are still holding Annual Family Reunions in Elizabethtown NC. His side descended from the David Gillespie Slaves of the current Lebanon Plantation (aka Gillespie Plantation aka Gillespie Flowers Plantation) in the Carvers Creek area of Bladen County.
I wrote a Gillespie Family Tree, which I distribute every year, and this year decided to do updates with information on his wife’s side (Princess Cromartie), as there are many ‘Cromarties’ who attend our Reunion. The only information that I could find for Princess Cromartie was in the 1870-1880 Bladen County Census Records and on a deed from 1893, when she and Stephen gave 3 acres of farmland on Brown’s Creek Church Road to their grandson Graham Gillespie. Princess’s maiden name of Cromartie was on her third son’s (Samuel) death certificate. Variations of her name include Princess A, Printess, Prentiss, Prentice, and Purtiss.
Is there any information on Daniel Washington Cromartie or Patrick Lafayette? Where did they live after their father, Alexander, died? Did they have wills? I will buy those those books on Amazon.
Thank you again
I am researching my slave ancestors of Bladen County. My G-G-Grandmother lived in Elizabethtown NC after slavery. She was born around 1821 and named Princess (Prentice, Prentiss) Cromartie. She married Stephen Gillespie and they had a farm on Brown’s Creek Church Rd. and Cromartie Road in Elizabethtown NC.
I read in the Bladen County Heritage book, Vol. 1, that James Cromartie (b. 1767-1845), mentioned 41 slaves in his will that he distributed to his children. Can you tell me where I can get a copy of his will? I have not been able to find any information on Prentice Cromartie or her family.
Hi Linda
James Cromartie was the son of William Cromartie. He lived in Bladen County and died June 27, 1845. There is no mention of Prentice in his will. The will may be found in Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane and Related Families Volume I by Amanda Cook Gilbert at amazon.com.
Will of James Cromartie
In the name of God “Amen”
I, James Cromartie of the State of North Carolina and County of Bladen being of sound and perfect mind and memory do this the thirteenth day of March in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight hundred Forty-five make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner following that is to say.
1st I give and bequeath unto my sons James William Cromartie and Franklin Taylor Cromartie and Luther Cromartie all my lands on Cypress Creek and on the drains of Colly Swamp, including my mill and mill stones together with the chain that belongs to the mill and also my Timber wagon together with every other advantage belonging there to to be divided equally divided among them, except as herein excepted.
I give and bequeath unto my son James William Cromartie the following negroes.
Simeon, Billy, Owen, Caroline, Richard, Howard, Louie, Molsey, and her daughter Rachel.
I give and bequeath unto my son John Quincey Cromartie all my lands in Leon County, Florida except so much as is here in excepted.
I give and bequeathun to my son John Quincey Cromartie the following negroes. Lavina, Jane, and her son Richard, Abram, Toney, Ann, Mariah, Reed, Thomas, and Mary, Penny’s daughter.
I give and bequeath unto my son Franklin Taylor Cromartie all my lands in Sampson County bought of William Robinson Esq containing about twenty two hundred acres including the grist mill and other improvements thereon also about one hundred acres in Florida it being a part of the land on which John Quincey Cromartie is now living, giving John Quincey Cromartie first choice of the Florida tract of land.
I give and bequeath upon my son Franklin Taylor Cromartie the following negroes namely Sam, Penny, Rachel, Penny’s daughter, Amos, Eliza, Matilda, Alfred, Payton, Ned, and Billy, Billy’s son.
I give and bequeath unto Calvin Cromartie the following land about twelve hundred acres lying and being in the County of Bladen between the Indian Camp bay and Colly Swamp and joining my mill lands, and the head of the Beaver dam Bay.
I also give and bequeath unto my son Calvin Cromartie one half of my lands on the North West River
I give and bequeath unto my son Calvin Cromartie the following negroes. John, Hannah, Clarrissa, Isaac, Sam Senior, Gabriel, Miriam, Margaret Ann, and Jane.
I give and bequeath unto my son Luther Cromartie the plantation where on I now live including all my land near and joining where I now live together with one half of my land on the North West River.
I give and bequeath unto my son Luther Cromartie, Viz
Harry, Amy, Anthony, Washington, Eliza, Daniel Senior, Nelson, Dill, Daniel Junior, and Sam. King
I give and bequeath unto my sons Calvin and Luther Cromartie my interests in the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad.
I give and bequeath unto my sons Calvin and Luther Cromartie my interests in the Branch Bank of Cape Fear at Fayetteville and to be equally between them.
I give and bequeath Calvin and Luther Cromartie one set of Blacksmith tools and other plantation tools together with ox carts and wagons.
I give and bequeath unto my wife Catherine Cromartie one negro man named William to be employed for her support and at her death to become the property of my son Luther Cromartie.
I also give and bequeath unto my wife Catherine Cromartie a negro boy named Sandy to dispose of as she may please.
I reserve unto my wife Catherine Cromartie my dwelling house and out houses and an equal interest in all the property willed to my sons Calvin and Luther Cromartie during her natural life.
I also reserve for my wife Catherine Cromartie the privilege of grinding at my grist mill without paying toll.
I leave the whole of my household and kitchen furniture with my wife to divide among my sons as she may think best. She making such choice for herself as she may prefer before dividing said goods.
I give and bequeath to my wife Catherine Cromartie a negro girl named Narcissa Elizabeth to dispose of as she may think best.
All my stock of cattle, horses, mules, hogs, sheep to be divided between my wife and sons.
I wish my sons Calvin and Luther to have one years schooling.
I reserve to my son Calvin Cromartie the privilege of sawing as much timber at my mill as will be necessary to build them a dwelling house and other necessary outhouses. That is out of his own timber.
I place in the hands of my wife Catherine Cromarite four hundred dollars. For the purpose of defraying the expense of board and tuition for Calvin and Luther Cromartie for the space of twelve months.
I wish all my just debts to be paid before division of property and should there be any property not disposed of by Will or otherwise, I wish it to be divided equally between my wife and sons.
I hereby make and appoint my wife Catherine Cromartie and my son James Williams Cromartie my executrix and my executor to this my last Will and Testament.
Witness my hand and seal March 13, 1845
Signed Sealed and delivered James Cromartie Seal
In presence of
Daniel N. McMillan
Daniel W. Cromartie
John O. Melvin
Hi Linda:
I have found a Princes in the will of Alexander Cromartie, a son of William Cromartie. Alexander was born on August 12, 1772 and died March 9, 1839 in Bladen County. In the second paragraph, he states, “ I give to my two sons, Daniel Washington and Patrick Lafayette Cromartie all the property that I have lent my wife, Elizabeth Cromartie, also all my land that I owe between South River and Colly Swamp. Three Hundred acres on and in Indian Creek. I also give them the following negroes, Little Alford, Ceasor, Jude, Princes, Harry, Stephen, Leah, Becky, Jane Eady, Ester, Jenny, Mary.
You can find the full will in Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane Vol III by Amanda Cook Gilbert on amazon.com or through WestBow Press 1 866 928 1240
I bought all 4 volumes of Cromartie history and hope to find more answers.
Can you tell me if any of the Cromartie land holdings included land around where Stephen and Princess had their farm in Elizabethtown after slavery (1870 census)? The cross roads are Cromartie Road and Brown’s Creek Church Rd. The farm was across from Brown’s Creek Church (still there). I am thinking that if the road is named Cromartie Road, that it may have been named after one of the Cromartie descendants and they owned the property there. When slavery ended, land was given to the slaves, maybe the farmland was given to Stephen and Princess???
I am also wondering if the Stephen in the Will of 1839, was Stephen Gillespie and perhaps Alexander bought him from the Gillespie Plantation to keep the family together. All of Princes’ children were born during the slave years, so Stephen Gillespie may have been with the Cromartie family.
Descendant of Roma Maye Mcintire. Leon Verzaal. Age 30. Born May 4th 1983.
Where do my siblings and I fit in to this family tree? Any help would be most appreciated.
Anyone interested in helping, may contact me at..lv5483@Yahoo.com
Thank you.
Hi Leon:
Your ancestry is detailed in Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane, Volume II by Amanda Cook Gilbert, WestBow Press, 2013. It can be purchased on Amazon or by calling 1 866 928 1240. Roma Maye McIntire (born in New Hanover County, North Carolina on December 30, 1938) is a descendant of Thankful Cromartie who was the daughter of William Cromartie who was born in 1731 on the Orkney Islands of Scotland and who settled in North Carolina. Thankful’s mother Ruhamah Doane was a descendant of Stephen Hopkins who arrived in America on the Mayflower in 1620.
Has anyone have information on a Roxanne
Cromartie
My previous asked about Roxanne Cromartie but
my great great grandfather was Richard Cromartie.
and I was just told his mother was Ella Cromartie
does anyone have information on Ella Cromartie
My great great grandfather Richard Cromartie
was born around 1871.
Eloise Page
My uncle is Richard Cromartie who died in around 2015.
My mother, Mary Beatrice Cromartie is Richard’s sister. They had 14 children in the family and Roxie died while still a young girl. They were all from the Bladen County, Lisbon area. Their father is Grover Charles Cromartie and their mother, Mylsia Cromartie. My mother Mary Beatrice Cromartie (married name McAllister) is the only one of all the children living now and she is 87.
Hi Sandra:
Glad to hear from you. My father, Robert Samuel Cromartie Jr is also from Bladen County.
Hi Sandra, I think we may be kin. My father is Gary Cromartie from Bladen County, who’s father was Manly Cromartie. I think Manly Cromartie was the sibling of your uncle Richard Cromartie and mother Mary Beatrice Cromartie. I would love to connect with you.
I have bought the book DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM CROMARTIE AND RUHAMAH DOANE, VOLUME III. I have additional information that is not included in the book. It has to do with Jean Cromartie’s and Angus Johnson’s daughter Mary, and Mary’s daughter Mary Jane. If you are interested, please let me know.
Hi Beverly: As you know, Jean Cromartie (born March 15, 1783) was a daughter of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane. She married Angus Johnson. Both of them were from Bladen County, North Carolina. Their daughter Mary married William Murray from Leon County, Florida. They had three children: Mary Jane Murray, Mary H Murray, and John Murray. I would be interested in any information you have on them or their progeny.
Hi Sam, Is information regarding the Thomas Co., GA Cromitie family included in your book? I’m curious about how the Cromitie name came from NC to Thomasville, GA. Was a Crumitie plantation located on the Leon Co, FL / Thomas Co., GA? Currently, there’s over 7 plantations along the route connecting the two counties. I was born in & am familiar with the area.
Franklin Taylor Cromartie, who was born June 24, 1825 in Bladen County, North Carolina, died October 18, 1853 win Leon County, Florida. He was the son of James Cromartie and Catherine Taylor of Bladen County. He married Margaret Albina Currie in Decatur County, Georgia
Two sons of Alexander Cromartie and Elizabeth DeVane of Bladen County also died in Leon County. One son, Alexander was born August 31, 1806 in Bladen County and died in May 1870 in Iaomonia Lake of Leon County. A second son, John Alexander Cromartie was born on March 15, 1808 in Bladen County and died in Iaomonia Lake of Leon County some time after 1860. I believe other Cromarties also migrated to Leon County.
I am from Thomasville Ga. I have just come across the Cromartie Website when I started to do my search on my great-great grandmother. Let me start by telling you my line that I just discovered that leads to William Cromartie and Ruhamah. I am the daughter of Cindy Lee & Paul Mack Garren, My line is from my mom’s side of the family. My grandmother was Martha Virgina Perkins she married Alton Lee. She was the daughter of David Daniel Perkins & Kate Jones. My great grandmother Kate Jones was the daughter of Nathan Franklin Jones & Thomas W. “Tommie” Herring. My great great grandmother Tommie Herring is the daughter of Thomas W. Herring. (I was told by my great aunt Winfred Perkins Maxwell that she was named after her dad). My 3rd great grandfather Thomas W. Herring was the son of Hanson William Herring & Amy Caroline Anders. My 4th great grandmother Amy Caroline Anders was the daughter of John Anders III & Ann Cromartie. My 5th great grandparents were William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane. When I came across information that was published on my Herring side as I went down the line and saw my grandmother Virgina Perkins Lee’s name and my grandfather Alton Lee. The published information had my grandfather’s information correct but my grandma’s Date of Death and location was incorrect. I wanted to give you the corrected date. Virginia Perkins Lee born April 10,1917 Cairo, (Grady Co.) Georgia in the Cairo Jailhouse. (Her father David Daniel “D.D.” was the Sheriff of Grady Co. when she was born and they lived there at the Jail during time of her birth). Virginia died on August 23, 2000 at Archbold Memorial Hospital Thomasville Georgia. She was 83 years old. My grandmother has 2 siblings still alive. Most of the cousins are still in the Grady Co. area. Every year we have a Perkins Family Reunion. Would Love to learn more about The Cromartie Family I look forward in hearing from you. Thank you and God bless to you all.
Hi Christie:
You have an interesting family history. Not many of us can claim ancestors who were born in a jailhouse. As I’m sure you know, Ann E. Cromartie married Captain John Alexander Anders III on May 11, 1815. Ann, the daughter of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane was born in Bladen County, North Carolina on March 1, 1789 and died March 31, 1849 also in Bladen County. John died in Bladen County on May 11, 1815. He served as a lieutenant and perhaps as a captain during the War of 1812. Ann and John had multiple children: Mary Anders, Mariah Anders, Ruhamah (Amy) Caroline Anders, William Washington Anders, John Alexander Anders, Hannah Jane Anders, Elizabeth Ann Anders, Mary Margaret Anders, and Patrick Lloyd Anders.
I found my name and my family’s on page 231 of Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane, Volume IV. I would like to update and give some corrections, if I may. My grandfather was Joseph Attmore Harris. My mother is Margaret Ann Harris. My father is Hugh Taylor Midyette and his birthdate is 3 June 1932, not 1930. My sister Alice and I were both born in Craven County, North Carolina. My sister has a son, Stephen Paul Morton, born 1 March 1992, Craven County, North Carolina. I was married to Norman Christopher Fuller, 4 July 1992, Monroe County, Florida. We have a son, Samuel Anthony Fuller, born 25 November 1996, Monroe County, Florida.
I’ve sent this link to my mother, who may also be able to give you some updates and corrections. Thank you!!!
Hi Sarah:
Thanks for the information. I have forwarded it to Amanda Cook Gilbert.
Hi Sam,
My great great grandfather Richard Cromartie is the son of Ella Cromartie. She had a son by a black slave. My great great grandfather was a mulatto. He took his last name Cromartie from Ella who is a direct descendant of Cromartie. Richard Cromartie married Fanny Hawkins and they left North Carolina and went to Pittsburgh, PA. Who are the parents of Ella Cromartie?
Hi Sharon:
The only Ella Cromartie that I can find is Ella Jane Cromartie whose parents were John “Quincey” Cromartie and Nancy Elvira “Nannie” Hart. Ella was born in Leon County, Florida Nov 15, 1853 and died in Wilmington, North Carolina on Nov 20, 1932. Ella married William King Anders M.D. in 1875. They had four children. She does not appear to be the Ella whom you seek.
What about a Stella Cromartie? I have a picture of Ella Cromartie, Fanny Hawkins brother (Wife of Richard Cromartie), and Stella Cromartie. In the pictures I have, they appear to be white or mixed race.
Hello Sharon, I hope you get this message. I would like to know more about your Cromartie. My grandfather and his twin brother were also mulattos, but we have no other knowledge of any other relatives. The twins were born about 1910/1911 in MS, LA, FL or OK. You may reach me directly at JCdba@aol.com. Please include CROMARTIE in the subject line.
Thanks
Hi everyone! Recently found my name in the book! It was very exciting. I was born and raised in Texas, but am currently stationed at Fort Bragg NC, less than 100 miles from where Cromartie settled.
I’ve tried doing some research on his revolutionary war time, but I’m having a hard time finding his name on any rosters. Can you point me in the right direction?
Hi Jason:
I was stationed at Fort Bragg when I returned from Vietnam in 1971-72. The booklet, The William Cromartie Family, published in 1946 from data collected by Miss Elizabeth Janet Black states, “William Cromartie was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. In the North Carolina Colonial records, Vol. 16, we find: William Cromarty, private, 10th regiment, Company Coleman’s, date of enlistment December 5, 1781.” This booklet is usually for sale at the Cromartie reunion in October. The DAR accepts William Cromartie as a revolutionary war soldier.
Thank you for your reply! It’s great being able to trace ancestry back that far, and knowing that soldiering is “in my blood”.
Jason,
I’m in process of applying to the Sons of the American Revolution. Here are some references I supplied:
North Carolina State Archives, Military Papers – Revolutionary War Army Accounts. Cromartie, William. (T&C Mil. 31.49-31.51) Call Number: Croc-Daughtry, S.115.80. MARS Id: 13.30.13048 Microfilm.
National Society, Daughters of the Revolution. DAR Patriot Index, Volume I, A-F. Baltimore: Gateway Press, Inc., 2003. 648. Print.
National Society, Sons of the American Revolution. Patriot & Grave Record, Ancestor #P-141347. Citation: 56th-77th Annual Reports DAR. Washington: United States Congress, Senate, Government Printing Office. NC Colonial Records, Vol. 16.
Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstracts of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Vol. 1, A-D. Dallas: Pioneer Heritage Press, 1987. 218. Print.
White, Virgil D. Index to Revolutionary War Service Records, Volume I: A-D. Waynesboro: National Historical Publishing Co., 1995. 639. Print.
Maddox, Joseph T. and Carter, Mary. North Carolina Revolutionary Soldiers, Sailors, Patriots & Descendants, Volume I. Albany: Georgia Pioneers Publications. 57. Print.
Great site. Thanks Sam. I am a descendant of William Cromartie through his daughter Thankful who married Alexander Hendry to Robert Henry to John Sillars Henry to Robert Jeptha Henry who married Martha Jane Bell. Their daughter Mary Rebecca Henry married Martin Woods. Their son Louis Edgar Woods daughter Marguerite Belle Woods is my grandmother. You’ve tickled my genealogist nerve with this site. Is there more info about William Cromartie. The books sound exciting. Are they available yet? Someday I might show up at the reunion if the invite extends to long lost distant cousins.
Hi Eric:
I’m glad you like the site and hope you will come to the reunion. Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane and Related Families comes in four volumes. They may be purchased by contacting WestBow Press, 1663 Liberty Drive, Bloomington, In 47403 (www.westbowpress.com) (866 928 1240) or on amazon.com.
I am in search of the connection between my parents (Vernon Shepherd-b: 1917, and Melba Irou Lee Shepherd-b: 1918) and William Cromartie-b: 1731. I recently discovered the hint of a connection when I googled my parents’ names and found my mother’s obituary listed in a book named Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhanah Doane Cromartie: Alexander Cromartie.” Any information you are willing to share with me will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Peggy Lindsey
According to Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane Vol III, Oscar Rowland Lee was born Sept 18, 1890 in Louisiana. He married Mahala Frances McGinty who was born in January 1895. Their child Melba Lee was born May 22, 1918 in Louisiana. She married Vernon Shepherd who died in February 1918. Oscar Rowland Lee’s ancestors listed in order are as follows:
John Harrison Lee
Catherine Ann Sellers
Elizabeth Ann Cromartie
Alexander Cromartie
William Cromartie
Hi, I ran across information in the book. And the information you have on my family is incorrect. Who do I contact about this?
Thank you!
Hi Katherine: I have forwarded your question to the author.
My line is from Elizabeth Cromartie, daughter of John, who married William Turner Kirby. I am in your book, Volume I, page 431. I am the oldest of four brothers but I am the only one making the book (no doubt the ’40 census). Brothers are George Franklin, Maurice Lynwood & Stephen Milton. Your blog was the first I had heard of the relationship with Stephen Hopkins. Can you point me in the right direction to link him and Ruhamah Doane. Thanks for your time and your work on behalf of the family.
Hi Michael: The linage is described in the book you have, Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane and Related Families Vol 1, under the section Ancestors of Ruhamah Doane which begins on page 9 and culminates with Stephen Hopkins on pages 25 through 30. You are descended Stephen Hopkins and his daughter Constance Hopkins, both of whom came to America on the Mayflower. Stephen also settled in Jamestown in 1610 but left and returned to England until returning to the New World in 1620. You are eligible for the Mayflower Society and the Jamestown Society on the basis of your descent from Stephen Hopkins.
Thanks for the quick reply. It was in front of me all the time. I have always wondered what brought Ruhumah Doane to the South. Do we have a clue?
Greetings, Michael.
The “clue” to Ruhamah Doane’s presence in the South would actually begin with her father, Hezekiah Doane Jr. (1712-1760.) He was born in Truro, MA on Cape Cod. Life there was decidedly hard-scrabble, as farmers struggled to till sandy soil, and whalers hoped to return alive from voyages that could last as long as a year or two, often with little net pay for crew members. Scarce land was typically transacted on Cape Cod in acreage of “one’s and two’s.” By contrast, there are two land transactions recorded for Hezekiah Doane Jr. in New Hanover County, NC in 1753 for 400 acres each! I suspect the opportunities for such material prosperity are what drew many to the South from throughout New England, especially those along coastal communities with access to sea transportation and the geographical/economic knowledge such commerce transmitted.
Hi James, you met us in SLC and wondered if you had interest in the upcoming DC area DFA reunion?
I am descended from Pieternelle Du Pre, whose mother was Margaret Cromartie (married Jan De Pre), Margaret Cromartie was the daughter of John Cromarty and Annas Stewart. John Cromarty’s parents were Magnus Cromarty and Margaret Groat and so on..
The farthest I’ve gotten on that line is to a John Cromarty and his wife Marion Cragy…So that how I am related to the Cromarty/Cromartie lineage in the grand scheme of things 🙂
Hi Kali:
The Cromartie line has been traced back to John O’Cromarty who lived on South Ronaldshay of the Orkney Islands in 1450. Scandinavian custom at that time was to adopt the last name of the land from which a man originated. Thus it is thought that John came from Cromarty County in the Highlands of Scotland. My ancestor William was born May 31, 1731 on South Ronaldshay and sailed to North Carolina in 1758. His son William Jr was born Sept 10, 1765 in Bladen County. He left America as an adult and moved to South Ronaldshay where he married Janet Pass. They had four children: William, Jane, Peter, and Janet. I do not know if you are descended from this line or from other descendants of John O’Cromarty.
Hi Sam!! 😀
I am working on multiple lines simultaneously, so it is taking me a while to work out all the fine details (dates, locations etc)
So far only the people I mentioned above are my known Cromartie link, I haven’t come across a Jane or Janet.
Margaret was the only female Cromartie that I have, beyond her it is male links.
I will update as I go even further into the fine tuning. 🙂
Hello Sam,
I am a Black man. My Black grandparents June Cromartie and Julia Wright Cromartie have roots in Bladen County and Sampson County. Can you tell me which of the White slaveholder Cromarties were medical doctors in Bladen County and Sampson County between the years 1850 and 1860? Please respond.
Hi Vern:
The only person with the last name Cromartie alive between 1850 and 1860 who became a physician in Bladen or Sampson Counties that I can find was my grandfather, Robert Samuel Cromartie, M.D. He was born November 28, 1869 in Bladen County and never owned any slaves. He attended Davidson College and the University of North Carolina and received his M.D. from North Carolina College of Medicine in 1800. He practiced medicine in Bladen County and served as Bladen County Health Officer for many years. He died at age 96 on June 13, 1965 in Chapel Hill and was buried in Elizabethtown Cemetery. His father was William James Cromartie who was the son of John Cromartie, the son of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane. There were other descendants of William Cromartie who were physicians then but they were from the female lines and thus had other last names.
Hello Sam,
Thank you for your quick response. I have looked further into the matter and found out that there was a White physician by the name of Dr. Calvin C. Cromartie. He was born on August 6, 1827 in Bladen County and died there on August 2, 1849. His father was James Cromartie, the son of William Cromartie, the patriarch. Calvin C. Cromartie enslaved a Black man named Sam. The will of James Cromartie dated March 13, 1945 indicates that he gave Sam to Calvin C. Cromartie as property. When Calvin C. Cromartie died in 1849, his will indicates that he gave Sam to Luther Cromartie as property. In the 1870 census, Sam is listed as Samuel Cromartie. My research indicates that I am a descendant of Samuel “Sam” Cromartie who was enslaved by James Cromartie, Calvin C. Cromartie, and Luther Cromartie. Do you know the whereabouts of any plantation records for any of those three men? Please respond. Also, thank you for posting the will of James Cromartie on your wonderful website. Please post more antebellum wills of the Cromartie clan in the USA on your website, especially that of Peter Cromartie. Such documents can really help descendants of enslaved Black people who have the surname Cromartie as I do. I am well aware of the four volume of books by Amanda Cook Gilbert and I greatly value her work.
Hello Sam,
With all due respect, I am writing again to ask you to respond to the following question: Do you know the whereabouts of any plantation records for James Cromartie, Calvin C. Cromartie, and Luther Cromartie? I am also requesting that you post the will of Peter Cromartie on your website as you did that of James Cromartie. That information will be very helpful to descendants of enslaved Black people with the surname Cromartie who were held in bondage by White slaveholders with the surname Cromartie.
Hi Vern: You can find the will for Peter Patrick Cromartie in Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane Volume 4 by Amanda Cook Gilbert. It is available on Amazon. I am unaware of available plantation records. One way to find the names of slaves would be to check the census records of the 1800s that can be found through ancestry.com.
I am linked to you!! This is my family!!
Hi April:
Welcome. How are you related?
Greetings, Sam!
My name is Jim Campbell from New Jersey, and I am delighted to have just discovered this blog via a Google search.
My story and Cromartie connection:
About three years ago, I knew little about my generations three and four past their names and a few anecdotes; and nothing beyond them. Ancestry.com opened up entirely new worlds for me and my family. Of generation four, we discovered that our ancestor actually had two wives, and that his first wife, Margaret Ann Cromartie (1825-1860), of whom we knew nothing, bore seven of his eight children before her passing, including our great-grandfather, Rev. Munious Angelo Perkins (1859-1948). Searching for Margaret Ann on Google yielded the Cromartie Family Association website.
From that most welcome find, I learned of the annual Cromartie Family Reunion, which my mother and I drove down from the New York City area to attend in 2012; and my wife and I attended in 2014. I also purchased all four volumes of the amazing genealogical histories compiled by Amanda Cook Gilbert. And I have had to the good fortune to develop friendships with Amanda, Jasper Parham, Bob Cromartie, Ed Conley Jr., and others in the immediate fold. How wonderful on all counts!
Yet the most striking discovery was that Ruhamah (Doane) Cromartie (1745-1812) was a direct descendant of Stephen Hopkins (1581-1644), an early colonist of both Jamestown and Plymouth! Last year I was able to prove my lineage sufficient to have been accepted to both of these heritage societies. Since then I have been accepted to six more heritage societies — including Descendants of Founders of New Jersey and National Society, Descendants of Early Quakers — with applications in process for 11 more societies. Altogether, I have identified at least 50 heritage societies to which Cromartie descendants could qualify.
My ambition for the next Cromartie Family Reunion is to discuss creating an additional page on the Cromartie Family Association website to assist its members in identifying and applying to these heritage societies. I am interested in your thoughts on such a proposal.
Thanks again for all your fine efforts, Sam; and I look forward to meeting you in person someday.
Hi Jim: I think it is a great idea for the website to provide information to assist members of the family in joining various societies such as the Society of Mayflower Descendants and the Jamestown Society. I’m sure many members would choose to join them if they knew how to do it without excessive effort.
Jim let me know how to get started on the Mayflower & Jamestown Societies – I am a member of the SAR and The Society of the Cincinnati but have no experience with the ones requested. Until recently I did not know about the relationship with Stephen Hopkins.
Michael,
I’m happy to assist. Please email me at campbell973@att.net; and I’ll send you my general instructions, plus the preliminary form you will need to complete and send to the SMD-NJ Historian.
Best regards!
Hello,
I just found out that I am a Cromartie on my Fathers side of the family. My ancestors are:
William Cromartie & Ruhamah Doane
Their son Peter married Sarah Boone Sessions
Their daughter Elza Jana Cromartie married Issac Clark Wright (b. 1803)
Their son James W Wright (1838-1911) married Flora Ann Luton
Their son Reuben P. Wright (1871-1954) married Lucy Pairley Taylor
Their son Wesley Clayton Wright was my grandfather.
Does anyone else have information on this family line- Thank you!
Hi Kelsey:
The best source for information on the Peter Cromartie line is Vol IV of the Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane by Amanda Cook Gilbert. If you are interested in the ancestery of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane, it is found in Vol 1. All four volumes are available on amazon.com.
Kelsey,
You and I share lineage through Peter Patrick Cromartie and Sarah Boone Sessions. (The Cromartie’s have it as “Boone,” but my research is suggesting that “Boon” may be the proper spelling.) Ed Conley Jr., another member of the Cromartie Family Association, and I are busy researching both our Sessions and Boon lines. Our ultimate goal is to qualify for at least three heritage societies: Sons and Daughters of Virginia Founding Fathers, Order of First Families of North Carolina, and First Families of Georgia 1733-1797. I’ll be sure to post our findings here once we feel comfortable that our documentation holds up.
Best regards!
I am a desendent of Thankful Cromartie and Alexander Hendry. Thankful is My 6th Great Grandmother.I have seen the book online and was curious to why i am not included in the book. My mothers has only one sibling included in the book Kimberly Ann Saunders Burns.There are five all together including her. Gordon Wayne Saunders is my Grandfather. Mary Catherine “Kettie” Futch Saunders is my Great Grandmother. If more information need be provided i can. I would really enjoy to be included with my family properly.Thanks
Hi Kayla:
I have forwarded your note to Amanda Cook Gilbert.
CROMARTIE ANCESTORS: JOHN SMALLEY (1613-1692) AND ANN WALDEN (1623-1694)
John Smalley arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts from London in 1632 on the “William & Francis,” considered part of the Winthrop Fleet, which carried 1,000 Puritans and effectively established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He came with Edward Winslow, afterwards Governor of the Plymouth Colony. John settled in Plymouth, where he met and married Ann Walden in 1638. They may have had as many as eight children there, including their sixth child, Mary, our ancestor. Mary was a twin with her brother, Isaac. Four of these children lived to adulthood.
John was a tailor by trade. In 1637/8, he was granted six acres in Plymouth; in 1640, he was granted five more acres – although he sold all this acreage four years later. John was admitted as a “freeman” in 1642. He was also one of the seven founding families of Nauset on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (later called Eastham), joining our ancestors the Snows and the Doanes in 1644. These families left Plymouth, fearing the rocky soil was already depleted. Nauset would be the only town on Cape Cod founded by Pilgrims. John performed public duties for Nauset, serving as constable in 1646, a surveyor in 1649, and on several “Grand Inquests,” the Pilgrims’ term for juries required to hear serious crimes. In 1658, he received a grant for land between Bridgewater and Weymouth, Massachusetts.
In 1667, John moved Ann and two sons, John Jr. and Isaac, to Saconnet, Rhode Island (now Little Compton); and then by 1670 to Piscataway, New Jersey, where he received a land grant and was among the settlement’s earliest “freeholders.” John may have been drawn partly by attractive inducements to the initial Piscataway settlers and partly to escape intolerance of his newfound Baptist religion. (In 1689, John Jr. helped to found the First Baptist Church of Piscataway, the second oldest Baptist church in New Jersey and the 10th oldest Baptist church in the country. Ann is reputed to be buried in its cemetery.)
According to Piscataway Township:
“Piscataway was owned by England and given in 1664 by King Charles II to his brother, James, the Duke of York. In turn, the Duke gave some land, in June 1664, to two of his aristocratic friends, Sir George Carteret and John Lord Berkeley. George’s cousin, Philip Carteret, became resident governor. The first grant to new settlers by the governor was sold to four men from New Hampshire who founded Piscataway in 1666. The founding of Piscataway was a very important event – it is one of the links in the earliest settlement of the Atlantic seacoast that ultimately led to the formation of the United States.
“The name Piscataway was given to the area by the earliest pioneers from Piscataqua, New Hampshire. The meaning of the name is not certain. It is thought the name was derived from the Lenni Lenape Indian language, and interpreted to mean great deer river or dark referring possibly to the color of the soil. Piscataway is the fifth oldest municipality in New Jersey and one of the fifty oldest towns in the nation.”
John had a survey of his farm made in 1677; and purchased additional land in 1685 – by 1690, owning 118-1/2 acres (with John Jr. owning an additional 215 acres.) His land was proximate to the Raritan Landing inland port, site of present-day Johnson Park bordering the Piscataway campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. John was appointed magistrate by the Dutch in 1673-74; was commissioned justice of the peace in 1675; and was appointed justice of the court of sessions, serving for several years. He died in Piscataway in 1692; Ann’s death followed there two years later.
Mary and her husband, John Snow, remained in Eastham. Both ancestors likely are buried in unmarked graves in the historic Cove Burying Ground, listed among the National Register of Historic Places.
Records are unclear that John Smalley is a son of Edward Small / Smalle / Smalley (1589-1665), who helped to found the town of Piscataqua, Maine (site of present-day Kittery, Eliot, South Berwick, and Berwick) as early as 1640. Recent DNA testing published on the internet suggests that John was not. Records are also unclear that Ann Walden is a daughter of Ralph Walling / Wallen / Walden (1598-1633) and Joyce Enland (1600-1643), who arrived in Plymouth from London in 1623 aboard the “Anne.” Accounts published on the internet suggest than Ann was born onboard, although supporting documentation has yet to surface.
Further reading:
Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volume III, P-W. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995. 1687-1689. Print.
Underhill, Lora Altine. Descendants of Edward Small of New England and the Allied Families with Tracings of English Ancestry. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1934. 22-40. Print.
Lee, Francis Bazeley, Editor. Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, Volume II. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1910. 793-794. Print.
Generations:
John Smalley, b. 1613 Bideford, Devon, England; d. 1692, Piscataway, Middlesex, NJ.
Ann Walden, b. 1623, Plymouth, Plymouth, MA; d. 1694, Piscataway, Middlesex, NJ.
John Snow, b. 1638, Plymouth, Plymouth, MA; d. 1692, Eastham, Barnstable, MA.
Mary Smalley, b. 1647, Eastham, Barnstable, MA; d. 1703, Eastham, Barnstable, MA.
Hezekiah Doane Sr., b. 1672, Eastham, Barnstable, MA; d. 1752, Wellfleet, Barnstable, MA.
Hannah Snow, b. 1670, Eastham, Barnstable, MA; d. 1717, Eastham, Barnstable, MA.
Hezekiah Doane Jr., b. 1712, Truro, Barnstable, MA; d. 1760, Wilmington, Brunswick, NC.
Thankful Bickford. b. 1714, Truro, Barnstable, MA; d. 1771, New Hanover County, NC.
William Cromartie Sr., b. 1731, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland; d. 1807, Bladen County, NC.
Ruhamah Doane, b. 1745, Wilmington, New Hanover, NC; d. 1812, Bladen County, NC.
A bronze plaque was erected in the courtyard of the Piscataway Township Municipal Complex by the Piscataway Historical & Heritage Society in 1991. It was inscribed, “IN MEMORY OF THE PIONEERS OF PISCATAWAY, WHO CAME FROM THE PISCATAQUA RIVER AREA OF PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE IN 1666.” The four founders of Piscataway are cited by their full names, followed by the surnames of 26 other families that came soon after. John’s surname appears among those families. The inscription continues: “THOSE WHO HAVE FEELINGS OF VENERATION FOR THEIR PREDECESSORS MAY EXPECT VENERATION FROM THOSE WHO FOLLOW.”
Do you have any relation to James Edwin Cromartie Senior, or junior?
Hi Natalie
William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane had eight daughters and four sons. The sons were James, Alexander, John, and Peter. I am a descendant of John. James Edwin Cromartie was a descendant of Alexander. James Edwin was born Sept 13, 1923 and died in Bladen County, NC on July 27, 1976. His wife was Margaret Lewis. His father was Clifford James Cromartie, the son of John Edwin Cromartie who was the son of James Alexander Cromartie who was the son of Alexander Cromartie.
I am working on my family tree…Eleanor Nellie Cromartie(2/22/1805-3/21/1889) is my 3rd Great Grandmother..according to things i have found James Cromartie (1767-1845) is her father & her mom was Eleanor Meredith(1770-1817)..but unsure if i am on the right track…please help
Hi Reece
William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane’s son James was born March 28, 1767 and died June 27, 1845 in Bladen County, North Carolina. James had two wives: Eleanor Hannah Meredith and Catherine Taylor. James Cromartie and Eleanor Meredith had three children: Margaret, Hannah Jane, and Eleanor Nellie Cromartie. Eleanor Nellie Cromartie was born in Bladen County in 1805 and died March 21, 1889. Her husband was George Whitfield Robinson who died June 30, 1865. Eleanor and George had thirteen children. They are all listed on page 68 of Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane and Related Families Vol 1 by Amanda Cook Gilbert.
Hello,
My lineage stems from the John Comartie who came to Canada in the early
1800’s and I was wondering if Amanda’s books cover this history?
We have many of the same first names, as well. I believe all the Cromarties are related, but here in Canada “our John” was born in South Ronaldshay in 1792 and came to Canada with the HBC.
Hi D.
Amanda’s book covers the lineage of William Cromartie who came to North Carolina in the eighteenth century from South Ronaldshay of the Orkney Islands. William had two brothers: James and John. The book also covers the descendants of the original Cromartie on the Orkneys, John O’Cromartie who arrived in the fifteenth century.
The name Urquart is not listed in the list of clans. Does this mean the Cromartie family was not affiliated with the scottish clan system.
The Clan Urquhart is a Scottish clan recognized by the Court of the Lord Lyon. The list of clans may be found at http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/clanmenu.htm.
Thank you for this site. Thank you to those who have shared their information. I need help tracing my family history. My grandfather (Alcus) and his twin brother (Alphonse)(no children) is as far as I can go back. Both have been deceased for years. They are mulatto and lived in Iowa, per the 1920 censes. No one knows who their father is. They were born around 1910 or 1911 in Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma City or even Florida, based on varies records. Their mother was Zula Speights who was born in Louisiana or Mississippi. I’ve looked pretty much everywhere. The best hope I got was here. Another posted mentions that their Cromartie was also mulatto. Maybe just maybe they will contact me directly or post more here. Or maybe your information might help me find a connection. Up to this point all I could do was guess or make assumptions in the similarities in my family history. I come from a family of preachers and teachers…so finding a connection to Thankful would be so rewarding. My contact email is JCdba@aol.com. Please include CROMARTIE in the subject line when emailing.
Netfully Yours,
Jesselle Cromartie
Hi Sam, and all. I’m a descendent of Daniel (Donald) McDuffie, Sr. who emigrated to Cumberland Co. from Kintyre @ 1760. He had a son, Daniel Jr., who later acquired land and lived in the South River/Hickory Grove area sometime after 1780. Daniel owned land “on the head of Cypress Creek” and Daniel’s four sons later received a large grant in the Cypress Creek Bay on the road to Ammon- an area still known to the old-timers of my youth as “McDuffie Flats”. I haven’t seen Daniel Jr.’s name in the South River church records I have, but the names of his children are certainly there. Daniel Sr. was related by marriage to the Kerrs of Kerr Station (The immigrant Daniel Kerr’s wife was Catherine McDuffie), and I’m sure there was some connection to the Cromartie family too. I’m interested in finding the graves of any of these colonial era McDuffies, or any other info that you fine folks may be able to provide. By the way, I was born and reared in the Cape Fear region (Lumberton and Wilmington), and I’m a Presbyterian minister living in Fayetteville, NC… so I’m nearly local.
There are a number of McDuffies from the eighteen hundreds in Cross Creek Cemeteries #1 and 2 in Fayetteville, NC. but none from the colonial area. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1994528.
I’ve been looking for these graves for 25 years, to no avail so far. I guess I need to go tromping through those woods, while I”m still able. Thanks!
Sam, do you know where the original South River Church minutes are currently kept? I know that they were at Montreat at one time, but then I heard that they were being returned to the churches (and ours have been returned to us here at Westminster in Fayetteville). I have a copy of some excerpts that were done by my cousin Wanda Campbell Suggs many years ago, but I’m interested in seeing the original Session minutes. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
By the way, my great great Grandmother Mary McDuffee was baptized as an infant at South River PC in 1832, and became a member in 1862, according to the excerpted minutes I have. Her parents were John McDuffee and Mary Jones McDuffee, and she had several aunts and uncles who were church members (James and Worthily McDuffee among them). She never married (there’s a complicated story behind that, having to do with the expectations of the times), but she gave birth to two fine sons (by the same father) and raised them well- no mean feat for a single woman in those days. She was a school teacher by vocation. She’s buried at Briar Branch Baptist Church on NC 242, along with many of her descendants (she moved to the Briar Branch community in order to teach school). The more I learn about her, the more impressed I am with this strong pioneer woman.
God bless Wanda Campbell Suggs! She was one of the unsung heroes who transcribed colonial records of North Carolina, making them accessible to the broader public. One of her efforts, “Bladen County, North Carolina Abstracts of Wills, 1734-1900,” is housed in the New York Public Library, and it contains abstracts of the wills of both William Cromartie and his wife, Ruhamah, respectively from 1806 and 1813.
I bought a book at Goodwill today and it is a 1929 version of “Practice Leaves in the Rudiments of English”…inside are some tear out pages and some learning pages. The ones that are torn out and filled in belong to Mary Elizabeth Cromartie. This book was purchased in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. Can anyone tell me about this young lady….it appears she was in her teens as her signature is very nicely done and is not one of a young child. Thanks.
Mary Elizabeth Cromartie was the daughter of Rossie Page and Patrick “Sidney” Cromartie, who was a descendant of James Cromartie, the son of William Cromartie. Mary Elizabeth was born in Bladen County, North Carolina November 21, 1909 and died in Wilmington, North Carolina January 4, 1993. Her husband was Frederick Clarence Butler. She would have been twenty years old in 1929.
Sorry I didn’t think to post this earlier, but this past Thanksgiving week there were three pertinent TV specials concerning our Cromartie ancestor, Stephen Hopkins:
“Saints & Strangers: Plymouth Survival,” National Geographic, 2 parts, 4 hours total, http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/saints-and-strangers
“American Experience: The Pilgrims,” PBS, 1 part, 2 hours, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/pilgrims
“Secrets of the Dead: Jamestown’s Dark Winter,” PBS, 1 part, 1 hour, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/death-jamestown-background/1428
The latter two PBS specials may be purchased on DVD and/or watched online.
The National Geographic special is not yet available on DVD, but I trust that it will be at some point soon. It boasted an $11 million production budget and featured Hopkins as one of the lead characters. I highly recommend it for all Cromartie descendants, plus anyone with an interest in our American origins.
I have an aunt by the name of Irene J Cromartie, that was her husband’s last name. I am seeking more information from her.
Hi Camontae: What was her maiden name and do you know your uncle’s full name and where they live?
Greetings! I have been researching family members as a hobby for the past year or so. I’ve never known much of my Paternal Grandmother’s family until the past few days. She was Melba (Howard) Johnson, daughter of William Howard and Mary (Peaden) Howard of Santa Rosa, Fl. Mary was the daughter of Thomas and Martha (Foster) Peaden. Thomas was the son of Samuel Peaden and Margaret Eliza Sellers, daughter of Benjamin Sellers and Elizabeth Ann Cromartie. The Cromartie family research is very exciting and makes me want to plan a vacation to Scotland for a week or so. Thanks for all the information!
According to Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane Vol III, Elizabeth Ann Cromartie married Duncan Sellers who was the son of John Sillers and Elizabeth Torrey. The marriage took place in Bladen County, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Alexander Cromartie (the son of William Cromartie) and Elizabeth DeVane, being born in Bladen County, North Carolina on June 13, 1800 and dying in Butler County, Alabama in 1881,
Elizabeth Ann Cromartie and Duncan Sellers had ten children including Margaret Elizabeth Sellers, who married Samuel Leon Peaden. Margaret Elizabeth Sellers was born in Alabama in September of 1832 and died in Santa Rosa County, Florida on April 27, 1907.
If you travel to Scotland, be sure to go to the Orkney Islands. That’s where it all began.
Hi! My 3rd paternal great grandfather was Robert Sharpe who married a Mary Ann McNabb in Tattnall County, Georgia in 1846. Mary Ann McNabb was born in 1816 in Tattnall County, Georgia, according to later census records. I have seen it stated somewhere that her father was Daniel McNabb of Tattnall County; indeed, I’ve only discovered one McNabb adult male in Tattnall County in the 1820 census, Daniel, who shows a female child under the age of 10 (Mary Ann around age 4?). Would it be too much of a leap to assume that this Daniel is the son of Archibald McNabb, husband of Mary Cromartie? Archibald is listed as living and dying in Tattnall County.
Hi James:
Mary Cromartie, the daughter of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane, married Archibald McNabb. They had six children and lived and died in Tattnall County, Georgia. Their son Daniel was born in North Carolina in 1795. Daniel McNabb is listed in Tattnall County, Georgia in the 1820, 1850, and 1860 census. I believe the Daniel born is North Carolina is the same as the Daniel in Tattnall County.
Hi Sam, there is a grave site in Garland NC, my Greatfather Marcellous Cromartie is buried there, along with Melvins, Jessups and Bronsons. Do u have any information on Marcellous Cromartie. The Cemetery is Titled (The William Cromartie Cemetary? Thank U Jason Campbell.
I am a descendent of William Cromartie through Ira J. Tucker, Louanna Percilla Dendy Tucker Vann, Willie Lee Vann Newman, Willie Merle Newman Davis….
During a visit to Cromarty, Scotland I visited a local historical society and was informed that our historical family name was actually Urquhart. All people of Cromarty at that time had the Family name of Urquhart but were known only by the given name (i.e. William) When William Cromartie Sr. migrated from Cromarty to Orkney, he was known as William of Cromarty which later became simply William Cromartie. I’m not sure of this series of events, only repeating what was told to me by the Curator of the local historical organization. MDavis
This is true, the Cromarty (ie’s) are Urquhart’s as I believe 2 brothers left Cromarty and went to the Orkney’s. My family line left the Orkney’s for the London area, the Caribbean and N. Y. in the early 1900’a I do have some info on the Orkney Cromarty’s and a line from Canada, New Jersey and Africa.
Kerry, I believe my family is related to your line of Cromarties. My great grandfather Philip Cromarty immigrated to the Brooklyn area with his wife, mother and 10-11 adult siblings from Barbados, where the family owned sugar plantations and a shipping business. My grandfather, Philip Lloyd Cromarty and his sisters Leonie and Helen were born in Brooklyn, between 1906 and probably 1920 at the latest. If you see this thread, please feel free to respond. It would be enjoyable to know more
This is a great site. I have a Great Grandfather named Marcellous, Cromartie (b. 1888) which is buried in the William Cromartie Cemetery, in Garland North Carolina, His wife, Nettie Melvin is there also, along My Grandmother Magaret Cromartie, and others with the names of Jessup. I am from Canton, Ohio, served in the military here at Fort Bragg and never meet any of the Cromartie’s/Brunson’s/Jessups etc until I came here, so I am wondering where does Marcelous Cromartie fit into this lineage? Thank u!!
Hi Jason: I also served in the Army at Fort Bragg after returning from my tour in Vietnam in 1971. I have some information on Marcellous.
According to records of “William Cromartie Cemetery” in Sampson County, NC, a double tombstone lists Nettie Melvin Cromartie d. 1926 and Marcellus Cromartie b. Jul 8, 1888 and d. Sep 23, 1952. This cemetery is located one mile south of Garland, N.C. on Hwy 701 in Sampson County, N.C. It is a few miles north of the William Cromartie Cemetery in Bladen County where my ancestors from Scotland are buried.
A death certificate for Marcellus Cromartie confirms his date of death as Sept 23, 1952 and lists his age as 69. Race is listed as colored and his occupation as farming. He was buried Sept 28, 1952.
Family trees on ancestry.com give his parents as Hayes Cromartie b. Apr 1844 in North Carolina and died March 7, 1919 in Sampson County, N.C. and his mother as Luisa Matilda Culbreth. His marriage to Nettie J Melvin took place June 26, 1904. N.C. Marriage records indicate a second marriage to Maggie Kelly on 16 Dec 1926.
The parents of Hayes Cromartie were Solomon James Cromartie b 1821 and Martha “Dilly” Cromartie b 1810 in Bladen County, North Carolina and died in Sampson County, N.C.
Thank You so much Sam, this really helps me out alot and thanks for your service to our country also! Question what is the connection if any between William and Marcellus? Is Solomon James Cromartie one of Williams sons or Grandsons? I will look back at ur other post also..
Jason,
Looks like we are stuck at the same spot on our trees. So I am your cousin. Marcellous is also my great grandfther. I went to the grave site and saw the specific Cromartie section for our family. It’s truly headstones from my tree. It was amazing to see it. Please let me know what you find out about Solomon.
Mina
curious about the orgins of Ruhumah’s name, it is very different
I don’t know the answer to your question, but Ruhamah Doane came from a religious family, and Ruhamah is a name from the Old Testament when God told Hosea to name his daughter Ruhamah.
I would like to know the source of the following inaccurate information:
“999. Mary Sue Henry (Arrie Ernest, Arthur Lee, James William, John Sillars Wilson, Robert William, Thankful Cromartie) was born on 11 Jun 1944 in Tarrant County, Texas. Mary married Waymon Lee Gouge on 15 Jul 1962. The marriage ended in divorce 11 Dec 1979, Parker County, Texas. Waymon was born on 21 Feb 1944, Mary married 2) Aadue Karemaa on 3 Dec 1966 in Tarrant County, Texas. Aadue was born about 1935.”
I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF WAYMON LEE GOUGE! I WAS NEVER MARRIED TO HIM. I HAVE BEEN MARRIED TO AADU KAREMAA FOR 50 YEARS! WHERE DID THIS INCORRECT INFORMATION COME FROM?
My ancestor is Elizabeth ann Cromartie. Born 6/13/1800
Married Benjamin Duncan Sellers
Do you have any further information? Is there still a Cromartie gathering annuall
Hi Paula:
The Cromartie Family still meets every fall in October. I’ll post the date and details when I hear them.
William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane had twelve children. Alexander was the second of four sons. He was born in Bladen County, North Carolina August 12, 1772 and died March 9, 1839. He married Elizabeth Ann DeVane who was also born in Bladen County and who died August 31, 1822. They had ten children. After her death, Alexander married Elizabeth Kerr and they had two children.
Elizabeth Ann Cromartie was the first child of Alexander and Elizabeth Ann DeVane. She was born in Bladen County on June 13, 1800 and died in Alabama in 1881. She married Duncan Sellers who died March 25, 1851.
Hello Cromartie Family,
Sam this is a great site,
I bought Volume II, “Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane” a couple of years ago. William and Ruhamah are my 6x great grandparents, through Thankful Cromartie and Alexander Hendry II. After purchasing this book my ancestry research became so much easier. I called my dad when the book came in the mail and announced, “Pop, your famous!” My dad, Emmett Robert Henry, is listed on page 354.
I do have a mystery I have not been able to solve though. I’m from Texas and have traveled to the Ivanhoe, North Carolina area searching for cemeteries that contain my ancestors. However, I cannot seem to find the cemetery that Thankful and Alexander are buried. Can someone tell me where I might find this cemetery or at least help me narrow down the exact location of White Oak Plantation? Any help in this area would be deeply appreciated. My Dad’s youngest brother Reginald Kim Henry, also listed on page 354, is my partner in searching cemeteries. He’s 18 years younger than my dad and we were basically playmates going up. He’s only two years older and has a deep interest in ancestry also. We are planning another trip to Ivanhoe within a couple of years. One of the things we are going to do is hike over to Sellers Cemetery just across the Black River from Ivanhoe. We tried that last year and a thunderstorm rolled up and chased off. That was our last day in the area so we were not able to return. Anyone familiar with the Sellers Cemetery?
And if anyone is interested, my uncle and I just returned from the Isle of Arran a few weeks ago. I took pictures of every headstone located in the old section of Lochranza Cemetery. If anyone is searching for an ancestor that may be located at that cemetery please let me know. I can send you an attachment.
Thanks for your time,
Brian Henry
Hi Brian:
According to my records, Thankful Cromartie died August 28, 1843 at White Oak Plantation, New Hanover County, North Carolina. She was buried at White Oak Plantation Cemetery. Alexander Hendry II died Sept 4, 1819 in North Carolina probably at White Oak Plantation. Probate took place in New Hanover County. One source says the plantation was near Ivanhoe, North Carolina. It is in Sampson County. Another source says Pender County. I hope you can find it.
Sam Cromartie
I am also looking for the White Oak Plantation Cemetery. Find a Grave has asked that I photograph the gravesite of Alexander Hendry. There is no record (so far) of this plantation or cemetery in New Hanover County. Any help is appreciated.
Hi Sam,
I have traveled to Ivanhoe and could not locate the White Oak Cemetery. I spent about five days in the area. I plan making another trip very soon. I’ve been searching the internet in hope of finding an old map oranything else that might help me identify the cemeteries location. Maybe one of your site visitors will see this and have some information.
Thanks for your reply.
I’m afraid I can’t be much help. You might check the area library.
I’M TRYING TO CREATE A GENEALOGICAL SCRAPBOOK FOR MY SPECIAL NEEDS
GRANDSON. I WANT TO BRING IT TO LIFE WITH PICTURES ..I WOULD LOVE PICTURES OF PAINTINGS OR DRAWINGS OF THE FIRST PARKER /CROMARITIE
WEDDING ..HIS GRANDFATHER IS MY EXHUSBAND(CHARLES LINUS PARKERlll
OUR SON IS CHARLES JOSEPH AND MY GRAND SON IS CHARLES RYAN. I ALSO WONDERED IF ANYONE HAS GONE BACK ON THE PARKER SIDE FURTHER THAN JOEL PARKER?? I REALLY WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP. THANKS,DEE
Sam,
Thank you so so so much for this page. I was on “Ancestry” to find my maternal grandmother’s family. I’m at a roadblock with them, unfortunately. Then I started following the maternal grandfather’s family and it took me straight back to Constance and Stephen Hopkins!!! Wow. Now that the ether of that discovery has mellowed I’m excited about the Cromarties and following it back to Scotland. May I share my line?
Stephen Hopkins and Mary (Machell??)
Constance Hopkins and Nicholas Snow
John Snow and Mary Smalley-Snow-Doane (did people marry their inlaws? cousins?)
Hannah Ruhamah Snow and Hezekiah Doane Sr.
Hezekiah Doane Jr. and Thankful Bickford
Ruhamah Doane and William Cromartie
Alexander Cromartie and Elizabeth DeVane
Alexander Cromartie and Rebecca Ann Bannerman
Alexander G. Cromartie and Claudia Reynolds
Kate Cromartie and Thomas Edgar Dixon
Reynolds Dixon and Muriel Schreiber (my maternal grandparents)
Gail Patricia Dixon and Carlton T Howard (my parents)
Me…..Gwendolyn Howard
Thank you, again, for this site. I know my family were slave owners and with the Family names Howard and Cromartie I’m related to half of America…..white and black!
Hi Gwendolyn: I’m glad you find the site interesting. You should come to the family reunion sometime. It takes place every October in Eastern North Carolina.
I’m trying to find out more about my family roots my grandfather name were William Cromartie his DOB is March 26,1902 he was born in North Carolina.
Thank you for your research. I came across this by accident. I googled myself and saw my name in the book via my mother’s family.
I just discovered the site of Sam Cromartie and read every entry! My husband is the 10th great grandson of Stephen Hopkins through John Snow and Mary Smalley. Their daughter Hannah Ruhamah Snow is his 7th great grandmother according to all information I have seen posted in various places. However, I have been working on his application to the Mayflower Society and there seems to be a question as to whether she was the Hannah who married Hezekiah Doane.
Does anyone have proof of the marriage that I may use to continue this process? Thanks!
Millie, I used the following reference for my approved SMD application, available online through multiple sources, including Ancestry.com:
Torrey, Clarence Almon. “New England Marriages Prior to 1700.” Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985. 223. Print.
Please let me know if you’re experiencing any further difficulties with your application process.
Jim Campbell, campbell973@att.net
Hello, I am a descendant of Margaret Elizabeth “Eliza” Sellers and Samuel Leon Peaden. Just found all of this information on the Cromartie family and I find it amazing! Eliza is my 3rd great grandmother, her son Thomas Benton is 2nd great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson great grandfather, Daniel Benton grandfather and finally George Benton my father. My Father is still alive and I’m sure he will be totally fascinated when I share this info with him. Thank you!
Hi Jennifer: Welcome to the family. Here is a little added information about your heritage.
Margaret Elizabeth Sellers was the daughter of Elizabeth Ann Cromartie and Duncan Sellers. Born in North Carolina in 1794, Duncan died in Alabama March 23, 1851. Elizabeth Ann Cromartie was also born in North Carolina. Her date of birth was June 13, 1800. She died in Alabama in 1881.
Elizabeth Ann Cromartie was the granddaughter of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane. Her parents were Alexander Cromartie (born August 12, 1772) and Elizabeth DeVane (born October 13, 1782).
Margaret Elizabeth Sellers (born in Alabama in September 1832 and died in Florida April 27, 1907) married Samuel Leon Peaden, who was born in Alabama in October of 1827 and died in Florida October 15, 1915. They had five children: Ella Peaden, William Ezra Peaden, Thomas Benton Peaden, Mary Peaden, and Daniel Jackson Peaden.
Hello,
I am Barbara Sue Stough Mims, decendant of Stephen Hopkins and William Cromartie.
My Grandfather was William Thomas Stough , born 16 Dec 1880 and my Grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Norman (Stough), born 17 Sep 1884. I still live within a mile or two of there home in LaPine Al as well as the gravesites.
I understand W.T. Stough’s mother was Willie Frances Murvine, but am having trouble tying this in.
Any information regarding the Murvine side would be helpful
William Thomas Stough was the son of Andrew Jackson Stough and Willie Frances Marsh (Some sources list her name as Willie Frances Murvine).
Andrew Jackson Stough was a descendant of Thankful Cromartie. He was born in Alabama on December 1, 1856 and died in Alabama on March 15, 1928.
According to a family tree on ancestry.com, Willie Frances Marsh was born in Alabama on Jan 19, 1863 and died March 15, 1928. She was the daughter of William Thomas Marsh and Louisa Maurisa Loftin.
William Thomas March was born March 14, 1832 and died July 22, 1862 in Alabama. His parents were Thomas Marsh born 1800 and Malinda Jollett born 1810. Louisa Maurisa Loftin was born March 13, 1836 in Alabama and died October 28, 1915 in Alabama.
William Thomas Marsh and Louisa Maurisa Loftin married on June 16, 1853.
Hi, I’m a descendant of Thankful Cromartie. My maiden name in Henry. I’m looking forward to the reunion in October. This will be my first time and I’m bringing my dad and uncle. Thanks for all the work you and Mrs. Gilbert have done for the Cromartie family legacy.
Thanks, Leigh Ann. I hope you enjoy the reunion.
Hi I have been asked to photograph Alexander Hendry’s grave. He was married to Thankful Cromartie. They are said to be buried at White Oak Plantation Cemetery in New Hanover County NC. I can not locate this cemetery. Any information you have would be appreciated.
Hello: I am looking for the ancestor line from Phillip Christian Holt back to his immigrant ancestor. Philip Christian Holt was married to Carolyn Cook Cromartie, daughter of Robert Samuel Cromartie and Mary Elaine Collier.
Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
Hi David:
Carolyn Cook Cromartie was the daughter of Robert Samuel Cromartie Jr. born Nov 14, 1908 in Bladen County, NC and May Hunter Cook born in Fayetteville, NC on Nov 17, 1917. Carolyn was born Dec 17, 1940 in Salisbury, NC and died Oct 27, 2012 in Fairfax, VA.
Phillip Christian Holt Jr. was born July 1, 1941 in Washington, DC and died Feb 11, 2016 in Fairfax, VA. His parents were Phillip Christian Holt who was born Aug 21, 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri and died Oct 14, 1991 and Josephine Lackey May who was born about 1913 in Atlantic City, NJ. Phillip Christian Holt was a Lt. Cdr. During WWII and received the Navy Cross for action on the Submarine Chaser USS SC-699 near Dutch New Guinea.
Josephine’s parents were Anthony May born 1877 in Italy and Elizabeth May born in 1884 in Italy.
Phillip Christian Holts parents were Rolla B Holt who was born in 1881 in Missouri and Ellen Laura Bauer who was born May 5, 1880 in Missouri. Capt. Rolla B Holt died in combat near Chaudron Farm in France Sept 28, 1918 during WWI.
Her father was Christian Frederick Bauer who was born Jan 16, 1846 and died May 15, 1915. Her mother was Martha Caroline Wineter who was born May 29, 1850 in Tennessee and died Sept 19, 1922.
Christian’s father was Casper Frederick Bauer who was born in Nov 29, 1818 in Germany and died Dec 8, 1909 and his mother was Dorathia Magdalena Wagenor.
Casper Frederick Bauer was a Union soldier during the Civil War. He was the son of Toucum Henry Bauer who was born about 1775.
My name is Gary Dean Partlow (7/18/1957). Son of Jack Purcell Partlow and Winifred Rose West. I married Anna Sue Hubbard (8/12/1960) on 5/30/1990. I was born and raised in Charlotte. Attended UNC-Chapel Hill (1975-79) then moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1980 to attend Mercer University School of Pharmacy (1908-1983). Have lived in the Atlanta area ever since… have lived in Lilburn, GA since 2000. We have 2 children-Sydney Marie Partlow (5/25/1998-we got the name Marie from my grandmother “Mary” Clark Partlow) and Kristin Leigh Partlow (1/10/2001 – we got the name Leigh from my niece Leigh Partlow who is the daughter of my brother Stanley Martin Partlow (11/2/1952) who is married to Elizabeth Barlett. The also have a son John and reside in Lexington, South Carolina.
Hi Garry: Glad to hear from you. You are a descendant of William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane through their son Alexander, who was born August 12, 1772 and died May 9, 1839 (both in Bladen County, North Carolina). His first wife was Elizabeth DeVane. They had ten children including George Cromartie who was born August 14, 1804 in Bladen County. He was the sheriff of Bladen, and he died May 31, 1892. His second of three wives was Mary Herndon. Their tenth child was Alice Herndon Cromartie, who was born May 10, 1853 in Bladen County and died March 10, 1942 in Bladen County. She married George Lennon Clark Jr. MD. Mary Herndon Clark was the first of their eight children. She was born December 11, 1880 in Bladen County and she married Lester Richard Partlow who was born in Lexington, Virginia on November 1, 1889 and died in 1973. Their third child was your father, Jack Purcell Partlow, who married Winiford West.
Sorry … attended Mercer 1980-1983!!!
Sorry again…got married on 5/30/1992
I have been asked to photograph the gravesite of Alexander Hendry 1760 – 1819. It is reportedly at the White Oak Plantation Cemetery in New Hanover County NC. I have been researching and can not find this cemetery. His wife, Thankful Cromartie 1768 – 1843 is supposed to be buried there as well. Any information is appreciated.
FYI There are 4 land grants noted in New Hanover County NC for Alexander Hendry.
I am Sabrina Moses wife of Christopher Aaron Moses. I have a few corrections…. Page 576 Volume 3.. Thomas Aaron Moses Jr.
Christopher Aaron Moses was born 1982 and married Sabrina Powell (Moses) 1986. Married on April 22, 2004. We have two daughters, Ann Marie Moses and Finley Nicole Moses.
Hi Sabrina: Thomas Aaron Moses II was a descendant of Alexander Cromartie, a son of William Cromartie.
Hello Sam,
I am a descendent of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower and is also the same Stephen Hopkins of the Jamestowne Settlement. I have been trying to prove the genealogy from
William Cromartie and Ruhamah Doane to
Alexander Hendry and Thankful Cromartie to
Hiram Tucker and Catherine Hendry to
Ira J. Tucker and Almira A. Warner.
I have look for any documents as far as certificates and have been to a lot of County Office in North Carolina looking for any leads. I have found the William Cromartie Cemetery and taken picture which I believe will suffice for documentation on one of the generations. The one I’m having problem with is Alexander Hendry and Thankful Cromartie and I have not been able to find the White Oak Plantation Cemetery. I have check with some office in the city government but have come away with no information.
Any help you can help me with would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill Beall
Hi Bill:
The information you seek is on page 45 of Descendants of William Cromartie and Ruhaman Doane and Related Families Vol 1 by Amanda Cook Gilbert, WestBow Press. The Find A Grave Index also has data on both Alexander Hendry and Thankful Hendry. https://samcromartie.com
Hi Sam! Thanks for all of this information. It has been very helpful. I’ve been able to identify my 4th and 5th great grandmother by name Miriam and Hannah. Both were willed to Calvin Cromartie and eventually John Quincy Cromartie in Florida.
I have a question. In your research have you found where the Cromartie’s may have originally purchased their slaves? What location?
This would be great information to have if you have it. Thanks again. I can be reached at the email below if you find that information out or if you can point me in the direction to find it.
Thanks!
Shanika Jerger Butts
I took my DNA test and my third great grandparents are Luther and Julia Cromartie (who were first cousins to each other)…I am a blood relative of William and Ruhamah Doane, they must be my 5th great grandparents…I am 32 percent white and 66 percent african heritage 1.1 percent some other mix of east asian and .9 percent unknown
Hi Sam, I see this page mostly concerns your family lineage but if at all possible do you know the names of the earliest slaves owned by the Cromartie family or possibly where they may have come from? My great grandmother is 98 still living and unfortunately she can’t remember much. I know she and her parents in late 1800s lived in Elizabethtown NC born in 1920. Any information would be helpful. Thank You
Hi Tia:
Ancestry.com is the best source of information. If you can find your great grandmother’s birth certificate on ancestry, it may contain the name of her parents. Perhaps they would correspond to the names in the 1880 census or a later census. Most likely your ancestors lived in Bladen County, NC or perhaps Sampson County. I would start with the census in those areas. Finding someone prior to 1865 will be difficult because most records list slaves only by a first name.
Part of the 1880 census of Bladen County, NC lists the following people as Black.
Hady Cromartie age 55 male married (teamster
Clara Cromartie age 50 female married (keeping house)
Violet Cromartie age 30 female single
A G Cromartie age 22 female single
Kate Cromartie age 6 female
Fanny Cromartie age 1 female
A D Cromartie age 17 male
Alan Cromartie age 30 male married
Dilea Cromartie age 28 female married
John Cromartie age 12 male
George Cromartie age 10 male
Mary Anna Cromartie age 8 female
Samuel Cromartie age 5 male
Willie Cromartie age 2 male
Haisa Cromartie age 37 male married
Luisa Matilda Cromartie age 37 female married
George Thomas Cromartie age 14 male
Hildry Cromartie age 6 male
Betty Cromartie age 5 female
Preston Cromartie age 2 male
Brent Cromartie age 53 male
Joseph Cromartie age 68 male married
Phebe Cromartie age 65 married
H K Cromartie age 40 male single
Alfred Cromartie age 81 male married
Grace Cromartie age 75 female married
Andy Cromartie Mulatto age 21 male married
Mary Cromartie age 22 female married
Alex Cromartie age 27 male married
Mary E Cromartie age 26 married
Rosilla Cromartie age 6 female
James N Cromartie age 3 male
Sine Cromartie age 11/12 female
W A Cromartie age 37 male married
Eveline Cromartie age 36 married
Nellie G Cromartie age 9 female
Sarah Cromartie age 8 female
W E Cromartie age 5 male
Viney Cromartie age 3 female
Susan Cromartie age 8 female single
Balaam Cromartie age 43 male married
Jane Cromartie age 38 female married
Wash Cromartie age 21 male single
Elizabeth Cromartie age 19 single
Alex Cromartie age 16 single
John Cromartie age 12 male
Hampton Cromartie age 10 male
William Cromartie age 8 male
Jane Cromartie age 6 female
Mollie Cromartie age 3 female
Richard Cromartie age 48 male married
Mary A Cromartie age 40 female married
Moses Cromartie age 15 male single
Mary Cromartie age 11 female
Amie J Cromartie age 7 female
Alfred J Cromartie age 5 male
Sam Cromartie age 65 male widower
Paiton Cromartie mulatto age 30 male widower
Lemael Cromartie age 9 male
Martha Cromartie age 14 female
Eliz J Cromartie age 12 female
Sarah Cromartie age 6 female
H Cromartie age 12 male
David Cromarta age 68l male married
Luisa Cromarta age 61 female married
Cyrus Cromartie age 69 male married
Rosetta Cromartie age 60 female married
Luvenia Cromartie age 22 female single
Eliza Cromartie age 16 female single
Lizzie Cromartie age 12 female single
Louisa Cromartie age 10 female
Josiah Cromartie age 6 single
Huggins Cromartie age 4 single
Osbern Cromartie age 3 male
Junius Cromartie age 1 male
Alex Cromartie age 37 male married
Amanda J Cromartie age 35 female married
Richard Cromartie age 15 male single
Nathan Cromartie age 12 male single
Lloyd Cromartie age 10 male
Lorenso Cromartie age 8 male
King Cromartie age 6 male
Whitty Cromartie age 4 male
Martha J Cromartie age 2 female
Theressa A F Cromartie age 1 month
Kent Cromartie age 36 male
Daniel Cromartie age 19 male married
Mary A Cromartie age 19 female married
William Jas. Cromartie age 1 male
Primus Cromartie age 21 male single
Peter Cromartie age 30 male married
Martha Cromartie age 26 female married
Wm. Cromartie age 10 male
Eldridge Cromartie age 8 male
Lettie Cromartie age 4 female
Lloyd Cromartie age 6 male
Duncan Cromartie age 3 male
Emeline Cromartie age 7 mo. Female
Peter Cromartie age 40 male married
Harriet Cromartie age 34 female married
Sarah Cromartie age 11 female
Hey Sam!! Is the page still active?
Hi Sam,
When I first starting playing with Ancestry.com I was curious to find out more about the area in the stories my Granny use to tell me. She divided her time between the area she grew up in – Bladen/Colley/Kelly, NC and Chatham County where she finally settled down. In researching our history I’ve come upon what I believe is a connection to the Cromarite Family line. When I first happened upon it, I was sure we had a connection but then I doubted myself and have spent countless hours searching and reading everything I could find a link to. Now tonight I have started and deleted several times an email to see if someone can confirm or dispute my findings. With being a novice, I want to make sure I’m on the right track. But I do know I’ve been bitten by this research bug, as I find myself looking forward to just 30 spare minutes to find another hint or clue.
I’d like to see if you could review what I have so for and and let me know if I’m on the right track.
I’ll start with the youngest of the Cromartie/Doane children, Ann, whom I believe is my 4th Great Grandmother:
Ann E – b. 1789 m. John Anders III b.1778 – their daughter Hannah Jane Anders b. 1821, married William Salter Johnston b. 1812 – their son Richmond Pearson Johnston b. abt. 1849 married Rebecca Eliza Tedder b.1854 – their son William H.G. Johnston b. 1882 married Annie Katie Robinson (Roberson) b. 1886 – their daughter Sadie Lee Johnston b. 1913 married Roy Clyde Taylor b. 1909 – I am their granddaughter.
If the information I have found so far is correct then I’m anxious to continue.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Catherine Taylor Sherman
Hi; my name is David the son of Margie Cromartie i am trying to locate some of my family members. My mother father name is William Cromartie who was from Bladen County NC and married Bettie Brown.
Hi David: Glad to hear from you. My uncle was William James Cromartie M.D. who was the son of Robert Samuel Cromartie MD. Both were from Bladen County. William is a common Cromartie family name.
i am the great great grandaughter of sophia custis cromartie,,,she was the daughter of peter cromartie and was supposed to have been the wife of lewis cogdell oates who was also supposed to have been married to her sister ester as well and 2 other women , a woman named julia and sarah gavins …i live in texas and in sometime around 2005 or 2006 i was visiting a cemetary called sims cemetary in rocky hill texas with my father and mother who is sophia custis cromarties great grandaughter and i noticed 2 tombstones there with the name cromartie…one was a tall washington momument style and the name sophia custis cromartie was stamped into it in a circular style …the cromartie was in the center with sophia above it and custis below it and down at the lower part it stated her birthdate and location as bladen north carolina and her death date but i cannotr remember what it was ….the second stone was a old style stone ..upight about 3 or 4 inches thick and i only remember the name cromartie ..no first name …i remember this because i recall the conversation i had with my mama about it…my daughter who was about 3 or 4 yrs old was at the cemetary with us and i had tired of chasing her around in the warm heat of the day so i had took her over to stand under a large tree close to the center point of the cemetary which was when these stones caught my eye…a few seconds later when my mother walked over where i was standing i mentioned to her about the name cromartie because it was a old stone and i had never heard the name before …her reply to me was oh it could be anyone , look at that one there it is only marked by a rock….my mother was referring to a large piece of petrified wood marking a grave to the left of sophias stone …a few months passed by and my mothers half niece had made her a book on the thomas / oates family …i borrowed the book to look at it and low and behold there was the name sophia custis cromartie…..in the book someone had documented she was buried at mcclure cemetary in angelina county texas and then they wrote in ink that she had died in 1878 in shelby alabama …knowing neither was true i went back to sims cemetary…..someone has removed both stones with the name cromartie in them…only the petrified rock remains …where sophias stone stood is a piece of the platform it was bolted to and the other stone only has some burnt bricks piled up where it stood …i though this was odd and so i started looking at the family book a bit closer…..my suspiscion is that my great great grandmother was the 39 yr old female slave that lewis cogdell oates paid passage for when he moved his family to texas in 1858 and that someone does not want anyone to know…i spoke with amanda about this once on the phone and she told me no that sophia was buried on the oates plantation in N.C. and it is now written in books and documented on websites like find a grave saying she was buried on the plantation and her stone was destroyed …that is just not true ..i know what i saw …the 2 wives buried on the plantation in north carolina are ester cromartie and the other wife julia who l.c.oates only had 1 child with …my great great grandmother sophia is now buried in a unmarked grave here in texas at sims cemetary and l.c. oates supposed last wife sarah gavins is buried next to him at mcclures in angelina county texas …both cemetarys are within a few miles of each other and both are full of my relatives on my mamas side and at the time the stones disaapeared my mamas distant cousins both who are descendants of sophia and ester cromartie were in charge of the sims cemetary where she was buried …both of those gentleman have since died and the cemetary is now in another persons care and control ..i spoke with this individual and i was told that when she recieved the cemetary records they were in a mess and not kept very well and that there are several graves that they do not know who is buried in them …i have told several people about this and they all say i am crazy but like i said ..i know what i saw there and i remember the conversation with my mother who has since passed away
Hi Freda:
That is quite interesting. Thank you for the contribution.
Hello All. I am a Cromartie/Cromarty descendant from the England line. Some of my family came from Rotherhithe, Southwark, England. My family attended St. Mary’s church in Rotherhithe. The same church where the Captain of the Mayflower is buried. One of my great grandfather’s was Cpt. Robert Cromarty who sailed from England with land grants in the British West Indies (St. Kitts, Nevis and Barbados). He freed the slaves in the BWI’s before it happened in the US. I did a DNA test on Ancestry.com. Is there a DNA test that you all have done that I can compare my DNA to? I do have male Cromarty’s that can take the test. From what I understand, my line came from the Urquhart in Scotland, but settled in London. Thomas Urquhart, I believe. He was put in the Tower of London due to his allegiance to Charles the 1st was over thrown and beheaded. Thomas was let out of the tower and my line continued on becoming more British over time. My Caribbean Cromartie/Cromarty line then went to NY. I am descended from that group. Anyone know of a Cromartie/Cromarty DNA project? Thank you!! Donna E. Yancosek Blizzard. My mom is Kerry E. Cromarty Earl in Florida.
Hi Donna: I am unaware of such a project. I did submit my own DNA to ancestry.com.
Hi Sam, Took me a while to see this. I am a female Cromartie/Cromarty descendant. My grandfather was a Cromarty (originally Cromartie). My mom is Kerry Cromarty Earl. I don’t know if the DNA test will show a female descendant related to a male Cromartie? I would like to finally solve this as my Cromartie side has rich history as Urquharts of Cromarty on to Orkney and then England and the BWI’s. Can you check your DNA test and look for me in Ancestry.com? I did one there and thru Family Tree DNA, but am awaiting results on that one. I do have a cousin, John Cromarty and his sister Mary Sees who did his DNA test thru 23 and Me. Any help would be appreciated. I am on Facebook if anyone wants to try and help me solve this. Donna Blizzard, Leander, TX
Hello, I have not read all the posts, but I’m wondering if you have lists of slaves owned by the Cromarties. My ancestors were slaves and I am trying to get information about them and their slave owners.
Thank you.
Hi Jan: I’m sure lists had to be kept, but I haven’t seen any. Some slaves are mentioned in the wills of the owners.
Sam
I am looking for a Cromartie Family Bible that lists Hezikiah Doane and his son, also Hezekiah Doane. I understand that it is in the North Carolina Colonial Records. Do you have a copy of these Bible entries. If not, can you tell me where and how to get a copy?
Thank you very much,
Connie Cleveland
Hi Connie:
I do not have either bible. The Doane Family, published in 1984 By Alfred Alder Doane, discusses both men but does not mention their bibles.
Thank you. I have seem a picture from a Cromartie Family Bible with Hezekiah listed as son of Hezekiah; however, I failed to print it!
Thank you for your reply. I will keep looking.
I am interested in Ruhamah Doane’s nephew, James Doane, son of the third Hezekiah. What are your suggestions about where to look to find his birth, marriage and death information?
thanks again,
Connie Cleveland
Hello! Thank you for assembling this site as a valuable resource to so many of us! Mr. Sam Cromartie, do you have any information on Henry Cromartie (B. 1845) who was African-American and married Roxanne Graham (B. 1850) who was Mulatto. They had 8 children I think. One of them, Charles “Charlie” Grover Cromartie (1897-1971) is my Great Great Grandfather by way of his son Manly Winfred Cromartie, my Grandfather. I am doing my best to trace this history back to the plantation that enslaved them. Thank you!
Hi Jazmin: The only source I have for Henry Cromartie is MyHeritage. It confirms his birth year as 1845 and his wife as Roxanna Cromartie. He also had a second wife. He had eight children. One of them was Stella Cromartie. For more information you would need to join MyHeritage, but there is a free trial period. The website is https://www.myheritage.com/research?action=query&formId=master&formMode=1&qname=Name+fn.Henry+fnmo.2+fnmsvos.1+fnmsmi.1+ln.Cromartie+lnmo.3+lnmsdm.1+lnmsmf3.1+lnmsrs.1&qevents-birth0=Event+et.birth+ey.1845+epmo.similar&qevents=List&oft=&csrf_token=T_pe4y1s13c3f55bfe_k3eaw34b5wx5fe1a.1593614261.559d3b93e8893837a281d8ed483f7fa7