ARCHIBALD CRAWFORD

Archibald Crawford, born March 9, 1772 in Culpeper Co. VA., was first found in Upper Howard Creek, Clark Co. KY in 1796. He was also on a reconstructed 1800 census schedule compiled from lists of taxpayers for the state of Kentucky in Clark County. Also shown living in Clark Co. was Austin Crawford, and Valentine Crawford. Archibald married Margaret (Peggy) Brown Dec. 8, 1801 in Clark Co. KY, Margaret was born January 6, 1789. In 1820 he was shown in the Estill Co. KY census with four males, five females and five slaves. Archibald built a home near the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River. In 1850 Breathitt Co KY Archibald at the age of 78 years old is shown as a widow. In his household there are children who probably are his grandchildren. They are Anderson, Abner, and Margaret Bowman, and Evilin and Nancy Spicer. Living several households down is Samuel and Rachel Plummer with daughter, America, age 5 months old. America (Annie) Plummer grew up and married James S. Crawford. James was the grandson of Archibald Crawford. In the 1860 Breathitt Co. KY census Archibald was living with his son, Clabourn Crawford. Archibald died March 27, 1866 in Breathit Co. KY. In 1870 Lee Co. was form out of Breathitt, Owsly, Estill, and Wolf Counties and in the 1870 census this Crawford family was found living in Lee Co. KY.
From Early Pioneers On The Three Forks Of The Kentucky River, written by Miles Crawford: Archibald was a tall thin man nearly 6 and a half foot tall. He wore homespun woolen jeans and linen shirts all year round. In his younger days he wore a long red beard and handlebar moustache. He carried a long scar on his right cheek and neck from an arrow he received when he was shot by they Wyondott Indians in the Battle of Tippecanoe with the Shawnee and Wyondott Indians in 1811 near the city of Lafayette, Indiana. Archibald continued to serve with General Harrison in the Northwest Territory and was at the Battle of the Thames in Oct. 1813. He was mustered out in February 1814, and returned to Millers Creek, Estill Co.
Archibald came came from Clark County to the mouth of Bear Creek about 1812. He built a long two room log house and raised thirteen children. He brought thirty slaves with him. Archibald had been in the War of 1812 as a Sergant in the Cavlry and was granted 20,000 arcres landbounty warrant. One ancestor said he had so much land that he "didn't know where the boundries were." It is know from tax lists and old deeds that the boundries were all the land between the waters of Bear Creek, Upper and Lower Twin Creek. The 1800-1840 Estill and Breathitt Co. Tax lists 20,000 acres of timber land. Most of the land was ingerited by his thirtenn children and heirs down through the generations. Some has been sold to other people, descendants of Archibald's original slaves still live on part of the original tract. They took the name of Crawford and retain it to the present.
Archibald was a shoe cobbler of sorts, he made shoes from hides he had tanned and put the soles on with dogwood pegs. About everwhere he traveled he always took along his two Jameson(large Kerr type hunting dog)dogs. At age 78 years, Archibald decide he wanted his funeral preached while he was still living, word spread for several miles around about the event. He invited all that could get into the family room of the house, he pulled a coffin made from black walnut whipsawed lumber from under a huge four poster bed. The coffin was filled with seed corn and asked them to plant it in memory of the event. Rev. John D. Spencer, a hard-shelled baptist, preached the funeral. Archibald told the crowd that his large four poster bed meant more to him than anything else. He had handmade the bed as a wedding present for his young wife in 1801, she was barely 12 years old when they married, and all of their 13 children were born in that bed and when his time had come he wanted to die in it. Archibald died 16 years later.
The funeral was attended by James Green Trimble who wrote an account of the event and published in the book, "Remembrances Of Breathitt County" published by The Jackson Times, Jackson, Breathitt County, Kentucky.

Crawford Family Genealogy
Created by Sharon Burnett Crawford
Visitor Since 1/20/00
Last Update:   Thursday, 20-Jan-2000 15:51:12 PST
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