History of the Flitcraft Family
The name of "Witcraft" is a compound word. The main stem "Craft" is a corruption of the word "Croft." "Croft" means an enclosed field or paddock--the early farmers were called Crofters, and are to this day in some parts of Scotland.
The family by the Croft was known in England at an early date. There is a tradition that three brothers came over with William the Conqueror. However that may be, the Crofts settled early in Hereford, Suffolk, and Lancashire in England. As they multiplied and lived in an age of changing names, they needed some designation to distinguish them. The light-haired Croft became known as the Whitecroft; the fleet-footed Croft was known as the Fleetcroft or Flitcroft; the Croft living near woods was known as Woodcroft; the ones on good land became the Wheatcroft or Ryecroft; on low, wet land they became Wetcroft or Whetcroft or Meadowcroft; etc. The word Croft corrupted in Yorkshire and elsewhere to "Craft" and this is the origin of the "Craft" family; thus we have Witcraft (the witty croft or craft).
The "Croft" family, which is of Saxon origin, settled in Herefordshire, England, at a very remote period. Camden in his description of that country says not far from Richards Castle stands "Croft Castle," belonging to the very ancient and knightly family of the Crofts. They had a coat of arms (see copy on cover page ). In Domesday Book, Bernard De Croft is mentioned as holding the land of Croft, which his descendants inherited til the close of the 18th century, and served their country and Leominister in Parliament during six centuries between 1297 & 1880. From an almost uninterrupted line of Knights, distinguished alike in council and in arms descended Sir John De Croft, Knight of Croft Castle, County Hereford, Captain of Merk Castle, near Calais, who was often employed in negotiations in Flanders between 142 and 1404. He married Janet, daughter of and co-heir of Owen of Griffith Vychan, Lord of Glyndudwy, in Merionithshire.
The renowned Owen Glendower, representative of the Princess of Bwys, was Sir Richard Croft, Knight of Croft Castle, High Sheriff and member of Parliament of the County Hereford, the Captor of Prince Edward (son of Henry VI) at the battle of Tewksbury in 1471; he was a gallant soldier and was appointed teacher of the household to Henry VII. His descendent-Sir James Croft, a knight, was Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1552 and later councilor of the household of Queen Elizabeth and was succeeded at his death by his grandson.
Sir Herbert Croft was knight under Queen Elizabeth and also James the 1st. He had 4 sons: (1) Sir William, who died gallantly in battle June 9, 1645; (2) Sir James, an officer of rank in the Royal Army, (3) Sir Robert, also an officer of rank in the Royal Army, (4) Herbert Croft, who was advanced in 1662 to Bishopric of Hereford and appointed in 1657 Dean of the Chapel Royal. His Lordship died May 12, 1691, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Herbert Croft.
The family of Yorkshire claim common descent from the Hereford Crofts, and from this family the Wheat-Crofts, Flitcrofts, Woodcrofts, and Whitecrofts are descended by marriage into the female lines of Wheat, White, Wood, and Flitt, as before mentioned--their offspring retaining the mother's name as well as the father's name, as was then often the custom, a hyphen dividing the two, as in "Wheat-Croft", "White-Croft", "Flit-Croft" etc. The word "Wit", "Witcroft" is an abbreviation of "White" of "Wheat" spelled in early times "Whete". This paragraph is another explanation of how names are derived.
The earliest record of the "Wheat-Croft" family is William Whaytcroft, also spelled Whaytecroft and Whitecroft, who was born about 1335 and lived at Burgh, in Lincolnshire. He was a landowner there. He had a son Richard, born about 1360, who had a son Thomas, born about 1386, who had a son William, born about 1408. The names occurs very early. There was a record of Wetecroft Rugemund, 35 acres of arable land, writ dated July 13 in 67th year of Henry III (1263).
The earliest record of the Flittcroft family is in 1212. Adam de Lawton gave Flittecroft to the Hospital of Jerusalem in the time of King Henry; Flittecroft was a tenement in Lawton.
In 1612-13 Nicholas Flitcraft, Matthew Flitcroft and Thomas Flytcroft are mentioned as tenants of Kenyon.
Other mentions are the Wheatcoft's in hamlet in Derbyshire Parish of Critch. Wheatcroft was also a name represented in Ashover in the reign of George 1st.
The Whitecroft family, now called "Whitcraft" settled in America at an early date. The original immigrant, James Whitcraft, landed at New Castle, Delaware, about 1730. His wife was Jane Baptist. They had two sons: Edward and Samuel, both of whom settled in New Jersey. Edward Married Elizabeth Weston July 18, 1732, and had a son Edward, who married Rebecca Taylor, and later they went to Maryland. Samuel married Sarah Carter May 7, 1736. His second wife was Ann Hill of Chesterfield, NJ--married May 26, 1773.
There were 5 brothers--as far as known Samuel & Sarah's children (not Edward's)--who for reasons unknown all took the name of "Flitcraft" instead of carrying on the English name. These brothers were Joseph, Henry, William, Isaiah, and Francis Flitcraft.
Note: It is unknown why some of the brothers' (#1-#5 above) children did not choose to carry on the "Flitcraft" name, but chose "Witcraft" or "Whitecraft" instead. The Flitcraft history continues with Joseph and Mary (Meredith) Flitcraft, who are direct line to us.