JACOB HENRY CROFT
FATHER: George Croft
MOTHER: Annie
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Birth: Married: Death: |
CHILDREN Martha Croft Mary Croft Eliza Carolyn Croft Kiss Croft Jacob H. Croft, Jr. Charles Wm. Croft Lavinia Croft Lucy Ann Croft John Croft Matthew Croft Carrie Elizabeth Croft Nancy Croft Samuel C. Croft Charles Freeman Croft Queen Ann Croft First 6 of the children were born in South Carolina, the rest were born in Georgia. |
BORN January 8, 1827 May 26, 1828 July 15, 1830 November 22, 1832 January 11, 1834 January 27, 1836 February 27, 1838 October 8, 1839 January 14, 1841 December 11, 1842 November 3, 1844 January 8, 1846 January 7, 1848 April 8, 1849 July 2, 1851 |
DIED xxx November 1901 May 7, 1906 June 19, 1919 1875 April 16, 1925 November 19, 1927 October 14, 1914 September 16, 1927 |
Jacob Croft was born in Barnwell County, South Carolina. There is no absolute proof of his parentage, though it appears that George and Annie Croft are the most likely since they were in the Barnwell area and about the right age. In the late 1820's, Jacob was continuously in debt. The Barnwell County, South Carolina Journal of Common Pleas shows him being sued for failure to pay his bills three times in 1826 and 1827. Then in March of 1827 he was forced to sell 50 acres to satisfy a debt to one Timothy Street. This Sheriff's sale is recorded in the deed book in Barnwell County, South Carolina. According to the birthplace listings of his children, he moved from South Carolina to Georgia about 1837 although he does not appear in the 1830 census of South Carolina. He was in Lowndes County, Georgia in 1840 and 1850, and in New River County, Florida in 1860. It appears that this wife's parents William and Catherine Hunter moved to Georgia at the same time. William Hunter appears in the Georgia census about the same time. When the elder Hunters died in 1857, Jacob moved his family to New River County, Florida (now Bradford County). Ten of the fifteen children went to Florida with him. All records refer to him as Jacob H. Croft. The Henry is inferred from a later descendant who is called Jacob Henry Croft III.
Contrary to the often expressed opinion that the Crofts were English in origin, there is growing evidence that the family was German in origin - that the name Croft is an anglicized version of the German name Kraffts. This was first expressed in 1955 in an interview that researcher Aurora Shaw had with Dora (Croft) Alderman. Dora said that "the Crofts (were) originally Dutch." She probably meant Deutsch, what the Germans call themselves. The Croft family in South Carolina were closely associated with the Hiers family who were definitely German in origin. Some of the Hiers moved to Georgia along the same time as the Crofts and there was some intermarriage between the two. There was a family of Kraffts listed on the passenger list of the same boat that arrived with the Hiers. Recent interviews with some of the Crofts still living in Barnwell, South Carolina suggest a German origin. And, no ties have ever been found with any of the English Crofts.
Sources:
Letter from Mrs. Leona Croft quoting from family Bible (1973).
1840, 1850 Census - Lowndes Co., GA.
1840, 1850 Census - Barnwell Co., SC.
1860 Census - New River Co., FL.
Tombstones at Mt.Zion Cem. adj. to Mt.Zion Baptist Church.
Judge Huxford's card file - Homerville, Ga.
Court of Common Pleas Journal - (1822-1832) - Barnwell, SC.
