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Our ancestors emigrated from Ireland
to the United States during the middle to late 1700's. They settled into one of the
original thirteen colonies - "South Carolina".
During this time, the Colonists were under British Rule.
Battles with Spanish French, Indians, and pirates occupied the settlers prior to the
Revolutionary War. A treaty in 1760 ended the Cherokee War and opened up more land
for settlement. With the offer of tax-free land for a decade, Irish immigrants and
settlers from other colonies swelled into the Carolinas. This paved the way for
South Carolina to enter the Union in 1788 as the 8th state.
James Crow and his wife Elizabeth were one of the original
settlers into Spartansburg, South Carolina. Daughters of the American Revolution
records list James and his brothers as fighting in the Continental Army after the fall of
Charleston. Documents dated during the 1780's show James as being a large landowner
on the Tyger River in Spartansburg - owning several hundred acres. During this time,
land was being purchased for as cheap as .25 cents per acre! Irish-born Levi Crow,
the son of James and Elizabeth, appears to be a large landowner as well.
Levi Crow married Sarah Busey (1790-1857), daughter of
Benjamin and Lucy Busey. Around 1808, Levi moved with his father and other relatives
to Buncombe County - an area we now know as Asheville, North Carolina. Several years
later, Levi and Sarah moved with her family West to Marion, Kentucky. They owned and
operated a plantation with the Busey family from 1818-1823. It was located in an
area known as Piney Fork.
The log cabin below belonged to the Gilbert Family. They
were in-laws to Sarah Busey Crow. She may have lived in this home at one time!
Click on Image to Enlarge
Just prior to 1824, Levi (along
with Sarah and her family) moved again to McKenzie, Tennessee. Census records show
that Levi and Sarah had 5 sons and 4 daughters:
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Garland T. Crow |
Mary A. Crow |
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Benjamim Busey Crow |
Zilphia Crow |
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Levi Crow Jr. |
Ann Elizabeth Crow |
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Edward Crow |
Louisa M. Crow |
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John Crow |
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The town of McKenzie is divided
between the three counties that surround it - Carroll Weakly, and Henry. Locating
records for this town can be somewhat confusing because of it's being split up into these
different counties.
Levi Crow Sr., according to Census records, passed away
between 1830 and 1840 in either Carroll or Weakly County, Tennessee. The grave site
location is unknown, but it is believed he is buried in either the Busey Cemetery or the
Blooming Grove Cemetery in McKenzie.
In the late 1840's, Sarah moved back to Marion, Kentucky where
she spent the remainder of her life. She is buried at the Crooked Creek Cemetery,
one mile north of Marion. The only markings on her tombstone are "Sarah Crow,
died July 27, 1858". (See picture below) Levi Crow Jr. and some other
Crow family members are also buried outside of Marion at the Mt. Zion Cemetery.
Click on Image to Enlarge
Edward Crow married Elizabeth Hopkins in
Carroll County, Tennessee on 24 December 1842. Edward and Elizabeth had two children
- James Levi Crow and Mary A. Crow. According to Weakly County Court records, Edward
died without a will in 1848. His brother, Garland T. Crow, helped in paying off the
debts, and in assisting Garland's wife and children with their needs. It is not
known where Edward is buried, but his brother Garland is buried in the Blooming Grove
Cemetery 3 miles west of McKenzie, Tennesee.
Click on Image to Enlarge
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The father to Grover
Cleveland Crow was James Levi Crow and his mother was Mary Ann (Mann) Crow. James
remained with his mother until the Civil War broke out, when he enlisted on 13 May 1864.
He was in Company F, 145th Illinois Regiment (later considered with the 18th Illinois), and
served until the close of the war. His volunteer enlistment record shows him to have
blue eyes, light hair, fair complexion, and he stood a robust 5' 4" tall.
While on a boat coming from St. Louis, he fell and was disabled for a
short period of time. In September 1864, at Mozelle Bridge (near Richwoods, a few miles
from St. Louis), he was wounded in the right leg by a gunshot. This happened while
General Price (Confederate) was attempting to defend the Mozelle Bridge. Fearing an
attack and pursuit, General price burned the Mozelle Bridge and then pushed rapidly toward the
State Capital, followed by General Smith and his entire command. General Price, after
having burned bridges behind him and done all in his power to hinder his pursuers, arrived at
Jefferson City on 7 October 1864.
After the war in 1867, James Levi moved from Union County, Illinois
to Scott County, Missouri and remained there with the exception of the few last years which he
spent in Stoddard County, Missouri. |
