Crowley, James

James CROWLEY (1777 - 1828) and Dorcas SMITH (1778 - 1852)

possibly my 4g-grandparents

This is a search for the parents of Sarah CROWLY/CROWLEY, who was born about 1812 in GA.

James CROWLEY and Dorcas SMITH are said to have been the parents of 16 children. Not all of them are known. Sarah CROWLEY, wife of Stephen MARTIN, could have been one of them. Sarah and Stephen were my 3g-grandparents. Several of my DNA close matches are descendants of other CROWLEYs from De Kalb County, GA, who trace their ancestries back to James and Dorcas.

Another possibility is that Sarah is the niece of James CROWLEY. One of James' brothers is Abraham CROWLEY, who also lived in Oglethorpe County, GA. Abraham had several daughters, including 5 under the age of 10 in 1820. One of his descendants shares 21 cM of DNA with me, which is surprising for a 6th cousin.

The only evidence I have to connect Stephen MARTIN's wife, Sarah, to the CROWLEYs is on the death records of 2 of their children.

So I will try to gather what I can find regarding the CROWLEYs in GA, and see where Sarah fits in.

Dorcas (SMITH) CROWLEY was born about 1778 in NC, according to the 1850 US Census (below).

Several researchers have Sarah's parents as William SMITH (1757 - 1825) and Prudence BABCOCK (1732 - 1894), of Kings County, RI. If so, the dates must be mistaken. I doubt that Prudence lived to age 162, was born 25 years before her husband, and died 69 years after him.

The time and place of James CROWLEY's birth are also uncertain. He is undoubtedly related to the extended CROWLEY family of Oglethorpe County. They are descendants of Jeffrey and Effie CROWLEY/CROLEY of Halifax County, VA. Their children John, Mary, Benjamin and Samuel all migrated to GA around the 1780s, and most settled in Oglethorpe [CFB]. In particular, Benjamin's will names his children, and one is James [BCW]. It seems accepted by CROWLEY researchers that this James is the one who married Dorcas SMITH.

James and Dorcas were married in Oglethorpe County, GA on 23 Feb 1799. They were about 27 and 21. The 1800 Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index has James CROWLEY in Oglethorpe, but gives no other information. Based on later records, they had at least 10, maybe 16 children, from 1801 to 1820, presumably all in Oglethorpe.

European settlement of Georgia began on the Atlantic coast, and gradually grew inland, as Native Americans were relentlessly pushed westward. Thus Oglethorpe County was settled by whites much earlier than De Kalb County. Oglethorpe was founded in 1793, and by 1800 it had a population of almost 10,000.

In the 1807 Land Lottery, James CROLEY of Capt. William Hatchett's District 229 (Lexington), Oglethorpe County, GA was granted lot 11 in the 12th District of Baldwin County, GA. Several other CROLEYs were also given land. [OCL]

In 1820 they were still in Oglethorpe, with a large family, including 4 slaves. Some of the young males may have been farmhands. The female under 10 could be Sarah, who would have been 7 or 8.

James CROWLEY moved his family to De Kalb County between 1820 and 1828. He wrote his will there on 9 Feb 1828, and the papers indicate that he died on 3 Dec 1828. He was buried, presumably on his own property, and although the records have been lost, the cemetery is preserved as a mausoleum. It is surrounded by what is now the parking lot of the Avondale shopping mall, in Decatur, GA.

The will names James' son Allen CROWLEY as executor. It also names his wife, Darcus CROWLEY. The list of children: Josiah, Nancy, Allen, Dealy, James, Benjamin, Seaborn, Susan, Harris, Washington. These are probably listed in order of age, as Josiah and Nancy are called the oldest, and Washington is the youngest. Also gives 2 negro women Edy and Eliza to his wife. There doesn't seem to be a Sarah in the list, unless Sarah was Dealy or Susan. However, Dealy is probably Delaney, who married Zacharias CROSS in 1844, and Susan was still living with her mother and brother in 1850, as shown by the census (below).

By 1830 Dorcas, a widow, had moved her large family to De Kalb County. No township or district is specified. Sarah could be one of the females 15 thru 19, since she would have been about 17 or 18.

In 1840 the family is in De Kalb County, District 531. Sarah could be the female 20 thru 29. She was not yet married, as her marriage to Stephen MARTIN was in 1842, De Kalb County. Heads of Household listed on the page included:

1. Richard Jones
2. Jesse Jones
3. Darcus Cooley
4. Allen Cooley
9. Siborn Jones

I'm tentatively including Sarah as a daughter of James CROWLEY and Dorcas SMITH. The information below should be considered "to be verified."

1 James CROWLEY b: abt 1772 in VA, d: 09 Feb 1828 in De Kalb, GA
+ Dorcas Margree SMITH b: 1778 in NC, m: 23 Feb 1799 in Oglethorpe, GA, d: 1852 in Decatur, De Kalb, GA
......2 Nancy CROWLEY b: 13 Oct 1801 in De Kalb, GA, d: 18 Nov 1871 in Double Springs, Winston, AL
......2 Joseph CROWLEY b: 1802 in De Kalb, GA, d: 1847 in SC
......2 Allen CROWLEY b: 15 Jun 1806 in Lexington, Oglethorpe, GA, d: 29 Aug 1864 in Hohenlinden, Calhoun, MS
......2 Delaney Cross CROWLEY b: 1808 in Oglethorpe, GA, d: 17 Apr 1892 in Decatur, De Kalb, GA
......2 James CROWLEY b: 1810 in De Kalb, GA, d: 02 Feb 1841 in Decatur, De Kalb, GA
......2 Benjamin F. CROWLEY b: 03 Aug 1812 in De Kalb, GA, d: 03 Jan 1869 in Decatur, DeKalb, GA
...... + Mary Jane TUGGLE b: 12 Jul 1823 in GA, m: 14 Nov 1844 in De Kalb, GA, d: 14 Sep 1863 in De Kalb, GA
......2 Sarah CROWLEY b: 12 Jul 1812 in GA, d: 16 Jul 1878 in Shallowford, De Kalb, GA
...... + Stephen MARTIN Sr b: 05 Jun 1798 in Laurens, SC, m: 1842 in De Kalb, GA, d: 24 Sep 1866 in De Kalb, GA
......2 Susan CROWLEY b: 1816 in GA, d: 1821 in GA
......2 Harris CROWLEY b: 22 Jul 1820 in GA, d: 18 May 1882 in De Kalb, GA
...... + Mary Jane STURGIS b: 10 Oct 1828 in SC, m: 09 May 1844 in De Kalb, GA, d: 1910
......2 George Washington CROWLEY b: 1820 in GA, d: 1897 in Trinity, Morgan, AL
...... + Mary Ann Etta ANDERSON b: 10 Dec 1836 in Elbert, GA, m: 21 Sep 1863 in Cherokee, GA, d: 05 Dec 1913 in Blount Springs, Blount, AL
...... + Sara J. JONES b: 1829 in GA, m: 14 May 1846 in De Kalb, GA, d: 1851

The CROWLEYs of Oglethorpe County, GA

James CROWLEY was part of an extended CROWLEY family that came from VA, and settled in Oglethorpe County, GA in the 1780s and 1790s. James himself was born in VA, lived in Oglethorpe for many years, and removed to De Kalb County, GA where died in 1828. This appearance in De Kalb County is what makes him seem to be a likely candidate for Sarah's father. However, as noted above, Sarah doesn't seem to fit.

There are some other possibilities. Sarah may have been the child of one of James's brothers or cousins. Or she may have had a 1st husband, in the CROWLEY extended family, but that wouldn't explain the DNA matches.

The CROWLEYs of Oglethorpe were descendants of Jeffrey and Effie CROWLEY of VA. They had 4 children, who all removed to Oglethorpe. [CFB]

1 Jeffrey CROWLEY b: abt. 1695 in VA, d: bet. 17 Oct 1761–18 Feb 1762 in Antrim, Halifax, VA, age 65-67
+ Effaniah "Effie" m: bet. 1731–1734 in VA, d: bet. Sep 1755–Mar 1757, age 21-26
......2 John CROWLEY b: bef. 1737 in Swift Run Gap, Orange, VA, d: aft. 1796, age 59+
......2 Mary CROWLEY b: abt. 1737, d: bef. 1799 in Oglethorpe, GA, age <62
...... + Randolph or Randall GIBSON b: bef. 1735, d: abt. 1793 in Oglethorpe, GA, age 58+
......2 Benjamin "Berry" CROWLEY b: abt. 1739 in Swift Run Gap, Orange, VA, d: bet. 15 Aug–15 Oct 1817 in Lexington, Oglethorpe, GA, age 78
...... + Sarah STRONG b: 24 Jul 1742 in Hanover, VA, m: 1756 in Orange, VA, d: 12 Jul 1839 in Lexington, Oglethorpe, GA, age 96
......2 Samuel CROWLEY b: abt. 1741 in Spotsylvania, VA, d: 10 Oct 1774 in Point Pleasant, VA (now WV), age 33
...... + Elizabeth STRONG b: 21 Jul 1744 in Hanover, VA, m: abt. 1759, d: 1798 in GA, age 53-54 + Martha EDWARDS

Samuel CROWLEY died young, at the Battle of Point Pleasant (Dunmore's War). He had many children, who ended up in KY and MO.

Mary CROWLEY and her husband had children, named GIBSON, so we probably won't find Sarah CROWLEY there. So we focus on Benjamin and John.

Benjamin CROWLEY and his wife had about 13 children, including 7 sons. James CROWLEY, mentioned above, was one of their sons. They brought their large family from VA to Oglethorpe. There are a lot of unknowns.

John CROWLEY is a mystery. He removed to Oglethorpe, and applied for a land grant in 1783, receiving it in 1787. Apparently he was still living in 1796, when he was taxed on 150 acres, in Oglethorpe County. Since those over 60 were exempt from the tax that year, he was born no later than 1736. Little else is known. I'm working on it!

DNA Evidence

Several of my DNA close matches have CROWLEY ancestry. I have 74 close matches who trace their ancestry back to James CROWLEY and Dorcas SMITH. Of these, 70 claim descent through James and Dorcas' daughter, Sarah CROWLEY, my 3g-grandmother. This is pretty strong evidence that I am a descendant of Sarah. But 4 more are descended by other offspring. There are 2 from Benjamin, 1 from George and 1 from Harris CROWLEY. I think this is enough to show that James and Dorcas are closely related to Sarah, if not parents.

Sources

[BCW] Benjamin Crowley 1817 will transcription

[CC] Crowley Clan

[CFB] Crowley Family Biography on Oglethorpe County GAGenWeb

[CM] The Crowley Mausoleum

[OCL] Oglethorpe County GA 1807 Land Lottery

Updated 3 Apr 2022 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.