Among the early settlers who came to Fallowfield Township in 1781 or earlier were John and Lawrence Crow, brothers, who settled on adjoining farms in the eastern section of the township which afterwards became Allen. They located on land about two miles from the Monongahela River which lay in a great bend of that stream extending from Coal Center to Lock Number Four. John's land joined with William Jackman, Joseph Allen, William Howe, and Joshua Dickson.
We are told that three brothers comprised the original party heading for the “Frontier,” but one of them stopped off at some more eastern or convenient point for his settlement. Research into the Fayette County Crow history fails to reveal any connection. The Fayette County historian, Franklin Ellis, states that the original Crow family of that county was evidently of Dutch origin. Of the other Crow families, the writer (i.e., Curtis Lee Crow 1889-1972) can make no statement. However, he has knowledge of a Crow family reunion being held yearly in the vicinity of Wheeling, W. Va., but does not know whether their sire was the third member of the Crow party as passed down to us by tradition.
Here in 1781 or earlier appeared the sires of the Fallowfield Township Crows. Two brothers, John and Lawrence, became settlers on the Monogahela River hills in the immediate vicinity of Mount Tabor M. E. Church. Lawrence made application for a tract containing two hundred and ninety-five acres to which he gave the name of Crow’s Egg, upon being surveyed. His brother, John, located on adjoining land which contained by the survey, three hundred and eight-two acres to which he gave the name of Dear Purchase. The latter tract joined with lands of William Howe, Joseph Allen, William Jackman, and Joshua Dickson.
These two men lived here and were dead by the year 1796, as in that the lands of William Howe are mentioned as “adjoining the lands of the heirs of Lawrence and John Crow and others.” Crumrine, the Washington County historian, tells us also that “Margaret, the wife of John Crow, lived many years later and died at the advanced age of one hundred and nine years.” The descendants of these two men grew up and inter-married with families of the surrounding section and left numerous descendants. Clark Crow’s lived in 1882 on the remainder of John Crow’s farmstead. Dr. Henry C. Chalfant and William Huggins are two of the many descendants. Lands taken up by them are still mostly in the possession of different branches of the family.
The names of John and Lawrence Crow are mentioned in the Supply Tax of 1781 as residents of Fallowfield Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, and being the owners of the following property: Lawrence Crow, 318 acres of land, 3 horses, 6 cattle, 5 sheep, Valued for tax purposes at $157: John Crow, 150acres of land, 3 horses, 3 cattle, value $83.
Lawrence Crow was warranted land in that portion of Fallowfield Township later comprising Allen. The survey of his tract took place on August 31, 1784, and contained 300 acres as returned by the surveyors.
Warrant number 145 was granted to John Crow. It is recorded in Patent Book #47, page 71. Upon being surveyed, a total of 382 ? acres was returned. The survey was made on July 10, 1786, and iis recorded in Survey Book C, Vol. 211, page 71. His heirs secured title to this tract on January 8, 1801. At the time they applied for land on this frontier a rate of 10 pounds (British currency) per 100 acres was charged including interest from March 1, 1779. A legendary tale handed the writer some years ago was that the settlers paid $20 in gold upon completion of their survey. (This really is a tale. Under the Articles of Confederation 1781-1788, no gold coins were ever struck. Under the Constitution, a $10 gold eagle was first struck in 1795 with a mintage of 5,583; a $5 half eagle in 1795 with a mintage of 8,707; a $2.50 quarter eagle in 1796 with a mintage of 1,395. If the Crows saw any gold at all, it was either British or Spanish or possibly French. Foreign gold and silver coins were legal tender in the U.S, until 1857).
The name “Dear Purchase” was given the farmstead of John Crow and found as such in all the records and means in a literal sense animal purchase, but the writer has been using the cognomen “Dear Purchase” for no reason at all. It was very likely a dear purchase, no doubt, for those early pioneers while at the same time many deer abounded in the immediate vicinity.
In later years, the heirs of John Crow agreed to a division of “Dear Purchase” which throws some light on his heirs. It also shows an error in the statement of Crumrine, the historian, concerning a so-called Margaret Crow, claimed to have been the wife of John Crow. The writer found the following record, quote: James Nixon & wife to Jacob Crow. This indenture made this fourth day of January, 1833, between James Nixon and Sarah, his wife, late Sarah Crow, of Ohio County Virginia (now Ohio County, W.Va .), and Joseph Crow, whereas Martha Morton, late Martha Crow, widow of John Crow, deceased, George Sr., Joseph, Jacob, Benjamin, Sarah and Jane did obtain a patent dated January 8th, 1802, and recorded in Patent Book #47, page 71, became lawfully seized as tenants in common a tract of land called “Deer Purchase” adjoining the lands of Elias Worrell, Jonathan Worrell and others, containing 382 ? acres…… Divided into tracts numbered 1, 2, and 3……Jacob Crow hereby pays the sum of $800 to said Sarah Nixon and husband for lot #1…..Joins the lands of John and Simon Jackman, Elias Worrell, Samuel Allen and Jonathan Worrell, containing 105 ¾ acres.
In the foregoing deed we learn that the wife of John Crow was Martha Morton and not Margaret as claimed by Crumrine in his History of Washington County. As to her age, the writer takes no exception. As stated in the records, she is living at the time of the deed so she must have been well along in years, it being 37 or 38 years since her husband’s death. (Nonsense, we learn Martha Morton Crow was alive in 1802, not 1833.)
The children of John and Martha Morton Crow were: George Sr. who married Rosa Jackman, a widow; Joseph who remained single; Jacob who married Anna Riggs; Benjamin who remained single; Sarah married James Nixon; and Jane.
The heirs of Lawrence Crow, deceased, secured a similar deed on April 30, 1835, showing his children and heirs. It states that Lawrence was the owner of 411½ acres of land. The heirs mentioned are: John; Thomas; Jane, now the wife of Williams Huggins; Margaret, the wife of John Nixon; William; Ruthy, deceased; Lawrence Jr. Lawrence Crow’s widow was Margaret.
John Crow was a Revolutionary soldier. He is listed as a private in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th classes of Capt James Hopkins’s Company of the Fifth Battalion of the Washington County Militia. He was mustered out of the service on the 25th day of April, 1782, as certified by Alexand Hopkins, A.S. General. A class role of Captain Hopkins’s Company of the Fifth Battalion of Washington County Militia also contains the name of John Crow. The latter record shows him as a third class private.
There is no record of the number of years served by John Crow for the writer has made contact at various places where the exact term of service may have been stated but to no avail. The above information was gained through the Pennsylvania Archives and they do not mention the time of service in the Revolution.
The name of Lawrence Crow does not appear as a veteran of the Revolution, therefore, the writer believes that he may have been too old for military service or physically handicapped to some degree.
The Assessment Roll of 1788 for Fallowfield Township shows the names of John and Lawrence Crow. Between that year and 1790 when the first U.S. Census was taken, Lawrence has died for his name does not appear. A family with Margaret Crow as the heir appears instead, the same containing one male over sixteen years of age, four males under sixteen and three females over sixteen, one of whom is presumed to be the above named Margaret Crow as the head of the family. Margaret is, therefore, the widow of Lawrence.
The Assessment Roll of 1788 also contains the name of John Crow as the head of a family containing one male sixteen years or over which is presumed to be he, also three males under sixteen and one female which, of course, is his wife if living. The Roll also lists the family of Thomas Crow with one male over sixteen, no males under sixteen, and two females, one of whom is his wife. The latter family appears as a young one just branched off. This is proven in a former paragraph which states that Thomas is the second son of Lawrence.
The death of Lawrence Crow has been ascertained as occurring between the years 1788 and 1790, but the death of John Crow is not so easily calculated. He was dead by the year 1796 as in that year a transfer of farm land was made by William Howe which states that it joined with lands of the heirs of John and Lawrence Crow.
John Crow is listed as the owner of a distillery of which Fallowfield Township contained many in its early years. Due to the refusal to pay duties on whiskey as imposed by Act of Congress, the officers seized a total of 44 stills on the 14th and 15th of November, 1794. The name of John Crow does not appear among the list of those seized, but there are many family names familiar to now-a-day residents carried down through several generations. All of those who were in any way connected with the Whiskey Insurrection were required to take an oath of allegiance before a Justice of the Peace. Many residents of Fallowfield complied with this order from the 18th of November to December 29th, 1794, before Daniel Depue, in the above named township. John Crow evidently took no active part in the above movement for his name does not appear among the names given by a local historian.
Dear Purchase, as mentioned previously, was the name given to that tract of land upon which John Crow settled. The warrants for land were issued through the good graces of the Virginia Colony from local land offices and if the writer’s memory serves him correctly, he has read of one such land office being located in the village of Cookstown, now Fayette City, Pennsylvania.
Dear Purchase lay at the head of a very small valley about one and one half miles west of the village of Roscoe. The land is ideally located for farming and fruit growing. Its elevation makes it safe from early frosts also. It is sheltered from the west and northwest winds by slightly rising ridges. These ridges also afforded other protection as well, when one understands the danger from raids by roving bands of Indians when these settlements were started.
The writer had the great privilege of visiting Dear Purchase in the summer of 1941. To this spot came John Crow in the year 1775 or earlier. The marks of several old buildings remain and some distance to the rear of the present house is located a private burial lot which is believed to contain the graves of the early Crow family. Of the several mounds visible, only one headstone could be seen indicating therein lay the body of a Quaker.
John Crow, pioneer settler and backwoodsman, was from all indications a good citizen from the fact that he attended court or was he interested in his neighbor, David England, to such an extent that he would consent to be one of the jurymen? In another respect he deemed it his duty to assume the trials and tribulations of a soldier’s life in the Revolutionary cause. In this he must have served several years. From the time of the court trial mentioned above until the close of the war with England was sometime. The records do not say as to the length of his military duty.
The pioneers of those early years were truly good woodsmen. Their eye was as good with the axe as the rifle. In the latter case their lives depended largely upon the aim during raids from roving bands of Indians and their tables were blessed with plenty of meat due to their capable use of firearms. Indications show that his farmland had received plenty of care. The remains of log buildings also proved his worth with axe and dowel pin.
John Crow married Martha Morton, a widow having children by a former marriage. This fact is proven by the will of Joseph Crow, son of John, and in which a stipulation is made for certain worldly goods to be given to his (Joseph’s) half-sister, named Morton. The writer knows nothing concerning other children of Martha Morton previously. Mrs. Jane Phillips, resident and owner of a part of the original “Dear Purchase,” has the will of Joseph Crow.
To the marriage of John Crow and Martha Morton, six children were born and arrived at maturity. They are: Sarah, married to James Nixon; George, married to Rosa Jackman; Joseph remained single; Jacob, married Anna Riggs; Benjamin remained single; Jane married ???; George is the lineage of this writer.
We learn from various sources that George, Sr. evidently spent his younger years in the vicinity of Mount Tabor Church and his elder years in the upper Maple Creek neighborhood. He also married a widow. Rosa Jackman with children by a former marriage became the wife of George. He later purchased the farm of his brother, Joseph, on Maple Creek where his death evidently occurred.
To this union were born three children, two daughters and one son. They are: Benjamin, who married Susan Thompson; Sarah Ann remained single and Margaret remained single.
The writer has no knowledge of where George, Sr. or his wife are buried. It has been stated that George, Sr. made text books with quill pens. To what use these books were put is not known. He was also a very strict Christian. No work was ever performed on the Sabbath Day, not even the polishing of their shoes. He was a noted Bible student.
Benjamin Crow, son of George Crow and grandson of John Crow, was born about 1820 and died April 21, 1891, aged 71 years. He is buried on the lot of his son, George, Jr., in Maple Creek Cemetery. Benjamin married Susan Thompson. The Thompsons were believed to be from the Allen Township district. Another Thompson, Ellen, married David McCracken, who emigrated to Greene County. The McCrackens left many descendents among whom were Issac, David, Jr., Benjamin, Mary and Anna Barker.
Benjamin Crow is believed to have spent his younger years in the vicinity of Maple Creek. Several of these Crow men lived for various times on what is known as the Mancha and Abraham McCracken farms. Crumrine, the historian, states that Benjamin served as a Justice of the Peace in Fallowfield in 1860. Others remember him of having an office in Monongahela City, and probably serving as an alderman. One stated of having been present at a trial of some sort where he, the informant, was excluded from the trial on account of his youthful years. He evidently served in various capacities in and around Monongahela. Here his elder years were spent. He gained some fame as a local veterinary. It has been stated that he was well-read in law and had an inventive mind concerning perpetual motion.
Teagarden Rider, an elderly resident of the Maple Creek area, believes that Susan Thompson Crow was a sister to Andrew Waller’s wife and that they were natives of Longbranch.
To the marriage of Benjamin Crow and Susan Thompson were born two sons who were twins and two daughters. They are: James T. who married Mary B. McMahan; George Jr., married Rebecca Colvin; Isabell married Josiah Young; and Sarah Jane married John F. Cooper.
James Thompson Crow, twin brother of George Jr., and according to belief the only male children of Benjamin and Susan Thompson Crow, was born in 1849. It is believed that a part of his younger years were spent in the neighborhood of Maple Creek. He related to the writer of he and his brother, George, helping erect a schoolhouse on the Loisa Carson farm on the upper reaches of Maple Creek during the time of the Battle of Gettysburg. They were arranging the rafters at the time and thought the roar of cannon was the making of a terrible storm. In fear of the wind accompanying such a storm as they believed approaching, they hurried with all speed to finish. It was several days before they learned the truth as news traveled slowly in those days.
James evidently spent a part of his younger years on the Monongahela River for in that vicinity he met Mary Bell McMahan who later became his wife.
The writer remembers of seeing his father as a wood-worker. There were many tools of that kind ever present in the barn and wagon-shed. He often stated of having been a thresherman also, having recounted the various farms at which he and others had threshed with horse-power machines. He later engaged in the sawmill business, sawing and marketing the finished lumber to the mines and Federal Works along the Monongahela River. He related of gathering a raft of logs at or near the mouth of Ten Mile Creek which they rode to Cincinnati, Ohio. At this point high water overtook them and it was necessary to call for help in landing the raft. The captain of a nearby tugboat demanded $100 in gold before he would consent to tie the raft to the shore. This, he and his three partners were luckily able to produce.
In 1900 he sold his farm in Fallowfield Township and journeyed far and yon in pursuit of the golden end of the rainbow.