Vita for Nancy Crow, wife of Henry Gragg or Thomas Gragg?

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Source

The following data were extracted from Ancestry Family Trees, 12 March 2013, Using the search key "Nancy Crow" and spouse "Gragg" and "Gregg"

Related

Person:Nancy Crow (7)

Person:Nancy Crow (13)

Person:Thomas Gragg (4)

Person:Henry Gragg (4)

Gragg Records in Chalkley's Chronicles

Discussion

A 1789 Augusta County Court Record for "Nancy Gregg" identifies her as a daughter of Walter Crow and wife Ann.

A copy of the will of Walter Crow. Fee, 70 cents, paid in the office by W. Roalston. H. J. Gambrill.
I, Walter Crow, of Rockingham County. To wife, Ann. To eight children, viz: Mary Harnsberry, James, John, William, Benjamin, Jacob Crow, Nancy Gregg, Rachel Harnett. Executors, wife Ann, and William Crow, third son of testator. "A certain obligation which John Crow obtained from William Crow at Lewis (Levines) Ferry, on James River, which John assigned to his father, Walter Crow, amounting to £20 principle, interest from August, 1784, if John shall pay some to Anne, etc.," otherwise the amount is to be deducted from John's share. Signed, sealed, etc., 6th August, 1789. Test: William Dunlap, Hannah (mark) Roadecap and lie for, etc. (Signed) William Ewen, C. R. C. Proved in clerk. 28th September, 1789, Rockingham County. Proven by Hannah Roadecap and lie for, etc. Signed) William Ewen, C. R. C. Proved in Rockingham, 26th October, 1789, by Elizabeth Roadecap. Administration granted widow, Anne; other executor failed to appear. By the Court. (Signed) William Ewen, C. R. C. A copy. Test: H. J. Gambill, D. C. R. C. Chalkelys' Chronicles Volume 1

Nancy is clearly the wife of someone by the name of "Gragg", but her husband is not otherwise identified in this record. The question is "Who was the husband of Nancy Gregg nee Crow? Currently (March 2013) WeRelate gives the following data for two candidate husbands

Note that the wives of these candidates are given as "Nancy Crow", one distinguished from the other by the middle name of "Elender". There are, of course, other "Gragg's" in the area who could in theory be the husband of Nancy Crow, daughter of Walter Crow. But it seems reasonable to start with the two individuals whose wives have been previously identified as "Nancy Crow".

While its possible that both Thomas (4) and Henry (4) married woman by the name of "Nancy Crow", this seems unlikely. Ideally, we would like to find original source documentation that identifies which (if either, of these men married Nancy, daughter of Walter. Perhaps such documentation lies deeper in Chalkley (the summary currently only looks at Volume I of this work), but we may also get some guidance by looking at what others have recorded about "Nancy Crow" in their family trees such as published on Ancestry. Such trees are often criticized (with considerable justification) because they usually lack original source supporting documentation. Many entries also represent simple copies of what others have found, and may not reflect any original work whatsoever on the part of the presenter. Because these sources do not usually reflect immeidate original source documentation, individually, their reliability is questionable. Moreover, when viewed individually, it is soon apparent that there are almost as many variations in the data as there are presenters.

A

While not all entries in the Ancestry family trees show parents for Nancy, those that do are reasonably consistent One "Nancy Crow", is consistently identified as having parents of Walter Crow and Ann Miller. The other Nancy is consistently identified as having parents of Benjamin Crow and Nancy Gragg., though sometimes Nancy Gragg's name is given as Nancy Ann Gragg or Gregg. Yet even the meanest of these trees reflects at some level, considerable work that has been put into researching someone's family tree. The information contained in these trees collectively reflects the combined work of a good many people, earnestly seeking to capture their ancestral history. This consistency allows us to identify the two Nancy's as "Nancy 1" and "Nancy 2".

While Nancy's parents, when identified, are quite consistent, not all tree entries give her parents names. Other vita for these Nancy's are not so consistent. For example, while most entries for Nancy 1 (daughter of Walter Crow and Ann Miller, is sometimes identified as "Thomas Gragg" and sometimes as "Henry Gragg". Ref name="Gragg">The Gragg and Gregg surnames appear to be used more or less interchangeably in these family trees, as well as in the underlying original source records. In this presentation Gragg" is used simply because it is in slightly more common use in the trees.</ref> Some trees split the difference identifying him as "Thomas Henry Gragg". Likewise, the husband of Nancy 2, daughter of Benjamin Crow and Nancy Gragg, is sometimes identified as Thomas Gragg, and sometimes as Thomas Henry Gragg.

The DOB's, DOM's and DOD's for these Nancy Crows are sometimes interchanged as well. The DOB for Nancy 1 is some times given as 1764 and sometimes as 1798. Likewise, Nancy 2's DOB is sometimes given as 1764 and sometimes 1798. Their DOD's are sometimes given as 1800 and sometimes as 1861. DOM's are sometimes given as 1783 and sometimes as 1819. While most of the family trees use one combination or another of the above Vita, there are also trees that use other values as well.

In looking at individual family trees for Nancy it is very difficult to make a confident decision as to what her correct vita are. While the identity of her parents is quite consistent, many of the trees do not include their identity. This may be because of the difficulty in distinguishing between the two Nancy's based on the other vita data. Nonetheless, when the entire collection of tree's is examined as a whole (see table below) it becomes clear that....

Exrtract