Taliaferro Or Tolliver Craig ^{1 2}

  General Notes:

[Berry and Allied Families.FTW]

TALIAFERRO CRAIG
Information Regarding His Parentage



I. TALIAFERRO CRAIG's ILLEGITIMATE BIRTH.

The most widespread tale about the birth of Taliaferro Craig, while vari ed and sometimes elaborate, boils down to this: Jane Taliaferro married Jo hn Craig, but he died before or shortly after the birth of his only son, T aliaferro Craig. No document has ever turned up to confirm any detail of t his story.

Then came Anna V. Parker's book, SANDERS FAMILY OF GRASS HILLS, publish ed in 1966 and widely distributed, in which she reported that Lewis Sander s, a distinguished grandson of Taliaferro Craig, believed that Taliafer ro Craig was the illegitimate son of a woman named Craig and a seafaring C aptain named Taliaferro. Sanders wrote to a first cousin, Rev. Francis Cra ig, son of Capt. John Craig, to inquire about the story and received a rep ly that was in Lewis Sanders' papers, stating: "Your inquiry in relati on to the orgin of the Craig family is a somewhat delicate matter, but yo ur statements are facts with this addition, that my grandfather's mother t hrough life sustained an unblemished character." This letter is now pa rt of the Lewis Sanders papers at the Filson Club Historical Society in Lo uisville. As I noted in the Toliver Craig bibliography that was publish ed in Craig-Links in 1983, this story came from a reliable source, a grand son of Taliaferro Craig, and was confirmed by another grandson who was not iceably uncomfortable about it. To my mind, that made it quite reliable.

And in the past few years I've found Taliaferro's illegitimacy was confirm ed by a third grandson: TOLLIVER CRAIG - HIS NOTEBOOK AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY, [ edited by Mary Louise Fricke, Rt 1, Box 91-A, Kingdom City, MO 65262, 199 1] is a transcription of an autobiographical sketch written by Toliver Cra ig III (son of Toliver Craig, Jr). It begins quite simply: "My grandfath er was the illegitimate son of Jane Craig who was from Scotland and he mar ried Mary Hawkins by whom he had Twelve Children." Mrs. Fricke writes th at the former owner of the sketch, Grace West Baynham, supressed the wo rd "illegitimate" from the typed copy she sent to H. L. Craig in 1937, whi ch explains the unfortunate title he gave his book, DESCENDANTS OF JANE TA LIAFERRO CRAIG (1958, available from University Microfilms International).

II. BEST EVIDENCE? THE LEWIS SANDERS GENEALOGY.

Anna V. Parker's version of Taliaferro's parentage was so brief that I wan ted to see the Lewis Sanders papers to see exactly what story Rev. Franc is Craig was confirming. I was told repeatedly that his papers were giv en to the Filson Club in Louisville, but I was unable to locate them becau se they were cataloged only in the past few years. But in the meantime I d iscovered that Lewis Sanders had maintained a genealogy of the Craig and S anders families; it's not part of the Sanders papers, it was given by Mi ss Parker to Kathryn Salyers, a remarkable genealogist who lives in Carrol lton. Looking at it, I found that it not only had some previously unkno wn notes on the Taliaferro connection but that it revealed connectio ns of the Taliaferros to other Sanders connections, which tended to increa se its credibility.

This is Lewis Sanders' version:

"THE CRAIG FAMILY
"Two brothers, named Taliaferro, supposed to be Italians, came to Virgin ia in the beginning of the 18th Century. One of the brothers was a seafari ng man, engaged in the trade from Virginia to Scotland, this brother broug ht over on one of his trips a young woman named Craig-- this young woman h ad a son by Capt. Toliver, which she named Toliver Craig. This is the he ad and orgin of the numerous Craig family,now spread out through Kentuc ky and Adjoining states. Somewhere about the year 1730 Toliver married Pol ly Hawkins of Spotsylvania County. It is thought that Capt. Toliver the se afaring brother after a time married and settled in Spotsylvania County, V a., near Fredericksburg, from whom descended many families of Toliver in t hat part of the Country."

This is a summary of the Taliaferro genealogy that Sanders had compiled:

Captain Taliaferrro was the father of a child by a Miss Craig, which she n amed Taliaferro Craig. Captain Taliaferro had a brother named Robert Talia ferro, who "lived to be a great age, 112 years."

Robert Taliaferro was married twice. By his first wife he had a son, Samu el Taliaferro, and a daughter who married a Mr. Bowler. By his second wif e, Robert had five daughters and two sons, but Lewis Sanders only gives t he name of one daughter, Nancy Taliaferro.

Nancy Taliaferro was married twice, first to Thomas Livingston, and they h ad three sons: Robert, Thomas and James Livingston, all of whom "mov ed to South Carolina or Georgia," according to Lewis Sanders. Nancy Taliaf erro's second husband was [Valentine] Long Wharton, and their children wer e: Lucy, William, Sally, Benjamin, Nancy, and Fanny Wharton.

Nancy Wharton (daughter of Nancy Taliaferro) married Robert Sanders, an un cle of Lewis Sanders, and their children were: Toliver Sanders (never marr ied), Valentine Long Wharton (never married), Thomas Livingston Sanders (n ever married), Benjamin Wharton Sanders, Lucy Sanders (died young), Nan cy Sanders (married E. B. Bartlett), and Walker Sanders (married Louisa Fl ournoy).

Fanny Wharton, daughter of Nancy Taliaferro and sister of Nancy Wharton Sa nders, married Peter Gatewood, Jr., a first cousin of Lewis Sanders.

III. LEWIS SANDERS GENEALOGY - SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

JOHN AND AMY GATEWOOD AND THEIR DESCENDANTS, by Carol J. Gothberg (1987 ), confirms that Peter Gatewood married Fanny Wharton, daughter of a Valen tine Wharton. A Lucy Ann Taliaferro is mentioned among the relations of Pe ter Gatewood. Lorraine Mannix sent me a note that Valentine Long Wharto n, born 1720 in King George County, married Mrs. Ann Wharton in 1757 in Fa uquier County, Virginia, but didn't state whether this was suppos ed to be a marriage record entry. A submission to the Ancestral File CD-R OM suggested that Valentine Long Wharton (1730-1799, died Scott Co., Ky .) was the son of Martha Long (born 1710 Va.) and grandson of Henry Long ( 1675 - 1733). Valentine Long Wharton's estate is in the records of Scott C ounty for 1799.

Lewis Sanders' mention of the Livingstons who moved to South Carolina in c onfirmed in The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 22, first series, page 6 9, which has some notes on Virginia Livingston families, mentioning a Jam es and Thomas Livingston who had moved to Edgefield County, South Caroli na in 1793. And William Crozier's VIRGINIA COUNTY RECORDS, Spotsylvania Co unty, 1721-1800 also confirms this, noting they were living in Edgefield C ounty, South Carolina in 1796 when they gave Benjamin Wharton their powers -of- attorney. A July 6, 1796 power of attorney shows a Benjamin Wharton w as the son of "V. Long Wharton."

Crozier's book also had a deed transaction of Robert Taliaferro and his wi fe Jane, of Caroline County, to Long Wharton, of County afsd, 315 acres, S ept. 21, 1772. Witnessed by James Livingston. And Crozier records an Octob er 5, 1772 conveyance witnessed by James Livingston, giving Long Wharton 's wife's name as Ann (which is often the same name as Nancy.

Caroline County, Virginia Order Books give the names of Thomas Livingst on and William Bowler as co-defendants in 1756 lawsuits, and between two e ntries given on June 13, 1756, both relating to William Bowler, the na me of Samuel Taliaferro has been scratched in, without explanantion.

THE AMERICAN GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX said there was a referen ce to a "Taliaferrs Livingston" in Louis C. Barfield's HISTORY OF HARRIS C OUNTY GEORGIA (1961). I followed this up to find that he was a descenda nt of James Livingston, the son of Nancy Taliaferro and Thomas Livingsto n. Mrs. Barfield's book records the family of James Livingston's son Jo hn Livingston, who settled near Hamilton, Georgia. One of his daughters ma rried Seaborn Jones Whatley, and there is a considerable amount of data ab out the Whatley family in Mrs. Barfield's book. Anyone who is interested c an review pages 496-97, 501-02. Page 451 has several Whatley photograph s. Elsewhere I've seen a reference that seemed to suggest that Taliafer ro Livingston was a politician or lawyer. One Livingston correspondant wro te me that a Thomas Livingston and his wife Nancy had sons James Todd a nd Thomas which both had sons named Taliaferro Livingston, and that the yo unger Thomas's son was a lawyer in South Carolina.

And on a seperate track, not derived from Lewis Sanders, there is this int riguing tidbit from HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE CAMPBELL, PILCHER, AND ALLI ED FAMILIES, by Margaret Campbell Pilcher (1911); it could be interpret ed as a garbled version of Sanders' account:

"Another story is that three TALIAFERRO brothers came to Virginia from Eng land. One died young, never having married; one was supposed to have le ft no children by the name TALIAFERRO, but left CRAIG descendants, he havi ng married a widow CRAIG, taking her name for reasons satisfactory to hims elf and his elder brother, Robert TALIAFERRO. These two brothers were n ot friendly, their families having no communication with one another and w hen they separated they divided some family jewels. One ring, which they c onsidered a valuable heirloom, each wanted. They decided the dispute by cu tting the ring, making two complete circles, each taking one. Ex-Govern or SMITH, of Georgia, a descendant of Robert TALIAFERRO, is authority f or this story, saying he had seen one of the rings. These two were Robe rt TALIAFERRO and his brother, who took the name CRAIG."

Georgia has had two Governors named Smith, but James Milton Smith was Gove rnor in the 1820's, so the Smith referred to is probably Hoke Smith (1855- 1931), who was Governor in 1907-09 and 1911. I hope to look into Smith's b ackground to see what his genealogical connections might be.

IV. SPECULATION ON TALIAFERRO CRAIG'S FATHER

When looking for a seafaring "Captain Taliaferro" the name Richard Taliafe rro keeps coming up. Tom Land sent me a note from the Colonial Records Dat abase, "Answer of Richard Taliaferro, Master of the LUCANS, to allegatio ns made by Mary Richardson (1p) Agreement to hire Richard Hollyday to ser ve on the ship from New Providence to Virginia and London," dated Apr il 9, 1692. The reference to New Providence is interesting, because ENGLI SH DUPLICATES OF VIRGINIA RECORDS, by L. de Cognets, Jr., (1981) names Ric hard Taliaferro as part-owner of a ship, the JOSEPH AND SARAH OF NEW PROVI DENCE, built in 1701, and also names him as the Master of a ship, the LINA JOS, in 1698. Some believe that Taliaferro Craig's father must be the Capt ain Richard Taliaferro who was called "The Pirate." He was engaged in s ea trade and he served on the Court of the colony of Barbados. In 16 94 he married Sarah Wingfield, daughter of John and Martha Wingfield of Ba rbados, the latter dying in Boston on July 29, 1709 while in Boston and le aving a large estate in America and on Barbados to her daughter Sarah. Ric hard died in 1715, leaving a son and three daughters. Sarah died in 171 8, and their only son died in 1721 and his estate was inherited by his sis ter Martha Taliaferro, who was married to Thomas Turner in 1715. There we re many Turner descendants. Another sister was married to Rice Hooe IV a nd died without issue. The source for this information said there was a Wi ngfield association that had some notes on this Richard Taliaferro.

Richard may have been the uncle or a near relative of the architect Richa rd Taliaferro of Virginia, the subject of OUR MOST SKILLFUL ARCHITECT: T he Life and Work of Richard Taliaferro, by Claude Lanciano (1981). I haven 't seen the book yet, but I'm told that the architect Richard was the s on of a Robert Taliaferro and the nephew of a seafaring Capt. Richard Tali aferro.

V. CONCLUSIONS SO FAR

There is no doubt that Taliaferro Craig was illegitimate, and a genealo gy kept by one of his grandsons, Lewis Sanders, states that Taliaferro's f ather was the seafaring brother of a Robert Taliaferro who had further fam ilial connections with Sanders' family. Some of the details in the Taliafe rro genealogy have been confirmed. Another story out of Georgia also ten ds to connect a line of Kentucky Craigs with a brother of Robert Taliaferr o. Some are concentrating on Captain Richard Taliaferro as a the fath er of Taliaferro Craig.

It is my hope that further research on the known descendants of Robert Tal iaferro will help isolate the identities of Robert Taliaferro and his seaf aring brother.
Author: William A. Davis
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Check out more information on CRAIG and other related families from Centr al Kentucky:
Scott County KYGenWeb
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Webmaster and fellow researcher: Jo Thiessen
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Site Originally Published Sept. 21, 1997
Revisions Published May 29, 1998

Part II

(continued)I had hoped to take this information and find references that w ould
take me back to identify Robert Taliaferro, by which I could use to
identify his brother, the father of Taliaferro Craig.
I didn't find much in Nell Watson Sherman's TALIAFERRO-TOLIVER
FAMILY RECORDS (1961), except a reference to a Samuel Taliaferro,
signed the oath of allegiance to Committee of Virginia, 1779; born
Goochland County, Va., died 1789, Charlottesville, Va.; married Ann
in 1749. He was thought to be a grandson of Francis
Taliaferro [2], (Robert Taliaferro [1]).
The Gatewood family is covered in JOHN AND MAY GATEWOOD AND THEIR
DESCENDANTS, by Carol J. Gothberg (1987), confirming Valentine
Wharton as the father of Fanny Wharton and it mentions a Lucy Ann
Taliaferro among the relations of Peter Gatewood.
The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 22, first series, page 69 has
some notes on Virginia Livingston families, mentioning a James and
Thomas Livingston had moved to Edgefield County, South Carolina in
1793. William Crozier's VIRGINIA COUNTY RECORDS, Spotsylvania
County, 1721-1800 confirms this, noting they were living in
Edgefield County, South Carolina in 1796, when they gave Benjamin
Wharton their powers-of-attorney. A July 6, 1796 power of attorney
shows a Benjamin Wharton was the son of "V. Long Wharton."
Crozier's book also had these references:
Robert Taliaferro and his wife Jane, of Caroline County, to
Long Wharton, of County afsd, 315 acres, Sept. 21, 1772.
Witnessed by James Livingston.
An October 5, 1772 conveyance witnessed by James Livingston
gives Long Wharton's wife's name as Ann.
The Caroline County, Va. Order Books show a Thomas Livingston
and William Bowler were co-defendants in 1756 lawsuits, and
between two entries given on June 13, 1756, both relating to
William Bowler, the name of Samuel Taliaferro has been
scratched in, without explanantion.
THE AMERICAN GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX said there was a
reference to a "Taliaferrs Livingston" in Louis C. Barfield's
HISTORY OF HARRIS COUNTY GEORGIA (1961). I followed this up to find
that he was a descendant of James Livingston, the son of Nancy
Taliaferro and Thomas Livingston. Mrs. Barfield's book records the
family of James Livingston's son John Livingston, who settled near
Hamilton, Georgia. One of his daughters married Seaborn Jones
Whatley, and there is a considerable amount of data about the
Whatley family in Mrs. Barfield's book. Anyone who is interested
can review pages 496-97, 501-02. Page 451 has several Whatleyphotographs.
>From here I will try to find a Whatley or Livingston descendant who
has retained the Taliaferro connection I need. But I thought it was
time to get this information out there to the other Taliaferro
Craig researchers and let those who are interested see what they
can do with it. I've seen several examples of Craig genealogies
that attempted to name a Taliaferro Craig ancestor by the "process
of elimination," so I know there's an interest out there. I also
point out to them some old notes I have, from ENGLISH DUPLICATES OF
VIRGINIA RECORDS, by L. de Cognets, Jr., (1981) giving the name of
a Richard Taliaferro as the "master" (does this mean Captain?) of
a ship, the LINAJOS, in 1698 and a Richard Taliaferro as the part-
owner of another ship, JOSEPH & SARAH OF NEW PROVIDENCE, built
1701, according to my old notes, but they may be garbled. I suspect
Richard will be the man, but I am far from proof.
Since writing the above, I was sent a copy of portions of TOLLIVER
CRAIG - HIS NOTEBOOK AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY, edited by Mary Louise Fricke,
Route 1, Box 91-A, Kingdom City, MO 65262 (1991). It's a transcription
of an autobiographical sketch written by Toliver Craig the 3rd -- Son
of Toliver Craig Jr. of Scott County, Kentucky, and a grandson of
Taliaferro Craig and Polly Hawkins. It begins quite simply: "My
grandfather was the illegitimate son of Jane Craig who was from Scot-
land and he married mary Hawkins by whom he had Twelve Children."
So Taliaferro's illegitimacy is confirmed by three of his grandsons:
Toliver and Francis Craig, and Lewis Sanders. It seems the owner,
Grace West Baynham, supressed the word "illegitimate" from the typed
copy she sent to H. L. Craig in 1937, which might explain the unfortunate
title he gave his book, DESCENDANTS OF JANE TALIAFERRO CRAIG (1958,
available from University Microfilms International).
See Also:

Craig - Descendants of Jane Taliaferro Craig - Emigrant Ancestress, with R ecords of Allied Families Hawkins, Johnson, Wright, Cave, Barger, Whitcom b, Benschoter, and others.... Craig, Harry LaVird, editor. Standard Printi ng Co., Twin Falls, ID. 1960. Well-documented history and genealogy of des cendants of John Craig and Jane Taliaferro of Scotland, whose son was bo rn in Virginia about 1705. Contains a name index. Reprint by Univ Microfil ms, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI. ¹

Taliaferro married Mary (Polly) Hawkins. (Mary (Polly) Hawkins was born on 19 Sep 1716 in Totnes, Devon, England ^{1 2} and died on 16 Jan 1804 in Woodford Co., KY - Buried At Great Crossing C, Georgetown, Scott Co., KY ^{1 2}.)