Toliver Craig, Sr.

Infobox Person
name = Toliver Craig, Sr.


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birth_name = Taliaferro Craig
birth_date = c. 1705
birth_place = Spotsylvania County, Virginia Colony
death_date = 1795
death_place = Woodford County, Kentucky, United States
death_cause = Natural causes
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nationality = American
other_names = Tolliver Craig
known_for = Early Kentucky pioneer and landowner; one of the defenders of Bryan's Station
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occupation = Landowner, militia officer and farmer
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religion = Baptist
spouse = Mary "Polly" Hawkins (c. 1730-1795)
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children = 12 children
parents = Captain Taliaferro (or John Craig) and Jane Taliaferro
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Toliver Craig, Sr. (c. 1704-1795) was an 18th century American frontiersman and militia officer. An early settler and landowner in Kentucky, he was one of the more prominent defenders of Bryan's Station when it was attacked by the British and Shawnee on August 15, 1782. Craig was also an early follower of the Baptist church, he and his family preaching their religious views in the Colony of Virginia during the 1760s and 70s.

His son Toliver Craig, Jr. was an important landowner in Scott and Logan County as well as a representative of the Kentucky state legislature.

Biography

There is some confusion as to the circumstances of his birth. According to traditional accounts, Toliver was reportedly the illegitimate son of an Italian sailor and a widowed Scottish emigre. After her husband John Craig died, Jane Taliaferro left Scotland for the Colony of Virginia accompanied by her two brothers. Sometime during or after the voyage, Taliaferro gave birth to Toliver or Taliaferro Craig in 1704 or 1705. Another version claims Craig was the "posthumous" son of John Craig, he and Jane Taliaferro being married in Italy shortly before his death.

His mother, died soon after his birth and he was raised by his two uncles in Spotsylvania County and became a modest farmer and member of the Virginia militia. In 1730, he married Mary (Polly) Hawkins with whom he would have 12 children. He and his family were largely illiterate, however although he is presumed to have been of good social standing as the Hawkins family were prominent in Virginia society at this time.

During the 1760s, his family embraced the Baptist movement. He and his sons Louis, Elijah and Joseph Craig, became Baptist preachers and were apparently imprisoned by colonial authorities for expressing these views. [Hayden, Robert. "William Haydon, Kentucky Adventurer, 1740-1819". Little Rock: R. Haydon, 2000. (pg. 319) ISBN 0-9666756-2-2] Eventually moving to Kentucky, his family were living at Bryan's Station when it was attacked by British and Shawnee raiding party under Captain William Caldwell and Simon Girty. He and his wife were some of the more well-known defenders, the 66-year-old Mary Craig volunteering to fetch water outside the fort.

Craig later became a prominent landowner, purchasing the David Bryan estate from John Bowman, [Kegley, F.B. "Kegley's Virginia Frontier: The Beginning of the Southwest, the Roanoke of Colonial Days, 1740-1783". Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. (pg. 533) ISBN 0-8063-1717-5] and donated large amounts of land to the Baptist church. He died in Woodford County, Kentucky in 1795.

References

Further reading

*Craig, Winchell McKendree. "The Craig Family: Genealogical and Historical Notes about the Craigs of America, Fayette County, Ohio, United States, Canada". Rochester, Minnesota: Winchell M. Craig, 1956.
*Faulconer, James Gayle. "Thomas Faulconer and His Descendants". Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1984.
*Howard, Virginia Webb. "Bryan Station Heroes and Heroines". Lexington, Kentucky: Continental Printing Company, 1932.
*Parker, Anna Virginia. "The Sanders Family of Grass Hills: The Life of Lewis Sanders, 1781-1861". Madison, Indiana: Coleman Printing Company, 1966.