Sallie's Legacy: The Family of Sarah Francis Davis Crump

In writing about Henry Davis's daughter, Laura Davis, I came to find out that his oldest daughter, Sarah, named undoubtedly for her grandmother, Sarah Winfield Howell Davis, may have fared no better, even though she married.

It seems the daughters that moved away, Nancy Baldwin Davis Wall and Martha Davis Ingram fared much better than their sisters who remained behind.

Sarah was the oldest daughter of Henry Davis, son of Job, and his second wife Martha Palmer, daughter of James Palmer. And like her sister, Martha, she married into one of the premier planter families of Anson County.

Woodson Crump was the son of Steven Crump and Nancy Easley. The Crumps were also Virginians and  Woodsons Grandfather, John Bushrod Crump, son of Adam Crump, came down from Lancaster and Prince William Counties in Virginia, just after the Revolutionary War and settled along the Yadkin/Pee Dee River not far from its confluence with the Uwharrie and Rocky Rivers.

Likewise, the Easley's, Woodson's mother's family, came down from Lunenburg within a decade of the same era, the outpouring of Southside Virginia into the Carolina Piedmont.

Woodson married first, Clementine Ingram, a daughter of the Might Ingram Clan of Upper Anson. a daughter of  William Pines Ingram and granddaughter of Jeremiah Ingram and Winifred Nelms Ingram, who had an enormous impact on the area of Upper Anson.

Below is a court case listing Woodson and first wife Clementine, or "Tiny" as she was known, in the settlement of the estate of her grandfather.




Fayetteville Weekly Observer
(Fayetteville, North Carolina)2 Mar 1857, Mon • Page 3






In the era that Woodson lived, cotton was king and his father, Stephen Crump was known as the King of Cottonville.

Cottonville was a peaceful and fertile little community just north of the Rocky River. It was known in the South Carolina cotton markets, where the residents sold their wares, as an area of the highest grade and most productive farmland north of Charleston. In an old 1830's North Carolina newspaper, it was was speculated that the Mint town of Charlottesburg was in envy of the larger and agri-productive town of Cottonville. That would not last for long.


The Civil War came to Carolina and Cottonville would never be the same. Woodson D Crump, now in his mid-thirties, would join the Confederate army and be wounded in the heel. He lost his first wife, Tiny Ingram Crump, about 1857 and was left with 6 young children. Sarah Davis would become his second wife on February 4, 1858. She would add 6 more children to the roost. By the time the war began, two of those 6 would have been born, Woodson Jr. and Theodore.






The Daily Progress
(Raleigh, North Carolina)12 Oct 1864, Wed • Page 1

Before the war, Woodson lived on the Anson County side of the river, His young family lived in the community of Beverly. An 1895 map shows its location of just south of Ansonville.

Name:	Woodson D Crunp
Age:	24
Birth Year:	abt 1826
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Beverly, Anson, North Carolina
Gender:	Male
Family Number:	599
Household Members:	Name Age Woodson D Crunp 24 Clementine B Crunp 20 William P Crunp 3 John F Crunp 2 Ebenezer D Crunp 0

In contrast, Sarah Davis and her family lived north of the Rocky River, in Stanly County.

Name:	Sarah Davis
Age:	13
Birth Year:	abt 1837
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina
Gender:	Female
Family Number:	947
Household Members:	Name Age Henry Davis 42 Martha Davis 33 Sarah Davis 13 Nancy Davis 12 Hampton Davis 10 Mary Davis 8 Martha Davis 5 Aughton Davis 4 Job Davis 2

With the area being shown as Albemarle, Henry Davis had probably moved his family from the area of his father's plantation on the Rocky River to his land purchases on Cloverfork Creek just north of Albemarle, as he was, at this time, serving in several offices in the local government.






By 1860, the couple had married and Sallie, 23,  was caring for Woodson's pack of sons, along with her own baby, Woodson Jr.

Name:	Sarah Crump
Age:	23
Birth Year:	abt 1837
Gender:	Female
Birth Place:	North Carolina
Home in 1860:	Cedar Hill, Anson, North Carolina
Post Office:	Ansonville
Family Number:	220
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Woodson Crump 38 Sarah Crump 23 William Crump 13 John Crump 12 Benjamin Crump 12 Joseph Crump 9 Jere Crump 5 Woodson Crump 8/12

By now, they had moved to Cedar Hill, which was nearer to the river and just below Norwood on the Anson county side. The 1860 census shows farmer Woodson Crump living very close to the Kendalls, Douglas Kendall and Dr. John P Kendall Jr, Carriagemaker John F. Capron and Capron's father-in-law and Sallie Davis Crump's uncle, farmer Peter Howell. Knowing where this area was, it was the section near Concord Church in Anson is, near the area of Kendall and Howell Roads.




Whether the War changed Woodson, or whether his troubles were in existence before that traumatic event is unknown, but the families constant moving around could have been a sign of a deeper disturbance. Yet, there is no doubt the horrific events and experience of that bloody war had some detriment to the mind and behavior of Woodson Crump.






1870 finds the family in Ansonville, just south of Cedar Hill.

Woodson Cramp [Woodson Crump]  [Woodson Davis]
Age in 1870:	48
Birth Year:	abt 1822
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1870:	Ansonville, Anson, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Wadesboro
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Woodson Cramp 48 Lallie Cramp 32 Joseph A Cramp 18 Benjamin Cramp 18 Jermiah Cramp 17 Dodson Cramp 10 Theodor Cramp 9 Martha Cramp 6 Francis Cramp 5 Claudy Cramp 2 Lorah Cramp 18

The "Lorah Cramp", age 18, is a total transcription error. The actual name is Laura, no surname given, so I believe this is Sallie's (who was a victim of her own transcription error) younger sister, Laura Davis.

Name:	W. D. Crump
Age:	56
Birth Year:	abt 1824
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Tysons, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Sarah Crump
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:	View others on page
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and Dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age W. D. Crump 56 Sarah Crump 43 Theodore W. Crump 18 Martha Crump 16 Francis E. Crump 14 Claudius H. Crump 12 Sarah C. Crump 6

In 1880, the family had moved to the Stanly County side of the river, and was living in Tyson Township, around where Sallie's Grandparents, Job and Sallie Davis had lived. Youngest child, Sarah Clementine Crump completed the family, obviously named for her mother and father's first wife. Sarah had named her eldest daughter, Martha, for her own mother and her second daughter Francis, for her own middle name, identified in certain deeds.

Two deeds explain a bit of the moves of the Crump family. One, a Gift of Deed to Woodson D. Crump from his father, Stephen, is dated July 30, 1857.

"Steven Crump to Woodson D. Crump   State of North Carolina  County of Stanly

Know all men.......in consideration of the natural love and affection which I have for my beloved son Woodson D. Crump.....lying and being in the County of Anson where he now lives and which I purchased from D. John P Kendall containing 345 acres....bank of the Rocky River....below the mouth of Little Creek....2 acres of land for the benefit of my mill (the following exceptions) down to near from the Ford  of the river below the dam and then up the  river so far as to contain 2 acres together with all ways including mines, minerals and all improvements. "

Then 23 years later, Woodson found it neccessary to part with the same tract of land.

"Woodson D. Crump and wife Sarah F. Crump to Charles W. Hendley

Indenture....29th day of August 1878 between Woodson D Crump and Sarah F. Crump to Charles W. Hendley and wife Charlotte H. Hendley....Anson County...on Rocky River where  Woodson D Crump now lives which was known for many years formerly as the Richard Randle land...beginning at a White Oak (same white oak as 1857 deed?)...on the bank of Rocky River....lower corner of  of John S. Kendalls new grant....to...formerly Griffin Nashes corner (which we know was near the Concord Church area as Griffin Nash gave the land to the church and cemetery).....Nash and Sibleys corner (no doubt Elijah Sibley)....with the following reservation to wit...First two acres beginning at the Ford of the river just below the Mill dam of Dunlap & Company and running up the river to a point on the bank of  the river just above the Mill dam as to include 2 acres for Mill priveledges....Second, the right of way for a road leading from the Ferry of William P. Crump out from the river to a point where said Ferry Road intersects with the road leading to the Ford of the River just below the mill dam of the above named Milling Company. 

 

The above section of map shows the Winfield Ford, later known as Davis Ford and above that, Bennetts Mill and the road from the section into Anson.





The Stanly Observer
(Albemarle, North Carolina)18 Sep 1884, Thu • Page 3


The Enterprise
(Albemarle, North Carolina)12 Jan 1899, Thu • Page 3


Below is another mention of the Crump Mill and the farm of William P. Crump, Woodson's oldest son by Clementine Ingram, who married Sallie Davis's youngest sister, Margaret Victoria Crump. There is also mention of Woods Crump accompanying other "Wharftown" neighbors to Charlotte for a "Sam Jones" meeting.


The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)1 May 1890, Thu • Page 3


Now, I am sure I am not the only person who upon reading this clipping wondered what a Sam Jones Meeting was, while scholars, particularly ones of the Methodist Episcopal persuasion, would know immediately who Sam Jones was.

The Reverend Samuel Porter Jones

A quick research reveals that a "Sam Jones Meeting" referred to a service by the Methodist Episcopal Minister and Revivalist, Rev. Samuel Porter Jones". Jones was known for his stirring, witty and "plain language" style of sermons that resonated with the country people in the South. He is noted for his influence on orator and comedian Will Rogers. So, apparently in 1890, Woodson Crump and his family and neighbors were attending one of the Rev. Sam Jones revival meetings in Charlotte.

The Life and Sayings of Sam P. Jones: A Minister of the Gospel

 By Mrs. Sam P. Jones






Over the years, there appeared to be a number of tragedies at or near the Crump Mill and Ferry crossing, as the ol Rocky went through one of his moods. Several people lost lives and property while attempting to cross rivers in those days.



The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)9 Jun 1898, Thu • Page 3

Wharf or Wharftown, was a short-lived community that grew up around the Mill and Ferry Crossing.  The name of the ferry was changed from the "Crump Ferry" to the "Wharf Ferry".


The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)8 Jun 1899, Thu • Page 3

From afar, and with the life of the Woodson Crumps seeming idyllic, taken up with farming, fishing, milling and ferrying in a lovely and peaceful part of their own little Eden. But something in Paradise was brewing evil and in an angry rage, one day in 1874, William "Bill" Crump, tried to murder his father. He did not succeed. Several newspapers gave an account of the event. The family was described as being one of high respect.



The People's Press
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)12 Mar 1874, Thu • Page 2

Bill is described as being "robust" and mentally troubled. He had a drinking problem and was calculated as not handling his alchohol very well. His father tried calmly to discuss a family problem with him and Bill took offense to it, attempting to cut his father's throat. Woodson luckily recovered.



Wilmington Journal
(Wilmington, North Carolina)27 Feb 1874, Fri • Page 3









The Anson Times
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)23 Feb 1882, Thu • Page 3




The Mill would eventually be sold and eventually go the way of human creations and succombed to the will and way of nature. Woodson Crump would live to be 75 years old and suffer various ailments in his later years, reported randomly in the Wharftown section of the newspapers.



The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)12 May 1898, Thu • Page 3

Woodsons's sons, John Teeter Crump, William Pines Crump and Joseph Alexander Crump, would remain in the Wharftown area. Bill ran the mill and married the youngest sister of his stepmother, Margaret Victoria Davis, Henry Davis's baby girl. John Teeter Crump would carry on with the young wife of old Sheriff  and businessman, Edward Winfield Davis. Rebecca Hathcock Davis. Rebecca's youngest son, John Teeter, was born within the lifespan of Edward W. Davis, third son of Job Davis, but was sometimes noted or called "J. T. Crump, Jr.". It is unknown if this was due to his being raised by J. T. Crump or whether he was the biological son of J. T. Crump. His legal name was John Teeter Davis and he is buried with the old Virginian Patriarch in the Old Davis cemetery in Tyson Township.


The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)9 Nov 1893, Thu • Page 3

The area of Crumps Mill was described as a beautiful place and the Miller, Bill Crump, as looking like Santa Claus.









The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)16 May 1889, Thu • Page 2






The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)20 Aug 1891, Thu • Page 2

In 1891, youngest daughter, Sarah Clementine married one of the Lowder boys.  They reported 6 years later that the family had returned from Texas. Woodson had pneumonia at the time.




The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)4 Feb 1897, Thu • Page 3

Despite being up in years, Woodson Crump had a new home built in 1905.




The Robesonian
(Lumberton, North Carolina)12 Dec 1905, Tue • Page 5


Sarah Francis Davis Crump passed away in 1891, of consumption. The newspapers got the initials wrong as W.P Crump was her stepson and brother-in-law combined. His wife was her sister Victoria.



The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)11 Jun 1891, Thu • Page 3

She was followed by her husband in 1900.

The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)1 Mar 1900, Thu • Page 3



The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)1 Mar 1900, Thu • Page 3

The old mill, ran by murderous oldest son Bill Crump, remained a place of tragedy and intrigue for years to come. Bill obviously reformed and mellowed in his latter years and was spoke of in gentle terms.



The Anson Times
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)8 Mar 1883, Thu • Page 3




The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)16 Aug 1900, Thu • Page 3

The descendants of Woodson Davidson Alexander Crump were for a generation or two as follows:

Woodson Davidson Alexander Crump was born about 1826 on a massive cotton plantation along the Rocky River on the border of Anson and Stanly (then part of Montgomery) counties in North Carolina to Stephen (or Stephens) Crump, Sr. and his first wife, Nancy Easley. Stephen being the son of Revolutionary War Veteran, John Bushrod Crump, who was born in Virginia and Mary Stephens. And Nancy being the daughter of Daniel Easley, who had also migrated from Henrico County, Virginia to this area, and his wife, Elizabeth "Betsy" Stephens. 

Married (perhaps in 1846) Clementine Ingram, daughter of William Pines Ingram and Susan Strother. 

Children:
1) William Pines Crump b 15 March 1847 d 9 Dec 1917 
    Buried at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church near Norwood, NC
    Married to Margaret Victoria Davis. Five children. 

2) John Teeter Crump b 25 Sept. 1848 d 17 Nov 1918
    Buried in the Old Davis Cemetery, Old Davis Rd, near Aquadale, NC. Married Mary Rebecca Hathcock Davis. Two children: Travis Millard Crump 1884-1961 and Lavinia Crump 1889-1960. Three Stepchildren: Sarah Hortense Davis, Thomas Ashley Davis, John Teeter Davis. 

3) Ebenezer D Crump about 1849. Appears in the 1850 census and no other. Probably died as an infant. 

4) Benjamin R. Crump b abt 1851 d 1916 Dade County, Florida. 
     Never married. Appears with parents in 1860 and 1870. Is listed 
     in a suit with the Ingram family as an heir of his mother. Is 
     working as a Laborer for a Boyd family of Orange Growers in Orange County, Florida by 1880. Relocates later to Dade County where he lives in Miami and works as a Carpenter until his death in 1916.

5) Joseph Alexander Crump b November 15, 1852 d February 20, 1942. Married first: JoAnna Blake Tyson. Married second Mattie Rose Harkey. Total of 22 children, many of them dying as infants. 

6) Jeremiah Crump b abt 1855 d unknown. Alive at least until 1878 when he was listed with his siblings as an heir of Eben N Ingram. 

Jeremiah was the youngest child of Clementine Ingram. The following were the children of Sarah Francis "Sallie" Davis Crump and Great-Grandchildren of Job Davis. 

7) Woodson Eugene "Wootie" Crump Jr. b November 1, 1859 d March 21, 1938 in McLennon County, Texas. Married Annie Eliza Rogers. 
Two sons. 



8) Theodore W. Crump b 1861 d March 6, 1930 Cherokee County, Texas. Married Nina Maude Hughes. One daughter. 



9) Martha Crump b 1864 d unknown. Appears with her family in the 1870 and 1880 census, and then disappears. She eithered married and relocated, or passed away prior to 1900. She is not buried in the cemeteries as other family members.

10) Frances "Fanny" Crump b April 4, 1865 d October 8, 1905 in Stanly County. Married William David Thompson. Seven children.


11) Claudius H. "Claude" Crump b abt 1866-1868 d Sept 23, 1924. 
Never married. Sick or Handicapped. Spent 23 years in the County Home in Wadesboro, NC. 

12) Sarah Clementine "Tine" Crump b January 17, 1875 died June 17, 1899 of fever. Married Robert "Bob" Franklin Lowder. 5 children: 1891 John W. Lowder, 1892 Jaspar Otis Lowder, 1894 Thomas Lowder, 1895 Mary Ethel Lowder and 1899 William Crump Lowder. 


  





The Messenger and Intelligencer
(Wadesboro, North Carolina)22 Jun 1899, Thu • Page 3