Margaret Springer: Pennsylvania Dutch Origins

1812-1899
great-great-grandmother

(pg. 275 of Rupp’s list of German immigrants???)

      Margaret Springer was born September 30, 1812, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Michael Springer and Susanna Sunderland. She was the youngest of 11 children, all surviving to adulthood. Her siblings were Daniel (1791), Sarah (1792), John (1794), Michael (1796), Elizabeth (1798), Nancy (1801), Mary (1806), William (1806), Susanna (1808) and Peter (1810).

       Margaret’s father Michael was a Revolutionary War patriot. He served as a private in the militia of Westmoreland County in 1782, and was called out to guard the line on the frontiers. He later received depreciation pay for his services, which helped compensate him for the depreciated currency with which he was paid. The Springer family is difficult to untangle, but one significant source says that Michael’s father, Michael Springer, came to America in 1752 on the ship “Halifax”. This immigrant Michael Springer Sr. is our earliest known Springer ancestor and our 4^th great grandfather. His maternal grandmother was from Hanover, Germany. Other sources state that the Springers were from Sweden and this appears to be what her sons Thomas and Andrew believed, because this was stated in a newsletter for Gilman, Illinois.  Dad’s cousins have since refuted this Swedish connection and it appears that Margaret was “Pennsylvania Dutch” in her origins, a descendant of early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania.

       In the 1830’s, Margaret Springer married Henry Crooks and they had 10 children together. We see Margaret in the federal censuses, but all the records tell us is that she ‘kept house’. I’m sure this was no small feat with her large family and the responsibilities of a farm. Dad’s cousin, Miriam Bolick, visited the farm that Henry and Margaret owned and she took pictures of several pieces of original furniture, including a jelly cupboard. The home was originally 2 stories, although a couple of additions were made. Originally, there were fireplaces in every room and 4 chimneys.

       Margaret (Springer) Crooks died on March 14, 1899, 16 years after the death of her husband Henry.  In 1900, her 3 unmarried children (William, John and Martha) and her widowed son Andrew, whose wife died in 1899, are living together on the family farm in Hanover township, Beaver County, PA. No doubt, this is where Margaret Crooks lived prior to her death. 

Henry Crooks: Revolutionary War patriot, Defense of western PA frontier

 

Introduction

      This is my third year writing a blogpost on July 4th for an ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War. 

      This year, I am selecting Henry Crooks, one of my 4th great-grandfathers on my father's paternal side. I believe Henry's brothers, Thomas and Robert, also served in the Revolutionary War.

Early Life

      Henry Crooks was the son of William and Mary Crooks. (Mary's maiden name is likely Weir or Weer or even Wier.) It is currently believed that William and Mary married on November 18, 1736, at the first Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.

      By 1737, William and Mary were living on Cook's Creek, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in what is today Springfield Township. They lived here until 1763, so presumably all of their children were born here. Based on the will of William Crooks, written in December 1776, William had sons Henry, Thomas and Robert. He also had daughters Rosanna, Jennete, Mary and Margaret. I believe that William may also have had a son William. It appears that Henry Crooks was born in 1743, based on his tombstone which states that he died March 10, 1831, in the 88th year of his age.

Tombstone of Henry Crooks; Raccoon Church Cemetery; Candor, Pennsylvania. FAG. 

    In 1763, William Crooks, late of Bucks County, purchased 200 acres of land on Broad Creek in Baltimore County, Maryland. This new location was about 90 miles southwest of Bucks County. 

Marriage and Family

      Henry Crooks married Jane Howlett in about 1768 or 1769, in Baltimore County.  In 1773, the area that the Crooks family lived in became Harford County, Maryland.

       The children of Henry Crooks and Jane Howlett were:

1. William, born about 1770, in Baltimore County, Maryland.

2. Andrew, born about 1772-3, in Baltimore/Harford County.

3. Margaret, born about February 1776, in Harford County.

4. Henry, born about 1777, in Harford County.

5. Jane, born 1781, in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

6. Mary, born about 1784-1788, in Washington County. 

7. John, born about 1790, in Washington County.

      Henry Crooks, in his will dated 13 July 1825, named the following heirs; son William Crooks, son Andrew Crooks, son Henry Crooks, son John Crooks, daughter Jane Burns, daughter Mary McKillip and daughter Margeret Crooks.

Life in Maryland

      According to the Tax Lists of 1774, Henry Crooks was living in Deer Creek Upper Hundred in Harford County. Other taxables were William Crooks, Thomas Crooks and a Negro, Phillis. We know from William's will that he owned a Negro named Phillis. So William and his sons, Henry and Thomas were all living in Deer Creek Upper Hundred in 1774. Presumably, Robert was not mentioned because he was under 18 years of age. A "hundred" is a division of a county that was used for taxation purposes.

      According to the 1776 Maryland census, Henry Crooks lived in the Broad Creek Hundred in Harford County. Members of his household were Henry (28), wife Jane (23), William (5), Andrew (3), Margrett (6 months) and Elizabeth Kerby (26). Presumably, Elizabeth was a servant. A census was taken in 1776 in order to provide a basis for taxing each colony for Revolutionary War expenses, based on its population.

      In 1778, Henry Crooks, still living in Broad Creek Hundred, signed an oath of fidelity and allegiance to Maryland, before William Webb. A Maryland law enacted in 1777 required all males over 18 years of age to sign an oath. Henry signed his name, so he was presumably literate. At the same time, there is no evidence that Henry performed military service in Maryland. However, his brothers Thomas and William do appear to have served in Maryland. William, however, must have died because he was not named in the will of his father, William Sr. 

      The last known event for Henry Crooks in Maryland was on November 10, 1780. At this time, he sold 3 tracts of land in Harford County in conjunction with executing his father's estate. His brother Thomas was a witness to the land transaction. 

Life in Pennsylvania

      Most of the settlers in western Pennsylvania migrated from eastern Pennsylvania. But some Ulster-Scots came up from Maryland and Virginia, having earlier ventured south from Pennsylvania. This is the pattern that our Crooks family followed.     

      It appears that they came via the National Road, also known as the Cumberland Trail and Braddock's Road. Although the National Road was built in 1811-1837, it was based on Braddock's military road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Braddock, Pennsylvania, constructed about 1755. Braddock, PA, is today within Pittsburgh, where Fort Duquesne and later Fort Pitt were located. The section from Baltimore to Cumberland also had predecessor roads, including Old Frederick Road from Baltimore to the Mount Airy area in Maryland.

The Old National Road; https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Road.

      Presumably, the Crooks brothers moved to southwestern Pennsylvania in order to buy land. In 1769, a treaty with the Indians opened up land for sale and reduced the concern of Indian raids. Washington County, where they originally settled, was created in March 1781 from part of Westmoreland County. Allegheny and Beaver Counties, also home to our Crooks family, were created in 1788 and 1800, respectively.

      Since Jane Crooks, Henry's daughter, was born either May 4, 1781, or June 29, 1781, in Candor, Pennsylvania, the family of Henry Crooks must have arrived in Washington County by this time.

      According to the 1781 Supply Tax List, Henry and Robert Crooks were both living in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Supply Taxes were used to pay Revolutionary War debts. At this time, Henry had 4 horses, 2 cows and 10 sheep. Robert had 2 horses, 2 cows, 4 sheep and 300 acres.       

      According to the 1783 Tax List, Henry was living in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in Nottingham Township. Henry owned 3 horses, 1 cow and 8 sheep, valued at 39 pounds (?). His brother Thomas owned 2 horses and 3 sheep, valued at 9/10 of a pound. His brother Robert, a single man, owned 2 horses and 2 cows, valued at 18 pounds. None of them reported any acreage.

NOTE: There was also a Thomas Crooks Sr. and a Thomas Crooks Jr. living in Bethlehem Township, but this is a different Crooks family! 

https://archive.org/details/historyofwashing00crum/page/222/mode/2up?view=theater&q=taxes

      In the tax lists for 1786, 1789 and 1793, Henry Crooks was living in Robinson Township. Based on township formation dates, Henry must have moved from Nottingham Township. In 1786, Robert and Thomas are also living in Robinson Township.

      In the censuses from 1790-1830, Henry Crooks continued living in Robinson Township. (His brother Thomas apparently left by 1800 and his brother Robert by 1810.) 

      

      All of Henry and Jane's children married, except for Margaret, who lived with Henry and Jane until their deaths. On July 15, 1816, Jane Crooks, wife of Henry, died and was buried in Raccoon Church cemetery in Candor, Washington, which is in Robinson Township. In 1820, it appears that one of Henry's daughters, Mary or Jane, came to live with Henry, along with her 5 young children. I suspect it was Mary. Perhaps her husband had died and her father needed extra help. On March 10, 1831, Henry Crooks died and was buried in Raccoon Church cemetery next to his wife. 

      

Revolutionary War Service 

      There are several DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) applications that have been submitted for Henry Crooks. They reference 2 items in Pennsylvania Archives, Series 6, Volume 2, which were published in 1906, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, from archival materials. Both items are in a section called 'Second Battalion, Washington County Militia', within 'Muster Rolls Relating to the Associators and Militia of the County of Washington'. 

PA Archives, S6, V2, p. 47.

PA Archives, S6, V2, p. 48

      Both Henry and his brother Robert were in Captain William Bruce's company and were ordered to rendezvous June 14, 1782. Their brother Thomas was also in Captain William Bruce's company, but he was in the third class and was ordered to rendezvous April 18, 1782, and again, July 15th, 1782.

PA Archive, S6, V2, p. 76.

       On the next page, they list members of the 6th, 7th and 8th classes. It states 'examined from Capt. Return'. Again, both Henry and Robert are listed as privates in the fifth class, and Thomas is listed in the third class.

      According to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the commanding Colonel was Col. Vallandingham. Captain William Bruce led the 8th Company. Captain William Bruce was associated with Nottingham Township, not Robinson Township. Evidently, those enrolled in the militia were arbitrarily assigned to a class between 1 and 8, and militia were called up for service based on class number. So class number represents a unit within a company, not a military rank. 

Military plaque for Henry Crooks; Raccoon Church Cemetery; Candor, Pennsylvania. FAG. 

      Although I have not been able to find specific information on Captain William Bruce's company, it seems fairly clear that they were involved in defending the frontier from Indian raids. 

      Below is the listing for Henry Crooks in the DAR Ancestor Database for Patriots. Six different applications have been submitted for Henry Crooks. These applications were submitted under his 2  children Henry Jr. and Jane. None were submitted under his son Andrew Crooks, from whom I am descended.

https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/default.cfm

Sources

Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

- Pennsylvania, Washington County, Robinson Township. Page 85. (Henry Crooks, William Crooks, Robert Crooks)

Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

- Pennsylvania, Washington County, Robinson Township. Page 26, image 32. (Henry Crooks, Henry Crooks Jr.)

Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

- Pennsylvania, Washington County, Robinson Township. Page 211. (Henry Crooks, Henry Crooks Jr., John Crooks)

Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

- Pennsylvania, Washington County, Robinson Township. Page 261. (Henry Crooks)

Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Compiled Marriage Records, 1700-1821 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011. Collection: First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 1702-1745, 1760-1803. Image/Page 16. William Crooks and Mary Weer.

Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2015. Washington County, Pennsylvania; Register of Wills; Volume 4, page 575; Will of Henry Crooks Sr..  

Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus. "Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church from Original Sources"; Lancaster PA: Lancaster Press, Inc., 1928. 

- Volume II, p. 114-5, 1776 census for Henry Crooks, Andrew Howlett, James Howlett. 

- Volume II, p. 235-6, oaths of allegiance for Henry Crooks, Robert Crooks. 

Bucks County, Pennsylvania; Patent Book AA 4 292. 

Bucks County, Pennsylvania; Warrant #141; returned 13 January 1763; surveyed 11 April 1739.

DAR Ancestor Database. https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/default.cfm; Henry Crooks (A028041).

DAR application of Jane Tweed Bell, through Henry Crooks Sr.; National # 400548; Approved 9 MAR 1951.

Find A Grave, database and images (https:/www.findagrave.com/memorial/58674687/henry-crooks); accessed 04 July 2022; Henry Crooks; FAG Memorial ID 58674687, citcing Raccoon Church Cemetery, Candor, Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Don Harper.

Find A Grave, database and images (https:/www.findagrave.com/memorial/58674710/jane-crooks); accessed 04 July 2022; Jane Crooks; FAG Memorial ID 58674710, citcing Raccoon Church Cemetery, Candor, Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Don Harper.

Harford County, 1774 tax list, Deer Creek Upper Hundred. Henry Crooks, William Crooks, Thomas Crooks.

Harford County courthouse (Belair, MD); Registrar of Wills office; Liber AJ-2, folio 85-85; Will of William Crooks.

Harford County, Deed Book JLG D 45. 1780. Henry Crooks sells land.

Harper, Donald Jr.; "A History of the Family of William Crooks, 1738-1830"; 15 JUNE 1980; 8 pages.

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/87329494/person/38546237377/gallery?galleryPage=1

Maryland land records; Film #0013333, B, L, p. 268; 27 APR 1763. William Crooks purchases land from Thomas Johnson.

Pennsylvania Archives.

    - Series 3, Volume 22, p. 750, Effective Supply Tax, Washington County, 1781. Henry and Robert Crooks.

    - Series 6, Volume 2, p. 47, Return for Order to Rendezvous 14 JUN 1782. Henry and Robert Crooks.

    - Series 6, Volume 2, p. 76, Class Role of Captain William Bruce's Company. Henry and Robert and Thomas Crooks.

Pennsylvania Family History Research; https://wiki.rootsweb.com/wiki/index.php/Pennsylvania_Family_History_Research;

last edited 16 Jan 2018.

Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission; https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Washington.aspx.

*https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Overview.aspx

Washington County PA Genweb; Township Formation; https://sites.rootsweb.com/~pawashin/formation.html

Washington County tax lists, Robinson Township. 1786, 1789?, 1793.

Zinsser, Katherine and Raymond Bell; "1783 Tax Lists and the 1790 Federal Census for Washington County, Pennsylvania"; Heritage Books, 1988. (See Family Search)