A Mysterious Crawford Document
Do you have items in your files that didn’t come from your own research—but from someone else’s?
Today’s Friday Find is one of those.
This document came from my father’s files, and while it ended up in my Crawford Kentucky folder, it quickly became clear that it likely has nothing to do with either Kentucky—or my Crawford family.
Instead, it points to something much bigger.
📜 The Document (and the Clue Attached)
The record includes:
- A hand-drawn plat of 110 acres
- A metes-and-bounds land description along Waxhaw Creek
- References to Thomas Crawford, James Crawford, and neighboring landowners
But the most important clue wasn’t in the document itself—it was on an attached note:
“Pres Andrew Jackson birthplace, Janie Revill 1966”
That single line shifted this from a routine land record to something far more intriguing.
🧠 A Shift in Focus
Once I stopped looking at this as a “Crawford record,” the document began to make more sense.
The accompanying typed explanation clearly states:
“This 110 acres is undoubtedly the place where Andrew Jackson was born…”
That ties the document directly into the long-standing debate over the birthplace of Andrew Jackson—whether he was born in North Carolina or South Carolina within the Waxhaw Settlement.
📚 Following the Janie Revill Lead
The name Janie Revill provided a valuable clue.
A quick search led me to a modern work:
- A Tale of Two Cabins: Searching for Andrew Jackson’s Birthplace by Robert Dunkerly
While Janie Revill is not the author, she is referenced in discussions about Jackson’s birthplace—suggesting she may have been a researcher, local historian, or contributor to earlier interpretations of the site.
This helps place the document in context:
- Likely part of mid-20th century research
- Possibly a copied or distributed study rather than an original record
- Connected to ongoing historical debate rather than family genealogy
🗺️ What the Document Suggests
The explanation included with the document ties the land to:
- A 110-acre tract along Waxhaw Creek
- Ownership linked to James Crawford and his son Thomas
- Possible earlier connection to Joseph Crawford
- Proximity to land associated with Andrew Jackson’s family
It even challenges established interpretations by noting:
- The land may be correct
- But the exact house location may not match traditional claims
🔍 A Different Kind of Friday Find
This isn’t a document that advances my Crawford research—at least not directly.
Instead, it’s a reminder of something else entirely:
- Not everything in our files belongs to our tree
- Some items reflect the research interests of those who came before us
- And sometimes, those items connect to larger historical questions
In this case, my father appears to have saved a piece of research tied to one of early America’s most debated birthplaces.
💡 Final Thoughts
I don’t yet know:
- Where my father obtained this document
- Whether Janie Revill created or shared this version
- Or how widely this interpretation was circulated
But I do know this:
It’s a fascinating example of how genealogy and history intersect—and how even unrelated documents can open the door to deeper understanding.
Sometimes, a “Friday Find” isn’t about your ancestors.
It’s about the stories that found their way into your files anyway.
🧾 Transcription of Document
Page 1 (handwritten deed & note):
Crawford, Ky. 104
[Plat drawing with bearings and distances]
Transcription (best reading):
Crawford to Wrenn
Thomas Crawford of Lancaster County and State aforesaid
for and in consideration of the sum of Ten pounds lawful money
to him in hand paid by William Wrenn of County aforesaid
hath granted bargained and sold and by these presents doth grant
bargain and sell unto the said William Wrenn his heirs and assigns
forever a tract or parcel of land containing one hundred and ten acres
lying and being on Waxhaw Creek joining Archibald Crockett and Isaac McCullough’s land
and bounded as follows, viz:
beginning at a hickory joining Robert Crawford’s land
then North 20 West 130 poles to a white oak
thence North 15 West 30 poles to a hickory
thence South 67 West 120 poles to a black oak
joining McCullough’s land
thence South 67 East 95 poles to a white oak
thence South 35 East 126 poles to a black oak by a branch
thence with the branch to the beginningSept. 12th, 1768
Thos. Crawford
Typed note below image:
Supplied by Dept. of State, Raleigh, N. C. (Book A, page 86; Lancaster) has conveyance by Thos. Crawford to Wm. Wrenn.
Printed note at bottom:
This 110 acres is undoubtedly the place where Andrew Jackson was born, as claimed by South Carolina historians, and it is also the tract on which the house stood in which North Carolina historians claim he was born. Both claims are very correct. However, the land was not where the South Carolina historians have their memorial; and the house was not the McCamy house.
Page 2 (typed historical explanation):
Title:
JAMES CRAWFORD’S 110 ACRES
Transcription:
(This appears to be the remaining part of the 376 acres after a part had been sold off earlier, and it is assumed, by this writer, that the part previously sold off was the place purchased by Andrew Jackson, Senior, upon his arrival in the Waxhaw Settlement. Nearly all resurveys of land show a difference of a few acres.)
The location of this tract of land is perfectly identified by its recited boundaries and the manner in which it fits with the plantation plat of Robert Crawford. See the combined plats herewith and note the space between the lands of Archibald Crockett and Isaac McCulloch’s land, and note how it fits the Robert Crawford plat. One inch on either of these plats represents 1/4 of a mile, on the original plats. Photo-copying might have made a little difference in the scale, but it cannot be very much at most. Moving upward 1 mile from the Waxhaw Creek Crossing, directly north, brings us to the very center of the plat of the 110 acres.
Lancaster Deed Book A, page 86, shows a conveyance of this tract of land by Thomas Crawford, son of James Crawford, deceased, to William Wrenn, dated November 22, 1784. He describes it as being 110 acres on the north side of Waxhaw Creek which was originally granted to Joseph Crawford, and bequeathed by James Crawford to his son Thomas Crawford, but does not explain how James Crawford got the title to it. The accompanying plat and grant by North Carolina to James Crawford shows how he got the title, but does not show reference to any previous grant to Joseph Crawford. This researcher has not been able to locate any connection of Joseph Crawford with this 110 acres, although he might have applied for a grant before he apparently moved to the Belfast Township area (Laurens County, S. C.), and he might have started the “improvements” which caused Thomas Crawford to think he had the original grant. Joseph Crawford signed as witness to a deed Nov. 15, 1770, the same year that Mrs. Jackson purchased the 200 acres on Leggett’s Branch. (Laurens deed)
Mecklenburg County Deed Book 1, page 161, Charlotte, N. C., shows a deed dated March 26, 1766, conveyance by Samuel Barnett, a weaver of the Waxhaw Settlement, to Joseph Crawford, conveying 376 acres of land adjoining the lands of John Linn and Joseph White. (This would appear to be the title of the 110 acres into Joseph Crawford.)
Mecklenburg County Deed Book 5, page 144, shows a conveyance by Joseph Crawford and wife Agnes to Samuel Flanekan, carpenter of Mecklenburg County, dated October 15, 1768, covering a tract of 250 acres on the north side of Waxhaw Creek, adjoining the land of Robert Davis.