James Haycraft, I

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The Haycraft Family in America

written by Judge Julius E. Haycraft 1946

 

The first Haycraft known to have lived in America was James Haycraft, designated in this history as James I.  There seems to have been  a Haycraft family in North Carolina. Revolutionary War records show that one Mark Haycraft of North Carolina was a soldier in that war.  Also, a John Haycraft from Virginia was listed in the 1790 census as the head of a family in North Carolina.  I know nothing further about the North Carolina family and have never met or heard anything more of any member of that branch.  In fact, I have never known of a Haycraft that was not descended from the first James. The Haycraft family originated in England and there are still many Haycrafts in England, some of them quite prominent.  I have in my library a textbook written by John Berry Haycraft in 1895.  He was a physiologist on the staff of University College, Cardiff, Wales.  Another, Sir Thomas Haycraft, son of John Berry Haycraft, held several British offices, the most prominent, perhaps, being that of British Chief Justice of Palestine.  These and others have been or are listed in the English Who’s Who.

James I, son of James and Hannah Haycraft, was born in Holborn, England (now part of London), and was baptized at St. Andrew’s Church on December 27, 1719; he had a younger sister, Hannah; and he came to Virginia shores in 1744.  It is believed that he was a convicted burglar, sentenced to transportation on the prison ship, Justitia, which sailed for America in May 1744. Whom he married in Virginia, I do not know; I have made considerable search, but without avail.  Samuel Haycraft, Jr., a grandson writes:  “I never did learn the name of my grandmother.”  This puzzling admission may be accounted for by faulty memory.  Samuel Haycraft was in advanced years when he wrote his history of  the Haycraft family, contained in his history of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, in 1921 by the Hardin County Historical Society).  His father, Samuel Haycraft, Sr. had been dead more half a century.  There was no one living whom he could ask.  Nevertheless, it does seem strange that Samuel, Jr. should not have known the name of his grandmother.

Not only do we not know whom James I married, we do not know where he married or when he married.  It seems a fair assumption that the couple lived and their children were born in Frederick County Virginia.  We do have a record of a James Haycraft as a witness to the will of Jacob Taylor on October 10, 1760, at Winchester, Virginia.

It was in Frederick County that Gen. John Neville lived and assumed the care of the children of James I upon the death of the parents.  The marriage probably took place about 1750.  There were four children, three boys: James, Samuel and Joshua; and a girl who died in infancy.  The parents died when the boys were quite young, the eldest being eleven years of age.  The father is believed to have died sometime in 1762.  The dates of the other births are not known, but there is some certainty that Joshua was the youngest.  It is not known which of the remaining brothers was the eldest, but there is some evidence that it was James (designated as James II in this history.  Samuel Haycraft, Jr., in his history of Elizabethtown names the brothers in the following order: James, Samuel, and Joshua.  Gen. Neville in a document relating to Samuel, Sr., writes that the young man had “Lived with me from the time he was ten years old.”   It may also be added that the first male child is more apt to be named for the father than later sons.  James II is my ancestor and great-great-grandfather.

John Neville raised the Haycraft boys to manhood along with his only son, Pressley Neville.  This is no explanation for Gen. Neville’s benevolence.  One possibility is that the mother of the three boys was a Neville, but a search in the Neville family history fails to uncover support for this.  It would seem to be a reasonable assumption, however, that there was a relationship of some kind.

This excerpt is just three pages of a 45 page document written by Judge Haycraft, a Minnesota District Judge and a Minnesota State Senator.  Join us an become a member of the James Haycraft, I Family Association and discover your roots.

 

 

 

 

The First Generation