b2. HUGH CRUMBLISS b. c1780-90 ("Hugh Cromby," 40-50 in 1830 Perry Co, TN), of age before 1813; served in War of 1812; m. 27 Aug 1810 (Roane Co, TN) Betsy Brashears, b. 1795 (30-40 in 1830 Perry Co, TN; 52 in 1850 Tishomingo Co, MS), d. 1858, dau. of Isaac Brashears.
The marriage records of Roane County, TN, show that Elizabeth "Betsy" Brashears married Hugh Crumbliss on Aug 27, 1810, with Isaac Brashears as bondsman. Isaac's signature on the marriage bond matches his signature on the 1801 petition to build a road in Roane County; so we can be pretty certain that Betsy was Isaac's daughter. Elizabeth was probably the fifth child of Isaac Brashears and was probably born sometime in the mid-1790's at the Brashears homestead on Brashears Creek in Sugar Grove Valley, Roane County, Tennessee.
On June 3, 1815, Joshua Eddington obtained a judgment against Hugh Crumbliss in Roane County Court. In December, the Roane County Sheriff was ordered to arrest Hugh and hold him until he paid the debt. Hugh evidently left Roane Co before he could be arrested.
The Lawrence County, TN Tax List taken May, 1818, shows Hugh Crumley on the list of Andrew Pickens, Esqr. On this same list is Robert Brashears, Walker Brashears, sons of Isaac Brashears (Walter appears several times in early Lawrence Co records as "Walker").
In the 1820 Lawrence County, TN, Census, Hugh Crumbliss is a head of household, with 2 males under age 10, 1 male 16 to 45, 2 females under ten, 1 female 16-45. No slaves indicated. That's one girl child under ten too many, but perhaps they had another child who died young? It looks like Hugh and Betsy joined her nephews on the frontier. Three other sons of Isaac Brashears-- John, Jesse, and Zadock-- were in Giles Co, TN (borders Lawrence Co on the east), at the same time, c1818-c1822; Walter, John, Jesse, and Zaddock Brashears and the Crumblisses moved to Perry Co in western Tennessee in the early 1820s.
In 1830, a Hugh Cromby (with wife, Elizabeth, according to descendants) is listed as head of household in the Perry Co, TN, census (p. 236), next door to Isaac Brashears, two houses away from Samuel Brashears, and a short distance from Absalom, Walter, and Zadock Brashears (all sons of Isaac), in the area that became Decatur Co, in 1846. Later records indicate that this Hugh and Betsy had at least four sons, two of them named Absalom and Walter, given names of two of Betsy's brothers and names that "run" in this branch of the family. So we believe strongly (without documentary proof) that Hugh Cromby is the same man as Betsy married in 1810, and that they moved west with the rest of the Isaac Brashears clan in the early 1820's.
Most of this is from descendant, Cora Lee (McAbee) Brashears, living near Jackson, TN, in 1968, and interviewed by Charles Brashear. Some of the family legend is documented by records
1830 Census of Perry Co, TN, p.236: (2120001-001001)
Hugh Cromby (40-50) {and wife, Elizabeth, 30-40}
1. a daughter, b. between 1815 and 18202. a son, b. between 1815 and 1820
3. James Crumby, b. 1817
4. a son, b. between 1820 and 1825
5. a son, b. between 1825 and 1830
6. a son, b. between 1825 and 1830
(Three of the other sons were named Absalom, Walter, and Scott, says Dennis Ward.]
Elizabeth and Hugh Crumby were still in Perry County in 1833. They seem to have moved to Alabama that year, for family legend has it that they were in Alabama during "The Year the Stars Fell," i.e. Nov 12-13, 1833.
They moved to Old Tishomingo Co, Mississippi, in the early 1840's and lived in an Indian hogan for a year while their house was being built. Once, Elizabeth was at home alone, when a band of Indians broke in upon her. She had sweet potatoes baking in the ashes; she gave them some of these to eat and they spared her life.
Hugh apparently died in the 1840's. Elizabeth Crumby, age 52, was listed as head of household in the 1850 Census of Old Tishomingo County, Mississippi. This would have her born about 1797 or 98, which would, however, make her only 12-13 in Aug 1810 when she marries. Ummm.... ??? Marriages of precociously buxom lasses of that age are not unheard of; the girls often are not mature enough to conceive children for some years. Betsy Crumby, according to the census, which is not always reliable, did not have a child (that lived?) until after 1815. It's possible she was a bit older; people sometimes actually forgot how old they were and sometimes they were not actually present when the census taker interviewed the family. If someone else gave the information, they could have made an error of perhaps 5 years in her age.
Elizabeth and Hugh Crumby had at least four sons (two of them share names with Betsy's brothers): (source: Dennis Ward, a descendant of ?James)
- 1. James Crumby, b. 1817, TN
- 2. Absalom Crumby, b. TN
- 3. Walter Crumby, b. TN
- 4. Scott Crumby, b. TN
JAMES CRUMBY was a Methodist preacher and some sort of pioneer doctor. He married Sarah Collier of Guntown, Mississippi, and moved to Paducah, Ky, just before the Civil War. There, his daughter, Lucinda Crumby, met and married Pinckney Joseph McAbee, formerly a Confederate Soldier from Spartanburg, SC, who had been working on a Mississippi River boat. Lucinda and P.J. McAbee lived for a while in Brooklyn, IL, after their marriage in 1867. They later moved to Jackson, Tennessee, where they remained until their death. They are buried in Rocky Springs Cemetery.
Lucinda and P.J. McAbee had at least four children: David McAbee, Betty McAbee, Emma McAbee, and Cora Lee McAbee, who married Charles Thamer Brashears, a distant cousin descending from Isaac Brashears, the Patriarch, through Betsy's brother, John Brashears.
ABSALOM CRUMBY was a farmer and school teacher.
WALTER CRUMBY was a farmer and Lawyer in Savannah, Tenn.
SCOTT CRUMBY was a farmer.