Biography of Victor Craig

Victor Craig, of England, came to America in 1760, and settled in Maryland. He had four sons, William, James, Robert, and Samuel. William and James lived in Albemarle County Va. Samuel was drowned in the Susquehanna River. Robert was a soldier of the revolutionary war. He was married first to Susan Carter, of Virginia, who was afterward killed by the Indians. She lived nine days after having been scalped. Mr. Craig was married the second time to Sarah Ellington, of New Jersey, by whom he had-John, David, Victor, Jonathan, Jacob, Cynthia, Nancy, and Sally. Mr. Craig settled in Montgomery County in 1829, and died the following year. His eldest son, John, married Nancy Cobb, and settled in Montgomery County in 1826. He was a blacksmith by trade, and the first one at Danville. In 1831 he built the Dryden horse-mill, on the Booneslick road, below Danville. The mill was run by a cog wheel, and it required three or four hours to grind a bushel of grain. The hermit, Baughman, whose history is given elsewhere, carried the stones of this mill to his cave, many years after the mill ceased running, and arranged them so he could do his own grinding, by hand. He still uses the same stones. Col. David Craig, brother of John, settled in Montgomery County in 1817, and is still living, in his 87th year. He lived two years, when he first came to Missouri, with Major Isaac VanBibber, at Loutre Lick. The Colonel remembers many amusing and interesting incidents of early days in Montgomery County, and takes great pleasure in relating them to his friends. When he came to Missouri he brought two black cloth suits with him, and one Sunday morning, while staying at Major VanBibber’ s, he dressed up in them and went down to breakfast. The clothes made quite a sensation, and VanBibber and all his family crowded around to look at them, having never seen anything of the kind before. One of the girls came close up to Craig, and touched his coat with one of her fingers, and then sprang back with the exclamation, “Oh, ain’t he nice!” But her father, who did not relish so much style, replied, “Nice, hell! He looks like a black-snake that has just shed its old skin.” Soon after his arrival in Missouri the Colonel paid Mrs. Robert Graham a dollar in silver, and made 300 rails for her husband, for one pair of wool socks. Aleck Graham, who was a little boy then, remembers the splitting of the rails, for Col. Craig agreed to give him a picayune (6 ¼ cents) for keeping the flies off of him while he slept on the logs at noon; but for his life he cannot remember whether he ever paid the picayune or not. The Colonel served in the war of 1812, and was in Gen. McCarthy’s division at the battle of Brownsville. He also served with Nathan Boone in the Black Hawk war, and was elected Colonel of militia in 1834. He was married in 1819, to Sarah Webster, and they had eleven children Narcissa, Cynthia A., Mary A., Susan T., David, George R., Green, Martha, William A., Francis, and James W. Victor Craig settled in St. Francois County. Jonathan and Cynthia lived in Kentucky. Jacob died in Ohio. Nancy married Greenberry Griffith, of Pettis Co., Mo.


Surnames:
Craig,

Collection:
Bryan, William Smith A History of the Pioneer Families of Missouri: With Numerous Sketches, Anecdotes, Adventures, Etc., Relating to Early Days in Missouri. Also the Lives of Daniel Boone and the Celebrated Indian Chief, Black Hawk, with Numerous Biographies and Histories of Primitive Institutions. Bryan Brand & Company. 1876.

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