Thomas McCrary, Sr.

Immigrated from Scotland (or Ireland?)

Lived in Laurens County South Carolina

Fought in Revolutionary War for the Colonies.

Son also named Thomas but for whatever reason he was not considered Thomas senior.

The surname of McCREARY is a surname derived from an occupation, generally rendered (the miller's) sifter, but more correctly translated the sievewright. The name was derived from the Gaelic CRIATHRAR.

The McQuarrie Clan of Scotland were Christian Gaels; on the crest Turris fortis mihi Deus, (translation from Latin: 'God is to me a tower of strength') and their slogan was An t'arm breac dearg, (translation from Scottish Gaelic: The red tartaned army)

See 'Our Southern Cousins' [http://oursoutherncousins.com/mccrary2.html]

My own research indicates that Thomas and his three brothers immigrated to America for two reasons: 1) South Carolina governors were actively reaching out to Scottish and Irish 'WHITE' settlers for the new land in America. I can only imagine how enticing they made the deal - probably offering land deeds and covering voyage costs; and 2) Even after the passing of the Toleration Act in 1719, under which Presbyterians were granted freedom of worship, there was a strong sense of estrangement from the Anglican [e.g., The Church of England'] and landed establishment [British landlords and taxation], and this was a contributory factor in the large-scale emigration of Presbyterians from Ulster to America in the eighteenth century.

HISTORICAL HINT: From 'The Scots-Irish: The Thirteenth Tribe' located here: [http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ulster-scots.html]

"By 1710 most of the farm leases granted to the settlers in the 1690s had expired; new leases were withheld until the tenants agreed to pay greatly increased rents, which many could simply not afford to do. Rather than submit to these new conditions whole communities, led by their ministers, began to take ship for the Americas: a new exodus was about to begin...n 1771 a fresh wave of migration began, once again induced by the greed of the landlords, which was arguably to have serious consequences for the security of the British Empire in North America. Faced with a fresh series of rent hikes, local people at first mounted some resistance, gathered together in an organisation known as the Hearts of Steel; but the landlords had the law and the army on their side. In the short period left before the outbreak of the American Revolution a further 30,000 Ulstermen left for the colonies, joining some 200,000 who had already made their homes there earlier in the century. The contemporary image of the Ulster Protestant is most commonly that of the Orangeman, with all of his exaggerated loyalty to Britain and the Crown. For the dispossessed of the 1770s the opposite was true: they had lost everything, and came to America with an intense hostility towards all things British."

"Surviving Early Records of York Count, Pennsylvania, 1749-84",

The South Central Genealogical Society, contains an entry (#70) listing Andrew, John, Robert and Thomas McCrary.

From the "Statistics of South Carolina" by Robert Mills published in 1826, The first settlers of Duncan's Creek, south Carolina were named "McCrery, Green, Hannah, Abernathy, Miller, Beard, King, Mitchell, Coffee, Gisham, Barton, Young, McClure, Adams and M'Daid."

In the "History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina" by Howe (1870)

"About 1764 Messrs. Joseph Adair, Thomas Ewing, William Hanna, Andrew McCrary and his brothers united in building a house of worship". In 1766 they were visited by Mr.Duffield, Mr. Fuller and Mr. Campbell--afterwards by Rev. Hezekiah Balch, who advised the people to choose elders. Andrew McCrary, Joseph Adair and Robert Hanna were elected elders and were ordained by Rev. Balch."

From: The McCrary's of Duncan's Creek, South Carolina by Donna Bartholow

"In 1809, Thomas McCrary Sr. was among the first to submit an application to the government to purchase land in the Tennessee River's Great Bend - a highly valuable spot. Soon after the government land office in Nashville opened for the sale of property in Alabama, on August 5, 1809, McCrary obtained the title to 320 acres , paying cash - funds undoubtedly derived from his father's estate in Laurens County, South Carolina, where the McCrary family had prospered for two or three generations."

"The next year, in 1810, Thomas McCrary, Sr. added another quarter-section (160 acres) to his original purchase in the Big Spring area. Over the years he expanded his holdings. On the eve of the Civil War, Thomas McCrary owned more than 2,000 acres, a majority of it near the Deposit community."

"In the mid-nineteenth century SR. developed major interests away from the farm. In 1859 he was a partner in the firm of McCrary, Patterson, and Sprague, which advertised as grocers, rope-makers, and cotton-goods manufacturers. He also bought and sold cotton. He purchased stock in the Madison Turnpike and in the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, which connected Huntsville with the outside world. He also eventually became a Madison County commissioner, serving from 1856 to 1859."

"Within his first five years in the area, he had 9 slaves, a number that eventually grew to 89, according to tax record, although the family Bible places that number at 300. He engaged them in diverse trades, operating two tanneries for making shoes, etc; a blacksmith shop, a brick-manufacturing business, and a small sugar refinery. It is believed that the bricks used to build his home were hand-made by his slave labor, in 1824. He also constructed as many as eight brick cabins for his slaves."

"Thomas McCrary Sr was an openly avowed enemy to the British crown during the Revolutionary War. The story below was found, however the source is unknown. Now it so happened that the Captain of the Militia was much of a friend of King George and to show his loyalty to the Crown he ordered out the company for muster, and after the usual drill he lined up the men with front face and made a very loyal talk to the company and then to show how many were for the Crown, he gave command for all who were loyal to the Crown to step four paces to the front, and at the word of command every one stepped forward except Thomas McCrary Sr. who was firm in his convictions: at that moment went up three cheers for King George, with hats waiving over their heads, and one of McCrary's kinsman by marriage was so jubilant in the hat gyration that it escaped from his hand and flying high over the heads of the hundreds of

on-lookers finally falling at the feet of some who were not favorable to the Crown nor its friends-the kinsman sought his hat, and grieved because it was not--and, he returned home without a hat. 

"This little incident shows the real spirit of the times. This incident it seems stimulated McCrary to prepare to join the rebel forces, and the first move was to make safe his money before leaving; his wife and son Thomas Jr. must know and see where the money is hid; and so with augers of proper size he bored holes in the great pine wallplate, just under the boards, and with wife and his son Thomas he filled each hole with money and drove pegs in and smoothed them over, and soon he was off to the army and remained during the seven years.

The Tories, however, knew of this money: so a company of them made it a specialty to look after this same. They searched but did not succeed in find: they thought to have Thomas Jr. to show them where they might find the cash, but he stoutly refused: then they bound him across a log and laid many stripes across his bare back until the blood gave testimony what the Tories were doing; again they demanded to know of the money, again Thomas Jr. said he would die before he would tell: then the lash fell fast and heavy upon the bleeding back of that youthful hero--demand after demand was made--and as often refused by him. Now the mother, like all loving mothers, could not bear to see the brutality longer, she cried, cease your cruelty, come and get the money, only spare my boy. They got the money, and Thomas Jr. was released: his mother washed the wounds and nursed him to health. And as soon as he was able he joined his father and fought the British and Tories until peace was made; but his hatred for the Tories lasted to his death (1836).

Again the wife of Thomas McCrary Sr. displayed much nerve, and decision of purpose on other occasions. The British came to her home, carried her feather beds in the yard emptied and danced upon the feathers, making merry of the destruction of property which brought the crimson on her cheeks and fierce resentment in heart, and a red-coat private approached her with reproaches and insults and no sooner done, then she up with the fire-tonges(sic) and came near breaking his back. The cowardly fellow tried to shoot her but his captain forbade such an act, saying that so brave a woman should never be killed by so mean a coward; on the same day the British showed still further their disposition to destroy the property of the rebels. An officer ordered Mrs. McCrary to make soup of the generative organs of the chicken hens on her premises. The old lady complied washing the same in very filthy slop water hoping to get revenge for her losses."

"The story of Thomas Senior continues because we know he was taken prisoner by the British and held on Edisto Island. Letitia rode down to the prison and bargained for his release by promising that son Matthew would fight on the side of the British. Thomas Brandon ran into his cousin Matthew in the battle of Kings' Mountain. In his memoirs, Thomas recalled the incident and said that he told Matthew to get a gun and fight and Matthew replied, he could not. It appears he threw away his British issued rifle in order to not assist the British in fighting his own family."

In Roster of South Carolina Patriots (anscestry.com) there is a Col. McCrary and a Capt. McCrary

See also: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LHRG-MC5/thomas-mccrary-1737-... https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHRG-MC5?icid=amp_... Revolutionary service indicted Our Thomas McCrary was born in Ireland of Scots-Irish parents. There are no known confirmed records of his parents, the date of hisbirth nor any details of his life in Erin. He arrived in American about 1750, this according to tradition and not a known fact. Therewere ports of entry in Baltimore and Philadelphia and many immigrants from Northern Ireland arrived at either one of these places. Tradition tells us he came with his brothers, Andrew, John and Robert. According to cousins who have researched the family, there isevidence (but no documentary proof) that they settled for a short time in Pennsylvanis, in the area of York (then Baltimore) Co., andin Lancaster Co. According to the researchers they were many McCrary's (of various spellings) in that area as early as 1730 through 1740's. "Surviving Early Records of York Count, Pennsylvania, 1749-84", in the South Central Genealogical Society, contains an entry (#70),which lists Andrew, John, Robert and Thomas McCrary. But is this our Thomas? Some researchers believe their parents were John and Martha McCrary who lived in Berkeley Co. now Laurens Co., SC, in the Duncan Creek area at the same time as the four brothers. The McCrarys arrived in this area circa 1752-1755.He owned over 3000 acres in grants in Berkley and Cravens County beginning in 1765 in Laurens Co, SC; he acquired more grants through 1787 because of his war service. He was a farmer. He was a Justice of the Peace in 1779 in Laurens Co, SC. According to family tradition he came to America 1750. He probably came through either Baltimore or Philadelphia. The name is sometimes spelled as McCreary, McCrery, and McCrarey.

Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery - The Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church's cemetery is located 5 miles east of Clinton near Newberry line in Laurens County, South Carolina. This church was organized in 1764. The following ancestors served in the Revolutionary War and their names are listed on a marble tablet placed by the DARs on the front inside wall of Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church: Joseph Adair, Sr., Joseph Adair, Jr., Thomas McCrary.

Immigration about 1750 Possibly Baltimore or Philadelphia Immigrated from Ireland Military Service • Served in the American Revolutionary War - Soldier SC Custom Event • Military Service South Carolina