Map of Ireland

Patrick Cragun Facts or Myths

Their are some interesting stories published about Patrick Cragun. So far I have determined they are word of mouth stories by one persons seeming credible to another person who wrote them and published them.

The stories are fun and interesting. However, in the world of documentation it would be best if we could find a journal entry or other documentation. If you can add facts or documentation, please do, for all our benefit.

#1: Was Patrick Cragun really in the Boston Tea Party?
#2: Was Patrick really arrested 4 times for coloniala civil disobedience?
#3: Was our dear granfather Patrick an indentured servant to a bootmaker in Dublin at the age of 12?
#4: Did the adventurous Patrick Cragun run away at age 15, persuade a boat captain for a ride to America, and dive out at Boston Harbor to save himself from being the Captains boy?

While you are here, can you help clear up his wifes name? There are questions on that.

Oh, also, little is for sure about his parents. Were the from England or Ireland? Did they come to Ireland as a part of the British taking Irish lands in a deal for peace?

Yes, there is much to learn about our grandfather.

We western United States Craguns could use some help from you who live or have journals or stories from those who lived in Kentucky, Indiana, and elsewhere east of here.

A G Cragun

I see A G Cragun in several New Family Search Cragun entries as the provider. Next step is to contact him.

By the way: New Family Search is to become FamilyTree and open to the public for free. Click here for Family Tree is Going To Change Genealogy Research Forever article.

Isaac Cragun

I see reports that Isaac Cragun is buried in Olive Branc cemetary, Mill Creek, Indiana. In FindaGrave there are several Olive Branc cemetaries in Indiana but none showing Mill Creek and none have Isaac Cragun or Kr or Cr assuming a different spelling of the last name.

Boone County Indiana

April 29, 2012:Boone County Indiana is where Patrick Cragun died. It seems he owned property there but was poor enough he didn't have to pay property taxes.

Two of his chldren died in Indiana: Lydia Cragun before 1820 per New Family Search and Isaac Cragun who died in 1855 in Harrison, Cass, Indiana. Isaac had 6 children all in Indiana.

This is the beginning of my research on Indiana with the exception of I found the Boone County Historical Society in the Cragun House once owned by Strange Nathaniel Cragun. I posted this article about the Cragun house on my family blog, click here for that.

This link, click here, takes you to the Cragun Organization website. details on the Patrick family, and some detail about his children are here.

Simeon Wilbert Cragun Death Index

Elisha Cragun Story

Elisha is believed to have been born at either Russell County, VA or Sullivan County, TN on February 22, 1786, the second child of Patrick and Rose Alley Cragun. While Elisha's birthplace may have been in doubt, his Virginia connection was certain through his wife.
 
In 1811 he married Mary (Polly) Osborn, daughter of James and Mary (Whitaker) Osborn of Castle's Wood, then in Washington County, Virginia (now Castlewood in Russell County, Virginia). The Osborn's are recorded as being wealthy slave and land owners of the area.

A more complete story on Elisha is on my family blog. click here

Patrick Cragun: Find A Grave

The Following is on Find A Grave. The provider of this monument is Bart Fowers Cragun. I tried to reach him by email about a week ago and haven't heard back from him yet. Bart seems to be quite prolific in Find A Grave, which is noble of him.

I will post here only a portion of what Bart has posted and then a link to the memorial and full text. Below is the other links of family members of Patrick, also on Find A Grave.

Birth:  1745, Ireland Death:  unknown Whitestown Boone County Indiana, USA Versions of Patrick Cragun's migration to America vary. The first one, by Homer McCarty, was forwarded by letter 25 July 1962, by LUCY C. FOULGER (Mrs. WALTON E. FOULGER), to JEAN (CRAGUN) TOMBAUGH of Rochester, Ind.: "In Ireland Patrick Cragun's parents bound him out to a saddler for a number of years to learn the trade. Hearing much of that wonderful America to which so many people were going, Pat became obsessed with the desire to go there too. Without saying anything to his parents or his boss, he left the work bench and made his way to the sea. Fortunately a ship ready to sail for America lay anchored in the harbor.

Click this for the memorial of and full article about Patrick Cragun

Family links:
 Parents:
  Caleb Cragun

 Spouses:
  Rose Mary Abbey Cragun
  Hannah Elsy Cragun (1752 - ____)

 Children:
  Isaac Craigan (1785 - ____)*
  Elisha Cragun (1786 - 1847)*
  John Cragon (1787 - ____)*
  Tyresha Cragun (1789 - ____)*
  Lydia Cragun (1791 - ____)*
  Tabitha Cragun (1793 - ____)*
  Hannah Cragun (1795 - ____)*
  Caleb Cragun (1796 - ____)*
  Joshua Cragun (1796 - 1874)*
  Elizabeth Cragun (1799 - ____)*
  Syren Cragun (1801 - ____)*

I am really interested to discover things about Patrick Cragun that is not in Eva Heiner's book Patrick Cragun, Descendants In America 1744 - 1969. I met Eva not long before she died. I appreciate her commitment to her research. The book is a valuable record. I refer to her book a quote the illustrates my longing for more facts about our ancestor Patrick Cragun: "During our many years of searching, we have not yet found a definite proof of his birthplace. However, a book called "History of Cass County, "Indiana" found in the Indianapolis library, page 214 states "that the family of Cragun was founded in America by Patrick Cragun who came from Dublin, Ireland prior to the Revolutionary war and took part in the struggles of The American colonists that resulted in the winning of Independence.

We have better research tools now. We are learning to collaborate. Lets do it!

On April 20th I did searches in Ancestry.com for the census years 1790 - 1840 with the spelling of Cragun. In the 1790 there is a posting in Sullivan County, Tennessee of Patrick Creagon. I find 11 children are born in Tennessee in Census information.

I searched Patrick Cragun with no success on the following sites: Google, Internment.net, RootsWeb, Surname.net, Guild.com, MyHeritage, live Roots, and FindAGrave.com.

In Google photos I was forwarded to a site that had a record of him living in Sullivan County, Tennesse in 1795.

As I am now posting my research, I expect to be better on the detail of the research. As I look at the above I realize that need.

Comments are open for your input. You are also invited to post here. Larry Cragun