Crawford, Thomas, 1785-1844.

Thomas Crawford (1785-1844), lawyer and officer of a North Carolina militia unit, was the son of John Crawford and Eleaner Crawford. In 1814 he left home to fight in the Creek War in Alabama. He served as first lieutenant then captain of his militia company and was later appointed by General Andrew Jackson to command Fort Hull. After the war he returned to North Carolina and in 1816 he married Mary Davidson, daughter of John Davidson and Margaret Wilson Davidson, of Mecklenburg County, N.C.

In 1819 Crawford moved with his wife, two children, his mother, and his sister Anne to Bibb County, Ala. He was elected by the Alabama legislature as the first judge of the county court of Bibb County and served for twelve years. He also served two terms in the state Senate and during this time was a trustee of the University of Alabama. He was a founder of the town of Centerville, Ala., and resided there for a number of years. In the 1840s he moved to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he practiced law.

Crawford's first wife, Mary Davidson Crawford, died in 1831. Her children were Eleanor Mary Ann (1817-1848), John Davidson (1819-1821), James Wilson (1822-1883), Thomas Price (1824-1858), and M. M. (1825-1850). He married a widow, Mrs. Barnett, several years after his first wife's death. Their only child was Jane (1835-1911).

From the guide to the Thomas Crawford Papers, ., 1814-1815; 1840, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)