Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1796-1990 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
208pp
Context area
Archival history
Dr. Arnold Schrier, collaborator of Kerby A. Miller, collected the Crockett letters and provided the transcripts to Miller. Per Miller: 'Original in the possession of Elizabeth Reeve, 1200 Sherbrooke St, W. Montreal 2, Quebec. Typescript loaned to Schrier, July 29, 1955.' Per Schrier: 'The [Crockett] information comes from a family tree and a 40-page typescript narrative prepared by a descendant, Mrs. Elizabeth Reeve (died June 26, 1990). Her brother, John Alexander Crockett, sent photocopies of the letters (from England) in July 1990 and was to deposit the originals with the National Library of Ireland.'
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Per Arnold Schrier: ‘The 40 letters in this collection were largely written by five Crockett brothers who emigrated to the U.S. from Drumnashire, Co. Donegal. The letters were addressed to their farmer father, George Crockett, until he died in 1829; after that they were written to his son Alexander (brother of the writers), who inherited Drumnashire Some of the letters were written by a cousin of the Crockett brothers, David Fulton, Jr. of Baltimore, and addressed to an uncle, William Donoughey (Donaughey), in Ashgrove, near Londonderry. A few were written by nephews of the brothers. The Crocketts were Presbyterians. George Crockett had eleven children, eight sons and three daughters.
It was a family of diverse talents; some were businessmen/traders, others artisans, still others farmers. With one exception (Robert), the sons who emigrated seemed to prosper in their respective pursuits. At least one of the daughters, Eliza, emigrated but there are no letters from her in the collection. Those of George Crockett's children who emigrated were:
George - (the eldest son?), came to U.S. in 1796; settled in Tennessee in 1806 and died in Gallatin;
James - came to U.S. in 1796; settled in Pennsylvania;
William - came to U.S. about 1803; first went to Tennessee, then settled in Franklin, KY;
David - came to U.S. about 1804; settled in Ohio in 1820s;
Robert - came to U.S. about 1810; a bachelor, he returned to Ireland in 1850;
Eliza - date of arrival in U.S. unknown; died in Baltimore in 1818.’
In addition to Schrier’s transcripts and abstracts of the letters, the series also includes Schrier’s notes and information on the family provided by Crockett descendant Elizabeth Reeve (including a family tree).