Crawford

The list of descendants on this site begins with William (Old Billy) Crawford (d.1834). Earlier but conflicting information was obtained, from

1. research in Ireland commissioned by William Crawford (1825-1897) and
2. The Crawfurd Peerage published 1829 - a sympathetic account of the claim of John Lindsay Crawfurd

Both sources agree that Old Billy's mother was Abigail Clark. The former source states that the father of Old Billy was Hugh Crawford of Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland, who came over to Ireland in 1709 and purchased a farm on the banks of the river Moyola near Castledawson and married Miss Clark. Later in life, and because of frequent flooding of the farm, Hugh returned to Scotland, where he died. Joshua Dale, a deponent quoted in the latter source swore that Old Billy's father was John Crawford, the second son of James of Broagh whilst the Crawfurd Peerage author described Old Billy's parentage as follows:

About this period, his (John Lindsay Crawfurd's) case became the subject of very general conversation in the neighbourhood of Castle-Dawson, and many parts of the country, and in which the rumours then afloat, induced another individual, named William Crawfurd, (whom we have already noticed, otherwise William Abigal, and sometimes he went by the name of Billy the Cocker) to prefer a counter-claim. This aspirant was supposed to have been a natural son of John, immediate elder brother of Hugh; and not being able to say whose a natural child is, he was distinguished, until he arrived to manhood by the name of Billy Abigal, after his mother, her name being Abigal Clerk. This personage was made the instrument of more evil to Mr Crawfurd, than could be possibly imagined, which will make its foul appearance through the course of our narration.