The information below was compiled by Amy Dyer and Norman Harrell
John E. "Jack" Crouch 4 (William 3, John 2, Richard 1) was born in Goochland County, Virginia in April 28, 1793. He married Nancy W. Vaughan February 5, 1817 in Goochland County, by Rev. Lewis Chaudoin. According to the marriage record, bondsman was William M. Puryear, and Stephen Crouch was a witness. Nancy was noted to be the daughter of Mary Vaughan, who was evidently a widow. Nancy was born between 1792 and 1800 (age 58 on the 1850 census, and age 60 on the 1860 census) in VA. Her father is undetermined. One theory is that her parents were Patrick Vaughan and Mary Ann Smith.
Patrick Vaughan was born about 1760 in Virginia, and died in 1815 in Goochland. He married Mary Ann Smith 21 April 1783 in Goochland County. Mary Ann Smith was the daughter of George Smith and Ann Caroline Trabue. (The Trabues were connected to the Wooldridge family which would later be connected to John and Nancy Crouch through their daughter Mary P.) Mary Ann Smith Vaughan was born February 7, 1762 and died 1820, both events in Goochland County. LDS has two children listed for Patrick and Mary: Matilda born about 1785, and George Washington born about 1790, but it is likely there were more children. A Mary C. Vaughan married Daniel Miller in 1817 in Goochland County; the bride's guardian was listed as Anthony Smith, and her mother as Mary Vaughan. If her mother were a Smith, perhaps Anthony was her mother's brother. This Mary may be the sister of our Nancy.
At any rate, the next record for John E. and Nancy Crouch is in 1830 in Madison County, Alabama (p. 131, line 2). In John E. Crouch's household were a couple, both ages 30-40, with a daughter age 10 to 15, two daughters ages 5 to 10 (one was daughter Mary P.), two daughters under age 5, and one son age 5 to 10. Their daughter Mary P. Crouch was consistently said to be born in AL in the 1820's. Other Crouches in Madison County at that time were Solomon Crouch and John W. Crouch, who are as yet unidentified.
In 1840 John and Nancy were in Shelby County, Tennessee (p. 32). By this time, their daughter, Mary P. Crouch, had married Robert Farrar Wooldridge (3 Sept. 1839, Shelby County, Tennessee). In John E. Crouch's household in 1840 were John and Nancy, both age 40 to 50, a daughter age 15 to 20 (not Mary), a son age 10 to 15, a daughter age 10 to 15, two sons ages 5 to 10, and a daughter age 5 to 10. Mary and Robert Wooldridge were listed separately, both age 20 to 30, with a daughter under 5. Other Crouches in Shelby County in 1840 were Martha Crouch, Edward R. Crouch, and R. H. Crouch. The latter two are believed to be brothers of John E. Crouch.
John E. and Nancy Crouch, did not settle in Independence County, but did come to Arkansas. In 1850 they were enumerated in Poinsett County, Arkansas (p. 204a, dw #69, Mitchell Township):
John Crouch 58 VAJames E. Crouch 17 TN
N. W. Crouch 58 VA
M. E. Harrill 12 -
S. F. Crouch 5 - (actually the 1850 Poinsettt Cty, AR Census says S.F. Harrill 5 f (Female))
This enumerator consistently used initials for females. Enumerated on the same page of the census were other Harrills: J. G., David, and Eli. I suspect that one of the Crouches' daughters married a Harrill/Harral/Harrell, perhaps the daughter enumerated in 1830 as age 10-15. S. F. Crouch could be a daughter of one of the Crouches' sons. Therefore M. E. Harrill and S. F. Crouch were likely grandchildren of John and Nancy Crouch. There was also a J. R. Crouch enumerated on the same page. He was possibly a son of the Crouches.
James E. Crouch is known to be the son of John E. and Nancy Crouch, as will be shown later.
In 1850 Shelby County, Tennessee, is one Crouch remaining:
William A. Crouch 32 VACatherine M. Crouch 26 NC
John Crouch 3
William Crouch 1
Edward Redford Crouch, believed to be a brother of John E. Crouch, had a son named William Anthony Crouch who was born 1818, and could be this William A. Crouch.
John E. Crouch died in Arkansas between 1850 and 1860. The best clues I have to the date of death are several land purchases. A Thomas Crouch purchased land in Independence County in 1855 and again in 1860. On June 16, 1856 John R. Crouch (possibly the J. R. Crouch found in Poinsett County, Arkansas in 1850) purchased land in Sharp County (13 15N-6W, 80 acres). John E. Crouch's son James E. Crouch also purchased land in Sharp County, Arkansas, adjacent to Independence County, on September 1, 1857 (18 15N-5W, 84.13 acres). The dates could indicate that John E. died in 1855 or later, and his sons used their inheritances to invest in farmland. I still need to write to Poinsett County to find out if John left a will there.
By 1860, Nancy Crouch was living with her daughter Mary and her family, apparently widowed (1860 Independence County, Arkansas, Barren Township, p. 117, #227/266):
Also found in Barren Township in 1860 was John R. Crouch (p. 114 #261/250):
John R. Crouch 34 m farmer $250/$50 ALFrances Crouch 34 f AL
Lydia Crouch 18 f AR
Mariah Crouch 1_ f AR
Martha Crouch 10?f AR
John B. or G. Crouch 7 m AR
James B. or G. Crouch 5 m AR
This was apparently the same John R. Crouch who bought land in Sharp County in 1856.
James E. Crouch and his nephew, Robert W. Wooldridge, enlisted in Company C, the First Battalion Six Months Arkansas Infantry, USA, on June 10, 1862 (Desmond Walls Allen, First Arkansas Union Infantry, 1987):
This unit was formed of Independence and Izard County men who were sympathetic to the north, and volunteered to serve in a 6-month unit. They had a very difficult time of it. The 30th of June in 1862 General Curtis began to move the army without warning, so the recruits in the first battalion were caught unaware. Most were in their fields, and walked away without saying goodbye or packing any personal belongings. Initially they thought they would be cavalry, so they took their horses, but the army upon arriving at Helena designated them as infantry. They were not allowed to feed their horses with feed from the quartermaster, nor to allow their horses to graze on the countryside, so some horses died. Others were sold for a pittance. By the fall of 1862 the unit was sent to camp Benton near St. Louis. Most of the unit were ill and 150 were dead by the time their enlistments were up, 31 Dec 1862.
I have found no trace of James after his enlistment, so it is possible that he died in St. Louis. Robert W. Wooldridge returned and married in about 1870. In 1890 at age 48 he applied for a pension as an invalid, and in 1895 his widow applied for his pension.
Other than Mary P. and James E., I have no proof of the names of the Crouch children.
By studying the enumerations on the 1830 and 1840 censuses, I have listed the children in this fashion:
1. Unknown Crouch 5 (f) b. bet. 1817-1820, VA or AL. Could have married ____ Harrell bet. 1830-1840.2. Unknown Crouch 5 (m) b. bet. 1820-1825, VA or AL. (May be Thomas Crouch or John R. Crouch.)
3. Unknown Crouch 5 (f) b. bet. 1820-1825, VA or AL. Probably married or deceased before 1850. May have married ____ Harrell.
4. Mary P. Crouch 5 (f) b. July 8, 1821 AL. Married Robert Farrar Wooldridge 3 Sept.1839 in Shelby County, Tennessee. Had twelve children; died May 14, 1884 in Independence County, Arkansas. Burial in Hickory Valley Cemetery, Independence County, Arkansas.
5. John Richard Crouch 5 (m) b. bet. 1825-1830 AL.
6. Unknown Crouch 5 (f) b. bet. 1825-1830 AL, d. bef. 1840 AL or TN.
7. Unknown Crouch 5 (m) b. bet. 1830-1835 AL or TN. May be Thomas Crouch.
8. James E. Crouch 5 (m) b. 1833 TN, died after 1861.
Nancy W. Vaughan Crouch died May 17, 1879 in Independence County, Arkansas. She is buried in Hickory Valley Cemetery near her daughter, and her headstone reads, "wife of Jack Crouch".
The 1870 census of Independence County is not available in my area, or perhaps I'd have more to add. It is interesting to note that on the 1880 census of Independence County, an Eli Harrell was listed in the Robert F. Wooldridge household, as a nephew aged 22. This supports the idea that one of Mary's sisters married a Harrell. Mary's eldest daughter Sarah Jane married James Willis Brewer, whose sister Isabella married a Madison B. Harral. Madison was born in about 1840 in Tennessee, the son of Milton P. Harral. His mother's name isn't known; possibly this was the Crouch sister. I haven't found a brother for Madison named Eli, but Madison did name a son William Elijah, so it's possible.
The information above was compiled by Amy Dyer
[1] Goochland VA Marriage Records
Nancy W. Vaughan/Vaughn m. John E. Crouch, Goochland Co. VA February 1, 1817. B/M William M. Puryear. Nancy is d/o Mary Vaughan. Wit: Stephen Crouch. Married by Rev. Lewis Chaudoin.
[2] Unresolved Shelby County, Tennessee Marriages 1796-1950
Sarah Crouch to John Alvis - May 10, 1838Sarah A. Crouch to Milton P. Harrell - November 20, 1838
Isaac Crouch to Isabel Dyson - January 27, 1825
Emily Crouch to William Woodson - August 26, 1841
Susanah Crouch to Henry T. Robinson - June 17, 1845
William Crouch to J.E. Brumley - December 31, 1859
If you are a descendant of the Goochland County, Virginia Crouch's, have information different, or in addition to what's shown above (birth information, baptistry info, marriage bonds/certificates, wills, obituaries, deeds, court records, etc..) please feel free to forward to or contact Joe Crouch who maintains this site.