Migrating Croom Families
Of
Early Eastern North Carolina


Descendants of the three CROOM brothers, Abel, Major and Jesse, spread across a number of eastern North Carolina counties and by the late 1700s were beginning to move to Georgia. By the early 1800s, they were pushing into Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Florida. Please continue reading about many of these migrating CROOM families.

Descendants of North Carolina Crooms in....

ALABAMA: The CROOM name shows up in the 1830 Census. Most Crooms in Alabama are descended from several grandsons of Major CROOM I, the second oldest of the three CROOM brothers from the James River area of Virginia. Around 1742, Major I settled near what is now Kinston in Lenoir County North Carolina. Jesse Hare CROOM and his brother, Wiley Jones, both sons of Richard who was a son of Major I, moved to Alabama shortly before 1830. Isaac CROOM, son of Isaac, Sr., another son of Major I, was a noted lawyer and state senator from Lenoir County North Carolina. He moved to Alabama shortly after 1830. Many of these early Crooms settled in or around Greene County.

Other CROOM descendants can trace their lineage back through Sumter County, AL. Richard CROOM b 1805 in Lenoir Co., son of Maj. Gen. William CROOM who was a son of Major CROOM I and his second wife, Susannah, settled in AL with his family sometime after 1833. Richard married Winnefred Bryan WHITFIELD, b 17 Oct 1812 in Lenoir Co., NC, and many WHITFIELD names can be found around Sumter Co., AL.

Many CROOM families in Mobile County, AL, are descended from FREDERICK CROOM of an area of New Hanover County, NC, that became Pender County in 1875. See MISSISSIPPI below for details on these descendants.

A John CROOM, b 1797 in NC is known to have moved to Crawford Co., GA where he reared a family. A son, Jesse Jackson CROOM, b 1846, moved to Pansy, AL where he reared a family and left many descendants.

At least one GROOM (spelled with a "G"), Council, moved to Coosa County, Alabama from Washington County, Georgia around 1835-1840. Eventually, offspring of Council migrated to Louisiana and Texas. The interesting thing is that I have traced these Groom families back to Elijah Croom (spelled with a "C") who moved with his family around 1790 to Washington County, GA, from Duplin County, North Carolina. Elijah died about 1804 and somehow the records started reflecting the name of his widow and children as GROOM rather than CROOM. Curiously, a couple of the offspring of Elijah CROOM who moved to Kentucky and Tennessee as young adults added an "s" and the records reflect that these CROOM/GROOM families became GROOMS. An additional oddity is that there are GROOM and GROOMS families in Texas today who can be traced back to the same North Carolina ancestor, Elijah CROOM.

ARKANSAS: Many Arkansas Crooms can trace their ancestry back to Tennessee and then back to Jesse CROOM, the youngest of the three CROOM brothers, who settled in what is now Wayne County North Carolina most likely between 1738 and 1741 and certainly before 1757. Around 1826, two sons and three widowed daughters of Jesse's oldest son, Charles Sr., moved westward to an area of Tennessee, a part of which later became Madison County. Soon after 1840, Stringer CROOM, another son of Charles Sr., moved to the same area of Tennessee. Many of these Crooms subsequently moved on and settled in or around Dardanelle, Arkansas. Around 1826, Benajah CROOM, a son of Major who was a brother of Charles Sr., moved to Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee. Between 1840 and 1850, he moved further west to Lawrenceville, Arkansas. Many Crooms can trace their ancestry to Benajah.

I have observed in the Arkansas 1830 census index the name of Joshua CROOM. To date, I have been unable to determine the identity of this Croom. I would appreciate receiving any census details and other information petinent to this Joshua Croom.

I have traced a John Anguis CROOM who died in 1919 in Hartman, AR, back to GA. He was born in 1849 in Monroe Co., GA, the 2nd child of Jesse and Elizabeth CROOM. According to census records, this Jesse was born 1805-1809 in NC. He left a widow and six young children when he died after the April 1860 census and before 1866. To date, I have not ascertained the names of this Jesse's parents, although I suspect he descends from Abel CROOM.

FLORIDA: Though he never became a resident of Florida, General William CROOM of Lenoir County North Carolina had several children who did become citizens of Florida and left many descendants. William, born in 1771, served as a major general in the War of 1812. He was a prominent citizen and a large landowner of several plantations in Lenoir County. In 1826, he established planting interests in Gadsden County Florida. Several children from his first marriage to Mary BRYAN and from his second marriage to Elizabeth WHITFIELD were lifelong residents of Florida. Records reflect that a number of noted Florida judges and other public figures were descended from William.

One noteworthy citizen of North Carolina, Hardy Bryan CROOM, a son of Maj. General William CROOM, became a prominent landowner in Florida. He was widely known and regarded for his work as a botanist. Following the tragic death of Hardy and his entire family in the sinking of a storm-driven ship off of Cape Hatteras, twenty years of litigation in the Florida courts created case law. Read my page at this web site on this interesting man, Hardy Bryan CROOM.

Records reveal that other CROOM families moved into Florida from Georgia and Alabama in the early nineteenth century. The ancestry of some of these has been traced to brothers Abel and Jesse respectively of Craven and Wayne Counties in North Carolina.

Joshua CROOM appears in land records in Leon and Jefferson counties in 1827 and in the Leon County census in 1830. He was the son of Major & Mary Hardee CROOM who had moved his family from Lenoir County, NC, to Florida when his sister, Olief Croom BYRD and her family moved to Leon County. After Joshua's wife died in 1835, he and the rest of his family returned to Lenoir County.

GEORGIA: Evidence indicates that Jesse CROOM of Wayne County North Carolina--a son of Jesse, the youngest of the three CROOM brothers who immigrated to North Carolina--moved to Washington County, Georgia, between 1790 and 1800. Some of his descendants have been tracked to Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas.

According to census records, another Jesse CROOM was born in NC between 1805 & 1809 and spent most of his adult life in Monroe Co., GA. He left a widow and six young children when he died after the April 1860 census and before 1866. To date, I have not ascertained the names of this Jesse's parents, though I suspect he descended from Abel CROOM.  See ARKANSAS above for one of his sons, John.

Elijah CROOM emigrated from Duplin County, NC to Washington County, GA, just prior to 1790. For some unexplained reason, all of the children of Elijah CROOM and his wife Catherine "Catey" HERRING spelled their name GROOM after the move to Georgia and Elijah's death shortly thereafter. Evidence indicates that some of his offspring settled in Alabama, while others moved to Kentucky with the name changed again to GROOMS. Some of these Kentuckians later moved to Tennessee and still later to the Red River area of Texas. Based on strong circumstantial evidence, I believe Elijah to be an elder brother of Jesse CROOM, Jr., of Wayne County, NC, who also moved to Washington County, GA, and owned adjacent land. Read more on this Elijah further down this page.

A John CROOM, b 1797 in NC is known to have moved to Crawford Co., GA abt 1840 where he reared a family. Some of his descendants remained in GA while others moved to FL, OK and TX. Click the ABEL CROOM hyperlink at the bottom of this page for further details.

LOUISIANA: Shortly before 1826, Isaac CROOM joined his brother Charles and three widowed sisters and moved from Wayne County North Carolina to Madison County Tennessee. After a short stay, Isaac moved to Houston County Texas. In 1844, he moved to Caddo Parish Louisiana near what is now Mooringsport. A number of descendants of Isaac's two marriages can be traced from Caddo Parish. Many live in Texas today.

A Joshua CROOM married in Amite County in 1836 and later moved to Catahoula Parish across the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The 1850 census suggests he was born about 1800. I have determined that he was a son of William & Mary Gaitlin CROOM of Lenoir County, NC.

MISSISSIPPI: Many CROOM descendants in Mississippi, especially around West Point, can trace their ancestry back through John Addison CROOM, a son of Charles CROOM, Jr. in Madison County Tennessee. Charles moved to Tennessee around 1826 from Wayne County North Carolina. See the section on Tennessee and Arkansas.

Sometime in the late 1890s, Joseph J. CROOM and his brother, James Allen CROOM, sons of Joseph Thomas CROOM, left Pender County, NC, and moved to Mississippi to found a turpentine business. James Allen would become the progenitor of a significant branch of CROOM families in Mississippi and adjacent states. Between 1900 and 1904, their half-brother, Henry Baxter CROOM, would move first to Vernon Parish, LA, and later to Greene Co, MS, where he too would expand the CROOM families in that area.

A Joshua CROOM married in Amite County in 1836 and later moved to Catahoula Parish across the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The 1850 census suggests he was born about 1800. See Louisiana above. This is the same Joshua CROOM.

NEW MEXICO: Many CROOM families were recorded living in this state by the beginning of the twentieth century. Most had come from Tennessee by way of Texas. Several of Jesse Croom's offspring from Wayne County, NC had offspring in western Tennessee, especially in Madison County, who went to Texas. Several of these and or their offspring eventually settled in New Mexico.

OKLAHOMA: About 1895, Isaac Newton CROOM, Jr. settled in Muskogee, OK. He was born August 12, 1867 in Madison County, TN, the grandson of Stringer CROOM who had left Wayne County, NC around 1840 to settle in Madison County. Many CROOM families with roots in Oklahoma can trace their ancestry back through Isaac and Stringer CROOM to North Carolina.

Refer to Georgia in this section for other CROOM members moving to Oklahoma.

TENNESSEE: During the early 1800s, many North Carolinians moved into the western counties of the new state of Tennessee. Several adult children of Charles CROOM, Sr., son of Jesse CROOM, Sr. of Wayne County, North Carolina, moved to Madison County, Tennessee during the period from 1825 to 1840. Some had the CROOM surname while some daughters had married names like COORS, COOK and HOLLOWELL. Most notable were Charles CROOM, Jr., his brother Isaac, and his cousin Benajah, son of Major CROOM who was the youngest son of Jesse CROOM I. Many of their offspring subsequently moved on to Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas and New Mexico. A brother of Charles CROOM Jr., Stringer CROOM, also settled in Madison County shortly after 1840.

Daniel CROOM, another son of Jesse, Sr., died about 1806 in Wayne Co., NC as a young man and left three small children: 2 boys and a girl. The two boys, Joshua CROOM and William Hooker CROOM, eventually followed their relatives westward and settled in Madison Co., TN. Descendants of Joshua and William Hooker can be found from TX and NM to ID, CA and many other western states.

A number of GROOMS families in TN are descended from Elijah CROOM who moved from Duplin County, NC to Georgia. Read paragraphs on Alabama and Georgia for more on Elijah CROOM.

TEXAS: See above paragraphs on Georgia, Tennessee and Louisiana. Also, read the paragraph under ALABAMA for information on GROOM and GROOMS descended from Elijah CROOM of North Carolina.

Note: In tracing Crooms from the aforementioned states, bear in mind that I generally have listed only the earliest Croom family members to leave eastern North Carolina and settle further west and/or south. Undoubtedly, other Croom relations, many without the Croom surname, moved to the frontier areas as well during the period 1790 to 1860.


Elijah Croom of NC and Groom of Washington County, GA

A Duplin County marriage bond dated 4 Aug 1777 is the first evidence I found of an Elijah CROOM living in North Carolina. The bond reveals his marriage to Catherine "Catey" HERRING, daughter of Stephen HERRING of the same county. The next chronological evidence lists Elijah in the April 1786 Duplin County, NC Census. Elijah CROOM is tabulated in Captain Kennan's District with a family consisting of himself, three white males under 20 years of age and four white females of all ages. In 1789 a Duplin County deed reflects a purchase of property by Elijah, while one in 1790 reveals his selling property in Duplin County. Further proof of the lineage of Elijah's wife Catherine was provided by Elijah's father-in-law, Stephen Herring, when he named Catey Croom as his daughter in his will dated Sep 21, 1797. A Sarah Croom is listed as a witness. Note that in all of these records Elijah's surname is spelled CROOM.

Some GROOM(S) descendants have asserted that Elijah of Duplin County was "definitely" related to the GROOM family of Orange County, VA, largely based on the fact that an Elizabeth GROOM married a Thomas WRIGHT prior to 1779 and Elijah CROOM of Duplin named a son Wright. I believe that this in itself is not all that persuasive. I note that in Duplin and Dobbs counties at that time were several WRIGHT families. Furthermore, WRIGHT can be found among several families as a given name. In fact, Catey HERRING who married Elijah CROOM had a first cousin, once removed, named WRIGHT HERRING. When looking for a reason why Elijah and Catey named a son Wright, we cannot ignore this last mentioned relationship.

ELIJAH CROOM is not found in the 1790 Census of NC or GA.

Records show that ELIJAH CROOM had petitioned for 430 acres in Washington Co., GA on April 3, 1791. Headright and bounty records show that those 430 acres were granted to ELIJAH CROOME (sic) in 1804 (Grant bk EEEEE, pg 766).  A document dated 11 May 1803 reveals that "Catharine" filed in Washington County, GA, to take control of her husband's estate. This would indicate that the 430 acres actually were granted after Elijah's death.

In 1805 Catherine GROOM and Lewis MILLER, a son-in-law, are listed in a GA Land Lottery, another indication that Elijah had died. From other records, it appears that Catey died between 1806 and 1810. Of particular note is the fact that following Elijah's death, records reflect the spelling of the surname of his offspring as GROOM and GROOMS.

Why I Think Elijah is a Long-lost Son of Jesse, son of Daniel Croom

  • Elijah CROOM was a private in the Dobbs County Militia in March 1776 and marched with a special detachment to the Lower Cape Fear River area following the February 27, 1776 Battle of Moore's Creek.
  • Elijah CROOM first appears in records in Duplin County, NC, in 1777 when he marries Catey Herring, daughter of Stephen Herring. Elijah's probable date of birth is about 1756. Duplin is contiguous with Wayne County, home of Jesse CROOM. 
  • Sarah CROOM was a 1797 witness to the will of Elijah's father-in-law, Stephen HERRING.. Jesse CROOM had a daughter named Sarah.
  • Before moving south to Duplin County, Elijah's father-in-law, Stephen Herring, owned land in what is now Wayne County, NC, not far from Jesse CROOM, the father of Elijah.
  • Old Dobbs County, NC records show that in April 1779 Jesse CROOM granted land to Elijah CROOM, apparently a gift of deed to his son..
  • Prior to immigrating to Georgia, Elijah transferred the same land back to Jesse CROOM.
  • Among Elijah CROOM's named children were Mary, Elizabeth, Zelphia Ann and Charles. Among Jesse CROOM's named children were Mary, Elizabeth, Zelphia and Charles. This is the earliest instances I have found of males named Charles CROOM, son of Jesse CROOM, SR.
  • Charles, son of Jesse and presumed brother of Elijah, named a son Elijah about 1799. I have found no other CROOM or GROOM members before or during this period with the given name Elijah.
  • Elijah CROOM, born 1755-1760, appears in several 1787 Wayne County court records as a grantor to Jesse CROOM, Sr., a witness with Jesse CROOM and as a defendant in a lawsuit.
  • Elijah CROOM, born 1755-1760 apparently moved to Washington County, GA, about 1790. About the same time, Jesse CROOM, Jr, son of Jesse CROOM of Wayne County,  also moved to Washington County, GA. From GA records we learn that Elijah and Jesse owned adjacent plantations in Washington County, GA.
  • We know that the Jesse CROOM of Washington County, GA, who was a contiguous land owner of Elijah CROOM (GROOM), was a son of Jesse CROOM, SR, of Wayne County, NC, from the following deed:

    Wayne Co., NC DB 10:197, Jan 2, 1813: JESSE CROOM of Washington Co. GA deed to MAJOR CROOM for land situated in Wayne Co., wit by CHAS. CROOM.

    This deed references land that Jesse CROOM, Jr, inherited from his father, who died in 1812, and deeded to his brother, Major. The deed was witnessed by Charles, a brother of both Jesse Jr, and Major CROOM.

     

  • In his will dated 21 Sep 1797, Stephen HERRING of Wayne County, NC, names his daughter Catey CROOM (spelled with a "C.")

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then it must be a duck. I believe the circumstantial evidence is abundant and conclusive enough to assure me that Elijah, born 1755-1760, was the eldest son of Jesse CROOM of Wayne. Elijah most likely was a year or so older than Charles, the second son born to Jesse of Wayne County.

A CHALLENGE

Several years ago I placed a challenge on the GROOMS forum website for anyone to prove me wrong. My challenge was that the ELIJAH GROOMS of Washington County, whom many of the GROOMS at that website asserted was a descendant of MAJOR GROOMS of Orange County, Virginia, in fact was a son of JESSE CROOM of Wayne County, NC. All of that is written up on this web site. It was and still is my opinion that Elijah’s wife and children--at least in the early 1800s--were illiterate. The Georgia records are clear that ELIJAH CROOM of North Carolina had petitioned for land in Washington County in the late 1790s. After moving his North Carolina family to Washington County, Elijah died shortly afterwards, no later than 1803. From that point forward all records pertaining to this family became GROOM and in some instances GROOMS. It’s a clear case of the spelling of the name evolving at the courthouse with no literate family members to challenge the name spelling.

To place literacy in 1805 in perspective, the 1840 Federal Census placed North Carolina at the bottom of the list of 26 states with the report that  1 out of every 7 white persons over 20 years of age could not read nor write. Imagine how few women in 1805 could read and write.

 

Click to return to CROOM GENEALOGY & Elijah Croom or click here to return to Descendants of Jesse Croom & son Elijah.

Elijah and Catherine "Catey" Herring CROOM are believed to have had the following issue:

  1. Wiley CROOM, b c1778 NC (One of 3 white males under 21 listed in April 1786 Duplin Co, NC, Census); d aft 1850 census in Thomas Co, GA; living in Washington Co, GA in 1820; Fnu BROWN, dau of Moses & Milley Milstead BROWN; moved to Thomas Co, GA 1820-1830; living there in 1850; his brother, Bright M., named a son Wiley GROOM, b 1820. Wiley & wife, Fnu Brown, had a daughter Rebecca, born abt 1803 Washington Co, GA; m Wm. J. FORSON.
  2. Elijah CROOM II, b c1779 NC, d bet 1810 & 1818 in Jones County, GA. (One of 3 white males under 21 listed in April 1786 Duplin Co, NC, Census). From a land record, he appeared to be living in Washington Co., GA in 1810. An 1818 Jones County court record reveals that Elijah CROOM II is deceased, leaving an orphan, Wright GROOM.

     

    1. Wright GROOM, b 1802 GA. Elijah's brother Charles, while living in Jones Co, GA, was appointed guardian of Wright on 13 Jan 1818. In 1824, the Court returned Charles bond, indicating that Wright was no longer a minor.

       Wright m 1st Melvina PHELPS. The and 2nd m 31 Jul 1853 in Montgomery Co, AL, Martha GRISSOM (note: Martha may have been a widow). Wright & Martha had the following issue:

      1. Melvina, b abt 1855
      2. Wright, b abt 1858
      3. Katherine, b abt 1860

      Wright GROOM, Sr, died 1 Apr 1874 in Montgomery.

  3. Mary GROOM, b 1780 NC, d 1752 Stewart Co., GA; m 1 Dec 1799 Washington Co., GA, Lewis MILLER, d Stewart Co., GA, age 102. 2 sons & 1 dau.
  4. Elizabeth "Betsy" GROOM, b 1780-1788 NC, m Jeremiah BENNETT; living in Washington Co., GA in 1830
  5. Priscilla GROOM, b 1782 NC, d 4 Jun 1873 Eatonton, Putnam Co., GA; m Henry PUTNAM
  6. Council GROOM, b 1786 NC, d 1856 Coosa Co., AL; m Elizabeth LOFTON, b SC. Their issue: 6 daus & 3 sons.
  7. Zelphia Ann GROOM, b 1786-1788 NC, m Anthony CRUMBLEY; lived in GA.
  8. Charles GROOM, b 1787 NC,

  9. Bright M. (Marshall?) GROOM, b 12 Dec 1790 GA, d 21 Aug 1862 Red River Co., TX; m Catherine WINDERS, b 6 Jan 1791 NC, d 1862 Red River Co., TX. Their issue: 10 daus & 2 sons.
  10. Stephen Herring GROOM, b abt 1792 Washington Co., GA, d 1833 Weakley Co., TN; m Winifred WINDERS, b 1800 NC. Their issue: 6 sons & 2 daus.


Click & go to Croom Genealogy Page and:
Daniel Croom & Descendants
Abel Croom
Major Croom I
Jesse Croom
Croom Descendants in Other States
 

INDEX: Click for other pages at this site HOME PAGE | JAMES FREDERICK CROOM | COURT DETAILS | DESCENDANTS of JAMES F. CROOM | OTHER SURNAMES | MISSING & WANTED


This page was last revised on 2 October 2015

© Copyright 1995-2017 by John H. Croom, all rights reserved.

 

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