Several years ago while I was studying surnames other than Croom, Dick Booth demonstrated to me how effective land records can be in proving truths and disproving family lore pertaining to ancestors many generations in the past. "Follow the land," he said. Upon arriving in North Carolina from Goochland County, VA, the three sons of Daniel CROOM and their respective progeny left "geographical footprints" that help us follow their respective lines of descendants. Recent studies have strengthened my conviction of many years standing that most information currently in the public domain pertaining to the parents of FREDERICK CROOM is incorrect.

In the early 1950s Doris Croom Outlaw of Kinston compiled family sheets of many of the Croom families of eastern North Carolina. With the help of many correspondents relying on old family Bibles, extant records, and a lot of hand-me-down family lore, Doris compiled her mimeographed family sheets in a loose leaf book, entitled, The Croom Family. She first self-published it in 1955 and it proved to be a popular and well-received offering at the Croom Family Reunion held each year at Sandy Bottom, just a few miles to the southwest of Kinston. Over the next 15 years, she made numerous revisions, as new and corrected information was brought to her attention. The loose-leaf book facilitated the addition of the new and/or revised sheets. Still, many factual errors remain in The Croom Family Book. This writer had an opportunity to visit with Doris shortly before she died. At that time, Doris acknowledged, and it is so mentioned in her book, that much information pertaining to Abel CROOM and his progeny was uncertain and far from being completed.

By 1741 ABEL CROOM had emigrated from Goochland County, VA, and in December of that year purchased land in Craven County on the south side of the Neuse River along Whitley Creek, about 8 miles southwest of present day Kinston. This area later would become Johnston County, later Dobbs County and still later Lenoir County.

By 1744, Abel's younger brother, MAJOR CROOM, having reached 21 years of age the year before, purchased land in Craven County on Falling Creek, on the north side of the Neuse River, almost due north of his brother. Later this area would be in Lenoir County.

In 1747 records reveal that Charles HOLMES, the step-father of JESSE CROOM, purchased 400 acres on Falling Creek, not far from the initial purchase of Major. Very likely, Jesse, the half-brother of Abel and Major, Jesse's mother and other family members immigrated to North Carolina at that time. Jesse would have been 14 years of age. In 1757, records reveal that Jesse had come of age when he sold the land back in Goochland County, VA, that he inherited from his father. In October of that year, Jesse purchased land north of the Neuse River in an area of Johnston County that later would be in Wayne County.

Note that ABEL CROOM had settled on the SOUTH side of the Neuse River. Later records reveal that the proximity of his lands was such that he operated a ferry on the Neuse River.  MAJOR CROOM began building his plantation and starting his family a few miles up Falling Creek on the NORTH side of the Neuse River. Finally, JESSE CROOM, the younger half-brother, settled on the NORTH side of the Neuse River, not far from present day Goldsboro, Wayne County. From these three distinct geographic locations would issue most of the CROOM families that can be found today in many of the Southern, Midwestern and Southwestern states. Other pages at this web site detail many of the descendants of Jesse, for example, who migrated to Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and other southwestern states; or the several descendants of Major who were pioneers in settling Florida and Alabama.

Records reveal that in 1744 Major Croom, I, purchased land on the north side of the Neuse River in what is now Lenoir County and lived there for the next forty-seven years. He was a man of some standing and wealth in Dobbs County. At one time his land holdings exceeded 12,000 acres. Tax and census records indicate that documented sons of Major CROOM owned sizable estates, each at a relatively young age, an indication that Major had given each a good "head start." If James Frederick were his youngest son, it seems incongruous that the young Frederick should have moved to New Hanover County and settled on a relatively modest farm of 150 acres. He certainly was not as prosperous as a young man as were Major's sons back in Lenoir County. Nothing to my knowledge has surfaced to suggest why Frederick CROOM would have left relatively prosperous brothers in Lenoir County to settle in an area of Old New Hanover County that later became Pender County.

FREDERICK CROOM IS A DESCENDANT OF ABEL CROOM

The major "highways" of the 1700s were the rivers, their tributaries and the many creeks, large and small. Travel of even ten miles was no small matter. So family tended to settle and spread to nearby acreage. As families grew, the need to travel to new areas was necessary. Most of the members of succeeding generations had to move. Sometimes it would be to another part of the county or to the next county. By the early 1800s, some family members --especially those of Jesse, son of Daniel, and Major, son of Daniel, were taking advantage of lands being offered in other states or territories, like the western counties of North Carolina, which later became Tennessee, or the southern territories that became Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana. Most of Abel's children and grandchildren remained in Duplin County until the late 1700s. Jesse, son of Abel, and some of his children were in New Hanover County by 1790.

Diligent studies of extant land and other records by Dick Booth and this writer have resulted in identifying relatively clear migratory paths of the respective descendants of the three Croom brothers. These studies have challenged some of the long-held beliefs concerning the issue of the three brothers. The Descendants of Abel Croom and the Descendants of Major Croom  web pages at this site set forth details pertinent to some of the issue of these two brothers that until now have been mostly conjecture. These assigned issue are based largely on studies of land records and relationships to other early settlers. In some instances, some names are shown as "speculative but very likely."

Why Has Family Lore Persisted That Frederick Was a Son of Major Croom, I? My database contains no fewer than sixteen males named Major Croom.  In the late 1700s, four of those lived concurrently in Dobbs and contiguous counties. Each of the three sons of Daniel Croom claimed at least one of those four named Major. It is no wonder that descendants many generations later would often confuse one Major for another. Even today, many people cannot correctly name their great-grandparents, much less their second or third great-grandparents. A few decades ago the NSDAR effected more stringent requirements for membership. Many applications submitted prior to that time and subsequently approved reveal the lack of substantive proof of a line of descent from a proven Revolutionary War soldier or patriot. Frequently, this writer has seen new applications rejected that attempted to "ride in" on the coattails of an earlier approved application. To my knowledge, no application has been approved in recent years that cites Frederick Croom as a son of Major Croom, I.