Who was Mrs. John Crouch Sr.?

A Crouch Family Heritage Association Family Tree page

(Extract from a letter to Mrs. Dixon Hooker, daughter of Velma Crouch Hudson)

I have learned much family history from your articles in the History of Washington County, and I have recently seen a number of letters between your late mother and my father from the 1960s. I am under the impression that genealogists such as Mrs. L.M. Crouch and Pete Nance got a lot of their information about the 18th-Century Crouch ancestors principally from your mother, except of course for the information they got from primary sources.

What I particularly want to ask you about is the name of our ancestor Jesse Crouch's mother. It looks to me as if your mother was the one who told Mrs. L.M. and others that her name was Sarah Barbary (or Barbee or Bradbury or something - I doubt if anyone will ever know how many ways it was spelled).

I was wondering if you know how your mother knew this. Is it something that was always known and passed down in your branch of the family? Or did she find the name in some records somewhere? Either one of these is authoritative as far as I am concerned. But right now I'm not sure what to think, because so many people who do genealogy engage in speculation or wishful thinking and then treat what they come up with as fact.

I'm enclosing copies of a few letters that discuss the issue of Mrs. Crouch's name.

Sincerely,

John Howard Crouch

Glenn Crouch describes the situation neatly:
"Sarah Weathers widow of Samuel Weathers who died intestate before 04 May 1750. Sarah Weathers administratrix of Samuel Weathers estate, John Elkins was bondsman. By tradition,
Sarah's maiden name was Sarah Barbary. If this is so, she was likely a relative of Thomas
Barbary, will dtd 1752, Stafford Co VA & a descendant of Andrew Barbary with estate
inventory dtd 1702, Stafford Co VA. On 22/23 Apr 1750, Sarah weathers of Hanover
Parish, King George Co VA executed a life estate to John Thornley of Hanover Parish,
King George Co VA. The estate conveyed was in 50 acres in Hanover Parish that had
earlier been conveyed by Henry Long to William Saize on 07 Dec 1723. Saise was the
uncle of Sarah Weathers, and the land descended by lineal descent to Sarah. William Saise
/ Size died intestate without issue before 06 May 1726. Administration of his estate
granted to his widow Frances. If the land descended to Sarah, she presumably had no
brothers or older sisters, and (1) her mother was a sister of William Saise / Size (and could
have married a Barbary), or (2) Sarah's father could have been a brother to William Saise /
Size, in which case Sarah's maiden name would have been Saise or Size rather than
Barbary. All of the known children of John Crouch are attributed to his marriage with
Sarah ( ) Crouch. "However, in this regard there is a discrepancy. [10] JOSEPH
CROUCH was born sometime in 1749, and Sarah Weathers did not begin administration
of the estate of Samuel Weathers until May 1750, nor did she execute the life estate to
John Thornley until April 1750, both of which she did in the name Sarah Weathers." It is
possible that [7] JOHN CROUCH (SR.) Was previously married, that [10] JOSEPH
CROUCH was born of that earlier marriage, that JOHN's first wife died within a year or
two after [10] JOSEPH CROUCH was born, and that [7] JOHN CROUCH and Sarah
Weathers agreed when they married that they would raise their children by their previous
marriages as though they were the children of their marriage to each other."

See also a letter about Mrs.John Crouch Sr. and Mrs. John Crouch Jr.

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Author: John Crouch, crouch@patriot.net || Crouchmas is May 3