Theophilus McCrane married Irena Copeland February 25, 1839 in Crawford County, Georgia according to the Marriage Index, Georgia, 1754-1850.
The 1870 Census for Ft. Gaines also lists the household of John McCrany, age 25, with his wife Louisa, age 20, and children Dula (Jula? Lula?) age 3, and Calvin, age 1. All were born in Alabama. These may have been relatives of the McCrane family.
McCrains lived on the Island of Jura, off the coast of Argyll, Scotland. Some migrated to America before the Revolutionary War, arriving in the Cape Fear Area of North Carolina, looking for land of their own and a better way of life.
For photographs of tombstones of McCrains and Mac Crains on the Island of Jura, look here.
For photographs of the Islands of Jura and Islay, look at Islay and Jura.
McCrains lived at Kildalton on Islay. Paul Heath has a fine photo of the ruined church at Kildalton.
From North Carolina, McCrains spread into Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma. The McCrains in New York may have arrived there as passengers on emigrant ships or moved south from Canada, or north from Cape Fear. In the 1860s, there were McCrains living in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Later generations moved to California, Colorado, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, and then doubled back, having reached the the edge of the continent, retracing their ancestors' steps to Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and North Carolina.
McCrains were involved in all the significant events of their times, moving westward with the expansion of the country. McCranies left North Carolina and moved into Georgia. Many still live in Telfair County. McCraines held early land patents in Mississippi and many still live there. McCraines were involved in the War of 1812, and the War Between the States. Theophilus McCrane received land grants in Contra Costa County, in northern California for his participation in the Creek War of 1813-14. His son Wesley McCrane, a private in the Ft. Gaines Guards, died at Yorktown, Virginia on April 19, 1862. He was just nineteen.
The Federal Census records a Robert McCrain in California in 1850. It is likely that he was there because of the Gold Rush. Or was he there to investigate or take possession of the land grant of Theophilus McCrane? McCranes have been found in Texas as early as 1850.
Andrew McCrane left Georgia in 1871 and arrived at Galveston, Texas. He worked as a carpenter and lived in many different Texas counties. About 1875, he married Nancy Caroline Wood, daughter of Eli Newton Wood. Their son John Wesley McCrain was born in Corsicana, Navarro Co., Texas in 1879.
Early in the century, McCrains were moving from Texas into Oklahoma, looking for land in the newly created state. Andrew McCrain moved his family from Weatherford, Texas to Oklahoma about 1895.
In the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s, Andrew's son John and his family left Oklahoma and moved to California, searching for a better living, in a place where fruit and vegetables were available year round for their diabetic daughter.
During World War II, his children enlisted, or worked in defense plants. After the war, they spread out along the Pacific Coast, working as farmers, plumbers, loggers, carpenters, truck drivers.
Their children became dentists, doctors, chiropractors, teachers, college professors, librarians, poets, authors, preachers, missionaries, newspapermen, law enforcement officers, telecommunications experts, construction workers, businessmen.
Family links have been lost along the way. Knowledge of kinship has been lost between eastern and western branches of the family. Surnames have changed their spellings. I hope that family websites such as this can help re-establish the family connections.
The Internet has already helped us to link descendants of three sons of Theophilus McCrane. We have discovered that their descendants spell their names three different ways: McCrane, McRane, and McCrain. So far, family researchers have been able to locate living descendants of Andrew's brothers Early and Joseph. These links were long lost to researchers because the spelling of the surname was McRane for Joseph's descendants and McCrane for Early's descendants. Census records helped to trace the links and living relatives were contacted to confirm the relationship.
If you have a webpage you want linked here, or would like your e-mail address added to the list, let me know. Maybe you will be the one to discover another connection between the families.
For more information, e-mail Juanita Hazeltonat jhazelton@texoma.net
McCranie: Hubert J. Evans or write to Britt Rodgers
McCraney: Ron and Margaret McCraney Wilson or write to Linda McCraney Perry
McCraine: Mary Sirois
Family bulletin boards are available at ancestry.com.
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