Craver Family Page
Welcome to The Craver Family Page, which furnishes historical detail beyond the site index, exploring four generations of Cravers in the line of Johannes Craver of Rensselaer County, New York.
6. Mary Madgalene Craver (Mënck) --According to family records, Magdalene Craver (1832-after 1880), wife of Johann Mënck, was the daughter of Zachariah Craver and Anne Weatherwax. Magdalene came from a large family of more than a dozen children, eight of whose names have come down to us including Anna, Angelina, Julia, Jefferson, Lawrence and Catherine Craver. The U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970 lists the birthdate of Magdalen Craver as June 9, 1830, and her baptism date as Sept. 2, 1832 in the Jermain Memorial Presbyterian Church in Watervliet, New York. (In the 1880 census Magdalene gave her and her parents' place of birth as Virginia, which is where they later settled, but they were all undoubtedly born in New York, as documented in church records.) According to New York Marriages, 1686-1980, Zachariah Craver (b.1800) married Anne Weatherwax (b. March 1, 1801, NY) on Aug.22, 1818 in the First Lutheran Church in Albany, New York. Their first daughter, Christina Catherine Craver, was christened in 1820 in the Dutch Protestant Reformed Church in Niskayuna, Schenectady Co., NY. (Catherine married Johann Mënck, but died not long afterwards and Johann remarried her younger sister Magdalene in Washington DC in 1849.) Magdalene's other siblings are listed as: Julia Marie (b.1823, NY), Jefferson Lawrence Craver (b.1825, NY), Zachariah (Jr.--b.1827) in Blooming Grove, Rens. Co. NY), David G. Craver (Jr.--b.1833, NY), Angelina (b.1835, NY), subsequent children being born in Elizabeth City, Virginia during the period when, according to Anna Blann, the father, Zachariah, was appointed to a post in Fortress Monroe, a Union military fort. The Virginia children were: Moses Monroe (b.1837-other records indicate NY), John Tyler Craver (b.1837), Virginia (b.1839), James Madison (b.1843), Thomas Jefferson (b.1841). (Magdalene was born in NY in 1832.) The 1850 census shows their address as Old Point Comfort, Elizabeth City, Virginia. Anna and Magdalene settled on the Eastern shore of Maryland; Dave and Jefferson also settled in Maryland, Monroe & Jefferson in Baltimore. (Monroe Craver was riding with Stonewall Jackson when Jackson was mortally wounded.) The rest of the family remained in Virginia. Zachariah Craver appears in Watervliet, Albany, New York in the 1830 census, then in the Virginia census records in 1840-1860. Moses Monroe Craver appears in the 1870 Virginia census and is listed in the roster of Confederate soldiers as belonging to the !st Artillery, Company A (Also listed is "M. M. Craver" of the Light Artillery; W. P. Carter’s Co.)
Grandaughter Anna Blann's genealogical notes say of Madgalene's parents:
Apparently it was a real love marriage, and through the influence of the bride's family, [Zacharia] Craver was appointed to a post in Fortress Monroe [mid 1830's]. There was a large family ... [and the children were] educated with those of the officers stationed at the fort. When the great struggle between North and South took place, the Cravers should have been Northern sympathizers. It was not to be. Every son enlisted in the Southern Army. Two sisters, Anna and Magdalene, had settled in Maryland on the Eastern Shore. On the strength of their father's position, the younger girls obtained passes to visit their sisters in Maryland and always returned with smuggled medical supplies for the Southern Army. The supplies were tied around their waists, hidden by the voluminous hoop skirts of the times.
Anna later told us the story which had been recounted by her mother, Annie Mënck Matthews, about how, as a little girl, during the War between the States, she (Annie) and her mother (Magdalene Craver Mënck) used to travel from Trappe, Maryland to Virginia to visit relatives and smuggle medical supplies to the Confederates in VA. Maryland was neutral, however the Southern sympathizers in Virginia encouraged young Annie to root for General Beauregard and Jefferson Davis. Once when they returned from Virginia to Maryland, and a union officer (who was a friend of the family) went through the formality of making them swear union allegiance upon return, little Annie piped up and exclaimed: "I root for Boneygard (sic) and Jeff Davis!" Fortunately, the officer overlooked the indiscretion and sent them on through, content with the wry observation that children tend to repeat what the grown-ups around them have been saying. According to Linda (Blann) Insley, her mother, Anna Blann, had a bone button which had been passed down from her grandmother Magdalene Craver, which had been carved with an inscription or initials (one for each of his sisters) by Jefferson Craver while he was in a union prison during the Civil War. He also gave his sister Magdalene a book of Polish History in which she wrote two original poems during the year before her marriage. The book, which still survives, is inscribed "the property of Mary Magdalene Craver, given to her by her brother, J’son Lawrence Craver, July the 2nd 1848." (Note: census records all cite her brother's name as Thomas Jefferson Craver) The poems are as follows:
REFLECTION
See how beneath the moon beam’s smile /Yon little billow heaves its breast
And foams and sparkles for a while/ And morning then subsides to rest
Thus man the sport of bliss and care/ Rises on time’s eventful sea
And having swelled a moment there/ Then melts into eternity.
SABBATH
Sweetly blow the gentle breezes/ On the Sabbath morn
Religious pleasure calmly seizes/ On the sinner, poor, forlorn.
Tis now while barefoot mid the flowers/ Humming hymns of praise
Earth refreshed by gentle showers/ Tis the happiest of all days.
Raise your thought to God above/ Frankly to Him pray.
Full of faith and full of love/ How blest the Sabbath day.
M.Craver
7. Zacharia Craver --The father of Magdalene Craver, Zachariah (or Zacharias) was born in Renseselaer Co., New York, on Feb. 21, 1800. (His birth is listed in the records of Trinity Lutheran Church in West Sand Lake, Rensselaer Co., NY., with Zachariah Feller & Catharine [Feller]--probably his maternal uncle and his daughter--listed as sponsors.) Zachariah's christening took place on Feb. 23, 1800 in the Lutheran Church, West Sand Lake, Rensselaer, New York. The records list his parents as David and Grace Graver [Craver] (New York Births and Christenings, 1640-1962). His name is engraved on the front of the Craver family Bible, with the spelling "Zacharia Craver." He is thought to have had a brother named Johannes Craver, born March 5, 1797 in Renssaelaer Co., NY, who married Margaret Feller in 1823. He also had a sister named Francis Ann who was born in 1796 in Wynantskill, Rensselaer, NY and married Sebastian Weatherwax in 1814, and died in Albany, NY in 1837. Zacharia Craver married Ann Weatherwax on Aug.22, 1818 in the First Lutheran Church in Albany, NY. Records from Albany Co. show that the couple joined the Dutch Reformed Church in Niskayuna, (Schenectady Co.) NY. on Jan. 10, 1819 and were dismissed to the Reformed Dutch Church of Wynantskill, NY. on Aug.23, 1823 (with Zacharia’s father presenting the request for dismissal). Land assessment records place Zacharia in New York in 1832 and in April 22, 1835. Zacharia and his family moved to Fort Monroe, VA in the late 1830’s and Zacharia died Sept. 9, 1868 and was buried in Saint John's Church Cemetery in Hampton City, Virginia (per Find-a-grave). The 1860 census shows him at age 60 and his wife, Ann, at age 59 in Fox Hill, Elizabeth City, VA. Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911 shows the death of "Mrs. Ann Craver" from typhoid fever in 1869 and states that she was the widow of Zacharia, who died in 1868. Zacharia’s parents were David Craver and Grace Feller of New York. Zacharia and Ann had thirteen children, about half of them well documented. Below is a list of their children.
Christina Catherine (1820-before 1849) married Johann Mënck.
Anna Maria (1822-after 1850) married a Pastorfield, then John Hill and died childless
Julia Marie (b.1823-after 1845) married a Perkins
John Lawrence (ca.1825-after 1870) married Isabel
Zachariah (Jr.--b.1827) inferred in 1840 census--may have died before 1850
Magdalene (1832-after 1880) married Johann Mënck in 1849
David Z. (1833-1904) married Mary Ellen Paul
Angelina (1835-before 1891) married Fowler Russell Smith, then George Keen
Moses Monroe (1837-1909) married Mary
John Tyler (June 1844-Aug.1844)
Virginia (1839-after 1860)
Thomas Jefferson (1841-after 1880) married Mary Ann Phillips (1843-1872), then Ann
James Madison (1843-1850)
8. David Craver --The father of Zacharia, David Craver (Sr.) was born in Albany on Oct.9, 1771 (First Dutch Reformed Church, Albany; New York Births and Christenings, 1640-1962) and died in March 15, 1842 in Fulton Co. NY (per Find-a-grave). He married Grace Feller (b. ca. 1775 in Renssaelaer, NY.; d. ca.1800), the mother of Zacharia, in 1794, according to LDS records. Grace's maiden name appears in the 1796 christening records of her daughter, Francis (Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, Wynantskill, Rensselaer, NY). Grace's parents were Zacharias Feller and Francisca de Foy of Albany NY. Some Ancestry.com trees show David as having a second marriage (ca.1800-1804) after the death of Grace (ca, 1800-01), to Christina Feller (1772-1845; daughter of John Feller and Maria Ostrum?), and show her as the mother of two further children: Catherine (b. Feb. 1804) and Moses Craver (1811-1882). While this may be correct, I haven't found any supporting records for this. David Craver appears in the 1830 Albany, NY census with his name in between Lawrence Widerwax (Zacharia's father-in-law) and Leonard Widerwax (Lawrence's brother) above and Sebastian Widerwax (Lawrence's brother) below. David had at least nine brothers and one sister (listed below). David's parents were Johannes Craver and Marytje (Maria) Kilmer. The old records show several spellings of David's mother's name. In the Dutch Reformed Church records referenced above, David's mother's name is given as: Marytje Nelme. In the marriage records she is listed as Mariyze Kilmer while in the Church records of the birth of David's brother, Heinrich, his parents are listed as Joh. Grover and Maritie Kulmer. Marytje (Maria) Kilmer is thought to be a distant cousin of Anna Milius Weatherwax, whose daughter, Ann, married David’s son, Zacharia.
9. Johannes Craver --The father of David Craver, Johannes Craver (Kreber) was probably born in New York in 1735, as stated in the DAR Patriot Index (Vol.2), however no birth record has been found so it is possible he was born in Germany and immigrated to New York. He first appears in Rensselaerwyck as an enlisted man in the Albany County Militia 6th Regiment (Land Bounty Rights) during the Revolutionary War. In 1756, he married Marytje Kilmer in New York. (U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900). Church records show that Johannes Kreber joined the Red Hook Lutheran Church on Sept. 26, 1756. The parents of Johannes Craver are not known with certainty. The name Craver is also spelled "Kreber", "Graver" and "Croever" in some of the NY records. Johannes wrote his will on Nov. 1, 1799, at which time he was a resident of Greenbush, Rensselaer Co. It was probated on Aug. 30, 1819. At that time, he was survived by his wife, Maritie and the following children: Jacob (b.1769), Nicolas, John, Jr.(Johannes; b.1759), Hendrich (b.1764), Andries (b.1762), Petrus (b.1766), David (b.1771), William (Wilhelmus; b.1774), Jeremiah Craver and his daughter, Elisabeth (b.1757), wife of John Shaver.