text:
By: James
28, 1946 – June 10, 2005
Tree of
Life 2001
Heraldry Left / Creighton Heraldry Right
This book was researched and
written by
James H. Creighton
Bet. 1999 and 2005
He died unexpectedly on June 10, 2005
Before being able
to publish this work of a lifetime
Compiled from the author's
completed text
Edited by Susan Creighton
2005 – 2011
Published posthumously
In his memory
Part IV – "Searching for the
Golden Lion"
The Dutch History Research
and Editorial Group:
Jos Grupping,
Joep Creyghton (
Ingrid Creyghton, Spierdijk,
West Friesland (New
Maria Creyghton-Lemmens (Den
Cover art and interior
James H. Creighton
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © by Susan
Creighton Curtiss 2011
This book may not be
reproduced in whole
Or in part in any form
without express permission
For information, please
Susan Creighton Curtiss
Text which follows is an excerpt from each
Page numbers reflect full text and not this excerpted text.
Credits page
Table of Contents page ii
Author's Inspiration page
Dragon Men
of Crau page 2
The Men of
Creighton page 7
Syrian Archer page 16
Longships-On-Tyne page 25
The Lion
Goes to Sea page 29
Princeling and the Lion page 33
Orphans page 40
de Crechtune page 44
The Lion
and the Rose page 52
10. Stone Upon Stone page 61
Hurley-Burley page 71
The Black
Dinner page 83
Cast Down page 91
Flowers of
Meet Me On
the Nith page 104
Reformation page 108
Lions From
the Sea page 118
The Silent
Lion of
Cretonio and the Black Robes page 125
20. The Stock Exchange page 130
Prussen-Holland page 136
22. The Golden Lion page 139
23. The Home of Lions page 140
24. The Lion of the North page 147
25. The Brotherhood page 149
26. Gold With Fins page 153
27. Life On the
28. The Veldpredikant page 163
29. The Flight of the Earls page 179
30. Sewing the Seeds page 182
Landlords page 185
32. Laird of Aghalane page
33. Which Thomas Creighton? page 192
34. Wood-Kerns and Wolves page 194
35. Pipes and Drums page 196
36. The Wedding Present page 198
37. Orange Moon Over Antrim page
38. Don't Forget To Water the Potatoes page 204
39. Scotch, Irish, German or Dutch? page 208
40. Herring Chokers page 211
and Linen Goods page 214
42. Evangeline page 217
43. United Empire Loyalists page 219
44. A Son for Nancy Ennis page 221
45. Rabbit Hunting page 227
46. Jane Magee page 231
47. Creightonville page 235
48. Crazy Like a Fox page 239
49. The Neighborhood page 242
50. Bonds of Marriage page 247
51. A Decade of Hope page 252
52. Headstones page 254
53. The Border Crossing page 260
54. Hillforts page 264
55. Ties That Bind page 272
56. Bursting Bubbles page 280
57. The Lion in Winter page 285
58. Diamond Hill page 286
60. Last Egg in an Emptying
Nest page 291
61. Forced From the Den page 293
62. Just West of Down East page 295
63. Davy Crockett page 298
64. Atomic Kids page 302
65. Rights of Passage page 306
66. When Time Stopped page 310
67. The Laughing Leprechaun page 318
68. Into the
69. They Shoot Houses, Don't
They? Page 326
70. A Golden View page 328
Appendix A: In
Memory of Patrick Crichton (1917-2003) page 331
Appendix B: In
Memory of James H. Creighton (1946-2005) page 334
Coat of Arms by James H. Creighton page
Notations Page for C.O.A by James H.
Creighton page 336
Banner by James H. Creighton page
Appendix C: In
Memory of Cyrus Wilfred (Fred) Creighton page
Appendix D: All
Crichton, Creighton, Creyghton Names/Heraldry page
and Renditions of the Crichton C.O.A. page
and Spellings of Crichton, Creighton/Creyghton page
Appendix E: Creighton
Demographics page 350
Appendix F: Combined
Bibliography Creighton- Crichton-Creyghton page 356
Re-uniting of Minds and Spirits" page 362
Jim hand
stitching his final tipi 2004
These words written
by Jim help us to understand a bit of what drove him to create in so many ways.
He knew his time on earth was limited; unfortunately his goals were much larger
than time allowed him for completion. It is my pledge to complete and
distribute his two final written projects according to his wishes. I hope his
words will inspire others.
Susan Creighton Curtiss.
"All men and women are born, live, suffer and die. What will distinguish
us from one another are our dreams, whether they be about worldly or unworldly
things and what we do to make them come about.
do not choose to be born; we do not choose our parents; we do not choose our
historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of
our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die, but we do choose how we
live. It is not about what we look like or what we have. It is about taking
what we have and doing as much as we can with it. It is about learning and
growing. When we are willing to learn what we don't know and use our
experiences, our perfections will begin to show. Collect memories and tie them
in the colors of the rainbow, to be taken out and read, containing the story of
your life. Write laughter between the lines of family tales before handing them
down to new generations who, like relay runners, eagerly wait to add to the
plot. Savor the fingerprints on windows and walls of the home, for they are the
love notes scribbled around the margins of the family's heart. May you always
speak the truth quietly listening with an open mind when others speak.
Continue to collect the stories and pass them on to generations yet
H. Creighton
began simply enough with questions from Dutch cousins, pondering why their
family spelling of CREYGHTON varied from the Scots CREIGHTON. The Dutch
branches of the family have been in place in
name, in one form or another, has existed as an ancient Celtic surname for 2522
years. To understand the name, one has to understand the people we descend
from, the Celts, or more specifically the Gauls and Gaels. 2600 years ago,
beginning around 600 BC, the Celts appeared as a race to the 'civilized' world
of Ancient Greece. Our family name appeared, already well established, 80 years
later in
had been evolving as a people for centuries along the upper
their river settlements, they branched out all over Europe as traders, warriors
and metalworkers from Britain to west-central Turkey, becoming the dominant
groups, in time, in Southern Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Austria,
Switzerland, Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), Romania, Hungry, the Balkans and
Northern Italy. From the mouth of the
they went, they left place names behind to mark their wanderings; Danube,
man has come down through history as Cratinus the Elder (520-423 BC), who
became famous in
most probable link to this family and the Greeks was the ancient Greek colony
of Massilia (
centuries, the Keltoi established themselves in permanent locations and began
evolving into distinct sub-cultures. The mother tongue, which is reported to
have been closer to Old Welsh than the modern Irish and Scots Gael, began to
change as groups became separated from one another over time. Those who chose
tend to think of
Creighton's may have acted as intermediaries for the Romans, being middlemen in
the trade with the West Country. With such a long history extending back to
course it was the
interesting story of note occurred around the time of the birth of
SYRIAN ARCHER (Editorial Excerpt)
In the year 483 AD, A forlorn figure sat in a courtyard on a marble bench, surrounded by young children and barking dogs. A warm south wind blew over the rolling Lammermuir Hills, but still the man felt an ache in his bones. He tugged at the folds of an ancient and worn toga, adjusting the patched fabric from what he considered a chilly wind. Soon, in the warm autumn sunshine, he fell fast asleep.
A crow flying overhead would have looked down on the
scene as being typical of many neighbor's homes of the region. This particular
courtyard enclosed the confines of what had been a proud
The 83-year-old man was nearing the end of his life. He
was born
The old man was one of the last in the entire region that
still used Latin as his chosen tongue, other than clergymen who wandered the
countryside. He had been lucky to be born before the Germans came; his father
had sent him to the universities at
Deep in his dreams he thought of those long ago years as
a student and of his journey home. In
Following the old
went on. "You did not know your grandfather, who died as you were born. You did
not hear his tales of growing up in this villa, when the Caledonians were truly
barbaric. Yes, his grandmother was
your grandfather was a boy of 15,
"Against the wishes of the Vortadini, the Syrian 'bought' the woman, who was a priestess of their old religion. This caused much unrest among the Vortadini and their sister tribes. At Trimontium, the Syrian married the Pict woman; the birth of your great great grandmother was the result of this marriage."
father, why did she grow to fight against her own people?"
the year 282 AD, as they were returning to the wall from
so, father?"
grandfather's grandfather had spent his forty-ninth year commanding foot
patrols out of the Cramond Fort near Dun Edin. It was his responsibility to
train new recruits, mainly fellow Gauls, but some German auxiliaries as well.
He was soon to retire and found the menial position very hard to take. He had
found out that spring that his wife and sons in Gaul wished to remain with his
Vocontii tribal relations, where Justinian wanted them to join him in
"He arrived at the River Nith just as the Syrian's small
force was making their last stand. The trader was dead, his young daughter
stood in the river with his great recurved bow at full draw, taking a charging
Scotti off of his feet with an arrow through the neck. All about her and her
fallen father were bodies. When the attackers saw the approaching Roman
cavalry, they turned and ran, leaving
"There was an instant bond between the two, Justinian and the young mixed blooded priestess………
CHAPTER 4: LONGSHIPS-ON-TYNE (Editorial Excerpt)
Many believe that our English language began with the arrival of the Angles and the Saxons. 'Anglo-Saxon,' mixed with the Celtic British equals English. The Scottish language, if considered at all, is thought to be the Irish Gaelic of the Scotti. Neither is true.
British Celts had undergone 400 years of
German invaders were also multi-tongued and from different regions of
German invaders were roaming sea raiders in 500 AD. They ranged the coastal
regions, slipping silently up the rivers in longboats that had a shallow draft.
Like the later Vikings crafts, these ships allowed them access to inland towns
where they ransacked monasteries and plundered entire countrysides. They then
slipped away downriver before help could arrive. In warfare they were cruel and
relentless. They came with elite fighting men called Berserkers, warriors with
giant battle-axes that, either through drug inducement or mass indoctrination,
fought long after they should have fallen dead. But, once the battles were won,
backup ships brought women and children and all settled down to a peaceful
farming society. Wherever this happened, the 'native' Celts were relegated to
the role of servant or under tenant as second-class citizens. Through this
closeness, however, the two languages combined.
500-800 AD, the island was divided into distinct linguistic districts based
upon where the Germans settled. Excluding the Cymry regions of
Jutes, who first settled southeast
second Saxon dialect was formed in the Midlands south of the Thames in the
The third
grand division was called 'Mercian,' for a mixture of Angles and Danish allies
who settled the Central Midlands and
fourth linguistic division was Northumbrian, also Angle-Danish and Celt in
origin. By the end of the 6th century, the Brigante coalition
controlled their
resulting language that evolved from these four groups is now known as Old
English. This is not the Old English of the King James Bible, but an older
Germanic-Romano—British language based on Old German and Belgae-Celtic
dialects. The main thing to keep in mind is that the Belgaic dialects, although
related to that of the Cymric Welsh, had 500 years to evolve along separate
lines. They were the people closest to the Romans in
I will
now introduce two of the remaining fictional Creightons, to help explain
my theory of name changes as well as the tone of the times. I will call the son
Ranulf of Chrightoun, of the 17th
generation of Justinian Creightonai the Vocontii. Born in Zealand,
father was known simply as Riwald the
Blue, signifying the lion on his family shield. So many Germans had arrived
in the vicinity that many of the older families used the German practice of
taking a single name. Soon, surname meanings for hundreds of local families
would be forgotten altogether. Many Celtic surnames, however, simply went
underground. For the Britons and Riwald the Blue, it was safer to conform than
to be called 'wealas', the Saxon word for lowborn serf or foreigner. This was
the origin of the word 'Welsh,' which was systematically attached to any
outland Celt, but the Cymry especially. The Briton family
the Blue had never been schooled in the classics and he did not seek the safety
of the church as many of his family did. He was raised at Dun Creighton but
spent his early years in the hills with the sheep herds. He was independent and
headstrong, hating the local German warden of the
out of Umberside as a deckhand, he spent two years on merchant ships along the
coastal waters. For safety against the Viking longboats, he chose
832, Riwald owned his own ship and had become wealthy with a lucrative trade
with the northern kingdoms. He had begun that season once more from the
southern Cymry seaport of
and sister from the House of Poher (my mother's family, Poore), both had been
born in Brittany but were raised by an uncle in their ancient homeland far up
the River Exe, on what is today the border between Somerset and
Devonshire. Their uncle now dead,
Selyfan (
the cross-channel voyage, Riwald became enraptured with the young woman. Raised
in the wilds of
LION (Editorial Excerpt)
of Normandy represented a barrier to the normal and traditional Saxon
succession of the House of Ceridic of Wessex. She was not only Canute's wife,
but the widow of the old Saxon king Ethelred the Unready as well as being a
Norman, sister to Duke Richard. As Crechtune and Borthwick laid this out to
their king,
Ethelred King of
a. Edmund
Ironside Heir to the throne
Ethelred King of
b. Edward
the Confessor
c. Alfred
Prince of
Upon Ethelred's death,
Edward Aethling (nephew of Ironside and
grandson of Edward the Confessor)
f. Harold
g. Hardicanute
King Canute banished
Ironside's sons and heirs to death in
The sons of Richard of
The retinue left
The death of
When the Norman regime took over
the Anglo-Saxon lands 27 years before,
This single event, passed over
lightly in official histories, was probably the first time Creightons entered
the political arena since escorting
Rufus of Normandy was crowned
*This strange word, March, seen
so often in histories of
In 1114,
The reign of David I Caennmor
(1124-1153) is remembered for two things…………………………………….
The Holy Crusades were at their
height, drawing many toward the ranks of the knights of many lands. Attached to
noble houses, they sought the capture of fellow knights (or infidels) in
battle, gaining riches from their ransom. The Crusades brought this custom to a
fine art and is the basis for the beginning of many 'first families' of title.
Others would have followed traditional means, the university training, the
clergy, the diplomatic field or civil positions within government. Schooling in
the great universities meant everything and the Lowland Scots were highly
intelligent. Then, in 1159, a new opportunity opened to the forward thinking
Scots. It came as a result of the Holy Order of the Teutonic Knights.
They had been founded as
Prussian knights, preparing for the First Crusade in
In the
The Greater Netherlands in the
mid-12th century had become rich, in part due to the Holy Crusades.
Countries as we know them today did not yet exist; the entire northern region
was an accumulation of individual duchies and city-states. For the most part,
the leading houses recognized no 'national' boundaries. The
To achieve its rapid
development, the League required diligent management as well as military clout.
The Holy Order of the Teutonic Knights supplied this service. They began
erecting strong castles all across coastal
of the achievements that
the 'Border Wars' continued until 1356, although they were not ongoing. There
was a period of peace after the
had another liaison often neglected in history books. When
'Guardians of Scotland,' its defense fell to the House of Douglas, while
regents such as
attack came by sea. Balliol met the Scottish army in Perthshire at Dupplin
Moor, winning the battle. At nearby Scone he seized the crown, but soon fled to
the spring of 1333,
1334 Balliol ceded the six southern sheriffdoms to Edward III. Annexed to
most of his neighbors who followed the House of Bruce,
five years he weighed his options as he matured. Thinking
was a favorite phrase used often in old Scottish writings. It was a catchall
phrase denoting the inner wrangling at court and for political intrigue. At the
core of the 'hurley-burley' were the many branches of
Duke of Albany allowed his nobles full reign to do whatever they wished during
the King's imprisoned minority. Lawlessness ruled the land. The Border Region
remained unstable. Their
the 17 years that
This may have been the beginning of a long
feud between Crichtoun and
was a catalyst that melded all of these men together and it was of a religious
nature. From
great gathering of scholars had assembled at the
Council of Constance was the result of the
was a second reason for
The Hurley-Burley intensified between 1418 and 1424.
political intrigue wore on through 1440 as
refers to it as 'The Black Dinner.' The
you ask why, let me explain the state of affairs in 1440
Black Dinner made it clear just how powerful
for the Black Dinner came swiftly from the scattered followers of old
The construction began that winter. The ancient keep
remained the main residence, but a full guardhouse was put on the top, capped
by a steep slate-covered roof. * Thick battlements crowned the old tower house,
shielding the Creighton soldiers from arrows and stones. New construction
commenced at the southeast corner, facing the entry road and the hill of Bankmoor.
A three-story gatehouse tower was built, giving access to the second floor main
hall in the original structure. The ground level floor was left as a storage
facility. To the gatehouse tower was added the south range, with another built
on the west side. Thick walls of dressed stone connected the remainder of the
courtyard with the northwest corner of the original house. The design was in
keeping with a courtyard castle and more than doubled Crichtoun's living space.
No longer Dun Creighton, the altered castle would remain unchanged for
approximately 150 years.
Slate as a building material is still used today in many parts of
reigned on the heels of the Black Dinner as the nobility repositioned for
power. The House of Creighton was no longer thought of as 'minor barons.'
old age, battle or execution, the senior lords of
February 1440 Crichtoun had acquired the rich barony of Kirkmichael, Perthshire
from his daughter's father-in-law, Alexander Seton of Gordon (Lord Gordon died
the following year). It was a beautiful highland location north of Dunkeld and
Clunie southeast of
1447 the King began searching for a suitable match for his sister
went first to
the following October 16,
Queen-apparent was Mary of Gueldres (1432-1463), the only daughter and heir of
Arnold of Edmond Duke of Gueldres (family
of English warships in the channel kept him in
in 1450 the crisis in the far north became critical. The Hanseatic League refused Norwegian heir
ship of
leaving in 1450, Lord William Douglas led a retaliatory raid into
Northumberland where he attacked Alnwick and Warkworth; soon after he set out
for the continent. The proposed Jubilee of Pope Nicholas V being the primary
goal, Chancellor Crichtoun and the King watched his actions closely and soon
learned that
June 1451
July 1451 the King and
winter of 51-52 saw both sides digging in for a showdown. Early in February the
King was at
following month saw the forfeiture of major Black Douglas holdings in the
south. Crown lands were greatly increased and the Creightons headed the list of
newly granted properties.
the first time in his reign, the bombards were rolled out of
May 1452 the war in the north came to a head when Seton of Huntly defeated
was perhaps the zenith of Creighton acquisitions in their long history in
a recurring nightmare,
found Robert Crichtoun of Sanquhar sheriff of
1466 Princess Mary and her husband, Thomas Boyd Earl of Arran, were abroad as
emissaries, seeking foreign aid for
the King's captivity, Robert Crichtoun of Sanquhar continued to advance his
prestige with the marriage of his daughter Christian to Alexander Erskine,
grandson of Robert Earl of Mar in 1467. From 1468-69, Robert of Sanquhar was
Coroner of Nithdale. His brother Ninian Crichtoun (1449-1526) entered the
clergy as a lay Abbot of Glasgow, the see that governed Sanquhar rectory.
1469, enough power had emanated from the Privy Council at
union with
the second quarter of the 16th century approached, the extended
Creighton family was spread from Yorkshire to
some understanding as to the placement of the family in 1525, the surname as a
whole can be reanalyzed. The major branches, Sanquhar and Frendraught, were not
static. They held baronies in many locations north and south, intermixed with
those of the original Midlothian Creighton secondary holdings. Enough charters
and court proceedings had occurred by 1525 to show a remarkable variation in
surname spellings.
I have found records beginning in the early 1400s. I
have used 'Creighton' as a generic Old Welsh surname throughout the narrative,
with subtle alterations from generation to generation, more for clarity than
for any other reason. 'Crichton' as an official national surname would not
become consistent until 1672. William the Chancellor went by either Crichtoun
or Chrichtoun. His wife Agnes signed with the latter. In 1404, "Stephen de
Crichton of Carnis" witnessed a
narrating that Thomas Kirkpatrick, laird of Closeburn, George Kirkpatrick,
Morris Dalrympille, James Sandelandis, Thomas Crechton, John Stewart, Michael
Rorysone, George Jenkysone, William Portare, Donald Portare, Gilbert Jonsone,
John Patryksone, younger, Donald Mulikane, Andrew Crechtone, Alexander
Abernethye, John Dycksone, Cuthbert Grersone, John Minnyhew, John Inglis of
Langwelle, Henry Wilyhiamsone, Fergus Danaldsone, William Roxburghe, John
Patricksone, elder, Thomas Carmichele, Donald Hunter, were chosen as assize by
William Douglas, knt., laird of Drumlangrige, in plea between James Twede,
laird of Drumelyhare and Gilbert McMath, laird of Dalpede, over marches. Notary
James Cunynghame, clerk.
you see, this document is almost 40 years after Stephen of Cairns signed as de
Crichton, but the 1440 paper is from the same region of Morton Barony,
McCrerik, son of Fergus of Barharrow, on 12th July, 1549, along with
others, enact themselves as cautioners for William, Lord Crichton to George
Maitland in the sum of 25 merks to be paid yearly to the latter, of the farms
of the lands of Fardin in Kirkconnel, barony of Sanquhar. He married
Elizabeth Crichton.
His son,
September, 1580, Patrick McCrerik, with five accomplices, bodin in arms and
warlike manner, came under silence of night, to the said complainer's sister's
lands of Dovane, within the barony of Crawfordtoun, and demolished to the
ground her haill houses and biggins being thairupon, quhairin John Elliott, her
servand, was dwelland for the time, and not content with this they returned
within three days and maist tresonablie rasit fyre and burnt and
destroyed the rest of the said house quhilk were uncasindoun." In
January, 1583, Patrick was dilaitit of the treasonabill burning of certain
houses pertaining to the Tutor of Sanquhar (Justiciary Records) – the same day
Sir John Gordon of Lochinvar is "pledge and suretie for the entrie of Patrick
Macrerik before our soverane lord's justice or his deputy in the tolbooth of
Edinburgh, the last day of February, to underly the law for airt and pairt of
the alleged burning of ane house belonging to William Creichtoun, tutor of
Sanquhar, and his spouse, conforme to ane act of secret council made thairanent
and siclyk that the said Patrick shall remain in ward within the burgh of
Edinburgh, under the pain of four-score £." The same day William Creichtoun of Liberie "obleist him
to relieve the said Sir John Gordon of Lochinvar of his caution." On the
day appointed – the last of February 1584 – the assize failed to obey summons,
and were each fined 200 £.
married Susannah, a daughter of William Creichton of Liberie, or Libry. ……….
The first half of the 16th century found
The debates had raged for 300 years. It had begun at
From 1507-1509,
Born two years after
Elector Frederick of Saxony was first to embrace Lutheranism, although
outwardly he remained neutral.
This single act undertaken eight short years after the founding of
Lutheranism had resounding repercussions in
As often happens in history, the Reformation was the result of many
interrelated events. Without
Another was
Bishops, in
This is perhaps the best time to begin
scrutinizing the family
Creyghton, or the Old Dutch spelling, 'Creijghton.' Their origin is the reason
that I wrote this history. First of all, the spelling 'Creyghton' is not
unique, as the above lineage of Robert Creyghton of Wells indicates. I have
shown court and family papers previously with similar spellings of both
Creighton (George Creighton of Carcow, Dumfries 1579) and Robert Creyghtoun
(Creyghton, also Crichton) of Eliock,
To grasp the history, it is best to start at the beginning. Like most
Americans, I thought of 'the
It was governed by Count Dirk I and by 965 was divided into Upper and
The adjoining German duchies developed in a similar manner, small
city-states and principalities that fought for dominance. As they grew, they
tied into the ruling class of the
We have followed the Creighton blue lion from ancient Brigante-Vocontii
beginnings in the Alpine Region of Austria, to the
Much of the land was at, or below sea level. Since ancient times, a
single storm could inundate entire provinces, killing 20,000 or more at a
single occurrence. The 'Low Countries' encompassed Belgium, the Netherlands,
coastal Westphalia and Hanoveria (Germany) as well as southern Denmark (the
Juteland Peninsular); it is no wonder that these people historically had sought
to migrate en mass to other regions, always battling the sea. Those who chose
to remain in their homeland became invested with an inner strength. Their
fortitude is probably one reason that they had always gotten along with the
Lowland Scots so well. They not only shared cultural and linguistic
similarities, but inhospitable homelands as well.
The real bond, since ancient times, had been commerce. The Dutch
historically had been traders and seamen. Their people were industrious and
inventive, where the Scots were not. Since the time of Malcolm Ceannmor,
Zeeland was then a series of islands at the great combined estuaries of
the rivers Rhine,
Until Mary Stewart's death in 1465, she, as Lady Borsele and Countess
of Buchan, did more than anyone to unite
The Protestant Reformation in the
William's parents were both Lutheran Protestants,
but upon the insistence of Emperor Charles V, he was raised a Catholic. William became a member of the emperor's
household, who raised him like a second son, becoming the chief page to
Charles. In 1555 the emperor made William 'stadhouder' (governor) of the Northern
Provinces of Holland, Zeeland and
I erroneously depicted Charles V (King Charles I
William married four times and his unions were clearly for his
advancement. His first wife was Anne of Egmont and Buren, an honored house of
Charles V had added 13 new archbishoprics at
William's elevation as stadhouder of the
This is a very hard time to write about when trying to follow a single
family to new locations. In
One family member of great fame was James Crichtoun (also Creighton) of
Clunie, Perthshire. He is a good example of how the upper class was raised and
went far afield in their career pursuits. He was the same child mentioned
above, born at Eliock House in
Much can be learned about this complicated family through the old
family records of the McCericks of Cairn. Many shared the same first names, but
had various spellings of Creighton, although they lived less than 10 miles from
one another. Sanquhar district, which James left as a baby, contained William
Creichtoun Sheriff of Dumfries, Robert Crichton Lord Sanquhar, James Creighton
of Carcow who was closely related to James Creighton of Frendraught (Aberdeen),
George Creighton (related to William Creichtoun, tutor of Sanquhar) and William
Creichtoun of Ryhill, son of Lord Robert of Sanquhar and the future First Earl
of Dumfries and Stair. James' father the Lord Advocate spelled his name Robert
Creychtoun (Creighton).
Young James was one of those rare individuals who would be classified
today as a child genius. He was born in 1660 and was raised at
His scholarly record would have been impressive at any point in time,
but was phenomenal for the 1500s. At the age of ten, he had reached St.
Andrew's University, obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degree at 12 in 1572. Two
years later, he achieved his Master of Arts degree and was fluent in 12
languages. He was 14-years-old. In 1576, when he was 17, his relatives in
Dumfries gathered to draw up papers confirming to him the Clunie lands in
In most historical notes about him, it is called 'the Grand Tour.'
Still done today as a right of passage, sons of the noble class toured the
continent upon finishing school. He seems to have gone with another James
Creighton; the two are often confused for one another. The second was probably
James of Carcow (
His looks alone would have set him apart. Tall and remarkably handsome,
he was also a first-class swordsman and equestrian. Everything about him exuded
excellence, but his knowledge became the talk of the town. He sent out
handbills challenging the most noted scholars of
The following day, at the King's invitation, he attended a royal joust,
where he won all honors. He was proclaimed 'L'Admirable Crichton' and upon
receiving a ring from the city as well as a purse full of gold, he entered the
King's army. For two years, he remained in the service of Henry III fighting as
a Catholic. If he entered the
If James Crichton had lived, there is no telling what he might have
accomplished. He undoubtedly would have followed his father into royal service.
If he married, it was never recorded. He spent five years in
It was a volatile time of great expansion.
A Catholic faction rarely discussed in Scottish history was the
Jesuits. Founded by the militant Ignatio of Loyola (1491-1556), the Jesuits, or
Society of Jesus became the Shock Troops of the Counter-Reformation.
With Papal blessing and patronage from the Spanish Habsburgs, they rose to
great achievements in less than two decades. If left unchecked, they would have
become another Holy Order of Knights.
Preceding the invasion of
The "Eastland Company" was one of the first attempts at 'Joint-Stock' participation in a
long-range business venture. No single lord, British or Scottish, could fund it
alone, but by combining their interests, it became feasible. The Eastland
Company, of all others, should have included Creightons. The Sanquhar group,
which retained close ties with the
In 1581, one year before Crichton's death at
Following in rapid succession as profits began to be realized, came the
"Moscovy Company" and the "Guinea Company". The first formalized
the old trade union between
With Queen Elizabeth's death in 1603, James VI of
Intellectually, King James was on a par with the 'Admirable' James
Crichton. Both had training under Buchanan, who was a zealot, but a remarkable
teacher and poet.
*The Virginia Company in reality was two overlapping Joint-Stock ventures.
The London Company dealt primarily with the southern lands of
The subject of the Ulster Plantation has been
approached in previous writings but now names and places are more relevant. I
devote much of Part V, 'The Rabbit,' to the Scots Creightons and their
settlement of Down, Antrim, Cavan and Fermanagh counties beginning in the
1590s. They were from the senior house of Creighton of Brunston in Kyle,
Central Ayrshire, but many Creightons participated in all of the
While we are discussing the Creightons of Fife, one comes to note at
The transitional time of union
Part IV concerning the Dutch History could not have been completed without the encouragement and learned assistance of the Dutch group below
Jos Grupping,
Joep Creyghton (
Ingrid Creyghton,
Spierdijk, West Friesland (New
Maria Creyghton-Lemmens (Den Haag)
With the family members of
1592 and 1616, eight Scottish Creightons were listed in Dutch documents as
either émigrés or arrivals of one kind or another. All are from the
lists show Creighton arrivals at
so many of these Scottish surnames were misspelled or altered to Dutch (Ogle,
Bruijs, Cunigem, Bruijnfelt and Dalage), I see the many spellings of Creighton
and Crichton in the
following year (1660) the first surnamed Creyghton was recorded as being at
last three entries on the Dutch list were added by Joep Creyghton, to include
some other Creightons, known to have entered The Netherlands. The very next
entry, added by Joep, is that of his ancestor Johannes Creyghton copied from
the Dutch periodical "Nederlands
Patriciaat", volume 4, 1913. Unfortunately the NP lists January 25, 1660 as
his date of birth in Tilsit, Oost Pruissen (German-Ost Preussen) or
*Editor's Note: Johannes was
born as Johannes Krechthon or Kroichton. Some 20 years later, when finishing
his studies in the
only other Scots line that used a spelling close to Creyghton was that of
Robert Creychtoun (Creighton) of Eliock and Clunie, father to James 'the
Admirable' Crichton. Since he originated from one of the many side branches of
the Creightons of Sanquhar at Eliock, Creyghton of Bath-Wells,……….
over 100 years, a great civil war had torn apart northeast
*Editor's Note: The 'standard' motto of the
Creighton/Crichton family, as we mentioned (see appendix), was and still is "God
Send Grace". Among the other motto's there is one used by a Ruthven Cadet
of the Crichton of Easthill family saying: "God Me Guide", that strikes
as a combination of the two mottos above and that is also, as we will see
shortly, what turns out to be the motto of the Dutch Creyghton branch.
a sad note, Patrick Crichton passed away at the blessed age of 85 on April 2,
2003, during the final editing of this portion of the book. Those that worked
with him will miss his advice and guidance. His obituary is Appendix 2.
J.H.C. November 2003
would suspect that this particular family possibly had Creighton-Forbes origins
and may have been tied to the trading ports of Veere, Zeeland, Königsberg
*Editor's Note: As research has progressed, we
now have learned that it was Johannes Creyghton who established this particular
Coat of Arms himself.
The Creyghton wapen is a gold rampant lion on a blue field, displaying talons, teeth and tongue, which is black instead of red. The arms are fully 'achieved,' bearing matching gold rampant lion supporters, both being imperially crowned. Above the baronial helm is the gold and blue wreath, surmounted not by the Creighton dragon, but by a demi-rampant lion, which is also gold.
"God Me Guide" is bannered across
the bottom. If these arms were black and white and transposed over the full
achievement of the Creighton arms of Scotland, the two would be identical
except for the crest and motto*. Was the Creyghton arms of
*Editor's Note: Have a look
at the special chapter on the Dutch Creyghton branch at the end of Part IV
where we did a similar action by re-coloring the excellent rendition of the
Creighton wapen by Jim.
Johannes was probably born and
raised as a Scottish boy and after his theological study in Franeker he stayed
for a rather long time in the north of
V was born to the Pfalz-Rhineland heritage that was home to the House of
Nassau. His birthplace of
earliest reference to Creichingen that I have found is that of Count (Graf)
Georg I of Creichingen-Pietingen (1510-1567). His wife, a noblewoman from
the same time, Creightons of the Mansfelderland district of Baden-Wurttemburg
owned lands at Cratzenbach and Creglingen. Seeing the maternal ties of this
region to that of Creichingen, they were probably one extended family and
related to the ancient House of Veldenz. In 1647, George Wilhelm Herr von
Cratzen (or von Cretzen) was born at Cratzenbach. Another ancient family from
this region was the House of Guelph, tied to the dukes of both the Hohenzolern
line and to that of the dukes of
Late Patrick Crichton of
was the home of the lions. Swabia included all lands of southwest
1101, Otto I of Nassau-Geldern and Hendric I of Limburg had spread the
is the gold lion, however, that we are seeking. I have already elaborated in
Part III on the 'Order of the Golden Lion' from the Grand Duchy of
Hessen-Darmstradt. Their ducal arms, however, was a red and white-striped lion
on a blue field. The gold lion on blue, specifically associated with the House
of Nassau and the
so, when 14-year-old Frederick V succeeded as elector, he was quite familiar
with the blue and the gold lions of his homeland. Through his mother's
couple had four years of semi-solitude and began their long line of sons and
daughters. Whether
The Scots participation in the
Thirty Years War was unprecedented for 17th century
Gustav Adolph, the Lion of the
North, assumed command of the allied Protestant forces in 1629, but Scotsmen
had been part of his forces for years prior to that time. Robert Douglas, the King's
personal page, rapidly rose to the rank of field marshal. Sir Alexander Leslie
of Auchintoul, who had relieved
The King's army and navy worked
like a well-oiled machine and Scotsmen headed many departments. His minister of
war was Alexander Erskine, a Creighton cousin. His Vice-Admiral of the navy was
Richard Clark. Some were Catholic, who wished to support deposed Queen
Elizabeth Stuart of
Lt. General Alexander Forbes (10th
Lord Forbes) led a large force for Gustav Adolph throughout the German
campaigns; it is probable that many Aberdeen Creightons fought under his
command. In fact, any Protestant Creighton north of the Clyde would have
followed him, as they had through the century-long Gordon-Forbes Civil War in
Field Marshal Alexander Leslie,
who Gustav had used successfully to bring Russian aid into the war, succeeded
the king as commander-in-chief of the United Protestant Army. Leslie (Earl of
Leven), with his rapport with the Russians, became governor of
similarities of the Creyghton wapen and that of the Royal Netherlands Arms are
striking, but the Royal Arms, in the 1640s was in its infancy. The Royal wapen
of Orange-Nassau, the gold lion on a blue shield supported by imperially
crowned rampant lions, came out of the Treaty of Westphalia (
senior merchants of the VOC ruled from their wealthy home city of
House of Orange-Nassau, of course, had many family members within the VOC
hierarchy, as did most of the senior houses of the Dutch nobility. Many of the
German city-states had operated independently with their own trade union,
especially in the Catholic south. With the re-appropriation of Greater Germany
after the war, the VOC had much say in the matter. The Scottish generals
occupied the major German trade cities as governors, placing them as middlemen
in the negotiations. They were only the most recent body of Scots
administrators for many of the German districts, especially in the east. For
200 years, a close-knit cadre of Scottish merchants had operated from bases at
Two recent discoveries support this theory. The
accepted ancestor of the major Dutch Creyghton branch was Johannes Creyghton,
born in
United (Verenigde) Provinces began to congeal into a true nation as the Thirty
Years War subsided in peace talks. The office of stadhouder remained with the
family of William the Silent, bringing his grandson William II (1626-1650) to
the office, in 1647. This placed him as the chief civil authority in the United
Provinces just before the 1648 Treaty of Munster. It would seem natural that he
would play an important part in negotiations, but in actuality, he opposed the
treaty. Negotiations were being formatted to cater to the rich merchant class
1641, William II married Princess Mary Stuart, eldest daughter of Charles I.
Robert Creyghton of Wells was appointed personal chaplain to his son Charles
(Charles II, 1633-1685) and there is a possibility that Princess Mary had
Creyghton (or Creighton) retainers when she traveled to
This is especially important when researching family connections in
was also the year that began the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the
Puritan Parliament rebelled against the King's proposed Episcopal form of
Church and State. The Scots Presbyterians joined them against Charles I,
pitting mostly Highland 'Jacobite' clans, led by James Graham Earl and 1st
Marques of Montrose against the
'Roundheads' of Cromwell (Covenanters in Scotland). Again, religious lines were
set aside. Montrose was a devote Protestant, but joined his Stuart king as a
sign of loyalty. Cromwell gave Alexander Forbes a command to raid the Irish
coast, where he bombarded
have outlined the role that the Scots played from ancient times with the Dutch
Frieslands, as roving warrior-seamen-merchants to the Baltic. My fictional
Creighton, Riwald the Blue, traded from his homeport of
The Scots-Dutch-German trade concentrated on
products obtained mainly in the eastern Baltic regions. The Teutonic League
The ships that traveled from the Baltic to
The Teutonic Order at Königsberg had 'Liegers,' or factors
stationed at Edinburgh and Glasgow in the late 1300s; the Sinclairs of Roslin
headed their Scottish interests. There were factors at Sanquhar and the
Creightons were agents for both the Teutonic Order and their King. We have
already witnessed the connections from Sanquhar with McCrerick of Cairn as the
local factor and Mr. Dougal of
first recorded shipment that Crichton received was of iron goods for
By 1433, Scots textile-weavers, tanners and
tradesmen made up a large portion of
* The French family Chretien is far older than Sir
John Crichtoun's time when he was governor of Chatillion-sur-Indre. They were
located in
Through the ensuing decades of the 1400 and 1500s,
the 'East Lands' continued to grow. The ancient Baltic trade centers developed
into the breadbasket of
Creyghton was born in January 1665, and baptized on the 19th of that
month at Tilsit, which is now
and trade were the main occupations, with the elector's family controlling the
land. Lesser family members, the 'Rittergutsbesitzers,' or estate owners,
governed the Hohenzollern districts. The 'Nachbar', or group-lease tenants,
provided the bulk of the population, with 'Paechters', or common tenants, being
the largest group of lessees. At the bottom, as were the Catholic Irish in
was the norm from the 1490s until 1572, but in that year famine was so rampant
Johannes was born, the VOC headquartered at
surname was spelled Krichton and not Creyghton, at least during his boyhood.
immediate family would have retained a Scottish culture, no matter how many
generations they had been at Tilsit. Scottish assimilation into the local
German and Polish cultures was just beginning about the time he was born. Even
then, immigrants were entering Memel from
for Johannes' neighbors, they would have been German, Dutch and predominantly
Scottish, and of various trades and social lines. The
tinklers have become a new subject for me to research. Sir Walter Scott, a
Creighton cousin, wrote extensively on the tinklers and their ability to sing
ancient songs going back to the times of the Roman occupation. Much of what we
know of 'Celtic' music today comes from these studies by Scott, collected at
campfires in the forests of Selkirk. They were 'The Old People' that had direct
links to the Votadini Picts and their pre-Celtic neighbors. Hounded and
persecuted throughout the centuries as pagans, they became a little-known
subculture all over
of the young men of Johannes' age, especially those from the upper ranks of
merchant families, sought status by attending schools in
Brotherhood formed a constitution of union in 1625 after having gone through a
century of intermittent hostility and financial persecution. The Prussian dukes
and Polish kings had tried again and again to group them with the Jews and
Gypsies, to collect 'peddler' taxation. The unified 'Bruderschaft' comprised 12
orders that had a committee of elders and judges. Courts, held during the Feast
Day of Epiphany had the power to levy fines or banish fellow Scotsmen. The
'courts' convened for their major functions on Martinmas, Candlemas,
Whitsuntide and Bartholomew's day. Each of the twelve orders operated under
strict guidelines, recording each new émigré into the brotherhood. Books were
meticulously kept. Because of the sever lack of clergymen, the body acted as a
whole to regulate attendance at services. The constitution only outlined to the
ducal authorities what the Brotherhood had done for generations.
maintenance of the Poor Fund headed the list, but 20 separate and unique
articles clearly defined how the Scots communities would conduct themselves.
People were instructed to dress in a neat manner and run orderly homes. Only
one shop per-trade was allowed, to prevent monopolies. Nicknames were
prohibited. Servant's rights were upheld, no one could keep a servant more than
four years. Squandering, card playing, dice and laziness were outlawed.
Shipping magnates were personally responsible for any undesirable émigré
brought in from
as soon as the Prussian dukes accepted the constitution, ……………
stage was set for Johannes to depart his homeland. I cannot stress how easy it
is to oversimplify the state of time, especially when writing about
Great Elector Frederick William von Hohenzollern was heir to
is far too early to say definitively that Alexander Krichton was the father of
Johannes. He is the only one found so far that fits the role. Using
in any event did leave
overall economy of the Baltic nations was in decline, the height of commerce
having occurred in Alexander Krichton's time. For centuries, timber products
had been the mainstay. Pine and spruce comes to mind as masts for ships, but
'fine lumber' was the main product. This came primarily from the great oak and
beech forests, processed at
so at the age of twenty, Johannes would have faced many challenges.
Economically, it behooved him to follow family pursuits and I am sure that he
did so in some capacity. He was possibly a clerk or junior factor at a family
office in
example that affected many would have been the lumber business. The sawmills of
Memel (there were many at Tilsit as well) were one end of a greater 'sawyers
union' which had up to 40 companion mills located within the
happened, Johannes finally looked toward an ecclesiastical career. If he had a
business failure, he may also have faced a failed or floundering marriage. This
was not uncommon for the times. It is probable that he had direct family
members as residents of The Netherlands, many having assimilated into the Dutch
culture. Beginning with the eminent Robert Creyghton mentioned in 1660, many
others with that surname spelling were known, especially at
Dutch were one of the first people in the world to grant state-aid to foreign
émigrés, profiting richly off their later contributions to Dutch society. This
made The United Provinces a haven for mainly Protestant refugees from all over
Europe, the largest groups (other than the Scots) being the French Huguenots
and Spanish Protestants. Promising individuals, often entire families were paid
annual pensions, if they promised to apply their professional talents toward
Dutch society. Many of these 'pensioners' were earmarked to be sent abroad to
help colonize the provincial regions of
While Johannes was in school,
momentous events occurred in The Netherlands. As a member of the Scots
Brotherhood, he would have retained contacts with family and acquaintances from
home. His location at Franeker placed him at a convenient stop over for ships
traveling from
Dutch Creyghton Branch (Editorial
In the present day Netherlands you can find a
pretty large number of people, who carry the name of Creyghton (or
Creijghton).When looking further, they all seem to be relatives, all descending
from one common forefather (or maybe
two?). There have been a few attempts to
unravel the history of the Dutch Creyghton branch. The first one was the entry
about the Creyghton family in the genealogical and heraldic yearbook
"Nederlands Patriciaat", part A, volume 4, 1913. The NP contains simple
lineages of the more important Dutch patriarchal families. The Creyghton family
was considered one of them.
The chapter on Creyghton also contains a
picture of the Creyghton Family Coat of Arms, which shows a remarkable likeness
to the original Crichton/Creighton Arms; see below.
To the left the
first (jugendstil-like) picture of the Dutch Creyghton coat of arms from the NP
yearbook, Vol. 4, 1913. To the right the nice Creighton coat of arms that Jim
Creighton drew for his own family in 2001 side by side with a re-colored version , made to show the
remarkable likeness, but also the few differences: the inverted colors: gold on
blue versus blue on silver, the lion-crest replacing the dragon and the
different motto. However, the "God Me Guide" motto is known to have been used
by members of the Crichton/Creighton family in the
The entry in the NP is a short lineage,
starting with Johannes Creyghton, supposedly born in 1660 in Tilsit (
In recent years a group of family members, including
Joep Creyghton, Maria Creyghton-Lemmens, Ingrid Creyghton and Jos Grupping have
done further research. One important finding was the discovery by Joep of the
Taufregister (baptismal records) of Tilsit in the Evangelisches Zentral Archif
Krechthon or Krichthon is the typical German spelling of the original
1. Anna KRECHTHON [5670], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit) at 3 juni
1663 at Tilsit (O.Pruissen). Sponsors:
H. Gorg Swenner, Consul. H.N. Förstay; H. Merten Röse; fr. Gallisch; fr. Johan
Bachmansh; fr. Wilhelm Ritche; fr. Albrecht Ritche
Johannes CREYGHTON (born KRECHTHON of KRECHTHON) [920], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit,
Evangelisches Zentral Archiv
Note: The
Anna Maria KRECHTHON [5671], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit) at 28 juni 1666 at Tilsit. Sponsors: Ritche; Balther Simons; H. Albrecht
Ritche; fr. Hans Johannessen?; fr. David Barchlaij; fr. Wilhelm
Schapelsch-Trinter?; fr. Michael Robsche (O.Pruissen).
4. Andreas KRICHTHON [5672], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit) at 27
juni 1668 at Tilsit (O.Pruissen). Sponsors:
Andreas Ritch, from Köningsfeld; David Barchlaij; Jacobus Kommer; H. Georg
Andres Keiman; fr. Merten Rösche; fr. David Eisenblatter; fr. Gilbert Kamfersch
from Köningsberg
Alexander KRICHTHON [5673], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit) at 18 febr. 1670 at Tilsit
(O.Pruissen). Sponsors:
H. Wilhelm Ritch, H. Jacob Messer; Hans Elcrún?; fr. Balther Simonsche; H.
Martin Röse;
Fridrich KRICHTHON [5674], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit) at 7 april 1672 at Tilsit
(O.Pruissen). Sponsors: Fridrich von
Dieben; H. Gabriel Preusch; H. Johannes Schlemmer, fr. Anna Sophia; Daniel. H.
Christoph Röse
7. Wilhelmus KRICHTHON [5675], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit) at 20
maart 1674 at Tilsit (O.Pruissen). Sponsors:
H. Michael Schlenner Jun.; Christophor Röse; Christoffer Schlenner; H. Reinbold
Dachhauen; fr. David Eisenblatter Jr.
8. Alexander KRICHTHON [5676], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit) at 21
juli 1676 at Tilsit (O.Pruissen). Sponsors:
H. Gottfrid Colby; Wilhelm Ritch; Jacob Grewert; H.Johan Lasmans; fr. Hans
9. Elisabeth KRICHTHON [5677], baptized (Taufregister Tilsit) in 1678
at Tilsit (O.Pruissen). Sponsors:
H. Jacob Meyer; Albrecht Irving; fr. Allan Sophia; H. Gaiseris Dusslers; H.
Henniy Mevy J; fr. Catharina Barclaijsch
As written above, the Nederlands Patriciaat, states that
Johannes Creyghton was born on
Further proof that 1665 was the year of his birth is
provided by a testimony of Johannes himself before the Magistrate of the Court
of Friesland on
circa 1650, of former
The baptismal records also include a number of sponsors or
witnesses, which gives us a good insight to the social environment of Alexander
and his wife Maria. One of the sponsors of his first child Anna was Georg
Swenner, Consul; having the Consul of Scotland or England as a friend of the
family meant that Alexander still entertained relations with his homeland, possibly
as a merchant. A certain Albrecht Ritsch is mentioned twice as
sponsor of respectively Anna (born 1663) and Anna
Maria (born 1666). Among the sponsors of the other children of Alexander and
Maria, the name Ritch/Ritschie/Ritsche is
mentioned another four times at least, which makes it probable that Alexander's
wife Maria descended from that family as well.
Ritchie, mentioned as a witness in 1660, 1670 and 1676, was the man who in 1679
obtained permission from the Elector in
Moreover, in the book "The Scots in
have reasons to assume that Krichtons (Crichtons) were already established in the region of Königsberg, Tilsit and
Insterburg before 1600. A certain Alexander Crichton is mentioned in a letter written
by George Frederick, Markgraf of Brandenburg, from Königsberg
in 1601 to his magistrates in the country concerning the tax on the
inheritance of a recently killed Scot among his subjects:
"His Majesty of
Alexander Crichton may have been the father or an uncle of the aforementioned Alexander
Krechthon, as they were both acting as treasurers and financial brokers. Assuming that all the Crichtons derived from the
same family branch, which cannot be taken for granted, this would imply that
the Crichtons had already migrated to
In 1679,
the Tilsit community of Calvinist Scots had established their own congregation;
in that year they acquired the permission to call its first preacher, Alexander
Dennis. Born at Königsberg, but of Scottish descent, Alexander Dennis had been
trained in theology at Dutch universities, where he registered as a student of
divinity at the universities of
ties were clearly important to the Crichtons, and so was theology. This is illustrated by what we know about
William Crichton, in all probability a cousin of Johannes. Wilhelm Crichton from Regiomontanus
(Königsberg) in
The "old" Johannes Branch
(Editorial Excerpt)
In the books of the "Nederland's Patriciaat", edition 1913, a brief male
lineage for the prominent Creyghton family is presented, starting with Johannes
Creyghton born on the 25th of January 1660 in Tilsit (
As already mentioned, in 1686
Johannes enrolled at the University in
1691, the young ds Johannes Creyghton was for some time a field preacher in the
army (Veldpredikant) and a member of the private household of the Frisian
Stadhouder Hendrik Casimir II; in 1692 he obtained another stage as field
preacher, making himself known in the higher political ranks as well. In 1704,
he acquired the important post of
In October 1700,
Johannes married Geertruida van der Waeijen, daughter of ds. Johannes van der
Waeijen, his former professor at Franeker University and at the time a colleague and a man of great
influence in the Netherlands, patronized by the Stadhouder of Friesland.
Geertruida was 10 years younger and they had 7 children of whom 2 died in
infancy. Their eldest, Jan Alexander was born in
Franeker in 1702. Names of the eldest son were not without significance in
those days, as they were usually the names of the grandfathers. Jan Alexander
was Jan for Johannes van der Waeijen and probably Alexander for Alexander
Creighton, Crichton or Krichton from Tilsit. Jan Alexander became a solicitor and
attorney in
The Dutch Creyghton Coat of Arms
As said before, the entry about
Creyghton in the NP, 1913 also contained a description and a picture of the
Creyghton Coat of Arms (Familiewapen). This is originally dedicated to Johannes
Creyghton, the founding father. As shown above, the Creyghton CoA is essentially
the same as the original Creighton/Crichton Arms, with the main difference the
"inverted" colors. But Johannes clearly knows what he is doing by his choice of
the demi-lion as crest and "God Me Guide" as motto. Maybe he is trying to
indicate family connections to the Crichton-Stuart and Crichton of Ruthven
families, considering his choices for the crest and motto? See the CoA of the
Marques of Bute to the right, showing both the dragon and demi-lion crest!
The first occurrence of the Creyghton Wapen from
Johannes is as the seal on a document by Johannes from 1710. The most detailed
is the one by his grandson Jacob Creyghton from 1781, showing the motto and the
correct heraldic crosshatching for the colors blue and gold. All show the
demi-lion as crest and two lions as supporters.
Jacobus Creyghton
Where did
Jacobus come from?
There are two possibilities:
Jacobus is a child of one of the descendants from the Johannes branch or he is
from another family altogether. If the latter were true - this must have been
an existing Dutch/Scots family Creighton/Crichton etc. However, not only can
the registration of his birth be found, but no one else has been registered who could be his mother or father. He could have come over
Only one possibility
remains- he must come from the Johannes branch. But there may have been a
reason for hiding the fact of his birth ……………
Jacob and his wife Maria Regista Rietveld had
10 children of whom 7 died in infancy. Remains: Hermanus, born in 1762; nothing
further is known of him - no death - no marriage etc. Chances are that he also
died young. Jan Alexander married in 1795, long after the birth of Jacobus;
would it have been a problem for a man to have had a child registered before
his marriage? Remains: the daughter Maria Regista. An eligible daughter of 19
in a prominent family like that of the Bailiff Jacob, who has an illegitimate
child just could have been a problem. It could have been that the girl was sent
to relatives in
There are
rumors that Jan Alexander, Maria's brother had Jacobus, his nephew in his
family when he was a teenager and that he was his Guardian. Jan Alexander at
that time lived in a large mansion in Den Bosch. Unfortunately nothing can be
found of this in the Tax Registry (Kohieren). But it would explain why Jacobus
ends up marrying a girl from Den Bosch.
Jan Alexander
and his wife died very close in time to
one another in Den Bosch when Jacobus was 17. Their children were then taken in
lovingly by Maria Regista, who had by then married Wolter Becquer. Her daughter
Annette Maria Becquer married Jacob Jan Alexander Creyghton-Jan Alexander's
son. This family did not have a surplus of imagination as far as names are
concerned! Anyway, our Jacob had to fend for himself because it may have been
unthinkable that a bastard join his own mother after all.
A final possibility is that
Jacob the Bailiff was the father. This would have been a scandal at 57 and in
view of his prominent function. But would he in, that case, have named his
illegal son Jacob as well? None of it can be excluded but it seems most logical
that the mother is Maria Regista.
There is another story
which was passed on in different parts of the family for over a century. It is
usually referred to as "The story of the
lady in waiting". In essence,
the story runs as follows:…………
Now, it should be clear
that this story met a vital need for Jacobus' children, firstly to understand
why they had such an exotic English surname and secondly to get an inkling of
the mysterious descent of their father. Such a story may contain both fact and
fiction. ……………
A fascinating part of the
story is ……………..
…………………..Grandson Jacques
Creyghton, who told the story to his nephew in law, must have heard it directly
from his own father or from his uncles and aunts, who had all been actual
witnesses of the visit.
Other parts of the story
are less plausible, if taken literally
A last interesting aspect
of the story is that the children and grand children of Jacobus have been
inquiring actively about the descent of their father and that they apparently
were well aware of the possible link with the protestant Creyghton family. ………………
Another indication of a
possible link is a pewter dish, of which at least two copies have been in
possession of members of the family. A series of those dishes may have existed.
The design clearly shows the Creyghton Coat of Arms, including the motto:
"God Me Guide". According to an expert, the dishes display a style
that was characteristic for the years around 1850, which means that they were
made either by Jacobus or – more probably - by one of his sons, who were all
coppersmiths. This raises the question: why would Jacobus (or his sons) make a
series of dishes with the family arms if they were not considering themselves a
part of that family?
"later" Jacobus family branch
The Johannes branch was protestant with many vicars
among them. Jacobus however married in the south of the
Genetic Genealogy or "It's all about
recently, in 2008, Hans Creijghton, a member of the old Protestant family
branch and descending
in a straight line from Johannes Creighton from Tilsit (1665), and Joep Creyghton, of the 'new'
Catholic branch, descending from Jacobus Creyghton from Leiden (1791)
together participated
in The "Genetic Genealogy in The Netherlands" project,
based on DNA-research, in which more
than 400 Dutch people participated, was designed to establish genetic relations
of and eventually among the participants. Examined were the DNA-structures of
the Y-chromosomes of each participant, which remain constant, or almost constant,
for hundreds of generations among male ancestors. This means that if
participants have a common male ancestor, they belong to the same broad 'haplo'
type or group. In addition, within that
group they must have similar, or virtually similar, so-called DNA-markers,
because mutations in the DNA-structure over hundreds of years are very rare. This
way it was discovered that a few participants had an identical ancestor and
might consider themselves as cousins.
One more interesting conclusion presents itself: ……………
May 24, 2009
I wrote "
Roman and Saxon invaders had bypassed Gaelic Ireland, due to its very
isolation. Until the 12th century, it remained a stronghold of
ancient tribal, Celtic (and Norwegian) chieftainships. Anglo-Saxon Normans
entered primarily the south in the 1170s, as Henry II sought to subjugate the
rebellious island. For four hundred years the descendants of these Norman
knights integrated into Irish society, but the north, called
and Down were historically held by the O'Neills. Once the leading and royal
house of
was during Sorley Boy MacDonnell's chieftainship of Antrim that
his mother's death, James VI took the reigns of the Scottish throne in earnest,
but was faced with two problems at home. First were the Presbyterian Lowlanders
that opposed his changes to their church by incorporating Episcopal bishops.
Second were the Border Riders, the Reivers that had become…
1607 the British government formalized the settlement of the six escheated
counties of
English plan as sanctioned by James I & VI was very simple and was geared
to both exploit and to control Scottish settlers. The king's ongoing battles
with the Border Clans and his dislike for the Scots Presbyterians caused many
to worry. The problem was solved when
Scots were forced to take oaths of Irish Denization (denizens of
the onset, each of the
'seeding' of the counties followed a strict plan of operation to provide for
handpicked undertakers. They fell into three major divisions of importance:
English and
Scottish "Undertakers": patent holders or grantees responsible for the overall
plantation of a given grant, or precinct. Precincts were very large tracts,
which were subsequently subdivided into "proportions" of 3000, 2000, 1500 and
1000-acre-tracts. Only chief undertakers of the caliper of Esme Stuart Lord
d'Aubigny were allowed tracts of 3000 acres, although many had more than one
plantation. There were only nine chief undertakers from
English or Anglo-Irish crown servants that resided in
Native Irish
Freeholders: These were the senior Irish pre-plantation landowners such as the
McGuires of Fermanagh and the O'Reillys of Cavan that swore allegiance to the
British crown. Although many of these first-families had fought against the
crown, others had helped and supported the British cause. By law they were to
receive 10% of all allotted lands, but for the most part their allotments were
on poor mountainous land or on land undesirable to the British. Their tracts
were small, averaging about 120 acres, but some were as small as 25 acres.
There leases were 'life-rents,' ending when the applicant died.
Not usually shown, as a group, were the ecclesiastical grantees. Portions of
all five counties were set aside, to be controlled by the Church of England.
The Presbyterian Scots were seldom allowed their own churches in the new
communities. The struggle of the Scots Kirks in
regulations were intended to include plantations in far off
1902, C.A. Hanna wrote a unique 2-Volumn book entitled: "The Scotch-Irish,
or, the Scot in North Britain, North Ireland and North America, the
June 29, 1611, Lord Deputy Chichester, George Carew, Thomas Ridgeway, Richard
Wingfield and Oliver Lambert left Dublin for Ulster, traveling directly to the
English plantations* of Coleraine. Meeting with magistrates and sheriffs of
each county, they made the circuit and recorded progress on each plantation.
From Coleraine they traveled to Donegal, Fermanagh,
the six escheated counties, only Derry (Coleraine) and
partial entry for
"…Mr. Balfore, La. Mountwhany, 1500 acres;
appeared in person, brought over eight freeholders and lease-holders with four
women servants. He felled 200 oaks, provided lime, and brought over a dozen horses
and mares for work, with household stuff. La. Kinalle, 1000 acres (
of the last entries in Chichester's 1611 report concerns activities in nearby
Clanchie (Clankee) Precinct in
This county overall was initially well
proportioned and like Fermanagh was both Scottish and English in makeup.
Balfour Lord Burleigh was one of the earliest Scots in the region, in an
official role. The family was old and prestigious, hailing from Markinch,
Fifeshire, which was just north of the Creightons of Kirkcaldy. As a Scottish
governmental official, he worked as an Irish diplomat from 1579-1604. Through those years he ingratiated himself
with the Maguires, barons of Enniskillen and rulers of Fermanagh. In 1590, he
became heir to sizable Maguire holdings at Lough Erne through Connor Boy
Maguire, who became one of the few remaining hostile Irish lords to retain
status after 1603. When the post-war negotiations ended with the 1607 flight of
the earls, Connor Boy Maguire stayed in Fermanagh through Balfour's support,
although the two later became opposed to each other. As a result of his
diplomatic successes with Maguire, Balfour was created Lord Balfour of Burleigh
in 1607, leading to many high government postings. With the ratification of the
Plantation Act, he was first in line to apply for patents of land that he held
partial title to since 1590. He received his patents of plantation June 29,
1610 and within a month; he was in Fermanagh to oversee the first plantees. He
was recorded as chief undertaker for Knockninny barony, with 2000 acres at
Legan and another 1000 acres located at Carrowchee. By that time, he was a
sitting member of the Scottish Privy Council. Surprisingly, Lord Burleigh was
the chief opponent to the king receiving Irish lands; he felt it to be
unethical. By February 1611 he was back in
persons plus one agent on proportion; 70 cows brought from
Creighton, who became Stuart's agent, may already have been a resident
under-tenant in Cavan with others from his family. His grandfather, John of
Brunston, died the same year that the Chichester Commission toured the northern
counties. After 1597, the immediate family would have gone with the
In the
archives of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) are Creighton
family records (file D/1939) compiled by the Creighton/Crichton Earls of Erne
1611-1981 (the surname was officially changed to Crichton in 1802). They are
called simply the "Erne Papers." Some family and estate correspondence
has found its way into the National Library in
the deaths of the senior John of Brunston in 1603 and his son John in 1611,
James, Thomas' father, became the ranking Creighton 'of Brunston.' The castle
and much of the Brunston estates had gone in the 1597 sale, but some land was
retained. This family from Kyle in central Ayrshire had, over the generations,
established themselves around Kilmarnock and also retained strong ties to the
senior House of Frendraught in Banffshire near
most of the leading houses of
Crichton before he died pointed out the importance of this region. The long and
numerous wars took a heavy toll on horseflesh and historically, the area of
Perth-Kinross on into coastal Angus and
Burleigh had already 'planted' his lands and left
know of Thomas Creighton through many sources, but conflicts arise when
comparing various documents. The Erne Papers, though many early ones were lost
to fire, lead directly from Thomas to the present Earls of Erne. The early
progression from
of all,
1000 acres, George Ardwick, guardian of David Crichton, son of Thomas Crichton,
deceased, (transferred from
was Thomas Creighton's Aghalane proportion. Throughout Pynnar's report of
Knockninny, George Ardwick was listed as
of a sudden, Thomas Creighton takes on new relevance. Moneypenny had done
nothing with Aghalane according to Sir Arthur Chichester in 1611. At that time,
Thomas Creighton had been Esme Stuart Lord d'Aubigny's agent. George Ardwick
took over that position shortly after Creighton occupied Aghalane. Up until
that time, Ardwick had been a grantee (leaseholder) on John Trayle's proportion
of Dresternan, near Aghalane.
find it interesting that David Creighton was never mentioned in the (surviving)
family archives as an ancestor of the Earls of Erne. The family's rise to the
peerage began in the 1700s, a clear pedigree would have been essential to
establish lineage. Thomas' pedigree was impeccable, tracing directly back to
Edward Crichtoun First Laird of Brunston, who was brother to John Crichtoun of
Long Creighton,
Ardwick years at Aghalane were crucial ones to Upper Lough Erne. This had been
the sacred heart of ancient
have been compared with the American Indian, sweeping down from their mountain
strongholds in plundering raids.
one of the most prosperous proportions in Knockninny bordered the mountains
that rose off to the west.
Newbury Neck,
in the smoke of his mosquito fire while his roof was being thatched, John Poore
would have sucked at his clay pipe and remembered the Pequot War. Nothing today
could describe his feelings as a young man in a dark
summer 1641 found the average settlers of
Abraham's watch-post was a stone tower at
Lough Derrycanon near his home, surrounded by forest and filled with wolves.
Like all able-bodied men over 16, he was trained as a militia soldier and he
was better at it than most. Born in 1591, he was already 50 but still fit and
trim. Late one night while standing watch, a boy approached. It was one of
Magee's sons, Jamie. "They saint me oop froom the hoose, me' laird, ta ask ya
what the bloody widcairns are 'a wailin' aboot!" The boy fidgeted before the
steel-clad Abraham. "It ain't wailin' young Jamie, it's the smallpipes and the
bodhrans ye be hearin." Abraham went on, "It's the war music, same as our own
people once played before a fight. Their pipes are little things, made with a
goat's skin, some pipes and a fireplace bellows, but the war-songs are as good
as ours. The war drum is called the bodhran; its sound is the voice of the old
War Gods. The noise is supposed to scare us, but for me, it is music to my
ears. As long as you only hear the single drum and pipe, fear not, but boy,
when the mountain comes alive with the pipin', and the ground shakes from the
bodhran's thunder, run for you life for Castle Crom."
Jamie Magee heard the bodhrans, it was not for long and he probably never had a
chance to run for Crom. It was the wrong place to run to, anyway……….
Thomas Creighton of Aghalane went about his business as manorial laird, his
cousin Abraham was becoming a rising star. The Drumboory Creightons were still
only leaseholders and as such, were limited in their social standing.
of the Spottiswoodes, the bishop's third daughter Mary, in particular, must
have lived at Crom. In 1655,
1661, things took another turn. Thomas Creighton died at Aghalane. Rev. George
Creighton, his younger brother, succeeded to the lairdship. This man may have
owned land elsewhere and administered Aghalane out of obligation alone, but he
found time to help out his Drumboory relatives. Upon receipt of title to the
manor, George met with Abraham and he gave him a fee farm grant, making Abraham
the outright owner of Drumboory. At the same time, Francis Butler chose to
grant freehold status to Abraham for
who became a Colonel of Militia, had at least one sister. The year prior to his
purchasing Dreternan, his sister married Hugh Hamill of Strabane,
told, Abraham and Mary had seven children, five sons and two daughters. Only
the fifth son, David (1671-1728) survived to inherit Abraham's estates, but it
is known that an older brother James married Hester Hamilton of Manor Hamilton,
Leitrim and a sister married John Hamilton of Brownhall, Donegal. John
Creighton (1688-1715), possibly the son of James and Hester was the only male
besides David that lived into the 18th century.
the old manor of Aghalane, John Creighton was born in 1672, probably the son of
Rev. George Creighton. It would have been his offspring that would have
continued on to be the senior line, but when he married, he only had six
daughters. In 1702, he gave up the old
Creighton of
war surpassed all others in devastation; entire cities were burnt to the
ground. The armies were no longer hastily assembled militia farmers; they were
tried veterans of the Thirty Years War in
two war heroes were richly rewarded. In 1692, one year after the Battle of
the European stage readied again for war……………….
first seeds of exodus had been sparked in 1636 when Antrim tenants had
complained to their landlords about unfair market prices. Behind every
undertaker were a slew of investors, like a board of directors in a large
corporation. They were the Joint-Stock members of
Antrim investors, probably from both countries met at
if Mather had known that the emigrants were Scots-Ulstermen, he would have
refused the offer. Although a few individuals had migrated to
Although nothing came of this
first attempt to leave
From 1636 onward,
The aborted attempt to send
Scots-Irish from Antrim to New England was in 1636, when the hard times
historically began in
Creighton of Crom, born in 1699 was one of the few family members that
prospered in
came the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714). She immediately set out to force the
Episcopal form of religion on the Ulstermen, imposing the 'Test Act' where
Presbyterians vowed to uphold Episcopal sacraments. Many historians put this as
a major reason for the mass exodus to
1714, a massive drought began all across
was an important year for another reason, banishment from
clergymen south of Coleraine Borough had hired the agent in 1717 after the
sheep rot epidemic. There, on the Antrim-Londonderry border, the great River
Bann flowed from the coastal city deep into Antrim. It had historically been a
place of wealth and prosperity, home of Clan O'Donnell and other Scotsmen that
settled there generations before. These people from Coleraine Borough to
the spring of 1718, the
The Ulstermen, harassed by the
Bostonians, almost at once met to discuss
Bay had long been a point of importance for
my book,
Puritan New England barred full-scale immigration, the tolerant Quakers
welcomed all Protestants. It was a good 'marriage,' Scot and German. Both
groups had Calvinist roots and were strong-willed individualists who had
survived decades of war and privations at home. The Germans were naturally good
farmers, highly organized and industrious. Wherever they went they built
permanent stone houses and barns. Scottish middlemen, usually of the
groups of Scots and Germans that came to the
older settlements of the Tidewater Region from
do not want to dwell further on the southern Creightons, however. There were
many that eventually ended up in the Southeast. From the highlands of
had written earlier that Crehan was an old derivative of Creighton in
Since my line derived from the Creightons of County Down and settled primarily in eastern Canada, it is the connection to the Maritime Provinces that I wish to explore in detail…………..
My father called himself a
"Herrin' Choker", although he was born at
Old French Arcadia was the
entire southern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Gaspe Peninsular,
In the early part of the 17th
By 1631,
*Before everyone jumps to the conclusion that these
Bostonians were straight-laced Puritans, I will explain who they were. The
Puritans of
During Queen Anne's War
(1701-1713), New England's role was reinforced in
The treaty of
1745 brought added turmoil
as the Scots Highlanders rose up in support of
*This island, where my father was born in 1901, was
originally called Abegweit ('cradled on the waves'), a summer resort for the
Micmac. First settled by Basque fishermen, the French held on tenaciously as
New Englanders repeatedly raided the small villages along the coast.
And so, many divergent
cultures evolved almost side by side. The initial 'Protestant" contingent had
been discharged as soldiers and sailors and their
Thanks primarily to the
1717 Scotch-Irish and Palatine migrations, 'English' North America now included
the fertile lands from Western Pennsylvania to the
I dealt quite extensively
with the French and Indian War (1755-1761, called the Seven Year's War in
It began quietly in a
mountain meadow on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border in the spring of 1754.
Young George Washington, commanding a portion of the newly formed
At best, it had been an
uneasy peace since the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, with both countries
using the six years to build new forts and ships. The confrontation between
These troops of the 44th
and 48th represented the cream of the British military, made up of
mostly Scotsmen (
The campaign began in the
north around the captured French forts at Chignecto;
Before the war ended, over
2,000 British colonists had immigrated to
As the 1770s approached,
many families along the
During the decade preceding
the American Revolution, a Creighton baby was born, most likely somewhere in
By 1800, the Creightons of
Down had settled mostly in the
*Editor's Note:
On a sad note, I have been informed that our cousin Cyrus Wilfred Creighton has
passed away on December 21, 2010. I received a note from his wife, June
Creighton with the news. Cousin Fred was the first contact with genealogical
material when Jim started writing the first small Creighton family history book
Northwind Southwind in 1999. He had a
wonderful open manner and shared back and forth with Jim and me throughout the
years, as recently as a few months ago supplying me with his most up-to-date
files on CD. I will endeavor to input his family files on my Family Tree Maker
file. Jim's note above hoping that Fred could link us to our mysterious "Mr" Creighton
happens to fall just above the actual news below about finding him. Unfortunately
this note needs to be here as well. Three critical people have now passed
during the writing of this book, Patrick Crichton in 2003, Jim Creighton in
2005, and now Fred. I can rest knowing that the three are most likely
conferring about the past as we finish this book. His memorial is listed as
Appendix C.
Susan Creighton
Curtiss—January 30, 2011.
** Editor's
Note: I am happy
that I have taken so long in finishing this text for my brother Jim; I have
recently received new information on this illusive and mysterious 'Mr.'
Creighton, whom Jim searched for so tirelessly without avail. The source comes
through the aforementioned cousin, Al Creighton. He located a very distant
Creighton relative in
It is noted
below that the name
Susan Creighton Curtiss, Great
Email message
arrived – Date: Sun, Apr 20, 20:09:56 +0100
From: Roy Creighton
To: Al Creighton
Subject: Creighton
"Hi Al,
Sorry to take so long to get back to
you, but as you know it can be a "one step forward, two steps back" process!
To get round the problem of having no 19th
century Census records for
One of the substitutes that fits in with
your time scale is the "Tithe
Appointment Books 1823-1837". This was a tithe on tax on agricultural land
paid by Leaseholders and occupiers to the Curtch of
On consulting the books, I found only
one Creighton: 1828: William Creighton,
Marshallstown, Downpatrick,
He is recorded as having 14 acres and 2
roods of 2nd class pasture, on which he paid an annual tithe of 1
pound and 10 shillings. (The land
would have been about the size of 14 soccer pitches).
The next avenue I explored was Church records re: the Baptism of
Michael (1802). There are many churches in Downpatrick but only one, the
There were four records:
May 1799
– Christian Creighton, child of Robert
and Ann Creighton
January 1802 – Michael Creighton, child of Robert and Ann Creighton
February 1804 – Mary Anne Creighton, child of Robert and Ann Creighton
May 1806
– Isabella Creighton, child of Robert
and Anne Creighton
Pages for 1807 – 1808 were faded and
unreadable, so it's possible that there were more children to Robert and Ann.
I noted that Michael's mother's name is
given as Ann (or Anne), not
I could not find the Marriage of Robert
and Ann, but that is probably because it was normal practice for a bride to
marry in her own Church.
I hope the above may be helpful. I'll
keep looking, and see if I can trace some School records?
Cheers, Roy Creighton"
I believe the Scots
Creighton household to have been in Kirkudbright or North Ayrshire, in the
vicinity of
** Editor's Note: Roy Creighton is also looking
into the records for the children born to Robert by his first wife know only as
'Miss Galway' (or perhaps Galloway). We know only that there were four sons and
two daughters. Roy Creighton believes that these children were born in
Scotland, not
Susan Creighton Curtiss,
April 14, 2009
Sometime in the late 1790s,
his first wife passed on, possibly during childbirth. This left him, around
1796, with six children to raise. As a freeman (landowner), he was considered
part of the 'landed gentry', and here again, there is an implication of prior
family holding at the 'Course'. Not knowing his exact age, it can only be
assumed that he was about 21 when first married. If the 'Course' had already
been an active Creighton farm, which I feel that is was, he probably took it
over as his inheritance. On the other hand, he and his first wife could have
been brought in by wealthier relatives to work the farm for the true owner……………..
The years of
Closer to home, a man left
out of
There is one other possible
scenario, although very far fetched………………
A new life awaits 'just across the pond' in
Much of
the following data, relating to
Michael disembarked at St.
Andrews, then a bustling Port of Entry on the
The oldest Creighton in the area
had been Thomas, who first appeared on land grant rolls in 1791. That year he
was one of 11 men that joined William Caldwell in petitioning for land on the
Saint John River in
What I find interesting is that
this land grant, from initial petition to final receipt, took almost 20 years,
unless there were multiple land deals. It seems that it was quite common for groups
of men to pool their resources to apply for adjoining tracts. Their individual
wealth, and/or social status, decided how many lots they would own and lots
previously surveyed ranged from as little as 33 acres to over 500. The Michael
Creighton that came to
A second Creighton was in place
prior to Michael's arrival not far from
When Michael arrived in
While working in
The war veterans called the upper
Kennebecasis "
Michael may have had business
opportunities to travel upriver to Sussex Vale or to visit Nugent Creighton's
land near
Sussex, Sussex Vale, Pleasant
Valley, Dutch Valley, Poney Mountain, Roachville, Parleeville, Parlee Brook,
all place names from relatively the same region of river junctions surrounding
present Sussex, New Brunswick. There were, from time to time, many smaller
place names throughout this region, Sweeney's Mills, Creightonville…but many
like Creightonville no longer exist aside from old cemeteries and in some
cases, nothing at all. I can relate, somewhat, as to how some of these places
evolved by using my own hometown of
I think that Michael and Jane had
a clear plan to settle in
Upon arrival, Jane must have thought her
new husband daft. She had been raised with the
beauty of the green fields that surrounded Lough Erne, complete with stone
castles and ancient standing stones from centuries past. Now, here she was, in
a god-forsaken overgrown lumber camp swarming with black flies (you have to
have grown up in these northern regions to truly appreciate them), that bit
with the ferocity of a pack of wolves…, "oh dear, wolves!" She thought long and
hard about her situation; hopefully Sussex Vale would be more inviting. About
two miles west of
Michael's farmstead was one of many that
formed a chain of long, skinny lots that ran from the river southeasterly on a
diagonal to the tip of a ridge. In viewing the Sussex Grant Allotments dating
from 1779, the Trout Creek zone east of Sussex Vale shows the original lots
averaging 200 acres each. The original grantees were both Loyalist military and
civilians from the
Six lots into Dutch Valley District,
beyond Drummonds' property, began the Snyder Grants, which were immense. At the
Michael's land was beyond this point and
is off my grant map, but Lot #1 of what was probably the
Reportedly, his first house was of logs,
but how elaborate is unknown. It was more likely somewhere between a classic
log cabin and a Northern Irish mud and wattle structure used in
Remember back to
1801, when Michael was a baby in
Realistically, I
think that Abraham's illness was more for family connivance than anything else.
The Herveys had much to lose by taking over the reigns of the Creighton Empire.
Mary Caroline's father was Frederick Hervey Bishop of
*We regret
to announce the demise of Elizabeth Lady Dowager Wharncliffe, who died on
Wednesday evening, at her house in Lower Grosvenor-street. The deceased, Lady
Elizabeth Caroline Mary, was the only daughter of John, first Earl of Erne, by
his second marriage with Lady Mary Hervey, daughter of the fourth Earl of
Abraham Creighton
2nd Earl Erne (later heirs would classify the title as Earls of
Erne), for all his mental ill (if any), was a compassionate and thoughtful man.
He never married, but while at the asylum, he maintained partial control of the
Creighton estates. His father had spent years saving a massive fund to one day
rebuild Castle Crom, but Abraham, through legal maneuvering, held on to most of
his personal assets. He either had very good attorneys working on his behalf,
or he wasn't as crazy as everyone imagined.
Approaching the age of eighty in 1842, much of his estate had gone to
the extended family buying up additional properties. His annual maintenance
allowance amounted to only L780, so his immediate worth had grown over the
years. During his 44 years of confinement, his family had used the money for
many purposes. From 1810 on, much sent toward improvements to Castle Crom. When
he finally died in 1842, most were surprised to find that he left a will with
assets of L52,500. This was an incredible amount for those times. The family
had tried unsuccessfully to take this money from him as well, to apply toward
the Crom Renovation Project. This was probably the reason that sparked his
writing of the will. Almost the entire sum went to junior branches of the
Creighton family. The Downpatrick Creightons may have been one of them, which
included Michael, his brothers and sisters.
It was probably
from this general time that Creightonville began to be known locally as a place
name and not just Michael's farm. David Law, as well, miraculously went from
carrying seeds on his back to the local mill, to being a respected leader of
the region. Sometime prior to Michael building the large farmhouse, David and
Sarah had moved to a Chambers farm near the
Of the Creighton
household, it still stands; at least it did in 1974 when Wilfred Creighton
wrote of it. Some time prior, both he and his brother William had been allowed
by its current owners to tour the farm. He said that "it was well built (by
Michael) and attention was paid to the width of the lumber used in its
construction." When facing east, the buildings were on the left side of the
road, while fields dominated the upland pastures,…………..
The growth of
Sussex Parish began with men and women like Michael and Jane, David and Sarah,
(combinations of old world émigrés mixing with older established families). Old
Peter Parlee (1736-1821) was born in Bucks County Pennsylvania, a neighbor and
possible boyhood friend of another
About the time
that Michael and Jane were establishing themselves at
Meanwhile at
I will begin with
the old Norman family French (de Freyne); the surname means '(People) Of the
Ash Trees.' They were noted soldiers in Cornwall in the time of Henry II
Plantagenet and went with the le Poers (Poores) into Ireland in 1172, to become
so strong as to be counted as one of the 14 original tribes of Celtic Ireland,
even though they were not Irish. In
Thomas French
(1798- ) and his brother James Richard French (1803- ) were from a fishing, or
seafaring family located at Otterman Mills Parish, near
great-grandfather, John Alexander French (1835-1895) (photo at left) was Tom
and Mary's first born. Family tradition states that he was also born aboard a
ship, like his father. After Mary Willow died, in 1846, Thomas married Ann
Morrison, who bore him the last two of his nine children. He then disappeared
from history around 1850, perhaps going alone to the
The Mackenzies of PEI we know nothing
about, but there were many groupings of them there. As a
The first census was taken in 1851 in
Michael m H
(husband) 47(age) Irish Farmer 1825 (Date of Canadian entry)
Jane f W 49 Irish 1825
Mary Ann f D 17
Robert m S 19
William m S 15
Samuel m S 13
Michael m S 11
That was the
extent of
By 1853,
negotiations were long underway to build the first Saint John-Moncton Railway.
The original plans were to put it directly through Sussex Corner, which would
have increased that town's wealth and future growth. Many landowners refused to
sell, however, forcing the powers that be to re-route the tracks……………..
This is such a
common phrase today that most of us would give it no thought. It means simply
that a couple has married, in slightly 'legal' terms. In 1861 British Canada,
it meant much more. Back then, a couple did not just announce their pending
marriage and then rush off to the alter. Crown Law expected them, actually obligated
them, to post legal Bonds of Marriage. These were documents that were drawn up,
not only to announce the betrothal, but to allow for a specified time of
waiting, in case anyone objected to the union. It was like a delayed marriage
license, not active until paid for and signed. Conventionally, the announcement
would be displayed for one year at the local Anglican Church, allowing ample
time for the couple to change their minds or have parents or guardians step in
to protest a union. Once the bonds were properly displayed, the couple paid a
staggering fee of L500 to the Royal Treasury for the right to get married.
Mary Ann married
Xenophon Taylor in 1858. Robert, the oldest, did not marry until October 13,
1863, his wife Margaret Adare was from
William had known
Isabella M. Law all of his life. Their friendship had grown with each passing
year. Sometime in 1860, it is probable that William formally asked David Law
for his daughter's hand. These 'doings' often included both families; Michael
and Jane could very well have attended the meeting. By then, both Michael and
David were older, well-respected community leaders. With both men being from
From Mary' Ann's
letter, we know that William Henry was torn concerning religion. He was 24 in
1860, so his abortive attempt to become a Free Will Baptist was probably well
behind him. When pressured by his Anglican father and his Methodist mother, he
compromised in favor of his mother and sister's church. He also was at a
turning point in his life. Robert had rejected the farm, so Michael was looking
to William to carry on in his place as next oldest. If all met at the Law Farm
to formally activate a marriage engagement, then David and Sarah would have
added their wants and needs for the young couple, as well. Like the Creightons,
David was old-world Anglican, but Sarah Chambers Law was probably Methodist,
like her aunt, Mrs. Patterson. Mary Ann mentioned a pastor, Richard Smith, who
encouraged her to join the Methodists; perhaps he was the local minister at
Here, the story
gets more involved. Samuel, age 23, and Michael, Jr., age 20, were still
unmarried and living at the big house with their parents when William and
Isabella got married. One particular occupation, concerning both of these
younger brothers emerges from Wilfred's papers. Both were later milk dealers
and I suspect that Michael's farm became a major producer of dairy products
during the railroad-building years, 1853-1859. Michael Jr., I feel, left the
farm about the time his brother married, probably to seek work in Sussex Corner
with the McMonagles, who had completed their large inn and tavern. Sam alone
remained at home, but may have begun a relationship with Brice Creighton, of
Sweeney's Mills. It appears that Robert may have gone there to farm, as well.
The railroad, evidently, brought the Creighton interests together from
The date of
Williams wedding, however, bothers me.
Instead of
William and Isabella being showered with gifts and money, Michael gave them the
Michael was now
61, but still fit, tall and rudy-complexioned, showing his Celtic-Scots-Irish
heritage. Jane was 63, but family tradition says that she was 'tall, of slight
build and dark complexioned,' hinting at much older Pictish blood in her
family's past. The duo, both products of very large working families, were
probably hard taskmasters, finding little patience with their children's
shortcomings. Michael perhaps related to Samuel and Michael, Jr. the most since
he, like them, had been a younger son. He had been the fifth of six sons
fighting for recognition at the horse farm in
Much credit has
to go to Isabella Law Creighton for bearing nine children in 17 years. It
became a full-time occupation. The list of children came from Wilfred Creighton
and all can be placed with a year of birth except for two. Altogether, there
were three sons that died as infants. Using Wilfred's data alone, Herbert could
be dated as dying in a specific year, 1881. Michael and George were noted as
dying 'some years before" and Sarah was noted as being the fifth-born. Using my
own means, I placed Michael as first born due to his name, after his
grandfather Creighton. I placed a date of late 1861, ten or eleven months after
the parents married. George, the second infant death, I placed as number seven,
being born in 1870. Then I remembered seeing a copy of headstone inscriptions
recorded years earlier by my aunt Doris Creighton Beers, one was a stone at
1. Michael
Creighton, b. June 1862; d. Feb 3, 1863 at 8 months old.
2. David
Law Creighton, b. September 29, 1863; d. May 29, 1914
3. William
Henry Creighton (Called Henry Creighton), born June 12, 1865; died 1919
4. Jane
Creighton (called Jannie), born March 4, 1867
5. Charles
Wilfred Creighton (called Wilfred Creighton), born July 14, 1868; died Aug 5,
6. Sarah
Creighton, b. 1869; d. Sept 06, 1890, at 21 years old of scarlet fever
7. George
N. Creighton, b. Oct 1870; d. Aug 26, 1871 at 10 months old
8. Cyrus
Dutcher Creighton, b. Dec 16, 1874 d. 1949
9. Herbert
E. (Edgar?) Creighton, b. March 1879; d. Nov 6. 1881 at 2 years 8 months
With the three
infant deaths of Michael, George and Herbert came a new cemetery at
Now, knowing that
the first child had died while at the Snyder Farm during deep winter, reasons
come into play as to why Samuel left the farm and William and Isabella moved
into the larger farmhouse with Michael and Jane………….
The 1870s was a
time of growth for the extended Creighton Clan, sort of a 'Last Hurrah' before
hard times set in. Michael, Sr. and Jane were also in their 70s, basking in the
glory of what would become 18 grandchildren before the 1881 census. On the farm
at Creightonville, the old couple were there to watch William's children grow,
but were also close at hand when death came knocking. Baby Michael had been
gone since 1863. Then in August 1871, 10 month old George died as well, joining
his brother at
Now that we are
down to counting bushels of oats and heads of children, we must not lose sight
of the overall history. Worldwide, the British Empire continued to grow and
At the time that
On the American
side, Creightons of the Midwest became famous by a group from
In Eastwind
Westwind, I wrote a piece that included
Edward and John Creighton's participation in the growth of the American West. I
am including the section here, for it also shows the time and events that may
help explain Thomas French's disappearance from
George Alfred Poore (1825) of the Jonathan of Newbury branch left
Edward Creighton
Plains Indians met what they called the 'Singing Wires' with dread. It ran
directly through their ancient hunting grounds, the range of the northern
buffalo herd. 230 years before, the Penacook tribe of
the Civil War, President Lincoln authorized the construction of the Union
Pacific and Central Railroads, to link in
Closer to home,
Michael, Jr. and Margaret continued on their farm and Michael, Jr. perhaps
became involved indirectly with British military imperialism. In working for
Hugh McMonagle, he was close to the activities surrounding the racetrack near
the inn. Part way in toward
The combined
Creighton farms entered the 1880s with high hopes, as prosperity reigned.
Little did they know that many were soon to be tested by the fates and their
lives would alter forever. Whether it was the David Creighton clan of
Creighton, Jr., unlike his brother William had not yet suffered the loss of
children dying. He, the youngest son, was 40 and William was 45 in 1880. Time
was creeping up on the Creighton siblings; Robert was almost 50 years old. As for their character and appearance, all
that there is to go on is Wilfred Creighton's writings and old photographs of
William Henry and Isabella as an old man and woman. Since the photo shows
William as a stern-faced elder with a full, white beard, it can be assumed that
Michael, Sr. may have had a similar appearance in 1880. William was a very
handsome man in old age. Isabella appears the classic Victorian-Era matriarch,
sitting surrounded by her family with a look of regality about her. The grown
children, (the photo was taken in 1912) who were my grandfather's first
cousins, are more contemporary men with styled hairdos and trimmed moustaches,
befitting their status as sons of 'Squire' Creighton. If you look deep into
their eyes, however, you will detect a hidden sadness.
As 1881 wound to
a close, William and Michael, Jr. competed against each other on their separate
but very productive farms. Children were everywhere and fairly evenly spaced.
William and Isabella at the Creightonville Farm had seven surviving children
ranging from two-year-old Herbert E. Creighton to eighteen-year-old David Law
Creighton. Michael and Margaret, at Lower Cove Farm, had eight children ranging
from thirteen-year-old Harris Edgar Creighton to three year-old Herbert
Fenimore Creighton, with a brand new baby, Crandell Michael, being born the
previous fall*. Samuel and Mary had four children in
Michael is usually shown as being born December 12, 1881, but the 1881 census
listed him as being three months old. This would mean that this birth was
probably December 12, 1880, the census was conducted the following March.
Before we continue, I want to point out another important thing in relationship
to names. Our main family mystery is the name and Scottish origin of Michael
Sr.'s father. Look closely at three of the above-named cousins – William's baby
Herbert E.,
Michael's baby Herbert Fenimore and Sam's oldest son, Herbert Edgar
Creighton. Herbert, or more likely Herbert Edgar Creighton, must have been a
past family member of great importance. My grandfather's middle name was also
Edgar, which he passed on to my father's generation. It is probable that
William's son was also Herbert Edgar and this may have been the name of Michael
Sr.'s father or grandfather from
Although 1881 was
a census year, little indicates a change at Michael's farm. It would seem that
all was as it had been ten years before at Lower Cove where he was shown as the
owner. There is one subtle change, however. Instead of 'Sub-district K, Parish
of Sussex No. 2' as per 1871, the 1881 census listed his residence as 'Parish
of Sussex 1'. To me, this indicates that the family was closer in to the center
On November 6,
1881, the first history-changing event occurred. At Creightonville Farm,
William Henry's young Herbert E. Creighton passed away. He was two years eight
months old. Although he was the third son to die, his death, in particular,
left William Henry drained. 'Squire' Creighton had learned to place all of his
burdens on God, but sitting at the child's funeral at
Exactly 41 days
later, Michael Jr. had worked a long and hard day at McMonagle's farm. He had
been in the fields with the threshing machine, although it was December 17th.
Leading his team home, he met the children, who followed him to the barn to
watch him put the horses away. His own young son, Herbert Fenimore, almost four
years old, was with them and Michael seems to have tarried to play with the
children before going to the house. Just then, a large Canada goose landed in
the barnyard. Michael saw it as food for
the table and he ran for his shotgun, which he had nearby. Somehow, young
Herbert saw the goose as a thing of boyish wonder and before Michael knew what
was happening, Herbert ran in the path of the gun just as Michael fired. The
boy fell dead, age three years eight months. Two days later, the Sussex Weekly
Register ran the following piece that documents the accident and confirms that
Michael, at the time was not living at his own farm:
Sussex on the 17th: a terrible accident occurred about a mile and a
half below the Sussex Railway Station about four o'clock in which a father
accidentally and fatally shot his little son, four years old. Michael
Creighton, who is a milk dealer and resides on the McMonagle farm, had been
threshing during the day, had just returned home with his team. While in the
barn with several children a wild goose flew close to the barn and settled on
the ground……"
Now the family
had a double tragedy to deal with…………….
At Michael's
death, the old
Looking at it
from a modern perspective and knowing the families involved, it all seems
surreal, in a way. Each family has researched their particular branch for
years, collecting census reports, vital statistics and oral history. The
William Henry line has probably done more than any, Wilfred Dixon (1893-1975),
called Wilf, wrote "The Creightons" in 1975, David Creighton wrote a follow up in much more
detail in 1988 and he finally topped it off with a published book entitled: "Loosing the Empress, A Personal Journey" (The
Empress of Ireland's Enduring Shadow), Dundurn Press, Toronto, 2000. David's brother, Fred (Cyrus Wilfred) has painstakingly
collected the lineage charts for all related branches and helped me a great
deal when I wrote "Northwind Southwind" (The
Legacy of Michael Creighton). Their data not only
relates the 'Empress Disaster' which I will touch upon later, but their family's role in
the Great War as Canadian soldiers. It is an impressive story. Michael, Jr.'s
line, on the other hand all but disappeared as far as the other Creightons
knew. In a matter of a few years, the two groups, (Michael's and William's
families) went from being a very close farm-related group of cousins to one
that embraced separate lifestyles. Much had to do with Michael's death and his
widowed wife taking her children to the
When Michael
died, it seems that the extended family would have rallied to help Margaret and
her children and perhaps they did. It is evident that Michael was a respected
member of the
It was not just
another church; it was a sub-culture that had swept in from
This same life
was open to Margaret and her offspring, but she (they) evidently rejected it.
The McEwens were Baptist and Michael had been Methodist through his mother,
with Anglican connections through his father. My grandfather, Harris Edgar,
went his own way as a teacher, his religious beliefs are unknown, but I am sure
that he helped his mother through the initial years after Michael died. With
the children's help, she tried to hold on to the farm………………..
In Post-Roman
Europe, the ancestral Celts used 'Oppidum', or traditional hillforts, as a
last-ditch form of defense. Over 1500 years later, their stone foundations can
still be seen from Central France to
William Henry
'Squire' Creighton's farm on the Kennebecasis was not on a hill, but in a sense
was still a fort. In selling the Creightonville home farm, which was in hilly
country, William chose as a replacement a large crescent of land that abutted
the big river but was within walking distance of downtown
Of William's
surviving children, David Law Creighton (1863-1914) married Bertha Jane Dixon
(1869-1914) in 1892. She was an officer in the Salvation Army, as was he.
Charles Wilfred (1868-1944) married Charlotte (Lottie) Lowry (1868-1960) in
1896. She, as well, had come up through the ranks at
In, 1914, as
Europe rushed toward war, a more famous group photo was taken of David, Bertha
and their five children just prior to leaving for a church conference in
Wilfred Dixon
Creighton (1893-1975), author of the 16-page manuscript "The Creightons".
Edith Theresa
Creighton (1895-1988)
William Henry
Creighton III (1897-1971)
Arthur Harrison
Creighton (1906-1973)
Cyrus Clifford
Creighton (1909-1926)
The photo of
David's family was taken just prior to an event that the current David
Creighton devoted an entire book to. "Losing
the Empress", published in 2000. In brief, an
International Congress of the Salvation Army was called for
On May 29, 1914,
the Empress left
Back in New
England, both Harris and his brother Silas married to the French sisters,
I recently found
Harris' farm listed in the 1910 census, it is perhaps the last official record
that he existed, other than his headstone when he died in 1949. His early life
Creighton, Harris Hd. Age
Canadian (English) Farmer General Farm
Leonard Son Age
Edgar Son Age
Doris Daughter Age
That was the
extent of Florence Wilson's 'enumerations' and as usually occurs in census
reports, mistakes become official records. Leonard is my father, John Leonard
Creighton, born not in
Clough, Val
M. Age 40 Hd. (born) New
Hampshire Farmer General Farm
Minna Age 35 Wife
Lyle F. Age 7 Son
Carrie Age 79 Mother
This shows that
dependent family elders were listed and Val Clough had in his care his mother
and father, born in 1831 and 1833. When I was growing up, Lyle and his mother
Minna were still living and we used to visit the farm. Minna Clough was a
remarkable lady who served us her delicious date-filled cookies after we
finished the beef tongue sandwiches (also very good).
Drawn by Doris Mildred Creighton Beers
My grandfather's
Montcalm Farm was as grand as William Henry's farm in
Harris probably
remained fairly content through the early years and he and
John Leonard
(Len) Creighton (1901-1968)
Reginald (Edgar)
Creighton (1903-1972)
Harold Creighton (1906-1980)
Doris Mildred
Creighton (1908-2001)
Ruby Lorena
Creighton (1910-still
Ernest Albert
Creighton (1912-1963)
Silas and Bessie,
at Methodist Hill, had eleven children, a true 'tribe' that remained rooted to
the region:*
Minnie Beatrice
Creighton (1905-died at
Arthur Fenimore
Creighton (1906-)
Crandell Silas
Creighton (1909-)
Daisy Olive
Creighton (1914-2000)
Elizabeth Creighton (1917-1926)
Clarence Albert
Creighton (1919-1976)
Donald Newton
Creighton (1921-)
Margaret Jane
Creighton (1923-)
Wendell Thomas
Creighton (1925-)
Ruth Inez
Creighton (1928-)
From this large group came many that I called 'Uncle"; they had grown so close
to Harris and Ada's children that they all were one, true extended family. We visited
Crandell Silas (Shorty) and his wife, Marion, so much as children that we knew
him to be our 'uncle', only to find out when we were grown, that he was
actually a cousin. From Clarence Albert Creighton alone came 12 grandchildren
of Silas and Bessie. 'Uncle' Clarence (murdered at
Seated Ruby Lorena Creighton Colclough on
her 95th birthday, Sept, 30, 2006
Standing Left - her son, John Cecil
Colclough and wife, Dorothy;
Center – her daughter, Jacqueline Ann and
her husband Brian Purdy Handspicker;
Right – her son, Douglas Earle Colclough
and his wife Janet.
(Photo courtesy of Douglas Colclough)
Note: Ruby Lorena Creighton Colclough, the last
remaining sibling of Harris and
Aunt Ruby
Creighton Colclough, alone, remains from the Montcalm Farm contingent, although
her sister Doris Creighton Beers lived well into her nineties. Ruby is still
very sharp-minded for her age, but has little if anything to say about her
father. My dad never discussed him either. She can relate points in time on the
old farm that brings it to life, but she never really knew her father, Harris
Edgar Creighton; he left when she was still a young girl. She was three when
her uncle Crandell Michael came to visit in 1913. There is a photo that was
taken of him sitting in a Model-T Ford (below). I think that there was already
trouble on the farm; perhaps
When my father
turned 16, he was in charge of a diversified crew. There was a 37 year old
mother, brothers, age 14, 11, 9 and 5 and sisters, age 9 and 7. I think that
for whatever reasons his father left, there must have been some kind of mutual
arrangement between
With the war in full
swing, Leonard was faced with a daunting task. He was at the head of his class
in school. Because of the war, learning German became mandatory. He was highly
intelligent and had plans to go on to college, as Harris had done; his
aspiration was to become a pharmacist. He was also an accomplished musician,
although his violin teacher gave up on him because he favored country fiddle
playing to the classics. He excelled in guitar, piano, mandolin and the
Dobro-slide guitar with equal precision. He had no 'off hours', however.
Because of the situation, when he was not at his studies he had farm work to
attend to. The hired hands stayed on and their wages had to be met. Leonard and
Edgar, as the oldest sons, were forced into working at any job that came along.
Initially, Leonard ran a trap line, the sale of the dressed furs bringing in
enough money to keep everything stable. He also hunted on a regular basis to
supplement the food larder. Much of this derived from the regional lifestyle,
but he also learned much from his neighbors, one being an Indian from
High school was
across the lake and much too far to walk. Leonard hired himself out to a farm
This began a very
long career with the Boston & Maine Railroad. Leonard had grown up with the
sound of the train down the mountain; the tracks coming up from
I have not dwelt
on the farm life, although it equaled or exceeded any Creighton farm in
*On a
final note on those still at
Following WWI,
millions died worldwide die to the 1918 influenza pandemic. It passed over the
Montcalm farm but lightly, only six year old Ernest got sick and he survived.
It began as a strain of Swine Flu in
Ada French
Creighton, after struggling for four years to survive with her children,
finally decided to sell the farm. She had never been timid when it came to
work. When her parents were sick and dying, she had done factory work to help
her younger siblings. Her memories of
Leonard had begun
the move when he transferred to the
'Ada and Company'
hitting town put an extra burden on Leonard. Long the dutiful son, he had put
his mother and siblings before his needs for years. He had sacrificed a college
career to become a railroad yard worker and, mainly due to his help, she had
brought the kids away from the farm. Now as they grew older (four were still in
school), Len found that most of his income went toward the children's upkeep,
even with Edgar's help. The youngest son, Ernest, was still sickly. He never
was quite the same after surviving the 1918 influenza. The two brothers worked
side by side for two years, mostly at
Looking at the
pictures taken from this time, it becomes evident that all were caught up in
the excitement of the times. Harold, Doris and Ruby entered
The 'Flapper-Era'
was in full swing, with dancehalls everywhere. Alcohol flowed like springs of
living water, and even at country barn dances, drugs from marijuana to cocaine
could be had. My father even spoke of opium dens in
Leonard, in the
meantime, had formed a Country Swing band, the 'New Hampshire Sate Hillbillies' and since 1921, had his own
radio show based in Portsmouth, NH. This meant working full time at
1928 began well with the first
baby, John Leonard Creighton, Jr. born at
Harris Creighton was still
evidently in
It is impossible
for those of us who did not live through it to appreciate the panic that Black
Friday caused. Entire fortunes were lost in a matter of one day's trading.
Hundreds committed suicide within hours of the news. Banks folded overnight.
Styles Bridges in
At the Boston
& Maine, management took immediate action to throw off devastation. It was
probably at this time that Ernest Poore was forced into early retirement due to
his blindness. He received a gold pocket watch and little else; he fell in to a
deep depression that matched that of the country. Massive layoffs followed,
those with foresight, like many of the Irish railroad workers, joined the
police force, where they would soon be placed to quell union troubles. The same
happened across the country as railroad unions fought for workers relations to
save jobs. My father, as president of the local brotherhood, held his position,
but was transferred to
For over a year,
Leonard and Sylvia lived in a walk-up tenement on
That February,
Sylvia's brother, Vernon Sherman Poore, died unexpectedly at the Candia Farm of
Lobar Pneumonia less than three weeks before his 18th birthday. Bert Poore finally gave up, selling the farm
and moving to
On August 6,
1932, the Creightons had a third son, Glen, who died one day later. He was the
first of four infant fatalities that were interspersed through the
child-rearing years. Times had gotten increasingly worse as the Great
Depression heightened. Long periods of lay-offs began as railroad management
went to loggerheads with union activists. That same year, Congress voted to
repeal the 'Union Shop' rule, siding with railroad management, all union
activities formed in the past six years became null and void. This reversal of
the law placed Leonard in direct conflict with his employers and the strikes
On November 28,
1946, I was born at
Sometime in 1949,
word came from Uncle Harold that Harris Edgar Creighton had died in
Note: 11 Feb 2010
I was
contacted by Janet McHugh, granddaughter of Harris Edgar Creighton to inform me
If I were to
design our own particular Creighton Coat of Arms, it would have no earls or
barons crown. Michael the Rabbit Poacher had no lineage of record to a known
Scottish line, so it should not be used. If the Downpatrick Creightons were a
cadet branch of the Creightons of Crom and in such going back to the Creightons
of Brunston, even they would have had altered arms. Depending on Michael's
father's ranking in order of birth, the border of the shield could have had any
number of variations. The only known elements would have been the blue lion on
a silver shield, surmounted with the green-dragon crest above the helmet. This
is the basic Creighton arms, "God Send Grace" being our family motto.
I would begin our
personal arms with Michael, Sr. with a full silver shield as 'First of Our
Line'. He was, however, the fifth-born son from a second wife of his father.
Subsequently, his cadence marking would have been relevant to his status and I
am not sure what they would have been. Starting over with the base-shield,
then, makes it easier and he did found a new dynasty in
In our direct
line, Michael, Jr. was his fourth-born son and, following Scottish heraldry, he
would have been granted a border colored 'gules', or red. This red-bordered
shield with the blue rampant lion on silver would have remained constant for
his eldest son, Harris Edgar, with my father, John Leonard Creighton, following
suit as his first-born. Beyond this, cadency gets much more complicated for
sons of sons, each of my brothers and I would have had slight changes based
upon tradition and Scottish laws with the exception of my oldest brother, John,
Jr. and his first-born son. Our lion, though, might look not quite so 'rampant'
as in past generations. Age and many travels would have blunted his teeth and
talons; even the dragon crest might have lost some of its fiery bluster, thus,
A Lion in Winter.
As for my sister
Susan and me, we came at the end of the family ties that connected us with the
Scotch-Irish ancestors. We knew only that our grandmother
I see both my
sister and myself as almost afterthoughts to family history. Dad was 37 when
brother Ben was born. The end of the war in 1945 probably brought visions of
finally getting out of the endless slump. John, Jr. was grown to maturity, as
Note: The rest of
the story comes directly from the Poore book, Eastwind
Westwind; it chronicles our family from this time
forward. I will reproduce it not as a
direct quote, but as an ongoing part of this overall story, beginning in 1945,
at war's end.
The long and bitter war finally ended. Sylvia kept newspaper clippings
of key events and battles, pocketing them away in the secret compartment of the
dining room buffet, where she kept her lace tablecloths. A plan was loosely
laid to get the family out of the cramped conditions of the
How many of you have ever taken the time to weigh the affects of words
and actions? We all go about our daily lives interacting with others, but have
you thought about how the simplest statements can cause far-reaching ripples in
the world around us? If you look deep enough, you will find that sometimes your
very life balances on the brink of decisions made before you were born.
The winter house hunting had brought not one, but two possible
locations. Len favored the closest, which was 10 miles away in
Sylvia's first choice was a more substantial farm, west of
By the beginning of 1946, Sylvia and Len battled back and forth. I
really know next to nothing about this incident, but I have always wondered why
Dad did not want the Diamond Hill Farm. As for the Loudon location, I cannot
see how he could have even begun to compare the two. Both being as stubborn as
mules, however, they stood their ground. I am sure that John Jr., Virginia, Dan
and Bea offered their opinions as well; it must have been a fun household that
winter. The only thing that I can think of, when Sylvia finally gave in and
accepted the Loudon home over the bigger farm, was alcohol.
Sylvia had not touched a drop for thirteen years, ever since the
devastating fire at Uncle Edgar's. Len, on the other hand, drank more and more
as the years progressed. He was now 44 and far from being the freewheeling
musician of the 1920's. His mother had continued to remind him of how
successful Edgar, Harold, Ruby and
The Diamond Hill Farm should have been obtained without a second
thought. Sylvia, as a non-drinker, had no trouble seeing the obvious, but Len's
reasoning had become distorted with time. He felt old and worn out.
He saw Loudon as a safe and familiar place, much like the small
villages of
Len had been familiar with the town of
With a heavy heart, Sylvia began packing to move to Loudon. They had
purchased the property. Lester had left for
In many ways, it had already ended, but with endings, come new
beginnings. A very close-knit family of eight travelled the back road between
As for the village and town of
The Bluebloods of New England society, such as the Cabot and
Saltonstall families, were famous for their selective pecking order. Their
combined pedigrees were well known by all. In the towns and villages, the same
held true for the lesser families. They naturally fell into groupings regulated
by family descent (and income level), from the first families of the 17th
century. Loudon was no different. It dated back to the early 1700's and the
Indian wars, with the majority of the old settlers being from
To understand Loudon, you must have a rudimentary knowledge of how
Mildred and Dot lived on opposite sides of
"Dot? This is Mildred. I just got a call from Mrs. Avery in
"Aye up," said Dot (this is usually pronounced Ay-yunt, with a silent
'n', spoken often as three rapid words, the first ay-yunt spoken with a sharp
inhale, the second and third following immediately with diminishing exhales…),
Bertha Mulkhey just called me, the Potter's saw them go by. I hear its Ernest
Poore's sister, Sylvia."
"You mean that blind man who lives in the old boarding house by
Turtletown Pond? Why, your not talking about the Creightons are you?" Mildred
couldn't wait to get Dot off the phone (of course, half the town was listening
in by this time) to call her sister, Georgie, who lived next door.
You have to have a map to show it correctly, but Mildred Cate and her
husband John lived on the north side of the street, directly across from the
Downs' house (Dot's husband, Harlan Downs, was chief of the voluntary fire
department). Just east of Mildred was the farmhouse of her sister Georgia and
her husband Ni (Adiniram) Chesley. Ni Chesley worked with Len Creighton on the
railroad. Ni's neighbor to the east (and adjoining the new Creighton Lot) was
John Cate's brother, Hi (Hiram) Cate and his wife Jessie, who was Loudon's Town
Clerk. Directly across
Like Indian scouts, the homeowners along
Sylvia, Len and the children had traveled many hard roads together. As
a family unit, they had helped one another survive one of the most difficult
times of the twentieth century. All in all, it should have been a good time of
life, being much like when
The house was not unlike that of the original Poore homestead in
Newbury. The living room, downstairs bedroom and two upstairs bedrooms formed
the core of the original 1742 colonial home. It was originally 24 feet square,
the same as John and Sarah Poore's. In the center was the old central
fireplace, now bricked in and unused. A very steep and curving, narrow stair
wound up behind the fireplace from a tiny entryway off the front porch. A later
addition included a large dining room-kitchen, separated by another dual
fireplace, bricked in like the first. Above it was a low attic, accessed from
the upstairs bedroom. To the kitchen was added a small pantry. The house 'as
is' contained no modern sink, only a small electric pump. The well in the front
still had the old hand pump, which Sylvia would soon remedy. The large
two-story barn had once stood alone, but had been attached to the kitchen by a
shed, making the whole affair a rather long and narrow home. There was no other
indoor plumbing. There was a women's outhouse in the shed and two more, for the
men, in the barn. One was for summer and the other for winter. Wood burning
stoves provided both heat and cooking.
To this house came the accumulated wealth of the Poore past. Sylvia had
been able to salvage some furniture from her parent's farm before George Seavie
sold it, but much had been taken (by family or neighbors) after Bert and Susie
left it and moved to Penacook. She and Len chose the downstairs bedroom, where
the set once owned by
Sylvia altered the kitchen by herself. She owned her own carpentry
tools and tackled the old room. She put in a sink, brought in piping from the
well, installed a pump underneath and installed cabinets and shelving for the
pantry. Behind the stove went the old ironing board, made by Sam Poore in 1784
for Anna Bridges, still much in use. This small room also contained Sylvia's
wringer washing machine, a large cook stove and a small drop-leaf table with
two chairs. It was also the main entry to the house and as such, became the
mudroom, complete with coat rack. With the stove going night and day all year
long, the kitchen became the favored room for everyone.
The dining room received Bert and Susie's leafed table with eight
matching chairs, with Len occupying Bert's wing chair with the broken back,
damaged during the fight between Ernest and his father 30 years earlier. With
this table and chairs was a matching china hutch and large Victorian Buffet,
which was the most elaborate piece of furniture in the house. From the frame of
its ornate mirror to the glass-balled lion's feet, the old piece held
everything from lace doilies to homemade jellies and jams. Every section of exposed
wood was carved with scrolls, lion's heads and mythical creatures. Resigned to
her fate, Sylvia set up housekeeping and unpacked her iris bulbs from their
sand-filled boxes. Planting them in the front of the house, she announced to
the neighborhood that she was here to stay. For all I know, these tender flower
bulbs (or their ancestors) also went back to the time of Samuel Poore.
The upstairs became the abode of the six children (five really, John
Jr. was 19 and gladly willing to flee the nest). Virginia and Beatrice took the
room with a door. The four boys claimed what had once been an open loft, with
the old chimney rising up through the ceiling at the stair railing. As they
matured one by one, these two rooms would become their point of departure to an
adult life.
Things finally settled into their proper locations. Len, happy to have
a new home to tinker with, began his garden and set up his beehives in the back
yard. Sylvia, heavier and heavier with child, set out her iris and lily bulbs
and planted petunias and geraniums. The kids worked the ranch, herding
chickens, ducks, rabbits and goats and soon began exploring the surrounding
territory. Relationships began to occur with the neighbor's children. By
summer's end, Carol Chesley and Andrew Downs were at Sylvia's house more than
they were at their own homes, playing under the elm and maple trees in the
front yard as Len pulled out his kitchen chair and struck up an old Irish
fiddle tune.
Thus began this 22-year-love affair with Loudon. As crickets chirped
and nighthawks flew past the moon, Len's violin sang out over the trees to
reach deep into the Broken Grounds. Sylvia, sitting beside him, had to smile.
Perhaps his insistence on taking this small house instead of the Diamond Hill
Farm had merit after all, but only he knew the reasons back then. Approaching
50 and with another baby on the way, I believe that he needed the peace and
solitude that Loudon offered. He had spent half of his life in these woods; he
knew them better than any other man. The six older children, who had moved so
much in their short lifetimes, could not appreciate it as he did, except for
Virginia, who still lives there. He knew that the next child (and any that
might come later) would grow up here and perhaps learn its secrets. Natural
barriers to an outside world assured that all would be safe, if they wanted to
be. The
By November, it was apparent that Sylvia was having a hard time with
her 11th pregnancy. Virginia, who had helped midwife her younger
brother when she was eight, did not feel comfortable helping this time. After
14 years of giving birth at home, Sylvia chose to have this baby in the
hospital. On November 28, 1946, James Harris Creighton was born at
The baby at first appeared healthy, but through the winter it began to
sicken. Sylvia nursed him as she did all of her children before him, but he
remained small and unhealthy. When the family doctor was finally called in, the
baby was almost dead of malnutrition. The nourishment in Sylvia's milk was
'gone bad'. I can say with all sincerity
that I owe my life to old Doc Boucher (pronounced Boo-shay), that overweight,
foul-smelling chain smoker and alcoholic that poked and jabbed me for a decade
or more. Somehow, he figured out that
goat's milk would keep me healthy enough until I could start on solid foods. I
hate goat's milk to this day.
Sylvia and Len were as strapped for money as they had ever been. Once the house was financed, little else remained. Len's 30 years with the B&M and all of his hard work still offered a very small pay check. The setting had changed, but