Cromarties in America

Many Cromarties in the USA seem to originate from one William Cromartie who came from Orkney to North Carolina around 1757.  A memorial (photo) to William Cromartie was erected by descendants on August 18, 1932.  It is located near Route 210, midway between Fayetteville and Wilmington, just off the main Route 701.  Those of you familiar with Diana Gabaldon’s novels  will know how this region was settled and developed by Scots during the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  Fayetteville is the ‘Cross Creek’ referred to in her novel.

As far as I can establish, William Cromartie was born in Orkney on May 31, 1731 and came to North Carolina around 1757.  He served in the Revolutionary War, listed in the North Carolina Colonial Records, Volume 16, as William Cromartie, private 10^th regiment, Company Coleman’s, date of enlistment December 5, 1781.

William married twice.  Details of his first wife are not known, although she is generally considered to have been from a titled family, perhaps from the Stuart line.  On September 10, 1765, she gave birth to a son, also named William.  She must have died soon after, for just seven months later, on April 22, 1766, William married Ruhamah Doane, an Englishwoman who had immigrated to Boston.  Together they had 12 children, four sons and eight daughters. 

When he died at South River on September 21, 1807 William Cromartie was a successful plantation owner with extensive tracts of land in Bladen County, NC.  He also owned many slaves, as was the custom at that time.  Some 22 men, women and children are specifically named in his will and allocated among his wife, sons and daughters.

A number of his descendants continue to live in Bladen County and the family has, over the generations, made a significant contribution to community life in that area.   Many descendents still meet for an annual Cromartie Reunion, held in October each year at the South River Presbyterian Church (photos).  

Other US Cromarties descend from Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, on the west coast of England.  

Information on Ivy Julia Cromartie Stranahan

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