John and Sarah Craig VanDolah

**Notes: Genealogist William Perry Hay (1871-1947) has 13 children listed (page) -- the first ten above (which virtually all VanDolah genealogists have) plus three children found no where else -- Esther who married James Burton (looks like James Burton on the page), Irene with no husband listed and an unnamed infant daughter. He specified that the information was supplied by his second-cousin Minnie Moon Mace (Minnie was Sarah Craig Vandolah's great-great-granddaughter: Sarah Craig-Sarah Vandolah-John Gregory-Margaret Gregory-Minnie Moon. Minnie lived in IL amidst the majority of Sarah's descendants. William Perry Hay had moved to Florida in the early 1930s, and Minnie also moved to Florida parttime in the 1930s; clearly she collaborated with William Hay on researching this branch of the family.). These latter three women are not found on anyone else's ancestry trees probably because no records can be found for them, not even census data (largely due to the lack of individual enumeration). I cannot find 1850 census data that would confirm an Esther married to something like Burton, and cannot be certain of even 1820-1830-1840 data either. These three extra daughters are indeed possible as the 1820 census data has six extra people in the home than I can be certain of. Note that they were added at the end of my list above as their birthdates are not known, but it is certain that at least Esther and Irene were born much earlier -- although William Perry Hay's list is not in order, it suggests that Esther is about Rebecca's age, and Irene about James' age, and even the baby girl prior to Nancy. I would guess that all three daughters died young without issue, as they are not remembered by descendants several genrations later. In any case, the three daughters would either have married or died young to not be living with their mother as of 1850, and of particular significance they do not seem to be there in 1830 either. Note that it is likely that with so many daughters born, one would be named after John's mother whose name is thought to be Hester/Esther, and this would be one of the first daughters born.

Genealogist Chris Hankins (website) asserts that Sarah's parents were John Craig and Rebecca Stephens. John was born ~1750 in Ireland and died before 1800; Rebecca Stephens was born ~1750 and died in PA, Washington Co, West Alexander. While it appears that this John Craig is likely to have been Sarah's father, he was likely older than this and previously married; I think his first wife's (Sarah's mother's) maiden name was Hogg (see more information). Assuming that John is Sarah's father, and Roland is John's brother, it is disconcerting not to find the name Roland given to any of Sarah's four sons (although there could have been a Roland child who died young).

*John VanDolah's tombstone has never been located in Waterloo Cemetery - not in 1937 by William Perry Hay or in subsequent years. The earliest tombstone found there is for the year 1842; it is possible that earlier tombstones were of more organic material (such as wood, and simply decayed in the next 100 years). Or perhaps John was buried elsewhere, such as on the farm, and somehow Sarah did not have access to that gravesite; she did purchase land in 1818 and perhaps at the time of her 1860 burial the family could no longer access the 1814 property where John may have been buried.

Although William Perry Hay had not seemed certain of Sarah's maiden name in his original notes, his final published work did not list any doubt. The only reference he gives is the credit to his second-cousin Minnie Moon Mace; I assume she found other great and great-great-grandchildren of Sarah's who remembered the names, or had old family bibles. There appear to be two other sources for verification of Craig: 1912 Boston Transcript (Query printed 17 Jan 1912, #2399-5. "Jesse Stretch ... his mother's name was Blatchford. Jesse Stretch married Betsey Van Dolah, whose mother's name was Craig ...") and decendant Jon Pirtle (a descendant of Nancy VanDolah, who confirmed "Cragg" (or Cragge or Craig) from a family Bible in 1994). Note that the family bible referenced by Jon could have been Minnie's source too; this particularly came to my mind as Minnie and Jon each listed the same alternative spellings. The Boston transcript and the family bible seem likely to be two separate sources as they come from two different VanDolahs -- Betsey (1790-1868 McLean, IL) and her younger sister Nancy (1810-1884 McLean, IL).

The VanDolah family were members of the Enan Baptist Church in Washington county, PA in 1791 -- Jesse, John, Sarah, Esther, and Anna (source). The Baptist Society was organized by John W. Loofbourrow at Isaac Pancoast's house one half mile south of the present site of Waterloo.

Fayette OH deposition dated September 1, 1823 stating that Jesse Stretch and William Gilmore swore that Sarah Vandolah of said Fayette County and relict of John Vandolah, deceased, is mother of John Vandolah who lately died in northern Louisiana, and John Vandolah, Senior, husband of Sarah and father of John, deceased, died in 1814 in Fayette County.

On June 15, 1818, Sarah VanDolah purchased 50 acres for $1 from Jesse Woodson of Powhaten Co, VA. Jesse Woodson, along with Isaiah Pancoast, was one of the original platters of the town of Waterloo, in the southeastern corner of Madison township, Fayette County, OH. In her last will and testament, August 16, 1854, Sarah lists her grandson James Stout to whon she leaved land, 50 acres, part of Richard James survey #470 and bounded on the north and south by the lands of Shreve Gaskill, on the west by the lands of Stephen Boston and Samuel Davis, and on the east by the Urbanna road. To daughter Mary Davis, half of the above land and all her remaining chattel propery.

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