Crary Family

PETER CRARY

Peter is believed to have left Northumberland, England for the American colonies around 1660-63, after the restoration of Charles II to the English throne. Oral tradition tells us that Peter, or more likely his father, was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell and that this support may have resulted in the "de-Mac-ing" of his family surname by the clan MacQuarrie. It is also probable that Peter was a Puritan, and that he left England to escape religious oppression after Cromwell's defeat. By the age of 17 or 18, he is documented as settled in Stonington, Connecticut and as a member of the Stonington Congregational Church. He married a daughter of the prominent Gallup family and is listed as one of the founders of New London, CT. Records indicate that Peter served in King Phillip's War, and that he settled his family near the Mystic River in 1675, possibly on land given to him as reward for his service. His son, John, became a judge of the Court of Surrogate, and is credited as one of the founders of Plainfield CT.

Descendants of Peter Crary and his wife, Christobel Gallup, settled throughout Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island. Later generations are found among the pioneers of the Western Reserve and other early settlements of the western United States.

JOHN CRARY

Oral tradition holds that Peter Crary was accompanied to the American colonies by at least one brother, and most Crary descendants believe that John Crary was this brother. John first appears in Boston records in 1671. Although records indicate that he had only two children, Margaret and Roger (and possibly a third, Benjamin), many Crary descendants owe their being to John Crary and his wife, Esther. Early descendants of John Crary settled mostly in Massachusetts and New York.

RODGER CHRISTOPHER CRARY

Another possible brother (or cousin) of Peter and/or John Crary is Rodger Christopher Crary. Quaker records document the birth of Rodger Crary, son of Christopher and Margaret, on 3 Mar 1651 in Somerset county, England. According to these records, Rodger married Elizabeth Stevenson, moved to Ireland about 1678 where a daughter, Rachel, was born, then brought his family to Elsinburgh, New Jersey in 1681. The immigration record lists the family as Christopher Carary, wife Elizabeth and daughter, Rachel. Since Rodger and Elizabeth had no male children (that we know of), it is believed that his Crary lineage ended in New Jersey.

Crary researchers should be aware that there is currently no record that confirms the relationship, if any, between these three men. The only evidence of this relationship is anecdotal...the oral history of the family as passed down through early generations, the passing on of names, and the sharing of the Crary surname. The American Crary family is accepted as part of the Clan MacQuarrie, one of the more ancient of the Pictish Clans and believed to be related to the Clan MacAlpin, headed by King Kenneth MacAlpin.