Page 142 - WPA Book
P. 142
Works Project Administration – Articles from Rockingham County
HOUSES
1. SUBJECT:
Robert Cravens Home.
2. LOCATION:
Said to be about 2 miles south of Harrisonburg, Virginia.
3. DATE:
Unknown.
4. OWNERS:
Robert Cravens about 1745.
Mary Cravens, widow, and Robert Cravens, son, by inheritance, each one-half.
Robert Cravens, son, in whole by will of father.
5. DESCRIPTION:
None.
6. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Craven was a name of prominence and antiquity in England and particularly well known in London, where one
of the name had twice been the Lord Mayor of the City. Sir William Craven, Kt. of Winwick,
Northamptonshire, who died in 1707 at the age of seventy-three years, was the youngest son of Thomas Craven
of Appletreewick near Skipton in Craven, in County York. He was a grandson by his father’s side of Anthony
Craven, and by his mother’s side, grandson of Robert Craven. He was great-grandson by his father’s side of
William Craven, and by his mother’s side, great-grandson of Henry Craven, which Henry Craven was a brother
to Sir William Craven, Kt., twice Lord Mayor of London.
The Lord Mayor of London died in 1618, possessed of a vast fortune. He had sons William (1608-1697) and
John (d.1648), both of whom were created barons, the title being conferred on William in 1624.
John was the founder of Oxford and Cambridge scholarships. In 1664, William was created an Earl and dying
unmarried the barony passed to his cousin William, from whose brother John, the present title is descended.
William, the first Earl of Craven, like Lord Culpeper, contributed large sums to the aid of Charles II, while in
exile, and following the restoration was in turn the recipient of many favors from the Crown, one of them being
his appointment as one of the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas, from which circumstances Old Craven
County, South Carolina (formed in 1674 as one of the four original counties), and present Craven County, North
Carolina, derive their names.
Among the early immigrants to America, Hotten lists Richard Craven under “Patents granted settlers in
Virginia,” 1626, and Thomas Craven, age 17, as licensed to go beyond the seas to Virginia, 24th July 1635,
“embargoed in the Assurance of London.”
James Craven of 1639 and Thomas of 1642 appear in Greer’s lists as immigrants to Virginia also, but the
earliest of the name in the colonies to leave known descendants seems to have been the widow, Ann Craven,
who settled under Fenwick, in Old Salem, New Jersey, about 1677. According to Sharp, the Cravens “were
prominent citizens in the public affairs of Salem” for more than a century. There were Cravens settled in
Delaware and also in Pennsylvania.
Just where Robert Cravens (1696-1762), one of the first Justices of Augusta County, was born, is not definitely
known. He came to Orange County, Virginia, from Sussex, in Delaware, about 1739. On the first f June in that
year, he placed his Sussex land in the hands of his attorney, James Hood, for sale, but the land was not sold until
some years later, the power of attorney being granted the second time.
Page 141 of 482
HOUSES
1. SUBJECT:
Robert Cravens Home.
2. LOCATION:
Said to be about 2 miles south of Harrisonburg, Virginia.
3. DATE:
Unknown.
4. OWNERS:
Robert Cravens about 1745.
Mary Cravens, widow, and Robert Cravens, son, by inheritance, each one-half.
Robert Cravens, son, in whole by will of father.
5. DESCRIPTION:
None.
6. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Craven was a name of prominence and antiquity in England and particularly well known in London, where one
of the name had twice been the Lord Mayor of the City. Sir William Craven, Kt. of Winwick,
Northamptonshire, who died in 1707 at the age of seventy-three years, was the youngest son of Thomas Craven
of Appletreewick near Skipton in Craven, in County York. He was a grandson by his father’s side of Anthony
Craven, and by his mother’s side, grandson of Robert Craven. He was great-grandson by his father’s side of
William Craven, and by his mother’s side, great-grandson of Henry Craven, which Henry Craven was a brother
to Sir William Craven, Kt., twice Lord Mayor of London.
The Lord Mayor of London died in 1618, possessed of a vast fortune. He had sons William (1608-1697) and
John (d.1648), both of whom were created barons, the title being conferred on William in 1624.
John was the founder of Oxford and Cambridge scholarships. In 1664, William was created an Earl and dying
unmarried the barony passed to his cousin William, from whose brother John, the present title is descended.
William, the first Earl of Craven, like Lord Culpeper, contributed large sums to the aid of Charles II, while in
exile, and following the restoration was in turn the recipient of many favors from the Crown, one of them being
his appointment as one of the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas, from which circumstances Old Craven
County, South Carolina (formed in 1674 as one of the four original counties), and present Craven County, North
Carolina, derive their names.
Among the early immigrants to America, Hotten lists Richard Craven under “Patents granted settlers in
Virginia,” 1626, and Thomas Craven, age 17, as licensed to go beyond the seas to Virginia, 24th July 1635,
“embargoed in the Assurance of London.”
James Craven of 1639 and Thomas of 1642 appear in Greer’s lists as immigrants to Virginia also, but the
earliest of the name in the colonies to leave known descendants seems to have been the widow, Ann Craven,
who settled under Fenwick, in Old Salem, New Jersey, about 1677. According to Sharp, the Cravens “were
prominent citizens in the public affairs of Salem” for more than a century. There were Cravens settled in
Delaware and also in Pennsylvania.
Just where Robert Cravens (1696-1762), one of the first Justices of Augusta County, was born, is not definitely
known. He came to Orange County, Virginia, from Sussex, in Delaware, about 1739. On the first f June in that
year, he placed his Sussex land in the hands of his attorney, James Hood, for sale, but the land was not sold until
some years later, the power of attorney being granted the second time.
Page 141 of 482
