This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: kb5cx Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.crump/413.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Tom, your email address changed triggered your original message of 1999. I wasn't as far along in my research then as I am now and either overlooked it or didn't know enough to answer. I took a look at my database and found a William Crump in Chatham County in 1860 who was apparently a widower by then. The census shows land value at $16,000 and "Property" of $44,000. By 1870 the land was valued at $1,600 and Property at $3,000 and he was living with William and Mary Poe. His was the only Crump family in Chatham, and several of his children are listed, but he was the wealthiest. I know some of his own ancestry, but that wouldn't help you. That property had to have included quite a number of slaves to be farming that much land and to have it decreased so much by 1870. When I began looking at the North Carolina Crumps quite a few years ago I was more interested in the period prior to 1850, so did not include the African American Crumps in my database. A quick check on Ancestry.com's 1870 Census for Chatham county shows 28 Black males, 15 of whom were born by 1850. You might want to check those guys out. Since slavery was gone by 1870, William's will would not be of any help. All things considered, your ancestor almost certainly was on this plantation at Cape Fear, NC. That's about all I can offer, and I understand the challenge. If you are successful, I would be interested in knowing what helped you the most as I get a lot of inquiries. Regards, Ed Crump, Jr. in Louisiana Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.