John Crim had a grant of land of 127.5 acres in the Little Fork next to Joseph Coons and John Young. His origins in Germany are less than certain according to B.C. Holtzclaw, but his father seems to be Christian Grimm of Oberschelden. His mother was Elisabeth Spielmann of Oberschelden. Trupbach, Seelbach, and Oberschelden form a line of three villages of extent about two miles (with some hills between them). John was christened 16 Jan 1701, making him 39 when he entered the Americas in 1740. He had a younger brother by four years, Jacob, who is said to have come with him. From their ages, the two men were probably married when they came but no marriages have been found in Germany.
John Crim probably even had a son when he came, as a John Crim served in the French and Indian War. This would be a little old for the father, and for the son to be old enough it would mean he was probably born before 1735 in Germany. John Crim sold his land in the Little Fork and moved to Fauquier County on the other side of the Rappahannock River, and settled on the Manor of Leeds as a tenant. He died in Fauquier County in 1772. His first wife was perhaps Gertrude, and the next wife was Catherine. The tithable list shows five sons of John Crim:
John (Jr.) Crim moved to Fayette Co., Kentucky, and is shown in the census of 1790, but not in the 1800 census of Clark Co., which was formed from Fayette and Bourbon Counties in 1792
Jacob Crim, son of John (Sr.), lived in Fauquier County and then moved to Culpeper County, where he appears in several deeds.
Harman Crim, son of John (Sr.), lived in Fauquier County all of his life until his death in 1807.
Joseph Crim, son of John (Sr.), lived in Fauquier until he moved to Kentucky, where he died in 1827.
Peter Crim, son of John (Sr.), moved to Kentucky, where it is said that he was killed by the Indians.
Returning to Jacob, the brother of John (Sr.), who came with John in 1740, less is known about his family. He seems to have lived on John's land in the Little Fork until John sold the land. Jacob then bought land in another section of Culpeper Co. One son, Jacob Crim, Jr., is known. Several deeds show him. In a couple of the deeds, the land is identified as having been John Kilby's land at one time.
Whenever I hear or read the name Crim, I think of the brothers Grimm who wrote the fairy tales. This book was so unpleasant to read that I abandoned it. The name Grimm is sometimes rendered as Krimm or Crim showing the confusion between
G
,
K
, and
C
.
(07 Dec 02)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.