(These pages are copied from David Attride - david-attride.net & my interest is as a descendant of William Davis Hughes. Return to my cover page.)

There are 2 well documented CRESS families:

Firstly, Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress: born in 1721 in Steinau, Hesse-Nassau; married in Mecklenburg Co., NC in 1755 leaving a large family in the Charlotte, NC and Cabarrus Co., NC area (spelling the surname CRESS)

Secondly, George Cress born ca 1739 (Germany or Pennsylvania) who married in SE Pennsylvania, had children, served in the Revolutionary War then moved to northern Virginia and later SE Ohio.

Y-DNA testing of male descendants shows these two gentleman are not closely related.  It is through years of research largely by Edgar Cress and Claud Crace that we know so much about this family.

George married Christina _____ ca1761 in Littlestown, PA; served in the Revolutionary War during the Summer/Fall of 1777 and was severely wounded.  In 1784 he moved his family settling in Rockbridge Co., VA.   In 1822 George & Christina moved to Gallia Co., OH where they died in 1823.  See the Data page for a most interesting story about George being wounded in a battle during the Revolutionary War.

His children:

Henry married Christiana Boys in Rockbridge Co., VA in 1794 and moved to Gallia Co., OH raising family of 5 children there. 

Christiana married George Williams in Gallia Co., OH in 1826 and had 5 children.

Elizabeth, mar. John Miller and stayed in Augusta Co., VA. 

Catherine, mar. Powlis Winters in 1800, had a daughter, Nancy and by 1830 was living in that part of Montgomery Co. that became Floyd Co., VA. 

Nicholas, mar. Elizabeth Ann Summers, about 1795 briefly moved to Amherst Co., VA then purchased property in Wythe Co., VA in 1797 and died there about 1799.  Nicholas had 6 sons (George; John; David E.; Samuel D.; Andrew Jackson and Joshua T.) and left a large number of grandsons in NE Tennessee, and SW Virginia. 

George, married Charity Morgan in 1790 in Rockbridge Co., VA; appears on the 1800 census in Wythe Co., VA then in 1810 in Floyd Co., KY. They had 6 children (2 sons: Peter and George M.; and 4 daughters: Elizabeth; Margaret; Sally and Christina). George & Charity moved to Miami Co., OH in 1830 but no one knows when or where they died.  Most of his children and grandchildren stayed in eastern Kentucky (where the surname morphed into CRACE or CRASE).

John married Elizabeth Linn in 1802 in Rockbridge Co., VA.  They had 8 children and appear to have stayed in that area of Virginia.

        Nicholas Cress Family Tree.jpeg                    George Crace Family Tree.jpeg