In the reign of Elizabeth I of England, one John Cragg came out from somewhere in Cumberland, probably Penrith, to Lancaster. He was probably born in the 1570's. His wife's name was Isabel. "He was one called a clerk, being one that did the office of a priest, according as it was practised at that day and time."
They had four children, all born in Lancaster: Elizabeth, born in 1600, Isabel in 1601, Thomas (date unknown) and Henry in 1603.

In 1606, John Cragg was given the charge of Wyersdale Chapel. ''Wyersdale then being part of the parish of Lancaster." In Schofield's History of Wyersdale, it states that he was "noe preacher" but he was a sincere hard-working man.

He and his family resided at Chapelhouse, very near the church, and he remained vicar there until his death.

There are conflicting statements on the date of his death. Some say 1630, 1632 and 1623. From a paper written in 1790, it states that John Cragg was buried the 5th day of the fourth month in the year 1623. His wife, Isabel, died in 1622.

Of his children, Henry is the only one on whom we have any information. He was a church warden, worked as a carpenter and lived on at Chapelhouse farm. He married Isobel Townson of the Morehead. She was buried the 15th day of the third month in 1688. They had three children: Thomas, Richard and John. John died in 1680 and Richard was buried just seven or eight days before his father.

Henry's son, Thomas Cragg was born at Chapelhouse, March 16, 1631. He married Jennet Townson, a very remarkable woman. He, also, was a carpenter, farmer and church warden. They had four children: Timothy, Agnes, Dorothy and Elizabeth. Agnes and Dorothy married and had large families. Elizabeth's story has been well recorded.

The time of Jennet and Thomas Cragg was a time of unrest in England.  In 1633, Charles I had "dissolved parliament and had taken the direction which eventually led him to the scaffold. Bishop Laud was at the height of his power. The Star Chamber had been established and the country was drifting fast towards rebellion led by John Hampden."

When they were both still very young, the civil war came. Superstitions were rampant. Troops of the different parties were often in the vicinity, foraging for food. The Earl of Derby had part of Lancaster destroyed and with "much slaughter, took the city".  Oliver Cromwell fought a decisive battle in the valley of the Ribble in 1648. In 1651, Prince Charles came from Scotland through Lancashire with 14,000 men.  The aftermath was dire poverty for the locals. The restoration of the Stuarts and the Corporation Act and the Five Mile Act each added their own brand of hardship.

Elizabeth Cragg was born December 21, 1660, at Chapelhouse. In September of 1682, she married a widower, John Kelsall. John Kelsall was a tailor by trade and a Quaker by faith. They went to live in Hart Street in London, where two boys were born: John, born July 7, 1683 and Joseph, born September 9, 1684.  Elizabeth's husband, John Kelsall, died of a fever on August 5, 1684. A year later, Elizabeth also died leaving the two little boys in the care of friends. John had a very bad foot and although it did heal, he was slightly lame for life.

In 1687, the grandmother, Jennet, who had remarried to a Quaker named Thompson after Thomas Cragg died, went up to London on horseback all the way from Rowtonbrook, Quernmore, and brought back the two babies "in the panneries on her galloway”.  In 1690, Thomas Thompson died and Jannet took the two boys to Wyresdale. She placed them in Abbeystead school with master Christopher Bond.  Joseph did not remain long in school but John continued.
After grandmother Jannet died on June 23, 1699, John went to live with his uncle Timothy at Chapelhouse. He later became a school master. He married Susanna Davies and had ten children. He died at Chester in 1743.

Joseph became a farmer in the Quernmore Valley.  He married Margaret Winder and is the ancestor of the Kelsalls who still live thereabouts, including the present occupants of Chapelhouse farm.

Timothy Cragg was born at Chapelhouse on October 2, 1658.  The family was protestant and they were all raised and educated well.  He speaks of remembering the plague in London and of a book called “Crumbs of Comfort, which had a prayer in it that was to be read in the time of pestilence".
As he grew older, he became a rather wild young man, a trainband soldier. At the age of 22, in the reign of James II, he was in the army and took part in all the riotous living of the soldiers of the day. He was married at the age of 26 to Agnes Jackson - of a fine family of authors and priests. When the militia was called up in the Monmouth Rebellion, they were called upon to take the oath of allegiance to the King. He said his heart was with Monmouth.  Perhaps due to his mother's influence as a Quaker, he wished to refuse to take the oath on this occasion and also later under William of Orange.
After the Monmouth affair was over in 1687, he became a church warden.  But more and more he became dissatisfied with the established church and turned more to the Quaker way of thinking. He was playing cards for apples one evening when a great storm came up which he took to be a warning from God. He ran home as fast as he could and "carded never more".  In 1688 he joined the Society of Friends by convincement. His wife was quite distressed about this but ''bore the cross with forebearance and fortitude ''.

Of the eleven children of Timothy and Agnes, eight survived childhood:
Thomas, born in 1686, never married and died in 1716;
David, born on January 1, 1687;
Margaret, born in 1692, married William Birket and died in 1711;
Timothy, born in 1695, did not marry and died in 1734;
Elizabeth, born in 1698, died young;
Titus, born in 1700, married Alice Parkinson in 1733 and died in 1781 leaving many descendants;
Dorothy, born in 1703, married Robert Knowles;
John, born in 1708, married Mary Emla in 1732 and had several children.

Of these children of Timothy Cragg, I will follow the line of David later in this book.

Timothy Cragg (1658 - 1724) was described by John Kelsall as "a grave, solid man". Schofield said he was a "man of some attainments, much zeal and great self assurance".  He became one of the leading members in the Society of Friends.

His son David (1687 - 1746) was born at Chapelhouse.  He married Margaret Wilson in 1735 and died at Chapelhouse in 1746 .
By this time the family had improved the farm. It had been "ling(heather) and bent and pits and holes” but “with great charge it was made serviceable for a family to live on". Enclosure of the land took place in the time of Charles I or perhaps, Cromwell. Land was also acquired at Greenbank and some town property as well.
Chapelhouse is now part of the Sefton Estate. The original house is still in existence and occupied as a dwelling. It has the original black oak beams in the living room.  These beams are hand-hewn and still so hard that it is very difficult to drive a nail into them.  The stone walls are very thick and until recently the back half of the roof still had the original stone flags. The house is situated in a very scenic setting across the moor to the hills which are on three sides. Just down the fields, one can see the Wyresdale church. The chapel was rebuilt in 1733 and now has lovely stained glass windows. Not much of the original church remains, just two doorways and the window below the steeple.

In his will, Timothy Cragg left Chapelhouse farm to his son, Timothy, the Thompson land to Titus and John, and Greenbank to David. The money and personal effects went to his daughters, Margaret, Elizabeth and Dorothy.

The house at Greenbank was built, according to an inscription in 1713, by Timothy and Agnes Cragg; the barn by Timothy and David in 1721. The house is still in use but has been extensively modernized inside and out.  I believe it is now known as “Beechhouse”.

This David married Margaret Wilson on August 7, 1735 and had three sons:
David, born March 6, 1738 and married October 5, 1769. His wife's name was Rebecca. He died in 1774 leaving no issue.
Thomas, born December 7, 1741. I have no further information on him.
Timothy, the eldest, was born March J 7, 1736. He was a large, rather severe Quaker.  He often rode horseback, sitting tall and erect. He was a farmer.  He married Jennet Ashburn, a very strong-willed and industrious woman. She died in 1823, a very old lady. They had five sons and one daughter: Thomas, Titus, David, Margaret, Richard and Timothy.

Thomas was born December 22, 1763 and married Elizabeth Kelsall on May 15, 1800. They had seven children. He farmed at Damasgillside. The house there has been taken down and the stone used for other purposes.

Titus was born in 1767. He married Hannah Crosskill late in life and died about 1840 leaving no issue.

Margaret was born in 1765. She married John Jackson. They had only one daughter, Jennet.  “They died all three in a little over a year and buried in one grave plot”, around 1795.

Richard, born February 20, 1771, married Agnes Bell. They had five children, one of which was a Jane Cragg, who married Joseph Kelsall.

Timothy, born February 4, 1773, married Jennet Parkinson in 1800.  They had seven children, of which were sons: Richard, Thomas, Timothy and Henry.  They all emigrated to the United States in 1821 and settled near Cincinnati, Ohio.  Henry died of cholera in New Orleans in 1832.  Richard married and had children - daughters Jennet and Hannah.

David, the subject of the next chapter, born April 11, was my great-grandfather. He married Mary Pye on April 9, 1807.  They had 8 children: Isaac (my grandfather), Timothy, Ann, Margaret, Agnes and David.