I'm not sure of the above but I do know of one CROOKS family from Kilmarnock,who's decendants went to Ontario, Canada. The origin was John CRUIX born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire in 1640-41 he married Janet SMITH. Their son William CROOKS b:1667 married a Janet HOWIE and they in turn had a son William in 1699 he married Agnes GAUDIE 1706-1760 at Kilmarnock on the 4 November 1726. (are you with me so far ?)
NOW we get to the Canadian connection. William CROOKS b:1751 the son of William CROOKS and Agnes nee GAUDIE, married margaret RAMSEY who was born 1753 in Edinburgh, Scotland and died on 21 August 1827 in Gore, Ontario Canada. married in Kilmornock, Scotland on the 24 December 1772. William died on 20 February 1796 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

The children of this marriage as near as I can work out were:-

Margaret Crooks b:1773, Kilmarnock ? d:1857
William Crooks b:1775 Kilmarnock ? d:1775 Kilmarnock
William CROOKS b: 1776 Kilmarnock d: 31 December 1836, Niagra Falls
James Crooks b:1778 Kilmarnock ? d: 20 July 1860 Dundas,Ontario
Jean Crooks b:1779 Kilmarnock ? d:1843, Yorkshire, England
Ann Crooks 1781 Kilmarnock ? d:1823
Francis Crooks 1782 ? 1845
Helen Crooks 1783 ? 1813
Ramsay Crooks b: Greenock,Renfrewshire 1787 ? d: 5 June 1859 New York
Elisabeth Crooks b: 1789 Greenock ? 1818
Janet Addison Crooks b:1791 Greenock ? d: 1843 Canada
Matthew Crooks b:1793 Greenock ? d: 10 May 1856, Ontario, Canada
John Crooks b:1794 Greenock ? d:1833 Ontario, Canada

If you think this is your CROOKS let me know.
The above William CROOKS 1776-1836 married Mary Butler on 1 December 1808 Mary Butler was born in Butlerbury,New York in 1781 and died 1851

Jan

Looking for Mary Dickie; James CROOKS 1778-1860 married Jane CUMMINGS 1791-1861 and their son James 1811-1841 married Eleanor DICKIE 1816-1884 on the 13 July 1836 I know nothing at the moment about her or her family but perhaps your connection lies there somewhere. These are their children:- June Crooks 1836 ? 1916 James Ewart Crooks 1838 ? 1842 Ellen Eliza Crooks 1841 ? 1863

From: http://www.hamilton-scourge.hamilton.ca/the-schooners.asp

James Crooks 1778-1860: Original Owner of the Lord Nelson
The owner of the Lord Nelson, James Crooks, was upset at the loss of his schooner. He immediately went to Sackets Harbor to reclaim his ship, asserting that she was taken before the official declaration of war, and therefore could not be confiscated. However, in spite of his attempts the Lord Nelson became part of the American fleet.

After the War, Crooks again laid claim for losses to the enemy. On October 24, 1815, he claimed "For a new schooner, burthen about fifty tons, called the Lord Nelson...", and although the U.S. pronounced the seizure illegal on July 11, 1817, Crooks had still not been paid.

Legal pressure continued with Crooks' heirs and it was not until 1927 that the United States government agreed to pay the Canadian government $23,644.38 ($15,546.63 after deduction of legal expenses) to be divided among 25 beneficiaries.

Thank you for your reply, that is most definately the family. i have a couple of differences : according to my records :

William Crooks ( ???) + Mary dickie (???) , had a son francis Crooks (???) who married Mary Armour ( ???) They had the William Crooks(1751) who married Margaret Ramsay (1753 ) from that point on our records are basically the same ... I was given my info by a distant relative and it appears that your info is more complete and probably more reliable would it be possible for you to link me to the source of your info ?..

Once again, Thank you very much ...Boru ...

This is where it got a bit sticky for me in my search. I saw Mary Armour 1731-1752 the daughter of Robert Armour being another wife for William CROOKS 1751 I dismissed it because the dates for the marriage would have made it impossible (1752 or 1802). I'll have a look around for another Francis. The earliest Francis I could find was the one above 1782-1845 and in 1806 he married Mary STAGG 1795-1845. I haven't got any one source but several. I think if I find Mary Dickie we'll be right. See I have Agnes GAUDIE there. This could get long email me
janilye@yahoo.com.au

It's okay I found it.
Mary Armour born 18 March 1707, Kilmarnock Ayreshire the daughter of Alexander Armour 1869-? and Jean LITTLEJOHN 1689-?

On the 6 November 1727 Mary ARMOUR Married Francis CROOKS b: 24 October 1704 at Townend, Scotland, Baptised 29 October 1704 By Francis Finlayson, Minister, with witnesses John Cruikes, Shoemaker, and William Brackenridge, elder, on the sabbath.
Francis Crooks was the son of William CROOKS b:1665 Kilmarnock and Margaret DICKIE b:22 Dec.1661.
William CROOKS and Margaret DICKIE were married on 25 November 1703.
The children of William CROOKS and Margaret DICKIE were:-
Francis CROOKS 1704 ? Margaret Crooks 1706 ? Hugh Crooks 1709 ? Jean Crooks 1712 ? Mary Crooks 1715
The children of Francis CROOKS 1704 and Mary ARMOUR 1707 were:-

Jean Crooks 1728 ? 1730 Hugh Crooks 1731 ? Francis Crooks 1733 ? Hugh Crooks 1735 ? Margaret Crooks 1738 ? Jean Crooks 1740 ? William CROOKS 1746 ? 1796 John Crooks 1748 ? Mary Crooks 1750 ?

Margaret DICKIE 1661-1715 was the daughter of Adam DICKIE and Janet FINDLAY
William CROOKS 1665-c1717 was the son of Alexander CROOKS born abt1649

Correction Alexander Armour born abt 1689

See, You thorough researchers are great! Excellent, I'm a novice, but I can identify fantastic research when I see it. Great Jan.

Thank you Jan You have been a great help ...

I'm a descendant of William Crooks and Mary Butler. I see this is a fairly old post, so you may well have obtained all the information you need, but if you are still looking, I may be able to help. By the same token, I'm hoping to find a more information about the family history in Scotland.