Prisoner of War

State of Indiana Warren County SS

Before me the undersigned authority personally appeared Washington M Crawford who being by me first duly sworn says

my age is 46 years.

In the matter of my claim for pension No 170744 my occupation has always been that of a farmer. For five year preceding my enlistment in Co H 2nd NY Cav I worked on a farm for my father in Washington township Warren County Ind except the last year prior to the breaking out of the war I moved to Jordan township and began farming for myself. I continued there until August 3rd 1861, when I enlisted in the army in the above named Co and regiment. I was in all the engagements the regiment was in from the time of its organization until the 22nd day of Sept 1863 when I was taken prisoner in an engagement between Gen Kilpatrick and Gen Stewart near Liberty Mills Va.

The circumstances under which my disability was incurred was hardships of prison life such as being confined with thirty five thousand men on about sixteen acres of ground with insufficient food and no shelter except a government blanket which makes a poor Shade and no shelter from the rain whatever. I passed the winter of 1863 and 1864 in Bell Isle and in March 64 I was taken to Andersonville Ga where I incurred the disability during the summer of 1864. I went from there to Charleston SC and there eighteen days and was then taken to Florence SC where on the 7th of Dec 64 I was paroled in the agreement between two Commissioners to exchange ten thousand sick.

I arrived home in June 1865 and remained on the old homestead with my mother and was treated by Dr Tebbs and Dr Greeley who are both deceased. In 1866 I lived in Jordan township, tried farming and received treatment from Dr Frankeberger who is also deceased. In 1867 I lived in Washington township followed farming and was again treated by Dr Greely. I remained in Washington township until 1871 when I moved to Pike township and followed farming there until 1873 when I again moved to Washington township where I have remained to the present and have been following farming.

I am a constant sufferer with the following troubles: rheumatism, neuralgic, bronchitis, piles and the effects of Scurvy in my feet My treatment since the death of Drs Tebbs of Williamsport Ind, Dr Greely of West Lebanon Ind, and Dr Frankeberger of Jordan has been by Dr Leech who now resides at Crawfordsville Ind, Dr T B Campbell of West Lebanon, Ind and Dr. Osborne of West Lebanon Ind

I have performed manual labor every year since the war except the first year immediately after the war. I have not been able at any time since the war to do a full day’s work from the fact that my feet are so affected that I cannot stand the walking. My mussles also pain me so that I am compelled to stop. I am not able to do more than one fourth as much of any kind of farm work as I could before the war. When I do any heavy work it brings on piles when I am exposed. I suffer with Bronchitus. All the work I do must be done under great difficulties and with great pain. I am frequently confined to the house and sometimes to my bed but I cannot give dates as to time of said confinement. All I can do with any degree of certainty is to oversee the work and do chores.

I have not suffered at any time with any acute disease since my discharge from the Army.

Washington M Crawford

 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 7^th day of April 1884 and I certify that I have not interest in the claim this affidavit seeks to establish.

Henry C Johnson, Clk.

Fry Bryant Dep

From the Military and Pension Record File of Washington M. Crawford, obtained via mail from the National Archives and Record Administration.

West Lebanon to Dodge City

The newcomers who arrived last Saturday from West Lebanon state of Indiana are E. Brice, wife and three children; J. H. Crawford, wife and six children; W. P. Armour, wife and two children, J. O’Hara, wife and one child, J. M. Fleming and wife; Joseph Briggs, wife and one child; Thompson Rankins wife and six children; U.R. Rogers, wife and two children; Geo. Jones, wife and two children; Chas. Dickerson and wife; David Wilson and son; David Manford and Charles Brown. They brought with them about twenty-five horses and mules, farming implements and household furniture. They go to work at once on their claims about nine miles north-west of Dodge.

Ford County Globe Republican March 5, 1878, Page 3, Column 3 (Ford County, Kansas)

Military Record FOUND!

When it comes to military records from World War II, the saying ‘Time Heals’ has some merit. During my early days of researching my family history, I was told that my dad’s military file probably didn’t exist. This wasn’t because someone threw it away but because of a fire in the building housing the personnel files. Thus, I had been content with a copy of his discharge record from the Ford County Recorder of Deed’s Office. That was until recently, when I found out some files survived and other files are being reconstructed. Thus, I tried again — AND — received his complete file. I am so thankful that I sought out this record! Below is his military history as outlined by various documents in his file.

Eugene David Crawford passed the Eddy Test and was technically qualified for Radio Technician training in the U.S. Navy on 6 Feb 1945. The Eddy Test was a test given to identify men with the capability and aptitude for being trained as electronics maintenance technicians in the U.S. Navy.

Eugene enlisted in the United States Naval Reserves on 15 Feb 1945 at U.S. Naval Reserve Station in Kansas City, Missouri.  On 15 Feb 1945 at the U.S. Navy Recruiting Station in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, he was ordered to active duty without pay and to proceed to home at 512 Avenue ‘G”, Dodge City, Kansas and upon arrival he should consider himself released from active duty to await further orders.

On 16 May 1945, Eugene was received at the U.S. Naval Reserve Station in Dodge City, Ford County, Kansas.  On 17 May 1945, he graduated from Dodge City Senior High School in Dodge City, Ford, County Kansas. He was recalled to active duty on 20 May 1945 at U.S. Naval Reserve Station in Kansas City, Missouri.

Eugene was transferred to the U.S. Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois on 21 May 1945. He reported for active duty on 21 May 1945 at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois. He was granted recruit leave from 9 Jul 1945 to 14 July 1945 at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois.

On July 20, 1945, Eugene was transferred to the Navy Training College for study of pre-radio material at Wright Junior College in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. He was transferred to the Naval Training School (EE & RM) for a course of instructions at U.S. Naval Training Center in Gulfport, Mississippi on 15 Aug 1945. He was discharged from class V-6 US Naval Reserve on 4 Sep 1945. Eugene enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a seaman 1st class radio technician on 5 Sep 1945 at Naval Training Center in Gulfport, Mississippi. He reported for active duty in the U.S. Navy on 5 Sep 1945 in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Eugene was discharged from the U.S. Navy on 23 Oct 1945 for convenience of the government at Naval Training Center in Gulfport, Mississippi. Eugene voluntarily enlisted in Class V6 US Naval Reserve on 23 Oct 1945 in Gulfport, Mississippi. On Jan 4, 1946, he was transferred to the Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, Illinois. (In talking about his military experience, dad said he ‘flunked out’ of radio school. This is somewhat ironic in that Eugene Crawford majored in science in college and spent most of his career teaching science — including physics. As a retiree, Eugene earned his Amateur Radio license.)

On the first of May, 1946, Eugene was transferred to receiving station in Shoemaker, California. Eugene was transferred for duty aboard the USS Oneida (APA-221) under Captain Harry A. Guthrie, U.S. Navy on 20 May 1946. The USS Oneida (APA-221) was a Haskell-class attack transport. He served outside the continental limits of the United States in the Pacific Ocean around Guam and Samar from 1 Jun 1946 to 16 July 1946 aboard the U.S.S. Oneida (APA-221) During this time, the U.S.S. Oneida participated in Operation Magic Carpet, returning veterans to the states. (In talking about his shipboard experience, dad said one of the soldiers being transported home was a former grade school classmate who had moved away from Dodge City.)

On 24 July 1946, Eugene was transferred to the receiving station at Treasure Island in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California. He  received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy as Seaman First Class V-6 USNR on 1 Aug 1946 in Norman, Oklahoma.

 

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Judson Foster Crawford – Josie Winifred Hammond

Judson Foster Crawford was born in April 1866 in Warren County, Indiana. He was the second child born to Washington Marion and Mary (Foster) Crawford. Judson’s father had only been home from the war for a year when Judson was born.

At the age of 14, Judson was living with his parents in Warren County, Indiana. Family tradition says that as a young adult, Judson

• was a cook’s helper on a cattle drive
• worked on a ranch
• worked in a grocery store

Even though these stories are hard to prove, they could all be true. Judson’s uncle, James H. Crawford migrated from Indiana to the Dodge City area where he owned both a ranch and a grocery store. Thus, Judson could have worked for his uncle on the ranch or in town at the store. The 1885 Kansas census indicates that Judson did work in a store since his occupation is listed as clerk.

At the age of 23, Judson went to work for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad in Dodge City.

A little over a year later, he married Josie Winifred Hammond on Christmas Eve in 1890 in Dodge City. Josie was born in Knox County, Illinois in 1874, the daughter of Richmond Fisk and Sarah (Ralston) Hammond. By 1880, the Hammond family was living in Hardin County, Iowa. By 1887, Richmond purchased land in Ford county and moved his family to the Dodge City area.

Judson and Josie welcomed their first child, Bernice Crawford,  in 1892. Having been transferred to Newton, Kansas, their first son, Leon Russel Crawford, was born in 1894. The following year, they were living back in Dodge City when Marion Richmond Crawford was born.

Family stories indicate that the family moved to Oklahoma to live near Josie’s sister. These stories indicate that life was not easy in Oklahoma and that the children almost died. Other than records involving Josie’s sister, Stella Root, the 1900 census is the only source that might support this family tale. The 1900 census indicates that Judson was working as a carpenter — and NOT for the railroad. By 1905, Judson is again working for the railroad.

The family was living in Dodge City in 1900 when a daughter, Helen Marjorie Crawford, joined the family. The youngest son, Hugh Judson Crawford, joined the family in 1902. The youngest daughters, Esther Stella and Lois Elida Crawford were born in 1905 and 1909 in Dodge City.

By 1915, Judson was identified as the night yard master for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. In 1919, he was a member of the AT&SF Joint General Committee. Judson continued working as a switchman for the Santa Fe railroad and retired in 1936.

Judson was active in the community. As a young man, Judson was a member of the fire department and served as the assistant secretary in 1891. At the age of 54, Judson was a school board member for the Dodge City Schools.

Judson and Josie celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1940.

Judson passed away at the age of 82 in Dodge City. He was buried in the family plot in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Dodge City.

 

 

 

Winnie Letha Currey Crawford

Aunt Winnie to many, grandma to me

Family was important to Winnie Crawford. It was her quest to know more about her grandmother (her mom’s family) that started my genealogy journey. At the time, it was hard for me to imagine growing up without knowing your grandparents — or at least something about them. Even though my Briles grandfather died when I was 4, I grew up hearing stories about him. That was not true for Winnie. All of her grandparents had died before she was born.

Winnie Letha Currey was born in 1903 in Leavenworth County, Kansas. She was the seventh child born to Hiram and Winnie (Hutchinson) Currey. As a young child, Winnie’s contact with family members was limited to her immediate family. Both the Currey and Hutchinson families dispersed around the turn if the century leaving few aunts, uncles, cousins living in the vicinity during Winnie’s childhood.

Around 1908, Winnie’s family moved from Leavenworth County to near Plainville, Kansas, where her dad rented land to farm. By 1913, the family left western Kansas and moved back to Olathe, Kansas.

Winnie’s letters provide the best picture of her childhood:

Feb 1982

I don’t know for sure but the Hutchinson family were around Liberty Mo and Dad went there to William Jewell and met my mother. The Currey place was a few miles form Lansing Kansas. The kids all left but after Gma & Gdad Currey died Uncile Will stayed on married & raised his family there. Aunt Jesse died before we left Lansing for Plainville Kas. My dad was a barber at Lansing owned his shop but sold it to farm at Plainville.

… I went with mother when Earnest was a baby to visit Aunt Nora & I faintly remember an old lady smoking a corn cob pipe, who she was I wouldn’t know.

Mother died in May. We went to the Children’s Home June 11 — Herb didn’t go and Myrtle wasn’t there long til she went to Aunt Mary’s in Denver Col.

Mary and I stayed together till she got married. But to go back – The court took Littens license away so dad had to take us back till Mary & I finished grade school. Then he was going to put us back into a home. I got Aunt Joe De Shazer to take Alma & found a home for Earnest. Then Mary & I lied about our ages went to work. I always kept track of the kids as I do now.

We were on the farm when Alma was borned. Just renting. We were burnt out for 4 straight years. So we moved to Olathe & dad went to hauling freight in Kansas City. The reason I stay with Liberty because Aunt Nora (mother did too) would tell me about their dances and one time got to KC form N KC and an old man came and set by me & called me Winnie and began to talk of the past. So that in itself told me mother lived around there.

Mid March

My dad was a jack of all trades except for his carpentery. In that he was tops. He could heal a headache, backache and aches of all sorts with his hands. He did it only for his family. I don’t know what it was in the census. But he was a barber while we were in Lansing. Had a barber shop of his own till he sold & we went to Plainville on the farm. When we were on the farm there was a hill not far from our hose & dad tunneled into it lined it with straw and stored our spuds, cabbage & spuds etc in it. They kept all winter.

Winnie married Leon Crawford in Dodge City in 1919. When asked about how she got from living with a cousin in North Kansas City to Dodge City, she said she went to Dodge to help Myrtle because Myrtle was having her first baby. (Myrtle was married in Dodge City on 24 Mar 1917. Dorothy, Myrtle’s first child, was born in Feb 1918 in Ford County, Kansas.) When asked about meeting Leon, Winnie said he would come over to Myrtle’s house and the four of them would play cards. Winnie and Leon were married in Myrtle’s living room on Christmas Eve, 1919.

Winnie and Leon lost their 1st child, Betty Jean, on the day she was born in 1921. Six years later, their son Eugene was born. Eleven years after that, their youngest son, LR, was born and she would bury him in 1961.

Winnie was a typical wife and mother for that time period. She raised a garden and canned the produce to help put food on the table. During World War II, Winnie opened a room in their house so that wives of the US Army pilots would have someplace to stay. When the family moved from Avenue G to 2nd street, Winnie continued the practice of renting out rooms. The bedrooms on the second floor were rented to students going to college across the street. When those same students couldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving, they would be included at the family table.

Winnie hosted family dinners on a regular basis. She was a good cook and enjoyed baking. Pecan, pumpkin and cherry pies were always part of a holiday meal. Homemade noodles, gum drop cookies, and frozen salad were some of the family favorites. Even when she traveled to Emporia for those holiday dinners, she would bring the pies, the gumdrop cookies and the frozen salad.

Winnie was also a quilter. She hand embroidered quilts for her son and granddaughter. Her grandsons also were beneficiaries of one of her quilts. Her green pom-pom quilt was her pride and joy. She created this quilt for their bedroom. This quilt has been repurposed into table runners by her great-granddaughter and shared with the family.

Winnie and her husband, Leon Crawford, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1969. Seven years later, Winnie would sell the family home, move into an apartment and bury her husband.

Winnie later moved to a first floor apartment in the high rise on Central where she tended the flowers on the East side of the building. It was in this apartment that my genealogy journey began. We would sit and discuss my findings, go thru the albums and talk about her life.  I will always treasure my memories of those weekends spent with her.

 

Finally! CRAWFORD hint on We’re Related App

I’ve gotten so that I don’t regularly check the ‘We-re Related‘ app since it usually points to the same few New England lines in my tree. I’m currently, not working on those lines and thus haven’t spent any time to determine whether the hints provided will help.

So when I opened the app yesterday and saw that I may be related to Alec Baldwin, I thought OK, which New England line will it be this time. To may amazement, it was my CRAWFORD line. Having been able to locate sources to prove the next generation on a couple of other We’re Related hints, I was SO HOPING the same would be true  with my CRAWFORD line. Below is the proposed line(s).

The image on the right is for my line and the image on the left is for Alec Baldwin’s line.

When I first looked at it, I only looked at my side and was disappointed.

• unnamed Crawford as the father of my James
• more James and John’s to sort out

Then, I looked at his line and started comparing the two. That’s when I realized that it was proposing that Janett Thomson had TWO sons named John Crawford — born three years apart. This wasn’t unusual if the first son died. But no, they both live long enough to get married and have offspring.

Since the app doesn’t provide any other information about the line — such as places or spouses names, it is hard to determine if anyone else has a tree that agrees with what the app is proposing. Since Ancestry trees weren’t much help, I turned to Family Search.

On Family Search, I found an Archibald Crawford (KLBT-3N1) that matched the Archibald Crawford in Alec Baldwin’s line. According to Family Search, this Archibald Crawford was the son of John Crawford (LC55-44P) and grandson of Janett Thomson and Robert Crawford (L5B1-L8Y). That’s where it gets messy! The family of Robert and Janett shows 10 children with 3 of them being named John, 2 named William and 2 named Robert. (See any issues here?)

So what about my side? Family Search shows a son of Robert & Janett named John who died in 1736. However, FS shows this John Crawford  (LHZG-Y9W) being born in 1701. Based on the number of wives associated with John Crawford (LHZG-Y9W), it is likely that more than one John Crawford is involved. Thus, not much help. (:

Going back to Robert Crawford (L5B1-L8Y), FS also shows him married to Mary Shaw (L5B1-P2Z). According to FS, this couple had 4 children: James, Robert, Col. William and Col. John  (L8WG-7DQ). Although I haven’t found the documentation to support it, other researchers have connected several Crawford families from Lincoln and Madison Counties, Kentucky prior to 1790 to Col. John Crawford (L8WG-7DQ) and believe he is the son of Robert and Mary (Shaw) Crawford.

At this point, I have not found anything to support or disprove the Crawford ancestors proposed by the We’re Related app. For now, my line is a dead-end with James Crawford in the 1790s in Kentucky.

Leon Russell Crawford

Leon Russell Crawford was born in Newton Kansas on the 6^th of Feb 1894.

According to Leon’s wife, Winnie Crawford, the family lived in Oklahoma when Leon and his sister Bernice were young. Winnie stated:

Judson Crawford worked on a ranch in Oklahoma because Josie’s sister and husband were there. The family all almost died. Judson was extremely ill. The children, Bernice (over 2) and Leon (1) almost died because of poor diet.

Documentation for this story has not been found. However, Josie’s sister and husband did live in Oklahoma.

The family was living in Dodge City by his 6^th birthday. As a child, Leon attended the Third Ward School that was located on Boot Hill.

 

Leon and his brother, Marion, served in the U.S. Army during World War I. Leon served as a 2^nd class gunner in the 25^th AA Battery of the first AA. In April and May 1918, his unit was at St. Misner during the 2^nd Battle of the Marne. The unit then served as part of the outer defense of Paris. (Pictured: Homer Short & Leon Crawford on back row, Russel Horton (brother-in-law) and Marion Crawford (brother) on front row.)

On March 15, 1919, Leon sent a telegram to his parents stating that he had arrived in Camp Stuart, Virginia and that all was well.

Leon was honorably discharged from the military on 28 March 1919.

Leon married Winnie Currey on Christmas Eve 1919 at her sister’s house. After their marriage, the couple lived at 504 Avenue G. Ever the romantic, Leon purchased a red rose for Winnie for their 1^st anniversary. Each year he added a rose until he was purchasing a dozen roses. Each subsequent year, Winnie would receive a dozen red roses from her husband on Christmas Eve.

After serving during WWI, Leon returned to work with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad working as a switchman in the railroad yard. Leon did not appear on the payroll for the AT&SF Railroad during Oct. 1923. According to his wife, Winnie Crawford, there was also a time during the depression when he was also laid off. She said that the railroad would call Leon in to work when needed. Thus, the family had to maintain a telephone so they could receive those phone calls. By 1953, Leon had been promoted to foreman for the AT&SF. Leon retired from the railroad in May of 1960. During his employment with the railroad, Leon was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and received his 50 year pin in Feb of 1967.

By 1953, Leon and Winnie were living in the Crawford family home at 911 Second. This home was the nucleus of Winnie and Leon’s family. The home boasted a large room for the kitchen that housed a long pine table. Family gatherings took place around this table, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Often times Winnie’s friend, Mary Hoffman, or a lone college student who couldn’t go home would join the table. These celebrations always involved a lot of food – most of it cooked in that kitchen. One of the rules for the children at the table is that we had to try everything. At some point, that rule was relaxed to ‘you have to try everything but the oysters’. The scalloped oysters were a favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas dish of the adults but disliked by the children at the table. By not requiring the children to try the oysters, the adults discovered that it left more for them.

Even though I never witnessed Leon cooking, he was at home in the kitchen. He would often set the table while his wife was preparing the food. One of his favorite sayings in the kitchen was in regards to clean-up when he would say ‘I’ll do the plates’ – referring to the paper plates that had been used for the meal. Ironically, Leon often helped with the dishes – even when paper plates weren’t used.

If one listened closely at that table, Leon would sometime talk about his family. Unfortunately, as a child, I wasn’t always paying attention. I do remember two of his stories.

The first family story involved the land south of the river (Arkansas River) in what was known as South Dodge. Leon would talk about helping his ‘Uncle Jimmy’ farm that land. At the time, I had no idea who ‘Uncle Jimmy’ was. It was only after working on the family history that I realized that the ‘Uncle Jimmy’ from Leon’s youth was his great-uncle, James H. Crawford. James H. Crawford did own a lot of land south of the Arkansas River.

The second family story was told at a Sunday dinner. It was girl scout Sunday and I had attended church with my girl scout club instead of going with the family. That Sunday, we attended the First Presbyterian church in Dodge City. During dinner, we were talking about my experience and I remember Leon saying that his family was Presbyterians. This little tidbit has not been verified – but many of the Crawford families in early Kentucky were Presbyterian.

Leon and Winnie celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in 1969. For their anniversary, Winnie gave Leon a wedding ring. Leon wore this ring until his death in October 1976.