Ancestor Spotlight: Charles C. Crowe 1867-1891

I'm not sure how "regular" this particular theme will be for me. I guess it depends on how much my ancestors cooperate with my research.

For now, I will try to spotlight at least one ancestor per month, (hopefully) alternating branches of my family. I think they get a little touchy when I spend too much time on the "other" side, which is why I think I have such a hard time finding information. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The way this is supposed to work is that when I add an ancestor to my website, I will spotlight them here with a link to their page.  Again, it's supposed to work like that.  We'll see.

Charles C. Crowe is my maternal 2nd great grandfather.   His page can be found here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charles C. Crowe 1867-1945 

Charles C. Crowe was born on 9 Aug 1867 in Indiana. He is the son of John and Susan (Gray) Crow. The family moved to Scott Township in Jackson, Linn County, Kansas between 1869 and 1870, and Charles remained there until 1891, when he married Ida May Gray in Bates County, Missouri, at the age of 24.  It is believed that the couple marred in Missouri because the laws in Kansas did not allow first cousins to marry.  Ida's father and Charles' mother were siblings.

In 1900, he worked as a sewing machine agent Troy Township in Cannelton, Perry County, Indiana. In 1910, he was working as a machinist in his own shop in Rockport, Spencer County, Indiana. By 1930, Charles was working as a laborer in a garage and living at 125 W. 3rd Street in Mount Vernon, Posey County, Indiana.

Charles and Ida had 7 children between 1893 and 1908: Mabel L., Olive L., Owen Charles, Harold John, Albert L., Mary Ellen ("Helen"), and James Maurice ("Bill").

Rumor has it (from a grandaunt and a granduncle, Charles' grandchildren -- of course, I still need to confirm that with documentation, if any exists) that Charles and Ida's oldest daughter Mabel had "run off" and gotten married, and when Ida passed away, Charles decided he needed a housekeeper.  He retrieved Mabel, had the marriage annulled, and brought her back.  She lived with him until he died, and never married again.

Charles was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows, and was a guest at the I.O.O.F. home from December 1942 until he died.  He died on 1 Dec 1945 at the age of 78 in Gosport, Owen County, Indiana. He was buried on 4 Dec 1945 in Mount Vernon, Posey County, Indiana, at Bellefontaine Cemetery, section A row 15 grave 9.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will continue to add information as I find it.  Of course, I welcome any additions, corrections, etc.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Harold John Crowe's Date of Birth - A Research Log

This is me, still playing catch-up with my research logs, in an attempt to narrow the search for my great grandfather's birth date without the benefit of a true birth certificate.  If anyone sees anything I missed or any flaws in my analysis, please let me know.

Subject Name:  Harold John Crowe (Sr.), b. ?? d. 19 Sept 1971

Question to be researched:  When was Harold born?

Date of Search:  11.8.11

---

Place Searched:  ancestry.com (1900 Federal Census, Perry Co., IN, Troy Township, ED ED number 116, Sheet 9B, dwelling 179, family 194, Herrold J. Crowe.)

Results:  “Herrold J.” is shown as 8/12 years old, born in Sep 1899 in Indiana.  Census taken on 9 Jun 1900.

---

Place Searched:  Ancestry.com (1910 Federal Census, Spencer Co., IN, Ohio Township, ED ED number 84, p. 3B-4A, dwelling 72, family 74, Harold Crow.)

Results:  Harold is shown as 10 years old.  Census was taken on 18 Apr 1910, putting Harold’s birth date between 19 Apr 1900 and 17 Apr 1901.

---

Place Searched:  ancestry.com (1920 United States Federal Census, Posey Co., IN, Ward 1, Black Twp., ED 50, p. 13A-B, lines 44-1, dwelling 325. family 344, Charles Crow.)

Results:  Harold is listed as age 20.  Census was taken on 13-14 Jan 1920, making his date of birth between 15 Jan 1900 and 12 Jan 1901.

---

Place Searched:  ancestry.com (1930 Federal Census, Marion Co., IN, Center Township, ED number 49-402, p. 23A, dwelling 6, family 7, Harold Crowe.)

Results:  Harold is listed with his wife Lucille at age 30.  Census was taken on 22 Apr 1930, making his date of birth between 23 Apr 1900 and 21 Apr 1901.

---

Place Searched:  ancestry.com (Harold Crowe Sr, no. xxx-xx-8788, "U.S. Social Security Death Index," ancestry.com.)

Results:  Harold Crowe Sr’s date of birth is given as 15 Sept 1899.

---

Place Searched:  Harold John Crowe Sr, xxx-xx-8788, 1936, Application for Social Security Number, Social Security Administration.

Results:  Birth date is listed as 15 Sep 1899 for Harold John Crowe, Sr.

---

Place Searched:  "Funeral Records," Harold J. Crowe; G.H. Hermann Funeral Home, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Results:  Shows Harold J. Crowe’s birth date as 15 Sep 1899.  The informant was Harold Crowe Jr.  A phone call with the woman at the funeral home revealed that the information for the funeral home records was copied directly from the death certificate.

---

Place Searched:  Harold J. Crowe, Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Indiana, 20 September 1971, p. 31.

Results:  Obituary lists Harold J. Crowe as age 72.  He died on 19 Sept 1971, and the obituary was published on 20 Sep 1971.  This places his birth year in 1899.

---

Place Searched:  (Male) Crow, Perry County, Indiana birth certificate no. 2014034 (15 September 1899)

Results:  Birth certificate shows a male child born to Charles Crow and Ida Gray on 15 Sep 1899.  I can only assume this is Harold.

---

Analysis:  Census records as a whole are not reliable when it comes to exact dates.  His next oldest sibling is 2-1/2 years older, and his next youngest is 3 years younger.  Since the date on the birth certificate matches the date on his Social Security application, I am going to assume it is the same person.  That information also matches what was given in the funeral records.

---

Conclusion:  Since I have 3 sources that agree with the birth date of 15 Sep 1899, I am going to assume this is correct.

---

Next Steps:  I have requested his death certificate, but have not received it.  I have a feeling it will give exactly the same information that the records from the funeral home give.  I also requested his military records from WWI, but received a letter that the records were burned in the 1973 fire, so I am going to have to find a way to reconstruct them.

Harold John Crowe - Indiana - 1899-1971

Harold John Crowe is my great grandfather. You may remember him from my blog posts a couple of weeks ago in which I thought he and his family had been abducted by aliens, only to find out he was just a victim of bad penmanship.

I can't remember ever meeting him, since I was only about 3 years old when he died, but doing this research has really helped me learn a little bit about who he was, and it makes me kinda proud.

"Pop" Crowe (this is what everyone in the family called him) was born on 15 Sep 1899 in Cannelton, Perry County, Indiana, to Charles C. and Ida Mae (Gray) Crow. His family bounced around in rented homes to Perry County (1900 Census), Spencer County (1910 Census), and Posey County (1920 Census).

On 31 Dec 1917, he traveled roughly 50 miles to Princeton (Gibson County), Indiana, and enlisted in the Army National Guard and presumably served in France during World War I. I don't know yet when he was discharged, but he is listed with his family on the 1920 Census at 502 Third Street, Mt. Vernon, Indiana.

He finally put down some roots in Indianapolis (Marion County) in September 1920, when he married Lucile Francis Stiker (1900-1969), daughter of Eugene F. and Jeannette C. (Heerdink) Stiker. They lived at 1637 Raymond Street in Indianapolis on the 1930 Census. Unfortunately, the house has since been demolished, as it appears as a grassy lot on GoogleMaps. They had four children between November 1921 and December 1926, the third being my grandmother.

In 1936, Pop Crowe filled out his SS-5 to receive his social security number. I finally received a copy of it in the mail the other day. At that time, he was living at 2435 S. State Street, Indianapolis. He was working for Continental Baking Company (Wonder Bread Bakery) at 339 E. Market Street, Indianapolis. Apparently, the bakery building has since made way for a parking lot. I sent an inquiry to the company (now Interstate Brands) to see if they might have an old photo of the bakery.

In 1939, he went to work for General Motors in the Allison Division as an engine inspector and retired from there 25 years later in 1964. He passed away on 19 Sep 1971, at the age of 72, from respiratory and cardiac arrest resulting from a cerebral vascular accident (stroke). He also was diabetic. At the time of his death, he lived at 35 W. Pleasant Run Parkway South, Indianapolis. His son, Harold Jr. ("Bud") was the informant on his death certificate, as "Mom" Crowe had predeceased him in 1969. I received the funeral records from G. H. Hermann Funeral Home in Indianapolis showing that Pop Crowe is buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Obviously, this is not his entire story, and I have many holes to fill. At least I have a solid framework to fill in at this point. I plan to get my mom and her siblings to provide some stories of Mom and Pop Crowe (so if they are reading this - get busy!).

Part of my attempt to fill in some gaps in the history is to locate the Indiana state census records, along with obituaries for both Pop and Mom Crowe. I am also trying to obtain his military service record, but it looks like I may have to get my grandmother to request it, since I'm not considered "immediate family." I am also going to see if Wonder Bread still has employee records from 1936. I'm curious to find out what position he held there. I should probably get some church records (if any exist) and check for probate records too. If anyone has any other ideas, I look forward to hearing them.