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History of the Crouse Family

by

Michael Roseberry Crouse, 1844 - 1906

Additions by Minerva J. Lashley and John L. Shepard

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Notes by the copier.

Welcome! I'm John L. Shepard. I'm re-typing this old copy of the Crouse family history. The copy I'm working from is partly original typing, and the rest looks like 2nd or 3rd generation photocopies. My father copied it from a Photostat, but the location of the original is unknown. There are some typos. Where I find what looks like a mistake, I'll type the original as given and put my guess as to the proper word in brackets [like this.] This preserves the integrity of the original after this photocopy has faded away, and lets you know which errors are mine. There are a number of places where dates are replaced with underlines. Mr. Crouse did not have those dates, and hoped that some other family member would fill them in. If anyone knows where an original of this manuscript may be found, please contact me at speakertotools@gmail.com. Thank you. I will be adding to this page as I research this line. Look for additions at the bottom of the page.

Since this was written so long ago, there is no copyright on it. I feel it is a historical document important to the Crouse family and other genealogical researchers, and should be preserved as it originally was, as far as possible. Please treat the information presented here kindly. If you want to link to this page, feel free, but please don't copy it to your own site. New information may be added at any time.

John Shepard

Denver, Colorado, USA

August 1999, updated Apr 2008

 

 

History of Crouse Family

1700 - 1928

In the last part of the Sixties, [sixteen hundreds?] or the early part of the seventeen hundreds, the parent stock of the Nicholas Crouse family, lived midst the vine- lad [vine-clad] hills of Germany, and at one or the other of these periods, Nicholas Crouse, when a child, with the parents, left their native land and came to America, but at what point they landed or where they settled, nothing is known. The first place we find Nicholas Crouse, after returning landing in America, is at or near, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, [Cumberland County J. S.] where he settled, and it is only from that place that the Nicholas Crouse branch of the family, can, with any degree of accuracy, be traced. The writer is unable to give even his parents’ first names, of that of any of his brothers and sisters; how many children there were, or from what part of Germany they came, but from the build, cast and complexion of his children and their descendants, am strongly inclined to believe the parental stock were Saxons.

Nicholas Crouse’s father was a farmer; he and his wife and probably some of his children, lie buried at Carlisle. Our information is that Nicholas Crouse had, at least, one sister, who married ___________ Karte, and had by him at least one child, whom they called Kacob; [Jacob?] that they lived at Carlisle; and when this son grew to manhood he became the Commissary of the Regular Army stationed there.

Nicholas Crouse was a school teacher and a carpenter; during the Revolutionary Was [War] he was a soldier under General Washington. [The Pennsylvania Archives lists a Nichlos Crous as having served in the 2nd Battalion, 6th Company, rank of Private, Cumberland County, 6th class. The date is Sept 8, 1781. Inactive Duty Militia. If this is the same Nicholas Crouse he would have been over 40 at the time.] He married Eva Crop or Krop, a German Woman, (from what part of Germany she came, when, or anything regarding her parentage, nothing known) and lived in Carlisle a number of years and by his wife Eva, had a family of eight children, namely; John, Jacob, Samuel, William, George, Julia, Mary and Elizabeth; George being the youngest son and Julia the oldest daughter, and Elizabeth the youngest child.

George (the Writer’s Grand-Father) was bron [born] in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 17^th day of September 1766, in a one story, hewed-log house, situated in the northwest corner of the then town; a paling fence surrounded the house and in the north side of the yard stood a large locust tree.

No information of the date of birth of any of the other children is obtainable. When George was about three years of age, his father, Nicholas Crouse, with his family, moved some thirty miles distant on the Tuscorara [Tuscarora] Creek and after living there some eight or none years, moved back to Carlisle, but while living on the creek named, his son Samuel, when about fourteen years old, died of Smallpox, and on account of there being but few public roads at that day in that section of the country, (and none in fact except those used in hauling goods from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, and a few other towns of some size,) he moved his family to and from Tuscorara [Tuscarora] Creek on horse-back. George was some eleven or twelve years of age when his father moved back to Carlisle, and when some seventeen or eighteen years of age he assisted as a work-hand in the erection of Dickinson College (a brick building) situated at that day some two hundred yards north of Carlisle. In the month of February, nearly two years after the College was built, but not yet finished, though occupied and school going on with Dr. Nesbitt as principal, it caught fire and burned to the ground, but was immediately rebuilt, with stone, on the old foundation. Several young Chinamen, from China, were in attendance at the school when it burned. At that time the Regular Army was stationed at Carlisle and Jacob Karte, who was a nephew of Nicholas Crouse, was the Commissary.

Nicholas Crouse lived in Carlisle about eight years after his return from Tuscarara [Tuscarora] Creek, and then about the year 1786 or ’87 he moved with his family, or part of them at least, to Greene County, Pennsylvania, and settled some ten or twelve miles west of Waynesburg on or near the waters of Ten Mile Creek, which at that time was virtually a vast wilderness and there, he and his wife Eva, lived the remainder of their days, she dying shortly after they moved there and he a number of years after at a ripe old age. All of his family, except his two sons, were, at their death, far advanced in years; Samuel dying as stated on Tuscarara [Tuscarora] Creek, when a boy, and William at middle age, on Ten Mile, by or near, his fathers, and lies buried by his father and mother at the mouth of Roseberry Fork of Ten Mile.

His son John, moved, many years ago, probably prior to 1800, to Luray, Lewis County, Missouri, and died there, leaving the following named children: John, Mary, Margaret, Catherine and Josephine, whose whereabouts are, to the writer, unknown. His son Jacob was a butcher, and he also, many years ago, probably about 1800, moved to what was then called Beamerstown, now called Little Washington, Guernsey County, Ohio, and died there leaving the following named children: William, Jacob, Samuel, Maria, Emily and one other child, a girl, whose first name is unknown to me. The whereabouts of these children we, with any degree of certainty, know nothing, but have been informed that some of their children are still living in that county, at or near said town. And, unless our great-grandfather, Nicholas Crouse, had one or more brothers and that they, or their children, moved to Ohio many years ago, we are very much disposed to believe that Ex-Congressman George Crouse, a wealthy iron manufacturer of Akron, Ohio and Ex-Auditor Crouse, who was Auditor of Ashtabula County, Ohio, on or about 1875, and the present Superintendent, M. V. Crouse of the Orphans Home at Cincinnati, Ohio and a ________ Crouse who moved from Ohio to the state of Iowa many years ago and settled near what is now Davenport, or near Des Moines, and a Crouse family or two who also moved from Ohio to Bloomington or Jacksonville, Illinois, many years ago, were either children or grandchildren of said Jacob, son of said Nicholas Crouse, as we have no knowledge nor even the faintest information or any other branch of the Crouse name, even settling in the State of Ohio in an early day except Jacob Crouse and his brother George, who also moved to Ohio, probably some twenty-five or thirty years or more, afterwards, as will be hereinafter explained and all of his children and grandchildren accounted for. For the benefit of those, besides the writer, who are interested in this genealogy, as to how we learned about the Crouse familys [families] in Iowa and Illinois, would state that I learned it in my travels in those and other western states in 1883, and during the time of my stay in Kansas in 1886, 7, 8, and 1889, from parties who knew the families in Iowa and Illinois and knew from where the original settlers came, and among the number who gave us information was Reuben Crouse of Reno County, Kansas, in 1889. He was a farmer and had moved from near Jacksonville, Illinois, to said Reno County about 1886 or ’87, and informed me that he intended to shortly thereafter move back to Jacksonville, where he said he could do better at farming than in Kansas, and it was from him that we received a great deal of information relative to the Crouse families in Iowa and Illinois and their ancestors coming from Ohio. He was a man of about forty years of age, of medium size, cast and look of our grandfather, George Crouse, and his children and grandchildren, and I remarked such to him in our conversation and he replied that he saw the same between myself and the Crouse family of Iooinois [Illinois] and Iowa, and a number of the young class that were at that time living in southwestern and southern Kansas. And not only did he remark as to the striking resemblance between myself and the Crouse families in those western states, but various other persons with whom we conversed, while out in that country, and who knew people of our name made mention of it. And it is from this information that leads me to think that the early Crouse settlers in Iowa and Illinois were either children or grand-children of the said Jacob Crouse.

William, another son of Nichilas [Nicholas] Crouse, was a farmet [farmer] and moved to Greene County, Pennsylvania, about the timt [time] his father died, and settled near him on Ten Mile Creek and died there as heretofore stated, leaving the following named children: Samuel, Willism, [William] Jr., Nathan, Pwter [Peter], George, Phoebe, Sarah and Mary.

Samuel was a farmer and lived at Crouses’ Ford on Ten Mile in Said Green County, and died there, probably about 1880, at a ripe old age, leaving a family of both boys and girls, but what their names were I am unable to state. I never saw him but once and that in the spring of 1875, when I stopped at his house for a few minutes on my way home from Waynesburg, and then, although a man past three score and ten, he was as straight as an arrow, sandy complexion, bright eyes, ans [and] but little gray, showing that he was a man well preserved, and altogether a fine appearing man. He lived on said creek west of Waynesburg, a short distance from the villages of Clinton and Rogersville. Some of his children still live at and near the old home.

William, at that day, was what they called a horse-man; a dealer in horses. He went to Monroe County, Ohio, and died there many years ago, and, I presume, left a family, as I understand there are several families in that county by the name of Crouse, and I know of no others outside of our parental stock going there except him and his brother Samuel.

Samuel went to Ohio, but am unable to state when. The first account the writer has of him was in hearing, probably as far back as 1850, or a few years thereafter, my father and relatives speak of him being at that time in Monroe County, Ohio, and of his being a preacher, and I think, of the Methodist persuasion. My father and ubcles [uncles] always spoke of him as their cousin, and my grandfather spoke of him as his nephew. The last I heard of him was about 1870; at that time he lived in Martins Ferry, Belmont County, Ohio, and had one daugther [daughter] called Julia, at home with him. Whether he had more than one child I do not know, and, as to what became of him and his daughter Julia, I know nothing.

Nathan, Peter and George, the three other children of William Sr. moved from Greene County on to Buffalo Creek near West Liberty, in Brooke County, Virginia, (now West Virginia) and died there, but as to the whereabouts of their children, I have learned nothing.

Sarah, the oldest daughter of the said William, Sr., married George Sellars, a case of two sisters marrying two brothers, and a short time thereafter moved to Ohio and lived for a short time in Washington County and from there moved to the adjoining County of Monroe, probably about 1853 or ’54. George Sellars was murdered in Monroe County, leaving his widow Sarah, surviving him; whether he left any children by him I am unable to say. Am disposed to believe that she married again and by that marriage had at least, one child, a girl, who, when grown, married, but to whom I am unable to state. They were married in Wetzel County, W. Va., and lived on Crows Run in said county, or on the edge of the adjoining county of Tyler, about the year 1880, and may live there yet for aught I know. If Sarah married again, as spoken of, then her second husband died, or she was divorced from him, as about 1875, I found that she had married one Andrew Steight and was living on Big Fishing Creek at the mouth of Crows Run in Wetzel County, where she died. There were no children born to them.

I think Phoebe, spoken of, died in Monroe County, Ohio, but as to whether she left a family I cannot say. As to what became of Mary, the other and youngest daughter of William, Sr., I know nothing.

Julia, the eldest daughter of Nicholas Crouse, married Benjamin Thompson and moved some distance below Carlisle; how far, or to what place I have no information. She bore Thompson one child, but whether boy or girl, or what became of it, I do not know. Sometime after her marriage Thompson left her, but for what reason I never learned. Neither her brother George, or any of his family, had, or have, heard from her since 1832.

Mary, the second daughter of Nicholas Crouse, married Peter Saltsgaver and moved (about the time her brother Jacob died) to Beamerstown, (now called Little Washington) Gurnsey County, Ohio, and thence located on a stream called Salt Fork; dying there at quite an old age. She had, as we are informed, but two children; a girl called Mary, who died while yet young, and Jacob who grew to manhood; married and raised a large family. He lived on Salt Fork and as an avocation, followed that of farming. I know nothing of his family save his son Samuel who married his cousin, Elizabeth A. Mills, and lives in Bellaire, Belmont County, Ohio.

Elizabeth, youngest daughter of Nicholas Crouse, and his youngest child, married Henry Little, a Vermonter, I am informed, and they also moved (about the same time her brother Jacob and sister Mary moved there - - it is quite likely that they all went together) to Beamerstown, now Little Washington, Ohio; dying there after having passed the century mark several years. She had a family of some seven children, possibly eight, namely: Nicholas, Johnothan, George, William, Mary, Kiziah and Eva, that I am sure of. Nicholas went to Missouri, and died there, but when he went, to what part of the state, when he died, what family he left, if any, or what his occupation was, we have no knowledge.

Johnothan is dead, but when or where he died; what family he left, if any, I do not know.

George lived at or near Antrim, Gurnsey County, Ohio, and died there, but what family he left, if any, or when he died, I know nothing, except as to one son, Henry, who lives in said town.

William lives somewhere in Indiana, so I am informed, but where or what family he has, if any, I cannot say.

Eva married Nicholas McGlumphy and moved to, or near, Zanesville, Ohio; further than that nothing is known.

Kiziah lived in Mansfield, Ohio. I do not know whom she married if she married at all, unless it was one David Mills, and if so, then she is dead, leaving two children, but of them I know nothing.

Mary married Samuel Mills and lived for many years in Bellaire, Ohio, and died there leaving the following named children; John, George, Margaret, Kiziah, Elizabeth A. and Mary. John is a master mechanic, married, has two daughters, and lives in Brewton, Alabama.

George lives in Bellaire, Ohio; is married, and is a machinest [machinist] in the railroad shops.

Margaret, familiarly called Maggie, married one John Roth, and lives in Steubenville, Ohio.

Kiziah married a man named Debula, and lives in Bellaire, Ohio.

Elizabeth A., married her cousin, Samuel Saltsgaver, and lives in Bellaire, Ohio.

Mary married one James Greenwood and lives in Stewartsville, O.

Henry Little, the husband of Elizabeth Crouse aforesaid, was a soldier in the war of 1812; was wounded and honorably discharged. From what state he enlisted; to what company or regiment he belonged I am unable to say, but presume that it was from that state (Ohio) as he lived there about the time the war broke out.

Returning now to take up the history of our grandfather, George Crouse, the youngest son of Nicholas Crouse, we find that he moved with his father from Carlisle to Greene County, where, in 1807, he married Elizabeth Roseberry, a daughter of Mathias Roseberry, Sr., from which union five children were born, the oldest dying in infancy; Sarah, born on the 21^st day of March 1809; Abraham M., born on the 26^th day of November, 1810; Michael R., born on the 14^th day of February 1813, and George W., born on the 22^nd day of February 1815. He was, by occupation, a shoemaker and farmer, and they lived for many years on a tract of land lying on the ridge between Scott’s Creek and Roseberry Fork of Ten Mile Creek, that was given his wife by her father at her marriage. A part of this time was spent in following his trade in Waynesburg, the county seat of Greene County, and there, becoming largely involved in the security debt on some county officials bond, he sold and conveyed away the farm of some eleven hundred acres belonging to his wife, above described, without her joining in the deed; selling and conveying it to a lawyer in Waynesburg by the name of _________ Sayres, or Sears, to pay the security debt, and his wife (our grandmother) being at the time ignorant of her legal right in the premises, never objected to the sale and conveyance and gave up possession of the same, and then, to wit, in 1834, he left the old home with his family and moved on to Colonel John Thompsons’ farm in Dillies’ Bottom, Belmont County, Ohio, on the Ohio River, opposite the town of Moundsville, then called Grave Creek. After living there a few years he then moved up the river to what was then called Thompson’s Cove, above the Thompson Narrows; living there several years he moved to Mt. Zion Ridge, near the Mt. Zion Methodist Church, in Belmont County, some five miles west of the village of Bellaire, now a thriving city; after living there several years at that place, he again moved, going back to Mt. Zion Ridge, and there, he and his wife, living with their daughter and her husband, in the house close by the church, spent their declining years, both dying at an advanced age - - far beyond the average; his wife and long loved companion dying on the 19^th day of July 1865, at the age of eighty years, and he dying on the 11^th day of December 1873, at the age of 107 years, 2 months and 24 days.

He was a man slightly below the average in size, light complexion, blue eyes, fine face; possessed of a strong constitution; quick, bright intellect; a great reader; rapid thinker and solid reasoner; well versed in the history of governmental affairs; always a Democrat, and during all the years of his majority, never missed voting at a Presidential election. While a great Bible reader, yet he never enrolled his name upon the records of any church until a few years before he died, when he allowed his name to go upon the records of Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, and, like his good wife who had been a member of that church for many years, died in that faith. He was one of those men whose presence always brought sunshine; ever in a good humor; genial, kind; a loving husband, an indulgent and affectionate father; ever ready to assist in the time of affliction or distress, while his wife was the possessor of the same happy qualities; ever loving, kind, affectionate and motherly. She was a small woman, weighing not to exceed one hundred pounds; light complexion and blue eyes. They died as they had lived, loved by all who knew them. Both lie buried side by side in the old Mt. Zion grave yard, close by the church.

In their youth they were both lovers of the ball-room, and beautiful dancers; it being said of her that she could and did, more than once, dance on to a looking glass and off again without breaking it. They both retained to a great extent in their old age that youthful, lithe move about them, and at their deaths, their hair, instead of being snowy white was but an iron gray, which was really remarkable, considering their great age. Grandfather never saw any of his brothers or sisters after they left Greene County, nearly three quarters of a century before he died, until his sister, Mary Little, of Little Washington, Ohio, paid him a visit remaining with him several months. It was a joyous reunion, and, though figuratively speaking, it was winter embracing winter, yet it brought with it all the sunshine and warmth of Summer, and amid the flowers of youth, still blooming in the recollections of the long, long past, when they bid each other goodby at the old homestead in Pennsylvania so many long years before, they rehearsed the story of their childhood with its youthful pains and pleasures, and of the many events that had taken place, both family and governmental, during their long separation; and when the time for her return home came, their last farewell was extremely affecting, knowing as they did, that it was the last embrace, the last words, and the last look this side of the grave.

In this connection I will embody also, a brief historical statement of our grandfather, George Crouse, written by his son Abraham M., some years after his father’s death, in which statement he frequently quotes his father’s language. It was furnished me by his daughter, Nancy E., and is as follows:

‘CROUSE’

‘It is seldom indeed, that the brittle thread of human life is drawn out to span one hundred years. By far the greater portion of humanity die before they reach half a century, and those, who, by reason of strength, pass the allotted boundary of three score and ten, form a small percentage of the human family. On the 11^th day of December, 1873, George Crouse, one of the oldest men who ever lived in Belmont County, departed this life. He was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, September the 17^th, 1766, and was in his one hundredth and eighth year when he died. He was ten years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed. And remembered distinctly the death of George Washington, and frequently talked of the United States troops at Carlisle, marching every day for a week after the General’s death, through the streets with their drums muffled and the gray horse the general usually rode placed at the head of the procession, with bridle, saddle and pistols draped in mourning.

The parents of Mr. Crouse were German and English, and it is probable it was from them that he inherited his splendid constitution and wonderful tenacity of life. The most of his life until he was twenty, was spent in Carlisle, and he was fond of talking of his native town. From notes he left we extract the following: "I assisted in the erection of Dickinson College in my native town, which was situated in the northern part of the town. The college was not entirely finished when it took fire and burned down. I remember distinctly the day. It was in February, bitter cold and the wind blowing a perfect gale, which carried the shingles four miles south of town to the barracks where a portion of the regular army was stationed. Old Dr. Nesbitt, who was principal of the school, stood and watched the flames as they devoured the building, and wept like a child, [.] This was almost immediately re-built of stone, and about the year 1800, was one of the most popular schools in the country, having at that time, several pupils from China. When the college was first being built two white owls flew into town and alighted on its walls where I shot one. It was looked on with disfavor by the inhabitants who said it was a bad omen and would bring trouble, and when the college burned many remembered the prediction and believed the superstitution [superstition]. About 1780, my father moved to Tuscorara [Tuscarora] Creek, Pa., taking his family and goods on horseback as there were no wagon roads except a few to haul goods from Pittsburg [Pittsburgh] to Philadelphia, and if a man wanted to go a short distance from home he had to take his axe with him in order to cut his own road for all was wilderness. We did not know what it was to have a lock or rubber on the few wagons there were, but when we went down a hill or mountain we would cut a sapling and make it fast to the back of the wagon and by dragging this would hold back. We made our own plows which were generally ten feet from the end of the handles to the end of the beam; the blacksmith made a point which we put on ourselves. I moved to Dillies’ Bottom, Belmont County, Ohio, in the month of April 1834, where I followed farming. The first vote I ever cast was for Thomas Jefferson for President the first time he was elected. Through my life I have been a staunch Democrat and have never missed a presidential or other election of any importance. When I was a young man Congress was only allowed to remain in session ninety days, and taxes were as nothing compared with now." Mt. [Mr.] Crouse retained his faculties until the last. The last few years of his life becoming more feeble he finally dropped peacefully away. He was a man well known and respected in his community, and afforded a remarkable specimen of happiness and contentment carried down to extreme old age.’

It seems to me that a more glowing tribute, expressed in such few words, could not be made by a loving son to a devoted father.

Returning to the history of the children of our beloved grandfather and grandmother Crouse, we find the [that] Sarah married Gaspar Smith in Greene County, Pennsylvania, about the year 1830 and moved to Ohio, either with, or about the time her parents did, and lived near them all the time, and in after years they lived with her and her husband until their death. On the ________ day of ________ 1886, she, Sarah, died and was buried beside her parents and husband in the old Mt. Zion grave yard. Some three years, or more prior to her death, she had a severe stroke of paralysis from which she only partially recovered; never recovering her speech, and in the end dying from the shock. She, like her parents, possessed those happy graces of kindness and affection; always meeting you with a smile and happy greeting; a loving daughter to her parents and an indulgent and devoted mother to her children. She was for many years a member of Mt. Zion Church, dying in that faith, leaving the following named children: George C., Elizabeth, Franklin J., Sarah Jane and Annie M. All are living at this writing, except Annie M. All were born in Belmont County, Ohio; George C., born on the _______ day of ________ 183__; Elizabeth on the ____ day of ______ 1838; Franklin J., on the ________ day of _______ 1840; Sarah Jane, on the _____ day of ________ 1844, and Annie M., on the ______ day of _______ 1846. Those living reside in Bellaire, Belmont County, Ohio, where they have lived for many years.

George C., married Nancy Snively of Jacobsburg, Belmont County, Ohio, and raised a large family. He followed blacksmithing for many years, but his health failing he turned his attention to lighter work; for a long time carrying on a laundry business. He is now engaged in the grocery business. His children are: Alvaretta, Franklin B., Dora, Sarah, Maggie, Elmer, Meda and Daisy; all married except Elmer and Meda.

Elizabeth married Malcolm Campbell, a carpenter, who is now dead, and has one child now living called John, who is married and now lives in Bellaire. Several years after her husband’s death she married again marrying one Boyles. She has no children by him.

Franklin J., married Susan Workman of Powhattan, Ohio, and has one child living, a girl, called Jennie, who is still unmarried and at home with her parents. He is a shoemaker by trade, and taught school for several years. He was for a long time engaged in the grocery business, but is now a traveling salesman.

Sarah Jane married Levi Ault, and by him had one child, a girl, called Sarah. Ault was a blacksmith and at their marriage he worked near Mt. Zion Church, but shortly afterward moved to the village of Glencoe some five or six miles west. After living there several years they separated and were divorced. A few years afterward she married William Dunfee and by him has one child living, a boy named Harry.

Annie M., married James K. Polk Dunfee, a brother of Sarah’s husband, a farmer, and lived at the old Smith home at Mt. Zion Church, and died there in 1886, a year or less, after her mother’s death, and is buried by her side in Mt. Zion grave yard. Her husband and some five or six small children survivied [survived] her. The children’s names are Frank, Andrew, Gaspar, Sarah and one or two more whose names are to me unknown.

Abraham M. was a tailor, and worked at the trade in Waynesburg while a single man and for several years after his marriage, when he turned his attention to farming. He came to Belmont County, Ohio, a short time before his father and mother did, and on the 17^th day of January 1841, he married Rosanna Keyser of Belmont County, and settled on Mt. Zion Ridge near the church. The following children were born to them: John Mitchell, born on the 13^th day of May, 1842; Nancy Elizabeth, born on the 8^th day of September 1843; Albert Madison, born on the 3^rd day of march 1845; Randolph Ringold, born on the 19^th day of November 1847; Mary Jane, born on the 23^rd day of April 1850; Sarah Alice, born on the 28^th day of December, 1852; Rosanna Cary, born on the 6^th day of March, 1855; Flora Arizona born on the 18^th day of April, 1857; Ida May, better known as Luna, born on the 25^th day of September 1860, and Alonzo Sydney Johnson, the youngest, was born on the 19^th day of February, 1864. After living there for a few years he moved to Bellaire, Ohio; remaining there for a short time he moved to the Neff farm on the hill above Trough Run, near to and in sight of Mt. Zion Church; remaining there a few years he moved on Trough Run to a farm he purchased, and there lived with the companion of his early manhood until the winter preceding his death, when he again moved to South Bellaire. While living on Trough Run he saw his children grow to manhood and womanhood; marry and leave the parental roof until all were gone save his youngest child Alonza, who is still unmarried. For many years he was Assessor, constable and Justice of the Peace of Pultney Township, and could have had any office within the gift of the people of his (Belmont) County, had he wished it, for he was a man in whom the people, irrespective of party, had the utmost confidence, and never doubted in the least, his honor and integrity. Intellectually he was a man out of the ordinary; strong, unbending will power; impulsive; earnest and watchful; one whose thoughts, almost, could be read in his coloring cheeks and speaking eyes; and withal warm hearted and generous. A kind husband; loving and indulgent father; reverenced by his children. An uncompromising democrat, politically, and a man extraordinarily well versed in the political affairs of government. In size he was about the average in height; of light build and light complexion. Several years prior to his death he became a member of Mt. Zion Methodist Church; a devout christian [Christian]; one of the strong pillars in the Church, and died so. A few years prior to his death he suffered a paralytic stroke, and although seeming right, he never fully recovered, and a few days before his death he fell and seriously injured his right hip, from which, together with his paralytic stroke, he rapidly sank and at high noon of Thursday, May 10^th, 1894, he died, surrounded by his beloved wife and children, and at high noon on the following Saturday he was buried near his father and mother in Mt. Zion graveyard. In his death the silver cord was loosened; the golden bowl was broken, and in ten short months thereafter, his aged companion, Rosanna Keyser Crouse, on the 27^th day of February, 1895, followed him to that long home and was buried by the side of their son Albert M., in Rock Hill Cemetery; and on the 10^th day of March following, another link was taken from the family circle by the death of their lovely daughter Flora. Such is life. The young may die and the old must.

All of Abraham’s children were born in Pultney Township and in size, and considerably above the average. [That sentence was typed exactly so. Did the first typist miss a line?]

John M., married Clara Moore on February 5^th, 1870, and has lived in Bellaire for a long time, being employed at the glass works at that place, but prior to that was a stone mason. He has one child, a girl, called Luna who married Harry S. McGregor April 18^th, 1889, a lumber dealer, and live in the same town. About the beginning of the war of the Rebellion, or shortly after, John M., went to Missouri, remaining there for some considerable time. He then returned home and from there went to his Uncle’s, M. R. Crouse’s in West Virginia, and while there enlisted in Company ______. Regiment __________ Volunteers, and served til the close of the war.

Nancy E. Married Anderson A. Fulton, and lives in Bellaire also. She has one child, Minerva J., who was born May 13^th, 1865, and is now married to John Lashley, a carpenter and contractor and lives in Allegheny City, Pa., but whether she has any children I do not know.

Albert M. married a Miss Mollie Moore [there’s a typeover. Could be Moore or Moure], and by her had one child a boy, called Albert J. After receiving a common school education he, Albert M., attended school at Franklin College, New Athens, Ohio, and followed teaching thereafter for several years. He was living in Bellaire and Superintendent of Gravel hill School at the time of his death, dying when still a young man, on the 23^rd day of February 1877, and was buried in Rock Hill grave yard. His widow and child are now living on Wheeling Island in West Virginia.

Randolph R. married a Miss Mary J. Tarbett; lives in Bellaire and has one child, a girl, called Alice, who married Zadock Masters, and also lives in Bellaire.

Mary J. married George W. Keyser, and employee of the glass works, and who also lives in Bellaire. The last account we had of her she had seven children, namely: joseph A. [Joseph A.], John L., George C., Charles M., Emma F., Albert M., and Alonza W., the last two named being twins.

Sarah Alice, is a seamstress and lives in Bellaire. She had one child, a girl, called Maggie E., born on the 24^th day of June 1872, and died on the 11^th day of March 1887, aged fourteen years, eight months and seventeen days, and was laid to rest in the Rock Hill grave yard.

Carry, married Milton Moore, a lumberman, and lives at this time at or near, the little town of Edgington in Brooke County, West Virginia. She bore eleven children whose names are William A., Ida, Martin, Bertah, Randolph, May, Herbert, Minerva, Mary, Guy and the youngest dying in infancy. She was married when quite young.

Luna married one John K. Miller, a railroad contractor and wealthy farmer, of Edgington, Brooke County, West Virginia, where they now reside and at this writing have three children whose names are John C., Margaret and Raymond A.

Flora, whose death we have spoken of, married, in November 1873, William Clark Hutchinson, a farmer near Warnocks Station on the B. & O. R.R. in Belmont County, Ohio, had one child, Vernice [Bernice?] Belle, who, at the time of her mother’s death, was about fifteen years of age; her mother dying as hereinbefore stated, on the 10^th day of March 1895, and is buried in Warnocks grave yard near where she had lived.

Alonzo Sydney Johnson, the youngest child, is a school teacher, following it in connection with other [blurred - business?] in which he is more or less engaged. He also attended Franklin and Ada Colleges for several terms. Like his father and brothers politically, he is an uncompromising democrat; a young man of strong mentality; sound reasoner and ready debater.

Michael R. Crouse, the second son of George Crouse, came from Greene County, Pennsylvania, to Dillies’ Bottom, either with his father and mother or about the time they did. He was a shoemaker and farmer; a man of average height; light build and light sandy complexion. On the _________ day of _________ 1835, he married Maria Forrestor of Mt. Zion Ridge and lived in Dillies’ Bottom and in Thompsons’ Cove on the Ohio River, close by his father until 1842, when he moved to Crouse’s Bend on Middle Island Creek, Pleasants County, Virginia, now West Virginia, where he lived until a few years before his death. Several years prior to that event and while still living on the home farm, he had a severe stroke of paralysis, and a short time before his death he suffered two additional strokes from which he died on the 22^nd day of October, 1891, at his daughter’s, Elizabeth J. Wagner’s, on Shawnee in said Pleasants County, aged seventy eight years, seven months and eight days, and lies buried in Weedmore grave yeard [yard], near Middle Island Creek, by the side of his companion in his joys and sorrows who had proceded [preceded] him some several years. They had four children: Abraham M., Elizabeth J., Sarah A., and Charles L. He was named after his uncle Michael Roseberry. After moving to Crouse’s Bend (the Bend in the creek taking its name from the fact of his living there), he was engaged for a number of years in getting out timber and running rafts of logs and lumber out of said creek to the Ohio River and thence down the river to various points. He was Constable and Justice of the Peace of that county for several years, and under the law of Virginia, as it then was, he became entitled to the office of Sheriff of the county from the fact of his being Justice so long, but being engaged in other pursuits and having no desire to hold the office of Sheriff, he declined to accept, though his friends were insistent that he should. He was a man well posted upon the political and economic conditions of the country; of an ardent, impulsive nature; quick to resent an injury; warm hearted and generous; a man whom the people liked and who could have had any office within the gift of the people of his county had he wished it, a democrat all his life except during the war of the Rebellion, when he was know as a Union or war democrat, but when the war ended so did his Union or war democracy. In this connection we cannot refrain from referring to a touching incident that took place between him and his aged father in the presence of his brother and sister and other relatives, while on a visit to his father in Belmont County; In discussing various matters between them, in which all present participated, more or less; all being gathered around the fire; the conversation drifted into a discussion of the war then going on, when his father, turning to him, said; "Son, they tell me that you have left the democratic party and have become an abolitionist, and I want to know from your own lips if it is true or false," complete silence fell upon them, and then the son answered, "No, father, but the democratic party has left me," and with the tears trickling down his cheeks, his old father said; "Son, son, my son, I could much easier followed you to your grave and there seen you buried, without shedding a tear, than to learn that you had forgotten the political teaching of your father, and left the democratic party." Although at that time I was but a mere boy, yet I remember the scene as of yesterday, and while those words were slowly falling from his old father’s lips, the tears welled in that son’s eyes, and coursed their way down his manly face. Happily, the conversation turned in a few moments and what had passed was never again alluded to. His good wife suffered a stroke of paralysis from which she died. She was a woman esteemed by all; kind; loving, and devoted to her children. A few years prior to his death he conveyed, in connection with two of his children, his interest in his farm on which he was then living and had lived so long, to his youngest daughter and her husband, for which they were to care and maintain him in his declining years, but alas, it was the mistake too often made by parents, in a short time he had no home there, but he found a warm welcome, a cry of "Father, come," in the home of his oldest daughter Elizabeth J., where he lived the few days of life that were left to him, and with no one save his loving daughter Elizabeth J., her husband; their children and myself to comfort him in his last hours, he passed, with a smile upon his face, to the Great Beyond to meet the loved ones waiting for his coming. He died as he had lived, loved and respected by all.

Abraham M., his oldest son, was born in Thompsons’ Cove, Belmont County, Ohio, on the ______ day of _________ 1836 and remained at home until a man grown. He was a farmer and in 1855, married Rachel Minerva Holdcraft of Pleasants County, Virginia, (now W. Va.) and by her had two children, girls; Adella [born 29 Sep, 1857 according to Military Pension file] and Emma J., [born 30 Dec, 1861] and lived on or near his father’s farm. At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he enlisted as a private soldier in the Union Army, in Co. E. 14 Reg. W. Va., Volunteers, under Captain Powell, with Col. D. D. Johnson in command of the regiment. He was engaged in several hotly contested battles, and on the 13^th day of May 1864, while caring for some wounded Union soldiers, was captured by the Confederates at Clyd mountain in West Virginia, and taken as a prisoner of war, to Libby prison at Richmond, Virginia, where he was incarcerated for a short time and then taken to Savannah, Georgia, where he was in the fall of 1864, that being the last account his friends ever had of him, with any degree of certainty. [Notes by J. S., May, 2000. His service record in the National Archives says, "May and June 1864. Straggled and was captured by the enemy at Cloyd Mtn. on or about the 12th of May /64. Deduct $21.18 for ordnance stores lost. $3.18 for garrison equipage lost." There are more entries that say the same. The Casualty Sheet in his jacket says, "Died, in prison, at Savannah, Georgia, on or about September 30, 1864, of Diarrhea and Scurvey, while a prisoner of war."] They received information from on [one] __________ Hoffman, a member of the same company, who had also been captured and was in the same prison with him, but who had been paroled and had come home, to the effect that he had seen Abraham M., the day he, Hoffman, was paroled, walking through the prison yard and that he was so emaciated that he was a mere skeleton __________, and that he had never seen him afterwards. From this information and never hearing from him afterwards, his parents and friends believe he died in prison. [Notes by J. S., May, 2000. There was a William Huffman in Co. E along with Abraham Crouse. According to his National Archive service jacket, he was wounded in the battle at Cloyd Mountain and was captured by the enemy. He died 6 days later on May 15, 1864. Obviously, someone is mistaken. If William Huffman died May 15th, he could not have communicated with the family later. If he lived, then his record is wrong.] He was a noble young man, high spirited; a brave and gallant soldier. He was a little below the average height, light build, sandy complexion, and blue eyes. While I said that his parents and friends never heard from after what information Hoffman had given them and that they believed him dead, yet there was an incident took place a few years after the close of the war that created a suspicion in the hearts of his parents and friends that he did not die in prison and that perchance, he might be still living. The incident referred to is this: One day a few years after the close of the war, Abraham M. Crouse, Sr., was in the town of Bellaire, and while walking up the main street of the town he came upon a group of men with whom he was acquainted, they addressed him, some as "Mr. Crouse," and others as "Uncle Abe", and "Uncle Abraham", and while talking to them he noticed a stranger standing near by listening; after a few moments conversation with them he passed on up the street, but had gone but a short distance when he felt a light touch on his shoulder and turning round found himself facing the stranger spoken of, who immediately asked him if his name was Crouse, Abraham Crouse, and if he didn’t live in the county a short distance from that town; did he not have a nephew by the name of Abraham M. Crouse, who lived in Pleasants County, West Virginia, and who enlisted in the 14^th Regiment of West Virginia Volunteers; was captured and taken South and kept as a prisoner of war, and never returned home, to all of which questions Abraham M., Sr., gave an affirmative answer. Then the stranger went on rapidsly [rapidly], to say that he had heard Abraham M., Jr., say a short time before, that his uncle, Abraham Crouse, lived near the town of Bellaire, Ohio. He went on to say that he, Abraham, Jr., was living; that he was engaged in the Freedmans Bureau Department at Charleston, South Carolina; that he was bent over as with age, and the stranger, upon giving this information, immediately turned and walked away, and was lost to view before Abraham M. Sr., could recover from his surprise in time to stop him and make further inquiry. [Notes by J. S., May 2000. Have not been able to find record of Abraham, Jr. in South Carolina so far. Still working on it. Could this have been some kind of scam? Did the informant receive money for his information? We'll probably never know.] Upon receiving this information Abraham M. Sr., immediately too, passage on a steamboat and went to his brother’s Michael R., and gave him the information he had received. They wrote at once to Abraham M. Jr., addressing him at Charleston, S. C. but receiving no answer, they wrote to the post master at that place making inquiry about him, stating that they had written Abraham M. Jr. but had received no reply. The Post-Master replied, saying that there was a man there by that name; that he lived out in the country, that he got his mail at that office, and that he had delivered him the letter they had sent him. They again wrote to Abraham M. Jr., but as before, never received an answer. So to this day it is a question unsolved, whether he died in prison, or whether the Abraham M. Crouse, at Charleston, S. C., was or was not the soldier and son of Michael R. Crouse. While the mystery still remains unsolved, yet from a conversation I had with Charles L, in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1888, about his brother Abraham, Jr’s., enlistment in the war and his capture and imprisonment and the information received from the stranger, may explain the mystery somewhat as to his silence, if he was paroled or made his escape from prison. Charles L. at the time and place stated, informed me that his brother Abraham M. Jr., told him when he enlisted that he never intended to come back and told him the reason why, and repeated the same thing to him afterwards when they met as soldiers in the valley near Keyser, West Virginia. It is sufficient to say, here, that the reason was simply a domestic one in his own family. I have tried in the last few years to gain some information of him through the Pension Department at Washington, but can learn nothing. [Pension file information listed above. His children received a pension, and M. R. Crouse was appointed the children's guardian.] His wife died on Sugar Creek in Pleasants County, some fifteen years after the close of the war without re-marrying. After her death his parents took his two children to their own home, where they remained until they were married. His oldest daughter, Adella, married Charles Carse, a farmer, in Tyler County, W. Va., and died leaving three small children, two girls and a boy. His other daughter, Emma J., married Charles Miller of Marion County, W. Va., but after their marriage they lived in Pleasants County, W. Va., until her death, which occurred shortly after her child was born. The father took the child to his parents in Marion County, and some time thereafter he, the father, died.

So endeth the history of Abraham M. Jr., and his wife and children, and taking it for granted that he is dead, then we can exclaim all dead.

Elizabeth J., the oldest daughter of Michael R., also was born in Thompson’s Cove, on the ________ day of __________ 1841, and came with her parents the year following to Pleasants County, W. Va., and in 1859, she married William Wagner of the same county and lives on Shawnee Run. They have four children, three boys and one girl, named as follows: Arloff S., Alvadora., E., [Alvadora E.], Emma A., and Clyde, all born on said run. Arloff married Mary L. Morgan and lives on his father’s farm, and Alvadora E., married _______ _________, and lives near his father, while Clyde and Emma are still at home unmarried.

Sarah E., the youngest daughter of Michael R. Crouse, was born in Pleasants County, on the _______ day of ________ 1844, and in 1873, she married Ulyses McCollough, and after living for several years on the old Crouse homestead, where she was born and raised, they moved to the head waters of Bond Creek in Ritchie County. They have seven children, namely, Leander, James, Thomas, Maria L., Bertha J., Grover C., and Mary L. Her husband died in the Spring of 1895, and her oldest son, Leander, in August 1896, enlisted in the Regular Army and is now stationed near New York City. Prior to his enlistment he worked on the farm and taught school, and it was for the purpose of securing a better education, as he thought, that he enlisted. The rest of the children are still at home.

Charles Leander, the other and youngest son of Michael R., was born at the old homestead on Middle Island Creek on the _____ day of _______, 1846; was of fair complexion and when a young man was of medium height and size, but in later years became somewhat corpulent. During the war of the Rebellion he enlisted as a soldier in Co. "G" 4^th Regiment, W. Va., Mounted Infantry, under Captain Algre and was engaged in several battles and at the close of the war was honorably discharged and returned home. In 1867, he married Elizabeth Elliot of Tyler County, West Virginia, and after living on her father’s farm a short time he moved on to the headwaters of Wegee Creek in Belmont County, Ohio, and while living there his only child, a girl, was born, whom they called Dora. After living there a year or two he moved to Middletown, Montgomery County, Missouri, where he lived until the summer of 1888, when he moved to Kansas City, in that state, where he still followed his trade, that of shoemaking. On the 27^th day of September 1893, he died, suddenly in his shop, and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in that city. His widow and child still live there. Dora married one Whitmeyer, a small merchant. They have one child, a girl, called Pearl.

George W. Crouse, the youngest son and child of George Crouse, Sr., and my father, was born on the Roseberry Fork of Ten Mile Creek in Greene County, Pennsylvania, on the 22^nd day of February 1815, and came with his parents to Dillies’ Borrom [Bottom] in Belmont County in 1834. He learned the shoemaking trade, but did not follow it to any extent, turning his attention to agricultural pursuits. He was a man of five feet ten inches in height, and of about 160 pounds in weight; of a darker complexion than his father or brothers, although his father and mother were both light complexioned. On the ________ day of ______ 1845, he married Lyda Ann Schultz, my mother, a woman of German parentage, who lived at the home of Rev. Joseph Hoffman, a Methodist preacher, on Hoffman’s Ridge, a mile of [or] more from Mt. Zion Church. She was a woman of average height ; light build and of very fair complexion; blue eyes and light hair. When she and father were married they moved into the house with his parents, on a tract of land (called at that time the "Stubenville School Land,["] or better known as "The Lease") near Mt. Zion Church. The house stood in the head of Stone Coal Run - - sometimes called Money Run - - and in sight of the church. It was a small log cabin or rather two cabins connected by a covered porch. While they lived there two children were born to them; the first, a son, called Nathan, who died in infancy, and was buried in Mt. Zion grave yard, near the northwest corner. I am unable to give the date of my infant brother’s birth, there having been no record kept of it. The other child, your humble chronologer was born on the 12^th day of February, 1844. Shortly thereafter my parents moved to Phillip Pools farm on Weges, some three miles west of Mt. Zion Church, living there until my loving mother’s death, which occurred on the 25^th day of February 1847. She was 25 years of age at the time of her death, and lies buried by the side of her first born. She fell a victim to that dread disease, consumption. I was but three years of age at the time of her death and have no recollection of ever seeing her parents or any of her relatives, excepting a man by the name of Brand, who was at my father’s house when I was about seven years old. Knowing so little of her history or that of her relatives I am able to give but little information concerning them, but from what little I have I am disposed to believe that she was born in Belmont County, Ohio, but at what point or place or what day, month exactly what year I cannot say. The first place I hear of her is what a young woman living at the home of Rev. Hoffman, spoken of, where she and my father were married as I have already stated. She had a brother called Eli, who was older than she, so I am informed, but whether he lived with his parents, if indeed they were then living, or with some one else I cannot say, but learning of him and my mother, for the first time, in that immediate vicinity, lead me to believe that they (their parents) lived on or near Mt. Zion Ridge, and are buried somewhere near there. Whether she, my mother, had any other brothers or sisters I do not know, neither do I know at what age her brother Eli was, or where he went when he left that section, but about the time I became of age I learned that he was a farmer and lived near the town of Columbus, Bartholemew County, Indiana; was married and had a large family of children. About the year 1874 or ‘5, I learned from my brother-in-law, Mathias Gates, that there was a man considerably past middle age, by the name of Eli Schultz Living in that (Bartholemew) county, near the said town, who was a farmer; quite wealthy, and had a large family of children. Whether or not he is my mother’s brother I am not positive, but am inclined to believe that he is. The man Brand spoken of above, was a cousin of my mother’s, and lived on Wills Creek in Noble County, Ohio.

All those being dead, who could, no doubt, if living, give me a great deal of information relative to my mother’s family history, which I would give much to know, but which will remain as a sealed book, I must of necessity bring this branch to a close.

Immediately after my mother’s death my father returned with me to his father’s, who in the meantime had moved into another log cabin on the same "Lease," just over the hill from where I was born. It stood near a large spring, which is still there, but the cabin, like all its occupants, is long since gone. In this cabin I lived with my father and grandparents until the spring of 1851, but in the meantime, while living there, my father, some three years after my mother’s death, in January 1850, married again, marrying Margaret Hanna Gillis, who was born and raised in Belmont County, and who lived, at the time of her marriage, at the home of Isaac Day in said county. By this second marriage he had three children, namely, John Wesley; Elizabeth Ann, and George Arthur. John W., was born on the 12^th day of February 1851, on the "Lease" above mentioned. In the Spring of 1851, father purchased of Dennis McMahon a tract of forty acres of Land, on the right hand fork of Weges Creek, and immediately moved on to it, and there the other children were born, Elizabeth A., and George A., on the 31^st day of January 1853, and the 12^th day of September 1854, respectively. On this farm my father spent the rest of his days with his small family, dying on the 1^st day of August, 1851, aged 42 years, five months and 9 days and lies buried by the side of my mother. Two small tombstones mark their last resting place, and on that of my father is the following epitaph:

"Remember friends as you pass by,

Upon this grave to cast an eye;

Tho’ I am dead, no sorrow take,

But love my children for my sake."

He was a kind husband and a loving father; warm hearted and generous to a fault; of strong will power, tempered with justice, he exerted a strong influence over those surrounding him. His presence brought with it sunshine and mirth; always affable, courteous and kind. A member of Mt. Zion Church, he died in that faith. Politically he was, like the rest of his family, a staunch democrat; a man of deep thought; strong reasoning powers and an able debater. He was, indeed, one of God’s noblemen, and died as he had lived, loved by all.

After my father’s death I remained on the farm until man grown. My step-mother remained a widow and lived on the home farm, never leaving it until a few years prior to her death, when she lived for a short time with her son George A., new [near] Beallsville, Monroe County, Ohio, from whence she returned and lived with her son John W., until her death, which occurred on the 10^th day of April 1895, leaving her two sons surviving her, her only daughter having died several years before, and was buried beside her husband.

John W., is a farmer and lives on the old home place. In connection with his farming he carried on the business of saw milling for a number of years. He married Mragaret [Margaret] Kilgore, a daughter of John Kilgore of Bellaire, Ohio. She was born on the 27^th day of June 1854, and died on the 16^th day of June 1885, and was buried in Mt. Zion Grave Yard. Four children were born to them, namely: George W., Martha A., Gertrude P., and Maud. George W., was born on the _______ day of _______ 18__. And remained at home with his parents until his marriage, which occurred on the ______ day of ________ 18__, when he married ______________ _______________ of Dillies’ Bottom, and by her has, at this writing, one child. He is a farmer and lives in Dillies’ Bottom.

Martha A., better known as Anne, was born on the _____ day of ________, 18__, and remained at home until a short time before her death, dying on the 11^th day of April 1894, in Bellaire, Ohio, aged 19 years, 4 months and 5 days, and is buried by the side of her mother. She was a beautiful young woman, just entering the prime of life when cut down as a flower.

Gertrude P., was born on the ______ day of _________ 18___, and is still at home. Maud, the youngest of the children, was born on the ___ day of _________ 18__, and is also at home. John W., never remarried and for aught I know never will. Elizabeth Ann, his sister, was born on the 31^st day of June 1853, on the old home place as heretofore stated. She married Samuel Fish, a farmer, and by him had one child, a girl, called Ollie. She, Elizabeth, was of fair complexion; light hair and blue eyes; quick and impulsive, yet kind and generous. On the ____ day of ___________ 187__, she left this "vale of tears" and lies buried near her father in Mt. Zion grave yard. Her daughter Ollie, was born on the _____ day of _______ 18__, on the home place, and after her mother’ [mother’s] death, which occurred when she was yet small, she lived with her grandmother Crouse until she married. On the ____ day of _________ 1890, she wedded R. Lee Rankin of Moundsville, West Virginia, and by him has one child. They live at this time, on a farm near Edgeington, Brooke County, W. Va. In appearance she resembles her mother very much.

George A., was not quite three years old when father died. He has followed farming principally, for the last few years. He remained on the home farm for a long time, having purchased the interest of the other heirs in the land, he then sold it to his brother John, and purchased a farm on Piney Creek and moved there with his mother and niece Ollie. After living there a few years he disposed of the farm and moved to Bellaire, where he now lives. On December 24^th, 1893, while living in Monroe County, he married Mary Baker, a neighbor girl, and by her has two children, both girls, the oldest called Elsie May, born on the 27^th day of September 1894, and the other born on the 2^nd day of February 1897, not yet named at this writing. In the Spring of 1883, in the company of Jacob Dunfee, he made a trip to Kansas and Nebraska, going as far north as O’Neil City in the latter state. After spending some three months in those two states he returned home. In the Spring of 1887, he again went West, going this time to the Indian Territory, where, for a time, he worked on a railroad, but taking sick he went to Kiowa, Kansas, and there lay sick for several weeks. On his recovery he went to Hutchinson, Kansas; thence to Sterling in the same state, where he worked on Cooper College which was then being built, from there he went to Holliday in the eastern part of the state, and from there returned home.

He and his brother John, and [are] men above the average in height; dark complected, and like their father before them are staunch democrats.

In concluding this chronology, which I have given to the best of my ability, I will add a brief statement relative to myself and family:

I was named after my uncle, Michael Roseberry Crouse, and after father’s death remained at home and assisted in the farm work and caring for the children until twenty two years of age, excepting nine months in 1859, when I worked on the farm of Arthur Gillis, at the munificent sum of five dollars per month. Owing to father’s poor health I attended school only in the winter months and so it was until I left home; leaving it with but a limited common school education; father dying when I was but thirteen years of age. In early childhood I attended school at the Mt. Zion School House, and after father’s removal to the McMahon place, now the home place, I went to school in an old hewed log house on Wegee Creek, and after the new school was built at the forks of the creek I went there during the winter. If the reader will pardon the transgression, I will speak of a present and keepsake that my grandmother gave me while I was yet at home; It is a small cherry wood stand, given her as a wedding present by her grand-mother who had received it as her wedding present in Germany, making the stand from my best calculation, at this writing (1897) over 200 years old. I still have the stand and it is my wish that it be kept as an heirloom, and be handed down from one generation to another. In the winter of 1865, I taught my first term of school, a three months term, on the hill above Crouse’s Bend of Middle Island Creek in Pleasants County, West Virginia. It was the first winter the Free School System went into effect in that state, and my school was among one of the first under it. I passed examination before Moses Williamson, County Superintendent of Schools. He told me before he could grant the certificate I would have to be sworn as to my loyalty to the government of the United States, which I considered at that time, as meaning loyalty to the Republican Party, then in power, and of course I refused. Uncle Michael being present and understanding the situation, immediately vouched for my loyalty on which the certificate was granted without further question. At the close of the winter school I taught a three months term of summer school; the following summer attended select school at Bethel Church; the following Fall and winter (’67 and ’68) taught the Catts Hill School on Captina Creek, Belmont County; the following summer, again attended school at Bethel; the following winter (’68 and ’69) taught the Pleasant Hill School on Pipe Creek; the following summer attended school at Franklin College, New Athens, Ohio; the following winter taught the Sewellsville School and the following summer again attended Franklin College, and after school was out finished my law reading under Hon. George H. Umstead, then a member of the Bar at St. Clairsville, Ohio, having begun to read law under him while teaching, and with a class of six students, was, on the ___ day of September 1870, admitted to the Bar before the then [then is underlined in my copy. Is this where the original copier couldn’t read a word?] District Court of Ohio, and on the _____ day of the same month thereafter, in Moundsville, W. Va., was married to Jennie Gates, daughter of David and Zerilda Gates, who lived there at that time but prior thereto had lived near the village of Dover in Belmont County, Ohio, [.] After our marriage we returned to St. Clairsville and went to housekeeping. In the Fall and winter of 1870 and ’71, I taught the Cherry Hill School, near St. Clairsville. In the latter part of March 1871, we moved to Moundsville, W. Va., and there opened my first law office. On the 6^th day of August 1871, our oldest child was born, a son, whom we call Judge Umstead, named after my law preceptor and benefactor. In the Fall of that year I received the Democratic nomination in Marshall County, for the Legislature, but not being in the state a year could not accept the honor tendered. On the last day of June 1878, we moved to New Martinsville, Wetzel County, in the same state. On the 15^th day of that month I received the Democratic nomination for Prosecuting Attorney of that county by a 222 majority over Leonard S. Hall, the then Prosecuting Attorney, and was elected over him by a 442 majority, he having bolted the nomination and run on an independent ticket. Assumed the duties of the office on the 1^st day of January 1873, and held the same four years. On the 5^th day of May 1877, our next and youngest child, whom we call Chancellor George, was born.

Having a great desire to see the West, I started for that section in April 1883, spending the major portion of my time in traveling over the State of Nebraska and what was then the Dakota Territories. I traveled the Niobriara River from its head to its mouth and the James from its mouth to near Bismark; passing through the reservations of the Sioux, Pawnees and Yankton Indians. After seeing the wooly [underlined again – something unreadable?] West, as it then was, and in fact seeing all that was to be seen, I returned home in the last of August of that year. In the summer of 1885, I purchased the New Martinsville "Messenger", a Republican paper; changed its political complexion to that of a Democratic one and continued running the same until the morning of January 22, 1886, when it, together with our dwelling house, were destroyed by fire, losing everything. I then resolved to move West, but before doing so, I went in the Spring of that year, to Kansas and the Indian Territory, remaining there some three months. I then returned home and in September following (1886) moved to Sterling, Rice County, Kansas, where I practiced law with Col. A. J. Blackwood. My family remained there until the 13^th day of February 1888 - - going thence to Pittsburg [Pittsburgh], Penn., and remained there until I returned to West Virginia - - in July 1889, where I located in West Union, County seat of Doddridge County, where I still live with my family, following the practice of law, by the doing of which I have followed my father’s request, made on his dying bed.

As to my own political inclinations and personal characteristics, I will, with my readers consent, give, as best one can who attempts to write his own autobiography, a short description.

Politically, I am pleased to call myself a Jacksonian Democrat. On the 15^th day of August 1895, I was a candidate for the Judicial nomination for the Fourth District of West Virginia, at the Democratic Judicial Convention in Middlebourne, Tyler County, and lost through the treachery of supposed friends who were delegates; lacking at one time but a fraction of a vote of securing the nomination. Am five feet eleven and one half inches in height; light hair; fair complexion and blue eyes; resembling in many particulars the features of my mother but still retaining the cast of my father’s people. And believe I can truly say, am devoted to my family.

My good wife, Effie J., was born on the 10^th day of May 1847, on what is called Clover Ridge, near Dover, Belmont County, Ohio,[.] She is a small woman, in complexion, a brunette; black hair and eyes.

Judge U., our oldest son, on the 14^th day of June 1894, married Miss Blanche Stuck, daughter of L. D. Stuck, a farmer of Doddridge County and by her has one child, a daughter, whom they call Bernice Marie, born on the 31^st day of March, 1895, in Barkersburg, W. Va., where he is engaged in the business of a groceryman. He is not quite so tall as I and in appearance partakes of both his parents. His wife was born on the 3^rd day of July, 1871, in Doddridge County. In height, tall; build, slender; complexion, brunette; black hair and eyes; cultured and refined. Truly a handsome woman.

C. George, our next and youngest son, is still at home with us, and is now a young man. In build, slender, in height, not exceeding that of the average; fair complexion; dark hair, brown eyes, and like his brother partakes of both his parents. Politically, a strenuous Democrat; well versed in the political affairs of the government; the geography of the country, and in history; of an inventive turn of mind; quick perceptive powers and keen analysis, while his brother Judge’s bent of mind partakes more of the mercantile or business line, in which he has been mostly engaged since he was a boy.

And so endeth the history of the Nicholas Crouse branch of the family name up this time, so far as I have been able to trace it and its branches, and while it may never be of benefit to me, it may be in some degree at least, to those who follow, and with that object in view I express the hope that some one of each succeeding generation will write a continuation and annex the same hereto in its order.

Trusting the forgoing will be done I bring this to a close on this Sunday night of the 28^th day of February 1897.

Michael R. Crouse

P. S.

Since writing the foregoing I have had a short correspondence with Mrs. Florence Hanley Crouse, wife of Dr. Daniel W. Crouse, of Waterloo, Iowa, relative to what she knew of the Crouse family, and if her husband belonged to our branch of it. I received several letters from her, but have mislaid all but two, which I embody herein, together with the letter from Mrs. Louisa E. Evans, a half sister of Mrs. Crouse'’ father-in-law. These letters give an excellent history in brief of another branch of the family name, but whether in any way related I cannot say. They possess many of the characteristics of our branch of the family, and it may have been that of our great-grandfather, Nicholas Crouse, was closely related to the father of Henry Crouse, who it seems by one of the letters, was born in 1775, in Chester County, Penn., Mrs. Evan’s letter speaks of the same and adds another branch of the family name in Virginia, of which I have also heard from other sources.

The letters I give in their order, designating by number:

1. Mr. Crouse, West union, W. Va., Dear Sir: - Your letter was received some weeks ago and its answer was delegated to me by my busy husband, but many cares have prevented me from taking time to answer it before this. However, I fear I am going to be unable to give you much light on the subject of our branch of the Crouse family. I have no data of the family further back than 1775, when Henry Crouse was born Jan. 21, I think in Nantmeal Tp.[,] Chester County, Penn., at least all his children were born there and that locality contains all the Crouse family my husband claims any knowledge of. Henry Crouse married Marie Fisher, February 3, 1799. Their children were Elizabeth, born in 1800; Marie, in 1801; Daniel (Dr’ father) in 1803; John in 1805; Lydia 1807; Sarah in 1810; Samuel, 1812; Jacob, in 1814, and Levian, 1816. Daniel Crouse married Mary Maurer, born in Berks Co., Penn., Sept. 3, 1809, in 1823, and all of their family were born in the same house where the Henry Crouse family were born. In 1850, Daniel Crouse removed to Carroll Co., Ill., and in 1857, brought [bought] a farm in that county about four miles east of Larana, Ill., on which he lived until his death in June 1885.

His family consisted of Elizabeth, Henry, Daris, Harrison, Hannah, John, Webster (my husband), Alma and Sarah, who died in Penn. Elizabeth is dead, also Daris; Henry now lives near Mobile, Ala., Harrison lives on a portion of the old Ill. Farm; Hannah, (Mrs. Tomlinson) resides in Chicago; you have my husband’s address, and Alma who has not married is now in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Daris was also a physician, practicing for ten years in Mt. Carroll, Ill., and afterwards with my husband in this place from 1870 to 1878.

Whose son Henry Crouse was I am unable to say, but what I can gather from family tradition I think he was a German direct from Germany, and the name he bore was not Crouse, but Kraus or Krause; and Henry Crouse was originally spelled the same but the English neighbors doubtless changed the spelling. One descendant of Marie Fisher by a second husband is still living and I will send your letter to her and if she can give you any more information I will write you again. Hoever [However], I fear the family have allowed the time to slip by when the family tree could be accurately traced back to the beginning in this country. Yours very truly, Florence Hawley Crouse, Waterloo, Dec. 9, 1897."

2. "Mr. M. R. Crouse, Dear Sir: I am so anxious to trace the Crouse family to its source in Germany I am going to send you the following letter from Mrs. Evans, a half sister of father Crouse, as it may throw some light on us for you.

What did you mean by speaking of the Jerrish name? I do not understand. If your branch of the Crouse family have a peculiar dodge with the head and neck, then surely you have some kinship, for it is a marked peculiarity with the Dr’s family. Also this branch are black haired through [though] the eyes are not black. The nose is inclined to be rather large than otherwise, tho’ usually it is very well shaped. In fact all the features are pronounced. They seem to have been a family who had great individuality. May I trouble you to return Mrs. Evans’ letter. Yours very sincerely, Florence Hawley Crouse, Waterloo, Ia., Jan 3, 1898.

3. "My dear Niece, I fear I shall not be able to give you the desired information. I don’t remember hearing mother mention Grandpa Crouse’s name. I often heard her speak of Mother Crouse. I think she was a widow when mother married. She lived in Newcomerstown, Montgomery Co., Pa. Henry Crouse, or as they spelled it at that time, Krause, was born in or near Morristown or Pottstown, I gorget [forget] which. They were Germans, or at least he could speak the German Language. Mother Krause was German, but whether they came from Germany I am unable to say; there was but the three bro’s. H., Daniel and John. Daniel lived near Reading, Brooks co., Pa. John went South to Williamington, and from there South. There was a John Crouse died at Lynchburg while I was there and his wife’s name was Mary Crouse. I was tempted several times to call to see her; had I known there would be such inquiry I would have done so for my own satisfaction as well as others. Now there was another branch of Crouse’s in Virginia. Bro. B. F. Moomaw’s wife was a Crouse. He says they were Virginia raised. He has a son Daniel Crouse Moonaw [Moomaw?], and also a Jno [John?]; there are several boys, only one girl, Mollie. I always had a idea they were a branch of our Crouse family. If I am spared to return to Virginia, I will consult D. C. M., on the subject. I’m aquainted with the family; they may be John Crouse’s family limb. Mother often wondered what had become of him. He was one that did not seem to prosper in this worlds goods in his younger life. She often remarked that brother John took after him in that respect; that’s about all I can tell you about the name. If you were here I might make it more satisfactory to you, so the only plan is for you to come and see me. I can talk better than write for that has become quite a task for me, and I have so much of it to do, by the time I write each of my children and a few outsiders my correspondence is heavy, and this fall I was treated to another daughter; the family circle will soon be filled; two more boys. This leaves us in reasonable health and a beautiful winters day. I would be pleased to hear from you when convenient. For me to be with them all, as they are settled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from New Jersey to Idaho, I have settled here until Spring, then if all is well I expect to return to my Virginia home, there to remain at least for a time. My time in this life is growing short, I will soon pass my 7^th stone, so that I cannot expect to travel over this world much longer. Remember me kindly to the friends in general. Please excuse imperfections as I feel very nervous today from some cause; that is one of my troubles. Accept love, remember me kindly to Webster and the family. Fondly, Louisa E. Evans. Do you wish Mr. Crouse’s letter returned."

Since writing the history of the family of Abraham M. Crouse, Jr., I made inquiry for the child of his daughter Emma J. Miller, which I found was a girl and when about six years of age died at the home of its Grandfather Miller, Near Farmington, Marion Co., and is buried there.

John Campbell died at his home in Bellaire, Ohio, on the ___ day of ______ 189__, aged _____ years, and is buried in the Rose Hill grave yard at Bellaire. His mother, Elizabeth Campbell, followed him, dying on the ___ day of ________ 189__, aged ____ years, and is buried in the __________ grave yard by the side of her _____ __________, and following her decease her brother George C. Smith, died at his home in Bellaire, on the ____ day of ___________ 1901, aged ____ years, and is buried in the Rose Hill grave yard. The following is a notice of his death clipped from one of the Bellaire papers: "George C. smith, one of the older residents, died Saturday evening at his home on the West side of the park. His death was caused by a complication of diseases. He was born in Mead Township about 72 years ago and lived all his life in this place of near here. Tow [Two] sons, four daughters and a wife survive him. The funeral took place this afternoon."

While there has been a change of location with some of the Crouse branch since my first writing, I deem it unnecessary to refer to them at this time. In closing I would ask that those receiving a copy of this please fill in the blank spaces as they find them in their family records.

Dec ? [looks like a y overtyped by a 7], 1902.

M. R. Crouse

Mrs. Rosanna Cary Moore, born on the 6^th day of March, 1855 daughter of Abraham M. and Rosanna Keyser Crouse, entered into rest at her home, Cleveland, Ohio, on the 9^th day of October, 1900.

Her remains were taken to Bellaire, Ohio, Interment beside her father in Mt. Zion Cemetery.

Mrs. Ida Owing-Dunfee, aged ____ yrs., daughter of Milton and Rosanna Crouse Moore, died _________________ at her home, Wheeling Junction, West Virginia.

She is buried near her mother in Mt. Zion Cemetery.

Mrs. Nancy Elizabeth Fulton, eldest daughter of Abraham M. and Rosanna Keyser Crouse, died April 4^th, 1902, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. John C. Lashley, Wheeler Avenue, Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

On the following sabbath [Sabbath], April 6^th, her remains were taken to Bellaire, Ohio, and laid to rest by her father, in Mt. Zion Cemetery, near her old birthplace and home.

(Written by her brother, Alonzo J. Crouse).

Albert J. Crouse, aged _____ years, only child of Albert M. and Mollie Moore Crouse, died at his home in Bridgeport, Ohio, ________ _____________, leaving two young daughters, Elizabeth and Beatrice Crouse.

Interment in Kirkwood Cemetery.

Alonzo W. Keyser, born May 2^nd, 1887, son of George W. and Mary Crouse Keyser, passed away at the home of his parents, Bellaire, Ohio, May 26^th 1903.

Funeral took place on his 16^th birthday, burial at Mt. Zion Cemetery.

Mrs. Mary J. Keyser, born on the 23^rd day of April, 1850, daughter of Abraham M. and Rosanna Keyser Crouse, went to her reward March 12^th, 1912, at her home, Bellaire, Ohio, after a short illness, death resulting from pneumonia. Interment in Mt. Zion Cemetery.

John Lewis Keyser, born May 7^th, 1875, son of George W. and Mary Crouse Keyser, died at McConnellsville, Ohio, July 31^st, 1917, and was laid to rest beside his mother in Mt. Zion Cemetery.

John Mitchell Crouse, born May 13^th, 1842, eldest son of Abraham M. and Rosanna Keyser Crouse, entered into rest March 23^rd, 1913 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Harry S. McGregor, Bellaire, O.

In early life he was converted and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, remaining a consistent member to the end.

During the Civil War he was a private in Company G., 187^th Regiment of Ohio infantry, Volunteers, being honorably discharged at Macon Georgia, in the year 1866.

Like his father he was elected to any office he chose, in his home county. Of the very highest character, and one of the most kind hearted of men, his smiling face and contented manner, made a lasting impression upon all who knew him.

A devoted husband and father, an active, earnest christian [Christian], a good citizen and neighbor.

His wife, Clara Moore Crouse, preceded him to the grave, her death occurring April 17^th, 1908.

They lie side by side in Rose Hill Cemetery.

Randolph Ringold Crouse, third son of Abraham M. and Rosanna Keyser Crouse, born on the 19^th day of November, 1847, near Bellaire, Ohio, and a life long resident of that vicinity, died on July 2^nd, 1917, at his home in West Bellaire, Ohio.

A faithful member of the Presbyterian Church and Bellaire Lodge of Masons, an exemplary citizen, indulgent husband and father, he was highly respected by all who knew him.

Funeral took place July 4^th, 1917, and his remains were laid to rest in Rock Hill Cemetery.

Mrs. Mary J. Crouse, born October 19^th, 1845, widow of Randolph R. Crouse, died on her 51^st wedding anniversary, October 8^th, 1919.

Interment beside her husband in Rock hill Cemetery.

On the evening of June 4^th, 1928, while walking alone on the hill side overlooking his Wheeling Junction, West Virginia, home, Alonzo Sydney Johnson Crouse fell to his death. Failing to return at the expected time, his wife and neighbor began a search and four hous [hours] later found his lifeless body.

Examination revealed that the earth at top of embankment had given away because of recent heavy rains, throwing him downward.

The youngest child of Abraham M. and Rosanna Keyser Crouse and the last male member to bear the name, was born near Bellaire, Ohio, February 19^th, 1864, and spent his entire life in that state until 13 year preceding his death.

In his early life he attended Franklin and Ada Colleges and engaged in teaching school.

Later he became a successful engineer and contractor in large construction work for Pennsylvania Railroad Company.

His health failing he retired and erected a home with a magnificent view for miles up and down the beautiful Ohio Rover [River], and, being a great lover of nature, there he and his faithful wife lived in peace and happiness.

Recovering somewhat in health, he purchased in 1917 the Wellsburg News, a Democratic newspaper of Wellsburg, West Virginia, editing same until after close of the World War when he again retired to private life because of poor health.

Of fair complexion, six feet in stature, and an unusual pleasing personality, those who knew Alonzo J. Crouse admired and respected him for his noble and kindly disposition. A man possessing rare intellectual ability, honest and true to the letter. His attitude and motto, the "Golden Rule".

He leaves to mourn his departure his widow, whose maiden name was Miss Margaret J. Meyers, his boyhood schoolmate and sweetheart, Two sisters, Miss Alice Crouse and Mrs. Luna Miller are the only surviving children of Abraham M. and Rosanna Crouse. Seldom has death dealt so heavy a blow to relatives and friends, this being the first accidental death in the history of the Crouse family.

Like his mother, he was a Presbyterian and lies by her side in Rock hill Cemetery.

Funeral in charge of Ionic Lodge, Bellaire, Ohio, and Aladdin Temple of Masonic Order of Columbus, Ohio, took place on Monday, June 11^th, 1928.

M. R. Crouse, born February 12^th, 1844, Attorney, writer of the original Crouse History and son of George W. Crouse, died at his home in West union, West Virginia, January 26^th, 1906, and buried there the following Sunday, January 28^th.

John Wesley Crouse, born February 12^th, 1851, son of George W. Crouse died __________________________________ and buried beside his wife in Mt. Zion Cemetery.

Maud, youngest daughter of John Wesley and Katherine Crouse born _______________________ died ______________________. Interment beside her parents in Mt. Zion Cemetery.

December 7^th, 1928.

Minerva J. Lashley.

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