John William Crabtree

In the 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Alexander, Benton County, Missouri, John W. Crabtree, was 8 years old, and was living with his parents, Alfred, 36, and Sarah J., 25, and brother George W., 4 years old. Alfred was working as a farmer. His real estate was valued at $360. He was born in Tennessee, and his wife and both children were born in Missouri. Sadly, John's father, Alfred, passed away just 9 years later in 1859.

In the 1860 census for Corsicana, Navarro, Texas, dated June 28th, John was 19 years old, and living with his widowed mother, who was listed either as Jane or Josie (short for Josephine), 35, and his 16 year old brother George, 8 year old brother Thomas, 5 year old sister Delia, and 10 month old brother, Alfred, who was obviously named after his deceased father. Sarah J.'s real estate was valued at $1,600 and her personal estate at $3,440. The census taker had really sloppy handwriting, that is why it's hard to tell if Sarah's middle name was Jane or Josephine.

By the 1870 census for Corsicana, Texas, John, 27, was married to his first wife, Elizabeth Beasley Crabtree, 20, and their son Willey was one year old. Living next door was his mother, S.J. Crabtree, 45, and brothers Thomas, 19, and Alfred, 10, and sister, Delia, 16. Both Sarah and John were listed as farmers, and Sarah's real estate was valued at $3,000 and her personal estate at $300. John's personal estate was $150. The census shows Sarah and John were born in Missouri, but Thomas, Alfred, Delia, Elizabeth and Willey were all born in Texas. Sadly, John's wife, Elizabeth passed away sometime between 1870 and 1875, and then he married Susan D. Little on April 21, 1875, in Henderson County, Texas.

Susan D. Little was probably the daughter of Charles and Lucinda Little of South Carolina. They were living in Smith County, Texas, in the 1850 census, and were listed as follows: Charles, 41, Lucinda, 40, Martha A., 18, Mary J., 15, Lucinda A., 12, Laurence S.H., 10, Robert J., 8, and Susan F.D., 3, and Thomas R. 1 year old. The first four children were born in South Carolina, and Susan and Thomas were born in Mississippi. There is a record of a Charles Little who served as a Private in Conner's Company of the Texas Mounted Volunteers in the Mexican War, and that his service was for 6 months in 1846, but I don't know if this was Susan's father, since she was born in Mississippi in 1847, and Thomas in 1849, so they probably did not come to Texas until after his birth.

By the 1860 census the Little family was living in Brownsboro, Henderson County, Texas, and were listed as follows: Charles, 50, Lucinda, 49, Laurence, 20, Robert, 17, Susan D., 13, Thomas R., 11, Henry C., 8, and Adelah (Deliah), 5 years old. Fifteen years later, Susan D. Little and John William Crabtree were married in Henderson County, Texas, so this was probably her family. Although in the 1880 census, as shown, below, Susan was listed as being only 30 years old, and if she was born in 1847 she would have been 33 years old, so I'm not 100% sure this is the same girl John married, but it certainly seems probable.

Susan's brother, Lawrence S.H. Little, born in 1840 in Laurens County, South Carolina, served as a Private in the Texas 6th Cavalry, Company I, for the Confederate Soldiers Army, and he died during the war on December 12, 1861, in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas, and was buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Fayetteville.

Susan and Lawrence's brother, Robert J. Little, also served in the Confederate Soldier's Army during the Civil War. He enlisted in 1862 in the 17th Cavalry, Moore's Regiment, and survived the war. He returned to Henderson County, Texas, and on December 6, 1866, he married Adaline Chandler. He died on May 11, 1892, in Edom, Van Zandt County, Texas, at the age of 49 years old, having been born on July 20, 1842. He and Adaline were living in Van Zandt, Texas, in 1880 with their two children, Fannie, 5, and William, 2 years old.

Susan's brother Thomas R. Little married Mayrette A. Thacker in Henderson County, Texas, in 1873. They later moved to Oklahoma, and had a daughter, Ella May Little, born March 29, 1879. Oklahoma was still Indian Territory when they lived there. However, Mayrette died in 1879, (month and day not known) and was buried in the Old Thackerville Cemetery in Love County, Oklahoma. Sadly, the following year, Thomas also died on March 3rd, 1880, so I don't know who raised little Ella, since her maternal grandparents, Sanders Jefferson Thacker and Mary Ann Linville Thacker, also both died in 1880, Sanders on October 3rd and Mary Ann on October 7th.

Sanders Jefferson Thacker, born 1811 in South Carolina, had married Mary Ann Linneville, born 1825 in Alabama, in Texas in 1841, and they were living in Anderson County, Texas, in 1850 with their first 3 sons. By 1860 they were living in Kickapoo, Anderson, Texas, with their 8 children, and were in Henderson County, Texas in 1870 with 10 children, so they must have left for Oklahoma sometime after 1870. They were both buried in the Old Thackerville Cemetery, and Thackerville was named for Sanders Jefferson Thacker. The following information about the cemetery is from Find A Grave.com:

"Old Thackerville is a large abandoned cemetery and is on private property. It was started back in the 1870's, and is one of the oldest cemeteries in Love County. Thackerville was one of the stations where the cattle and drivers from the Old Chisum Trail stopped over to rest. Many of the Thackers that the town was named after are buried there."

It is possible that little Ella was raised by one of her mother Mayrette's brothers, since her twin brother Zachary, born in 1851 did not die until 1913, and Robert E. Lee Thacker, born in 1865 did not die until 1940. Since Ella May Little died January 7, 1919, in Texas and was buried in the Floydada Cemetery in Floyd County, Texas, it is possible she was sent to live with relatives in Texas after the death of both of her parents and her maternal grandparents. One of Mayrette's older brothers, James Monroe Thacker, was still living in Texas in the late 1800's and early 1900's, but by 1910 he had moved to Yuma, Arizona. Probably about 1894, when Ella was just about 15 years old, she married Lafeyette Butler Maxey, born in Kentucky in 1867, who died in Floydada, Texas, in 1948. They had at least 4 children, the first being Margaret May Maxey, born in 1895. She later married Marvin Olan Lemons and they moved to California, where she and he both died in 1976 and 1941 respectively.

By 1880 John and Susan were still living in Van Zandt County, Texas, and were listed as follows in the census record: J.W., 37, S.D., 30, John's son Willey W., 12, and John and Susan's twins, Lelah and Lula, who were 6 months old, having been born in December of 1879. John was still farming and his son Willey was working on the family farm. Susan indicated she was born in North Carolina, but census enumerator did not show where either of her parents were born.

In the 1900 census for Van Zandt County, Texas, John, 60, and Susan, 55, had been married for 25 years and had given birth to two children. Also living in their home was a boarder by the name of Jim Fails, 20 years old, who was working as a farm laborer and John was still working as a farmer. Living next door was John and Susan's daughter, Lula, 20, and her husband, Harvey Marshall Flowers, 25, who been married for one year. Marshall was also working as a farmer. Living next door on the other side was Josephine M. Fails, a 46-year old widow and her 19-year old son, Willis, and her 14-year old daughter, Laura. She was the mother of Jim Fails, the boarder living in John and Susan's home and working as a farm laborer.

Probably not long after the 1900 census, John's wife, Susan, must have passed away, and in 1905 John married his third wife, the widow Josephine Fails, who was his next door neighbor in the 1900 census. Josephine was born in Florida in February of 1853. All of her children with her previous husband, Thomas A. Fails, were born in Texas.

Previously, Josephine Willingham had married Thomas A. Fails on April 14, 1878, in Van Zandt County, Texas, after the death of his first wife, Virginia, in 1877. They were listed in the 1880 census for Van Zandt County as follows: T.A. Failes, 57, Josa, 26, J.C. (John C.) Failes, 32, K.W. (Curtis) Failes, 22, and James Failes, 1 year old. Thomas was working as a farmer and his son John C. was also farming, and Curtis was working as a laborer on the farm. Thomas' first wife, Virginia, born in 1823, died in 1877, and was buried in the Cana Cemetery in Cana, Van Zandt County, Texas. Josephine and Thomas Fails first son was James, born in 1879, the year after they were married.

Previously in the 1870 census for Van Zandt, Texas, Thomas Fails, 48, and Virginia, 48, were living with their children, Thomas, 25, John, 22, Joseph, 14, Curtis, 11, and Elizabeth, 10. Also living in their home was a servant by the name of Fannie Wadsworth, 45, with her two children, Albert 10, and Amanda, 3. Thomas was born in Alabama, as was Virginia, Thomas, John, Joseph, and Curtis, and Elizabeth in Arkansas. So it appears Thomas came to Texas sometime about 1860. He was born in Georgia and Virginia and their first 5 children were born in Alabama. They must have gone to Arkansas about 1858 before Sarah Elizabeth was born in late 1859.

In 1860 they had been living in Egypt, Ashley County, Arkansas, and were listed in the census as Thomas, 36, Virginia, 37, with children W.F., 16, T.J., 15, J.S., 11, J.F., 4, C.W., 3, and S.E., 1. Before that in 1850 they were in Butler County, Alabama, and were listed as: Thomas A., 26, Virginia, 26, William, 6, (Thomas) Jefferson, 5, and John, 2 years old. Thomas had served as a Private in Company I of the 18th Regiment, Georgia Infantry of the Confederate Soldiers Army and had enlisted in 1861. On October 29, 1889, Thomas received a Civil War Pension check in the amount of $12.16. I don't know when he passed away but it was probably sometime between 1889 and 1900.

In 1910 John, 60, and Josephine, 57, were still living in Van Zandt, Texas, and had been married for 4 years, and he owned his farm free from a mortgage and could read and write. The record showed that this was John's third marriage and Josephine's 2nd marriage. She had given birth to 4 children, 3 of whom were still living. Living next door was John's daughter, Lela Ballow, 30, and her husband Eugene Ballow, 37, who were living with their 10 children. They had been married for 16 years, and had given birth to 11 children. The children were listed as follows: Jenny, 14, Mary, 12, John, 11, Henry, 8, Abbie, 6, Arthur, 4, Fannie, 3, Edward, 2, Alfred, 1, and baby Josephine was 1 month old. The census enumerator mis-spelled their surname as Blue instead of Ballow. Both Eugene and John were working as farmers. Based on Lela's age it seems that she was married when she was just 14 years old in 1894.

In 1920 John, 78, and Josephine, 76, were still living in Van Zandt County, and living with them was Dave Lawrence, 40, a farm, laborer. John was still farming even at his advanced age. Living next door was John T. Fails, 32, Josephine's step-grandson, and his wife, Lee, 27, and their son Marvin, 4, and daughter, Ollie Mae, 2 years old. John was also still working as a farmer. John T. Fails was probably the son of Josephine's step-son, John C. Fails, born in 1848.

Living just a few doors down was John's daughter Lela's brother-in-law, William Riley Flowers, the older brother of Lela's husband, Harvey Marshall Flowers, and William's wife and children. They were listed in the census record as follows: Will, 52, Mandy, 42, Forest, 17, Clifton, 16, Salome, 14, Claude, 12, Johnie Marl, 10, (a daughter) Inez, 7, Hazel, 4, and baby daughter Frankie, 1 year old. Will was also working as a farmer. There were other Flowers family members living next door to John and Josephine on the next farm over, but I don't know how they were related to Harvey Flowers. They were Oscar, 41, Rosa, 39, Douglas, 19, Odell, 10, Etolia, 5, and Woward, 1 year old. They certainly had some very unusual names!

By 1930, John, 89, and Josephine, 78, were living with his granddaughter, Mary E. Fretwell, 34, and her husband, Carl R. or Robert Carl, 35, and their children, daughter Lou E., 10, Andy B., 8, and Robert L., 6 years old. Mary and Carl had been married for 11 years. Carl was working as a farmer. Mary was the daughter of John's daughter Lela Ballow and her husband Eugene Ballow. Living next door was John T. Fails, 42, Josephine's step-grandson, and his wife and children, Lee L., 37, Marvin R., 15, Ollie M., 12, and John, 8 years old. John T. was also working as a farmer. Next door to him was perhaps his son, Curtis R., 23, and wife, Mabel, 21, and their son, Roland C., who was 3 months old. Curtis was also farming.

The following year, John W. Crabtree passed away August 23, 1931, at the age of nearly 90 years old as a result of heart disease and senility. His birth date on his Texas Death Certificate was October 19, 1842, and his age was listed as 88 years, 10 months, and 4 days. The informant on his death certificate was Robert Carl Fretwell, the husband of John's granddaughter Mary. The names of John's parents were not listed on the death certificate.

John's third wife, the widow Josephine Fails, died just two years later on April 8, 1933, at the age of 79 years, 1 month and 21 days from pneumonia and senility according to her Texas Death Certificate. She was born February 15, 1853, and her father's name was listed only as Willingham. The informant on her death certificate was J.C. Bookman of Canton, Texas, who did not know the name of her mother. She was buried in the Elm Grove Cemetery, in Roddy, Van Zandt County, Texas. The name on her death certificate was Mrs. Joe Crabtree (Joe for Josephine), of 2 Canton Rt. 1, Van Zandt County, Texas. It was also shown that way on her husband's application for his Civil War pension.

In 1913, J.W. Crabtree had submitted a "Form A, For Use of Soldiers who are in Indigent circumstances" to make application for a pension to be granted under an act passed by the 31st legislature of the State of Texas, and approved March 26, 1909, for his military service of the Confederate State during the Civil War. He indicated on the application that he surrendered in April of 1864. He was 70 years old, born in Missouri, and had resided in Texas since 1855, and was living in Van Zandt County for the previous 37 years and was located at the Post Office of Stone Point. He had been engaged in farming "when he was able" and had served for four years in the 4h Regiment Infantry of the Hood Brigade.

The Certificate of the State and County Assessor showed that J.W. Crabtree was charged on the land and personal property rolls of Van Zandt County with estate, real, personal and mixed, at the assessed value of $770.

The above application was dated June 6, 1913. Mr. John W. Duren, 71, who resided at 309 W. 34d Avenue in Corsicana, Texas, said that he did know John W. Crabtree since 1856 or 1857 at Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas, and had known him for 54 years. He indicated that John enlisted in the Civil War in June of 1861 at Corsicana, and served during the entire war and was surrendered on April 9, 1865. He was not commissioned by the President of the Confederate States....he was a private soldier, and a member of Company I 4th Texas Infantry, and that Mr. Duren was the lieutenant of said company. Mr. Duren said her was personally acquainted with J.W. Crabtree since he served with him all during the war. The company was organized in Corsicana, and he saw him nearly every day during the war except when he or Mr. Duren were wounded or out of camp. Mr. Duren continued to say there was no better soldier than J.W. Crabtree and he was always at his post and ready for service.

The Adjutant General's Office of the War Department of Washington D.C., wrote to the Commissioner of Pensions, State of Texas, Austin, the following: "The records show that J.W. Crabtree, private, Company I, 4th Texas Infantry, Confederate States Army, enlisted July 17, 1861. His name appears on a list of prisoners surrendered by General Lee, Confederate States Army, which shows that he was paroled at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, April 9, 1865."

On December 31, 1914, at Canton, Texas, the County Judge wrote to the Pension Commissioner in Austin, Texas, as follows: Dear Sir....Will you please write me what the trouble is in the application by J.W. Crabtree of Van Zandt county for a pension. This application reached Austin some 18 months or two years ago. Will it be necessary or best for him to file a new application? I have known J.W. Crabtree personally for 30 years. I know his property and he should be installed as a pensioner. Please write me fully what the trouble is and I will take the matter up with Mr. Crabtree. His post office is Stone Point, Van Zandt County, Route 1. Yours very truly, A.M. Lively, County Judge, V.Z. County."

It appears that John finally did receive his pension, and on April 15, 1919, and submitted an affidavit at that time which stated that he did not own real or personal property to the value of $1,000 exclusive of his homestead, the value of which did not exceed $1,000, and that his annual income, not including any pension, did not exceed $300 and that he was a bona fide resident of the state and was not an inmate of the Confederate Home.

Then came a letter from the Comptroller's Department of the State of Texas in Austin dated May 13, 1919, to J.w. Crabtree in Stone Point, Texas, reading as follows: "Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your affidavit filed for the pension quarter ending February 28, 1918. The records of this Department show that you have not filed any affidavit for any quarter since that time. Will you please advise me if you have been out of the State of Texas since your last payment was made, November 30, 1917. If so, it will be necessary for you to file an affidavit with this Department, giving the date of your departure from the state, the date of your return and the further statement that at no time during your absence from the state did you expect to take up citizenship in any other state or give up your citizenship in this state. On receipt of this information you will be re-instated on the pension rolls and warrant sent you on the affidavit for February 28, 1918, as well as for the succeeding quarters, provided you have been absent from the state for a period of time extending over one year. If your absence from the state does not extend over one year you would be entitled to your pension payments since November 30, 1917. Yours very truly, H.B. Terrill, Comptroller."

Then came a hand-written letter from Canton, Texas, Route #2, stating: "Before me, J.W. Dyer, a Justice of the Peace & Notary Public in and for Van Zandt County, Texas, personally appeared J.W. Crabtree, known to me to be a reputable citizen of Van Zandt county, Texas, and who states under oat that he has not been absent from this state at any time since 1865 and his home has been continuous in this state up to the present time." Then below this it showed J.W. Crabtree's "X" mark, and it was subscribed and sworn before Mr. J.W. Dyer on May 19, 1919, and his title was shown as Justice of the Peace & Notary Public, Van Zandt County, Texas.

Then another letter came from the comptroller of the state of Texas dated May 22, 1919, which reads: "Dear Sir: An investigation of the tax rolls of Van Zandt county shows that you have personal property listed for taxes in that county valued at $1,100 which is in excess of the maximum amount allowed by law to Confederate Pensioners. If you will have your tax collector file a certificate with this department showing the value of your homestead. If any part of this property can be classed as a homestead, it is possible that you may be again placed on the pension rolls. Unless this can be done, I cannot approve your affidavits and issued warrants on same."

On May 31, 1919, at Canton, Texas, W.H. Morrison the Tax Collector of Van Zandt County wrote to the State of Texas, County of Van Zandt, stating..."I do hereby certify that Mr. J. W. Crabtree rendered for taxes, for the year 1919, 84 acres of land valued at $840 and personal property valued at $310." It was signed by F.H. Hutchinson, the Deputy Tax Collector for W.H. Morrison the Tax Collector of Van Zandt County.

On June 6, 1919, the State Comptroller again wrote to J.W. Crabtree in Stone Point, Texas: Dear Sir: Your favor, enclosing certificate of your Tax Collector showing your property rendition, does not remove the trouble with reference to issuing pension warrants in your favor. As stated in my letter of May 26, it will be necessary for you to show by the certificate of your Tax Collector that a portion of your rendition is made on your homestead. If this cannot be done and the $1150 still remain as a tax on personal property, your affidavit will not be approved and no pension warrants will be issued. Present pension laws of this state permit beneficiaries of the Confederate pension fund to hold $2,000 worth of property if same is properly divided. A homestead not exceeding in value $1,000 may be held and personal property for the same amount but where either item exceeds $1,000 no pension can be paid."

Then in the file is a State and County Tax Receipt for the year of 1921 for J.W. Crabtree showing that he paid taxes of $19.29 on real estate valued at $740 and personal property valued at $170 for a total of $910. Of the $19.29 in taxes paid, $5.64 was for State Ad Valorem, $9.10 was for County Ad Valorem, and $4.55 was for School District #37.

The next document in the pension file shows that R.C. Frettwell, who was the person entrusted for paying of the accounts and indebtedness of the late J.W. Crabtree, showing that he died on the 23rd day of August, 1931, near Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas. R.C. was the grand son-in-law of J.W. Crabtree. The undertaker, Henry Eubank, of Mabank, Kaufman, Texas, indicated he had charge of the body of J.W. Crabtree, and the body was prepared for burial by him. Dr. William Meadows, M.D. also certified that he was the attending physician of J.W. Crabtree and that his death was due to heart disease and senility.

The cover of the Soldier's Application for Pension for J.W. Crabtree does show that his application filed on February 21st, 1913, was approved on January 21, 1913, and that the pension was allowed from March 1st of 1913. The amount of pension he received was not shown anywhere in the application file which is online at Ancestry.com.

John W. Crabtree was buried in the Elm Grove Cemetery in Roddy, Van Zandt County, Texas. His daughter Lela Crabtree Ballow was also buried there with her husband Eugene Thomas Ballow, and their children, John William, Abbie J Ballow Simmons, Charles Arthur, Claude Clifton, and Russell E. Ballow, according to Find A Grave.com.