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HUSBAND: William Marsh CROSLEY
Born: March 19, 1835 Rising Sun, Dearborn Co., Indiana
Married: March 16, 1859 Washington Twp., Lee Co., Iowa
Died: January 12, 1895 Cedar Co., Nebraska
Buried: Oliver Grove Cemetery, south of Hartington, Cedar Co., Nebraska
FATHER: Ross CROSLEY
MOTHER: Eliza CLARK
WIFE: Katherine URFER
Born: October 7, 1841 Thierachern, Berne, Switzerland
Baptized: October 20, 1841 Thierachern, Bern, Switzerland
2nd Marriage: Alfred W. ALDRIDGE Sept. 8, 1907 Running Water, Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Born: November 14, 1850 Wisconsin
1st Wife died in 1905 Running Water, S.D.
Died: December 9, 1918 of pneumonia in Springfield, S. D.
Died: Aug. 8, 1931 Springfield, Bon Homme Co., South Dakota
Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, South Dakota
FATHER: Christian URFER
MOTHER: Catherine WEISSMULLER
CHILDREN:
1. Eliza CROSLEY
Born: December 1859 Ft. Madison, Lee Co., Iowa
Married: Nathan SMITH Dec. 12, 1875 Jackson Twp., Clark Co., MO. (home of Katherine Urfer)
Died: 1879
No Children
2. Anna D. CROSLEY
Born: March 28, 1862 Ft Madison, Iowa
Married: Franklin DAVIS October 10, 1876 Lewis Co., Missouri
Born: 1851 Kentucky
Remarried: lived in Detroit, Michigan
Died: September 25, 1880 of brain fever in Crawford Co., Iowa
Buried: Dow City Cemetery, Crawford Co., Iowa
Their Children:
A. Anna Grace DAVIS
Born: June 20, 1880 (weighing three pounds) Crawford Co., Iowa
Married: Joseph HODGINS Nov. 18, 1897 Cedar Co., Nebraska
Born: April 14, 1864 in Biddulph, Ontario, Canada
Died: January 7, 1944 Vancouver Island, Canada
Buried: St. Andrew’s Churchyard, Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada
Died: October 10, 1964 Ft. Hospital, Comox, Vancouver Island, Canada
3. William Ross CROSLEY
Born: February 14, 1865 Ft. Madison, Lee Co., Iowa
Married: Anna Matilda JACOBSON December 20, 1892 Wheeler, Charles Mix Co., S. D.
Born: May 10, 1875 Vanga, Ostergotland County, Sweden
Died: January 24, 1958 Yankton, Yankton Co., South Dakota
Died: Dec. 4, 1937 Springfield, Bon Homme Co., South Dakota
Both Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, South Dakota
Their Children:
A. Florence Celia CROSLEY
Born: February 5, 1896 Hartington, Cedar Co., Nebraska
Married: Arnold Otto Karl BREITENBACH Dec. 20, 1917 Santee, Knox Co., Neb.
Born: April 23, 1895 Arlington, Columbia Co., Wisconsin
Died: December 4, 1957 Yankton, South Dakota
2nd Marriage: Charles Luther YOUNG Nov. 27, 1958 Springfield. S.D.
Born: February 19, 1887 Springfield, S.D.
Died: December 30, 1968 Yankton, Yankton Co., S.D.; Resident Springfield, S.D.
Died: Sept. 26, 1969 Belle Fourche, Butte Co., S.D.; Resident Springfield, S.D.
All Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, South Dakota
B. Hilda CROSLEY
Born: Sept. 13, 1898 Running Water, Bon Homme Co., South Dakota
Died: Feb. 16, 1911 St. Joseph’s Hospital, Sioux City, Woodbury Co., Iowa
Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, South Dakota
4. Franklin Marsh CROSLEY
Born: May 8, 1868 Ft. Madison, Lee Co., Iowa
Married: Henrietta Faulk EMERY Dec. 9, 1891 Wheeler, Charles Mix Co., S.D.
Born: February 12, 1867 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
2nd Married: Mr. BENNETT
Died: February 12, 1952 Junction City, Geary Co., Kansas
Died: December 9, 1938 Sturgis, Meade Co., South Dakota
Buried: Bear Butte Cemetery, Sturgis, South Dakota
Their Children:
A. Katherine Elizabeth CROSLEY
Born: June 1, 1890 Wheeler, Charles Mix Co., S.D.
Married: Henry KING June 18, 1908 Gregory, Gregory County, South Dakota
Born: May 27, 1886
Died: October 6, 1927 Avon, Bonn Homme CO., South Dakota
2nd Married: Harry B. JONES March 11, 1940 Bethell, Washington
Born: April 10, 1870 Michigan
Died: January 18, 1966 Bothel, King Co., Washington
Died: January 7, 1967 Bremerton, Kitsop Co., Washington
Both Buried: Bothell, King Co., Washington
B. Susan Elvina CROSLEY
Born: April 1, 1892 Yankton, Yankton Co., S.D.
Married: James Bradley WIAR June 10, 1910 Sturgis, Meade Co., S.D.
Born: Dec. 5, 1881 Atchison Co., Missouri
Died: Killed By 1944 Twilight, Butte Co., South Dakota
Died: November 30, 1967 Jacksonville, Nassau Co., Florida
Buried: Bosque Bello Cemetery, Fernandino Beach, Nassua Co., Florida
C. Francis Edith CROSLEY
Born: June 3. 1894 Yankton, S.D.
Married: Wallace H. YULE June 28, 1911 Santee, Knox Co., Nebraska
Born: March 3, 1891 Bloomington, Cedar Co., Neb.
Died: Dec. 12, 1918 Springfield, S.D. of pneumonia following the flu
Buried: Springfield Cem., Springfield, S.D.
2nd Marriage: Roy Elliott OELRICH
Born: July 4, 1894 Springfield, South Dakota
Died: Nov. 26, 1960 Springfield, South Dakota
Died: June 12, 1948 McMinnville, Yamhill Co., Oregon
D. Florence Bell CROSLEY
Born: 1899 Yankton, S.D.
Married: Jesse E. PEITSMEYER July 17, 1919 Springfield, S.D.
Born: May 2, 1898
2nd Married: Alice
Born: May 23, 1893
Died: January 1990 Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska
Died: September 1982 Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska
Died: By 1967
E. Maude CROSLEY
Born: July 20, 1903 Yankton, S.D.
Married: Brad WEIS
2nd Married: ______ GERTEN
Died: September 3, 1963
Lived: Fernandina, Fla. 1952
F. Stella Lavilla CROSLEY
Born: March 27, 1905 Springfield, S.D.
Married: Adam SCHMIDT
Born: September 17, 1902
Died: May 16, 1998 Scotland, Bon Homme Co., South Dakota
Died: January 31, 1973 Pittsburg, Contra Costa Co., California
G. Charles Vernon CROSLEY
Born: May 30, 1907 Springfield, S.D.
Married: Ethel Matilda ALLEN May 3, 1946
Born: January 17, 1901
Died: February 1979 Manhattan, Riley Co., Kansas
Died: September 7, 1978 Manhattan, Riley Co., Kansas
H. Lila Ona CROSLEY
Born: September 19, 1910 Springfield, South Dakota
Married: Barnard KUEN January 1, 1930 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Born: September 25, 1901 Hillsview, South Dakota
Died: September 7, 1982 Santa Barbara, California
Died: June 30, 1997 Santa Barbara, California
5. Martha Ellen CROSLEY
Born: Oct. 14, 1870 Ft. Madison, Iowa
Married: William Benjamin HOMER Nov. 29, 1886 Thanksgiving Day, Cedar Co., Nebraska
Born: April 16, 1863 Shelby Co., Iowa
Bapt.: 1871 Gallan Grove, Shelby Co., Iowa into Latter-Day Saints Church
Died: May 14, 1941 Running Water, Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Died: Oct. 14, 1955 Newell, Butte Co., S.D.
Both Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.
Their Children:
A. Patience Edna HOMER
Born: January 15, 1888 Cedar Co., Nebraska
Married: Henry Perkins OLIVER 1906 Springfield, South Dakota
Born: December 6, 1884 Cedar Co., Nebraska
Died: May 1, 1948 Newell, Butte Co., South Dakota;
Died: Feb. 5, 1946 of cancer in Belle Fourche, Butte Co., S.D.
Both Buried: Pineslope Cemetery, Belle Fourche, South Dakota
B. William Benjamin HOMER Jr.
Born: Nov. 18, 1889 near Hartington, Cedar Co., Nebraska
Married: Iva L. SELLS September 1, 1913 Olivet, Hutchinson Co., South Dakota
Born: May 15, 1896 Salina, Kansas
Died: November 9, 1979 Salem, Marion Co., Oregon
Died: December 23, 1957 Newell, Butte Co., South Dakota; accidentally crushed by water tank
Both Buried: Pineslope Cemetery, Belle Fourche, Butte Co., South Dakota
C. Boyd Allen HOMER
Born: Feb.27, 1892 Cedar Co., Nebraska
Married: Ada V. YOUNG June 2, 1920
Born: Nov. 4, 1890 St. Paul, Minnesota
Died: February 12, 1968 Carver Co., Minnesota
Died: February 1, 1927 Veteran's Hospital, St. Paul Minn.
Buried: Springfield Cemetery, South Dakota
D. Herman Charles HOMER
Born: Nov. 11, 1894 Cedar Co., Nebraska
Married: Ella Jennie OELRICH March 30, 1930 Springfield, South Dakota
Born: February 1, 1900 Hartington, Cedar Co., Nebraska
Died: April 1995 Coos Bay, Coos Co., Oregon
Died: May 23, 1968 Glenns Ferry, Elmore Co., ID; auto accident; Resident: Belle Fourche, S.D.
Buried: Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, South Dakota
E. Franklin HOMER
Born: Aug. 24, 1899 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Married: Versie MILEY May 24, 1945 Center, Knox Co., Nebraska
Died: Dec. 23, 1957 Belle Fourche Co., S.D.; accidentally crushed by water tank
Buried: Pineslope Cemetery, Belle Fourche, South Dakota
F. Otto Christian HOMER
Born: October 29, 1902 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Never Married
Died: June 20, 1985 Salem, Marion Co., Oregon
G. John HOMER
Born: February 3, 1905 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Died: August 1987 Sioux City, Woodbury, Co., Iowa
H. Ellen Katherine HOMER
Born: September 18, 1905 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Died: April 7, 1913 in Bon Homme Co., S.D. of measles
Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.
I. Marion E. HOMER
Born: June 1908 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Died: August 8, 1909 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.
J. Royal Merit HOMER
Born: April 28, 1912 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Died: April 21, 1913 Bon Homme Co., S.D. of pneumonia
Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.
K. Robert E. HOMER
Born: 1913 Bonn Homme Co., South Dakota
Died: 1916 Bonn Homme Co., South Dakota; measles
6. George Washington CROSLEY
Born: March 3, 1872 St. Mary's, Clark Co., Missouri
Married: Etta Mae GILPIN Oct. 14, 1897 in Hartington, Cedar Co., Nebraska
Born: Oct. 1881 Lincoln Center, Nebraska
Died: 1914 Cestos, Dewey Co., Oklahoma
Died: Jan. 21, 1951 Yankton, S.D.
Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.
Their Children:
A. ______ CROSLEY
Born: Cestos,Dewey Co., Oklahoma
Died: in infancy
B. Ross Francis CROSLEY
Born: Oct. 11, 1903 Cestos, Dewey Co., Oklahoma
Married: Julia JURACEK March 2, 1927 Yankton, South Dakota
Born: November 2, 1911 Niobrara, Knox Co., Nebraska
2nd Married: Eldon DOTTER September 4, 1984 in Yankton, South Dakota
Born: Feb. 26, 1907 in Oklahoma
Died: March 10, 1999 in rest home in Vibory, Turner Co., Soth Dakota
Died:
Died: March 21, 1980 Lundberg Memorial Hospital, Creighton, Nebraska
Buried: L'Eau Qui Court Cemetery, Niabrara, Knox Co., Nebraska
C. George William CROSLEY
Born: July 3, 1905 Cestos, Dewey Co., Oklahoma
Married: Hannah Mae TRUDELL Nov. 27, 1929 Yankton, S.D.
Born: October 16, 1911 Santee, Knox Co., Nebraska
Died: August 17, 1989 Sioux City, Woodbury Co., Iowa
Died: Sept. 14, 1988 Sioux City, Woodbury Co., Iowa
7. Bertha E. CROSLEY
Born: May 29, 1875 Iowa
Died: Aug. 29, 1880 Pretty Prairie, Crawford Co., Iowa of lung congestion
Buried: Dow City Cemetery, Crawford Co., Iowa
8. Christian Otto CROSLEY
Born: May 29, 1877 Macedonia, Iowa
Married: Estella MORTEN Nov. 15, 1899 Tyndall, Bon Homme Co., South Dakota
Born: September 12, 1881 Nebraska
Died: Feb. 23, 1963 Tyndall Hospital, Bon Homme Co., S.D.; Resident Springfield, S.D.
Died: April 14, 1952 Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Both Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Bon Homme Co., South Dakota
Their Children:
A. Christian Otto CROSLEY Jr.
Born: November 25, 1907 Cestos, Oklahoma
Married: Shirley Alice in 1947 California
Died: Dec. 15, 1954 of rheumatic heart disease in Los Angeles, California
Buried: Angeles Abbey Memorial Park, Compton, Los Angeles Co., California
9. Nathaniel Edward CROSLEY
Born: March 6, 1881 Pretty Prairie, Crawford Co., Iowa
Married: May Anna HEINS July 3, 1902 Springfield, South Dakota
Born: Sept. 28, 1882 Running Water, S.D.
Died: Nov. 19, 1961 Springfield, S.D.
Died: Jan. 26, 1938 Santee, Knox Co., Nebraska
Both Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.
Their Children:
A. Hazel M. CROSLEY
Born: March 13, 1903 Running Water, S.D.
Married: Howard JOHNSON Sept. 23, 1933
Born: July 12, 1900
Died: Jan. 15, 1952 Sioux City, Woodbury Co., Iowa
Buried: Graceland Cem., Sioux City, Iowa
B. John Edward CROSLEY
Born: June 23, 1904 Running Water, S.D.
Married: Florence LaFRANTZ in 1933
Died: 1934
2nd Marriage: Alfa HANSEN March 30, 1935
Born: Oct. 7, 1907 Verdel, Nebraska
Died: Aug. 18, 1983 Center, Nebraska
Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Creighton, Neb.
Died: March 28, 1974 Center, Nebraska
Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Creighton, Knox Co., Neb.
C. Sarah (Sadie) Ellen CROSLEY
Born: June 24, 1906 Running Water, S.D.
Married: Owen LOWDEN (Divorced)
Born: January 6, 1904
Died: November 1980 San Dimas, California
2nd Marriage: Anton KONOPASEK Sept. 23, 1945
Born: Oct. 23, 1903 Nebraska
Died: March 22, 1986 Norfolk, Madison Co., Nebraska
Buried: Hillcrest Cemetery, Norfolk, Neb.
Died: Oct. 17, 1990 in Norfolk, Nebraska
Buried: Hillcrest Cemetery, Norfolk, Nebraska
D. Florence Katherine CROSLEY
Born: Feb. 16, 1908 Running Water, S.D.
Married: Duncan McCOLLUM Sept. 22, 1928
Born: Feb. 13, 1903 Pender, Thurston Co., Nebraska
Died: April 3, 1987 Sioux City, Iowa
Died: April 30, 1993 in Sioux City, Iowa
Both Buried: Bloomfield Cemetery, Bloomfield, Nebraska
E. Harry C. CROSLEY
Born: 1910 Mead Co., South Dakota
Died: 1921Santee, Nebraska
Buried: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.; next to parents
F. Lesley Earl CROSLEY
Born: Aug. 11, 1912 Springfield, South Dakota
Married: Rose M. KURKA July 5, 1937 O’Neill, Holt Co., Nebraska
Born: May 17, 1915 Verdigre, Nebraska
Died:
Died: Aug. 2, 1974 Santee, Nebraska
Buried: L'Eau Qui Court Cemetery, Niobrara, Nebraska
G. William Walter CROSLEY
Born: April 23, 1915 Santee, Nebraska
Married: Elizabeth LEIGH April 18, 1946
Born: Dec. 28, 1911
Died: Jan. 14, 1979 Verdigre, Nebraska
Died: Aug. 18, 1962 Center, Nebraska
Both Buried: Bloomfield Cemetery, Bloomfield, Nebraska
H. Lawrence Elmer CROSLEY
Born: March 11, 1920 Santee, Nebraska
Married: Pearl M. KENNITZ June 7, 1942 Bloomfield, Knox Co., Nebraska
Born: Sept. 15, 1915 Verdel, Nebraska
Died: July 20, 1971 Center, Knox Co., Neb.
Buried: Verdel Cemetery, Verdel, Neb.
10. Florence M. CROSLEY
Born: March 28, 1884 Iowa
Married: Francis Joseph DONNELLY Nov. 6, 1899 Tyndall, Bon Homme Co., S.D.
Born: Jan. 1, 1879 South Dakota
Died: 1956 Alberta, Canada
Died: March 23, 1967 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Their Children:
A. Rose Ann DONNELLY
Born: June 15, 1900 Running Water, Bon Homme Co.,Running Water, Bon Homme Co., S. D.
Married: Jules BURLE April 19, 1920 Alberta, Canada
Born: May 12, 1896 Belgium
Died: Sept. 21, 1957
Died: Sept. 30, 1982 Barrhead, Alberta, Canada
B. Florence May DONNELLY
Born: March 5, 1902 South Dakota
Married: Alfred GRAVEL April 18, 1918
Died: 1963
C. Alice Katherine DONNELLY
Born: Dec. 12, 1905 Alberta, Canada
Married: Acheil BORLE April 15, 1922
Died: 1951
D. John Alexander DONNELLY
Born: Sept. 3, 1907 Alberta, Canada
Married: Delores
Died: 1962
E. Francis Thomas DONNELLY
Born: Dec. 15, 1909 Alberta, Canada
Married: Royce Geraldine DODMAN Oct. 9, 1945
Born: July 12, 1923
F. William Edward DONNELLY
Born: Oct. 4, 1911 Alberta, Canada
Married: Maude IMESON
G. Ruby Ellen DONNELLY
Born: Aug. 22, 1915 Alberta, Canada
Married: Glen HARRIS
Lived: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
H. Sylvia DONNELLY
Born: May 31, 1917 Alberta, Canada
Married: Hugh HART
I. James Frederick DONNELLY
Born: June 5, 1921 Alberta, Canada
Lived: Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada
J. (male) DONNELLY
Born: March 28, 1925 Alberta, Canada
Died: March 30, 1925
WILLIAM MARSH CROSLEY & KATHERINE URFER
William Marks Crosley was born March 19, 1835 in Rising Sun, Indiana to Ross Crosley and Eliza Clark. In 1852,
he and his family moved to Washington Twp., Lee County, Iowa where he became a farmer.
Katherine Urfer was born October 7, 1841 in Thierachern, Bern, Switzerland to Christian Urfer and Catherine
Weissmuller. The Urfer’s were a rural farming family just outside of Bern and of the Lutheran faith. In 1846 the family
came to America by sailing ship. They lived near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for four years. In 1846 they traveled by covered
wagon to Lee Co., Iowa.
It was here that William and Katherine met and married March 16, 1859 in Washington Twp., Lee Co., Iowa. They became
the parents of ten children. In the early 1870's they moved across the border into Clark Co., Missouri. In about 1879 they
family moved to Crawford Co., Iowa.
While living here, William and Katherine lost three of their daughters within one year. Their oldest child, Eliza,
married Nathan Smith December 12, 1875 in the home of her Grandma Urfer in Jackson Twp., Clark Co., Missouri. They had no
children and in the spring of 1880 Eliza died of unknown causes at age twenty.
Anna, the second child of William and Katherine, married Franklin Davis in 1877. On June 20, 1880, Anna gave birth
to Anna Grace Davis, weighing three pounds in Crawford Co., Iowa. Three months later Anna died of “brain fever.” Because
Franklin was unable to raise a tiny baby on his own, he gave Grace to William and Katherine to raise. He moved to Detroit,
Michigan and later remarried. Anna Grace Davis married Joseph Hodgins November 17, 1897 in Cedar Co., Nebraska.
Joe Hodgins was born in 1864 in Biddulph, Ontario, Canada. As a young man he came to Cedar County, Nebraska where he
worked planting corn and flax. He roomed and boarded at the Crosley farm while he built a small home close by. Grace and Joe
lived here until the summer of 1899 when the house was struck by lightning. The house, barn, crops and most of the livestock were
lost. Grace was home alone, seven months pregnant and was lucky to escape with her life.
Joe worked so hard to rebuild, but the losses were too great. In the spring of 1899, Joe moved his family back to Lucan,
Ontario, Canada. In the spring of 1901, Joe and his brother, Tom, moved their families to near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
In 1910 the family moved to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Joe bought one hundred acres of land at Metchosin
near Victoria where they engaged in farming. In 1920 Joe bought one-hundred and eighty acres of land near Merville, Vancouver
Island and moved his family there in the summer of 1921. The spring of 1922 was very dry and a fire broke out near Merville.
The family and house survived the fire, but fences, barns and crops had to be replaced. In 1940 lightning struck the family
home. Grace, once again, was home alone. She was able to grab the cannery in her cage and escape with her life. The house
burned to the ground, nothing was saved. Grace’s only regret was the loss of fifty years worth of pictures which could never
be replaced. A new home was built with all the modern conveniences. Grace had the tenacious spirit of all pioneer women.
Just a three-pound baby girl, became the mother of eleven sons and two daughters.
Bertha, the seventh child of William and Katherine, was born May 29, 1875. She had been suffering from lung congestion
for 13 days. On August 29, 1880, Bertha was feeling tired and laid down on the couch for a nap. When Katherine went to awaken
her for supper, she found that Bertha had died in her sleep. She is buried in Dow City, Iowa.
Katherine’s children remember their mother’s reputation for miles around as being a good nurse and midwife. There were
no hospitals nearby and few doctors. She could expect a knock on her door at any hour with someone in need of nursing for a
sick child or for a woman in labor. It wasn’t unusual for her to travel great distances by wagon or sleigh in blowing snow to
nurse a dying child or bring comfort to the bereaved. Those were years of great trial and endurance, but Katherine never said
“no” to someone in need.
In spite of Katherine’s gentility and kindliness, there was a core of steel determination in her disposition. It has
been said on more than one occasion, she stood up to and defied some mean and infuriated frontiersman with such unbending will
power, that he turned away and retreated.
Katherine’s children also remember relatives of Katherine visiting. They would speak in their native German tongue.
The children stood around listening to this strange language of which they had no understanding. They ended up in a corner of
the room mimicking the sounds, pretending to speak German to each other, until a good box of the ears reminded them of their
manners.
William was said to be a very stout man, temperamental, quick tempered and headstrong, but Katherine’s patience and
gentleness coupled with an air of great serenity, had great power over William in his difficult moments. William became
ailing of heart disease and the dropsy in the early 1890's. As William became progressively worse, Katherine stayed by his
side day and night. He became so swollen from his sickness that when he died January 12, 1895, a special extra large coffin
had to be made to accommodate his body. He is buried in Oliver Grove Cemetery, south of Hartington, Nebraska. The stone has
been destroyed by farmers who used them for weights on their plows. By 1970 all the stones, but two, had been destroyed. To
reach the cemetery go west out of Hartington on Hwy 84 to Hwy 81. Go south on Hwy 81 six miles near radio tower, turn east
and go 1\2 mile. Cemetery is on the north side of road.
Eugene Oliver visited the cemetery the summer of 1971. His grandfather William Oliver, son of Clarence Oliver (son of
Joshua and Sarh Oliver), and Eugene found the cemetery through the story his grandfather remembered. In the late 1880's Joshua
Oliver and his wife, Sarah, took a timber claim somewhere near Hartington, Nebraska. Their first home at the claim was a
dugout in the side of a hill until they could build better quarters. As part of the deal to prove up the timber claim, they
had to plant a certain amount of trees, thus, Oliver’s Grove. In June 1892, Sarah died. Grandfather said two tiny trees
were planted at each corner of the grave which was surrounded by a rought iron fence. Joshua donated some of the land to the
church in Sarah’s memory. This land later provided the place for Oliver’s Grove Youth Church Camps. When they reached the
cemetery, it was disappointing to find it in disrepair. Only a few headstones. A farmer approached and explained that during
the dry years of the 1920's and 30's, farmers had used the headstones to weight down their plows to break the hard soil. He
said they threw the head stones in a pile in the corner of the cemetery when they were done with them. They found Sarah’s
stone in the pile. They took the stone back to Burke, South Dakota where it remains with the family. William’s stone was
never found.
In 1884 their son, Ross, and William (Will) Homer, went to Cedar County, Nebraska in search of good farm land. They
broke several acres of prairie. The following year, William and Katherine moved with their family near Hartington, Cedar Co.,
Nebraska. Will Homer lived and worked as a hand on the Crosley farm in Crawford County. Martha Ellen, daughter of William
and Katherine, fell in love with Will. She would bring him water in the fields where he worked, but she was too shy to let
him know her feelings. Fortunately William fell in love with Ellen and they were married Nov. 29, 1886 in Cedar Co., Nebraska.
Their oldest daughter, Edna, married Henry P, Oliver, youngest son of Joshua and Sarah Oliver.
The entire family was very fond of Will. Will was baptized into the Latter-Day Saints Church in Gallan Grove, Shelby
Co., Iowa and it is believed that this is why Katherine later converted to the Mormon faith. Ross and his wife also converted
to the Mormon faith. Will was quite an ingenious man. He invented an automatic opening and closing gate. Because he never put
in for a patent, he never received the credit. Will and Ellen lost two of their nine children within one month of each other.
Ellen Katherine died April 7, 1913 of measles when she was seven years old. Royal Merit died April 21, 1913 of pneumonia at
twelve months. They also lost Marion E. who died in 1909 at age one year. These three children are all buried along side
each other in Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.
There used to be a church next to the cemetery, but it no longer exists. The Church was called Mt. Hope Methodist
Church and cemetery. Church records show William and Catherine Crosley joined the church in 1892 as charter members under
Rev. Carter. A bit later in 1892, Will R. and Annie Crosley became members under Rev. Butler. Records show William Crosley
died January 12, 1895. His wife, Catherine, transferred her membership to Running Water, South Dakota.
In 1898 Katherine moved with her sons, Ross, Frank, George, Otto and Edward, and her daughter, Ellen, and her husband,
William Homer, to Running Water, South Dakota. The town no longer exists because the Missouri River was dammed at Yankton,
South Dakota and flooded the town in the 1950's. Katherine met and married Alfred W. Aldridge in Running Water on September
8, 1907. He was said to be a widower of some wealth, born in 1843. A few years later, they moved to Springfield, South Dakota.
Mr. Aldrigde died in December of 1918. The Spanish flu was on a rampage at that time, so it is likely that he died of the flu.
After his death, Katherine made her home with her son, Ross. She kept a small garden.
Otto and George, Katherine’s sons, moved to Dewey Co., Oklahoma in the early 1900's. They engaged in black smithing.
When they returned to Springfield in about 1910, they opened a blacksmith shop with their brother, Frank. Because of the
popularity of the automobile, the black smithing business suffered, so in about 1919, they returned to farming.
Katherine’s sons, George, Otto and Frank, took a trip to Vancouver, Canada in 1930 to visit their niece, Anna Grace
Davis Hodgins. Their transportation was an old truck that they rebuilt into mobile living quarters. Frank explained going
through the Rockies as, “We chugged along those roads on top of those heights, teetering on the edge of the canyons and stared
down for hundreds of feet right beside us. I was so scared that my hair stood up and kept pushing my hat off. I had to tie
it down with a string.” When they arrived in Vancouver, they found her son who invited them to his home. Otto spied a violin
on the piano and had it bin his hands in a moment, tuning it up and shoved his cousin toward the piano to accompany him. Otto
raced through hoe-downs and square dances with all the sparkle and youthfulness of a child. Otto was left-handed and well
known for his mastering of the violin. He also belonged to an orchestra. When they realized they would have to cross the
water in a boat to Vancouver Island to get to Anna Grace, they were reluctant. Then they received word by letter that their
mother was dying and returned home without seeing Anna Grace. It was an emotional parting. In just a few hours they had
become as close as brothers.
William and Katherine’s youngest daughter, Florence, married Franklin Donnelly Nov. 6, 1899. In 1903, when Florence
was just eighteen, the entire Donnelly family, with Florence’s two babies, moved by covered wagon to Alberta, Canada. The
two covered wagons, with a team of four horses each, were driven by Franklin and Florence. Franklin’s father, John,
homesteaded property on the north bank of the Pembina River near Edmonton. Franklin was deeded a piece of the property
and this is where Franklin and Florence built their home. Florence was a very good violin player and spent many a night
playing at barn dances and community gatherings. She had an ear for music and one only needed hum a new tone and Florence
could play it like a professional.
Katherine died August 8, 1931. At the time of her death, she left more than one hundred descendants. She is
buried in the Springfield Cemetery.
MARRIAGE RECORD
Lee County, Iowa Microfilm SL # 959 168 Page 416
Wednesday, March 16, 1859
In Washington Township
Wm. Crosley
to Marriage License
Catherine Urfer Witness: Wm. Marsh
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1868 FT. MADISON, LEE CO., IOWA DIRECTORY
Crossley, William M., farmer, Jeffersonville, rr. pp. Jeffersonville
Crossley, George, farmer, Jeffersonville, pp. Jeffersonville
Crossley, Ross Sr., farmer, Jeffersonville, rr. pp. Jeffersonville
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, IOWA
Volume 1 1914 Lee County, Iowa Lee Page 159
Jeffersonville
On January 27, 1870, William Crosley filed in the county recorder’s office the plat of town called Jeffersonville,
which had been laid out for him by William H. Morrison, deputy surveyor, in June, 1867. The plat showed sixteen lots
in the northwest quarter of section 16, near the junction of the Burlington & St. Louis and Burlington & Carrollton
divisions of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway System. Subsequently, the plat of Viele, just north of the junction,
was surveyed and Jeffersonville passed into history.
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1860 CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES
STATE OF IOWA
LEE COUNTY IOWA
WEST POINT TOWNSHIP; POST OFFICE: WEST POINT June 12, 1860
William Crosley White Male Farmer
Born in Indiana; Age 24
Value of Personal Property $300
Catherine Crosley White Female
Born in Switzerland; Age 18
Eliza Crosley White Female
Born in Iowa; Age Six months
Susan Wiedel White Female
Born in Switzerland; Age 10
1868 LEE COUNTY, IOWA GAZETTEER; LEE COUNTY DIRECTORY
Ft. Madison
Crossley, William M.; farmer, Jefferson, re pp Jeffersonville (son of Ross Crosley Sr.)
Crossley, George; farmer, Jefferson, pp Jeffersonville (son of Ross Crosley Sr.)
Crossley, Ross Sr.; farmer, Jefferson, re pp Jeffersonville
Darby, William; farmer, West Point, pp Jeffersonville [son of Sarah Crosley (sister of Ross), & Levi Darby]
Davis, Benjamin; farmer, West Point, re pp West Point (husband of Sarah Crosley Darby)
Urfer, Christian; farmer, West Point, re pp West Point (father-in-law of Wm. M. Crosley)
Urfer, Christian Jr.; farmer, West Point, pp West Point (son of Christian Urfer)
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1870 CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES
STATE OF IOWA
LEE COUNTY
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP June 10, 1870 POST OFFICE: JEFFERSONVILLE
William Crosley White Male Laborer, Born in Ohio; Age 35
Eliza Crosley White Female Keeping House, Born in Iowa; Age 25
Anna Crosley White Female Attends School, Born in Iowa; Age 10
Eliza Crosley White Female Attends School, Born in Iowa; Age 8
Rofs Crosley White Male Attends School, Born in Iowa; Age 6
Frank Crosley White Male, Born in Iowa; Age 3
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1880 CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATESSTATE OF IOWA VOLUME 8 E.D. 71
CRAWFORD COUNTY SHEET 25 LINE 5
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP June 22, 1880
William Crosley White Male Farmer, Born in Indiana; Age 45; Married
Mother & Father’s Birthplace: Indiana
Catherine Crosley Wife White Female Housekeeper, Born in Switzerland; Age 39; Married
Mother & Father’s Birthplace: Switzerland
William Ross Crosley Son White Male, Born in Iowa; age 15
Franklin M. Crosley Son White Male; Attends School, Born in Iowa; Age 12
Martha E. Crosley Daughter White Female; Attends School, Born in Iowa; Age 9
George W. Crosley Son White Male; Attends School, Born in Iowa; Age 7
Bertha E. Crosley Daughter White Female; Attends School, Born in Iowa; Age 5
Otto C. Crosley Son White Male, Born in Iowa; Age
Franklin Davis Son-in-law White Male Farmer, Born in Kentucky; Age 29, Married
Mother & Father Born in Kentucky
Annie Davis Wife White Female, Born in Iowa; Age 18; Married
1885 STATE CENSUS OF NEBRASKA
CEDAR COUNTY PAGE 5
PRECINCT # 9 June 14, 1885 E. D. 123
Wm. M. Crosley White Male Farmer, Born in Indiana; Age 49; Married
Father Born in Ohio; Mother Born in Indiana
Catherine Crosley Wife White Female Housekeeper, Born in Switzerland; Age 43; Married
Mother & Father Born in Switzerland
William R. Crosley Son White Male Laborer, Born in Iowa; Age 20; Single
Franklin Crosley Son White Male Laborer, Born in Iowa; Age 17; Single
Martha Ellen Crosley Daughter White Female At Home, Born in Iowa; Age 14; Single
George Crosley Son White Male Attending School, Born in Iowa; Age 12; Single
Otto Crosley Son White Male Attending School, Born in Iowa; Age 7; Single
Florence Crosley Daughter White Female At Home, Born in Iowa; Age 2; Single
Edward Crosley Son White Male At Home, Born in Iowa; Age 4; Single
Grace Davis Granddaughter White Female Attending School, Born in Iowa; Age 5; Single
Father Born in Kentucky, Mother Born in Iowa
Wm. Homer Boarder White Male Farmer, Born in Iowa; Age 23; Single
Father Born in Indiana, Mother Born in Maryland
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TWELFTH CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA VOLUME 1 E.D. 21
BON HOMME COUNTY SHEET 9 LINE 27
TOWNSHIP 92 RANGE 60 June 12, 1900
William R. Crosley Head of House White Male, Born February 1865 in Iowa, Farm Laborer
Age 35, Married 7 years, Can Read, Write and Speak English
Father Born Indiana; Mother Born in Switzerland
Rents a Farm Schedule 29
Anna Crosley Wife White Female, Born May 1875 in Sweden, Age 25, Married 7 years
Father Born in Sweden; Mother Born in Sweden
Mother of 2 Children; Both Living, Can Read, Write And Speak English
Florence Crosley Daughter White Female, Born February 1896 in Nebraska; Age 4
Hilda Crosley Daughter White Female, Born September 1898 in South Dakota; Age 1
Catherine Crosley Mother White Female, Born October 1840 in Switzerland, Age 59
Widowed; Mother of 2 children; 2 living
Parents Born in Switzerland
Edward Crosley Brother White Male, Born March 1880 in Iowa; Age 19, Single
THIRTEENTH CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA E. D. 25
BON HOMME COUNTY May 2, 1910 SHEET 6 A
A. W. Aldridge Head of House White Male Laborer of Odd Jobs; Owns House
Born in Missouri; Age 67; Married (second) 2 years
Father & Mother Born in England, Can Read, Write and Speak English
Catherine Aldridge Wife White Female Wash Woman at Home
Born in Berne, Switzerland; Age 69; Married (Second) 2 years
Father & Mother Born in Switzerland; Came to America in 1847
Mother of 10 Children; 7 Living, Can Read, Write and Speak English
Maud Crosley Granddaughter White Female, Born in South Dakota; Age 7; Single
Father Born in Iowa; Mother’s Birthplace Unknown
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FOURTEENTH CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA VOLUME 1 E.D. 18
BON HOMME COUNTY SHEET 1 LINE 8
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP
January 5 & 6, 1920
R. William Crossley Head of House White Male Farmer; Working On Own Accord
Born in Iowa; Age 54; MarriedFather Born in Indiana
Mother Born in Switzerland
Owns Home Free of Mortgage, Can Read, Write and Speak English
M. Anna Crossley Wife White Female, Born in Sweden; Age 44; Married
Parents Born in Sweden ; Mother Tongue Swedish
Came to America in 1879; Naturalized Citizen
Can Read, Write and Speak English
Catherine Alderidge Mother White Female, Born in Switzerland; Age 79, Widowed
Came to America in 1841; Naturalized Citizen
Can Read, Write and Speak English
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CERTIFICATE OF DEATH
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
Department of Commerce; Bureau of Census; Registration Number 2335
Full Name: Catherine Aldridge; Date of Death: August 8, 1931
Sex: Female; Color or Race: White; Age: 90 Years, 10 Months, 1 Day
Date of Birth: October 7, 1840; Birthplace: Berne, Switzerland
Name of Father: Urfer; Father’s Birthplace: Berne, Switzerland
Name of Mother: Wiesmiller; Mother’s Birthplace: Berne, Switzerland
Occupation: Retired Housewife; Name of Employer: Lived With Son, Ross Crosley
Widowed: Husband: Alfred Aldridge
Place of Death: Springfield, Bon Homme County, South Dakota
Residence: Springfield, South Dakota; Length of Residency: 33 Years.
Number of Years in the United States, if of Foreign Birth: 84 Years
Cause of Death: Intestinal Influenza for 10 days; Secondary Cause: Senility for Several Years
Physician: C. M. Keeling; Address: Springfield, South Dakota
Place of Burial: Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, S.D.
Date of Burial: August 11, 1931; Undertaker: P. G. Monfore, Address: Springfield, S.D.
Informant: Mrs. Anna Crosley; Address: Springfield, South Dakota
Filed: August 10, 1831
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OBITUARY OF KATHERINE URFER CROSLEY ALDRIDGE
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE; AUGUST 1931
DEATH CALLS ONE OF COMMUNITY’S OLDEST CITIZENS
After an illness of only a little more than a week, Grandma Aldridge died at the home of her son, Ross, in
Springfield last Saturday afternoon. At the time of her death, she was the oldest woman in this section of the county,
lacking but two months of being ninety-one years of age.
The funeral services were held in the Congregational church Tuesday afternoon being conducted by the Rev. A. C.
Warner. The burial was in the Springfield Cemetery.
Mrs. Aldridge’s maiden name was Catherine Urfer. She was a German-Swiss by ancestry and birth, having been
born at Berne, Switzerland, October 7, 1840. Her parents migrated to America when she was a little child of six, the
ocean voyage requiring three months. For a short time they lived in Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, then they came to
Lee county, Iowa, and settled upon a farm near Ft. Madison. This was then the far western frontier, and here the little
girl grew to womanhood in all the surroundings and experiences of frontier life in the forties and fifties. In 1859 she
was united in marriage to William Crosley. The first years of their married life were spent in Lee county, and in the
adjoining county of Clark, in Missouri. In 1872 they moved to southwestern Iowa and five years later came to Cedar county,
Nebraska, which was their home for thirteen years. Here Mr. Crosley died in 1895, and three years later the mother came
with her sons to Bon Homme county, where they lived at first upon the bottom land near Running Water.
In 1908 she married Mr. Aldridge of Running Water, and a few years after the couple moved into Springfield, where
Mr. Aldridge died in December, 1918. Since that time, Mrs. Aldridge has made her home with one of her sons.
Mrs. Aldridge was the mother of ten children. Three are deceased, namely; Eliza, (Mrs. Nathan Smith); Ann, (Mrs.
Frank Davis); and Bertha, who died at the age of five years. Their deaths came as a heavier sorrow in the fact that all
three died within one year. Mrs. Davis left a little child of three, whom the grandmother took and reared as her own child.
The seven living children are: Ross, of Springfield; Frank, of Sturgis; Ella, (Mrs. Wm. Homer) of Running Water; George, of
Santee; Otto, of Springfield; Ed, of Santee; and Florence, (Mrs. Frank Donelly) of Alberta, Canada. In addition to these
seven children, Mrs. Aldridge is survived by 31 grandchildren, 57 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren,
a total of 100 living descendants.
Mrs. Aldridge grew up in the nurture of the German Lutheran church, in which she was confirmed as a girl. After
coming to Running Water, she was baptized into the Latter Day Saints.
A simple hearted woman with heart full of sympathy, for many a year before the feebleness of advanced age came
upon her, she was a grandma not only to her own children’s children’s, but to a whole neighborhood, who found her always
entering with kindly service, homes where there were little children to be tended, sick to be cared for or sorrowing to
be comforted. A beautiful spirit of gentleness and serenity. She has lived in this region for the past thirty-three years,
and has left to her children and to all who knew her, tender memories of a fruitful and fragrant life.
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NEWSPAPER OBITUARIES
Obtained From Rose Crosley’s Scrapbook in 1993
Edward Crosley
Niobrara, Neb. Feb. 5, 1938-Special to The News: Nathaniel Edward Crosley was born at Dallas City, Ia., March 6,
1881, the son of William and Catherine Crosley, and died at his home at Santee last week, having almost attained the age
of 57 years.
When he was 4 years of age, the family moved to Cedar county, Nebraska, where he spent his early youth. Following
the death of his father, he and his mother and a younger sister went to Running Water, S. D., in 1898, and they lived there
for a time on a small farm. He then bought a piece of land nearer to Running Water, which he later sold.
In 1908, he homesteaded in Mead County, South Dakota, returning to Running Water in 1911. The following year, he
moved across the river to the vicinity of Santee, where he had since lived. For the past twenty years he had lived on the
same farm.
Mr. Crosley was married July 23, 1902 to Miss May Heines. They were the parents of eight sons and daughters, seven
of whom survive. They are Mrs. Howard Johnston, Sioux City; John, Mrs. Owen Lowden, Earl and Elmer of Center; Mrs. D.
McCollum, Sioux City and Walter at home. Harry died at the age 10 years.
He is also survived by three grandchildren; two sisters and three brothers: Frank of Sturgis, S.D.; Mrs. Will Homer,
Running Water, S.D.; George of Santee; Otto of Springfield, S.D.; and Mrs. Francis Donnelly of Canada. A brother, Ran (Ross),
died the fore part of December.
Funeral services were conducted Jan. 28 at the home at Santee by the Rev. Reed of Santee and at the Congregational
church at Springfield, S.D. with the Rev. Mr. Warner, pastor in charge. Interment was in the Springfield Cemetery.
Edward Crosley Rites Held Friday at Springfield
(Died January 26, 1938)
Funeral services for Edward Crosley of Santee were held Friday afternoon at Springfield, S.D. Burial took place there.
Mr. Crosley was 57 years of age. He suffered a heart attack at his home and was taken to Niobrara for treatment where he
passed away Wednesday last week.
Surviving are his wife, three daughters and four sons. He was the father-in-law of Mrs. Earl Crosley, a former
Verdigre girl.
Those from Vertigre who attended the funeral rites were, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kurka and Mr. and Mrs. Wenzel Kurka
and daughter Ardith.
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Springfield Times, Thursday, February 10, 1927
Boyd Allen Homer was born February 27, 1892 on a farm near Hartington, Nebraska. He was the son of William and
Ella (Crosley) Homer. His parents moved to Springfield when Boyd was five years old and his entire life has been lived in
this vicinity until his taken up vocational training after the war. He entered the war in 1917 and was enrolled as a
member of Company C, 124th Machine Gun Battalion, being trained in camps in California and Virginia. It was while in camp
in California that with many others of his company, he was a victim of ptomaine poisoning and this was beginning of the
trouble that finally culminated in his death while he was still lacked 26 days of being 35 years of age. When the armistice
came, his battalion was waiting orders for the transfer to France and shortly afterwards, he was mustered out in Virginia.
On the 2nd day of June, 1920, he was united in marriage to Ada V. Young. He took a vocational course offered by the
government to the service men and then went to one of the projects for disabled veterans at Mound, Minnesota where he has been
the past three years. At Christmas he came to Springfield and purchased the property of E. A. Halverson and an adjoining 20
acres and was expecting to come here this month to establish himself in the poultry raising industry, but upon his return to
Minnesota, he was obliged to re-enter the hospital where death came to him.
He is survived by his wife, his mother and father and one sister and four brothers. To all of these and his other
relatives, the sympathy of the entire community goes. Cut down in his prime, another sacrifice of the great war. Boyd Homer
leaves behind him a worthy record of industry and fidelity and the brave endurance of suffering. His grave will be another
shrine of national remembrance.
Boyd Homer died in the government hospital in St. Paul on Tuesday morning, February 1st. His death followed two
operations that had been resorted to for ulcers of the stomach. The body arrived in Springfield Thursday afternoon accompanied
by his widow and by his mother, father and brother, who had been at his bedside in the last days of his life.
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SPRINGFIELD, S.D. NEWSPAPER OBITUARY
May 22, 1941; Page 4
Funeral for W. B. Homer Held Last Saturday
Funeral services for the late W. B. Homer, whose death was announced in the last week’s Times, were held in the
Congregational Church Saturday afternoon being conducted by the Rev. A. C. Warner. The burial was in the Springfield Cemetery.
William Benjamin Homer was born at Gallan’s Grove, Shelby Co., Iowa, April 16, 1863. His death occurred at his farm at
Running Water, May 14,1941, where he had reached the age of 78 years, one month. He was the fifth of eight children born to Mr.
and Mrs. Benjamin Homer Sr. and was the last of the family to be summoned by death.
In 1884 he made a short trip to Cedar Co., Nebraska to look at the new country and the following spring he came back
accompanied by his nephew, Ross Crosley, and the two men engaged in breaking prairie for the settlers who were coming in and
soon Mr. Homer purchased a thrashing machine which the two men operated.
On the 29th of November 1886, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Crosley and the following spring, the couple moved
to Bonn Homme County and through all of 54 years since their home has been in the neighborhood of Running Water except for a
short time they lived in Springfield.
Mr. and Mrs. Homer were the parents of 10 children. Two died in infancy, two died of a epidemic of measles and whooping
cough in the spring of 1913. Boyd died in the Veteran’s Hospital in Minneapolis in 1927, a victim of a gassing in the war.
The five children living are, Edna (Mrs. Henry Oliver) of Newell, Ben of Springfield, Charles of Vale, and Frank and Otto
living on the home farm. Mrs. Oliver had been back very recently to see her mother and father and did not return for the
funeral. There are eleven grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Mr. Homer was baptized into the Latter Day Saints as a lad of eight in Iowa, and all through these years, he had lived a
simple, loyal faith of industry and rectitude. A man of honorable dealing and warm Kindness. He has been a citizen whose half
century of life in the community makes his passing a genuine sorrow. His widow and children have the sympathy of all their
bereavement.
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SPRINGFIELD, S.D. NEWSPAPER OBITUARY
Thursday, February 1, 1951
George W. Crosley, Sr.
George Washington Crosley, Sr. was born at St. Mary’s, Missouri on March 4, 1872 to William and Catherine (Urfur)
Crosley. The family soon moved to Dallas City, Iowa and in 1885 moved to Cedar County near Hartington, Nebraska. There George
Crosley grew to manhood and in 1897, on October 14th, was married to Ettie Mae Gilpin. Mr. and Mrs. Crosley, with their family,
migrated by covered wagon to Cestos, Oklahoma where they made their home. Here he took out a homestead and freighted and later
operated a blacksmith shop until 1911. Three children were born here, the first dying in infancy, and Ross and George Jr. In
1911 George Crosley and his two boys left Oklahoma by covered wagon for his mother’s home at Running Water, South Dakota. His
wife staying in Oklahoma because of poor health and later passing away in 1914. He traveled back and forth to Oklahoma with
the boys for a few years finally settling in Springfield, South Dakota. He and his two brothers, Frank and Otto, opened a
blacksmith shop here which they operated until 1919 when George moved to a farm southwest of Springfield. Here his mother
came to live with him again until 1929. He had a sale and traveled for sometime through the Black Hills, west coast and Canada
and again resuming farming in the Santee community until 1935 when he retired. Since then he has lived near his boys in Santee.
He failed in health this fall and on January 2nd, 1951 was taken to the Sacred Heart Hospital at Yankton where he passed away
January 21, 1951. He leaves to mourn two sons, Ross and George Jr., of Santee, 12 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild, 1
brother, Otto of Springfield and two sisters, Mrs. Ella Homer of Newell, South Dakota and Mrs. Florence Donnelly of Lac La Nonne,
Canada and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for G. W. Crosley, Senior were conducted from the Congregational Church at Springfield, South Dakota,
Rev. B. Trickey in charge. Arthur Tschetter sang two solos, “Old Rugged Cross” and “ There is No Night There,” with Delbert
Fitzler at the piano. Burial was made at the Springfield Cemetery. His two sons and all his grandchildren were present except
one grandson, Ross E. Crosley, who is in Korea serving with the armed forces.
A large attendance of relatives and friends attended from the Center, Niobrara and Santee, Nebraska and Springfield,
South Dakota communities. Those from a distance attending were Mr. and Mrs. Tony Konapasek of Norfolk, Nebr.; Mrs. Ella Homer
of Newell, South Dakota; Mr. and Mrs. Ben Homer and son of Newell, So. Dak.; Mrs. Chas. Homer of Bell Fouche, S. Dak.; Otto
Juracek of Yankton, So. Dak.; and Mr. and Mrs. Martin Trudel and daughter of Sioux City, Iowa.
Pallbearers were Wilfred and Walter Hill, Fred Dawes, Charles Morton, Ike Yule and Roy Oelrich.
A lunch was served after the funeral at the Otto Crosley home for all the relatives and friends.
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NEWSPAPER OBITUARIES
Taken Rose Crosley’s Scrapbook 1993
FORMER RESIDENT HERE
DIES IN CALIFORNIA
(Springfield, S.D. Times, December 1954)
Otto Crosley, Jr. , 47, a former resident of Springfield, passed away on December 15, 1954 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Funeral rites were conducted on Dec. 18, and interment was in Los Angeles.
Otto was born in Oklahoma in 1907, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Crosley, Sr. When he was two years old, his
parents moved back to Springfield where he grew up. He attended the public school and also the Southern college and played
in the Springfield band for many years.
In 1937 he moved to California where he obtained employment. Ten years later, in 1947, he married a California girl.
He has suffered for many years with a rheumatic condition of the heart.
Left to mourn his loss are the wife, and his mother, Mrs. Stella Crosley. His father preceded him in death.
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OBITUARY OF ROSS CROSLEY March 1980
Niobrara - Services for Ross F. Crosley, 76, a retired Niobrara farmer, will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at the Evangelical
Lutheran Church. The Rev. Lloyd Anderson will officiate with burial in the L’Eau Qui Court Cemetery.
The body will lie in state 2-9 p.m. Sunday at the Scott Funeral Home in Bloomfield and at 10 a.m. until service time
Monday at the church.
The son of George W. And Ettie Mae Mathews Crosley, he was born Oct. 11, 1903 at Cestos, Oklahoma, and died Friday
at the Lundberg Memorial Hospital in Creighton.
Survivors include his wife, the former Julia Juracek; two sons, Ross E. of Parkston. S.D., and Ronald L. of Tucson,
Ariz.; two daughters, Mrs. Glen (Hazella) May of Niobrara and Mrs. Robert (Janice) Wilson of Bloomfield; 11 grandchildren
and one brother, George of Niobrara.
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THE BELL FOURCHE BEE
Thursday, December 26, 1957, Bell Fourche, South Dakota
Two Newell Men Die in Freak Accident
Two Newell men died instantly Monday afternoon when a water tank toppled on them from the bed of a truck. Dead are Wm.
(Ben) Homer, about 66, father of seven children, most of them grown, and William’s brother, Frank, about 55. This mishap
occurred about 3:30 P.M. Monday, seven miles south of Newell on Hwy 79. The brothers were hauling water in a big tank when
mechanical trouble caused them to pull off the side of the road.
Sheriff George Haffner, who was with Coroner Elmer Conner investigation, said a brother-in-law, Robert Burns
(actually son-in-law of William), Newell, who was with the brothers, described the incident.
Burns said the men had jacked up the truck and removed a wheel to repair a worn out bearing, when the truck slipped
off the jack. All three men were under the vehicle. Burns remained under the truck, but the two brothers slipper out to the
side where a pick up was parked. As the truck lurched to the ground, it dislodged the big water tank on the truck bed and the
tank rolled off the truck, striking the two brothers. The pick up parked along side the truck prevented the tank from rolling
out of the way.
Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, Sunday, November 11, 1979
Iva L. Homer, 83, 1990 Claxter Road N.E., died Friday in a local hospital. She was born in Salinas, Kansas. She moved
to Salem from South Dakota in 1958.
Survivors include a daughter, Darlene Dell, Salem; Maxine Burns, Coleman, Alberta; Vivian Vandarwarka, Lansing, Michigan;
sons, Bill and Donald, Salem, Oregon; Wayne, Newell, South Dakota; brothers, Bill Sell, Parkston, South Dakota; Ben Sell, Albany;
sisters, Violet Gilbert, Salem; Ruth Stewart, Stanford; Julie Peterson, St. Paul; Anna Frank, Independence, MO. Burial in Pine
Slope Cemetery, Belle Fourche, South Dakota.
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The Idaho Daily Statesman, Boise, Idaho, Friday, May 24, 1968
One Car Head On Crash Kill Two Men Thursday at Glenns Ferry
Chalis - Accidents near Glenns Ferry & Chalis raises Idaho’s highway death toll by two Thursday. A belle Fourche, S.D.
man, Harmon C. Homer, 73, was killed in a two car crash at Glenns Ferry exit on Highway 30. Lee E. Lagerquist, 79, Hope, Idaho,
was dead on arrival at Steele Memorial Hospital in Salmon following a one car accident on Hightway 93, five miles north of Chalis.
Homer was killed when his car and one driven by Archie A. Kennedy, 68, Blackfoot, collided on the southwest exit from Hwy
30 to Glenn’s Ferry, Elmore County Sheriff’s Deputies reported Mrs. Ella Homer, 68, was examined at Elmore Memorial Hospital and
released.
Glenns Ferry Gazette, Glenns Ferry, Idaho, Thursday, May 30, 1968
Man Dies in Crash
Harmon C. Homer, 73, of Belle Fourche, S.D., was killed in a two car crash at Intersection & Highway 30 and west approach
to the city of Glenns Ferry Thursday. Archie Kennedy, 68, Blackfoot, Idaho, was hospitalized with a fractured leg as a result
of the crash. Witnesses to the crash said that an automobile traveling east started to turn off into Glenns Ferry and Kennedy
who was also traveling east, pulled out to go around the car, taking the turn and when he did, his auto struck the left rear
fender of the Homer vehicle causing both vehicles to spin completely around in the highway. The Homer car ended up on the
north side of the road, headed east and Homer was thrown the vehicle and apparently his head hit something in the crash. His
wife, who was also in the car, was not seriously injured. The Kennedy car stopped in the west bound lane of traffic headed west
and held up traffic in that lane for almost an hour brfore wreckage was cleared from the highway. The accident took place about
3 p.m.
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Santa Barbara News-Press, Santa Barbara, California, September 9, 1971
Bernard Kuen Jr., 81, (husband of Lila Ona Crosley) died at his home, 707 Colina Lane, after an illness of three months.
In accordance with his wishes, there will be no services. Mr. Kuen who died Tuesday, was born in Hillsview, South Dakota.
He came to Santa Barbara from Portland, Oregon in 1971 after retiring. He is survived by his wife, Lila Kuen of Santa Barbara.
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Junction City Union, Junction City, Kansas, Thursday, February 21, 1952
Death of Mrs. Henrietta F. Bennett (wife of Franklin Crosley)
Mrs. Henreitta F. Bennett, 84, died Tuesday afternoon at 126 East Tenth Street. She had been an invalid three years
and had made her home with her son, Sgt. Charles R. V. Crosley, of Route 1, Manhattan, until November of 1951, when she came
to Junction City.
She was born February 12, 1868 in Yankton County, S.D. and lived most of her life in that state until coming to
Manhattan in 1948. Mrs. Bennett was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Surviving is the son; five daughters, Mrs. Susan
Wiar, of Junction City; Mrs. Katherine Jones, of Bothell Wash.; Mrs. Madaline Gerten, of Fernandina, Fla.; Mrs. Lavilla Schimdt,
of Babbitt, Neb.; and Mrs. Lyle Kuen, of Portland, Ore.; 24 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren;
one sister, Mrs. Alice Hare, of Sturgis, S.D.
The Bremerton Sun, Bremerton, Washington, Monday, January 9, 1967
Katherine Jones
Mrs. Katherine E. Jones, 76, died Saturday morning in Harrison Memorial Hospital. She had been residing with her son,
Ray, at Port Orchard, Rte. 1, Box 453, for the past four months. Before living in Port Orchard, she had been in the Y-Not
Nursing Home at Long Lake for about two years. From 1939 to 1965, she resided in Bothell. Mrs. Jones moved to Bothell from
her birthplace, Fairfax, S.D., where she was born Katherine E. Crosley on June 1, 1890.
She married Henry King in Gregory, S.D., in 1907. He died around 1925 in South Dakota. In Bothell she married Harry
Jones, March 11, 1940. He died about a year ago.
Mrs. Jones is survived by three sons, Ray King of Port Orchard and Long Lake; Cecil King of Fresno, Calif.; and Henry
King of Coos Bay, Ore.; a daughter, Zita Diede, in South Dakota; two step-sons, Harvey Jones in New Mexico and Ted Jones in
California and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Services will be Thursday at 1 p.m. in Clark Funeral Home in Bothell with burial in that city.
The Bremerton Sun, Bremerton, Washington, Friday, January 21, 1966
Harry B. Jones
Services for Harry B. Jones, 95, Bothell builder and contractor, will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Clark Bothell,
with burial in the Bothell Cemetery. Mr. Jones died Tuesday at Y-Not Nurding Home where he had been residing for the past year.
His, wife, Katherine, whom he married March 11, 1940, survives at the Y-Not Nursing Home, where she will continue residing.
Mr. Jones was born April 10, 1870 in Michigan. Other survivors include a son, Harvey Jones in New Mexico, Ted Jones
in California a step-son, one granddaughter and two grandsons.
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