William Crawford Sr., born March 1,
1819, died at Keller October 22, 1902 is buried in Bourland Cemetery. Mr. Crawford came to Athol (now called
Keller) in 1880 from Montague County where he first settled upon arrival in Texas from Missouri. Even though he came to Texas in the 1870’s,
he did not escape the Indian depredations, losing to the Indians a herd of
horses.
Mr. Crawford was one of the first
to operate a grocery store here. Like
many pioneers, Mr. Crawford was deprived of a formal education. However, even though he could not read nor write
he became a minister of the gospel and preached at Mt. Gilead
and other places. Preparation for his
sermons consisted of having texts and Bible references read aloud by some
members of his family. Notes for his
sermons were contained in a keen and accurate memory. He was considered an outstanding preacher of
his time as told by some old timers such as Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Jarvis and Mr.
and Mrs. Dave Price.
The Crawford’s were parents of four
boys and three girls: Jack; William Jr.;
Tom; Marion; Mary Ellen (Mrs. John Boone); Jane (married first to Mr. Burleson
and second to Mr. Jones); Rebecca (married Mr. Chenowith). Rebecca, William Jr. and Marion also lived in
Keller. Jack remained in Montague
County.
William Jr., the second son, was born
in Missouri
December 25, 1852, married
Mary Catherine Gash, (daughter of
Alfred Jackson Gash), March 4, 1874 in Cedar County. They made their home in Cedar County, Missouri
for the first few years.
In 1877, William and Mary Catherine
Crawford with their one child moved by ox wagon to Arizona.
They were not happy in their desert home, moving back to Cedar County, Missouri
in 1880-1881.
The children of William Jr. and
Mary Catherine Crawford are:
1)
Alfred Jackson Crawford, born May 8, 1875 in Cedar County, Missouri.
2)
Thomas Jefferson Crawford, born January 23, 1879 in Phoenix, Arizona.
3)
Martha Ellen Crawford, born September 10, 1881 in Cedar
County Missouri.
4)
William Blunt Crawford, born September 4, 1883 in Cedar County, Missouri.
5)
Catherine Jane Crawford, born March 1, 1886 in Cedar County, Missouri.
6)
John Franklin Crawford, born January 11, 1888 in Cedar County, Missouri.
7)
Minnie Lee Crawford, born September 8, 1891 in Cedar County, Missouri.
On Easter Sunday, April 1898, the
Crawford’s with their seven children left Missouri
for Texas as
to join other relatives. Mrs. Minnie Lee
(Crawford) Pipkin says, “We had three wagons, an extra team, one pony and a
dog. I remember we had to ferry the Arkansas River. It
took us three weeks to make the trip from Cedar County
to Keller, where my father settled and here we have lived happily.”
“Father helped to organize the
first telephone system in Keller and served as it first President.”
