Eva (Crofford) Alexander
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Eva Melissa (Crofford) Alexander (1872 - 1958)

Eva Melissa Alexander formerly Crofford
Born in Lancaster, Nebraskamap
Ancestors ancestors
Daughter of DNA confirmed and DNA confirmed
Sister of , , , , , , and
Wife of — married 1895 in Custer, South Dakota, United Statesmap
Descendants descendants
Mother of , , , and
Died at age 85 in San Bernardino, Californiamap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kenneth Alexander private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 12 May 2017
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Contents

Biography

Early life

Eva Melissa Crofford was born on September 20, 1872, in Lancaster County, Nebraska. She was the oldest child of Chester Eri Crofford, a farmer originally from Indiana,[1] and his wife, Cassander Wilson Schamp, a daughter of Rev. Peter Sharp Schamp, who was a noted Methodist preacher and one of the earliest pioneers of Lancaster County.[2] Eva was educated in the local school, where the highest level of education that she completed was the seventh grade.[3]

The Crofford family home was located approximately 15 miles northwest of Lincoln, Nebraska.[4] Four of Eva's siblings were born there: Anna Mae Crofford, Jennie Marthina Crofford, William Charles Crofford, and Nancy Minerva Crofford. However, the Crofford family apparently was not content to remain too long in one location. By 1883, when Eva was nearly eleven years old, the family had moved to a home near Abilene, Kansas, where three more of Eva's siblings were born: Arthur Lewis Crofford, and twin sisters Mary Edith Crofford and Ida Frances Crofford. By 1889, the Crofford family had moved again – this time to a ranch near Custer, South Dakota,[5] where an additional sibling, Pearl Wynnette Crofford, was born. The probable impetus for the move to Custer was that Eva's uncle, Horace Calvin Crofford, had come there a few years earlier, in 1876, during the Black Hills gold rush, and had found the locale to be a good place to set up a business.[6]

Custer, South Dakota, in 1890.

Marriage and children

It was while living in Custer that Eva met her future husband, Charles Newton Alexander. Charles had come to South Dakota in approximately 1891 and was employed there as a teamster,[7] hauling lumber for a local sawmill.[8] Eva and Charles were married in Custer on January 8, 1895, by County Judge C. E. Smith.[9] Eva was 22 years old and Charles was 23. The couple continued to live in Custer for about the next 15 years. Charles was employed primarily as a day laborer during this time.[10] While living in Custer, the couple had five children: Clarence Milton Alexander (born in 1895), Chester Franklin (Frank) Alexander (born in 1899), Arthur Leslie Alexander (born in 1901), Laurence Everett Alexander (born in 1904), and Cassie Wynnette Alexander (born in 1907).

Charles and Eva Alexander.

Life in Belle Fourche, South Dakota

By 1910, the Alexander family had moved from Custer to Belle Fourche, South Dakota,[11] where Charles leased land on a ranch that was owned by Seth Bullock,[12] one of the most famous citizens of South Dakota.[13] The Alexander home was located on Bullock's ranch just east of Belle Fourche, at the confluence of the Belle Fourche River and the Redwater River.

In May 1910, the Alexander household included Eva, Charles, and their five children; Charles' father, Milton Alexander; Eva's mother, Cassander Crofford; Eva's father, Chester Crofford (who was now divorced from Cassander); and Cassander's second husband, Joseph Martin.[14] Also residing in the household were Eva's nephew Frederick J. Wulle, who had been adopted by Cassander and Joseph Martin,[15] as well as three lodgers who were employed as farm laborers.[16] It seems that this living arrangement might have led to some interesting family dynamics.

Before long, misfortune struck the Alexander family. On July 8, 1914, Eva's father-in-law, Milton, was killed in a gruesome farming accident in which his head was impaled on the teeth of a hay rake.[17] Then, on April 23, 1915, the ranch house in which the Alexanders were living was destroyed by a fire that had started near an oil stove in the kitchen while the family was having dinner.[18] The Belle Fourche volunteer fire department was unable to save the ranch house but did manage to salvage the household goods and prevent the barns and sheds from burning. As a result of the damage to the ranch house, the family was forced to live in tents for a few months, before they decided to leave South Dakota.[8]

Westward to Missoula, Montana

Following the destruction of Bullock's ranch house, Eva, Charles, and their five children left South Dakota and lived briefly in Sandpoint, Idaho, where Charles had hoped to find employment in the lumber industry. However, he was unable to find work there,[8] so, in 1916, the family relocated to Missoula, Montana,[19] where they lived until the early 1920s.[8] During the years spent in Missoula, Charles was employed as a planer in a sawmill.[20] Sons Chester, Arthur, and Lawrence also worked in the sawmill, loading trucks. Son Clarence, on the other hand, was a brakeman for the Northern Pacific Railway.[21]

A few years in Arkansas

In February 1921, Eva, Lawrence, and Cassie left Missoula and headed to Springdale, Arkansas.[8][22] Charles and Frank stayed in Montana to continue working in the sawmill, while Arthur moved to Elko, Nevada, to pursue his own career.[23] In the spring of 1922, Charles and Frank joined Eva in Arkansas. They tried raising strawberries there, but Eva and Charles eventually decided that Arkansas was a poor place to make a living and thought that they would fare better economically in Southern California.[8]

On to Ontario, California

In 1928, Eva and Charles headed west to Ontario, California,[8] where they lived for the remainder of their lives. Four of their children also resided in Southern California during this time. Frank had moved to Southern California a year earlier than Eva and Charles and was living in Long Beach.[8] Lawrence took up residence in Ontario with his wife, Jewel C. Alvis,[24] whom he had married in Arkansas.[25] Cassie was living in Fullerton with a family from Austria, serving as their maid.[26] Arthur joined the family later, moving to Los Angeles in 1939[8] with his wife, Marian L. Case, whom he had married in Elko, Nevada.[27] Only Clarence was living outside Southern California. By 1926, he had moved with his wife, Ruth, and their three children to Puyallup, Washington.[28]

In 1940, Eva and Charles were living in a rented house in Ontario,[29] in the same block as their son Lawrence and his wife.[30] In 1950, Eva and Charles were living with their daughter, Cassie, who had moved from Long Beach to Ontario following a divorce from her husband, Martin Owen Keebler.[31] After the death of Charles on February 9, 1951,[32] Eva continued to live with Cassie in Ontario, together with Cassie's son, Arthur Owen Keebler.[33][34]

Death and interment

Eva Crofford Alexander died on March 27, 1958, in San Bernardino County, California, at the age of 85 years.[35] She was interred in Bellevue Memorial Park, Ontario, California. According to an interactive site locator on the cemetery website,[36] Eva's burial site is Grave 6, Lot 58, in the Cypress Section, next to that of her husband, Charles, who had died 7 years earlier.

Grave marker for Eva and Charles Alexander in Bellevue Memorial Park.

Sources

  1. ↑ "1880 United States Federal Census", Year: 1880; Census Place: Yankee Hill, Lancaster, Nebraska; Roll: 752; Page: 307d; Enumeration District: 241, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6742 #33180076
  2. ↑ Chapman Brothers. Portrait and Biographical Album of Lancaster County, Nebraska: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of the state, and of the presidents of the United States. Chicago, Chapman Brothers, 1888, pp. 268-270.
  3. ↑ "1940 United States Federal Census", Year: 1940; Census Place: Ontario, San Bernardino, California; Roll: m-t0627-00290; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 36-61, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #69535061
  4. ↑ General Land Office Records, Bureau of Land Management, Patent Details, Chester E Crofford
  5. ↑ "Newspapers.com", The Missoulian (Missoula, Montana) Fri, Dec 1, 1972, page 6, Newspapers Clip: 147884948
  6. ↑ Crofford, Horace C. "Wagon Tracks West." Our Yesterdays, pages 34-36. A digital copy is in the possession of Kenneth Alexander
  7. ↑ "South Dakota, U.S., State Census, 1905", Original data: South Dakota, State Census, 1905. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013; FHL Film Number: 2139870, Ancestry Record 60159 #200560
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Sarsfield, Olive Whitehead. Personal recollection, as told to Michael Kusick. Notes in the possession of Kenneth Alexander
  9. ↑ "South Dakota Marriage License." Document obtained from the personal effects of Ruth Jennings; a digital copy is in the possession of Kenneth Alexander
  10. ↑ "1900 United States Federal Census", Year: 1900; Census Place: School District 22, Custer, South Dakota; Roll: 1548; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0014, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7602 #59701734
  11. ↑ "1910 United States Federal Census", Year: 1910; Census Place: Belle Fourche Ward 3, Butte, South Dakota; Roll: T624_1477; Page: 14a; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 1375490, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7884 #170625229
  12. ↑ "Newspapers.com", The Weekly Pioneer Times Mining Review (Deadwood, South Dakota) Thu, Jul 16, 1914, page 2, Newspapers Clip: 148580906
  13. ↑ Wolff, David A. Seth Bullock Black Hills Lawman. Pierre, SD: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2009.
  14. ↑ "1910 United States Federal Census", Year: 1910; Census Place: Belle Fourche Ward 3, Butte, South Dakota; Roll: T624_1477; Page: 14a; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 1375490, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7884 #26795211
  15. ↑ "1910 United States Federal Census", Year: 1910; Census Place: Belle Fourche Ward 1, Butte, South Dakota; Roll: T624_1477; Page: 1a; Enumeration District: 0001; FHL microfilm: 1375490, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7884 #26794716
  16. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1910", database online. Belle Fourche Ward 3, Butte, South Dakota; Sheet 14B , dwelling 308, family 317, lines 40-50; May 4, 1910; Family History Library microfilm 1375490.
  17. ↑ "Newspapers.com", The Mitchell Capital (Mitchell, South Dakota) Thu, Jul 16, 1914, page 2, Newspapers Clip: 28938971
  18. ↑ "Newspapers.com", The Daily Deadwood Pioneer-Times (Deadwood, South Dakota) Tue, Apr 27, 1915, page 8, Newspapers Clip: 150379086
  19. ↑ "Montana, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1865-1993", Original data: Marriage Records. Montana County Marriages. County courthouses, Montana, Ancestry Record 61375 #109181
  20. ↑ "1920 United States Federal Census". Year: 1920; Census Place: Missoula, Missoula, Montana; Roll: T625_973; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 153. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6061 #85103006.
  21. ↑ Northern Pacific Railway pass issued to Clarence Alexander in 1920. Item obtained from the personal effects of Ruth (Jennings) Alexander; a digital copy is in the possession of Kenneth Alexander.
  22. ↑ "Arkansas, U.S., County Marriages Index, 1837-1957", FHL Film Number: 2020345, Ancestry Record 2548 #1314604
  23. ↑ "1930 United States Federal Census", Year: 1930; Census Place: Elko, Elko, Nevada; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0010; FHL microfilm: 2341031, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #107851381
  24. ↑ "1930 United States Federal Census", Year: 1930; Census Place: Ontario, San Bernardino, California; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0042; FHL microfilm: 2339923, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #91851775
  25. ↑ "Arkansas, Marriage Certificates, 1917-1972", Arkansas Department of Vital Records; Little Rock, Arkansas; Marriage Certificates; Year: 1925; Film: #10; Certificate Number: 027241, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61775 #265573
  26. ↑ "1930 United States Federal Census", Year: 1930; Census Place: Fullerton, Orange, California; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0037; FHL microfilm: 2339916, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #123778850
  27. ↑ "Web: Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2016", Original data: Western States Marriage Index. Brigham Young University-Idaho. http://abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/westernStates/search.cfm; URL: https://abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/westernStates/westernStatesRecordDetail.cfm?recordID=303490, Ancestry Record 70016 #51978
  28. ↑ "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995", Original data: Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2469 #951266102
  29. ↑ "1940 United States Federal Census", Year: 1940; Census Place: Ontario, San Bernardino, California; Roll: m-t0627-00290; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 36-61, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #69535059
  30. ↑ "1940 United States Federal Census", Year: 1940; Census Place: Ontario, San Bernardino, California; Roll: m-t0627-00290; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 36-61, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #69534899
  31. ↑ "1950 United States Federal Census", National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Ontario, San Bernardino, California; Roll: 2366; Page: 74; Enumeration District: 36-154, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #262011951
  32. ↑ "Certificate of Death." Department of Public Health, State of California. Document obtained from VitalChek.
  33. ↑ "California, U.S., Voter Registrations, 1900-1968", California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61066 #35696404
  34. ↑ "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995", Original data: Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2469 #1429279020
  35. ↑ "U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current", Find A Grave: Memorial #140412336, Ancestry Record 60525 #115311403
  36. ↑ Bellevue Memorial Park, Ontario Cemetery Association. "Locate a Loved One." Accessed 17 February 2021.
  • Paternal and Maternal relationships are both confirmed by an autosomal AncestryDNA test match between Kenneth R. Alexander and NW, his 2nd cousin 1x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are Chester Crofford and Cassander Schamp, the great great grandparents of Kenneth Alexander and great grandparents of NW. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: Second cousin once removed, based on sharing 100 cM across 5 segments.




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Images: 4
Eva Melissa Crofford
Eva Melissa Crofford
Charles and Eva Alexander
Charles and Eva Alexander
Grave marker for Charles and Eva Alexander
Grave marker for Charles and Eva Alexander
Custer, South Dakota, in 1890
Custer, South Dakota, in 1890


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Categories: Bellevue Memorial Park, Ontario, California