A
Biographical and Genealogical History
of
Southeastern Nebraska
Vol. II
Lewis Publishing Company, 1904
Transcribed from the original book by Kristin J. Vaughn © 2008
William Henry Crane, of Steele City, Nebraska, has a wide acquaintance in Jefferson county and receives the favorable regard of his fellow townsmen. His has been an active and useful business career, in which he has found time to faithfully perform the duties of citizenship, and at the same time of the Civil war he manifested his loyalty to the government by enlisting for service in defense of the Union cause. He was born upon one of the pioneer dairy farms of Illinois in McHenry county on the 9th of November, 1848. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to England and to Scotland, and its identification with America dates from 1637. The Cranes are descended from Lord Arrundel, who was a lineal descendant of Charlemagne and of Hugh Capet. In the early wars of England the Cranes won distinction, one of the name served as an officer and was afterward given a banner and coat of arms, on which were the words, "God feeds the Cranes." Sir Francis Crane received a grant of land from the English crown of seventy-five thousand acres in Vermont.
The first of the name in America was Jasper Crane, who came from England to the new world in 1637. His wife, Alice Crane, and they had a son, Jasper, Jr., who was a very prominent and influential citizen of New Haven, Connecticut, belonging to the council of safety in Revolutionary times. Another member of the family, Abenezer Crane, was a gallant officer of the Revolutionary war, and Benjamin Crane was also a distinguished citizen of the Bay state. Sir Francis Crane, the great-grandfather of our subject, married a Miss Teople, represntative of a prominent Holland family and a granddaughter of Admiral Teople, of Antwerp, who won his title in connection with service in the Holland navy. She died in Canada. Captain Francis Crane, the grandfather of our subject, was born at Berkshire, Massachusetts, and removed to Canada, where occurred the birth of his son, George Crane, the father of our subject.
George Crane was born at St. Thomas, Canada, and there spent the days of his boyhood and youth. In 1832 he came to the United States and was one of the early settlers of Rockford, Illinois. He afterward removed to Belvidere, Illinois, living there at the period of the Black Hawk war. He was married at Algonquin, Illinois, to Mrs. VanOrsdol, a widow, and a lady of much intelligence and culture, who proved to him a devoted wife and excellent helpmate in those pioneer days. She was born in Erie county, New York, and was a granddaughter of John C. Seymour, a prominent citizen of that county and a representative of an old English family. He served as quartermaster in General Washington's army in the Revolutionary war.
In the year 1854 George Crane and his wife removed to Jackson county, Iowa, becoming pioneer settlers there, where they made their home for nine years. He enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of Company B, Ninth Iowa Infantry, and was wounded at the battle of Lookout Mountain. Because of his injuries he was granted an honorable discharge and returned to his home in McHenry county, Illinois. He afterward operated a meat market and sutler store for some time, and later he went to Santa Monica, California, where he died at the age of sixty-one years. His wife surviving him, passed away in Buchanan county, Iowa, at the age of seventy years. Both were honored and respected people, and they reared their large family of children as a credit to their name. By her first marriage Mrs. Crane had four children, James, Wright S., Alexander and Sarah V. VanOrsdol. The daughter is now Mrs. Waggoner, of Omaha, Nebraska. The son Alexander was a soldier of the Ninth Iowa Infantry in the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. George Crane were born four children, William H., George Francis, Mrs. Alice Vargason, of Hazelton, Iowa, and Mrs. Amanada Vargason, of Hazelton.
William Henry Crane spent the days of his early boyhood and youth in his parents' home, but when a lad of only fifteen years he responded to his country's call for aid and enlisted in 1863 in the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, serving until April, 1866. With the blood of his Revolutionary forefathers flowing in his veins his patriotic spirit was aroused and he gave earnest support to the Union cause upon the field of battle. He was on thirty-six different occasions engaged with the enemy in skirmishes or pitched battles, and served for a time as orderly on General Pleasanton's staff. At the close of the war he received a commission as second lieutenant in recognition of his gallantry and meritorious conduct on the field of action. In 1867 he accompanied his father to Virginia City, Montana, being sixty days on a boat between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Fort Benton. Five thousand Indians were on the warpath in that locality at that time. Mr. Crane joined a company of Galitan scouts which he commanded to fight the Indians and saw some severe service in the attempt to subdue the red men on the western frontier. Later he was associated with his father in the operation of a meat market and sutler's store. He had a varied and remarkable experience in the northwest in pioneer times. He became a pack trader and operated pack trains over the mountains from Helena, Montana, to Kootenai, British Columbia, and other points. His experiences if written in detail would fill a volume with more thrilling incidents than fiction ever recorded. He was one of the first interested in the Anaconda mine at Butte, Montana, and he became familiar with all of the varied pioneer experiences incident to the settlement and development of that section of the country.
IN 1869 Mr. Crane came to Jefferson county, Nebraska, where he secured a homestead claim, upon which he resided for two years. He then went west to Colorado, and at Rosita engaged in the dairy business for one year. He afterward returned to Nebraska and during the greater part of the time in the years which have since come and gone he has made his home in this state. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Hester Pickering, their marriage being celebrated in Washington county, Kansas, October 1, 1871. She was born in Fulton county, Illinois, was reared and educated in that state and is a daughter of John Pickering, who was of a prominent old English family. Her grandfather, Daniel Pickering, resided at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and was a soldier of the war of 1812, being wounded in an engagement. He established his home in West Virginia, and it was there that John Pickering was born. The latter married Miss Sophia Turner, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Samuel Turner, one of the first settlers of Fulton county, Illinois, and a prominent and influential resident of that locality. Mrs. Pickering's mother bore the maiden name of Carver and belonged to an old and distinguished family of New England. John Pickering becoming a strong abolitionist was known as one of the conductors on the famous underground railroad and assisted many a slave on his way to freedom in the north. In 1875 he and his wife came to the west and spent their remaining days in this portion of the country. The father died on a farm in Washington county, Kansas, at the age of seventy-one years and the mother's death also occurred when she had reached the age of seventy-one. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party and his religious faith was that of the Methodist church. He was a man greatly beloved for his many excellent qualities, for his generous hospitality, his honor in business and his faithfulness in friendship. In the family were eight children, namely: Mrs. Sarah Miller, Mrs. Hester Crane, Charles Newton, Elizabeth, Laura, John, Mrs. Martha Dean, of Omaha, Nebraska, and Ben E., who is a well known and popular traveling man of Omaha, connected with the Standard Oil Company.
Captain C.N. Pickering, a cousin of Mrs. Crane, was commander of the Kearsarge, and was relieved only a short time before the battle with the Alabama.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Crane has been blessed with four children: Olive, who is the wife of Theodore Reiber, of Steele City, Nebraska; Howard J., at home; Horace H., who is married and lives in Steele City; and Agnes M., the wife of W.L. Wright, of St. Joseph, Missouri. The sons are members of the National Guard of Nebraska, and one is six feet and one inch in height, while the other is six feet and two inches. They are both fine specimens of stalwart manhood and are popular with their many friends in this portion of the state. There are also three grandchildren, Mrs. Reiber having two children, Alexander Lauren Crane and Doretta, while Horace has one child, Lyndall Crane.Mr. Crane is the owner of forty acres of land in Newton precinct, where he has a good home celebrated for its generous hospitality. His place is splendidly improved, and he has a peach orchard comprising fourteen acres. In his business he is energetic and progressive, and all that he possesses has been acquired through his own well directed efforts. He votes with the Republican party, has frequently been a delegate to the county and state convention and has served as justice of the peace. His many excellent traits of character have gained him high regard, and he certainly deserves mention among the representative men of Jefferson county.
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