Entry 1-Setting a reference branch in the family tree

I believe an appropriate place to start is my great-grandfather Edward A. Crawbuck. He was basically an only child so my direct line passes solely through him. He also conceived 11 children, which expanded the family line and gave way to many cousins. Edward was born on June 6th 1891(1) and was baptized June 24th(2) of the same year. I believe Edward had a sister born in January 1894 who later died on September 17th 1895 and a brother James who was born on October 19th, 1896 and passed away on March 28th 1900(3). I do not have documentation on most of those dates but I received the information from a fellow researcher back in 1998 (Thanks Rick!). From everything that I can gather, Edward was an only child who lost his two siblings and was raised by his mother Elizabeth (McIlduff) Crawbuck(4). His father seems to have disappeared from Edward’s life somewhere between the ages of 14 and 19 and was much of a mystery even before that. (This will be detailed in future posts)

Edward married Florence (Dunlap) Crawbuck in Brooklyn on July 15th 1913 with Elizabeth Crawbuck (Edward’s mom) serving as a witness. Again, I do not have any documentation but credit goes to Rick. Florence’s parents were Robert Dunlap and Jane Mcgurk (not sure of spelling)(6). She seemed to be of Irish and Scottish decent but both of her parents were born in New York(7). With the combination of Florence’s lineage and Edward’s mother’s Irish roots(8), Edward’s descendants have strong connections to the Emerald Isle.

Edward registered for the Army on June 5th 1917 and served in World War I(5). At the time of his registration, he and Florence had four children; their oldest daughter Frances and three sons James, Edward and Robert. Frances was born in 1911, James Joseph was born in May 1914, Edward was born July 1915 and Robert was born around 1917(9). I would love to get more details about them since census data only gives a year and is not always accurate. According to my father, Robert Crawbuck was tragically hit by an automobile and died in April of 1923.(10)

This feels like a good place to take a pause. My next post will detail Edward’s remaining children and more information about his life. If anyone is familiar with Edward, Florence and/or their family please feel free to comment, add to, correct or question anything. I am also happy to share the documentation I have cited with anyone who requests.

Till next time,

Joe

(1) Listed on two draft registration cards

(2) Listed on a Baptism Register found on Ancestry.com

(3) Listed on Ancestry.com in New York City Deaths 1892-1902

(4) Listed on 1910 and 1915 New York Census

(5) Listed on draft registration cards, WWI Fort Jay records and Army Enlistments log

(6) Listed on familysearch.com NYC Marriage Records 1829-1940

(7) Listed on 1920 US Census

(8) Listed on 1900 US Census

(9) Listed on 1920 and 1930 Census, Putnam County Courier & other records

(10) New York Wills and Probate