The Crooks Family originated in Edinburgh, Scotland with James Alexander Crooks Sr. and his wife Margaret Young. Their son James was born in Glamoris Scotland but because of their Presbyterian faith they were persecuted and they fled to Ireland. The 3rd James was born in New Jersey in 1745. There is some evidence that he served in the Revolutionary War. This James married twice. First to Ann Braden and then to Elizabeth Warford. Elizabeth was the mother of the John Turley Crooks in this memorial.

In 1848, after reading the journals of Lewis and Clark, John Turley Crooks, then a Virginian, traveled with his family over the Oregon Trail and settled in Linn County, Oregon. In later life, around 1880, he moved to Goldendale, Washington to aid his second wire's asthma.

John Crooks' history in Oregon included being a member of Oregon's Constitutional Convention, which produced that State's guiding document in a single month. He also served in Washington's State Territorial Legislature. He was a member of The Little Bethel Baptist Church. He died at the home of his daughter Mary Jane (Crooks) Miller in Linn County, Oregon, and is buried in Miller Cemetery next to his first wife, DeMercy (Everman) Crooks.

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From the "States Right Democrat" Albany, Oregon, February 4, 1896:

A PIONEER DEAD - Hon. John T. Crooks died at the home of his daughter Mrs. Jane Miller near Jefferson, on Friday, January 31, 1896, at 88. His wife preceded him by 18 years. He leaves five sons and two daughters, well-known residents of Oregon. Mr. Crooks has been prominent in valley history. He was a member of the constitutional convention that produced Oregon's constitution and has been in the state legislature twice, serving Linn County faithfully. Mr. Crooks was a life-long democrat and was prominent in the party councils in the early days of Oregon. He was born in Virginia, moved to Missouri, and then to Oregon in 1848. He was a reliable citizen and worthy of the confidence always reposed in him.