William Theophilus Crecelius was the son of George Crecelius & Elizabeth Keller. He married 27 March 1879 in Grundy County, IA to Flora Ada Daggett, born 21 Apr 1850 in Lincoln County, Maine; d. 11 March 1930 in Los Angeles, CA; they had four children:
1. Etta May "Anna" Crecelius 1880-1955
2. Frank Allen Crecelius 1882-1943
3. William Alton Crecelius 1885-1935
4. Grace Rozelle Crecelius 1891-1977
The 1883 photo shows Will & Flora with their first two children: Anna and baby Frank.
Flora taught school before her marriage. Will was a farmer & brick layer & stone mason. In March 1883, Will & his brother Jake & their father George homesteaded quarter sections (80 acres each) in Dakota Territory, in what is now Spring Lake Township, Hand County, South Dakota. They were later joined by their sister & brother-in-law, Etta & Aaron Coulter. Wood was scarce, so twisted hay and dried cow chips were used for fuel, as well as wild mustard plants. The prairie grass was as high as the wagon box; prairie fire was the pioneer's greatest fear.
Later, Will was postmaster and had the post office in his store at Dean on the westside of Spring Lake, where he made cheese which was sold by the firkin--a small barrel used chiefly for liquids, butter, or fish. Flora edited & printed a local newspaper called The Enterprise, using a hand press. One time she ran out of newsprint, so she printed that issue on the store's wrapping paper.
Brother Jake remained in South Dakota, but the others all returned to central Iowa. Will & Flora ran a hotel at Lamoille, west of Marshalltown. In the 1920s, they moved to Los Angeles to join their daughter Anna and their son William. The latter had moved there for the warmer climate after his health was broken in the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic.
After Will's wife Flora died in 1930, his eldest daughter Anna and her husband Ed Bremer moved in with him. Every summer, Will traveled by train from Los Angeles to Marshalltown, Iowa, to visit his sister Etta Coulter & other relatives. He would stay with his nephew Fred Coulter (my father) on Fred's farm northwest of Conrad, Iowa. In his guest bedroom on the first floor, Will would keep a sack of unwrapped peppermints to dole out to the children. The peppermints attracted ants to the room, to my mother's despair.
Uncle Will was a fine person, beloved by all who knew him.
1. Etta May "Anna" Crecelius 1880-1955
2. Frank Allen Crecelius 1882-1943
3. William Alton Crecelius 1885-1935
4. Grace Rozelle Crecelius 1891-1977
The 1883 photo shows Will & Flora with their first two children: Anna and baby Frank.
Flora taught school before her marriage. Will was a farmer & brick layer & stone mason. In March 1883, Will & his brother Jake & their father George homesteaded quarter sections (80 acres each) in Dakota Territory, in what is now Spring Lake Township, Hand County, South Dakota. They were later joined by their sister & brother-in-law, Etta & Aaron Coulter. Wood was scarce, so twisted hay and dried cow chips were used for fuel, as well as wild mustard plants. The prairie grass was as high as the wagon box; prairie fire was the pioneer's greatest fear.
Later, Will was postmaster and had the post office in his store at Dean on the westside of Spring Lake, where he made cheese which was sold by the firkin--a small barrel used chiefly for liquids, butter, or fish. Flora edited & printed a local newspaper called The Enterprise, using a hand press. One time she ran out of newsprint, so she printed that issue on the store's wrapping paper.
Brother Jake remained in South Dakota, but the others all returned to central Iowa. Will & Flora ran a hotel at Lamoille, west of Marshalltown. In the 1920s, they moved to Los Angeles to join their daughter Anna and their son William. The latter had moved there for the warmer climate after his health was broken in the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic.
After Will's wife Flora died in 1930, his eldest daughter Anna and her husband Ed Bremer moved in with him. Every summer, Will traveled by train from Los Angeles to Marshalltown, Iowa, to visit his sister Etta Coulter & other relatives. He would stay with his nephew Fred Coulter (my father) on Fred's farm northwest of Conrad, Iowa. In his guest bedroom on the first floor, Will would keep a sack of unwrapped peppermints to dole out to the children. The peppermints attracted ants to the room, to my mother's despair.
Uncle Will was a fine person, beloved by all who knew him.
William Theophilus Crecelius was the son of George Crecelius & Elizabeth Keller. He married 27 March 1879 in Grundy County, IA to Flora Ada Daggett, born 21 Apr 1850 in Lincoln County, Maine; d. 11 March 1930 in Los Angeles, CA; they had four children:
1. Etta May "Anna" Crecelius 1880-1955
2. Frank Allen Crecelius 1882-1943
3. William Alton Crecelius 1885-1935
4. Grace Rozelle Crecelius 1891-1977
The 1883 photo shows Will & Flora with their first two children: Anna and baby Frank.
Flora taught school before her marriage. Will was a farmer & brick layer & stone mason. In March 1883, Will & his brother Jake & their father George homesteaded quarter sections (80 acres each) in Dakota Territory, in what is now Spring Lake Township, Hand County, South Dakota. They were later joined by their sister & brother-in-law, Etta & Aaron Coulter. Wood was scarce, so twisted hay and dried cow chips were used for fuel, as well as wild mustard plants. The prairie grass was as high as the wagon box; prairie fire was the pioneer's greatest fear.
Later, Will was postmaster and had the post office in his store at Dean on the westside of Spring Lake, where he made cheese which was sold by the firkin--a small barrel used chiefly for liquids, butter, or fish. Flora edited & printed a local newspaper called The Enterprise, using a hand press. One time she ran out of newsprint, so she printed that issue on the store's wrapping paper.
Brother Jake remained in South Dakota, but the others all returned to central Iowa. Will & Flora ran a hotel at Lamoille, west of Marshalltown. In the 1920s, they moved to Los Angeles to join their daughter Anna and their son William. The latter had moved there for the warmer climate after his health was broken in the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic.
After Will's wife Flora died in 1930, his eldest daughter Anna and her husband Ed Bremer moved in with him. Every summer, Will traveled by train from Los Angeles to Marshalltown, Iowa, to visit his sister Etta Coulter & other relatives. He would stay with his nephew Fred Coulter (my father) on Fred's farm northwest of Conrad, Iowa. In his guest bedroom on the first floor, Will would keep a sack of unwrapped peppermints to dole out to the children. The peppermints attracted ants to the room, to my mother's despair.
Uncle Will was a fine person, beloved by all who knew him.
1. Etta May "Anna" Crecelius 1880-1955
2. Frank Allen Crecelius 1882-1943
3. William Alton Crecelius 1885-1935
4. Grace Rozelle Crecelius 1891-1977
The 1883 photo shows Will & Flora with their first two children: Anna and baby Frank.
Flora taught school before her marriage. Will was a farmer & brick layer & stone mason. In March 1883, Will & his brother Jake & their father George homesteaded quarter sections (80 acres each) in Dakota Territory, in what is now Spring Lake Township, Hand County, South Dakota. They were later joined by their sister & brother-in-law, Etta & Aaron Coulter. Wood was scarce, so twisted hay and dried cow chips were used for fuel, as well as wild mustard plants. The prairie grass was as high as the wagon box; prairie fire was the pioneer's greatest fear.
Later, Will was postmaster and had the post office in his store at Dean on the westside of Spring Lake, where he made cheese which was sold by the firkin--a small barrel used chiefly for liquids, butter, or fish. Flora edited & printed a local newspaper called The Enterprise, using a hand press. One time she ran out of newsprint, so she printed that issue on the store's wrapping paper.
Brother Jake remained in South Dakota, but the others all returned to central Iowa. Will & Flora ran a hotel at Lamoille, west of Marshalltown. In the 1920s, they moved to Los Angeles to join their daughter Anna and their son William. The latter had moved there for the warmer climate after his health was broken in the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic.
After Will's wife Flora died in 1930, his eldest daughter Anna and her husband Ed Bremer moved in with him. Every summer, Will traveled by train from Los Angeles to Marshalltown, Iowa, to visit his sister Etta Coulter & other relatives. He would stay with his nephew Fred Coulter (my father) on Fred's farm northwest of Conrad, Iowa. In his guest bedroom on the first floor, Will would keep a sack of unwrapped peppermints to dole out to the children. The peppermints attracted ants to the room, to my mother's despair.
Uncle Will was a fine person, beloved by all who knew him.
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