John Henry Crites is the son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Meyers) Crites. He was born on March 24, 1852 in Union Township, Wells County, Indiana. Jesse and Elizabeth Crites had six children; Daniel (1850-1862), John Henry (1852), Mary Margaret (1856), Syrus Lincoln (1860- 1864), Jesse Franklin (1866), Sarah Louise (1870). Jesse was a farmer and they lived on 80 acres of land that he purchased from the Federal government on January 1, 1850.

In the 1850 Federal Census, Jesse, Elizabeth and Daniel are found in Wells County, Indiana. Jesse is a farmer. By the time of the 1860 federal Census, Jesse and Elizabeth have four children; Daniel, John Henry, Mary M and Syrus who is a few weeks old. By the time of the 1870 Census, Jesse and Elizabeth have three children; John H. , Mary M. , and Jesse F. John H. works as a farm labor for his father.

In 1874, John Henry Crites married Amanda McGoogan in Zanesville, Indiana. In the 1880 Federal Census, John Henry and Emma live in Union Township, Wells County, Indiana with their 4 year old daughter, Cora. John lists his occupation as farm laborer. It is likely that he is working for his father on the farm.

John and Emma Crites

In the 1900 Federal Census, John H and Emma lived in Rock Creek, Wells County, Indiana. They are recorded with Dessie who is thirteen. Their oldest daughter, Cora, has married Alvin Smith. John lists his occupation as a carpenter. In the 1910 Federal Census, John H. and Emma live in the small town of Uniondale, Indiana. In the 1920 Federal Census, John and Emma live on Meridian Street in Uniondale, Indiana.

Rest in peace, Grandpa John!

Love, Jan

John Henry Crites is my two times Great Grandfather. I spent about six years looking for the cemetery where John and Emma Crites were buried. I looked in all the cemeteries near their home in Indiana. To date, I still do not find death records for either of them. After looking at the Smith Plot in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Clio where their daughter Cora and her first husband Alvin are buried, I questioned whether the blank space next to Cora and Alvin could be where they were buried. I did know that John and Emma lived with Cora and her second husband, John Daly as Emma’s life neared the end. Emma needed the extra help that her daughter could provide. In 2004, I visited the office for the Clio Cemetery and sure enough that is where they were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery with no tombstone. I contacted the cemetery and ordered a tombstone for them using the information that the cemetery provided from their records.