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Show Oldest Resident Called by Death Thomas Cro?!:sicn, ' oldest resident resi-dent of American Fork, pavsed away at his heme here Tuesday morning at 10:30 o'cl:-ck, of ailments ail-ments incident to o'.d age. Mr. Oiookston suffer;d a stroke four years ago from the effects of 7.-hich he never fully recovered. He "."ss confined to his bed but ab3ut three weeks prior to his demise. The decased was born in Fife-Aire, Fife-Aire, Scot'and, Augjist 3, 1839, being be-ing near 94 years ol age at the t'me of his death. Ee was a son 3f George and Jam . Hutchinson Crookston, the second son in a family fam-ily of six children: James, Thcm-as, Thcm-as, Janet, Robert, Jesse, George and John. Although George, James and Thomas worked with their fath.T in the coal mines, they were made to study diligently in the evenings. Thomas went to school only a half day in his entire life, but his father kept good books and insisted upon the children studying and Thomas was recognized as a splendid splend-id student and an excellent speller. When he was sixteen the family came to America. The trip across the ocean was made in a sailing vessel and was most perilous, requiring re-quiring six weeks. They landed at New York in 1855. The journey to Utah was made by ox team, and the family endured many hardships on the way. They welcomed the sigjht of their new home when they arrived in Salt Lake where they lived with an uncle Robert in the Twentieth ward. The father worked for Heber C. Kimball during this time in Kaysville. During the first winter in Kaysville, Thomas and Janet went to live with the James Kippen family in what was known as Session's Sess-ion's Settlement, now known as Bountiful and worked on the Kippen farm which was recogniz3d as one of the finest in the state. Thomas Thom-as later went to Salt Lake and lived with the George Walters family. fam-ily. The Crookston family moved to American Fork where they lived in a dug-out under the lumber house on the James Crookston lot. Here they were neighbors of John Duncan Dun-can who lived in a dug-out near by. When the soldiers of Johnson's army came to Salt Lake, Brigham Young ordered the family back to! Kaysville and 1 the father obeyed. They remained there but a short ifcimie and then returned ', to Salt Lake to live. During this time Thomas was with the Walters family fam-ily in Springville and later went to Montana to work in the Gold Placer Mines. Here he earned a splendid span of mules and when he made the second trip to Montana Mon-tana he took passengers, among them being Peter Adamson and Andrew An-drew Crystal. He then decided to haul freight across the Nevada desert. des-ert. In 1866, during the Blackhawk war, he hauled coal from Moroni to a blacksmith in Salt Lake. At the age of 32 he married Miss Elizabeth Crystal 20, daughter of Andrew Crystal, who had come to Amerca eight years after the Crookston family. Nine children were bom to them, eight of whom are living. One daughter died in infancy. Mrs. . Crookston passed away eight years ago here. The life of Mr. Crookston has been one of hardship but during his lifetime he was always earnest in the pursuit of righteousness and was revered for his.' honesty. The children surviving are: Thomas, Thom-as, .George, John and Byron Crook-! ston of this city; Andrew Crook-! ston, Newcastle,- Washington; Frank ' Crookston, Las -, Vegas, Nevada; Mrs. Pearl Jewell, Sunnyside, Washington; Wash-ington; and Mrs. Elizabeth Merrill,' Yakima, Washington; also 24 grandchildren,' grand-children,' 12 great grandchildren and 1 one great-great-grandchild I Funeral services were being held ' Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock at1 the residence of Byron Crookston i here. I |