Life History
Oct 1870 |
Born in Attala County, Mississippi.1,2,3,1,4,1,5,6,7,8 |
1880 |
Resident in Newport, Attala, Mississippi.6 |
18th Jan 1894 |
Married Alice RAY in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1 |
14th Dec 1894 |
Birth of daughter Ida Myrtle CRISWELL in Arkansas.2,1,9,5,10 |
26th Aug 1898 |
Birth of daughter Leona CRISWELL in Arkansas.11,1,10 |
11th Mar 1900 |
Birth of son Robert Bryan CRISWELL in Arkansas.12,13,4,1,14,5,2 |
before Oct 1906 |
Death of Alice RAY |
28th Oct 1906 |
Married Jane C MCSWAIN in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1 |
Oct 1908 |
Birth of son Noah D CRISWELL in Arkansas.4,2 |
before 1913 |
Death of Jane C MCSWAIN in Prairie Township, Arkansas, Arkansas.15 |
18th Aug 1913 |
Married Martha J RAGSDALE in Arkansas County, Arkansas.4,1 |
after 1940 |
Death of Martha J RAGSDALE in Arkansas |
1951 |
Died in Arkansas.8 |
1951 |
Buried in Mt Pleasant Cemetery, Ethel, Arkansas County, Arkansas |
Notes
- For a long time the earliest information I could find about James Criswell and family was the 1900 census. I found the 1880 census only in February 2010. In 1880 we find James with his parents and siblings in Attala County, Mississippi, where the children were born.
1880 Federal Census, Attala County, Mississippi, 24 June, Beat 4, District 17, p 51, #461, Fam #465
Criswell, William 40 Farmer MS MS MS (b abt 1840)
Criswell, Martha W F 38 Wife Keeping House b MS MS MS (b abt 1842)
Criswell, James W M 10 Son MS MS MS (b abt 1870)
James married Alice Ray in 1894.
Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
J B Criswell
Gender Male
Age 23, Birth Year abt 1871
Residence Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas
Spouse's Name Alice Ray
Spouse's Age 16
Spouse's Residence Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas
Marriage 18 Jan 1894 Arkansas County
Marriage License Date 18 Jan 1894
In 1900 James and his family are living next door to Phillip K McSwain, and some of the Padgetts. His brother Harvey is boarding with the McSwains. Before the next census, Harvey will marry Phillip's niece, Callie McSwain, daughter of George B and Harriet.
1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 19 June, Prairie Township, Country Road, District 7, page 13B, Hse #219, Fam #293
Criswell, James Head W M Oct 1870 29 married 6 years MS AL AL Farm Laborer
Criswell, Allice Wife W F Oct 1876 23 married 6 years Borne 4 children, 3 living AR AR AR
Criswell, Myrtle Dau W F Dec 1894 5 AR MS AR
Criswell, Leona Dau W F Aug 1897 2 AR MS AR
Criswell, Robert F Son W M Mar 1900 2mos AR MS AR
Note that both James' parents are reported here as born in Alabama, but in 1880 they had been reported born in Mississippi. In 1906, James married Jane McSwain Holden. I cannot determine for sure if Alice has died or the couple divorced.
Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
Janie Holdon [Holden]
Age 28, Birth Year abt 1878
Residence Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas
Spouse's Name J B Criswell
Spouse's Age 36
Spouse's Residence Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas
Marriage 28 Oct 1906 Arkansas County
Marriage License Date 27 Oct 1906
1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 18 April, Prairie Township, Country Road, District 15, page 2A, Hse/Fam #18
Criswell, James Head M W 39 2nd marriage, married 3 years MS SC AL Farmer
Criswell, Janie C Wife F W 32 2nd marriage, married 3 years Borne 6 children, 5 living AR NC NC
Criswell, Bryan R Son M W 10 AR MS AR Farm Laborer
Criswell, Noah D Daughter [sic] M W 1yr 6mos AR MS AR [born Oct 1908]
Holden, Caldonia Step-daughter F W 9 AR MS AR
Holden, Wattie [Mattie?] Son [Step-Son/Step-Daughter?] F W 6 AR MS AR
The birth place of James' father has changed again. Now it is South Carolina. Note that this is the second marriage for both, according to the enumerator. This is the only census that indicates the how many time they have been married. They have been married for 3 years, so they married about 1907. Bryan R is 10 years old, so this is the son of James' first wife. She must have died soon after Bryan's birth, because there are no other children, until Noah, son of Janie.
Where is Myrtle? She should be about 15 in this census. Leona, about 12 at this time, is also missing. This might indicate that the parents were divorced, and the girls are living with their mother. Their son Bryan, who appears to be the same child as Robert in 1900, is in this household with his father. I have not found a separate household with Allice (Alice) and the two girls. Perhaps these girls are living with family members. Myrtle comes back into the household, and is still single at the time of the 1920 census.
The last two children in the household confirm that this is the second marriage for Janie. Ancestry.com has transcribed Janie's son Wattie as Mattie. A descendant of Caldonia also tells me that her brother's name was Mattie. The entry for Mattie is a bit puzzling. The enumerator first wrote for the relationship "Step-daughter" then partially erased it, then wrote over it the word "Son." But Mattie would be a step-son of James, a brother to Caldonia. This child, who would be 16 in the 1920 census, is not enumerated with this family in 1920.
I learned from other genealogies that Jane was previously married to William Holden. The Caldonia here matches information on the Holden genealogy of Jerry Griffitt. Jerry details the Criswell and Holden family connections in Arkansas County. Here is his configuration of the Holden family of Jane, whom he reports as Jane R.
William H Holden
Birth Nov 1859 in Mississippi
Death BET 1903 AND 1907 in Prarie, Arkansas Co., Arkansas
Marriage 1895 Prarie, Arkansas, Arkansas, to Jane R Mar 1878
Born in Prairie, Arkansas, Arkansas, Died 1930 in Prairie Township, Arkansas, Arkansas
Children:
Ethel Holden b Mar 1884 in Mississippi
John H Holden, Birth 27 Sep 1896 in Arkansas, Death 1 Oct 1978 in Los Angeles City, California
Caldonia Holden, Birth 22 Jan 1901 in Prarie, Arkansas, Arkansas, Death 11 March 1995 in Dallas, Polk, Oregon
Mattie Holden b 1904 in Arkansas
-- Holden Family, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/10407308/person/-645503526
Griffitt reports the male child I mentioned above as Mattie. Griffitt cites the 1900 census, which seems to match the form of the name in the 1910 census of the Criswell-Holden family above. If this listing is correct, perhaps this is a nickname for the full name Matthew.
The name of James' wife in 1920 is Mattie, which matches the 1930 entry for Martha J. I could not find the documentation for this third wife until August 2012, when the marriage record turned up in the ever-improving Ancestry.com resources.
Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
J B Criswell
Gender Male
Age 43, Birth Year abt 1870
Residence Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas
Spouse Mattie Connelly
Spouse's Age 46
Spouse's Residence Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas
Marriage 18 Aug 1913 Arkansas County
Marriage License Date 15 Aug 1913
Note that Giriffitt reports that Janie Holden Criswell died in 1930, though he does not have an exact date of death, and not source. The Holden genealogy follows him on this. Neither has documentation, and I have found no details related to Janie's death. Griffitt provides census information as a source, so the unsourced information seems to be from family knowledge. Mattie in 1920, matching Martha of 1930 in age and name, would be this third wife, Martha (Mattie) Connelly. Mattie is reported as James Criswell's wife in the 1920 census.
1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 9 February, Prairie Township, Country Road, District 15, page 6A, Hse/Fam #109
Criswell, James Head M W 49 MS SC SC Farmer
Criswell, Mattie Wife F W 53 AR AR AR
Criswell, Myrtle Dau F W 25 AR MS AR Farm Laborer
Criswell, Robert Son M W 20 AR MS AR Farm Laborer
Criswell, Noah Son M W 11 AR MS AR
Now both James' parents are said to have been born in South Carolina. The child Robert here matches the child Bryan R in 1910. We can conclude, then, that his name was Bryan Robert. But I recall that in the 1900 census, there was a Robert F. This complicates the matter. Both these names also have middle initials: Bryan R and Robert F. Something is wrong somewhere. I find Robert Criswell married in the 1930 census. He matches the other entries here. It appears the entries for Bryan R and for Robert and Robert F are for the same son.
25-year-old Myrtle should have been in the 1910 census. In 1920, Noah is reported as a son, which we would expect from the name. But in 1910 the child Noah D was reported as being a daughter!
I note that this census reports that James' parents were both born in South Carolina. In 1910, his father was born in South Carolina, but his mother in Alabama. The Simons Family Genealogy reporting on the Criswells gives the birth of both of them at Attala County, Mississippi. This seems to be an error based on the fact that the family lived in Attala County, Mississippi, before moving to Arkansas.
The birthplace of parents is not very helpful, since this changes in every census. 1910 Janie's parents were both reported to have been born in North Carolina. But in 1920, Mattie's parents are both born in Arkansas. But we see in the 1930 census below that they are both reported born in Tennessee!
Ages might be more definitive. James' age is constant, with 10 years difference in each census. This is actually unusual. With this as a constant, we can compare the difference in ages between James and his wife. In 1910, Janie C is 7 years YOUNGER. In 1920, Mattie is 4 years OLDER. The names make it seem that Mattie of 1920 and Martha J of 1930 are the same, and we find that again there Martha J is 4 years OLDER.
The age information seems to push the weight of evidence slightly toward the view that James was married a third time between 1910 and 1920, meaning Janie seems to have died before census time in 1920, not 1930 (unless they were divorced, for which we also lack records). I have found no corroborating source on the death of Janie.
1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 22 April, Prairie Township, Ethel & Chute Rd, District 7, page 7B, Hse #127 Fam #128
Criswell, James B Head M W 59 MS SC USA Farmer
Criswell, Martha J Wife F W 63 AR TN TN
Nixie M Granddaughter F W 14 AR AR AR Farm Laborer
Here the birth place of James' father remains the same, but now no state is reported for his mother. Note that in 1930 the birth date for Martha's parents has changed from Arkansas to Tennessee. The designation of relationship for Nixie is scrawly and uncertain, but at age 14, she is most likely their granddaughter. I do not know, however, which of their sons is her father.
Sources
- 1. Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
- 2. 1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 9 February, Prairie Township, Country Road, District 15, page 6A, Hse/Fam #109
- 3. Simons Genealogy
- 4. 1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 18 April, Prairie Township, Country Road, District 15, page 2A, Hse/Fam #18
- 5. 1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 19 June, Prairie Township, Country Road, District 7, page 13B, Hse #219, Fam #293
- 6. 1880 Federal Census, Attala County, Mississippi
- 24 June, Beat 4, District 17, p 51, #461, Fam #465
- 7. 1940 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 16 April, Ethel, District 1-24, page 7A, Ethel Rd, Hse #92, Rents Farm, $20 value
- 8. 1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 22 April, Prairie Township, Ethel & Chute Rd, District 7, page 7B, Hse #127 Fam #128
- 9. Gravestone of Ida Myrtle Criswell Jones, Mt Pleasant Cemetery, Ethel, Arkansas, Arkansas
- 10. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
- 11. 1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 23 April, Prairie Township, District 25, page 8A, Ethel and Chute Rd, Hse #136, Fam #137
- 12. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
- 13. 1940 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 16 April, Ethel, District 1-24, page 7A, Ethel Rd, Hse #97, Rents Farm, $20 value
- 14. 1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 14 April, Prairie Township, District 7, page 4B, Public Road, Hse #68, Fam #69
- 15. Ancestry Trees
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