The Mover Moves On

When last we saw William Croan, it was a summer morning in 1915 and he was moving a whole house to Linda Street.

Now we meet him again on a spring morning in 1920, and it will be the last time we meet him.

Once again he had joined forces with Oscar Carlson. About 8:45 a.m. on May 13, William and Oscar were already hard at work on the Claude Bullock farm, north of Ainsworth on the banks of the Deep River.

The men were dismantling a barn, I gather, so that it could be moved. They were about to remove a large portion of the roof by sliding it down an incline. William was standing on the ground to one side of the incline when a large, heavy beam — six by six inches — suddenly slid sideways and caught William on the side of the head. He fell to the ground senseless.

When the witnesses (Claude and Mary Ann Bullock as well as Oscar) could not revive him, they sent for Dr. Dwight Mackey. The doctor arrived only to find himself useless. He judged that William had died instantly, or nearly so. Nothing was left to do but notify the family, and take the dead man to Alwin Wild's funeral parlor.

Neither Hobart newspaper, in reporting on the tragedy, was able to give William's exact age, nor did they later print any more extensive obituary; according to his grave marker, he was born in 1864. He had survived a wife, and was survived by another; one daughter from his first marriage (now Mrs. Oscar Meyers of Chicago), and three more daughters still at home, as well as two step-daughters (one of whom was Edna Schiel of Toledo, Ohio).*

The funeral was held the afternoon of Sunday, May 16, under the direction of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and William was laid to rest in Hobart Cemetery, never to move again.

Calvin C. Shearer was appointed administrator of his estate, and a month later offered William's house-moving business, as well as some personal property, for sale to the public.


(Click on images to enlarge)
William Croan's grave marker in Hobart Cemetery.


The grave marker of Phoebe, a wife who preceded him in death.


These stones are now illegible, but earlier readers (per the Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society's compilation of Hobart Township Cemeteries) were able to decipher inscriptions (on the central obelisk, I assume) for a baby boy, Walter D. Croan, who died May 18, 18?? [last two digits illegible] at the age of 8 months and 6 days, and a little girl, Lilly M. Croan, who died October 25, 1888, aged 6 years, 11 months and 11 days, as well as the initials "W.D.C." and "L.M.C." — probably on the two little stones flanking the obelisk.

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*This information comes from combining the accounts of the two Hobart newspapers. Other sources raise some questions. The 1900 Census shows William, as of June 1900, married to May for four years, although the grave marker of the wife who died in September 1900 bears the name Phoebe; May claims to be the mother of one child only, living or dead; William claims an 11-year-old daughter, Mamie, and a 9-year-old stepdaughter, Edna Hanes. The Indiana Marriage Collection shows him marrying, in Lake County, Phoebe (last name illegible) in 1896, and Ellen Johnson in 1902, but also shows a William Croan marrying (in Marion County) an Amanda Adams, in 1888, which could account for the 11-year-old daughter — except that the Marion County William and Amanda seem to be still alive and married in 1900. Little Lilly's grave being in this group suggests she was William's daughter or step-daughter, but she was born in 1881 or '82. I leave it up to genealogists to figure this all out.


Sources:
♦ "Funeral of William Croan Held Last Sunday Afternoon." Hobart News 20 May 1920.
♦ "Local and Personal." Hobart News 24 June 1920.
♦ "Notice of Administration." Hobart News 20 May 1920.
♦ "William Croan Killed Instantly This Morning." Hobart News 13 May 1920.
♦ "Wm. Croan Killed." Hobart Gazette 14 May 1920.