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James Thomas Crouch 5 (William Smith 4, Richard 3, John 2, Richard 1) was born December 7, 1861 [5] at Elkton, Kentucky, the son of William Smith and Virginia (Jesup) Crouch. James Thomas Crouch was born in the old Crouch home located about one-half mile west of Tress' Shop in Todd County on the north side of Highway 68 and KY 80. The old home, probably the oldest in the county, stood where it was built by Jacob Kerschner in the early 1800s. It was the first home built on the road from Elkton to Hopkinsville according to Urban Kennedy in the Sketches of Todd County. The home was used as a polling place when there were only two such places in Christian County. The entire house was of log construction. Hugh Bonner Wilkins added a two story log structure immediately in front of the single room structure originally built.
James Thomas' father, William Smith Crouch, was in business with a partner in Elkton. His partner, while on the way to purchase merchandise in New Orleans, lost all of the company money in a gambling game aboard a river boat en route. As a result the business collapsed. William Thomas had previously purchased the land where the home referred to above had been built. With no means of livelihood, his father moved to the farm. There, James Thomas was born, in fact, the first of his children to be born there.
James Thomas attended the public school, probably at the Jesup School about a mile from his home. He began farming when a young man and followed this occupation the remainder of his life. The latter part of his life he owned a farm about three and one-half miles from Elkton on the Allensville road. His grandson, Walton Crouch, continued to own that farm.
As a child, James Thomas Crouch remembers as a first recollection, seeing Union soldiers who came to their home. The area was sympathetic toward the Confederacy but was under the control of Union forces based in Hopkinsville. One of his early memories is of Union troops taking horses and mules as well as cured pork and corn without payment. Until the end of the war, supplies had to be hidden in order to survive. The family was able to hide some of their stock in the woods, but the remainder was confiscated by the soldiers. Earlier the Crouch family had owned slaves, but by the time the Civil War came, they probably did not own slaves.
James Thomas grew up during the difficult times of reconstruction which followed the Civil War. Early a part of his first farming operation was the purchase of young mules that he "broke" [trained] to do farm work, following which he sold them.
The work ethic was extremely strong in James Thomas and he passed this on to all of his children. Family ties were also very strong.
On February 16, 1886, he married Martha Artemesia [1] Mobley, born November 4, 1865 [5] ,the daughter of Wilbur Fisk and Gillie (nee Edwards) Mobley. After marriage he rented some of the Jesup land also on US 68 near Fairview. In 1909 he purchased a farm 3 miles southeast of Elkton on the Allensville road. He died on December 5, 1933 from a heart attack, age 72, while plowing in his field three miles southeast of Elkton on the Allensville Road at 1:30 P.M. observed by a farm hand to stop his plow, sit down on the plow beam, and then collapse to the ground [2]. He had resided on the farm for thirty years. He is buried in the Glenwood Cemetery, Elkton, Kentucky. Martha Artemisia passed away on Monday January 22, 1940 at 3:00 PM at age 74 of a heart ailment from which she had suffered for a number of years, but had only been bedridden for the previous three weeks. She is buried beside her husband in Glenwood Cemetery in Elkton, Kentucky [3] .
Their children were as follows:
1. Bessie Britt Crouch 6, born September 26, 1888 [5]. Married S.W. Chestnut November 24, 1940. She died July 15, 1978 at age of 89.2. Claud David Crouch 6, born September 8, 1890; at the age of 71 he suffered a heart attack and was moved to St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee for surgery November 21, 1961 where he died on December 19, 1961. He had lived in the Chapel Hill community for 27 years; married Johnny Pace Stack born April 11, 1898, the daughter of George Thomas Stack and Mary Belle Pace in 1918. Buried in Trenton, Todd County, Kentucky. Johnny Pace Stack died September 4, 1992. No children resulted from this marriage.
3. Gillie Virginia Crouch 6, born January 13, 1892 [5]; died April 18, 1979 in Hopkinsville at Jennie Stuart Hospital at the age of 87; member of Elkton Baptist Church and retired employee of Elkton Bank and Trust Company. Married K.M. Stokes on November 6, 1935.
4. James Jessup Crouch 6, born on July 9, 1894; married Margaret Hollins on Oct. 13, 1919; died on May 23, 1972. Margaret Hollins Crouch died Jan. 13, 1987. Four children were born from this marriage.
5. Omar Rodman Crouch 6, born January 27, 1896; died at age 78 at 12:15 PM Friday February 1, 1974 at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. He and his brother-in-law Percy Crispin Shelton owned and operated a hardware store in Elkton for many years. He was a former sheriff and for 12 years the jailer of Todd County, Kentucky. Married Lucille Adams on October 4, 1922. No children.
6. & 7.Eunice and Ernest Crouch 6 (Twins) born July 27, 1900; Eunice married Percy Crispin Shelton. No children were born from this marriage. He died at age 83 on February 25, 1981. Eunice died at age 97 on Saturday December 20, 1997 in Hopkinsville. Ernest married Thelma White on October 30, 1924, daughter of Lucian White.
8. George Edward Crouch 6, born December 30, 1905. Married Martha Denny on March 25, 1928 and had four children. He died Tuesday August 20, 1985.
9. Mary Crouch 6, born March 4, 1908; married Thomas Overshiner, Jr. on March 28, 19241st and after his death on March 24, 1950 she then married Howard Lebkuecher from Hopkinsville on April 18, 1951. One daughter resulted from the marriage of Thomas Overshiner, Jr. and Mary Crouch.
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[1] Most family records have her middle name as 'Artie'. It is believed this was a nickname for 'Artemisia', any of a genus of composite herbs and shrubs with strong smelling foliage.
[2] Obituary: Elkton, Kentucky, Thursday, December 7, 1933
PROMINENT FARMER DIESJames T. Crouch Fatally Stricken With Heart Attack
Suffering from a heart attack, death came suddenly to James T. Crouch, 75, one of the county's most prominent farmers, while plowing in his field near his home about three miles southeast of Elkton, at 1:30 PM Tuesday.
According to his physician, Dr. B.F. Boone, this was the first attack of this nature suffered by him.
He was observed by one of his farm hands to stop his plow and sit down on the beam, suddenly he collapsed and fell from the beam, and when help arrived he was unable to speak. He never regained consciousness.
The death of Mr. Crouch takes away from our community one of its outstanding leaders in agricultural circles. He was known over the entire county for his honesty, integrity and fair dealings with his fellow man, and these attributes, which were personified in the gentlemanly bearing and conduct of Mr. Crouch, he has endeared himself to a host of friends from all sections of the county, as well as his neighbors who surround his family in their hour of bereavement, and acted as pallbearers during the last rites.
He was a native of Todd County and had resided on his present farm for the past thirty years. His father was the late William Crouch, who came to Todd County from Virginia, and was one of it's early settlers. On March 10, 1852, he was married to Miss Virginia Jessup, a native of this county.
James T. Crouch was married February 16, 1886, to Miss Martha Artie Mobley, who survives him, and to this union there were born nine children, all of whom survive. They aer: Omar Crouch, sherriff-elect of Todd County; Claude Crouch, Trenton; James, Ernest and Edward, all of Elkton. Three daughters, Mrs. Thomas Overshiner, Hopkinsville; Miss Gillie Crouch and Miss Eunice Crouch, Elkton; one sister, Mrs. D. A. Hurt, near Elkton; one brother Clarence Crouch, Clarksville, Tenn. He was a member of the Elkton, Presbyterian Church.
Funeral services were conducted by the Rev. F.E. Florer, pastor of the Elkton Baptist Church, Wednesday at his home. Internment was in Glenwood Cemetary, Elkton.
The pallbearers were: J.D. Jolly, L.B. Morgan, D.N.Russell, C.C. Russell, and Kempt Stokes.
[3] Obituary - Mrs. Martha Crouch Dies at Elkton Home
Wife of Prominent Todd Resident Laid to Rest in Glenwood.A death which brought grief to hundreds of friends over the entire community was that of Mrs. Martha Mobley Crouch, 74 years of age, widow of the late James T. Crouch, which occurred at her home on the Allensville pike Monday afternoon at 3::20 o'clock, of a heart ailment from which she had suffered for several years, however, she was confined to her bed only three weeks before her passing.
Mr. Crouch, who died in 1934, is remembered as one of Todd County's most substantial citizens and a man of the highest integrity, who enjoyed through all the years on their wedded life the true and faithful companionship of the devoted wife whose body was laid to rest by his side following funeral services in her memory Tuesday afternoon.
Mrs Crouch, although of a retiring nature, was known to hundreds of true friends as a devoted mother, a kindly neighbor and sincere friend, and it is these friends and members of her own family who will miss the companionship of their mother and friend. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Crouch was a daughter of Wilbur and Gillie Mobley, and was born and reared in this county, where her family had been identified with the history since it's earliest days.
Funeral services in her memory were conducted from the home Tuesday afternoon a two o'clock by the Rev. O.T. Arnett, with internment in beautiful Glenwood Cemetery.
She is survived by four daughters, Miss Bessie Crouch, who resided with her mother, and upon whom she bestowed the tenderest devotion and care through the years of illness; Mrs. Gillie Stokes and Mrs. Percy Shelton, Elkton; Mrs Thos Overshiner, Hopkinsville; five sons Omar Crouch, former Sherriff of Todd County, and its present Jailor; James and Ernest Crouch also of Elkton;; Claud and Ed Crouch, Trenton; one sister, Miss Ella Mobley, Elkton; four brothers, Charles Mobley of Mississippi; Nim Mobley, Trenton; O.W. and Edward Mobley, Elkton; also nine grandchildren.
[4] 1900 FEDERAL CENSUS - Magisterial District 3, Fairview, Bell Chapel, Todd, Kentucky enumeration
====================================================================================================================LN HN FN ...LAST FIRST ..RELATION-..................BIRTH.DATE............MAR...YRS.....# OF.........#...........YOUR....FATHERS..MOTHERS
.....................NAME.NAME.....SHIP....RACE..SEX MONTH YEAR AGE..STAT..MAR. CHILD..LIVING...BIRTHPL..BIRTHPL ..BIRTHPL....OCCUP.
=====================================================================================================================
65...71..80....Crouch, James T...Head......W.......M..........Dec 1861..........38......M......14..........................................Kentucky...Kentucky....Kentucky
66.................Crouch, Artie.........Wife.......W.......F..........Nov 1865...................M.......14..........5.............5..............Kentucky...Kentucky...Kentucky
67................Crouch, Bessie.Daughter.........W.......F.......Sept..1888.........11........S....................................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
68................Crouch, Claud.....Son...............W.......M.....Sept 1890...........9........S.....................................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
70.................Crouch, Gillie..Daughter..........W.......F......Jan...1892...........8........S....................................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
71.................Crouch, James....Son...............W.......M.....July 1894............5........S...................................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
72................Crouch, Omar.....Son...............W.......M.......Jan 1896.............4........S...................................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
73.............Mobley, Omar..Brother-In-Law .W......M......Dec 1878...........21........S....................................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
75.............Mobley, Charles.Brother-In-Law .W......M....July 1881.........18........S....................................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
..........1910 FEDERAL CENSUS - Elkton Precint - Todd County, Ky. April 24, 1910 ennumeration
====================================================================================================================LN HN FN .LAST FIRST ...RELATION-.....................MAR..YRS...# OF.........#.....YOUR....FATHERS..MOTHERS
.................NAME.NAME...SHIP...SEX RACE AGE..STAT..MAR. CHILD..LIVING..BIRTHPL.BIRTHPL ..BIRTHPL....OCCUP.
=====================================================================================================================
67.137.137.Crouch, James T. Head....M...W....48.....M.......24...........................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky...Farmer
68.............Crouch, Artie M...Wife......F....W....44.....M.......24......10........9........Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
69.............Crouch, Bessie.Daughter....F...W....21.......S........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
70.............Crouch, Gillie..Daughter....F...W....16.......S........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
71.............Crouch, James....Son.........M...W....15......S........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
72.............Crouch, Omar.....Son........M...W....14......S........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
73.............Crouch, Eunice.Daughter.F....W....10.......S........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
74.............Crouch, Ernest...Son........M...W....10......S........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
75.............Crouch, Edward..Son......M...W.....4.......S.........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
76.............Crouch, Mary..Daughter..F...W......2......S.........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
1920 FEDERAL CENSUS - Elkton Precint - Todd County, Ky. June 26, 1920 ennumeration
====================================================================================================================LN HN FN ....LAST FIRST...RELATION-.OWN.........................MAR..YRS...# OF.........#.....YOUR....FATHERS..MOTHERS
.................NAME.NAME.....SHIP.....RENT..SEX RACE .AGE..STAT..MAR. CHILD..LIVING..BIRTHPL.BIRTHPL ..BIRTHPL....OCCUP.
=====================================================================================================================
96.228.210..Crouch, James T..Head........O......M...W......58....M.....................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky..Farmer
97..............Crouch, Artie......Wife................F....W.....54.....M.........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky..
98..............Crouch, Bessie...Daughter...........F.....W....30......S.........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky..
99..............Crouch, Gillie....Daughter............F....W....26......S.........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky..
100............Crouch, Omar R. ..Son................M....W....23......S.......................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky..
1...............Crouch, Ernest.....Son.................M....W....19......S........................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky.
2...............Crouch, Eunice...Daughter.............F....W....19......S......................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky.
3...............Crouch, Edward....Son.................M....W....13......S......................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky.
4...............Crouch, Mary...Daughter..............F....W....10......S......................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky.
1930 FEDERAL CENSUS - Elkton Precint - Todd County, KY
...............Crouch, J.T..........Head................M.....W.....68....M.....................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky..Farmer................Crouch, Artie M. .Wife................F......W.....64....M.....................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
...............Crouch, Bessie B...Daughter.........F......W.....41............................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky.
..............Crouch, Gillie V......Daughter........F.......W....38............................................Kentucky..Kentucky..Kentucky
[5] William Smith Crouch's 1856 family bible (Births and Deaths - Marriages) in the possession of the webmaster; along with a second bible dated 1868 belonging to one of William Smith Crouch's son's who migrated away from Todd County, KY.
If you are a descendant of the Goochland County, Virginia Crouch's, have information different, or in addition to what's shown above (birth information, baptistry info, marriage bonds/certificates, wills, obituaries, deeds, court records, etc..) please feel free to forward to or contact Joe Crouch who maintains this site.
