Information below supplied by Bob Mowrer, a descendant of Milner Francis Crouch.
VELLA CROUCH 6 (Samuel Milner 5, Milner Francis 4, William 3, John 2, Richard 1) was born December 12, 1891 in Newton Co. MO. and died April 8, 1992[2]. She married ROY PAUL THOMAS on June 26, 1911, and lived at Neosho, ID. [1]
Vella Crouch Thomas will be celebrating her 100th birthday, on December 12, 1991. She is the great-granddaughter of William Crouch, who after serving in the American revolutionary War from the state of Virginia, settled in Newton County, Missouri with his bride Salley Redmond. They had the first white child born in Newton County.
One of their sons, Vella's grandfather, M. F. Crouch, married Susan Jewette, a beautiful French woman from Nashville, Tennessee. They had six children, and raised them on a plantation near Diamond, Missouri. Their older sons served in the Civil War and M. F. Crouch was given the honorary title of Colonel Crouch, during that time. The Crouch Cemetery is between Granby and Diamond,. Missouri had its beginnings when Susan Crouch found a dead soldier by her home during the Civil War. He was buried on the Crouch property, which later became the family and local cemetery. A few years ago the name was changed to Greenwood Cemetary.
M. F. and Susan Crouch's youngest son Samuel was Vella's father, He married Susan Smith of North Carolina. They had seven children, but only the oldest Nanny and the youngest Vella survived. The other children died in birth are soon after. Susan was a school teacher as was her oldest daughter, Nanny. Nanny later married William McDaniel of Granby. Vella's father, Sam raised cattle on the farm, and was the local sheriff for a while. He and Susan also raised two nephews Henry and Ed Crouch, after the death of their parents. Susan started giving Vella piano lessons when she was around five years old. Vella was sick a lot as a child and her mother wanted to keep her in the house. She often practiced five hours a day. Later on she studied to be a concert pianist. She played for many of the local functions and also at church. She was quite popular with her friends and had many a beau courting her.
Roy Paul Thomas, son of Andrew Jackson Thomas of Neosho, was to win her hand in marriage after a three year courtship. He was quite handsome, and was also a musician. He was the Director of the Neosho City band. His father and mother, the former Mary Fleeming of Indiana, owned and operated the Neosho Transfer & Storage and the Neosho ice Co. A. J. Thomas was the son of Pleasant Thomas of Illinois. Pleasant fought in the Civil War along with his four brothers, who were all killed. A. J.'s mother lived to be 100 years old. A. J. also served as Sheriff in Neosho for awhile. HE and Mary raised six children.
Child of VELLA CROUCH and ROY THOMAS is:
1. MARVIN CROUCH THOMAS 7.
[1] The William Fleming Family (a Genealogy): With a Brief account of Some Other by Franklin Marion Brand, Published 1941 by Mathews Pringting and Lithography Co. page 494.
Roy Paul Thomas (3-5-3), born October 16, 1889, married Vella Mae Crouch, daughter of Samuel F. Crouch, June 26, 1911, lives at Neosho, and has one child Marvin Crouch Thomas.
[2] Hazel Green Cemetery, Newton County, Missouri
Thomas, Vella Crouch Died 4/8/1992; Born December 12, 1891, died at Firebaugh, CA., Clark Funeral Home.
If you are a descendant of Richard Crouch of Goochland County, Virginia, 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 forward to Joe Crouch and I will edit and or add it to this site.