Bristol County MA Archives Biographies.....Crapo, Family 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ma/mafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 13, 2006, 12:48 am

Author: J. H. Beers & Co. (1912)

   CRAPO (New Bedford family). Through the greater part of the last century and
up to the present writing, the name of Crapo has stood in and about New Bedford
as a synonym for useful citizenship. Here have lived during that period Henry
Howland Crapo and William W. Crapo, father and son, of whom a recent biographer
says: "Among the many citizens of New Bedford and Dartmouth who have achieved
high honor, and whose names are held in respect wherever they are known, are
Henry H. Crapo and his son William W. Crapo. Born on a Dartmouth farm, from the
sterile soil of which his parents could no more than wrest a livelihood, Henry
H. Crapo showed his inborn attributes by closing his life in the highest office
which the people of the State of Michigan could confer upon him." And again,
"The strong mental as well as physical resemblance of the son to the father is a
striking illustration of Galton's doctrine of heredity," this last having
especial reference to William W. Crapo.

   The Crapo family with its allied connections is of original New England
stock. (I) Peter Crapaud (Crapo), the progenitor of the family, was a young
French lad cast ashore- from a wreck off Cape Cod about 1680. His real name is
unknown, but he was nicknamed "Crapaud," the generic designation of a Frenchman.
He was "put out" to Francis Combes, an inn-holder, of North Rochester, Mass. On
May 31, 1704, he was married to Penelope White, daughter of Samuel White of
Rochester, a son of Resolved White, who came to Plymouth in the "Mayflower" with
his father, William White, in 1620, his younger brother, Peregrine White, being
born on shipboard off Provincetown harbor. The children of Peter and Penelope
(White) Crapo were: Francis, born Oct. 14, 1705, was married to Pashent Spooner;
Susanna, born Nov. 5, 1707, married Louis Demoranville; Perez (Peter), born Nov.
20, 1709, married Ann Luce; John, born Feb. 22, 1711-12, married Sarah Clark;
Mary, born Sept. 27, 17l3, married Jonathan Spooner; Rebecca, born March 22,
1717-18, married John Mathews; Hezekiah, born March 12, 1719-20, died unmarried;
Nicholas, born Dec. 15, 1721, married Alice Blackwell; Seth was born May 4, 1724.

   (II) John Crapo, son of Peter, born Feb. 22, 1711-12, married in Rochester
Nov. 7, 1734, Sarah Clark, and their children were: James, Sarah, Ariste, John,
Joshua, Peter (born 1743, married twice), Elkanah and Consider.

   (III) Peter Crapo, son of John and Sarah, and grandson of the progenitor, was
born in 1743. He married (intentions published in Dartmouth, May 14, 1766) Sarah
West, and their children were: Azubah, born June 8, 1768; Richard, in 1770;
Peter, in 1777; Charles, between 1770 and 1780; Reuben, April 18, 1780; Jesse,
May 22, 1781; and Deborah, April 4, 1786. He married (second) (intentions
published Sept. 7, 1789) Content Hathaway, of Freetown, and their children were:
Content, Susanna, Orinda, Betsey, Sarah, Joseph and Abiel. Peter Crapo, the
father of this family, was one of the minute-men of the Revolution, a member of
Capt. Levi Rounseville's company, which marched on the Lexington alarm, April
19, 1775, to Washington's camp at Cambridge.

   (IV) Jesse Crapo, son of Peter and Sarah, was born on the 22d of 5th month,
1781, and he died the 11th of 1st month, 1831. His home was in Dartmouth. He
married there July 10, 1803, Phebe Howland, born 29th of 3d month, 1785, and who
died 22d of 12th month, 1870. She was the daughter of Henry Howland, and a
direct descendant of one of the three Howlands who came early to Plymouth, one
of whom was John Howland, a passenger in the "Mayflower" in 1620. Her line of
descent from Henry Howland, one of the emigrants, who was of Duxbury and became
one of the original purchasers of Freetown, 1659, is through Zoeth, Henry (2),
Thomas, David and Henry Howland (3). To Jesse and Phebe (Howland) Crapo were
born children as follows: Henry Howland, born May 24, 1804; David, Sept. 16,
1808; Joseph, April 12, 1812; Phebe, March 6, 1817.

   (V)   HENRY HOWLAND CRAPO, son of Jesse and Phebe (Howland) Crapo, was born
May 24, 1804, in the northern part of the town of Dartmouth, Mass. He passed his
early life on his father's farm in the southerly part of Dartmouth, assisting
with the farm work in season and attending the district school in the winters.
His early years were full of toil, which rapidly developed in him many of the
sterling qualities that marked his mature years. He possessed a natural thirst
for knowledge, was ambitious to rise above the circumstances that surrounded him
and made every sacrifice that would further that end. It is recorded of him by
James B. Congdon that he has seen a dictionary in manuscript compiled (not
copied) by him in youth, and it is said that he frequently traveled the distance
of eight miles from his home to New Bedford, in order to learn the meaning of a
word or phrase which had puzzled him. Unaided he made himself master of the
theory of surveying, and when there came the long-looked-for opportunity to put
his knowledge into practice he was undaunted by the fact that he had no compass,
but going to a blacksmith shop he fashioned a crude one for himself! By
application he became competent to teach the village school, and when a high
school was opened he determined to apply for the principalship, and was
examined, it is believed, for the position by J. H. W. Page, then a preceptor in
the Friends' Academy, who gave him a certificate of qualification.

   At the age of twenty-eight years Mr. Crapo removed to New Bedford and became
a land surveyor, sometimes acting as auctioneer. He was soon elected town clerk,
treasurer and collector of taxes, and held these positions some fifteen years.
On the change of the municipal government he was elected treasurer and collector
of taxes, holding the office two years. He was also police justice many years,
served on the board of aldermen, was chairman of the council committee on
education, and in this capacity personally prepared the report upon which was
based the order for the establishment of the Free Public Library of New Bedford.
Upon its organization he was chosen one of the first trustees.

   To some extent Mr. Crapo was engaged in the whaling industry, a fine bark, of
which he was part owner, being named in his honor. He was president of the
Bristol County Fire Insurance Company, and secretary of the Bedford Commercial
Insurance Company. For a number of years he was colonel of one of the regiments
of State militia. He organized the Horticultural Society of New Bedford and was
its first president. He was actively interested in the cultivation of fruits and
flowers. Later on he gave much attention to the cultivation of every kind of
fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. He exhibited from his grounds
at horticultural fairs in Boston and elsewhere one hundred and fifty varieties
of pears of his own propagation, and one hundred and twenty varieties of roses.
While an officer of the municipal government he compiled and published the
directories of New Bedford for 1836 and 1845. He became a regular contributor to
the New England Horticultural Journal, and gained a wide reputation as an
authority.

   In 1856 Mr. Crapo removed to Michigan, locating at Flint. This move was due
primarily to investments in pine lands. He came into possession of a farm of
1,100 acres, most of which he redeemed from swamp by a system of drainage
perfected by himself. He engaged in breeding and importing fine blooded stock
and in 1863 was elected president of the Genesee County Agricultural Society. He
engaged largely in the manufacture of lumber, and interested capital and built
railroads, becoming one of the largest and most successful business men in the
State. He at once took an active interest in the municipal affairs of Flint, and
was elected mayor after a residence there of only five years. In 1862 he was
elected State senator to represent Genesee county, and ranked with the leading
men of Michigan in the war Senate. In 1864 he was nominated on the Republican
ticket for governor and was elected by a large majority. He was reelected in
1866, holding the office two terms and retiring in January, 1869. Governor
Crapo's administration was remarkably efficient and especially characterized by
his vetoing railway aid legislation and his firm refusal to pardon convicts,
except upon overwhelming proofs of their innocence or excessive sentence. During
the later years of his life Governor Crapo became a regular contributor to the
"Country Gentleman," and after his death an affecting eulogy of himself was
pronounced by the president of the National Horticultural Society at its meeting
in Philadelphia in 1869. During his last term as governor he was attacked by the
disease which terminated his life within one year.

   Governor Crapo often referred to the training he received in New Bedford
civic meetings and offices, and averred that but for this he could not have
succeeded in the loftier and more honorable offices which his fellow citizens of
Michigan bestowed upon him. After his death a New Bedford newspaper printed the
following: "No man connected with the municipal government ever had to a greater
extent than Mr. Crapo the confidence of the people. He was exact and methodical
in all matters of record; conscientious and laboriously persistent in the
discharge of every duty; clear in his method and statements in all that
appertained to his official transactions with the town and his townsmen,
leaving, at the close of his long connection with them, all that belonged to his
department as a financial or recording officer so luminous and complete that no
error has ever been detected or improvements made upon his methods."

   Governor Crapo died July 23, 1869, at his home in Flint, Mich. The Detroit
Tribune of July 24, 1869, said: "In all the public positions he held Governor
Crapo showed himself a capable, discreet, vigilant and industrious officer. He
evinced wonderful vigor in mastering details, and always wrote and spoke
intelligently on any subject to which he gave his attention. Michigan never
before had a governor who devoted so much personal attention and painstaking
labor to her public duties as he did. His industry was literally amazing. He was
not a man of brilliant or showy qualities, but he possessed sharp and remarkably
well developed business talents, a clear and practical understanding, sound
judgment and unfailing integrity. In all the walks of life there was not a purer
man in the State. So faithful, so laborious, so conscientious a man in office-is
a blessing beyond computation in the healthful influence which he exerts in the
midst of the too prevalent corruptions that so lamentably abound in the public
service. We have often thought that, in his broad and sterling good sense,
Governor Crapo closely resembled the lamented Lincoln. He was a man of the.
people and most worthily represented them. His decease is an occasion for public
mourning and the state has very few men like him and can ill afford to spare
such an eminently useful citizen. His death will be profoundly deplored
throughout our Commonwealth and a general sympathy will be sincerely extended to
the bereaved family."

   On June 9, 1825, Mr. Crapo married, in Dartmouth, Mass., Mary Ann, daughter
of Williams Slocum of Dartmouth and his wife Ann, daughter of Benjamin and Mary
(Almy) Chase, of Portsmouth, E. I., and a descendant of Giles Slocum, from whom
her lineage is through Peleg, Peleg (2), Peleg (3) and Williams Slocum. There
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Crapo children as follows: Mary Ann, born Nov. 6,
1827, married John Orrell; William Wallace, born May 16, 1830, married Sarah
Davis Tappan; Eebecea Folger, born March 26, 1833, married William C. Durant;
Sarah Bush, born Jan. 14, 1835, married Alphonso Eoss; Lucy Anna, born Nov. 8,
1836, married H. H. H. C. Smith; Ehoda Macomber, born July 29, 1838, married
James C. Wilson; Henrietta Peel, born July 19, 1840, married Ferris F. Hyatt;
Lydia Sherman, born June 19, 1843, died Sept. 14, 1861; Emma Eliza Chace, born
June 1, 1845, married Harlan P. Christy; and Wilhelmina Helena, born April 6,
1849, married Charles W. Clifford.

   Mrs. Crapo died Feb. 21, 1875, in Flint, Mich., on which occasion a local
paper paid her this tribute: "Mrs. Crapo's was a character of rare, precious
qualities. Of New England birth and education she had all the earnestness and
exalted veneration for truth and honor, and the high sense of duty, which fell
to the best type of New England people. During a long life of duties, and not
free from afflictions, she walked always helpfully beside her husband, the two
combining in a singular degree the executive force which conquers obstacles, and
the grace which wins love and esteem. Since the death of her husband she has
devoted herself to the duties of her home, meeting all the demands of society
and looking with a watchful eye over the interests of her children. Her death
will be severely felt in this community.

   (VI) WILLIAM W. CRAPO, son of Gov. Henry Howland Crapo, was born May 16,
1830, in Dartmouth, Mass. He acquired his preliminary education in the New
Bedford public schools and prepared for college at Phillips Academy, Andover.
Then entering Yale he was graduated with the class of 1852. Having very early in
life decided to make the legal profession his life work, after leaving college
he began to read in the office of Gov. John H. Clifford, of New Bedford, and
later continued at the Harvard Law School, Cambridge. Like his father, he
possessed in abundance those qualities of energy and perseverance which aid in
making the successful student and his preparation for the legal profession was
most painstaking and thorough. He was admitted to the bar in 1855, and at once
began to practice in New Bedford, having therefore now (1911) completed a period
of over fifty-five years as a practitioner. In 1911 he received the degree of
LL. D. from Williams College. It was but a short time after his admission to the
bar that Mr. Crapo was appointed city solicitor and he held the office twelve
years, giving the most conscientious and thorough attention and devotion to all
his official duties. He began his first real work in politics in behalf of John
C. Fremont, the first candidate of the Republican party for President, in 1856,
and during the campaign he won a brilliant reputation as an orator. In that same
year he himself was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and
in the following year declined to become a candidate for State senator, desiring
to give more attention to his increasing legal business. It was somewhat
remarkable that he so soon attained a leading position at the bar, a success
which was in large measure due to his exhaustive legal knowledge, his patient
industry and unfailing self-reliance. His qualifications rapidly gained
recognition and he won to an exceptional degree, the confidence of the citizens
of New Bedford. All measures tending to advance the interests of the village,
even during his earliest endeavors to secure a firm professional foothold, found
in him an earnest and unselfish supporter. He was chairman of the commission in
charge of the first public water supply, and from 1865 to 1875 was chairman of
the water board.

   With the breaking out of the Civil war Mr. Crapo entered heartily into all
measures for the support of the government, and during the close of the struggle
he gave freely of his time, energy and means for the welfare of the cause. He
has never been a man whom the people were disposed to leave out of public
service, and he was elected, to the Forty-fourth Congress to fill a vacancy, and
was reelected to the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses,
declining in 1882 to accept again the nomination.

   While not attempting in this brief notice to give an adequate account of Mr.
Crapo's work as a legislator, it may be stated that he early took a prominent
position in Congress; was a member of the committee on Foreign Affairs in the
Forty-fifth Congress, and of the committee on Banking and Currency in the
Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh. During his last term he was chairman of the last
named committee and much has been said and written in praise of the skillful and
efficient manner in which he managed the bill for extending the charters of
national banks, a bill which was successfully carried through under his
leadership against formidable obstacles. In the tariff legislation through which
the tax on the capital and deposits of banks was removed, his familiarity with
the subject was of great service and secured the direct application of the law
to the national banks. Mr. Crapo's value in the legislation of the country
during his incumbency of the office of Congressman was recognized not only by
his constituents but by the nation.

   In a short review of Mr. Crapo's life and public services some years ago the
biographer said: "At the age of fifty Mr. Crapo finds himself well started in
political life, in the full maturity of his powers and possessing what some
politician has so neatly termed the pecuniary basis. In person he strongly
resembles his father, a man of hardy intellectual physiognomy. The family is of
French origin, regarding which there is a romantic tradition. Both father and
son have the style of face which is French Tather than English."

   Mr. Crapo has achieved remarkable success as a lawyer of finance, and as
guardian or trustee of individual estates his high character and business
talents have brought him more interests and cases than he could attend to. In
nearly all of the more prominent business enterprises of New Bedford his name is
found in some capacity and in the conduct of each his mature advice, his rarely
erring judgment and foresight, and his entire trustworthiness, have been sought
and fully appreciated. Mr. Crapo has served as president of the Mechanics'
National Bank for a third of a century. He has been prominent in the board of
directors of numerous manufacturing industries, and for many years has been
president of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad Company, as well as actively
interested in and associated with the management of several other railroads. To
many other departments of business industry he has at some period of his life
devoted attention, gaining the ripe experience that comes to men of broad
powers. He has always been a Republican and an earnest and influential supporter
of his party. That he has not in recent years received the nomination for
governor of Massachusetts is due more to his reluctance to the employment of the
political methods of the day than to any other cause. He is a man of brilliant
intellectual ability, high scholarship, comprehensive legal and business
knowledge, and enjoying to the largest degree the confidence and admiration of
the people. The degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by Yale College in 1882.

   On Jan. 22, 1857, Mr. Crapo was married at New Bedford, Mass., to Sarah
Davis, daughter of George and Serena (Davis) Tappan, and the marriage was
blessed with the following children: Henry Howland, born Jan. 31, 1862; George
Tappan, born March 16, 1864:, who died Sept. 12, 1865; Stanford Tappan, born
June 13, 1865, who married Emma Morley, of Detroit, Mich., and has two children,
William Wallace (born Aug. 2, 1895) and Catherine Morley (born July 23, 1897);
and Anna Almy, born Nov. 10, 1866, who died April 27, 1867.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

REPRESENTATIVE MEN and OLD FAMILIES of SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
CONTAINING HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS AND
GENEALOGICAL RECORDS OF MANY OF THE OLD FAMILIES

ILLUSTRATED

VOLUME I

J. H. BEERS & CO. CHICAGO 1912


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ma/bristol/bios/crapo84gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mafiles/

File size: 20.2 Kb