Bio of CRANDELL, Kit Carson (b.1862 d.1896), Wright Co., MN

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 538 HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY 



Kit Carson Crandall, a well known farmer of Rockford township, named 

after Christopher (Kit) Carson, the famous Indian fighter and guide to 

Charles C. Fremont, was born in a log house one mile south of Delano, 

March 28, 1862. He is the son of James D. Crandall and Frances L. 

Crandall, the pioneers. James D. Crandall was born near Jamestown, in 

western New York, in 1822. He was the son of Jenks Crandall, and is 

believed to be a lineal descendant of the emigrant, John Crandall, who 

with Roger Williams and three others settled Rhode Island, and were the 

founders of the Baptist Church in America. Francis L. (Steward) Crandall 

was born at Saybrooke, Ohio, in 1832, the daughter of Oliver Steward and 

Caroline Talcott. Her ancestors, like the Crandalls, came to New England 

with the colonists, and on her mother's side the line runs back to the 

Dean, Lawrence and Warren families. James Crandall came from New York 

state to Ohio, and was there married. In 1861, with his wife and three 

small children, George O., Clint and Henry, he started with a horse team 

from Ashtabula, Ohio, to Wright county, Minnesota. They stopped in Delano 

for a short time, and after looking about secured land in section 12, 

Rockford. On the top of a rise of land which has since been called 

Crandall's hill, they erected a log cabin. From the door of this cabin, 

there was visible a beautiful stretch of valley, covered with heavy 

timber as far as the eye could reach. From the lawn of the modern house 

that now occupies the hill, the same country can still be seen. But the 

timber has been cut off, and the rich and picturesque valley now contains 

some of the best farms in the county. Like the other pioneers, the 

Crandall family started work clearing off the timber, breaking the land 

and getting in the seed. Acre by acre they wrested the rich land from the 

grip of the wilderness. During the Indian outbreak, they fled to Rockford 

village, but soon returned and again took up their work. Times were hard, 

provisions were sometimes scarce, no one in the county had much ready 

cash, all were on an equal, and all working together for the development 

of the community. James Crandall became a prominent man, served on the 

town and school boards, and acted for some years as assessor. He died in 

1896. His wife



539     HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY



died a year earlier. George 0. Crandall, the oldest son, died in 1909. 

The three are buried in beautiful Evergreen cemetery at Rockford. Kit 

Carson Crandall was taken to the cabin on Crandall hill as an infant and 

was there reared. He attended school in the neighborhood, and by working 

on the home place became proficient as a farmer. He also learned the 

trade of blacksmith, which he followed for some years. After his marriage 

he went south, and followed his trade in Henry county, Missouri. Then he 

returned to the old homestead, where he now lives. He has a well-kept 

place, and is an estimable citizen in every respect. Mr. Crandall married 

Lonie Reader, a native of Germany, and they have five children, Helen, 

Marguerite, Oliver, Leo and Forest.