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Obit For James C. Crane
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Text Obit #1 - James C. Crane Passed into life eternal at Exeter, Barry Co., Mo., on July 8, 1920, after a lingering illness, James C. Crane, eldest son of the late Col. Joseph and Margaret E. Crane, of Charles Town, W. Va., in his seventy-fifth year.

At the commencement of the War between the States James Crane, then sixteen years old, was a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, which he left to join Company B, 12th Virginia Cavalry, commanded by Capt. R. W. Baylor, afterwards by his son, Capt. George Baylor, in Rosser's Brigade. In his notes made on the margin of a pocket Testament, young Crane tells of the intense cold of the winter of 1864 on the raid to Beverly, Va. "My feet were terribly frozen," he writes, "while in camp at McDowell. Rosser, with three hundred and fifty men, captured over eight hundred Yankees of the 169th Ohio Infantry from Dayton. Our turkeys did not come up; rations scarce." In the battle of the Wilderness, May 4, 1864, he states: "Our brigade repulsed Wilson's whole division for three days, also fought Gregg's Division on the 6th. On that day I was severely wounded and was taken to the hospital in Staunton, where for several months I was tenderly cared for by the volunteer nurses of that city, among whom were Mrs. Matilda Trout, Mrs. Anna Forrest, Mrs. William Harman, and others. God bless these noble women!" This wound caused him much suffering through life. After recovering he reentered the service and fought to the end.

After the surrender he went to St. Joseph, Mo., and in 1867, with two companions, he walked from St. Joseph, via Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia, to his home in Charles Town (now W. Va.), Va. There was no braver private in the Confederate service than James Crane.

He had been a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for twenty-five years. He was married in 1873 to Miss Nellie Leith, of Loudoun County, Va. Ten children were born to them, four of whom survive him--two sons and two daughters. He had lived in Missouri nearly forty years.
Obit#2 - James Cloud Crane was born in Charleston, West Virginia, Nov. 14, 1845, and was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Crane, old and prominent citizens of that section. He was attending Virginia Military Institute when the civil war came on and he ran away and went to the Confederate Army and served under Gen. R. E. Lee and was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness.

May 21, 1873, he and Miss Nellie Leith were married and lived there until about 1885, when they moved to Barry County, where they continued to reside. Ten children were born to this union and four survive the father and mother, who are: Mrs. N. C. Dresbach of Muskogee, Okla., Harfield, Crane of Kilne, Col., Mrs. E. B. Harris of Haskell, Okla., and George Crane of near Exeter.

He was a member of the M. E. Church, South, for twenty-five years and died in that faith.

In 1891-92, he served the people of Barry County, as collector of the County Revenue and made a very capable and efficient official.

After his term of office expired, he moved to Exeter, where he engaged in business for several years, thence to his farm in Thomas Hollow for several years. He was engaged in business at Ridgley, for several years, with his son Cal.

Mrs. Crane died Nov. 22, 1900, at Exeter. His son Cal died May 14, 1919, at Ridgley.
Newspaper or Funeral Home The Confederate Veteran, Vol. XXVII, Nashville, TN; Cassville Democrat
Date July 1920; July 17, 1920
Death Cert Link Death Certificate
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Submitted by Phyllis Long