Adam Bell CRABTREE was reportedly born 5 Feb. 1846 to Irvin CRABTREE and Sarah Ann FAGGERT/FAGGARD. His daughter, Susie gave him as born at Gainsville, Hall Co. GA. The 1850 and 1860 Alabama Mobile censuses however give him as born abt. 1848 in AL.
26 April 1877, in Whistler, Mobile Co., AL, Adam, about 31, married Alice Virginia RENEGER who was about 22, born 3 March 1851 in Whistler to Andrew Jackson RENEGER and Martha Jane JONES.
Between 1878 and 1894 Adam and Alice would have 9 children:
- Adam CRABTREE was born 2 Feb 1878 in Whistler, Mobile Co., AL. He married Margaret HIGHTOWER b. 1882 in Whistler. (FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service source birth date.)
- John b. 25 July 1879, Whistler, Mobile Co. AL. (FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service source birth date.)
- George William, b. 4 Nov. 1882, Whistler, Mobile Co., AL., died 3 May 1953 at about 71. He is buried in Whistler Cemetery, Whistler, AL. According to Jean Kearns, George was a hermit who lived in a shack on some family property in the woods, the old homestead, without water or electricity. (FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service provides birth date. Amie Akerman gives death and burial information.)
- Charles “Charley” b. 29 July 1884 at Whistler, Mobile Co., AL. (FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service provides birth date. Amie Akerman gives death and burial information.)
- Martha Ann b. 11 July 1886, Whistler, Mobile Co. AL., died 21 Jan 1970 at Meridian, Lauderdale Co., MS. (FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service provides birth date. Amie Akerman gives death and burial information.)
- Harry “Pot” b. 5 Sept. 1888, Whistler, Mobile Co., AL., died 27 Oct. 1968, Moblie, AL and is buried at the Whistler Cemetery in Whistler. He had a son, Harry Jr. Harry is given as having played guitar with folk singer Woody Gurthrie, riding the railroad with him during the old hobo days. This is accepted as true. However, he was also a “story-teller.” He gave his great nephew, Martin, an acoustic Harmony guitar that he said was the one he had used when playing with Woody. Later it was learned this particular model was not made until 1957. Harry resided in Washington DC, then Mobile, AL.(Amie Akerman gives death date from tombstone and burial information. SSDI gives birth and death dates.)
- “Thomas” Lee was born 29 Oct. 1890 at Whistler, Mobile Co., AL and died 4 Dec 1961 at 71. He married “Alice” and together they had “Lee”. Family notes give beside Lee, “Washington D.C.” (FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service provides birth and death dates.)
- Susan “Susie” Elizabeth was born 8 June 1893 at Whistler and married Rhett KEARNS.
- Mary V. was born 15 Dec. 1894 at Whistler, Mobile Co., AL and died July 1968 at about 74 in Mobile AL. (SSDI gives birth and death dates.)
Susie Crabtree Kearns DRUMMOND wrote about her father,
“My father died at the age of 47. Mother was near 85. They were buried in Whistler, Ala. Cemetery. My father was a painter by trade and also a musician–played the violin. My father was fair-skinned–blue eyes–black hair and about 5’4″ I guess. I was 5 years old when he went away and I do not remember. But my sister told me about him. My mother had brown hair, fair skin and gray eyes–she was a very modest person and read her bible daily until the last days. I am the only one left.”
Beverly Melvin noted a similarity in description of Adam with her ggrandfather Thomas CRABTREE:
“The description of Adam sounds an awful lot like my ggrandfather Thomas. They say he was a very small man, but he was very handsome, with black hair and blue eyes. My grandad said he was so short that he could stand under his wife Minerva’s outstretched arm. My grandfather, however, was over six feet tall, but with the same black hair and blue eyes. There are also many musicians in the family. As far as I know none of them ever had lessons but could pick up just about any instrument and learn to play it, and most of the ones I know and have met can sing too. They also seem to have a great many with artistic skills. I know there are several that paint, write poetry, and do various crafts. They are very talented people. I’ve also been told that many of them are very religious people. I live within about an hour of Whistler and went there a few months back to see if I could find the graves of my ggrandfather, Thomas and his father, Samuel, but I didn’t see them at Whistler Cemetery. I’ve been told that they are buried in 8-mile, AL. I hope to make a trip very soon to see if I can find out anything about them…”
The family has been located on the following censuses:
1880 Alabama Mobile Co. Whistler Township
pg. 3 ancestry.com
21/23CLARK Andrew 48 carpenter b. VA parents unk.
? 40 wife b. GA parents b. GA
Robert E. 16 works in RR shop b. AL
21/24 LEWIS Sarah 65 widowed b. MS father b. SC mother b. NC
Wesley 28 son railroad engineer b. AL father b. GA mother b. MS
Sarah 10 granddaughter b. AL
21/25 RANAGER Martha 53 widowed b. AL father b. GA
Laura 7 granddaughter b. AL parents b. AL
DUNCAN? Albert 21 boarder laborer b. AL
22/26 RANIGER John 30 laborer b. AL father b. MS mother b. AL
Sarah 25 b. AL mother b. MS
Jackson 6 b. AL
Martha 5 b. AL
Gracie 2 b. AL
(?) Eddie 16 adopted son b. AL parents b. AL
HALL Wiley 27 boarder (?) waggener b. AL parents b. AL
23/27 MCLEAN Neil 58 b. MS parents b. Scotland
Elizabeth 45 b. AL mother b. AL
24/28 CRABTREE Adam 30 Painter b. AL
Alice 27 b. AL mother b.AL b. AL mother b. AL
Adam 2
John 10/12
25/27 WEST Nancy (b) 45 laundress? widowed b. MS parents b. AL
Charles (b) 25 laborer b. MS
Ellen (b) 16 b. MS
Ida (b) 5 b. MS
(?) THOMPSON? (b) 10 nephew b. MS parents b. MS
26/50 JACKSON Daniel (b)48 woodcutter b. VA
Mary (b) 50 b. NC parents b. NC
27/51 MCDOUGALL Sarah (m) 30 servant b. MS
28/52 CATO William (m) 34 carpenter b. AL
Bettie (m) 25 b. AL father b. SC
William (m) 6 b. AL
Mary R. (m) 4 b. AL
Lorina M. (m) 2 b. AL
29/53 PATTON Benjamin (m) 34 teamster b. AL parents b. MS
Mary (m) 37 b. AL father b. SC mother b. NC
David M. (m) 2 b. MS parents b. AL
RENARD? Azalene ? (B) 11 niece b. MS father b. Arkansas? mother b. AL
SMITH Jane (m) 17 niece servant b. AL parents b. AL
RUSSELL Reuben (b) 47 servant wagon ? b. AL father b. MS
THOMPSON Charles (b) 22 servant wagon ? b. TN parents b. TN< BENNER Robert (b) 19 servant wagon ? b. AL parents b. AL ANDERSON Louiza (b) 35 laundress? widowed b. VA parents b. VA 30/34 CATO Rebecca (w) 56 married b. AL paralysis M (?) (w) male 23 lame L (?) (w) female 20 given as married and widowed On page 10 is Littleton CRABTREE. 90/98 CRABTREE Littleton 45 notary public b. AL father b. Illinois Nancy A. 49 b. AL parents b. AL Warren S. 18 works in paint shop b. AL Hubbard L. 13 b. AL
1900 Alabama Mobile Co. Whistler Township
pg. 87B (14 ancestry.com)
CRABTREE Alice b. March 1852 age 48 wd. 9 children with 9 surviving, b. AL, parents b. un
John b. July 1879, age 20 b. AL bookkeeper
George b. Nov. 1882, 17 b. AL tin smith
Charles b. July 1884, 15 b. AL grocery clerk
Annie b. July 1886, 13 b. AL
On the next page is another CRABTREE but the name is difficult to tell. Either 34 or 24, with wife 39, her name begins with M., maybe Margaret or Millicent? Sons John 9 and Allen 3 ?
Harry b. Sept. 1887 11 b. AL
Lee b. Oct. 1890 9 b. AL
Susie b. Oct. 1893 6 b. AL
To one side live Sam TOULMIN and Ceclia (b), and Jessie WILLIAMS and Mary (b), and to the other side there is a James (?) RANEGAR.
148/155 RANEGAR James b. Jan 1850, 50, wd., b. AL, parents b. un. blacksmith
John W. Sept. 1873 26 b. AL boiler maker
Mattie March 1876 23 b. AL dress maker
Grace July 1878 21 b. AL
Lena Feb. 1882 18 b. AL
Sarah Jan 1884 16 b. AL
LizzieSeveral pages over on 94A lives Jacob, Adam Bell’s brother, beside a Horace CROSS:
CRABTREE Jacob b. Jan. 1850 50 married 29 years b. AL parents b. Un Iron moulder
M. J. b. Aug. 1850 49 7 children, 4 surviving b. AL parents b. MS
Mannie b. July 1884 15 b. AL
William b. Jan. 1889 11 b. AL
149/156 SUMERALL George b. 1853 and Lillie and family shoemaker
150/157 EVANS Edmond (b) b. 1846 and Lucy and family
151/158 JONES Edward (b) 1877 22 b. AL parents b. AL teamster
Sallie 20 b. AL father b. un mother b. SC
Isoria 3
Edward 1
Adam and Alice lived their married lives in Whistler, 7 miles from Mobile, AL.
Adam died 19 July 1898 at the age of 52 in Whistler, Mobile Co. AL and is buried at the Whistler Cemetery (birth and burial information provided by Amie Akerman). Alice died 3 Oct. 1936 at about 85, also at Whistler and is buried in the Whistler Cemetery. (Amie Akerman provides burial information.)
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Whistler Alabama was absorbed, with Eight Mile, into Pritchard in the 1950s
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