The Family of William Millar & Anna Jane (SEAMAN) CRICHTON
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12__William Millar CRICHTON
b. 27 Mar 1845, Dundee, Scotland
child of: William H. & Janet (MILLAR) CRICHTON
d. 15 Mar 1938, Sterling, Logan County, CO
Buried: Sterling, Logan County, CO

m. 21 Jun 1876, Greenville, Bond County, IL
13__Anna Jane SEAMAN
b. 26 May 1857, Greenville, Bond County, IL
child of: Jonathan & Mary Ann (MILLER)
SEAMAN
d. 18 Oct 1929, Sterling, Logan County, CO
Buried: Sterling, Logan County, CO
Other Marriages: None
Children:
12.1 William Seaman CRICHTON
b. 18 Jun 1877 d. 19 Oct 1955 (see #6/7)
12.2 Robert Millar CRICHTON
b. 2 May 1879
12.3 May Jeannette CRICHTON
b. 19 Feb 1882 d. 6 Mar 1969
m. ? BARTOS
(DAR #3421159)
12.4 Annabelle CRICHTON
b. 4 Apr 1884
12.5 James Lewis CRICHTON b. 25 Mar
1886 d. 5 Jun 1924
12.6 Elvira Pearl CRICHTON b. 30 Oct
1889 d. 17 May 1891
12.7 Jonathan Henderson CRICHTON
b. 20 Oct 1891 d. 5 Nov 1918
12.8 Lutitia Margaret CRICHTON
b. 5 Sep 1894
12.9 Thomas Jefferson CRICHTON
b. 5 Dec 1896
12.10 Helen Gladys CRICHTON
b. 14 Mar 1899
Synopsis:
Resided Newton, IA in 1879
Resided Kerney, KS in 1928.
From the Ross Historical Souvenir of Vandalia, IL, p. 64, William M. CRICHTON was Superintendent of Schools 1875-1877.
From William S. CRICHTON's booklet: My Mother's Family. Anna Jane SEAMAN. My mother was the fourth child of Jonathan SEAMAN and Mary Ann MILLER who were married March 20, 1849, at Springfield, Ohio. Later they moved from Bellefontaine, Ohio, to near Greenville, Illinois, where she was born May 26, 1857....The HEPBURN, Mrs. HEPBURN (Aunt Mag) was my father's sister, were their near neighbors and my father after graduating from Monmouth college in 1872 came there and taught the district school which the SEAMAN children attended. My mother attended, also, Elmira College in Greenville one year before her marriage which occurred at Greenville June 21, 1876. Their wedding trip was a visit to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia and Niagara Falls.
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WILLIAM MILLAR AND ANNA JANE (SEAMAN) CRICHTON RESEARCH RECORD
BIRTH/BAPTISM/PARENTS/CHILDREN RECORDS
DEATH/OBITUARY/CEMETERY RECORDS
MARRIAGE/DIVORCE RECORDS
FAMILY BIBLE/RELIGION AFFILIATIONS RECORDS
EMPLOYMENT/MILITARY/ORGANIZATIONS RECORDS
Nemaha County. County Superintendent - Martin HEFLEBOWER. The Nemaha County Board of Commissioners voted to discontinue the position of County Superintendent of Schools, December, 1993. They began contracting with Education Service Unit 4 for services, January 1995. The salary is determined by and in accordance with Nebraska statute 79-320.01. The earliest record of the School Superintendent being an elected position is 1934. In 1895, there were 81 school districts in Nemaha County. Robert S. Smith served as County Superintendent from 1969-1991 in Nemaha County, from 1973-1994 in Richardson County and from 1975-1986 in Otoe County. The following individuals served as County Superintendent of Schools in Nemaha County: ...1892-1895 W.M. CRICHTON....
William M. CRICHTON was Superintendent of Schools in Vandalia, IL from 1875-1877. Source: "Ross HIstorical Souvenir of Vandalia, IL."
WILL/ESTATE/DEEDS/COURT RECORDS
Anna J. CRICHTON and husband to William M. Clarke, warranty deed. Filed for Record this 27th day of October 1899 at 10:30 o'clock a.m. J. Moright, County Clerk, Nemaha County, NE. Know all men by these presents that Mrs. Anna J. CRICHTON and William M. CRICHTON, wife and husband of Nemaha County in the State of Nebraska in the consideration of the sum of $2950 in hand paid by William M. CLARKE of Nemaha County in the State of Nebraska do hereby sell and convey unto said William M. CLARKE the following describe premises situated in the County of Nemaha in the State of Nebraska to wit commencing at the point where the east line of the southeast quarter of the south and west quarter of section number twenty-one (21) in township number five (5) north of range number fourteen (14) east of the six (6) principle meridian intersects north line of Howe Street in the original town of Calvert, now Auburn, according to the recorded plot thereof, then north on said east line 176.95 feet to the north line of the said southeast quarter of the southwest quarter thence west on the north line to the said southeast quarter of the southwest quarter 1320 feet then south at right angles to the north line of said 40-acre tract to the north line of the said Howe Street thence east on the north line of said Howe Street to the place of beginning being a part of the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of sections twenty-one (21) town five (5) n. of range fourteen (14) E. at sixth P.M. And we hereby covenant with the said William M. CLARKE that we hold said premises by good and perfect title; that we have good right and lawful authority to sell and convey the same; that they are free and clear of all liens and encumbrances whatsoever and we covenant to warrant and defend the said premises against the lawful claim of all persons whatsoever. And the said William M. CRICHTON hereby relinquish curtesy and all other rights in and to the above described premises. Signed the 28th day of October, A.D. 1899, Anna J. CRICHTON William M. CRICHTON in presence of E.M. BOYD and R.G. BOYD. [$3 revenue stamp in the middle of the document] The State of Nebraska, Nemaha County on this 26th day of October A.D. 1899 before me Edward M. BOYD a notary public within and for said county personally came Anna J. CRICHTON and William M. CRICHTON personally to me known to be identical persons to whose names are afixed to the above instrument as grantors and severally acknowledge the execution of the same to be their voluntary act and deed for the purpose therein expressed. In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name and afixed my official seal at Auburn, Nebraska on the last date above written. Edward M. BOYD, Notary Public. My commission expires August 81, 1900.
Lincoln Land Co. to Anna J CRICHTON. Filed for record April 22 1895 at 10:05 o'clock. Warranty Deed. In consideration of the payment of Three Hundred ($300.00) Dollars the Lincoln Land Company corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Nebraska hereby sells and conveys to Anna J. CRICHTON, the following described real Estate situated in the County of Nemaha and State of Nebraska to wit: commencing at the point where the East line of the South quarter of the South West quarter of Section No. twenty-one (21) in township No. Five (5) North of Range No. Fourteen (14) East of the sixth principle meridian, intersects with the line of Howe Street in the original town of Calvert, now Auburn, according to the recorded plat thereof, ? North in said East line, one hundred twenty six and 95-100 (176.95) feet to the North line of said south East quarter of the South West quarter, thence west to the North line of said South East quarter of the South West quarter six hundred sixty (66) feet, thence South at right angles to the North line of said forty acre tract to the North line of said Howe Street, thence East in the North line of said Howe Street to the place of beginning being a part of the South East quarter of the South West quarter of section No. Twenty-one (21) in Township No. Five (5) North of Range No. Fourteen (14) East of the sixth Principle Meridian. And the Lincoln Land Company hereby convenants with the said Anna J. CRICHTON that it is lawfully seized of said premises that they are free from encumbrances, and it warrants the title thereof against the lawful claims of all persons whomsover, except the taxes for the year 1892 and therefore and except as against all claims which may have attached to said premises since the date of the sale thereof by said grantor to wit June 18th 1892 - In Testimony whereof the said Lincoln Land Company has caused this instrument to be signed by its President, countersigned by its secretary and the corporate seal of the company to be hereunto affixed this fifteenth day of November A.D. 1894. The Lincoln Land Company By W.B. SCOTT. Countersigned R.D. PHILLIPS, Secretary. Witness signature of President: E. R. NAUBOLDS. State of Iowa, Des Moines County: Be it known that on this 13th day of Decbr. A.D. 1894 before N.T. MCFARLANDS a Notary Public in and for said County personally appeared N.B. SCOTT President of Lincoln Land Company who is personally known to me to be the identical person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument as said President and then and there acknowledge the execution of said instrument to be his voluntary act and deed, and the voluntary act and deed of the said company. Witness my hand and Notorial Seal on the day last written. N.T. McFARLANDS, Notary Public: J.M. BURRESS, Regr.
CENSUS/CITY DIRECTORIES/TAX LIST RECORDS
1900 U.S. Census, Nemaha County,
NE, 14 Jun 1900
Dwelling #348, Family #348: Birth Mo/Yr
Age #yrs married #children #living
Crichton,
Anna
5/1857
42
24
10 9
Will
6/1878 22
Robert
5/1879 21
May
2/1882 18
Bell
?/1884 16
Lewis
3/1887 13
Jonathan
10/1891 8
Lutie
9/1893 6
Thomas
12/1896 3
Helen
3/1898 1
MIGRATION/CHRONOLOGY/MAP REFERENCE RECORDS
Migrations to America from
CRICHTON by William Seaman CRICHTON
About the year 1839 society in England was in a ferment. In America
they had begun to lay rail roads and run steam trains. They were talking
about running steam boats across the Atlantic. Prof. MORSE and
others were talking about the probability of constructing electric telegraphs,
although it was nearly fifteen years before he completed and operated his
first line. All these topics were familiar to the people of Great
Britain, and all new ideas were rapidly followed up for both nations were of
the same language and civil institutions. The laboring and middle
classes became infatuated with the idea of the right to vote as they had in
the United States. At that time there was a property qualification in
Britain. To have the right of suffrage a citizen must be a property
holder to so large an extent that all the middle classes were deprived of the
privilege. At about this date, 1830, there was organized a secret
society called the "Chartists," which rapidly spread all over the
kingdom. These Chartists claimed that under the great charter signed by
King John in 1215, every citizen had the right to vote at all elections of
members of the House of Commons. By the year 1840 there were lodges of
Chartists in all the cities and towns of the kingdom, and the society
published a small weekly paper called "The Chartist Circular."
The society about that time had prepared an immense petition, addressed to the
government, containing a personal appeal to Queen Victoria, asking and
demanding universal suffrage, throughout the kingdom, as it was then enjoyed
by the common people of the United States of America. This petition bore
over two million signatures. When this petition was presented in the
Parliament, it frightened the government as badly as the "gunpowder
plot" of Guy FAWKES had done two hundred years before.
Parliament immediately passed an act declaring it treason for any person to
hold membership in the society of the Chartists and ordering the arrest and
immediate trial of all officers of the society everywhere. Queen
Victoria, who feared a "reign of terror" and a wholesale slaughter
of many innocent persons, postponed the signing of the law from time to
time. But the passage of the law had been published and no one could
tell how soon the Queen might be persuaded to attach her signature and set the
prosecutions in motion. In the spring of 1843, Uncle Robert, father's
youngest brother, who was working in a machine shop in the city of Glasgow and
who had made himself active among the Chartists, quietly quit work and took
passage to America, following some friends to Pittsburgh, Pa., where he
immediately secured good employment and found the demand for labor strong and
wages better than in Scotland. Father had been secretary of the
society in Dundee, where he had worked ever since before his marriage, and he
felt very uneasy under the circumstances. The letters he received
from his brother in Pittsburg induced him to get out of the kingdom but he
could not get up the resolution, or the money probably, till the spring of
1846. Early in April, 1846, he and his family started from Dundee, by
rail to Glasgow, and went aboard the sailing vessel "The Three
Bells" at the Glasgow pier, on Thursday, April 16 (1846). The
voyage was a tedious one and they did not reach New York till May 30th.
They then went as directly as possible to Pittsburg, and father found good
employment in the shops in Alleghany City where he lived and worked till he
lost his health. At the time we started for America Margret was five
years old and I was the baby in my mother's arms. Early in the year 1848
father was compelled to give up work, from a softening of the large bone of
his left limb. The doctors called it "white swelling."
For almost five years he was a great sufferer, and his illness resulted in the
amputation of his limb in May 1852. In the meantime through the charity
and kindnesses of many friends and relatives, he and his family had removed
from Pennsylvania to LaPorte county, Indiana, where he and mother bought a
small farm of eighty acres of wild land, four and a half miles southeast of
LaPorte city, the county seat. Here they both toiled hard through many
years of poverty and distress. With the help of numerous friends father set up
a country blacksmith shop, in which he did his first job of work on Feb. 19,
1853. He was an excellent workman and always had all the work he could
do as long as he was able to work at all. They improved their little
wild acreage and it became and beautiful and comfortable home and here they
both lived the rest of their lives. Their mortal ashes repose in the
beautiful little churchyard of Salem Chapel, in a spot chosen by father
several years before his death. They sleep side by side, surrounded by
many of their neighbors with whom they enjoyed years of harmony and peace
during the painful decline of their mortal pilgrimage. "Safe they
rest the green turf under, Sighing breeze, or music's breath, Winter's wind or
summer's thunder, Cannot break their sleep of death!"
A Coincidence from CRICHTON by William Seaman CRICHTON. My Uncle James Crichton came to America in the spring of 1851. He, his wife and eight children embarked at Glasgow about the first of April, and arrived at LaPorte late in May. On comparing notes they found that they had come across the Atlantic on the same vessel, "The Three Bells" that had brought us across seven years before. This was the same old vessel that afterwards effected a noted rescue of a passenger ship in distress, saving all on board. On this last occasion she was under the command of Captain CREIGHTON. This officer heard the signals of distress and went to the rescue. But he did not reach the wreck until dark and the sea was running so high he could do nothing. He put out lights and signaled: "Keep up your hearts, I'll stand by you till the morning." The winds fell towards morning and as soon as day broke the work of rescue was begun, and not a life was lost. Some evangelist wrote a hymn suggested by the occurrence, "I'll stand by you till the morning."
INTERVIEW/ARTIFACTS RECORDS
END OF RESEARCH RECORD
Source: Betty JENSEN; CRICHTON by W.S. CRICHTON.

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12.2__Robert (Bud) Millar CRICHTON
b. 2 May 1879
child of: William Millar & Anna Jane (SEAMAN)
CRICHTON
d.
Buried:
m. 24 Jun 1903
12.2s__Sadie SCOTT
b.
child of:
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Children:
12.2a Isobel May CRICHTON b. 17 Apr
1904
m. 9 Jun
1928 Dr. Junius P. SMITH
12.2b Anna Jo CRICHTON b. 3 Mar 1906
m. 18 Jul
1926 Paul A. RANES
Children:
Robert Crichton RANES b. 2 May 1927
m. ? BOISE
12.2c Robert Scott CRICHTON b. 31 Mar
1912
12.2d William Sellers CRICHTON b. 14
Jan 1917
12.2e Douglas CRICHTON b. 14
Jan 1920 (same day as Betty Jane CRICHTON)
d. c1943 in
WWII
Synopsis:
Ann lived with William Seaman Crichton and went to high school in Omaha for 1-2 years.
Robert "Bud" ran a bank in Verona c 1925-1930
Bud bought a Gables store in Deer Lodge, MT and changed it to CRICHTON Hardware. It was still in Deer Lodge in 1949 when Betty Jane CRICHTON JENSEN visited it last
Letter to Ann Boise from Sarah CRICHTON. Dear Mrs. Boise: Please forgive me for taking so long in responding to your lovely letter. My husband and I are painting our apartment and your letter got buried under masses of boxes and dropcloths. We definitely are related, and the key is your first cousin, John CRICHTON of AAAA. Now I've forgotten exactly how John is related to my branch of the family, but he explained it to me five years ago, when, for some reason, I interviewed him. It's a fairly complicated and somewhat distant connection, but a real one all the same. Of course, all of our roots go back to Scotland, right? I was in Scotland last spring and visited the CRICHTON Castle, south of Edinburgh, and found that our family basically ruled Scotland throughout the 15th and part of the 16th century. My branch of the family came to this country around the turn-of-the-century, and they settled in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, slightly east of Pittsburgh. As they had been in the old country, they were coal miners. There were eight brothers and three sisters...Andrew, Clarendon, Harry, Robert, Kyle, Margaret, Sarah...I forget the others at the moment. Their father was William. My grandfather was the youngest, Kyle. He developed tuberculosis, and his siblings chipped in and sent him to a sanitorium in New Mexico to recover. There, he married my grandmother, Mae COLLIER, a nurse from Atlanta, and he became a writer. In the meantime, his brothers began salting away money and bit by bit they amassed enough to purchase controlling interest in the mine in which they worked. This led to the purchase of another mine, and then another and another. From the lowest tiers of the hills of Johnstown, they rose to the top, living in a series of huge Victorian houses at the very top of the city. Throughout the 1930's and 40's on into the 50's they were a very powerful, massive family. They were intensely competitive and intensely loyal. My grandfather became a well-known Communist in the 1930's, whereas his brothers, now mine-owners, were ardent Capitalists. But though they firecely argued, they were equally fiercely loyal to each other. Sadly, all the brothers died young. I don't think one lived past 65. They all died of heart attacks - something my father ascribes to the radical change in their diet (too many steaks, eggs, rich foods), and to their driven lives. The second generation took over the mines for a while, but as you know, coal mines are depleted fairly quickly and in addition, in the 1950's and 60's, coal ceased being such an important resource. So this generation eventually sold off the mines. Many remain tangentially involved (as consultants, etc.), and many others still live in Johnstown. Those who didn't become involved with coal in some way seem to have turned to writing or publishing. My grandfather, Kyle, besides writing a lot for such left-wing magazines as The New Masses, was a highly successful journalist for Colliers Magazine, the Saturday Evening Post, and Life. He also wrote a wide range of books varying from the first biography of the Marx Brothers to a history of New Mexico. He had two sons and a daughter. My Uncle Andy was one of the founding editors of Sports Illustrated and is now the editor of a chain of local magazines in the suburbs of New York. My father, Robert, is the author of "The Great Imposter" (which became a Tony CURTIS movie), "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" (which also became a movie), and "The Camerons" (1972) which was loosely based on his family in Scotland, just before they came to this country. My father's cousin Jean CRICHTON is the head of Associated Press Radio in New Jersey. Another cousin is editor of a trade newspaper called Energy News. My sister, Jennifer, who is only 23, is a budding young fiction writer, and I have been making a decent living as a freelance journalist for the past six or seven years. Physically, we all look alike. We are very tall (my brother Rob is the tallest at 6'7"), blondish, and slightly squinty-eyed. It was incredible to travel to Scotland and find hundreds of people who looked like us! And over there, they automatically pronounce the name correctly. I married a man named Guy MARTIN three years ago, but found I was much too attached to the family name to give it up. MARTIN just seemed too bland in comparison. Besides which, CRICHTON is becoming quite a well-known name for writers (Michael has certainly helped that), and any advantage seems worth taking. As for where all the CRICHTONs are now, a few great-aunts live in Florida now. My father's cousin, known as Nashville Bob, started a chain of Tennessee CRICHTONs. And many have moved to New York City. In fact there are about 12 of us within ten blocks of each other. Four moved to Colorado. One has an auto dealership in the Virgin Islands. We are everywhere! I will keep asking my cousins about your branch, and if I ever find out where the connection lies, I will certainly tell you. Thank you so much for writing. How exciting to find other CRICHTONs--especially a Western branch! And how pleasing it is to find people actually read the articles in those flight magazines. Sincerely Yours, Sarah CRICHTON
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12.3__May Jeannette CRICHTON
b. 19 Feb 1882
child of: William Millar & Anna Jane (SEAMAN)
CRICHTON
d. 6 Mar 1969
Buried:
m.
12.3s__ ? BARTOS
b.
child of:
d.
Buried
Other Marriages:
May remarried after her husband died. They were married 7 years.
Children:
Synopsis:
May was married 7 years when he died.
May lived, after her second marriage, in Helena, MT.
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12.4__Annabelle CRICHTON
b. 4 Apr 1884
child of: William Millar & Anna Jane (SEAMAN)
CRICHTON
d.
Buried:
m. 30 Sep 1909
12.4s__Walter G. THOMASON
b.
child of:
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Children:
12.4a Helen Elizabeth THOMASON b. 13
Jul 1910
12.4b Martha Jeannette THOMASON b. 28
Feb 1914
12.4c Frances Crichton THOMASON b. 21
Jul 1916
Synopsis:
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Family Chronicles
12.7__Jonathan Henderson CRICHTON
b. 20 Oct 1891
child of: William Millar & Anna Jane (SEAMAN)
CRICHTON
d. 5 Nov 1918, Ft. McAllister, CA
Buried:
m. 12 Aug 1918, Sterling, Logan County, CO
12.7s__Lyda McCLAIN
b. 30 Dec 1894, Sterling, Logan County, CO
child of: George Washington & Ida Louise (POLLARD)
BUCKANAN
d. ? Aug 1970, New Canaan, Fairfield County, CT
Buried: New Canaan, Fairfield County, CT
Other Marriages:
Children:
12.7a John Henderson CRICHTON
b. 4 Mar 1919 d. 27 Dec 1977
Synopsis:
From William S. CRICHTON's booklet: Johnathan [sic] Henderson CRICHTON. Jonathan Henderson CRICHTON was a soldier by instinct. Uniformity in dress and movement had a charm which he could not resist. When barely of sufficient age he enlisted in Company "C" Nebraska State Guard, in which he served three years. During which he attained, by promotion, the rank of first lieutenant in his company. In June, 1913 he resigned his commission in the State Guard and enlisted as a private in the 27th Co., 4th regiment, U.S.M.C., for a term of four years. At the expiration of his term he was with his regiment in active service on the Island of San Domingo. The world war was then on, and no transportation could be had to the states, he thus continued in the service till early in October, when he was honorably discharged. When he was sworn into the service in the Marine corps, he gave his name as John Henderson and his service record is under that name. He was known among his associates as Jack CRICHTON. He never gave any explanation of this change of name, it was his own voluntary act. When he entered the Marine corps he already was a well drilled soldier, and he devoted himself unreservedly to qualification. He qualified as expert cook in the galleys. On the range he qualified as sharp-shooter and also as expert rifleman, and received the decorations and rewards due to both qualifications. In the selective draft made early in the summer of '18 he was drafted for service. In the meantime he and Miss Lyda McLAIN had been married, but he didn't seek exemption from service on that or any other pretext. About 110 drafted men had assembled at Sterling for transportation. Among all these he was the only man who had any experience in military matters. He was put in command of the contingent, by the draft commission, and ordered to report it to the commandant at Ft. McAllister, Cal. He entrained at Sterling, Oct. 24th and arrived at the fort Sunday evening the 27th, without a mishap of any kind or a man missing. The following day, Oct. 28th, he was stricken with influenza. It was with great difficulty, and only by the help of comrades and officers, that he was able to complete his own enlistment. He was carried to the hospital Tuesday morning, Oct. 29th. On the following Tuesday morning, Nov. 5th, at 9:30, he died. He was a faithful and efficient soldier. During his long service of over four years in the Marine corps he was never in the guard house, nor ever even reprimanded for disobedience of orders. Until his final illness he had never been on the sick list a single day. His record as a soldier is perfect and without a blemish. "On Fame's eternal camping ground/His low green tent is spread,/Where Freedom guards, with solemn round,/The bivouac of the dead." John CRICHTON and Miss Lyda McLAIN were married at Sterling, Colo., Aug. 12, 1918, by the Rev. E. Payne, pastor of the Baptist church. To them was born: John Henderson, March 4, 1919.
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12.7a__John Henderson CRICHTON
b. 4 Mar 1919, Padroni, Logan County,
CO
child of: Jonathan Henderson & Lyda (McCLAIN)
CRICHTON
d. 27 Dec 1977, New York City, NY
Buried: New Canaan, Fairfield County, CT
m. 24 Nov 1939, Jefferson, Cole County, MO
12.7as__Zula MILLER
b. 4 Apr 1919, Fort Morgan, Morgan County, CO
child of: Charles Franklin & Zula (CLARK)
MILLER
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Zula married 6 Dec 1997, New Canaan, CT, Georges BRIGHAM, b. Paris,
France of American father and French Mother. He came to the U.S. when the
Nazis invaded France and were drafting young men for the work force. He
went to Harvard and runs his own business called APL Group. Source:
Letter from Zula CRICHTON BRIGHAM dated 28 Jun 1998.
Children:
12.7a1 John Michael CRICHTON b. 23 Oct
1942
12.7a2 Kimberly CRICHTON
b. 22 Jul 1945
12.7a3 Douglas Christopher CRICHTON
b. 18 Dec 1948, Roslyn, Nassau County, NY
m. 5 Jul 1969, Nashua, Hillsborough County, NH, Hannah Lawrence WHITNEY
(divorced, no children)
12.7a4 Catherine CRICHTON
b. 17 Dec 1952
Synopsis:
John Henderson CRICHTON received a degree in journalism from the University of MO in 1940. He was a reporter in CO and MT. He then moved to Chicago to work in the promotion department of LaSalle Steel Company. He joined the Advertising Age staff in Chicago in 1941 and was transferred to Washington, DC. In 1942, he entered military service as a lieutenant j.g. in the Navy. In 1946, he returned to the Advertising Age in New York in the editorial office. He was named executive editor in 1949 and on 1 Jan 1958, became editor. He was named president elect of American Association of Advertising Agencies (Four A's) in October of 1961 and officially became president on 15 Jan 1962. He was a director of numerous organizations, and member of the American Marketing Association, the National Press Club and The Norwalk (CT) Yacht Club.
Obituary: Advertising Age (2 Jan
1978). John CRICHTON dead at 58; headed Four A's since '62. New
York - John H. CRICHTON, 58, president of the American Assn. of
Advertising Agencies for the past 15 years, collapsed and died at his desk
in the Pan Am building here on Tuesday, Dec. 27. Death was attributed
to a heart attack. Mr. CRICHTON arrived at his office shortly
before 9 a.m., having enjoyed a long Christmas weekend, chatted with some
associates, took a cigaret, removed his hat and coat and asked for
coffee. he then busied himself with mail that had been placed on his
desk. Minutes later, he was found unconscious. His associates
struggled frantically and without success to revive him, as did a police
emergency squad that was quickly summoned. A memorial service was held
last Friday
morning at the New Canaan, Conn., Presbyterian Church, followed by a private
burial service. The CRICHTON family asked that those wishing to
memorialize Mr. CRICHTON send contributions to the A.A.A.A.
Educational Foundation, Inc., a Four A's activity that was a main source of
pride for Mr. CRICHTON and the membership. Considered to be in
rugged good health, the trim, 6-ft., 5-in. Four A's leader enjoyed swimming
as his exercise and was said to have passed an insurance physical only a
month ago. One shocked associate, stating that he knew of no health
problem where Mr. CRICHTON was concerned, added, "But he never
complained, so even if he wasn't feeling well, we wouldn't have
known." After taking over as Four A's president officially on
Jan. 15, 1962, when he resigned as editor of Advertising Age, Mr. CRICHTON
went on in his quiet style to enunciate clear positions for advertising
agencies on the issues that concerned them. He pressed agencies to
create more job opportunities for young people so that the talent pipelines
would always be full and the practice of "pirating" talent would
cease. He brought Four A's members, early on, into an awareness of the
need to bring more blacks and other minorities into the agency business at
all levels. As for clients, he called for them to make certain, among
other things, that their agencies always had adequate information.
Back in the 1960's, Mr. CRICHTON spoke of the future of the agency
business and noted that while slight changes would occur from time to time,
the basic need - service - would never change. His obsession with
service to the 433 Four A's member agencies representing 75% of U.S. agency
billings was but one of the qualities his associates spoke about following
his death. Knowing that agencies expected service from the Four A's
office because they were being pressured by clients to provide service, Mr. CRICHTON
was described as a leader who regarded every call for assistance an
important one. "Prayer meetings" they called those staff
meetings at which he would exhort aides to redouble their efforts. Mr.
CRICHTON, as can be expected from the head of the nation's leading
advertising agency organization, was an uncompromising advocate of
independent, full-service agencies. Mr. CRICHTON also was
remembered as a leader who couldn't say no, accepting speaking engagements
and then putting his newspaper reporter training to use, writing his own
speeches. Aides at the Four A's, as did his former newspaper staff
associates, would express awe at the way "copy" would roll
smoothly from his typewriter. He was next scheduled to speak before
the Traffic Audit Bureau conference in Key Biscayne, Fla., on Jan. 26.
"This place reflects his style," said Harry PASTER, vp and
a CRICHTON aide, who will mark his 30th anniversary at the Four A's
early in 1978. "It's a well-oiled machine; the work will go on,
but we'll miss John terribly." The Four A's president was
described as a basically shy, but warm person who was, most of al, "a
very, very private person." "I didn't know hw had a
grandchild until recently," said another associate who saw him
daily. When problems arose, it was recalled, Mr. CRICHTON would
light up his pipe and summon an aide or two to his office to talk over the
situation. "There's trouble in River City," he might begin,
and then proceed to outline the problem and work out an approach to
it. "He was just tremendous; a man of great character. We
were all so very, very fond of him," Mr. PASTER said. John
Henderson CRICHTON was born in Padroni, Colo., on March 4,
1919. He received a degree from the University of Missouri journalism
school in 1940 and served briefly as a newspaper reporter in Colorado and
Montana. Then the 22-year-old newsman and his wife, the former Zula MILLER,
moved to Chicago where he took a job in the promotion department of LaSalle
Steel Co. He joined the Advertising Age staff in Chicago in 1941 and
was subsequently assigned to AA's Washington office. After leaving in
1942 for wartime service as a lieutenant (j.g.) with the Navy, he returned
in 1946, this time to the Ad Age New York editorial office. He was
named executive editor in 1949 and on Jan. 1, 1958, became editor,
succeeding Sidney R. BERNSTEIN, who advanced to editorial
director. After being named president elect of the Four A's in
October, 1961, Mr. CRICHTON, who had never worked for an advertising
agency, officially became president on Jan. 15, 1962, succeeding Frederic R.
GAMBLE, who retired after 33 years in that post. A resident of
New Canaan, Conn., Mr. CRICHTON was a director of the Advertising
Research Foundation, the Traffic Audit Bureau, Advertising Council, the
National Center for Voluntary Action, served on the advisory committee of
the U.S. Council of the International Chamber of Commerce, on the
communications committee of the Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., on the
advisory council of Hampshire College, and was a member of the American
Marketing Assn., the National Press Club, and the Norwalk (Conn.) Yacht
Club. Two sons, Michael and Douglas Christopher, and two daughters,
Catherine and Kimberly, and Mrs. CRICHTON survive. Michael CRICHTON,
a doctor who turned to writing ("The Andromeda Strain," "Five
Patients," "The Terminal Man," "The Great Train
Robbery," "Eaters of the Dead"), also is a motion picture
screenwriter and director.
Source: Zula CRICHTON, New Canaan, CT; Advertising Age 2 Jan 1978.
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12.7a1__John Michael CRICHTON
b. 23 Oct
1942, Chicago, Cook County, IL
child of: John Henderson & Zula (MILLER) CRICHTON
d.
Buried:
m. c1987
12.7a1s__Anne-Marie MARTIN
b.
child of:
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Michael was married first at age 22 and was married 3 times before marrying
Anne-Marie.
Children:
12.7a1a Taylor CRICHTON b. ? 1988
Synopsis:
See Media File for text of articles regarding
author Michael CRICHTON
Current Biography Yearbook 1993, ed. Judith Graham, et.al., New
York: The H.W. Wilson Co., 1993
The Daily Mail, Hagerstown, MD, 27 Feb 1978, "CRICHTON's
'Coma' no film for one facing surgery"
The Los Angeles Times, (date unknown), "CRICHTON Draws
Novel's Readers in 'Sphere' of Undersea Terror"
TV Guide, 10 Dec 1988, "It's Bad Medicine for Doctors"
Parade Magazine, 12 Sep 1993, "Personality Parade"
Time, 10 Jan 1994, "Pop Fiction's Prime Provocateur"
Time, 25 Sep 1995, "Michael CRICHTON Multimedia
Star"
The Washington Post, 26 Nov 1999, "King of Catastrophe"
As illustrated below, a busy and important man, Michael CRICHTON takes time to be kind to young cousins, autographing pictures for Jeremiah and Katy Morrow (see Deb and Dale Morrow) when they were 6 and 7 and incredibly proud of the cousin who wrote Jurassic Park.
Source: Zula CRICHTON, New Canaan, CT; Dale and Deborah Morrow
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12.7a2__Kimberly CRICHTON
b. 22 Jul 1945, Ft. Morgan, Morgan County, CO
child of: John Henderson & Zula (MILLER)
CRICHTON
d.
Buried:
m. 13 Jun 1967, New Canaan, Fairfield County, CT
12.7a2s__John
William ROPER
b.
child of: John W & Alice (?) ROPER
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Children:
12.7a2a Ingrid Lyda ROPER b. 9 Sep
1970, Twin Falls, Twin Falls County, ID
Graduated, Northwestern University
Synopsis:
John ROPER was a Rhodes Scholar. He and Kimberly were married before his second year. They are now divorced.
Kimberly got a degree at Oxford after Radcliff. She went to Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and got a law degree after her divorce. After the divorce, she taught at Colorado women's College in Denver. She then went to California.
Kimberly wrote "A Tender Price" (Christina QUINN), Dell 1984.
Kimberly has worked for SEC, Rogers and Wells (a law firm) and Citibank (Vice President in charge of broker's operations).
The same doctor that delivered Zula (her mother), delivered Kimberly.
Source: Zula CRICHTON, New Canaan, CT
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12.7a4__Catherine
(Casey) CRICHTON
b. 17 Dec 1952, Roslyn, Nassau County, NY
child of: John Henderson & Zula (MILLER)
CRICHTON
d.
Buried:
m. 27 May 1978, New Canaan, Fairfield County, CT
12.7a4s__Donald
Hutt BLANCHARD
b. 23 Jul 1952, Roswell, Chavez County, NM
child of: William Hugh & Ann Mustaugh (HUTT)
BLANCHARD
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Children:
12.7a4a Blake Crichton BLANCHARD b.
26 Jun 1982
12.7a4b Alicia Crichton BLANCHARD b.
27 Aug 1985
Synopsis:
Donald BLANCHARD's father, William Hugh BLANCHARD was a four-star general and vice-chief of staff of the Air Force when he died.
Both Donald and Casey are lawyers, and both are graduates of the same law school, Northwestern School of Law, Portland, OR.
Source: Zula CRICHTON, New Canaan, CT
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12.8__Lutitia Margaret CRICHTON
b. 5 Sep 1894
child of: William Millar & Anna Jane (SEAMAN)
CRICHTON
d.
Buried:
m. 21 Aug 1915
12.8s__Willis J. ALLISON
b.
child of:
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Children:
12.8a Virginia Ann ALLISON b. 15 Dec
1916
Synopsis:
Lutitia (Lute) taught school in the Philippines.
Residences included CA and Memphis, TN.
Religious affiliation: Jehovah's Witnesses
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12.9__Thomas Jefferson CRICHTON
b. 5 Dec 1896
child of: William Millar & Anna Jane (SEAMAN)
CRICHTON
d.
Buried: Sterling, Logan County, CO
m.
12.9s__Grace ?
b.
child of:
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Children:
12.9a Berty May CRICHTON
Killed in car
accident in Billings, MT
12.9b Tom? CRICHTON
Sprayed crops;
died of lung disease. He married and had children, perhaps in
Chandler, AZ
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12.10__Helen Gladys CRICHTON
b. 14 Mar 1899
child of: William Millar & Anna Jane (SEAMAN)
CRICHTON
d.
Buried:
m.
12.10s__Robert SANDERS
b.
child of:
d.
Buried:
Other Marriages:
Children:
12.10a Jack CRICHTON
12.10b Jane CRICHTON
Synopsis:
Robert SANDERS was a supervisor at a Sugar Beet Factory.
Jack worked for an oil company in TX, perhaps near Corpus Christi.
Jane was a concert cellist.
The children grew up in Sterling, CO.
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