8. George Benjamin CROCKER was born Sep 21 1912 in Wayne (Wayne Co.), Michigan. He died Nov 27 1999 in Eaton County Medical Care Facility (Charlotte, Michigan) and was buried Dec 1 1999 in Rosehill Cemetery (Eaton Rapids, Michigan). George married Marie Ethel WOOSTER on Jul 15 1953 in Jackson (Jackson Co.), Michigan.
George was employed in the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) about 1933. He obtained Social Security Registration before 1951 in Michigan. He obtained a marriage license Jul 9 1953 in Jackson, Michigan. [Parents]
Birth
George Benjamin Crocker was born on 12 Sep 1912 in Wayne, Michigan. Presumably in the home of his parents Delbert and Nancy Crocker.Biography
Little is known about George's early childhood. Just before his 3rd birthday, George's father passed away. Unable to care for him on her own, his mother, Nancy Warren (Yeomans) Crocker moved George into the household of his grandparents Frank & Anna Yeomans (Addison Ave., Wayne, Michigan - 1920) some time prior to 1920, where it is assumed he stayed until a mature age when he ventured out on his own.
There is some evidence that George was a construction laborer in the Detroit Michigan area as a young man. An old photo shows him (potentially with his Grandfather, Frank Yeomans) constructing a sewer main in the city of Wayne or Detroit. Additional research is underway to find more evidence of this.
In the early 1930's, George joined the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a military-like organization formed to provide a workforce for forestry conservation and other construction programs under the "New Deal" proposition of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his first years as president of the United States. George stated to his family many times that he was enrolled for a period of "12 years, 7 months, 21 days, 2 hours, and 20 minutes." Still researching this aspect of George's life. Enrollment, service, and pay records have been requested from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C. Refer to additional excerpt to learn more about the CCC in Michigan.
The image to the right is a photo of George Benjamin Crocker in 1935, next to what is presumed to be a CCC barracks. An inscription on the back of the picture reads "to the love of my life George, love Dorothy, September 18, 1935." There was also a woman in the photo, presumed to be Dorothy, that was cropped out.
All men of the Civilian Conservation Corps wore the standard CCC badge on their uniforms (shown here), along with another badge or other identifier of the company from which they belonged.
The company in which George was enrolled is not known, however, the first CCC company formed in Michigan was composed of 200 men from the Detroit area. It is possible that George was enrolled in this company, being from the Detroit area himself, he would have been 20 years old at the time. Here is an excerpt from a Michigan Historical Center article about the CCC.
"On 2 May 1933, two hundred young men from Detroit and Hamtramck arrived at an isolated spot in the Hiawatha National Forest, west of Sault Ste. Marie. They set up tents and dubbed the area Camp Raco. Designated Company 667, the Detroiters had been outfitted, inoculated and briefly oriented at Camp Custer in Battle Creek before being shipped to the Upper Peninsula. Within months there were forty-one similar camps across northern Michigan housing nearly eight thousand young men. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had come to Michigan."
Since the CCC only existed for about 10 years (1933 - 1942), it is unlikely that George was enrolled for the period of time indicated above. It is possible, however, that he was employed in the state forestry service (predecessor to the Department of Natural Resources - DNR) after his CCC enrollment had ended. The records requested from the NARA may shed some light on this.
Little is known of George's life between the mid 1930's and early 1950's. What is known is that he was a migrant laborer much of his life, moving often to find work. At some point, he moved to the Jackson Michigan area where, in 1953, he married Marie Ethel Wooster (Greening). They had 5 children, 3 of which are still living today.
Over the course of the next 20 years, George moved his family from Jackson (Cooper St.) to Rives Junction (Maple Lane Rd.) in ca. 1957, to Onondaga (Rossman Rd.) in 1962, to Eaton Rapids (Tucker Rd.) in 1965. George remained in Eaton Rapids Michigan, moving many times within the town.Death & Burial
George Benjamin Crocker passed away on 27 Nov 1999 at the Eaton County Medical Care Facility (Charlotte, Michigan) and was laid to rest on 1 Dec 1999 at Rosehill Cemetery in Eaton Rapids Michigan. In attendance were his family and a few close family friends. His grandsons acted as Pall Bearers.
