My Genealogy Hound

WASHINGTON CROCKER. A well-known agriculturist and grape-grower, residing in the town of Ripley is Washington Crocker, who is a son of Andrew and Anne (Leland) Crocker, who was born in Sardinia, Erie county, New York, November 3, 1819. Taking up the maternal ancestry the first Leland, of which we have record is Henry, who was born in England about 1625, married Margaret Babcock, came to America in 1652, and died in Sherburne, Massachusetts, April 4, 1680. They had five children. Ebenezer, born in 1679 was a direct lineal ancestor of our subject, having married Deborah Hunt, by whom was born James Leland, the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, at Sherburne, in 1687 and died in Grafton, the same State, in 1768. His wife was Hannah Larned, who was the mother of Thomas Leland; he was born in 1726 and died in 1759; married Margaret Wood and had a son Thomas, who was the grandfather of our subject, and was born in Massachusetts in 1757. He removed to Ohio, after having served in the Revolutionary war, followed farming until 1848, when he died. He was a disciple of Thomas Jefferson and married Anna B. Rawson, by whom he reared a large family, consisting of seven sons and seven daughters. The oldest of the family was Anne Leland, who was born in 1779 and became our subject’s mother. Andrew Crocker (father) was born at Albany, New York, in the year that the Declaration of Independence was given to the world and removed, in 1817, to western New York, settled in the southern part of Erie county and followed carpentering and joining until his death. He married Anne Leland and reared sixteen children, ten sons and six daughters; Washington was next to the youngest.

Washington Crocker was educated in the common schools and began life as a farmer, which he has followed throughout his useful life. He married Nancy Benton, daughter of James Benton, of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, where the latter died. Mr. and Mrs. Crocker have the following children: Burton W., born at Sardinia, in 1848, married Lydia Randall, of New York city, and died in January, 1883; and Edward B., born in December, 1859, married Julia Barker, a daughter of George Barker, of Portland; he has one child, Minnie, and lives with his father in Ripley. Washington Crocker first came to Chautauqua county in 1865, made his home at Dunkirk and resided there for thirteen years after which he went to the town of Portland, remaining there eleven years and in 1890 came to the town of Ripley, purchased a farm and in connection with his agricultural work is engaged in growing grapes. Politically he is a prohibitionist and has always been a member of the Baptist church.