The Crawleys of Connecticut

Connecticut is the birthplace of the hamburger and the world’s first Frisbee. But did you know that Connecticut was also home to a line of Culbert descendants?

John Culbert and Mary Ward’s daughter, Susan Culbert married Philip Crawley. Susan and Philip Crawley raised a large family in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. You’ve already met a couple of Susan and Philip’s children: Sarah Catherine (Crawley) Hodgins, and George Eli Crawley.

Susan and Philips’s youngest child, William H. Crawley was born 19 May 1869. Around 1890, when he was about 21 years old, Will moved to Connecticut.

Will Crawley worked as Superintendent of the Hartford Electric Light Company (HELCO). 

Hartford Electric Light Company circa 1902. Credit: Connecticut Historical Society.

Will Crawley installed the first underground system for the Hartford Electric Light Co. He also installed the underground system in Back Bay, Boston.

Will married an American, Katherine Elizabeth Kane on 11 Oct 1899 in Hartford. She was also known as “Kit” and “Kate.”

Katherine (Kane) Crawley owned and operated a popular dressmaking shop in Hartford for 44 years. The Crawley Shop was located on the third floor of the Dillon Building at 904 Main Street, Hartford.

The Dillon Building, home of The Crawley Shop

Will and Katherine had two children, Mae F. Crawley & Dr. George Andrew Crawley. (More about them, soon.)

Will Crawley was known for his large coin collection, a result of excavating the streets of Rochester.  

Source: The Hartford Courant, 16 September 1907, page 4. This is just part of the article.

Will was appointed building superintendent of Hartford’s Central Baptist Church in January 1926 when he was 56 years old.

Central Baptist Church, 457 Main Street in downtown Hartford

Following a long illness, Will Crawley died 16 Feb 1930 in Hartford, age 60. He was given a Masonic funeral at Central Baptist Church.

Will’s wife, Katherine (Kane) Crawley died 20 May 1957, age 82 in her home at 97 Spring Street, Hartford.

Will and Katherine are buried at the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford. 

The Two Children of William H. Crawley & Katherine Kane

MAE F. CRAWLEY (daughter of Will Crawley & Katherine Kane)

Mae Crawley’s birth year isn’t clear. Her obituary says she was born 31 Aug 1888 however, that was several years before her parents married. I'm assuming she was born in the early 1900s in Connecticut.

Mae worked in and managed her mother's store "The Crawley Shop" for 50 years before she retired. Mae and her mother were members of the Hartford League of Businesswomen.

She never married nor had children.

Mae Crawley died 25 Aug 1988 in Rocky Hill, south of Hartford. She is buried in Mount Saint Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

DR. GEORGE ANDREW CRAWLEY (son of Will Crawley & Katherine Kane)

George Andrew Crawley was born 5 Oct 1900 in Connecticut.

He received his medical degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, and went on to have a long and varied career as a physician.

He operated a private practice at 330 Park Road in West Hartford but he also had a military career and worked in other public fields. Here are just some of the milestones in his career:

1930: Received his Connecticut medical license and worked at Isolation Hospital, a facility for treating contagious diseases.

1932: Appointed to the staff of St. Francis Hospital in West Hartford as a specialist in cardiology.

1935: Appointed to St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, CT as a medical specialist.

1942: Joined the Connecticut State Guard as a medical corps captain. Appointed to the Rocky Hills Veterans Hospital as a medical specialist.

1943: Ordered on active duty with the State Guard.

1946: Promoted to Major.

1953: He left the State Guard to join the Connecticut Army National Guard as a medical corps Major. He was assigned to Medical Co. 102^nd Infantry Regiment, 43^rd Division.

1954: Transferred to Medical Co. 169^th Infantry.

1955: Transferred to headquarters of Connecticut Army National Guard (CONNARNG).

1956: Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

1957: Appointed Chief Medical Officer of the Connecticut State Prison.

1959: Promoted to Colonel.

1960: Transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve.

Dr. Crawley was State Police Surgeon for more than 15 years, and he was a surgeon for the West Hartford Police Department. He also served as Chief Medical Officer at Wethersfield State Prison.

For those of you looking for a little light bedtime reading, Dr. Crawley published a 1949 technical paper, Clinical Study of Trocinate.

Dr. George Crawley was married twice. In 1936, he married his first wife, Elizabeth Margarite Hayes who born 1901 in Lee, Massachusetts.

Elizabeth (Hayes) Crawley, Dr. George Crawley's first wife.

Elizabeth was active in community affairs and was known for her leadership with the Girl Scouts.

Around 1937, the couple moved into a new house at 15 Brookline Drive in West Hartford. This would be George Crawley’s home for many years until his death.

Dr. George Crawley's house at 15 Brookline Drive, West Hartford, Connecticut

Elizabeth (Hayes) Crawley died in 1946, age 44, following a brief illness.

More than a decade later in 1957, George married his second wife, Kathleen Elizabeth Maloney (1911-1971).

Kathleen (Maloney) Crawley, Dr. George Crawley's second wife.

Dr. George Andrew Crawley died 12 Jan 1962 in West Hartford, age 61. He collapsed from a heart attack in a West Hartford hardware store, and was pronounced dead on arrival shortly afterward at St. Francis Hospital. Ironically, he worked as a cardiology specialist at that same hospital in 1932.

George is buried in Mount Saint Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield, Connecticut with his first wife, Elizabeth Hayes, and his second wife, Kathleen Maloney.

According to Find-A-Grave, there is a larger stone beside this for Dr. George Crawley

Dr. George Crawley raised two daughters but they were actually the nieces of his first wife, Elizabeth Hayes. Elizabeth’s brother, Robert Paul Hayes was married to a woman named Elizabeth Baya who died a month after the birth of her second daughter. Dr. George Crawley and his wife later adopted the girls, who took the surname Crawley.

As of writing this post, the oldest daughter may still be living. UPDATE on 14 Nov 2020: The oldest daughter, Carol Janet Crawley (born 1930) died on 21 June 2020. Carol was married to Robert Donald Keenan. Carol received her nursing degree from Boston University. Carol and Robert Keenan lived in Connecticut. The youngest daughter, Mary Elizabeth Crawley (born 1932) died in 2002. Mary Crawley was married to Robert B. Howell; they lived in Blandinsville, Illinois and had five children.

And so ends the William Crawley-Katherine Kane line of the Susan Culbert-Philip Crawley branch of the family. Will Crawley’s daughter, Mae F. Crawley didn’t have children, and Will’s son, Dr. George Crawley’s children were not his biological children. 

Despite this being the end of the line for William H. Crawley’s descendants, the Crawleys of Connecticut will be remembered for their contribution to the city of Hartford and the state of Connecticut.

William H. Crawley’s Family Tree:

Ancestors: 
John Culbert & Mary Ward (grandparents)

Susan Culbert & Philip Crawley (parents)

Descendants (Children):

Mae F. Crawley

Dr. George Andrew Crawley