City Directories Solve a Mystery

CRAIL: Before continuing with the S families, I thought I'd go back and pick up a story that demonstrates the value of using city directories to solve brick wall research problems.

Harry Crail was my grandmother's brother. He was born in Miami Co., Indiana in 1885. Harry married three times. Pearl Malloy was the mother of his three children, Gilbert, Marcus and Helen.
His second wife, Lola Patterson, adopted a daughter, Mary Jane. Harry's third wife was Gertrude Kassenbrock.

I was told that Harry worked for Chevrolet in Muncie, Indiana at the time of his death. My uncle recalled being a pallbearer at Harry's funeral during the late 1930s, but before WWII. The cemetery, he thought was on Illinois Street in Indy.

Armed with that information, I headed for Muncie. The public library had a few city directories for the 1930s. I looked up Harry and found an entry for him in 1936 and 1937. 1938 showed "Gertrude Crail [wid. Harry]." Harry then died in 1937.

I ordered some other records concerning Harry from the library archives and walked over to the Health Department while those items were being retrieved. I gave the clerk the year of death and she copied the death record info for me.

Harry was buried at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Indianapolis. That threw me for a loop since the Crail's weren't Catholic! Gertrude was, so Harry was interred in the Kassenbrock plot at Holy Cross in an unmarked grave.

So there you have it, the city directories narrowed Harry's death to 1937. That led to acquiring his death record and learning his burial place.

Of note: Harry was a maintenance foreman for Chevy. His death resulted from a fall from a ladder during work. He died from a fractured skull the next day. According to family, the incident had happened during a strike. Harry, as management, had crossed the picket line to make repairs. The fall from the ladder was no accident. Harry's father had died in 1920 while inspecting a meat packing plant. He found violations and ordered the plant closed. He suffered a fatal heart attack and fell down the stairs. Again, according to family, James Crail's death was the result of his being roughed up by disgruntled workers and pushed down the stairs. The coroner's inquest ruled it an accident.

Note #2: One of my ongoing frustrations is that other Crail researchers have added Harry to the family of George Berry Crail. Harry's death certificate confirms his parents are Dr. James Crail and Mima Simmons. Census records agree.