Gen 3: Crail - Simmons

Dr. James Crail [1858-1920]: James was born in Indianapolis in 1858. His father, Aaron was a local farmer and his mother, Catherine, had arrived from Ireland only a few years earlier. James, his twin sisters and two brothers were without their father during the final year of the Civil War, as Aaron enlisted in the 124th Indiana. Following the war, James lost his father to consumption. Now with another brother, Catherine was left to raise the children. The family moved to Noblesville and, later, Peru, where James became a blacksmith. He married in nearby Tipton in 1882. Three children were born in Miami Co. [Willie, Pansy and Harry] before James moved the family to Kokomo. Daughter Bess was born there in 1891. Crail worked on parts for the Haynes automobile while in Kokomo. James decided to become a veterinarian. Unable to afford nearby veterinary colleges, he moved the family to Ontario, Canada to attend Ontario Veterinary College. The school offered a two year program in veterinary medicine. Upon returning to Indiana as a veterinary surgeon, James met with tragedy. As the family prepared to move, Willie was killed in a wagon accident. The Crails moved to Shelbyville, Shelby Co., IN  where James set up practice. Dr. Crail was active in the local Sons of Union Veterans chapter, as were Mima and their two edest children. The family remained the until 1908, when James procured an appointment as a federal meat inspector at the Stock Yards in Chicago. He requested a transfer to Indianapolis, which was granted in 1911. The Crails, along with Bess and her husband Charles McHugh, moved to Indy. James continued as a federal inspector until 1920, when, while inspecting a local meat packing plant, he suffered a fatal heart attack. That was the official report. James had found enough code violations to close the plant. The family believed that workers attacked him and pushed him down the stairs - resulting in the vet's death.

Ama Jemima "Mima" Simmons [1858-1931]: Mima was born in Howard Co., IN. Her mother died when Mima was 18. She managed the Simmons household until her marriage to James Crail in 1882.
Mima was the mother of four children. She survived her husband by 11 years. Mima lived with her daughter Bess' family on South Belmont in Indy.